What Mortal Kombat 2's Box Office Means For The Future Of The Franchise

It was a fierce battle at the box office over Mother's Day weekend, with "Mortal Kombat II" serving as the big new blockbuster in town. A sequel to 2021's "Mortal Kombat," the Warner Bros. tentpole once again brings the beloved "Mortal Kombat" fighting video games to life in live-action. But what are the odds of "Mortal Kombat III" coming to pass? It's hard to say right now, as it's all going to come down to what happens in the weeks and months ahead.

"The Devil Wears Prada 2" continued to rule the box office in its second weekend, making an estimated $43 million domestically. That means "Mortal Kombat II" had to settle for second place in its debut with a $40 million opening. (Shockingly, it seems the R-rated, gory video game movie wasn't the number one choice for moms.) In addition, the movie grossed a lower-than-expected $23 million internationally for a $63 million global total.

"Mortal Kombat II" was the biggest box office wild card of 2026 heading into the weekend, and we now see why. 2021's "Mortal Kombat" made just $84 million worldwide largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic and WB's decision to release all of its new movies that year on HBO Max the same day they hit theaters. So, on paper, a $40 million North American debut looks great. The problem is that the first movie had roughly a 50/50 split between domestic and international audiences. But this time, overseas viewers seem less motivated to turn up.

This means Warner Bros. needs the sequel to have legs as the summer unfolds to justify a third installment in light of the movie's $80 million price tag. If it falls off a cliff in weekend two, that will likely spell doom for this iteration of the franchise.

On the one hand, $80 million is on the lower end of the spectrum budget-wise for a franchise blockbuster these days. All the same, it's a fair amount more than the $55 million Warner Bros. spent on the 2021 "Mortal Kombat," and the follow-up needs to make enough to justify that investment. The floor for success is probably somewhere in the $200 million worldwide range.

With a $63 million global start, director Simon McQuoid's sequel will need to leg out pretty darn well as the summer movie season rolls on. That's no easy ask. Fortunately, the movie's reviews have been quite solid, with /Film's Bill Bria calling "Mortal Kombat II" a "(mostly) flawless victory" in his review. Similarly, "Mortal Kombat" fans who caught the film in its opening weekend appeared to enjoy it, and it's widely viewed as an improvement upon its predecessor. That could indeed equate to decent legs.

The bigger problem is that stiff competition is just around the corner. May 22 will see the release of "The Mandalorian and Grogu," which seeks to usher in a new era for "Star Wars." We've also got horror movies like "Passenger" and "Obsession" on the way, while previously-released films like "Michael" and "The Devil Wears Prada 2" continue to be leggy, global crowd-pleasers. Basically, there's a scenario in which the "Mortal Kombat" sequel gets lost in the shuffle to some degree.

Should that be the case, it might not make financial sense for WB to proceed with a currently planned third "Mortal Kombat" film (one that "Mortal Kombat II" definitely sets up). That said, the word "might" is doing some heavy-lifting there.

Box office is incredibly important when it comes to determining the future of a franchise like "Mortal Kombat." It is not, however, the only factor. In this case, we're talking about a major multimedia property that generates millions of dollars for Warner Bros. thanks to the success of its video games, merchandise, animated ventures, etc. There's a lot to consider beyond the box office.

To that end, 2021's "Mortal Kombat" was the most-viewed movie on HBO upon its opening weekend among the films that were released day-and-date that year (per Business Insider). That means it was bigger than "Dune," "Godzilla vs. Kong," and "The Suicide Squad" as well. That's a major reason why the sequel got a green light in the first place.

Aside from that, animated movies have also proved that box office isn't everything. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" was a decent theatrical hit but "sold $1 billion worth of toys" according to writer/producer Seth Rogen. In that same vein, "Mortal Kombat II" could very well provide a lot of value to the franchise in terms of game/merch sales and streaming revenue. So, it's really about the larger equation here, even more so than it is for many other big-budget movies.

Warner Bros. has to look at the whole picture. This sequel earned far better reviews than its predecessor, even though producer Todd Garner raged at the critics who reviewed it negatively. Moreover, it's destined to become a huge movie on VOD and streaming, and it did very solid business in North America. Essentially, there's a lot of upside to consider here beyond theatrical tick sales when it comes to the financial equation. We'll see how it all shakes out.

"Mortal Kombat II" is in theaters now.