Street Fighter’ Box Office: Movie Eyes $70M Global Opening

Paramount Debuts Street Fighter in Theaters

The Capcom-backed film is projected to open domestically in the $25 million to $35 million range across 3,500 theaters, alongside an overseas haul in the mid-$30 million range for a projected global debut approaching $70 million, according to Deadline and Variety. Previews start at 2 p.m. Thursday in the U.S. and Canada, featuring a 7 p.m. fan event with bonus footage and giveaways, while the movie rolls out across 65 overseas markets everywhere except China, where Paramount does not hold rights. Skydance co-CEO David Ellison yearned to merge the two historic studios in order to scale up and compete in a hyper-changing entertainment business, leading to a release slate that stacks high-profile titles against one another, according to Deadline. The long-gestating project was originally set at Sony under Legendary’s past pact before moving to Paramount once that initial deal expired. Directed by Kitao Sakurai and starring Noah Centineo and Andrew Koji, the $82 million production carries a PG-13 rating, which is expected to draw a broader family audience and younger viewers under 18 compared to recent Mortal Kombat films, Deadline noted. The movie is co-financed by Legendary and game developer Capcom, with Paramount solely handling distribution, and aims primarily at men both over and under 25.

Box Office Comparisons With Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil

Trade trackers note clear distinctions between Street Fighter and earlier fighting game adaptations. While New Line’s Mortal Kombat II opened to $38.5 million domestically earlier this year, it experienced a fast box-office fade and underperformed internationally with overseas returns trailing domestic figures, bringing in lower returns abroad compared to stronger figures at home, Deadline reported. That followed a 2021 Mortal Kombat film that debuted to a pandemic-era release on HBO Max. Unlike those R-rated entries, Street Fighter is less violent and carries a PG-13 rating, opening up global opportunities for families and younger men under 18.

Meanwhile, reports note that Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil established a higher benchmark with a $60 million domestic debut, comfortably exceeding its initial $40 million domestic projection to set a franchise record. Budgeted at $82 million and co-financed by Legendary and Capcom, Street Fighter relies on an international cast, wrestlers, athletes, and a slew of recognizable faces from at least three industries, alongside a faithful adherence to character designs and the game’s iconic style rather than the original narrative approach taken by Resident Evil. This is the third movie based on the Capcom property, following a 1994 live-action film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme that became a box office hit with $100 million unadjusted for inflation, and 2009’s Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, which was a major 20th Century misfire earning just $12.8 million against a $50 million budget.

Alternative Weekend Releases and Documentary Numbers

Disney’s survival thriller Whalefall enters the weekend in second place, targeting a domestic start of $10 million to $12 million from 3,065 North American venues, Variety reported. The title is also headed for an overseas haul matching its domestic start.

Produced and marketed for under $20 million total—specifically costing around $7 million to produce after the filmmakers quietly worked on it for more than three years—the documentary has received universal acclaim, positioning it as a rare box-office breakout for the genre.

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