Street Fighter Box Office: $30M Opening Lands Below Hopes

The Street Fighter box office debut is landing at the lower end of expectations. Paramount and Legendary’s film earned $12.5M on Friday, including previews, and is heading for a roughly $30M weekend across 3,575 theaters in North America.

The numbers are solid but not explosive for a PG-13 film based on one of the best-known fighting franchises in video game history. Studios will be hoping Saturday family traffic keeps the weekend steady.

Street Fighter Box Office: How the Weekend Is Shaping Up

Previews on Thursday brought in about $4M, matching early estimates. The film cost a net $82M, co-financed by Legendary and Capcom, so it needs strong staying power in the weeks ahead.

Interestingly, this opening alone nearly matches the entire run of the 1994 original. That Jean-Claude Van Damme film finished with $33.4M (unadjusted for inflation) after opening to $6.8M through Universal.

This is also the first Legendary release under its new Paramount deal, which adds some pressure to the launch.

How It Compares to Other Video Game Movies

Street Fighter trails its closest rival in the genre. Mortal Kombat 2, an R-rated release from New Line in May, posted $5.2M in previews, a $16.8M first Friday and a $38.5M three-day opening.

Paramount’s 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog did better still, with $3M in previews, a $20.9M Friday and a $58M weekend. That film was rated PG and played over the Presidents Day holiday, which gave it a clear advantage.

Reviews are mixed. Critics gave Street Fighter 47% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences are warmer at 80%. Mortal Kombat 2 holds an 86% audience score.

Social Buzz Was Huge, Ticket Sales Were Not

Online interest was never the problem. RelishMix tracked 920.6M social media views for the film across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. That tops Legendary’s Minecraft Movie (772.4M), Five Nights at Freddy’s (488.5M) and Mortal Kombat 2 (452.6M).

Part of that push came from a playable “Street Fighter Combo Trailer” on YouTube Playables. It put film footage inside a virtual arcade cabinet and borrowed mechanics from street fighter games to draw in longtime fans.

A mid-fall break may also help. Rentrak reports that 21% of K-12 schools and 7% of colleges are off this week, which could lift matinee crowds through the weekend.

You Can See Everything Delivers a Documentary Milestone

The bigger story at the multiplex may be A24’s You Can See Everything. The film earned $5.3M on Friday, including previews, from just 885 theaters, and is expected to open around $12M.

That would make it the second-best opening for a documentary in 17 years, not counting concert films. Only Fahrenheit 9/11 ($23.9M in 2004) did better. It would edge past Disney’s Chimpanzee ($10.6M in 2012) and beat Melania, which opened to $7.1M and was called the best documentary debut in a decade.

Audience reaction is remarkable. The film holds a 99% Rotten Tomatoes audience score, and Letterboxd users rate it 4.7, which places it among the top 50 films on the site. Exit polling showed 92% would definitely recommend it.

What Is the Elizabeth Holmes Documentary About?

The Elizabeth Holmes documentary follows the former Theranos founder and her partner Billy Evans in the run-up to her federal prison sentence. It was directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, and Fielder also hosts.

The film runs three hours and was shot over four years. It cost less than $10M to make, and its marketing budget was also under $10M. That makes the opening a strong return for A24.

The crowd skews young. In Los Angeles and New York, 75% of Thursday night’s audience was under 35, and the gender split was even at 50-50.

The Rest of the Weekend Box Office

Universal’s Other Mommy is in third place in its second weekend with about $7.4M, a 73% drop after a weak D+ CinemaScore. Its total stands at $43.9M.

20th Century Studios’ Whalefall is struggling. It took in $2.6M on Friday and looks headed for a $6M to $7M weekend, well below the $11M tracking suggested. Its audience score is 82%.

Focus Features’ Sense & Sensibility earned $3M on Friday and should finish near $6M from 2,545 theaters. That is about $600K behind what Conclave opened to for the same studio, though Conclave played in fewer locations.

Baseball may stay out of the way this weekend. Only one MLB playoff game, in the Tampa Bay and Cleveland series, falls on the schedule, so no major slowdown is expected at the box office.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did Street Fighter make on its opening day?
Street Fighter earned $12.5M on Friday, including about $4M from Thursday previews. It played in 3,575 theaters. The studio expects an opening weekend of around $30M.

Is the new Street Fighter movie a hit?
It is a modest start rather than a breakout. The $30M opening sits at the low end of expectations against an $82M net production cost. Staying power in the coming weeks will decide its fate.

How does the new Street Fighter compare to the 1994 film?
The 1994 Jean-Claude Van Damme version opened to $6.8M and finished with $33.4M unadjusted. The new film’s opening weekend nearly matches that entire run.

What is You Can See Everything about?
It is a three-hour documentary that follows Elizabeth Holmes and her partner Billy Evans before her federal prison term. Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim directed it, and A24 released it.

Who is Nathan Fielder?
Nathan Fielder is the host and co-director of You Can See Everything. He made the film with Lance Oppenheim over four years.

How did You Can See Everything do at the box office?
It earned $5.3M on Friday and is on track for about $12M. That would be the second-best documentary opening in 17 years, excluding concert films.

Why is the Street Fighter audience score higher than its critic score?
Audiences gave it 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, while critics gave it 47%. Fans of the games seem more willing to enjoy the cheesy, action-heavy tone.