The battle of the box office featured two sequels. After duking it out in the box office ring with returning challenger “The Devil Wears Prada 2” this weekend, “Mortal Kombat II” punched its way to a cool $40 million domestic gross and landed in second place.
That’s a flawless victory! Or… a fatality. Depending on who you ask, and how you contextualize Warner Bros.’ latest video game adaptation starring Karl Urban, Tati Gabrielle and Hiroyuki Sanada.
“Mortal Kombat II” punched its way to a cool $40 million domestic gross and landed in second place. Warner Bros. Pictures For starters, it’s difficult to measure its performance against the first film, which came out in 2021, when the pandemic was still raging. That was a simultaneous release in theaters and on HBO Max. In that situation, its $42.3 million opening was considered a win for Warners and New Line. And “MK2” is already on track to surpass the previous film’s $84.4 million global gross.
But with a reported $80 million production budget (not including marketing spend) — the first film cost $55 million — the film still faces a long road to profitability, especially when it underperformed internationally, earning $23 million this weekend.
That also raises questions about the viability of the third film in the series, which is currently in development at Warner Bros. with screenwriter Jeremy Slater returning.
“MK2” will face challengers new and old in its second weekend: “Obsession,” “In the Grey” and “Is God Is” will enter the ring, while returning champ “Michael” will also make a return to select Imax screens. Can Johnny Cage fend them off?
