Paramount’s video-game adaptation is favored to win the weekend, but its opening numbers trail this year’s other Capcom and fighting-game rivals.
By The Cinephile — CelebnMusic247
Round one is underway, and it is not a knockout — yet.
Street Fighter opened in North American theaters on Friday, October 16, after Thursday previews that brought in $4 million at the U.S. box office, per Deadline via GameSpot. That is a respectable start for a franchise that has been absent from cinemas for 17 years, but it lands below the $5.2 million Thursday start for Mortal Kombat II earlier this year. GameSpot also notes the useful counter-example: Sonic the Hedgehog started even lower, at $3 million on its first day, and still became a hit.
The weekend forecast tells a similar story of a likely winner facing a high bar. According to Deadline’s projections reported by GameSpot, the film is expected to finish its global opening at under $70 million, with a domestic take in the high $30 millions from about 3,500 screens and a further mid-$30 millions internationally. A separate account from Planet of Films, citing projections reported by The Hollywood Reporter, puts the domestic expectation in the mid-$30 million range — a slightly more cautious read of the same weekend. Either way, Street Fighter is positioned to lead a crowded field of newcomers.
That field is unusually varied. Also opening October 16 are 20th Century Studios’ survival thriller Whalefall, in 3,065 locations and projected at $10 million to $12 million domestically per Planet of Films; A24‘s Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim; and Focus Features‘ new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, directed by Georgia Oakley. None is expected to challenge Street Fighter for No. 1 — if word of mouth cooperates.
The math explains the scrutiny. The budget is reported at $82 million, shared between Legendary Pictures and Capcom, with Paramount handling release. A global debut near $70 million would not recoup that in one weekend, so its legs matter more than its opening bell. Reviews will not help much: Planet of Films notes a mixed critical response, and GameSpot’s own review was lukewarm. For a PG-13 property built on a game franchise that launched in 1987, the arcade generation may matter more than critics.
Context cuts both ways. This is the second Capcom adaptation to reach screens this year, after Zach Cregger‘s Resident Evil in September. Per GameSpot, that film opened to $60 million domestically and has reached $324 million worldwide — a benchmark Street Fighter is not tracking to match. Mortal Kombat II, the closest fighting-game comparison, opened to $38 million in the U.S. in May, per GameSpot, a figure Street Fighter could approach but may not clear.
Against its own lineage, even a mid-$30 millions debut would be a franchise best. The 1994 Street Fighter went on to $99.4 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo via GameSpot, while 2009’s The Legend of Chun-Li opened to just $4.7 million domestically. Director Kitao Sakurai‘s new version, led by Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji and Callina Liang, easily clears that low bar — but the modern test is higher. With no China release planned, per GameSpot, it will lean on Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., Australia and Asian markets abroad, and on whether Saturday audiences say the fight was worth the ticket.
Watch the official trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp1O0HcY6eA
Sources: GameSpot, Planet of Films
