The big-screen return of Street Fighter is throwing its final punches at the domestic box office. After a month in release, the would-be franchise launcher has been pulled from more than 2,000 theaters, leaving it in fewer than 1,500 locations as it enters its fifth weekend. The film is now on the cusp of a modest global milestone—crossing $100 million worldwide—but that number tells a story of underperformance rather than triumph.
Directed by Kitao Sakurai, this latest adaptation of Capcom's iconic fighting game series arrived with high hopes, especially after the recent Resident Evil reboot shattered records for video game movies. That film, also based on a Capcom property, grossed four times as much as Street Fighter has managed so far, and it did so on a production budget that was $7 million smaller. The contrast is stark, and it raises questions about the viability of yet another Street Fighter franchise.
This is the third attempt to bring Street Fighter to the big screen. The first, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme in 1994, earned $99 million worldwide against a $35 million budget—a more profitable venture than the new reboot. The second, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009), was a critical and commercial flop, released around the same time as the similarly panned Dragon Ball Evolution. Now, the new film is struggling to match even the modest success of its predecessors.
The template for this reboot appears to be the 2021 Mortal Kombat film, another revival of a classic fighting game franchise. That movie, released day-and-date on HBO Max and in theaters, grossed over $80 million worldwide on a $55 million budget. Its sequel, Mortal Kombat II, made around $130 million earlier this year against an $80 million budget—a figure that was seen as disappointing. Street Fighter has yet to surpass that global haul, and it's now limping toward $100 million.
Starring Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, and an eclectic ensemble, the film has received mixed reviews. It currently holds a 42% score on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus notes that while it has affection for the source material and plenty of style, its incoherent storytelling and juvenile humor mark a disappointing step back for video game adaptations. However, its audience score is a more favorable 78%, which could bode well for its eventual streaming and PVOD release.
As Street Fighter exits theaters, it joins a list of recent high-profile disappointments, like Tom Cruise's Digger, which also saw a rapid theatrical exit. The film's performance is a far cry from the record-breaking runs of other video game adaptations, and it's unlikely to spawn the franchise that Capcom and fans had hoped for.
For now, Street Fighter fans can only hope that the film finds a second life on streaming, where its audience score might translate into a cult following. But theatrically, this reboot has been knocked out.
