Street Fighter Sets a Franchise Opening Record, but the $82 Million Budget Is Still Ahead

Street Fighter opened in theaters on Oct. 16 and earned $31 million domestically in its first weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. That is the biggest opening in the franchise’s film history. The 1994 movie earned $33 million in its entire domestic run.

Nearly 40 years, and the movies are still catching up

Street Fighter has run for nearly 40 years across six mainline entries, plus dozens of spinoffs and rereleases. Its film adaptations have not matched that record. The new movie from Capcom and Legendary is the third live-action attempt, and the final result is dividing fans. For a franchise this old, a third try is a reminder that a miss does not settle the story.

Two earlier movies, one easy comparison

The 1994 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Guile opened to $6.8 million domestically. It finished with $33 million domestically and $99 million worldwide. The 2010 film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, starring Kristin Kreuk, opened to $4.7 million and grossed $12.7 million worldwide.

The new film beat both openings combined. It also won its weekend, ahead of Nathan Fielder’s documentary You Can See Everything (15million)andthesurvivalmovieWhalefall(8 million).

Critics stayed away. Fans did not.

None of the live-action Street Fighter films has been a hit with critics. This one is winning over audiences. Its Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter sits at 79% after opening weekend. The 1994 film holds 20%. The Legend of Chun-Li holds 18%.

Ryu, Ken, and a very crowded roster

Kitao Sakurai directed and co-wrote the film. Andrew Koji plays Ryu, Noah Centineo plays Ken Masters, and Callina Liang plays Chun-Li. Roman Reigns plays Akuma. David Dastmalchian is M. Bison. Cody Rhodes is Guile, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is Balrog, and Jason Momoa is Blanka.

The list keeps going. Orville Peck plays Vega, Eric André plays Don Sauvage, Andrew Schulz plays Dan Hibiki, and Alexander Volkanovski plays Joe.

The scoreboard that still matters

The movie cost $82 million to make and has a long way to go to meet that number. It is also drawing negative comparisons to Warner Bros.’ Mortal Kombat 2. That film opened to $38.5 million domestically earlier this year and grossed $129 million. It was still considered an underperformance against an $80 million budget.

The new Street Fighter teases a Street Fighter 2 at the end. Whether that sequel happens is still open.