In a battle of the genders, New Line’s video game adaptation Mortal Kombat II and 20th Century’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 are in a close race for No. 1 at the domestic box office.
The Mortal Kombat sequel, fueled by males, topped Friday with an opening-day gross of $17 million range, including $5.2 million in previews and special Imax sneaks. That puts it on course for a domestic opening in the $40 million to $41 million range; ditto for Prada 2, which came in second Friday with $9.8 million for a stellar domestic total of $111.6 million and well north of $300 million globally.
Heading into the weekend, some tracking services showed Mortal Kombat II opening to $45 million or more. New Line and parent company Warner Bros., however, had always predicted a far more conservative launch in the $35 million range to $40 million range for a worldwide bow anywhere between $65 million and $80 million. Males made up more than 75 percent of Friday’s audience, which bestowed the film with a B+ CinemaScore.
In 2021, the first Mortal Kombat debuted simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max due to the ongoing pandemic. The violent-laced martial arts pic was a huge streaming hit; theatrically, it debuted to $23 million on its way to topping out at $42 million domestically and $84.4 million globally. Simon McQuoid returning to helm Mortal Kombat II from a script by Jeremy Slater and Karl Urban joining the franchise as fan favorite character Johnny Cage, a washed up ’90s action star called to take part in a tournament that will determine the fate of Earthrealm.
The victor of the weekend box office will all come down to Mother’s Day traffic. That would seem to give Prada 2 an advantage, since it’s fast on its way to becoming the biggest female-driven film since Warner Bros.’ Barbie in 2023 after kicking off the summer box office last weekend in high style. The sequel finished Friday with a global total north of the $326 million earned by the first film in its entire run.
And don’t forget about Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic, which should earn a fantastic $35 million-plus in its third weekend for a projected domestic tally of $240 million and $570 million globally. On Friday, it overtook the $216.7 million earned by Bohemian Rhapsody to become the top-grossing music biopic of all time in North America, not adjusted for inflation. And in a second milestone of the day, it crossed $500 million worldwide.
Other new Mother’s Day offerings, in addition to Mortal Kombat II, include Amazon MGM’s The Sheep Detectives. The critically acclaimed film is headed for a fourth-place finish with a pleasing domestic opening of $14 million to $15 million after earning an A CinemaScore. The comedy-mystery follows a flock of talking sheep who are determined to solve the suspicious death of their beloved shepherd, played by Hugh Jackman, who read them detective novels on a regular basis despite having no idea they could understand him. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, directors of 2026 box office hit Project Hail Mary, are among the film’s executive producers.
Paramount’s new concert film Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), which James Cameron and the artist co-directed, is expected to round out the top five with a domestic opening of $8 million. The pic is coming in on the higher end of expectations (the same goes for Sheep Detectives). Cameron pioneered special 3D cameras designed to make moviegoers feel as if they were part of a live experience that he used when filming Eilish.
And thanks to the appeal of the crowded Mother’s Day marquee, domestic box office revenue is expected to be up more than 87 percent over the same frame last year.
More to come.
