'Mortal Kombat II' has delivered a fatality to the box office and will soon surpass the total earnings of the first part

After experts predicted the end of cinema in recent years, 2026 has come to show that it’s all a matter of perspective, because practically all the major films that have been released have turned a profit. It seems that Hollywood has cracked the complex formula to please the audience (which consists of, well, giving them what they want to see) and now even sequels to lesser films like Mortal Kombat have managed to come out more or less unscathed from the accumulation of releases. That’s no small feat. Box office punches Just on Friday, Mortal Kombat II managed to earn a more than decent 17 million […]

After experts predicted the end of cinema in recent years, 2026 has come to show that it’s all a matter of perspective, because practically all the major films that have been released have turned a profit. It seems that Hollywood has cracked the complex formula to please the audience (which consists of, well, giving them what they want to see) and now even sequels to lesser films like Mortal Kombat have managed to come out more or less unscathed from the accumulation of releases. That’s no small feat.

Box Office Punches

Only on Friday, Mortal Kombat II managed a more than decent 17 million dollars at the box office, and made the projections (that is, the magic numbers that analysts handle) rise from 35 to 41 million in its opening weekend just in the United States. It cost 80 million and will need about 200 to turn a profit, so it’s still early to ring the bells, but it’s doing much better than everyone expected. Come on, it has delivered a fatality to all expectations.

In other words: in just one day, Mortal Kombat II has almost surpassed what the first installment made in a weekend (23 million), although it is also true that the previous movie, even released during the pandemic, was available simultaneously on HBO Max. Do you remember that nonsense that did terrible damage to theaters from which they are only now recovering? Well, let’s see the power of the franchise today. In principle, in a couple of weekends it should have surpassed the total earnings of that one.

For its part, The Devil Wears Prada 2 has not managed to repeat number 1 and on Friday it dropped to 9.8 million dollars, although it remains to be seen if it will lose over the weekend, which will depend exclusively on Mother’s Day, which is this Sunday. What is clear is that going to the movies is back in fashion, even if millennials are reluctant to go.

Critics believe that 'Mortal Kombat II' is the best in the saga. Its producer tries to make us believe otherwise to profit

After critics hated Super Mario Galaxy and Michael completely going against a devoted audience, it has become fashionable to look down on the critic’s craft and say a loud “What do they know,” as if a bad review somehow said something positive about your movie. And, of course, even works that haven’t had bad results have wanted to jump on the trend of complaining like beaten dogs, crossing their fingers and hoping that the sovereign public will go to the movies to discover it for themselves. Finish them! This is the case of Mortal Kombat […]

After critics hated Super Mario Galaxy and Michael completely went against a devoted audience, it has become fashionable to look down on the craft of criticism and say a loud “What do they know?”, as if a bad review somehow reflects positively on your movie. And, of course, even works that haven’t had bad results have wanted to jump on the trend of complaining like beaten dogs, crossing their fingers and hoping that the sovereign public will go to the cinema to discover it for themselves.

Finish them!

It is the case of Mortal Kombat II, which has premiered on Rotten Tomatoes with a significantly better score than the original movie: if the original reached a 55% approval rating, this sequel stands at a decent 69%. Better than expected, in fact, especially considering that this year there is no mercy for silly blockbusters. However, its producer, Todd Garner, has decided to play the victim card.

“Some of these criticisms are making me laugh my ass off. It’s clear they haven’t played the game and have no idea what the fans want or ANY of the rules or the canon of Mortal Kombat. One critic was angry because a guy ‘had a laser eye.’ Why the hell are we allowing people who have no love for the genre to critique these movies?“, he said on X in response to the support of some fans… and just as many telling him there are more positive opinions than negative ones.

Garner was forced to respond that he was only referring to a couple of specific quotes he had read, but it was already more than enough to expand the narrative of “Us against them.” A ridiculous narrative, of course: after all, you can’t send a specific critic of each genre to watch only the movies they like. That’s what the profession is about: watching what you like and what you don’t, what you understand and what you don’t quite get, as the only way to have your own identity. Come on, there’s no need to cry just because someone doesn’t like your movie, Garner.

Mortal Kombat II could be the movie of the summer and the proof is its first movie

Video game adaptations have changed a lot. Anyone who remembers the adaptations from the 90s or even the 00s can speak with absolute horror about the kind of things we faced. Although bad adaptations are still being made today, it’s no longer the same kind of failure: now there is an effort to make it as good as possible, taking the source material with the utmost respect. Not inventing everything from the video game, as a mere excuse to make a movie. There has always been one exception to this. Mortal Kombat. Its film adaptations have always been interesting, even […]

Video game adaptations have changed a lot. Anyone who remembers the adaptations from the 90s or even the 00s can speak with absolute horror about the kind of things we faced. Although bad adaptations are still being made today, it is no longer the same kind of failure: now there is an effort to make it as good as possible, taking the source material with the utmost respect. Not making everything up from the video game, as a mere excuse to make a movie.

There has always been an exception to this. Mortal Kombat. Its film adaptations have always been interesting, even when they didn’t quite capture the tone of the video game. This is something that the new trilogy, which premieres its second part this week is no exception to.

A fresh and unexpected reboot

Mortal Kombat premiered on April 8, 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Directed by debutant Simon McQuoid and produced by James Wan, known for directing Saw and the seventh Fast & Furious movie, the film offered us something different from what we are used to in this kind of adaptations: not a direct adaptation of the video game’s story, but an adaptation of its world. Based on the story of its characters, particularly the story between Scorpio, Raiden, and Sub Zero, and presenting the circumstances surrounding Mortal Kombat, the interdimensional tournament where dominance over the universe is decided, the film builds its own story from the foundations of the video game.

Thanks to this, the movie achieved two purposes. For fans of Mortal Kombat familiar with its lore, everything feels familiar and interesting. The characters behave just as we know them from the video games and comics, even if the specific details change. For those who are not fans of Mortal Kombat or those who are, but are not familiar with its lore, it is easy to understand what is happening and why these characters are fighting in a way that the video games have never communicated with as much grace as the movies, largely because they haven’t needed to.

Although there were those who criticized the lack of explicit gore in the video games, this is a faithful and very interesting adaptation of the video games. Both in how it characterizes the characters and in how it knows how to translate their fighting style to the screen, with suggestive choreography that does not overuse CGI. This resulted in excellent reception.

A movie shaken by COVID

The movie was an absolute success, especially in terms of box office and audience. With forecasts of 10-12 at the box office for its opening weekend, it managed to make 19. And after its run in theaters, with a budget of 55 million, it made just over 84 million. Numbers that may not seem impressive until we put them in context. The movie, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was released simultaneously in theaters and streaming. This made it, simultaneously, a box office success and the most successful movie in HBO Max history, shattering records in both mediums at the same time. Demonstrating that, under different circumstances, it could have been an even greater success.

Something that is also appreciated in other areas. The audience rated it very positively and even the critics, although they received it with moderate enthusiasm, recognized it as a good entertainment film that meets its objectives. This shows that they hit the mark with this movie.

A more than likely great summer success

Mortal Kombat II, its sequel, premieres on May 8th. And it has everything to be a hit in theaters. To begin with, it shares the same creative team. All the people who made the original movie great are still here, ready to sign another resounding success. Another reason is that, once the characters are established, they will focus on the Mortal Kombat tournament. That means more fights, more action, and a development that promises to leave us breathless. Moreover, the forecasts are astonishing: experts are talking about between 50 and 65 million in projections for the first weekend, very similar to those made for The Devil Wears Prada 2, one of the highest-grossing movies of the year.

Without a pandemic to hinder it and with a third movie confirmed to complete a trilogy, everything is set for Mortal Kombat II to dominate. Not exactly by surprise, even if it will catch many people off guard. Because, although it may not seem like it, it could very well become one of the phenomena of 2026 in a year where we already have Super Mario Galaxy: The Movie, Project Salvation, and The Devil Wears Prada 2. Everything points to that. That this exclusive list will soon have to include Mortal Kombat II as well.

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Mortal Kombat II could be the movie of the summer and the proof is its first movie

Video game adaptations have changed a lot. Anyone who remembers the adaptations from the 90s or even the 00s can speak with absolute horror about the kind of things we faced. Although bad adaptations are still being made today, it is no longer the same kind of failure: now there is an effort to make it as good as possible, taking the source material with the utmost respect. Not making everything up from the video game, as a mere excuse to make a movie.

There has always been an exception to this. Mortal Kombat. Its film adaptations have always been interesting, even when they didn’t quite capture the tone of the video game. This is something that the new trilogy, the second part of which premieres this week, is no exception to.

A fresh and unexpected reboot

Mortal Kombat premiered on April 8, 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Directed by debutant Simon McQuoid and produced by James Wan, known for directing Saw and the seventh Fast & Furious movie, the film offered us something different from what we are used to in this kind of adaptations: not a direct adaptation of the video game’s story, but an adaptation of its world. Starting from the story of its characters, particularly the story between Scorpio, Raiden, and Sub Zero, and presenting the circumstances surrounding Mortal Kombat, the interdimensional tournament where dominance over the universe is decided, the film builds its own story from the foundations of the video game.

Thanks to this, the movie achieved two purposes. For fans of Mortal Kombat familiar with its lore, everything feels familiar and interesting. The characters behave just as we know them from the video games and comics, even if the specific details change. For those who are not fans of Mortal Kombat or those who are, but are not familiar with its lore, it is easy to understand what is happening and why these characters are fighting in a way that the video games have never communicated as gracefully as the movies, largely because they haven’t needed to.

Although there were those who criticized the lack of explicit gore in the video games, this is a faithful and very interesting adaptation of the video games. Both for how it characterizes the characters and for how it knows how to translate their fighting style to the screen, with suggestive choreography that does not overuse CGI. This resulted in an excellent reception.

A movie shaken by COVID

A more than likely great summer success

Mortal Kombat II, its sequel, premieres on May 8th. And it has everything to be a hit in theaters. To begin with, it shares the same creative team. All the people who made the original movie great are still here, ready to sign another resounding success. Another reason is that, once the characters are established, they will focus on the Mortal Kombat tournament. This means more fights, more action, and a development that promises to leave us breathless. Moreover, the forecasts are astonishing: experts are talking about between 50 and 65 million in projections for the first weekend, very similar to those made for The Devil Wears Prada 2, one of the highest-grossing movies of the year.

Max DOWNLOAD