Mortal Kombat II brought in $40 million domestically and $23 million internationally for a box office global opening weekend of $63 million.
The video game adaptation, starring Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, performed best in North American theaters, although it has yet to launch in some major international markets. Mortal Kombat II is on course to outperform its predecessor’s $84.4 million global haul, but you would expect it to, given 2021’s Mortal Kombat launched during cinema restrictions and alongside a release on HBO Max.
According to Variety, Mortal Kombat II was produced for $80 million, so the movie has some way to go before it turns a profit during its theatrical run. Still, Warner. Bros has confirmed a third film is in development (check out our burning questions following Mortal Kombat II to find out what to expect).
Mortal Kombat II is currently sitting on a 65% score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer. IGN’s Mortal Kombat II review returned an 8/10. We said: “The bar for video game movie sequels isn’t very high, but this one not only clears the bar, it twirls it around like a bo staff.”
Mortal Kombat II’s release could do little to stop the box office powerhouse that is The Devil Wears Prada 2, which brought in a hugely impressive $118.8 million during its second weekend. It’s now up to $433.2 million globally ($144.8 million domestic and $288.4 million international). The Devil Wears Prada 2 remains the number one film domestically, internationally, and globally.
IGN’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 review returned a 7/10. We said: “If you’re looking to effortlessly slip back into the glossy and charming world of New York high fashion, you’ll be delighted by the familiarity The Devil Wears Prada 2 provides. But if you want exact same characters that you met in the first movie, you might find the movie quite a change of pace.”
Michael, too, continued to perform at the box office. The record-breaking biopic brought in $95 million this weekend, and is now up to $577.3 million worldwide. Meanwhile, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is on $941.2 million. There is a question mark over whether it will cross the $1 billion barrier, as its predecessor managed so effortlessly. Still, Mario remains a massive movie franchise, and further sequels and even spinoffs are inevitable.
And finally, Project Hail Mary is still hanging in there at the box office, bringing in a further $9.8 million during its eighth weekend. It’s now up to $655.7 million worldwide, after Amazon extended its stay in theaters. Project Hail Mary is doing so well at the global box office that there’s already talk of turning it into a franchise with a sequel. However, author Andy Weir, who also wrote The Martian, is said to be “in the driver’s seat,” which suggests he’d have to write a Project Hail Mary follow-up for further adaptations to take place.
Is this likely? In a recent interview with The New York Times, Weir was asked if he would ever do a sequel in some way. He replied: “Absolutely, I have ideas for sequels for Project Hail Mary, but I just don’t have a good enough one yet. My next book, the one I’m working on now, is not a sequel to anything that I’ve written.”
Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
