The new Mortal Kombat II movie has officially beaten a box office record that stood for 31 years. The action sequel, which hit theaters on May 8, 2026, has now earned more money worldwide than the original 1995 Mortal Kombat film.
According to box office tracking from The Numbers, Mortal Kombat II has collected $122.3 million globally as of May 28. That total puts it just above the $122.2 million earned by the 1995 movie. The sequel reached this number in only three weeks of release.
This makes Mortal Kombat II the highest-earning movie in the live-action franchise without adjusting for ticket price inflation. The film brought in Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, Lewis Tan returning as Cole Young, and new cast members including Adeline Rudolph as Kitana and Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn.
New Movie Knocks Out 31-Year Old Box Office Champion
The 1995 Mortal Kombat movie held the franchise record for nearly three decades. That film earned $70.4 million in North America and $51.7 million internationally. Mortal Kombat II passed that total faster than anyone expected.
The sequel opened with a franchise-best $38.5 million domestically in its first weekend. That opening number nearly doubled what the 2021 reboot made during its debut weekend, which was $23.3 million. The 2021 film also faced challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and a same-day release on HBO Max.
Mortal Kombat II had a production budget of $80 million, which is higher than the $55 million budget for the 2021 movie. The film has already earned back its production costs and made over $20 million in profit globally.
The movie performed especially well in India, where it nearly tripled the opening collection of the 2021 film. The Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions saw higher theater occupancy compared to the English and Hindi versions.
Fans and Critics Agree on the Sequel’s Quality
The movie received the best reviews in franchise history on Rotten Tomatoes. It earned a 65% critics score, making it the first “Fresh” rated movie in the series. Audiences gave it an even higher 88% score on the Popcornmeter.
“This sequel having a similar reception would have severely hurt its legs at the box office. But with record RT scores across the board, Mortal Kombat fans finally have a movie worthy of experiencing on the big screen.” – Screen Rant analysis
The strong word-of-mouth has kept the movie in theaters even as it faced tough competition. The Devil Wears Prada 2 held the number one spot for two weeks in a row, but Mortal Kombat II stayed strong in second place.
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How All Mortal Kombat Movies Compare at the Box Office
Here is how each live-action Mortal Kombat movie performed worldwide:
- Mortal Kombat II (2026) – $122.3 million (and still counting)
- Mortal Kombat (1995) – $122.2 million
- Mortal Kombat (2021) – $84.4 million
- Mortal Kombat Annihilation (1997) – $51.4 million
When adjusting for inflation, the 1995 movie made about $266 million in today’s dollars. Mortal Kombat II would need over $100 million more to beat that number, which experts say is very unlikely.
The movie played in 4,543 theaters in its opening weekend, including IMAX 2D and 4DX screens. This wide release helped the film reach more viewers than any previous movie in the series.
Mortal Kombat II is still showing in 2,726 theaters across North America as of May 27. The film added another $515,000 on that single day, bringing its domestic total to over $75 million.
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