More than three decades after the first attempt, Hollywood has given one of gaming's most famous franchises another shot, and audiences showed up. Paramount and Legendary's live-action Street Fighter opened at No. 1 at the North American box office over the weekend of 16–18 October 2026, taking about $31 million in the US and Canada and roughly $51 million worldwide. It is a solid win, but a smaller one than the studio hoped for.
The opening numbers
| Market | Opening (estimate) |
|---|---|
| US and Canada | About $31.0 million from 3,575 cinemas |
| International (65 markets) | About $20.1 million |
| Worldwide | About $51 million |
| Thursday previews | $4 million |
These are studio estimates and may change slightly when final figures are released. Before the weekend, Deadline had forecast a global start of around $70 million, so the result came in roughly 30% below expectations. The film's reported production budget is about $82 million, co-financed by Legendary and Capcom, the Japanese company behind the games, although some reports put it higher.
The film and its cast
Directed by Kitao Sakurai from a screenplay by T.J. Fixman and Sakurai, Street Fighter is set in 1993. Chun-Li recruits estranged fighters Ryu and Ken for the World Warrior Tournament. The PG-13 film runs two hours and features a cast that mixes actors, wrestlers and musicians:
| Character | Played by |
|---|---|
| Ryu | Andrew Koji |
| Ken Masters | Noah Centineo |
| Chun-Li | Callina Liang |
| Akuma | Joe Anoa'i (Roman Reigns) |
| Blanka | Jason Momoa |
| Balrog | Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson |
| M. Bison | David Dastmalchian |
| Guile | Cody Rhodes |
| Dhalsim | Vidyut Jammwal |
What critics and fans think
Reviews have been mixed to negative. The film's Rotten Tomatoes critics score stood at around 42% over the weekend. Audiences were kinder: early audience scores were in the 80% range. That gap is common for video game adaptations, which often deliver what fans want, such as signature moves and costumes, while critics focus on story and character.
A troubled franchise history
This is the third live-action Street Fighter film, and by box office standards it is already the most successful start:
- Street Fighter (1994), starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, opened to $6.6 million and earned just under $100 million worldwide, despite a 20% critics score.
- Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009) made only $8.7 million in total and holds a 3% score.
The new film had a long road to the screen. Legendary acquired the rights in April 2023, the original directors left in 2024, and Sakurai joined in February 2025. Filming took place in Australia in late 2025. Sony had originally scheduled the film for March 2026 before Paramount took over distribution through a new deal with Legendary.
The rest of the weekend
| Rank | Film | Weekend (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Street Fighter | $31.0M |
| 2 | You Can See Everything | $15.0M |
| 3 | Other Mommy | $8.3M |
| 4 | Whalefall | $8.0M |
| 5 | Sense and Sensibility | $7.2M |
The surprise of the weekend was at No. 2. You Can See Everything, an A24 documentary of nearly three hours by Lance Oppenheim featuring Nathan Fielder, opened with about $15 million, reportedly the biggest documentary opening since One Direction: This Is Us in 2013.
What's next for Street Fighter
Box office analysts at Rotten Tomatoes project a final North American total of around $65–75 million. With strong fan interest, home release and merchandise (Hasbro holds the global toy licence) should help the film recover its costs. Sakurai has said a sequel is being written, depending on audience response. Whether Street Fighter becomes a franchise like Sonic or Mortal Kombat may depend on how well it holds in its second weekend and how it performs in markets such as Japan, where it opened fourth.
Sources
- The Numbers – Street Fighter (2026) box office and financial information
- Rotten Tomatoes – Weekend Box Office: Street Fighter Delivers a Knockout (18 Oct 2026)
- TheWrap – Street Fighter grosses $4 million in previews (16 Oct 2026)
- Just Jared (citing TheWrap) – Street Fighter opens at No. 1 with $51 million worldwide (18 Oct 2026)
