Mortal Kombat II Could Outpunch The Devil Wears Prada 2 at the Box Office — With One Big Catch
Early forecasts put Warner Bros.’ Mortal Kombat II ahead of The Devil Wears Prada 2 at the box office, even as Prada 2 has already blown past pre-release expectations after nearly a week in theaters. The long-awaited sequel hits cinemas tomorrow, May 8 — but there’s an asterisk.
Movie studios love to hype up opening weekends, but sometimes the stories behind those numbers are way more interesting than what ends up on the scoreboard. Right now, Warner Bros. is crossing its fingers for Mortal Kombat II, which hits theaters tomorrow—and it might have a real shot at stealing the box office crown from the unexpected hit, The Devil Wears Prada 2. But as with most things in Hollywood, the devil (pun intended) is in the details.
How the Projections Stack Up
First off, Warner Bros. is now betting on Mortal Kombat II to pull in about $35 million domestically for its opening weekend. That’s a comedown from their original $50 million estimate, but still not nothing. They’re also hoping for another $30 million from international theaters. Put that together, and you’re looking at roughly $65 million globally for the debut.
The Devil Wears Prada 2, though, is already out in theaters and has blown past its pre-release expectations. Even though it's not a flashy action movie and instead leans on the power of Meryl Streep and the Disney brand, it’s still pacing for a domestic weekend haul in the low $40 million range.
But here’s where it gets tricky: globally, the Prada sequel is expected to bring in a massive $107-117 million just this weekend, with international audiences accounting for $65-75 million of that. That’s well above Mortal Kombat II’s estimated total, and the gap is pretty clear. If Prada 2 keeps over-performing, it could easily run away with the win.
'Mortal Kombat II is getting more love from critics than the first one, but whether that translates to ticket sales is the big unknown.'
So, Who's Really Winning?
On paper, Mortal Kombat II could snatch the domestic top spot—if the current projections hold and if Prada 2 doesn’t pull another surprise. But internationally? It's probably not even close. The Devil Wears Prada 2 just has broader appeal outside the US, helped largely by its Disney pedigree and the fact that they filmed tons of it in Europe (always a hit with the local box office).
Why would a violent, video game-inspired sequel struggle while a fashion dramedy catches fire? It mostly boils down to which genres and brands play well overseas—and high heels seem to travel better than fatalities.
Meet the Martial Arts Mayhem Crew
Just for a quick refresher—here’s the Mortal Kombat II cast line-up (lots of old favorites returning, plus a batch of new faces):
- Hiroyuki Sanada - Scorpion
- Lewis Tan - Cole Young
- Jessica McNamee - Sonya Blade
- Josh Lawson - Kano
- Tadanobu Asano - Lord Raiden
- Mehcad Brooks - Jax
- Ludi Lin - Liu Kang
- Chin Han - Shang Tsung
- Joe Taslim - Bi-Han/Sub-Zero
- Max Huang - Kung Lao
- Karl Urban - Johnny Cage (new addition)
- Adeline Rudolph - Kitana (new addition)
- Tati Gabrielle - Jade (new addition)
- Martyn Ford - Emperor Shao Kahn (new addition)
- Damon Herriman - Quan Chi (new addition)
- Desmond Chiam - King Jerrod (new addition)
- Ana Thu Nguyen - Queen Sindel (new addition)
The Bottom Line
The hype for Mortal Kombat II is real, and the studio clearly wants you to think it could go toe-to-toe with Disney’s fashion juggernaut. But unless something really wild happens, the international numbers are likely going to tilt hard in Streep’s favor. Still, if you’re a fan of bloody video game smackdowns or just want to see Karl Urban try his hand as Johnny Cage, it’s shaping up to be a solid opening—but maybe not a K.O. at the worldwide box office.