Street Fighter’s Opening Weekend Falls Short of Resident Evil’s Box Office Success

As we dive into the fall lineup of major films, the big question was whether Resident Evil or Street Fighter would dominate the opening weekend. The results are in: Street Fighter pulled in roughly half of what Resident Evil achieved during its debut.

Reports indicate that Street Fighter, based on Capcom’s iconic fighting game series, earned $31 million in its opening weekend. In contrast, Resident Evil, adapted from Capcom’s horror franchise, raked in $60 million during its first weekend and continues to perform well at the box office nearly a month post-release.

Street Fighter’s opening numbers fell short of Mortal Kombat 2, another fighting game adaptation released this year, and didn’t quite meet the expectations typically set for a blockbuster. However, its earnings aligned with industry predictions. The standout of the weekend was the documentary You Can See Everything, which scored the second-largest opening for a theatrical documentary ever, bringing in $15 million.

The two films took distinct paths in their adaptations. Street Fighter focused on beloved characters, fan service, and the quirky nature of the franchise to attract audiences. On the other hand, Resident Evil embraced the core themes of its series to craft a completely original narrative.

Despite some criticism for not including familiar characters from the games, Resident Evil’s success compared to Street Fighter suggests that this approach may be more effective for adaptations. It will be interesting to see how both films fare as they remain in theaters through the Halloween season and face off against competitors like Clayface.

Here are the top ten highest-grossing films of the weekend:

We are seriously asking, ‘What’s going on?’