HBO Max’s 2026 Fantasy Sequel Refuses To Stay Down as It Officially Surges on Streaming
Mortal Kombat II struggled at the cinema earlier this year but has now become HBO Max's most-watched film worldwide, showing how streaming performance can diverge sharply from box office results. The sequel opened strongly in early May with almost $40 million domestically, but ticket sales then dropped by more than half each subsequent weekend, leaving it with a disappointing theatrical run overall.
The film, directed by Simon McQuoid and starring Karl Urban as Johnny Cage alongside Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee and Josh Lawson, ultimately grossed $129 million worldwide against a reported $80 million budget. Despite this shortfall, it has since rebounded on HBO Max, topping the platform's global viewership chart, and joins a mixed year for video game adaptations that has also included Fallout Season 2 and the billion-dollar hit The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
- Mortal Kombat II underperformed at the box office despite a strong opening weekend.
- It grossed $129 million worldwide against an $80 million budget.
- The film is now HBO Max's most-watched movie globally.
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Mortal Kombat II is a video game adaptation released in cinemas in 2026, directed by Simon McQuoid and starring Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee and Josh Lawson. It followed on from an earlier Mortal Kombat film and had a promising opening weekend, taking almost $40 million domestically, but audience numbers then fell away quickly in the weeks that followed.
Despite the strong start, the film's theatrical run was considered disappointing given its $80 million budget, even though it went on to take $129 million worldwide. It has since become available on the streaming service HBO Max, where it is being judged by a different measure: how many people watch it, rather than how many buy cinema tickets.
This matters because it highlights a wider trend in the entertainment industry, where a film's box office takings no longer tell the whole story of its success. Mortal Kombat II is one of several video game adaptations released this year, alongside titles such as Fallout Season 2 and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, in a period that has produced mixed results for the genre.