Street Fighter’ Opens Presales With a Mixed Combo, and Trackers Are Eyeing a Modest Debut

Video game movies tend to live or die by their first weekend, which is why early ticket sales get scrutinized so closely. The first day of ‘Street Fighter’ presales is now in, and one respected tracker has weighed in. His read is more measured than the hype might suggest.

The pressure is real because this is the third live-action attempt at the fighting franchise. The 1994 film with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raúl Juliá and 2009’s ‘Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li‘ both struggled to win fans over. This time, Paramount, Legendary and Capcom are betting on a PG-13 rating that widens the potential audience to teenagers.

Now for the update. Box Office Theory forum tracker TheFlatLannister posted that the first day of ‘Street Fighter’ presales came in about as he expected, and it went viral on r/boxoffice. Sales started very good in the sample labeled MTC2 but only okayish in the one labeled MTC3, and he thinks the movie is probably headed for an opening weekend around $20 million.

That figure sits a little below earlier expectations. When Box Office Theory published its five-week outlook, it tipped ‘Street Fighter’ and Jessica Chastain’s ‘Other Mommy’ as October’s potential biggest openers, each around $30 million.

There is a bright side. Box Office Theory has noted that the mid-fall slate doesn’t offer copious amounts of competition, which could work in the film’s favor. Other big October titles are also tracking modestly, with Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ pointing to a likely $20 million debut on NRG tracking and DC Studios’ ‘Clayface’ projected near $23.5 million.

The film opens October 16, and Paramount and Legendary are trying to build early buzz with a “Bonus Round” fan event on Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m. local time. It will play exclusively in IMAX and premium formats, and each ticket holder gets a collector’s art print, with early shows starting at 2:00 p.m. that day.

Recent history shows how tricky the genre can be. ‘Mortal Kombat II’ opened to $38.5 million, under projections that once had it near $50 million, and finished with $129.4 million worldwide. ‘Masters of the Universe’ opened to $29.3 million before stalling around $113 million worldwide against a reported budget of $170 million or more.

Box Office Theory lists both films among ‘Street Fighter’s tracking analogs, along with trailer and presale comparisons. A separate report from Cosmic Book News warned about public-interest polling that put the movie at 39 for awareness and 39 for interest six and a half weeks out. That is nearly where ‘Masters of the Universe’ sat before its opening, and roughly 10 points below ‘Mortal Kombat II’s readings.

PERFECT! Watch the New Trailer for Street Fighter, hitting theaters everywhere October 16. pic.twitter.com/jAAPf1k9jf

— Street Fighter Movie (@Street_Fighter) September 1, 2026

The movie’s main draw may be its unusual ensemble. Andrew Koji plays Ryu, Noah Centineo is Ken Masters, Callina Liang is Chun-Li, David Dastmalchian is M. Bison, Jason Momoa is Blanka, and Roman Reigns is Akuma. The lineup also includes wrestlers, a UFC champion, 50 Cent and Orville Peck.

Director Kitao Sakurai is best known for ‘The Eric Andre Show,’ which helps explain why the film is billed as an action comedy and why trailers lean into camp. Early trailer reactions have been split between enthusiastic camp appreciation and nostalgia fatigue.

A first day that landed close to expectations isn’t a bad sign, but a $20 million weekend would fall short of the loftier projections. With weeks still to go before opening, trackers will be watching how the numbers move.

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