Who will be the prettiest of them all at the crowded Mother’s Day box office?
While most tracking services are betting on the violent adaptation of video games Mortal Kombat II To reign supreme and top the North American chart with $40 million or more — one research firm even suggests $45 million to $49 million — New Line and parent company Warner Bros. A much more conservative opening in the $35 million range for a global launch of anywhere between $65 million and $80 million.
In 2021, Mortal Kombat By all accounts a resounding success on streaming upon its release simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max due to the ongoing pandemic and severe box office lag, the martial arts film debuted to $23 million on its way to grossing $42 million domestically and $84.4 million worldwide.
Although the actual number of stream views was never revealed, the sequel was put together relatively quickly, with Simon McQuoid returning to lead the series from a script by Jeremy Slater and Karl Urban as fan-favorite character Johnny Cage, a 1990s action star summoned to participate in a tournament that will determine the fate of Earthrealm.
New Line and Warners have good reason to be safe in their estimates, since Mortal Kombat The sequel could find itself in a close race with retention The devil wears prada 2which is quickly on track to become the biggest female-led film since Warner Bros. Barbie in 2023 after kicking off the summer box office last weekend with a domestic debut of $77.2 million domestically and $234 million worldwide.
Prada 2 It enjoyed a brisk weekday business — and it certainly couldn’t hurt to have the Met Gala on May 4, the Monday after it opens — and it should pass the $300 million mark in worldwide ticket sales before Mother’s Day weekend begins. By the end of Sunday, May 10, which is Mother’s Day, Part 2 and Disney should have $450 million or more in the bank as it prepares to cross the $500 million mark.
both of them Mortal Kombat and Prada It hovers in the 77 percent range regarding its Rotten Tomatoes critics score. (THRReview not too keen on Mortal Kombat II But he acknowledges that he “caters to his loyal fans, who don’t seem to mind that the word ‘fight’ isn’t actually spelled with a k.”
Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic, which is approaching its third weekend, remains a formidable contender as well, especially since kids are the film’s biggest fans and have thus turned Michael In a Family Portrait, to answer the question of whether the film would be shown to families given the real-life controversies and abuse allegations that Jackson faced, but it was glossed over in the film. The film could earn another $30 million in North America alone this weekend.
Michael It has already grossed $400 million at the worldwide box office to rank as one of the highest-grossing musical biopics of all time, not adjusted for inflation. The big one is bohemian rhapsodywhich has a total global value of $911 million. while Michael While it is expected to soon surpass the $216 million earned by the Freddie Mercury biopic domestically, it is unlikely to match its global tally.
Speaking of families, Amazon MGM is a big fan Sheep investigations It is tracked to open to a range of $12 million to $15 million domestically. The comedy mystery is based on the 2005 best-selling German novel Three full bagsfollows a flock of talking sheep determined to solve the suspicious death of their beloved shepherd, voiced by Hugh Jackman, who reads them detective novels on a regular basis despite having no idea they can understand him.
Sheep investigations The film currently has a 96 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and is produced by Working Title and Three Strange Angels Productions, with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller listed as executive producers.
Lord and Miller, 2026 box office directors Hail Mary projectthey’re not the only filmmakers with new projects on their Mother’s Day slate.
Paramount debuts new documentary about James Cameron’s concert, Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard & Soft: The Tour (Live 3D)in theaters across the United States, the film is tracking to open anywhere from $6 million to $9 million. Cameron created special 3D cameras designed to make moviegoers feel as if they were part of a live experience that he used when filming Eilish.
