This year has seen the two biggest fighting franchises in the world (sorry, Tekken fans) separately go toe-to-toe on the big screen. Mortal Kombat 2 was deemed a huge improvement over its predecessor, so much so that it’s done enough to just edge the Street Fighter movie in reviews.
Mortal Kombat has arguably been the most mainstream fighting franchise, due to its iconic violence, but fighting purists will say Street Fighter is better. This is a debate for another day, but one thing that can’t be debated right now is which movie holds the crown right now.
Mortal Kombat 2 Delivers A Fatality to Street Fighter
Mortal Kombat 2 released on May 6, 2026, and (according to Box Office Mojo) earned $129,570,110 Worldwide from a $38,501,177 budget, which is pretty decent. It’s too early for Street Fighter’s figures yet, but the reviews are in.
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On Rotten Tomatoes, Mortal Kombat 2 has a 63% critics recommend rating, and an 86% popcorn meter rating (the audience score).
Whereas Street Fighter currently sits at a 45% critics’ score and an 83% popcorn rating. It’s still early, and more reviews are expected on either side, but so far, Mortal Kombat 2 is winning this tournament!
Obviously, this article is only a bit of fun. The main thing to take away is that we have two incredibly beloved video game franchises finally being done justice on the big screen after various failures in the past. Plans for a Mortal Kombat 3 are allegedly already happening, and if Street Fighter is also a success, you can easily see this being the start of a franchise, too.
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Will we eventually get a super-duper crossover movie?
Have you been to see Street Fighter yet? How does it compare against Mortal Kombat 2 for you? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Andy is Insider Gaming's Senior Evergreen Editor and has been in the games journalism sphere in one way or another for over 7 years. His video game taste is as…
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