The 1994 Street Fighter Movie Is Still Making Money for Capcom

Three decades later, the Jean-Claude Van Damme flick still prints Bison Dollars.

By Marc Deschamps

It's been 30 years since the original Street Fighter landed in theaters, but it seems the movie continues to generate a lot of money for Capcom. According to an attendee at the company's most recent shareholder meeting (via Automaton), the movie still makes "tens of millions of yen each year." It doesn't seem like Capcom offered any specifics, but we can likely assume those numbers come from streaming rights, digital downloads, and sales of the movie on physical media. Clearly, Street Fighter has found itself a passionate audience over the years, and continues to find new fans! 

Why is this so notable? Well, here's the thing: Street Fighter isn't what most people would consider a "good movie." Upon its release in 1994, Street Fighter was critically panned, and is often lumped in with other abysmal video game adaptations from that era, such as Super Mario Bros. and Double Dragon. However over the last decade or so, perception has started to shift; Street Fighter will never be held in as high-regard as more recent hits like The Last of Us or Fallout, but people have started to appreciate the film's high points, including the performance of Raul Julia as M. Bison. Julia was joined in the film by Jean-Claude Van Damme, Ming-Na Wen, and Kylie Minogue. 

Perception surrounding Street Fighter has improved so much that the movie actually got a SteelBook release on Blu-Ray a few years ago, which remains in stock on Amazon. It's hard to say how much sales of that SteelBook might contribute to the film's continued success, but one way or another, Street Fighter remains a money maker for the company. 

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News of Street Fighter's continued success comes as Legendary Pictures and Capcom are attempting a second live-action reboot of the series. While 1994's Street Fighter has its fans, 2009's The Legend of Chun-Li is pretty much universally reviled. It remains to be seen whether the third time is the charm for Street Fighter, but it could be a while before the movie hits the big screen, as directors Danny and Michael Philippou reportedly exited the project earlier this month. 

Are you a fan of the 1994 Street Fighter movie? Does it surprise you that it continues to make money for Capcom? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

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