Fans of the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat video game franchises are finally going to see the two fighting game titans go head-to-head in 2026, but not exactly in the kind of direct crossover format that gamers have long dreamed of. In the fighting game sub-genre of video games, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat sit at the very top of that popular arena (with Tekken sitting alongside them to complete the ultimate fighting game triumvirate). A natural byproduct of the popularity of Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat is the long-standing desire of many fans to see a Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat crossover project in either video game or movie form, a dream that has sadly never been realized. However, a showdown of sorts between the two fighting game franchises is set to occur in 2026.
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Specifically, gamers, martial arts movie fans, and general audiences will get to see both Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter on the big-screen in 2026, with the upcoming Mortal Kombat II delayed to May 15th, 2026, and the new Street Fighter movie scheduled to hit theaters on October 16th of that year. That is still is not quite the long-dreamed of scenario of Liu Kang and Ryu blasting fireballs and Hadoukens at each other, but the promise of Mortal Kombat II and Street Fighter in the same year is exciting news for fans of both. Meanwhile, the question of a literal crossover between the two properties still lingers.
Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter Movies Releasing in the Same Year Happened Before (Sort Of)
Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter both hitting cinema screens in the same year seems like a once-in-a-lifetime turn of events, but it actually happened previously, with each property’s first live-action movie, no less. The original Street Fighter movie was a holiday season tentpole release, debuting in theaters on December 23rd, 1994. Meanwhile, the first Mortal Kombat movie was not too far behind, arriving in theaters on August 18th, 1995 to close out that year’s summer movie season.
While Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat did not technically release in the same calendar year, the former’s release during 1994’s Christmas season made it a very late new release that did inevitably overlap into the early 1995 calendar year. Moreover, Mortal Kombat‘s theatrical release was just eight months after Street Fighter‘s, effectively putting the release of the two within a single year’s time span, and in what might as well have been the same general year. In the end, both movies were major box office hits, with Street Fighter earning $100 million worldwide on a $35 million budget, and Mortal Kombat taking in $122 million on a $20 million budget. In terms of overall reception, Mortal Kombat has had the more popular legacy as one of the most beloved video game movies ever made, though, despite its clunkier reception, Street Fighter was and still is a big money-earner for Capcom.
Who Wins 2026’s Mortal Kombat II vs. Street Fighter Box Office Battle?
Going into 2026’s Mortal Kombat II vs. Street Fighter double-header, it seems fair to say that the former has an advantage in terms of its box office prospects. In contrast to the poor reputation of video game movies as a whole, Mortal Kombat has been the rare exception, with the franchise proving consistently popular and largely well-liked (with the exception of 1997’s abysmal bomb Mortal Kombat: Annihilation). While 2021’s Mortal Kombat drew a mixed reception with a “not bad” $83 million box office haul, its reportedly very strong performance on HBO Max was likely a decisive factor in continuing the rebooted franchise. Additionally, the trailer for Mortal Kombat II and comments from the cast and crew on improving on the strongest elements of its predecessor offer plenty for Mortal Kombat fans to be excited for.
Street Fighter, by contrast, is going into theaters with a far more uneven big-screen history. With the campy tone of 1994’s Street Fighter making it most fondly remembered for Raul Julia’s unforgettable performance as M. Bison, and 2009’s dreadful flop Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li, the Street Fighter franchise has yet to truly achieve big-screen success like Mortal Kombat has. By the same token, the 2014 web-series Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist finally delivered an acclaimed live-action adaptation of Street Fighter parallel to the equally popular Mortal Kombat: Legacy web-series of the same timeframe. If the makers of Street Fighter are looking to Assassin’s Fist as a template of sorts, that could give the gaming franchise’s third big-screen adaptation a major boost in pulling audiences in and achieving box office success. Nonetheless, with their respective big-screen histories in the books, it is probably fair to say that Mortal Kombat II has an edge over Street Fighter in terms of box office prospects, though there is certainly plenty of possibility for the latter to close the gap with a trailer and marketing on the level of the superb Johnny Cage-centric marketing of Mortal Kombat II.
Will the World Ever See Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat?
Despite the decades-long popularity of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter as video game franchises, the fact that no major crossover between the two has ever even been attempted cannot help but feel perplexing and even like a missed opportunity. Indeed, there has been no shortage of video game crossovers for either title, Capcom heavily utilizing Street Fighter characters in the popular Marvel vs. Capcom series, along with 2012’s Street Fighter x Tekken. Mortal Kombat has also been a popular crossover title for WB Games and NetherRealm Studios, with 2008’s Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, along with numerous Mortal Kombat characters being included as DLC characters in the Injustice video game franchise. With many undoubtedly complex parameters that would need to be set up for a Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat video game, could a movie with that exact premise do for two of the world’s most beloved fighting games what the games themselves haven’t been able to?
With the concept of the multiverse becoming a staple of contemporary DC and Marvel superhero movies (as well as in general popular culture with the Oscar-winning hit of 2022’s Everything Everywhere All At Once), that very interdimensional idea could surely make something like a Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat movie possible. Of course, the respective publishers of both video game franchises would still need to be on board, which could suggest that perhaps doing a Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat video game and movie in tandem could be the best marketing pitch for that idea. Either the Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat video game could act as the basis for the movie to adapt or could itself be a direct tie-in to the movie and potentially the most epic movie tie-in video game ever produced. However it comes to pass, fans of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter will surely continue to pine for the day when a video game, movie, or both crossing over the two fighting game franchises comes to be. Until that day comes, they will ultimately have to make do with 2026’s Mortal Kombat II vs. Street Fighter showdown in movie theaters around the world.
Mortal Kombat II will be released in theaters on May 15th, 2026, and Street Fighter will be released in theaters on October 16th, 2026.
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