The Real Reason for Mortal Kombat 2’s Delay Revealed (Blame Superman)

A little over four years ago, Mortal Kombat slashed its way into movie theaters. The film wasn’t necessarily the biggest hit at the box office, having only secured $84.4 million worldwide. However, the movie did incredibly well on HBO Max and quickly became its most successful launch to date with over 3.8 million views in its opening weekend, resulting in the greenlighting of a sequel. Originally slated to be released later in October of this year, Warner Bros. made a surprise decision to push Mortal Kombat 2 to next year. Now, thanks to another big Warner Bros. title, we have a better idea as to why the film was ultimately delayed.

In a new piece by Deadline, which highlights the upcoming Man of Tomorrow, the outlet sneakily revealed that Superman had an impact on Mortal Kombat 2. Following Superman‘s incredible performance at the box office, where the film has already amassed $615 million worldwide, Warner Bros. opted to move Mortal Kombat 2 to May of next year in hopes of the movie acting as a potential summer blockbuster. The decision comes after the first red-band trailer for the upcoming sequel earned a record 107 million views within its first twenty-four hours.

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The delay was announced at the end of August, nearly a month after the first trailer and round of posters were released online. At the time, an official reason for the delay was not provided. Many had speculated the decision was made in order to move the film away from the crowded October release window, which will also see the release of sequels such as Black Phone 2 and Disney’s Tron: Ares. Both films would have served as stark competition to the movie, as Black Phone was a surprise hit for Blumhouse when it released in 2021. As for Tron: Ares, the film is the highly anticipated third entry in the long-running Tron movie franchise and will see the return of Jeff Bridges once again.

Is The Mortal Kombat Delay the Right Decision?

While the franchise probably won’t reach the heights of Superman at the box office, the studio appears to have faith in the sequel to Mortal Kombat 2. Something that is surprising, as the first movie was only a modest box office hit. Stateside, Mortal Kombat earned $42.3 million, while internationally the film earned $42.1 million for a worldwide haul of $84.4 million worldwide on a budget of $55 million. Thankfully, though, the long wait between films appears to have only increased interest in the project, especially with the addition of fan-favorite actor Karl Urban as the iconic Johnny Cage in the sequel.

It remains to be seen whether or not the decision to push Mortal Kombat 2 to May was a smart decision. However, as it stands, the film doesn’t appear to have much competition at the moment, which could allow for it to be a surprise smash at the box office. Given the film’s huge performance once it hit HBO Max, the film may surpass expectations at the box office and become a true summer blockbuster like the studio hopes. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see how audiences respond once the tournament finally returns to the big screen. As of now, Mortal Kombat 2 is slated to hit the big screen on May 15, 2026.

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