Paramount Pictures and Legendary Entertainment took early command of the domestic box office as their big-budget adaptation of “Street Fighter” earned $4 million in Thursday preview screenings across North America, according to studio figures and box office reports.
The action spectacle, directed by Kitao Sakurai, is tracking for an opening weekend between $25 million and $35 million from more than 3,500 theaters, Variety reported. Co-financed by Legendary and Japanese video game creator Capcom for $82 million, the title marks the inaugural release under Paramount’s worldwide distribution pact with Legendary. The ensemble cast features Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Jason Momoa and 50 Cent as martial artists battling in a high-stakes competition.
Critical Divide and Documented Success
Despite strong fan enthusiasm, “Street Fighter” is encountering pushback from professional reviewers. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie registered a critical approval rating in the mid-40 percent range, while early moviegoers gave it an 82 percent audience score. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, critic Frank Scheck characterized the production as a “jumbled tonal mess” that was “only sporadically entertaining.” Industry analysts noted that the preview figure lagged behind another recent gaming adaptation, “Resident Evil,” which collected $8.8 million in Thursday showings in September.
Meanwhile, distributor A24 generated remarkable business with “You Can See Everything,” a non-fiction portrait of convicted Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Helmed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the film took in $1.7 million to $1.75 million in Thursday previews despite playing in just 855 locations, according to trade reports. The filmmakers spent time living alongside Holmes and documented her privately prior to the start of her 11-year prison term.
Discrepancies emerged regarding the production costs for the documentary. Variety placed the budget at $7 million, whereas The Hollywood Reporter reported a $5 million figure. The picture has won unanimous praise, holding a 100 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. In her review for The Hollywood Reporter, Angie Han called the release “smart, funny and full of surprises.” The Wrap noted that an opening above $9 million would mark the highest weekend launch for a documentary since 2013’s concert hybrid “One Direction: This Is Us.”
Survival Thriller and Austen Adaptation Join Fray
Two other wide releases arrived in theaters heading into the weekend. Director Brian Duffield’s survival feature “Whalefall,” released by 20th Century Studios and Disney, picked up $900,000 from 3,065 locations during Thursday previews. Carrying a production budget of $60 million, the thriller stars Austin Abrams as a diver swallowed alive by a sperm whale and is aiming for an opening weekend between $10 million and $12 million.
Focus Features launched a fresh take on Jane Austen’s novel “Sense and Sensibility,” directed by Georgia Oakley. The period romance brought in approximately $1.1 million to $1.15 million in previews and advance screenings across 2,436 theaters. Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles as sisters displaced by family misfortune, the film carries a budget in the mid-$20 millions and is anticipated to yield between $5 million and $8 million through Sunday.
The coming days will demonstrate whether “Street Fighter” can broaden its appeal beyond devoted gamers to overcome lackluster reviews, and whether word-of-mouth momentum can elevate “You Can See Everything” to historic non-fiction heights.
