The first time Hollywood tried to take a popular video game and make a good movie out of it, they succeeded spectacularly. However, on occasion, they fail miserably, and fans of the video game pretend the movie was never made. Street Fighter has had both experiences.
I’m not going to lie to you, this franchise has had its share of bad screen adaptations; its cast is made up of what appears to be a fantasy football team dropped into a casting call list, and several people are worried about how much money it will make at the box office.
But maybe, just maybe, the latest Street Fighter film can finally end the curse of the video game film?
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The Street Fighter Movie at a Glance
The movie is directed by Kitao Sakurai. He has previously worked on Bad Trip and The Eric André Show. If this seems like an unlikely combination of credits to be associated with a major action-packed martial arts film, then you would be correct. However, this is possibly one of the more interesting aspects of the entire production.
The tale begins in the year 1993. Legendary Entertainment purchased the rights to Capcom’s properties in order to develop live-action movies and TV shows. Additionally, Capcom will be involved as a co-producer. On Friday, October 16, 2026, Paramount Pictures will release the film in United States theaters, which include premium formats such as IMAX and 4DX.
The official plot description, as reported by Rolling Stone magazine, states: Ryu and Ken Masters have been estranged, but they will be reunited in battle after being recruited by the enigmatic Chun-Li to compete in the next World Warrior Tournament. Of course, there’s a conspiracy behind everything that happens; after all, it is a fighting game.
I love the fact that the main focus of this film will be on the two most iconic characters in the Street Fighter series, Ryu and Ken. In comparison, both the 1994 film (with Guile as the primary character) and the 2009 film (with Chun-Li as the primary character) took a different approach.
The way this film is being developed is very similar to how the games have been developed, with Ryu and Ken always taking center stage. After over 30 years of Hollywood making mistakes when developing heroes, I think we may finally get it right with this one.
Why Video Game Movies Have Had Such a Bad Reputation
The video game movie curse is a real thing, though it’s now beginning to fade. In the past several decades, the trend of making video game movies became so bad it was almost funny. Studios would license a well-known game, bring in actors who did not know anything about the source material, rewrite the script to make it “more like a movie,” and then produce a film that both the game community hated and general audiences ignored.
The reasons were usually the same:
- Stories built around gameplay, not plot. A fighting game has a tournament and several rivalries, which is a premise, not a screenplay.
- Studios that didn’t trust the material. Many of these game-based adaptations attempted to conceal their game-based origins.
- Tonal confusion. Games such as Street Fighter have an unusual mixture of both silliness and sincerity. This is a difficult combination of characteristics to achieve.
- Fans were treated as an afterthought. People who were most likely to purchase tickets were the last ones asked for their input.
Street Fighter is no stranger to being on the big screen. In 1994, the first Street Fighter movie cost $35 million to make and earned over $99.4 million globally. While it may not have been a box office smash, many people appreciate its cheesy charm.
On the other hand, the 2009 sequel, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, did poorly at the box office. It only brought in about $12.8 million globally.
Therefore, if someone asks you if this movie can overcome bad luck, keep in mind that this series has had two releases: one successful and one failure. Any success is going to have to be judged on how it compares to those two.
What Changed: The Recent Video Game Movie Boom
At this point, the curse argument begins to get complex. The pattern has actually changed over the past couple of years—the Super Mario Bros. The movie became a global sensation. Sonic the Hedgehog has become an established brand. The Last of Us showed how game stories can be successfully adapted into high-quality TV. A Minecraft Movie became a blockbuster.
Horror was able to find an audience as well. Both Five Nights at Freddy’s films made over $144 million at the box office.
What did all three of these examples share? All three of the examples respected the original material and recognized their target demographics. In addition, each of the examples utilized the unique features of the game rather than apologized for them.
So while the curse was not broken, it did bend. Now success is possible; however, it remains not guaranteed.
The Cast: Genius Casting or Chaos?
The cast is a great place to start. It would be hard to imagine this project without mentioning each member. Andrew Koji is playing the role of Ryu, while Noah Centineo will play the role of Ken. Callina Liang is playing Chun-Li, Jason Momoa is Blanka, David Dastmalchian is M. Bison, Cody Rhodes is Guile, Joe Anoa’i is Akuma, and 50 Cent is Balrog.
In addition, there are several other actors who make up the ensemble cast, including Olivier Richters (Zangief), Orville Peck (Vega), Andrew Schulz (Dan Hibiki), Vidyut Jammwal (Dhalsim), and Eric André. Finally, UFC Champion Alexander Volkanovski is included as well.
The reaction among fans was as anticipated. TechRadar reporter reported on the fan reaction following the announcement of the cast and stated that the internet’s response was not universally positive. One fan described the cast as being ridiculously weird. This seems to be a valid point. There is definitely something strange about this cast.
The way I see it, as someone who has seen many casting announcements be hated prior to seeing the footage of what those actors do, weird doesn’t always equal bad. Street Fighter is a series with a Sumo Wrestler, a stretchy Yoga Master, a Green Beast, and a Boxer on one roster. Therefore, a conventional cast may actually be a poor fit for Street Fighter.
The intelligent part is the wrestlers and fighters. Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns have both grown up in worlds of larger-than-life personas and physical performances. This is the entire Street Fighter atmosphere. If the action choreography works well, then the casting may be seen as a smart decision after the fact.
As with most large ensembles, screen time can be a potential issue for the film. There are over nineteen named characters that need to be developed within a short period of time of about two hours. Some of those characters will likely have very limited screen time.
The Tone Question: Camp, Seriousness, or Both?
If I had to name the biggest factor in whether this movie works, it’s tone.
Street Fighter is ridiculous. Street Fighter has always been ridiculous. Characters throw fireballs at each other, yell out what moves they are doing, and wear clothes that would blow away in a light breeze. A serious, gritty reboot of Street Fighter would completely miss the point.
In order for audiences to be invested in the characters shown on-screen, there needs to be a connection with them. The bond between Ryu and Ken, as friends and rivals, provides the emotional core of this story. For the campiness to work, the film must portray this relationship with seriousness.
The trailer reactions show that the audience is divided regarding the effectiveness of pulling off what this movie is trying to achieve. One side of the division said the footage was wildly ridiculous and suggested that the tone of the movie is similar to 1995’s Mortal Kombat. On the other hand, the other side of the division believed that the movie relies heavily upon nostalgia and does not provide anything new. Both sides of the issue are right. Therefore, the tone of the final movie will be extremely important to its overall success.
There are two factors for why I’m optimistic. One is because of a director with a history of making comedies and absurdist films. Secondly, I love that it was reported that there will be stylized animated flashback sequences used throughout the film. It shows me that the filmmakers have some desire to use a visual style different from the game’s style.
The Box Office Reality Check
Now comes the hard stuff. While excitement may be great, selling tickets is a completely different story, and initial indicators do not look promising.
The box office projections have been all over the place. At first, Boxoffice Pro was calling for a U.S. opening weekend of $30 million to $40 million. Since then, however, the outlook has become much dimmer. There are only four days remaining until the movie’s release date, and according to some sources, advance ticket sales are currently only running at about half of those for Mortal Kombat 2 at the same time last year. As such, tracking is now predicting an opening weekend gross of a little more than $20 million.
The debut of Masters of the Universe was $29.3 million. Mortal Kombat II had a bigger opening at $38.5 million. At $20 million per weekend, Street Fighter will have a lower opening than either.
Awareness issues also exist, as Street Fighter dropped from 46% awareness to 39% awareness and 44% interest to 39% interest, as per Quorum tracking. This is a drop of 7% and 5%, respectively.
One report indicated that the marketing for Street Fighter reached its peak awareness in April and that the second trailer was unable to generate as much excitement as the first teaser.
What Would Breaking the Curse Actually Look Like?
I’ll tell you straight away that curse is thrown around too casually. This movie has three definitions of what it would mean to be successful, and those definitions can conflict with one another.
- Critical success: The movie was very good. Not very good for a video game movie, but simply very good. Since reviews have not been released at this time, that is the only factor which we can not assess. Critiques will be published in the next few days.
- Fan success: Fans feel that their franchise was treated with respect by longtime players. These players have deep-cut references, accurate moves, and accurate relationships between characters. If fans can tell that the filmmakers loved the game, they will be the most lenient audience. However, if they cannot tell that the filmmakers loved the game, they will be the least lenient audience.
- Commercial success: It generates sufficient revenue to justify a second installment of the film.
A film may have broken the curse for both the first and second categories of failure, even if it has failed to do so in the third category. Cult classics often underperform on their opening weekend, but they ultimately find an audience. For example, the 1995 film Mortal Kombat is a good example of a campy video game-based film that continues to be loved by fans today.
