The red-band trailer for Mortal Kombat II has easily beaten a significant viewership record. After a livestream event which unveiled all the character posters for the movie, Mortal Kombat II’s trailer was finally released on July 17, 2025. The trailer welcomes Johnny Cage to the movie franchise and teases the story of the long-awaited sequel.
In Mortal Kombat II, Johnny Cage will get recruited to be an Earthrealm champion, which means he will fight alongside characters like Sonya Blade, Jax Briggs, Liu Kang, and Cole Young in a tournament against Outworld. In addition to Johnny Cage, the sequel will include many other new characters, such as Kitana, Jade, Baraka, and Outworld emperor Shao Kahn.
ᴅᴇᴀᴅline has reported that Mortal Kombat II’s red-band trailer amᴀssed 106.8 million views in its first 24 hours. This breaks the record for the most viewed red-band trailer ever in the first 24 hours. To break this record, the trailer easily surpᴀssed red-band trailers for movies like The Suicide Squad (58.5M), ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool 2 (52M), and the previous Mortal Kombat film (47M).
What Breaking This Red-Band Trailer Record Means For Mortal Kombat 2
Mortal Kombat 2 Could Be A Box Office Hit
Even though the first film in the rebooted movie franchise was somewhat underwhelming for a lot of fans, Mortal Kombat II’s red-band trailer shattering this record proves that it could be a major success. Since the first movie was released in April 2021, when there were still many restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it started streaming on HBO Max on the same day.
Because of this, the first film only managed to gross $84 million at the worldwide box office (via Box Office Mojo), which is quite disappointing for a franchise as popular as Mortal Kombat. However, the upcoming Mortal Kombat II will only be released in theaters, which means that fans of the ultra-violent video game series can enjoy all the brutal fights and fatalities on the big screen.
Even though the first movie underperformed at the box office, it was clearly because of the restrictions in place. Therefore, after breaking this viewership record, it seems like Mortal Kombat II will make a major comeback at the box office. The sequel reportedly has a budget of about $68 million, so it will ideally make well over $150 million globally, which shouldn’t be a problem.
Our Take On Mortal Kombat 2 Breaking This Red-Band Trailer Record
Fans Can’t Wait For Mortal Kombat 2
Many longtime fans of the franchise were disappointed that the first movie followed Cole Young, a character who has never appeared in any of the games. Additionally, it was a let-down that the 2021 film didn’t include an actual Mortal Kombat tournament. However, it seems like the sequel will rectify both of these common criticisms.
Based on the trailer, it seems like Johnny Cage will be the main character of Mortal Kombat II, and will represent Earthrealm in the tournament. Therefore, it’s likely that the sequel will receive much better reviews from critics and fans, which is great for the movie franchise. Just like all the other fans of the franchise who loved watching the trailer, I can’t wait to see Mortal Kombat II on the big screen.
Source: ᴅᴇᴀᴅline
