Mortal Kombat II was just pushed from an October 2025 release all the way back to May 2026, which is likely to be a huge mistake for the video game adaptation. After a strong 2025 for Warner Bros., which saw the release of hits like A Minecraft Movie, Superman, and Sinners, this edgy sequel looked like a perfect fall movie.

While expectations were not especially high following the middling response to 2021’s Mortal Kombat, the red-band trailer for Mortal Kombat II changed everything. Bringing in a more accessible tone, stronger action, and star Karl Urban, the popularity of the trailer, which earned 106.8 million views in its first 24 hours, broke records and suggested strong potential grosses for the film.

Seemingly in response to this, Warner Bros. recently delayed the release of Mortal Kombat II, moving it into a prime summer date of May 15, 2026. While this move suggests great confidence in the film and is surely in hopes of reaping greater box office grosses, it is actually likely to backfire on the studio.

Pushing Back Mortal Kombat II Misses Its Ideal Window

Mortal Kombat II is currently on everyone’s minds, but it will not remain there forever. While films like Star Wars: The Force Awakens can release their teaser trailers a year in advance, this strategy has not worked for most films. If promoted too far out, most films feel stale and forgotten by the time they release.

The first trailer for Mortal Kombat II was released in June of this year, which will make it nearly a full year before the film’s release. In order to capitalize on the hype built from its success, the film needs to be released in a timely fashion.

Movies like Elio have been great examples of these kinds of failures. Like that film, Mortal Kombat II will need to mount an entirely new campaign from scratch next spring, which will be difficult to make feel fresh and new.

Mortal Kombat II could be huge, but an October release fits the film perfectly. Like other edgy, genre works with darker tones, such as Venom and its sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, a fall release has proven to be beneficial for action movies like this. While more cerebral, Joker, too, performed well after an October 3rd release.

Mortal Kombat II is likely to reach a wider audience than its predecessor, but it does not have the makings of an enormous summer blockbuster. While video game adaptation movies have grown more popular with the general public, Mortal Kombat is a more risque brand that pushed the envelope on acceptable violence in video games.

While Mortal Kombat II could have a significant growth of audience over the first film, it is best suited to the October release window. While the film might have seen some overlap in audience with Tron: Ares, there was enough room in that period for Mortal Kombat to rule the box office for several weeks before Predator: Badlands in November.

Summer Is Too Crowded For This R-Rated Video Game Adaptation

Moving any movie into the summer is a risky move. M3GAN 2.0‘s box office this year was a significant reflection of this, where the sequel failed to make a successful transition, both in tone and in earnings. Making significant pivots to release strategies is something that comes with tremendous risk, and this is unnecessary for Mortal Kombat II.

The first Mortal Kombat released in April 2021, which was closer to the summer season, and it made a total of $84 million worldwide, despite also being available on streaming during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Warner Bros. expects the sequel to perform much better, but summer is growing increasingly compeтιтive, and it is hard to imagine Mortal Kombat II performing well in a stacked period. Even the most popular brands underperformed during summer 2025, where a dour box office record was set for superhero movies.

May 2026 already has The Mandalorian and Grogu as well as The Devil Wars Prada 2, with more тιтles to come. Avengers: Doomsday vacating that period for a December release instead does widen the playing field, but dark, edgy action movies have often tended to struggle in a cramped marketplace.

2024 failed in this summer period with both The Crow and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and 2025 saw Ballerina‘s box office disappointing the studio. Mortal Kombat II‘s budget is estimated at $68 million, and the film does not need to make an incredible sum to become profitable, but this summer period is ill-suited for the picture.

There is potential for Mortal Kombat II to do well in May of 2026, but there is little reason for Warner Bros. to take the risk. With the marketing spend already begun, with posters and trailers already appearing for the October release, it was in the studio’s best interest to retain their initial release strategy.

Audiences who are interested in movies of this ilk tend to support them outside of the summer corridor. This new, violent video game adaptation is not enough of a general crowd-pleaser to receive much of a boost by this summer release. Hopefully, audiences will still care about Mortal Kombat II next summer.