‘Street Fighter’ hits $31M in box office debut as moviegoing jumps 48%

Paramount’s (SKYD) “Street Fighter” battled its way to the top of the North American box office over the weekend, collecting an estimated $31 million in ticket sales, while A24’s documentary “You Can See Everything” delivered a surprisingly strong $15 million opening in limited release, according to figures from Rentrak.

The domestic box office generated an estimated $103.9 million over the Oct. 16-18 weekend, an increase of 48.2% from the comparable period a year earlier and 16.3% from the previous weekend. The top 10 films accounted for $91.6 million in ticket sales, according to the report prepared by Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak’s head of marketplace trends.

The results provided another indication of the movie theater industry's recovery in 2026, with domestic ticket sales reaching $8.22 billion so far this year, up 20% from the same period in 2025. Although box office receipts remain approximately 8.5% below comparable 2019 levels, the latest weekend demonstrated how a varied lineup of action movies, documentaries, horror films and literary adaptations can attract different audiences.

‘Street Fighter’ lands weekend’s biggest blow

Paramount’s “Street Fighter,” based on the popular Capcom video game franchise, opened in 3,575 theaters and averaged $8,671 per location. Directed by Kitao Sakurai and starring Andrew Koji, Noah Centineo and Callina Liang, the action film added $20.1 million internationally for a worldwide debut of $51.1 million.

The film also benefited from premium-format screenings, generating $7.7 million worldwide in IMAX theaters, including $5.4 million domestically. IMAX accounted for approximately 18% of its North American opening weekend.Perhaps the weekend’s biggest surprise was A24’s “You Can See Everything,” a documentary examining Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the film earned $15 million from just 855 theaters, averaging an impressive $17,544 per location, the highest per-theater average among the top 10 releases.

A24 reported more than 2,000 sold-out screenings and said 70% of the documentary’s audience was younger than 35. Under Rentrak’s qualifying-documentary criteria, the film recorded the second-largest domestic documentary opening, behind Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which debuted with $23.9 million in 2004. A24 plans to expand the film’s theatrical footprint.

Horror, whales, Jane Austen compete for attention

Universal’s (CMCSA) horror film “Other Mommy” finished third with $8.35 million, although its ticket sales plunged 70% from its opening weekend. The film has accumulated $44.9 million domestically and $78.8 million worldwide.

20th Century Studios’ (DIS) survival thriller “Whalefall,” starring Austin Abrams and Josh Brolin, opened in fourth place with $8 million from 3,065 theaters. Focus Features’ (CMCSA) new adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” followed with $7.25 million from 2,545 locations. The literary drama attracted an audience that was 84% female, according to distributor figures, with 58% of moviegoers between 18 and 34.

Amazon MGM Studios’ (AMZN) “Verity” collected $6.21 million in its third weekend, a decline of 48%, bringing its domestic total to $66.1 million. Sony’s (SONY) “Resident Evil” earned $5.5 million in its fifth weekend, lifting its domestic total to $148.5 million.

Paramount’s (SKYD) “Heart of the Beast” added $4.83 million, while Indian action sequel “Jailer 2” generated $3.24 million from 401 theaters, enough for ninth place. Universal’s (CMCSA) “Forgotten Island” rounded out the top 10 with $2.25 million.

Broader recovery takes shape

The weekend’s performance highlighted the importance of offering moviegoers a diverse selection of films rather than relying exclusively on expensive franchise releases. While “Street Fighter” supplied the largest opening, the unusually strong per-theater performance of “You Can See Everything” suggested that specialty programming can also generate substantial theatrical demand.

For theater operators and Hollywood studios, the 20% year-to-date increase in domestic box office receipts offers encouragement heading into the final months of 2026. However, the sharp second-weekend declines for some releases underscore the continuing challenge of sustaining attendance beyond opening weekend.

Top 10 Movies at the Domestic Box Office

Weekend of October 16–18, 2026 | Rentrak estimates

Rank	Movie	Weekend Gross	Change
1	Street Fighter	$31,000,000	New
2	You Can See Everything	$15,000,000	New
3	Other Mommy	$8,350,000	-70%
4	Whalefall	$8,000,000	New
5	Sense and Sensibility	$7,250,000	New
6	Verity	$6,212,000	-48%
7	Resident Evil	$5,500,000	-36%
8	Heart of the Beast	$4,830,000	-35%
9	Jailer 2	$3,235,304	New
10	Forgotten Island	$2,250,000	-52%