‘Street Fighter’ punches its way to US$31m debut as Elizabeth Holmes documentary stuns US, Canada box office

Paramount's action film Street Fighter claimed the top spot at North American box offices, raking in an impressive US$31 million (RM130.6 million) during its debut weekend. This success was contrasted by a documentary on tech fraudster Elizabeth Holmes, which made a surprising US$15 million (RM63.2 million) opening in fewer than 1,000 theaters across the United States and Canada.

Street Fighter, based on the popular Capcom video game, follows superpowered martial artists in a global tournament who confront a sinister conspiracy. The film stars Andrew Koji, Noah Centineo, and Callina Liang, and marks the third feature-length adaptation of the video game since Legendary acquired the movie rights in 2023. Industry analyst David A. Gross described the US$31 million opening as a "good opening," but noted that "critics' reviews are weak and the audience score is soft."

The film is expected to recover its costs through ancillary markets and further boost the franchise across various media. In second place was A24's documentary You Can See Everything, which focused on Holmes in her final months before serving an 11-year prison sentence for defrauding investors in her medical testing company Theranos.

Directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the film earned US$15 million (RM63.2 million) on just 855 screens. Holmes' unapologetic interview with Fielder during the film's screening captured widespread attention and sparked numerous online memes, the documentary receiving rave reviews at the Telluride Film Festival. Other notable films included Universal and Blumhouse's Other Mommy, which debuted with US$8.4 million (RM35.4 million), and Focus Features' adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and George MacKay, which collected US$7.5 million (RM31.6 million).