Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema’s “Mortal Kombat II” will now be released on May 15, 2026, the companies announced on Friday.
The film was previously scheduled to be released on Oct. 24, 2025.
The move was made, in part, to avoid congestion during October, with four or five new releases slated for each weekend. May benefits from a more favorable release environment. Among the big releases this October are Disney’s “Tron: Ares” and Universal’s “The Black Phone 2.”
Plus, Warner Bros. and New Line are looking to replicate the success of “Final Destination Bloodlines,” which opened in a similar timeframe and ended up becoming a surprise smash, with over $301 million amassed from the global box office. (It was the most successful entry in the already very successful franchise.)
This new May release date will kick off the summer movie season, cultivating excitement ahead of the major summer releases.
2021’s “Mortal Kombat” was released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max as part of the company’s Project Popcorn initiative. It still wound up making $84.4 million at the box office with strong sentiment about the reboot. The sequel looks to introduce fan-favorite character Johnny Cage, here played by Karl Urban.
Previously, there were two live-action “Mortal Kombat” movies produced by New Line Cinema in the 1990’s – “Mortal Kombat” in 1995 and “Mortal Kombat Annihilation” in 1997. Between 2020 and 2023 there were four direct-to-home-video animated “Mortal Kombat” movies released as well.
All of these were, of course, based on the blockbuster “Mortal Kombat” video game, which started off as an arcade game before becoming a console staple, with new games still being released today.
“Mortal Kombat II” will now unleash a fatality on May 15, 2026.
