There were a ton of thrilling summer movies this year, including James Gunn's Superman movie, which did well at the box office. While fans are interested in how it'll affect upcoming DC movies, there have also been reports that it's success is responsible for Mortal Kombat 2's delay. Although it's a bit more complicated than some folks online are making it seem.
What we know about Mortal Kombat II is limited, but fans who watched the first one with their HBO Max subscription are eager to get back to the gory video game movie. The outlet Deadline reported that Mortal Kombat II was pushed to May as a direct result of Superman's box office take. But while Gunn's blockbuster did well, it didn't gross so much that the entire studio plan had to be changed. In fact, there were a number of major WB wins that contributed to its overall success.
Besides Superman, a bunch of Warner Bros. titles also were hits over the course of the year. Ryan Coogler's Sinners made a ton at the box office, and for weeks at a time, while Weapons became one of 2025's biggest success stories. Additionally, The Conjuring: Last Rites also won its opening weekend. Once again horror has proven itself massively profitable, with projects made on way less of a budget compared to Superman.
Another hit Warner Bros. movie from this year was F1 which hit number one at the box office back in June. Really, it's been a number of months since the studio had anything resembling a loss. More successful titles to come from this year include A Minecraft Movie and Final Destination: Bloodlines.
Superman doing well at the box office was no doubt a relief for James Gunn and the folks at Warner Bros. especially considering how quickly the new DCU was formed after the DCEU's tenure in theaters. And while it's hopeful for the future of the shared universe's first slate of projects (titled Gods and Monsters), the the studio's year-long success was the result of a number of acclaimed projects.
It's seemingly because of this string of hits that Warner Bros pushed back Mortal Kombat II from October to next May. This is a huge bummer for fans of the video games, especially since the first movie arrived back in 2021. Moviegoers have been waiting a long time already, so these additional months are going to be hard to get through. But it makes sense from a business standpoint, with the studio seemingly hoping that Simon McQuoid's sequel will be a guaranteed win for next year.
All will be revealed when Mortal Kombat II hits theaters on May 15th as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to see if Warner Bros. can find the same wild success two years in a row.
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