LOS ANGELES, Oct 18 — Paramount’s action film Street Fighter karate-chopped the competition this weekend with a US$31 million (RM130.6 million) debut at the North American box office, industry estimates showed Sunday.

However, a buzzy three-hour documentary about tech fraudster Elizabeth Holmes stole the spotlight in Hollywood after a stunning US$15 million (RM63.2 million) debut on fewer than 1,000 screens across the United States and Canada.

Street Fighter, based on the beloved Capcom video game, follows super-powered martial artists competing in a global tournament who uncover and battle a sinister conspiracy.

Andrew Koji, Noah Centineo and Callina Liang star in the film, the third feature-length adaptation of the video game and the first since production company Legendary acquired the movie rights in 2023.

Jason Momoa and Curtis Jackson, better known as rapper 50 Cent, also make appearances.

Analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research called the US$31 million (RM130.6 million) debut a “good opening” but noted that “critics’ reviews are weak and the audience score is soft”.

“The film should recover its costs after playing in ancillary markets, in addition to adding value back to the franchise in all its forms — in film, TV and games,” he added.

In second place was A24’s hotly anticipated documentary You Can See Everything, co-directed by comedian Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim.

The film follows Holmes at her home in 2023 during the month before she began an 11-year prison sentence, taking in US$15 million (RM63.2 million) on just 855 screens, according to Exhibitor Relations.

Holmes was convicted of defrauding investors in her medical testing company Theranos after making lofty promises she could not deliver.

The scandal fuelled a media circus and was chronicled in a book, multiple podcasts and the biographical mini-series The Dropout, starring Amanda Seyfried.

In You Can See Everything, Fielder places himself inside the action, as in his previous projects that blur the lines between documentary, social experiment and prank show.

The film has attracted considerable interest since its trailer, showing Holmes unblinkingly asking Fielder, “Why would I deceive you?”, sparked a deluge of online memes, while a surprise debut at the Telluride Film Festival garnered rave reviews.

Deadline called the US$15 million (RM63.2 million) debut “easily the second best opening ever for a documentary at the box office after 2004’s Fahrenheit 9/11”.

Third place went to Universal and Blumhouse’s Other Mommy, which collected another US$8.4 million (RM35.4 million) after topping the box office last weekend with a US$27.8 million (RM117.1 million) debut.

The horror film stars Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain in a dual role as a sinister entity terrorising a child, made even more frightening by the fact that the demon resembles the girl’s mother.

In fourth place was 20th Century’s Whalefall, a survival thriller that debuted to just US$8 million (RM33.7 million).

The movie follows a scuba diver who is swallowed by a whale and has an hour of oxygen left to escape.

“At a cost of US$60 million (RM252.9 million), the film won’t break even, even with relatively good business overseas,” Gross said.

Fifth place went to Focus Features’ new adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility, directed by Georgia Oakley.

The film, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and George MacKay, took in an estimated US$7.5 million (RM31.6 million). — AFP

Rounding out the top 10:

  • Verity (US$6.2 million/RM26.1 million)
  • Resident Evil (US$5.5 million/RM23.2 million)
  • Heart of the Beast (US$4.8 million/RM20.2 million)
  • Jailer 2 (US$3.3 million/RM13.9 million)
  • Forgotten Island (US$2.3 million/RM9.7 million) — AFP