Street Fighter is poised to win the domestic box office weekend with an estimated $31 million debut, but an Elizabeth Holmes documentary is delivering the weekend’s biggest surprise on a far smaller theatrical footprint.

The Paramount Pictures release earned $13 million on Friday, including Thursday previews, from 3,575 North American theaters. That puts the video game adaptation below the studio’s projection for an opening in the mid-$30 millions, though still comfortably ahead of the competition.

Directed by Kitao Sakurai, Street Fighter stars Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji and Callina Liang in a story centered on a combat tournament. The movie carries an $82 million budget and marks the first release under Paramount’s distribution agreement with Legendary.

Audience and critical reactions have split sharply. Moviegoers gave the film a B- CinemaScore, while Rotten Tomatoes shows a 42 percent approval rating from critics and an 82 percent audience score. The Hollywood Reporter critic Frank Scheck described it as a “jumbled tonal mess” that is “only sporadically entertaining.”

Elizabeth Holmes Documentary Breaks Out

A24’s You Can See Everything is heading toward an estimated $12 million opening from just 855 North American locations. The documentary, which examines Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ life leading up to her prison sentence, collected $5.5 million on Friday, including preview grosses.

A24 reported approximately 750 sold-out screenings over the weekend, along with lines at cinemas. The projected result would place the film among the strongest openings ever for a non-music documentary. It is also set to surpass the $7 million launch of Melania earlier this year, which had been the category’s biggest debut in more than a decade.

Directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, You Can See Everything has proved especially attractive to younger viewers. In New York and Los Angeles, 75 percent of ticket buyers were under 35.

The film’s reception has been nearly unanimous: It holds 99 percent approval ratings from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Its 4.8 Letterboxd score makes it the platform’s highest-rated title ever.

Other Mommy Drops as Whalefall Opens Softly

Universal Pictures’ Other Mommy could claim third place with approximately $7.8 million, representing a steep decline of about 72 percent from its opening weekend. The horror film received a D+ CinemaScore when it debuted at No. 1 last weekend and is expected to reach a domestic total of $43.3 million.

Directed by Rob Savage, Other Mommy stars Jessica Chastain as a sinister spirit that appears in a girl’s closet.

Meanwhile, 20th Century Studios’ survival thriller Whalefall is projected to open with around $7 million from 3,065 North American theaters. That is below the studio’s anticipated $11 million start.

Brian Duffield directed the $60 million feature adaptation of Daniel Kraus’ 2023 novel. Austin Abrams stars as a scuba diver swallowed by a sperm whale. Audiences awarded the movie a B CinemaScore, while Rotten Tomatoes lists a 71 percent critics score and an 82 percent audience rating. Chief film critic David Rooney wrote that the movie is “just not batshit crazy enough to be much fun.”

Sense and Sensibility Finds a Warmer Audience

Focus Features’ new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility earned $3.2 million on Friday, including Thursday previews. It is expected to finish the weekend with approximately $6.7 million from 2,545 North American theaters.

Directed by Georgia Oakley, the film stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles as the Dashwood sisters, who must navigate life after their father’s death. The Jane Austen adaptation, budgeted in the mid-$20 millions, received an A- CinemaScore.

Rotten Tomatoes reports a 75 percent critics rating and an 89 percent audience score. Rooney noted in his review that the film “seldom steps out from the long shadow of Ang Lee’s enchanting 1995 retelling.”

Elsewhere, Netflix is releasing Oscar contender La Bola Negra in four theaters. The release marks the first time the streamer will publicly disclose box office returns for one of its titles.

ShowBiz Take

Street Fighter may be taking the weekend crown, but the more striking result belongs to You Can See Everything. The documentary is projected to place second despite playing in fewer than one-quarter as many North American locations as Paramount’s action release.

The numbers also reveal markedly different reactions. Street Fighter is overcoming weak critical approval to lead the chart, while the Holmes documentary is pairing sellouts and a young audience with exceptionally strong ratings. Netflix’s decision to report earnings for La Bola Negra adds another notable development to a weekend already offering several contrasting theatrical stories.

What Happens Next?

The current weekend figures remain projections, while theaters will receive another crowded slate next weekend. The new options are set to include Clayface, Wildwood, Klara and the Sun, Ali G: Who Iz I? and Wicker.