Summer movie season is here, and that means big, loud popcorn flicks are headed to theaters. That includes the video game adaptation Mortal Kombat II, which hits theaters this weekend.
Kalshi traders do not predict the film will get a "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it is clearly in striking distance of the "Fresh" threshold.
The market shows the sequel landing at 57.9% on the Tomatometer. However, traders price the chance of Mortal Kombat II earning a score above 60% at 36%.
The reviews so far
As the review embargo for Mortal Kombat II comes to an end, some critics are posting their early thoughts on social media.
Chris Killian of Comicbook.com wrote on X that the sequel "is a stark improvement over the first one in just about every way possible – better fights, cooler costumes, and nastier fatalities. It's all still quite campy, but hot damn it's a gory good time."
Digital creator and film reviewer Blurayangel called the film a "FLAWLESS VICTORY OF A SEQUEL!"
Behind the scenes
The 2021 R-rated Mortal Kombat reboot hit theaters leaning heavily into the franchise's signature gore and over-the-top fatalities that helped define the games since Midway's 1992 arcade original.
Director Simon McQuoid, who directed the first Mortal Kombat movie, has returned to the director's chair for the sequel. Jeremy Slater, the screenwriter behind the hit Netflix series The Umbrella Academy and movies like Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, wrote the script.
IGN published a behind-the-scenes featurette in October. Karl Urban, who plays Johnny Cage in the new film, said, "Filmmaking doesn't get much bigger than this. This is the way Mortal Kombat is meant to be seen." Lewis Tan, who returns as Cole Young from the first film, said "The sequel is bigger in every way possible."
The takeaway:
Kalshi markets now predict:
The Tomatometer rating for Mortal Kombat II on Rotten Tomatoes: 57.9%
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