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

However, a buzzy three-hour documentary on tech fraudster Elizabeth Holmes was the talk of Tinseltown, after a stunning US$15-million debut on less than 1,000 screens in 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 debut a “good opening”, but noted “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, which follows Holmes at her home in 2023 during the month before she began an 11-year prison sentence, took in US$15 million on just 855 screens, according to Exhibitor Relations.

Holmes was convicted of defrauding investors in her medical testing company Theranos after touting lofty promises she couldn’t 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, comedian Fielder places himself inside the action, like in his previous projects that blur the lines of documentary, social experiment, and prank show.

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

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

Third place went to Universal and Blumhouse’s Other Mommy, which gained another US$8.4 million after topping the box office last weekend with a US$27.8-million debut.

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

In fourth place was 20th Century’s Whalefall, a survival-thriller film that debuted to only US$8 million.

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

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

Fifth place went to Focus Features’ new adaptation of the Jane Austen 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.

Rounding out the top 10: Verity (US$6.2 million); Resident Evil (US$5.5 million); Heart of the Beast (US$4.8 million); Jailer 2 (US$3.3 million); and Forgotten Island (US$2.3 million).