The much-anticipated Street Fighter film, directed by Kitao Sakurai, has delivered a knockout blow to its own franchise prospects, facing a significant uphill battle at the box office. After an opening weekend that brought in a respectable $38.5 million in North America, the film has experienced a precipitous drop-off in audience attendance, according to reports from EcranLarge.com.

Its second weekend saw a sharp 72.1% decline in ticket sales, a clear indicator that the adaptation failed to resonate widely with critics or the general public. The struggle continued into its third weekend, where the film earned a mere $3.2 million, representing a further 62.7% drop from the previous week. This brings its total North American gross to an underwhelming $53 million after just three weeks.

Adding to its woes, Street Fighter has been outmaneuvered by an unexpected competitor: Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's documentary, You Can See Everything. This A24 release, which debuted the same week, has enjoyed a remarkable ascent, expanding its screen count and accumulating $63.8 million in the U.S. during the same period. Street Fighter also found itself overshadowed by other new releases like Clayface and Wildwood, slipping to fifth place at the box office.

With a production budget of $82 million (excluding marketing costs), the film needs to reach an estimated $165 million worldwide just to break even. Current global receipts stand at $92 million, leaving a considerable gap to cover. Furthermore, the film is already losing momentum, shedding 750 screens after only three weeks, while You Can See Everything continues to add more. This trajectory is eerily similar to that of Mortal Kombat 2, another video game adaptation with an $80 million budget that ultimately grossed $129 million.

While Street Fighter might ultimately surpass Mortal Kombat 2's total, its current performance severely jeopardizes the studio's ambitions for a sprawling cinematic universe based on the beloved fighting game. The financial performance suggests that, for now, the Street Fighter saga may be facing a permanent 'Game Over' before it even truly began.