NEW YORK (AP) β Hollywood largely ceded attention to football over a slow box-office weekend, with the survival thriller βSend Helpβ repeating as No. 1 in ticket sales and theΒ Melania Trump documentary βMelaniaβΒ falling sharply in its second weekend.
Super Bowl weekendΒ is typically one of the lowest attended moviegoing times of the year. It was the second slowest weekend last year and in 2024 it ranked dead last for moviegoing.
Studios instead put their focus on advertising movies for the massive television audience. Among the trailers expected to hit the NFL broadcast Sunday were The Walt Disney Co.’s βMandalorian and Grogu,β Lionsgateβs Michael Jackson biopic, βMichaelβ and Universal Picturesβ βThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie.β
In North American theaters, the Disney.-20th Century Studios release βSend Help,β directed by Sam Raimi, lead all films with $10 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. With $53.7 million globally thus far, the R-rated survival thriller has proved a solid midbudget success. Disney meanwhile watched its remarkably long-lastingΒ βZootopia 2″Β cross $1.8 billion worldwide in its 11th week of release.
βMelania,β from Amazon MGM, added 300 theaters in its second weekend but dropped steeply with to $2.4 million in ticket sales, down 67% fromΒ its much-discussed debut.Β The rapid downturn means the Brett Ratner-directed documentary is likely heading toward flop territory given its high price tag. Amazon MGM paid $40 million for film rights, plus some $35 million to market it.
The North American total for βMelaniaβ stands at $13.4 million. Amazon MGM has not released international figures, though they’re expected to be paltry.
Kevin Wilson, head of domestic distribution for the studio, said the movie’s box-office performance βis a critical first moment that validates our wholistic distribution strategy, building awareness, engagement, and provides momentum ahead of the filmβs eventual debut on Prime Video.β
The film’s ticket sales β which would be very good for a less expensive documentary β were a talking point throughout the week. Late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel hammered the movieβs sales. Kimmel called them a βrigged outcome.β Elsewhere in theaters, the Italy-set Kevin James romantic comedy βSolo Mioβ debuted with a robust $7.2 million, a major win for the Christian-oriented Angel Studios. βStray Kinds: The Dominate Experience,β a K-pop concert film released by Bleecker Street, launched with $5.6 million. The Luc Besson-directed Bram Stoker adaptationΒ βDraculaβΒ opened with $4.5 million, a studio-best debut for the indie distributor Vertical.
One of the most unusual releases in theaters, however, remains the low-budget indie βIron Lung.β The YouTube filmmaker Markiplier, whose real name is Mark Fischbach, self-financed and self-distributed the R-rated video game adaptation, along with writing, directing and starring in it. In its second weekend, βIron Lungβ collected $6.2 million, bringing its two-week total to $31.2 million. It cost $3 million to make.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. βSend Help,β $10 million.
2. βSolo Mio,β $7.2 million.
3. βIron Lung,β $6 million.
4. βStray Kids: The Dominate Experience,β $5.6 million.
5. βDracula,β $4.5 million.
6. βZootopia 2,β $4 million.
7. βAvatar: Fire and Ash,β $3.5 million.
8. βThe Strangers: Chapter 3,β $3.5 million.
9. βShelter,β $2.4 million.
10. βMelania,β $2.4 million.
