In New York, Hollywood took a backseat to the excitement of football during a notably slow weekend at the box office. The survival thriller “Send Help” maintained its top position in ticket sales, while the documentary “Melania,” focusing on Melania Trump, experienced a steep decline in its second weekend.
Super Bowl weekend is traditionally one of the least popular times for movie theaters, often resulting in low attendance numbers. Last year, it was the second slowest weekend, and it ranked as the least attended moviegoing weekend in 2024.
Rather than banking on box office success, studios shifted their focus to leveraging the massive television audience of the NFL. Anticipated trailers during the Super Bowl broadcast included Disney’s “Mandalorian and Grogu,” Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic “Michael,” and Universal Pictures’ “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”
In North American cinemas, Disney’s 20th Century Studios’ “Send Help,” directed by Sam Raimi, took the lead with $10 million in its second weekend, as per studio estimates released on Sunday. The R-rated film has achieved robust success globally, amassing $53.7 million to date. Concurrently, Disney celebrated as “Zootopia 2” surpassed the $1.8 billion mark worldwide in its 11th week.
Meanwhile, “Melania,” produced by Amazon MGM, expanded to 300 more theaters but saw a sharp 67% drop in ticket sales, earning just $2.4 million. This significant decrease suggests the Brett Ratner-directed documentary could be veering towards a flop, considering the hefty $40 million acquisition price plus an estimated $35 million spent on marketing.
To date, “Melania” has garnered $13.4 million in North America. Although international figures have not been released by Amazon MGM, expectations are low.
Kevin Wilson, head of domestic distribution for the studio, said the movie’s box-office performance “is a critical first moment that validates our wholistic distribution strategy, building awareness, engagement, and provides momentum ahead of the film’s eventual debut on Prime Video.”
The film’s ticket sales — which would be very good for a less expensive documentary — were a talking point throughout the week. Late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel hammered the movie’s sales. Kimmel called them a “rigged outcome.” Elsewhere in theaters, the Italy-set Kevin James romantic comedy “Solo Mio” debuted with a robust $7.2 million, a major win for the Christian-oriented Angel Studios. “Stray Kinds: The Dominate Experience,” a K-pop concert film released by Bleecker Street, launched with $5.6 million. The Luc Besson-directed Bram Stoker adaptation “Dracula” 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 “Iron Lung.” 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, “Iron Lung” 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. “Send Help,” $10 million.
2. “Solo Mio,” $7.2 million.
3. “Iron Lung,” $6 million.
4. “Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience,” $5.6 million.
5. “Dracula,” $4.5 million.
6. “Zootopia 2,” $4 million.
7. “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” $3.5 million.
8. “The Strangers: Chapter 3,” $3.5 million.
9. “Shelter,” $2.4 million.
10. “Melania,” $2.4 million.
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