Football festivities and frigid temperatures across the East Coast and Midwest kept moviegoers on the couch and contributed to a glacial Super Bowl weekend at the box office.
Without any new releases from the major studios, Sam Raimi’s survival thriller “Send Help” remained in first place with $10 million from 3,475 North American venues, a 47% drop from its $19.1 million debut. Meanwhile “Melania,” a documentary about the first lady of the United States, plunged to the No. 9 spot with $2.37 million from 2,003 theaters, representing a steep 67% decline in ticket sales.
The Super Bowl, the biggest TV event of the year, almost always brings the box office to a halt. This year’s revenues topped out with roughly $60 million, according to Comscore. That’s not the worst Super Bowl haul of all time — that record belongs to 2024’s dismal $38.9 million showing, led by “Argylle” and “Lisa Frankenstein” — but turnout is far behind the pre-pandemic era. Back then, the weekend that coincides with the big game could at least be counted on to bring in $75 million to $85 million across all titles.
“Send Help” has grossed $35.8 million domestically and $17.9 million overseas, bringing its global total to $53.7 million. Horror films are infamous for major second weekend declines, but the Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien-led movie is benefiting from great word-of-mouth. However, the R-rated release cost $40 million to produce, so Disney is counting on the film to stick around on the big screen through the winter.
“Melania” has earned $13.35 million domestically after two weekends of release, a notable tally for a documentary that isn’t about nature or music. However, “Melania” cost more than just about any documentary in history. Amazon MGM spent a staggering sum of money, acquiring the film and an accompanying straight-to-streaming docu-series for $40 million and then shelling out $35 million on the theatrical marketing spend. Those are unprecedented costs considering documentaries aren’t traditionally a driver of big box office dollars. (Amazon MGM’s lavish spend has prompted others in the industry to speculate whether the doc is the studio’s attempt to cozy up to the current administration.) Since theater owners keep about half of ticket sales, it’ll be difficult to justify the cost of “Melania.” In an unusual move, though, Amazon MGM released a statement to address the second weekend results.
“‘Melania’s’ strong theatrical performance is a critical first moment that validates our holistic distribution strategy, building awareness, engagement, and provides momentum ahead of the film’s eventual debut on Prime Video,” said Amazon MGM’s head of domestic theatrical distribution, Kevin Wilson. “Together, theatrical and streaming represent two distinct value creating moments that amplify the film’s overall impact. Audience response is already validating this approach, with exit data showing strong intent to rewatch on Prime Video and meaningful interest in the forthcoming docuseries.”
Amazon MGM, a deep-pocketed company that’s newer to exhibition compared to rivals like Disney and Universal, has said the company views the theatrical window as an “important first step in […] a long-tail lifecycle.”
“That interest is further amplified by the theatrical marketing halo we consistently see drive increased awareness and viewership once films launch on Prime Video, reinforcing long-term value across the movie’s entire lifecycle,” Wilson concluded.
“Iron Lung,” a very indie effort from the YouTube creator known as Markiplier, slid to third place with $6.2 million from 2,930 theaters. Although those ticket sales mark a steep 66% decline from its debut, “Iron Lung” reportedly cost $3 million and has exceeded all expectations with $31.2 million to date, so it’s a massive commercial success for Markiplier (whose real name is Mark Fischback). He self-financed and distributed “Iron Lung” in addition to writing, directing and starring in the film. The gory, R-rated adventure is based on a post-apocalyptic 2022 video game about a fugitive who has to scavenge natural resources in an ocean of blood after a rapture.
With traditional studios sitting out Super Bowl weekend, several releases from independent distributors– such as the Angel Studios rom-com “Solo Mio” and K-pop concert documentary “Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience” — managed to crack the top five.
“With minimal competition in the marketplace, independent and alternative films have an opportunity to stand out,” says Comscore’s head of marketplace trends, Paul Dergarabedian. “These films may find a more receptive audience given the reduced presence of new major studio releases.”
Second place went to “Solo Mio” with $7.2 million from 3,052 venues, on par with expectations. The PG film, which landed an “A-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls and 81% Rotten Tomatoes average, stars Kevin James as a man who goes on his honeymoon alone after getting left at the altar.
“This is smart counter-programming against the weekend’s big sports events. It’s the right actor and story, made for very little money, from the right distributor,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Angel Studios knows how to reach this audience.”
In fourth place, “Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience” opened to a solid $5.5 million from 1,724 theaters. Bleecker Street is releasing the film, which captures the music group’s world tour and sold-out performance at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium. Universal is rolling out “Stray Kids” internationally, where the film has earned a mighty $13.2 million from 61 markets for an impressive global tally of $19.1 million.
Director Luc Besson’s “Dracula” remake, starring Caleb Landry Jones and Christoph Waltz, rounded out the top five with $4.5 million from 2,050 theaters. Those ticket sales mark the largest opening weekend to date for newer distributor Vertical, besting the recent debut of January’s “We Bury the Dead” with $2.5 million.
“Vertical is thrilled to have landed in the top 5 this weekend for the first time with ‘Dracula,’” said president of theatrical distribution Steve Bunnell. “It is an astounding and romantic cinematic thrill ride arriving just in time for Valentine’s Day.”
A final newcomer, Lionsgate’s “The Strangers: Chapter 3” crash-landed at No. 7 with $3.5 million from 2,565 locations. That’s far below the two prior installments in the rebooted R-rated slasher series, including 2024’s “Chapter 1” ($12 million) and 2025’s “Chapter 3” ($5.8 million). However, the studio spent $20 million on all three films, and the first two have generated a combined $70 million globally. So, despite the sharp diminishing returns, the franchise will be profitable for Lionsgate.
The box office should finally heat up over the next weekend with the release of five new films — including Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” adaptation with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, the Steph Curry-produced “GOAT” and the starry heist thriller “Crime 101” led by Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Barry Keoghan. Otherwise, it’s been a dreary start to the year for movie theater owners, who are hoping that 2026 will finally, at long last, mark the great box office rebound.