{"id":267408,"date":"2026-01-31T17:03:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T17:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/267408\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T17:03:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T17:03:10","slug":"send-help-leading-with-near-18m-melania-a-cinemascore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/267408\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Send Help’ Leading With Near $18M, ‘Melania’ ‘A’ CinemaScore"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSATURDAY AM: Refresh for more analysis\u2026.20th Century Studios\u2019 Send Help<\/a> is looking to come in a little higher than Markiplier\u2019s Iron Lung<\/a> for the weekend, the Sam Raimi directed movie expected to move ahead of the YouTuber\u2019s videogame IP movie, $17.5M-$18.1M versus $15M-$17M. Still, that\u2019s pretty amazing for Iron Lung in regards to getting butts in seats particularly with the movie in competition with the Disney marketing machine. Send Help gets a B+ CinemaScore, which again for genre movies, is exceptional on that audience pollster\u2019s scale. No CinemaScore for Iron Lung but on Screen Engine\/Comscore\u2019s PostTrak it\u2019s 4 stars with a very good 65% definite recommend from its audience.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Iron Lung is expected to fall hard on Sunday by as much as -40% from its Saturday take, what could help it is if Melania steals more women away from Send Help. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmazon MGM Studios<\/p>\n

\n\tNow, Amazon MGM Studios\u2019 Melania documentary is still seeing $8.1M, but the exit scores are quite royal with an A CinemaScore, 5 stars on Screen Engine\/Comscore\u2019s PostTrak, and get this \u2014 an 89% definite recommend; unheard for any movie. If a movie is in the 70 percentile range, that\u2019s outstanding. While a figure like that indicates stampede for a tentpole, it\u2019s interesting to see whether there\u2019s any kind of spur for a stampede for a documentary, particularly with the older crowd that this Brett Ratner directed non-fiction film is pulling in. The turnout here is almost like that of a faith-based movie: 72% women, with 72% over 55. Audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is 99% while critics have based the movie at 6%. Melania is playing best in the South (12% over the norm) and South Central with the Cinemark Palace 21 in Boca Raton, FL the pic\u2019s current highest grossing location with over $10K. Pic\u2019s top grossing markets are Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, Miami, Minnesota, Nashville, Jackson, MI; St. Louis, Las Vegas, Cleveland \u2014 the list goes on\u2026no NYC or LA in this bunch. Diversity demos on this one is 74% Caucasian, 11% Latino and Hispanic, 4% Black, 4% Asian American and 7% Native American\/other.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn PostTrak exits, 49% identified as Republicans, 47% said they were politically conservative, Evangelical Christians made up 28% of those attending while Democrats repped 2% of the audience. <\/p>\n

\n\tWalk-up business is sold with 52% of the audience buying their tickets to Melania same day versus say Iron Lung which was 38% (many always believed the Markiplier movie would be frontloaded). Don\u2019t say linear is dead: For the Melania crowd, 22% said that TV ads were the most influential form of advertisement, but they also cited social media as being a big influencer at 23%. <\/p>\n

\n\tInteresting to note that among the streaming subscribers attending Melania this weekend, 54% were Prime Members, 53% Netflix, 24% Apple TV, and 22% a piece for Hulu and Disney+ subs. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Charli<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCharli xcx in \u2018The Moment\u2019 <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSundance Institute<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the arthouse level, we have A24\u2019s Charli xcx mockumentary The Moment popping big with the third best opening per screen post Covid of $105,7K behind A24\u2019s own Marty Supreme ($145,8K) and Focus Features\u2019 Asteroid City ($142K). Outlook for the Aidan Zimiri directed movie is $423K for the weekend after a beefy play at NYC\u2019s Angelika and AMC Lincoln Square, and LA\u2019s AMC Burbank and Grove. Friday was $199K alone. <\/p>\n

\n\tSend Help pulled in a <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tComing up way short, by the way, is Black Bear\u2019s second theatrical release, Shelter<\/a> with $5M in 6th place after a $1.5M Friday\/previews. Not the lowest for Jason Statham post Covid, but close after Lionsgate\u2019s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre with a $3.1M opening which turned into a $6.5M final domestic, but did over $42M abroad. The movie gets a B+ CinemaScore, just like Operation Fortune and it cost $50M ala that pic with foreign sales offsetting exposure. Statham does well in the digital aftermarket, so a possible saving grace. With critics Shelter did a little bit better than Operation Fortune, 64% fresh to 51% Rotten. Circuits need more product and more distributors like Black Bear. Clearly, the frosh U.S. operation is still finding its way. <\/p>\n

\n\tRight now the weekend is factored around $83M for all movies, which is off by -4% from last January\u2019s finale. <\/p>\n

\n\tSaturday numbers:<\/p>\n

Send Help (20th) 3,475 theaters Fri $7.2M, 3-day $17.5M-$18.5M\/Wk 1<\/p>\n

Iron Lung (Inde) 3,015 theaters, Fri $9M, 3-day $15M-$17M\/Wk 1<\/p>\n

Melania (AMZ) 1,778 theaters, Fri $2.9M, 3-day $8.1M\/Wk 1<\/p>\n

Zootopia 2 (Dis) 2,880 (-50) theaters, Fri $1.3M (-7% from last Friday), 3-day $5.8M (+9%), Total $408.9M\/Wk 10<\/p>\n

Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th) 2,800 (-350) theaters, Fri $1.2M (-28%) 3-day $5.05M (-21%) Total $385.6M\/Wk 7<\/p>\n

Shelter (Black Bear) 2,726 theaters, Fri $1.9M, 3-day $5M\/Wk 1<\/p>\n

\n\t7. Mercy (AMZ) 3,468 theaters, Fri $1.3M (-74%) 3-day $4.9M (-54%), Total $19.6M\/Wk 2<\/p>\n

\n\t8. The Housemaid (LG) 2,603 (-404) theaters, Fri $1M (-32%), 3-day $3.35M (-15%), Total $120.5M\/Wk 7<\/p>\n

\n\t9. Marty Supreme (A24) 1,703 (-318) theaters, Fri $752K (-32%), Wk $2.4M (-16%), Total $90.4M\/Wk 7<\/p>\n

\n\t10. 28 Years Later: Bone Temple (Sony) 2,042 (-1464) theaters, Fri $450K (-62%) 3-day $1.6M (-53%), Total $23.6M\/Wk 3<\/p>\n

\n\t11. Hamnet (Foc) 1,259 (-737) theaters, Fri $360K (-39%), 3-day $1.3M (-30%), Total $20M\/Wk 10<\/p>\n

\n\tMore\u2026<\/p>\n

\n\tUPDATED, Friday PM: What an intriguing, potentially low weekend at the box office. Even though this weekend could come in lower than last year\u2019s January finale\/February intro frame (which was $86.1 million, per Box Office Mojo), there\u2019s some stunning things going on in regards to the novelty fare on offer.<\/p>\n

\n\tHere we have a YouTuber\u2019s genre movie, Iron Lung, with very little P&A, that could possibly upset Disney\/20th Century Studios\u2019 Dylan O\u2019Brien-Rachel McAdams big studio spend movie Send Help for No. 1. Estimates right now have Send Help between $16M-$18M, and Iron Lung doing anywhere between $14M-$17M at 3,015 theaters. The question is how fan-frontloaded Iron Lung is. Currently, Send Help is showing hourly growth, with Iron Lung presales beefing up today (combined previews and Friday are around $9M+). Send Help\u2018s Friday and previews are around $7M+.<\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: YouTube Star Markiplier\u2019s \u2018Iron Lung\u2019 Hopes To Soak Up A<\/a> <\/a>Ton Of Oxygen At January Box Office<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tComing in at third is Amazon MGM Studios\u2019 Brett Ratner-directed documentary Melania, which is eyeing $2.85M today (no previews) for an $8M opening in third place \u2014 that result would mark the best start for a docu in the last decade (beating Angel Studios\u2019\u00a02023 doc After Death, which opened to $5M and finaled at $11.5M stateside). I\u2019m hearing sales are gaining, with Florida and Texas quite large, for the First Lady\u2019s big-screen debut.<\/p>\n

\n\tEntTelligence showed Melania presales overindexing in rural areas with populations under 500,000. Again, license fees plus marketing on this pic equals $75M, but Amazon can afford it, even though those figures don\u2019t make sense for a traditional motion picture studio\u2019s P&L. Are MAGA groups driving sales? Maybe, but that will be sussed out as the weekend goes on. Know this: This isn\u2019t an Angel Studios release fueled by some semblance of fan sales or an Amazon Prime super-ticket.<\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: At \u2018Melania\u2019 Premiere, Brett Ratner And The First Lady Defend Cost Of Amazon MGM Documentary<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tElsewhere this frame, Disney\u2019s 10th weekend of Zootopia 2 is eyeing $6M, while Avatar: Fire and Ash and Amazon MGM Studios\u2019 Mercy are about $5M apiece. Mercy is down 54% with a 10-day cume by Sunday of $19.2M. Avatar 3 will be down 22% for a running cume of $385.6M by the end of its seventh weekend. Zootopia 2 is expected to hit $409.1M by Sunday.<\/p>\n

\n\tBlack Bear\u2019s Jason Statham action movie Shelter is falling outside the top 5 with around $4M for the weekend after an estimated $1.5M Friday (that includes previews).<\/p>\n

\n\tIn terms of marketshare of showtimes, The Box Office Company reports that 13% are comprised of Send Help, 10% for Amazon MGM Studios\u2019 Mercy, 9% for Iron Lung, 8% for Shelter, 7% for Zootopia 2, and 6% for Melania. <\/p>\n

\n\tPREVIOUSLY, Friday AM: Markiplier\u2019s self-financed feature take on the video game Iron Lung broke out with $3.5 million in previews on Thursday night, we\u2019re told. Meanwhile, Sam Raimi\u2019s genre pic Send Help from 20th Century Studios saw $2.2M. <\/p>\n

\n\tIron Lung went into the weekend with $6M in presales and is expected to do around $9M-$10M. We hear that the movie cost under $3M and its P&A was bare-bones, with an Instagram post from the YouTuber and a one-sheet printed for its North American debut. Iron Lung held previews Tuesday and Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\n\tSend Help\u2018s previews are in line with 2023\u2019s Evil Dead Rise ($2.5M previews, $24.5M opening) and last year\u2019s The Amateur ($2M, $14.8M opening), and higher than M. Night Shyamalan\u2019s A Knock at the Cabin ($1.5M, $14.1M opening in 2023). Send Help\u2018s numbers include sneaks from last weekend.<\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, Amazon MGM Studios\u2019 Melania<\/a> documentary from Brett Ratner didn\u2019t hold previews. Showtimes start today following Thursday night\u2019s premiere in Washington D.C.<\/a> The movie follows the 20 days before Donald Trump\u2019s 2025 presidential inauguration.<\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: <\/a>Amazon & Friends Roll Out International Red Carpet For \u2018Melania\u2019 Doc But Does Anyone Want To See It?<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tOn Thursday, Black Bear\u2019s second theatrical release, Shelter, took in $385,000 from 2,000 theaters. Outlook for the Jason Statham movie is around $5M+.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s news of another snowstorm brewing in the Mid-Atlantic U.S., but we understand it\u2019s not going to throw ticket sales off this weekend a la last weekend<\/a>. In addition, we\u2019re not hearing about circuits closing due to Friday\u2019s anti-ICE national protest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow is the Top 5 box office chart for the week:<\/p>\n

\n\t1. Mercy (AMZ) 3,468 theaters, Wk $14.6M\/Wk 1
2. Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th) 3,150 theaters, Wk $9.1M (-57%)\/Total $380.1M\/Wk 6
3. Zootopia 2 (Dis) 2,930 Wk $7.4M (-49%)\/Total $403.1M\/Wk 9
4. The Housemaid (LG) 3,007 theaters, Wk $5.9M (-53%), Total $117.1M\/Wk 6
5. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony) 3,506 theaters, Wk $4.9M (-71%)\/Total $22M\/Wk 2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SATURDAY AM: Refresh for more analysis\u2026.20th Century Studios\u2019 Send Help is looking to come in a little higher…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[146,85,100743,46,397,52634,71196],"class_list":["post-267408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-iron-lung","tag-israel","tag-movies","tag-send-help","tag-shelter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}