{"id":435818,"date":"2026-01-29T00:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T00:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/435818\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T00:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T00:33:09","slug":"send-help-eyes-25m-ww-iron-lung-melania-could-pop-box-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/435818\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Send Help’ Eyes $25M WW, ‘Iron Lung’ & ‘Melania’ Could Pop: Box Office"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIt\u2019s intriguing final weekend at the January box office \u2014 if only one, or two or three, of these wide releases can overperform after last weekend\u2019s monster storm<\/a> shut the lights at 400 theaters.<\/p>\n

\n\tYes, 20th Century Studios\u2019 Sam Raimi-directed island genre thriller Send Help<\/a> will lead stateside with around $15M+ in North America at 3,400 sites (with potential for upside based on those great reviews<\/a> at 94% certified fresh) and around another $10M-plus abroad for a $25M global debut. That finally could dethrone Avatar: Fire and Ash, which has been riding a global weekend perch for the past six weekends.<\/p>\n

\n\tSend Help follows a nepo tech boss (Dylan O\u2019Brien) who gets stuck on a deserted island with his brilliant, nerdy office accountant (Rachel McAdams). He disrespects her, but man, is she well versed in survival skills.<\/p>\n

\n\tOffshore the pic has an 80% footprint with a good representation of PLFs and 3D screens with the UK opening a week later and France two weeks later to sidestep local competition. Send Help goes out Wednesday in Belgium, Indonesia, Korea and Philippines, followed on Thursday by Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Central America, Chile, Colombia, Czech Rep, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad, UAE, Ukraine and Uruguay. Friday\u2019s offshore markets are Finland, India, Japan, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Vietnam. This type of genre pic can win over Europe and Latin America. <\/p>\n

\n\tForeign comps are Don\u2019t Breathe ($16M international debut in like-for-likes) and Evil Dead Rise ($17M foreign opening). Previews stateside start at 2 p.m. and will roll in early sneaks from Saturday at 500 sites, which largely were battered from the storm but did well in sunny areas like California. First choice is best with men under 25.<\/p>\n

\n\tYouTuber Markiplier\u2019s self-financed, self-distributed feature take of videogame Iron Lung<\/a> is booked at 3,105 theaters in U.S. and Canada with more than 1,000 locations in Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Stateside, Iron Lung counts $6M in presales, which points to a $9M-$10M opening. Can the movie play beyond its core faithful? It would be amazing if it happens as the marketing campaign has been thrifty, with Markiplier posting a trailer at the start of December and one sheets made for in-theater. There were fan screenings Tuesday night, which continue tonight and into Thursday, starting at 5 p.m. The under-25 set is the best for Iron Lung. The pic is rated R, just like Send Help. <\/p>\n

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

\n\tBlack Bear\u2019s second theatrical release, the R-rated action pic Shelter<\/a> from star Jason Statham and director Ric Roman Waugh, is looking at $5M-$7M at 2,726 sites in U.S.\/Canada. Previews start at 10:45 p.m. Thursday. Men over 25 are first choice. Blurb: A recluse on a remote Scottish island rescues a girl from the sea, unleashing a perilous sequence of events that culminate in an attack on his home, compelling him to face his turbulent history.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis brings us to Amazon MGM Studios\u2019 $40M licensed documentary Melania<\/a>, which is gaining steam in presales, we hear, with around $1M indicating a $5M-plus debut at 1,500 sites \u2014 potentially the best for a doc in a decade, besting Angel Studios\u2019 After Death ($5M). Comps are right-wing movies like Matt Walsh\u2019s Am I Racist?, which opened to $4.5M in 2024 and finaled around $12M in U.S.\/Canada. This Brett Ratner-directed intimate look at the First Lady in the 20 days leading up to the 2025 inauguration isn\u2019t a movie that\u2019s meant to pop in NYC and LA, rather it\u2019s poised to overindex in right-leaning hubs like Houston, Phoenix, Orlando and Miami as well as rural areas with populations under 500K. Any success of the pic is geo-centric. The window is well beyond 10 days, we understand. So far, per distribution sources, presales seem organic: There\u2019s no sense that MAGA groups are snapping up tickets in bulk a la Angel Studios with right-wing groups and Sound of Freedom. <\/p>\n

\n\tAlso bowing this weekend is the Paris Hilton<\/a> documentary Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir at 677 locations via CJ 40 Plex and Western Film Services. <\/p>\n

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