In a quiet weekend at the box office, Hollywood shifted its focus to football as the survival thriller “Send Help” maintained its position at No. 1, earning $10 million in its second weekend. Directed by Sam Raimi, the film has garnered $53.7 million globally, proving to be a successful midbudget venture for Disney. Meanwhile, the documentary “Melania,” which chronicles the life of Melania Trump, saw a significant drop in ticket sales, falling 67% to $2.4 million despite expanding to 300 additional theaters. Its total earnings now stand at $13.4 million, raising concerns about its profitability given the high production and marketing costs estimated at $75 million.
The Super Bowl weekend is historically one of the slowest for moviegoing, and this year was no exception, with studios opting to promote upcoming films through NFL broadcasts rather than relying on theater attendance. Anticipated trailers included Disney's “Mandalorian and Grogu” and Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic.
In other notable box office performances, the romantic comedy “Solo Mio” debuted with $7.2 million, while the K-pop concert film “Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience” opened with $5.6 million. The indie film “Iron Lung,” directed and starring YouTube creator Markiplier, continued to perform well, earning $6.2 million in its second weekend and bringing its total to $31.2 million against a production budget of $3 million.
Final domestic figures are expected to be released on Monday, but early estimates indicate a mixed response to recent film releases amid a weekend dominated by football viewership.