‘Melania’ falls steeply at box office and ‘Send Help’ is No. 1

LOS ANGELES – The survival thriller “Send Help” grossed another $10 million to lead all films in North America in a slow weekend at the box office, according to industry estimates released Sunday.

Hollywood largely ceded attention to football over a slow box-office weekend, with “Send Help” repeating as No. 1 in ticket sales and the Melania Trump documentary “Melania” falling sharply in its second weekend.

Super Bowl weekend is typically one of the lowest attended moviegoing times of the year. It was the second slowest weekend last year and in 2024 it ranked dead last for moviegoing.

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‘Send Help’ beats ‘Solo Mio’

Director Sam Raimi’s film “Send Help,” which stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien, beat out the romantic comedy “Solo Mio,” starring Kevin James, which opened with $7.2 million, Comscore reported.

Director Sam Raimi, from left, Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien and producer Zainab Azizi pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere for the film “Send Help” in London, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Photo by Millie Turner/Invision/AP)

With $53.7 million globally thus far, the R-rated survival thriller has proved a solid midbudget success. Disney meanwhile watched its remarkably long-lasting “Zootopia 2” cross $1.8 billion worldwide in its 11th week of release.

‘Melania’ drops steeply

“Melania,” from Amazon MGM, added 300 theaters in its second weekend but dropped steeply with to $2.4 million in ticket sales, down 67% from its much-discussed debut. The rapid downturn means the Brett Ratner-directed documentary is likely heading toward flop territory given its high price tag. Amazon MGM paid $40 million for film rights, plus some $35 million to market it.

The North American total for “Melania” stands at $13.4 million. Amazon MGM has not released international figures, though they’re expected to be paltry.

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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.”

‘Iron Lung’

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” was third, collecting $6.2 million and bringing its two-week total to $31.2 million. It cost $3 million to make.

‘Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience’

Fourth place went to the K-pop documentary “Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience,” which opened with $5.5 million.

“Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience,” a K-pop concert film released by Bleecker Street, launched with $5.6 million, and an additional $13.2 million overseas.

‘Dracula’

This image released by Vertical Entertainment shows Christoph Waltz, background center, in a scene from “Dracula.” (Vertical Entertainment via AP)

The Luc Besson-directed Bram Stoker adaptation “Dracula” opened with $4.5 million, a studio-best debut for the indie distributor Vertical.

Director Luc Besson’s “Dracula,” starring Caleb Landry Jones, opened in fifth place with $4.5 million.

‘Zootopia 2’

“Zootopia 2” continued its lengthy and impressive run, grossing another $4 million in its 11th weekend in theaters for a cumulative domestic total of over $414 million.

Rounding out the top 10 releases were “Avatar: Fire and Ash” ($3.5 million), “The Strangers – Chapter 3” ($3.5 million), “Shelter” ($2.4 million) and “Melania” ($2.3 million). (With CNS and AP reports)

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