Key Takeaways
Total 3-Day Weekend Gross:
$82,570,665 | +35.1% Last Week / -4.3% Weekend 5, 2025
As with last week, three newcomers ruled the top of the chart as Disney’s horror film Send Help over-performed with $20M while the indie sensation Iron Lung earned a disruptor-worthy $17.86M on par with the similar Terrifier 3 situation in 2024 ($18.9M debut with ultra-low P&A). The overall BO is only a hair behind year-over-year when consensus pick Dog Man ruled this frame in 2025.
- Top Title: Send Help (20th Century) | $20M / 3,475 Screens / $5,755 PSA | Week 1
- Top Title: Send Help (20th Century) | $20M / 3,475 Screens / $5,755 PSA | Week 1
- Best PSA: The Moment (A24) | $427.9K / 4 Screens / $106,985 PSA | Week 1
1. Send Help
20th Century Studios | NEW
$20M 3-Day Opening Weekend | $28.1M Global Total
As our forecasting panel predicted earlier this week, director Sam Raimi scored his seventh career #1 opening with the survival horror flick Send Help, which earned an estimated $20M from 3,475 screens for a $5,755 Per Screen Average. That’s above Raimi’s previous horror original Drag Me to Hell, which debuted to $15.8M in 2009. It also bested lead Rachel McAdams’ last big opener as a lead Game Night, which bowed to $17M in 2018.
Here’s how the 3-Day looked, including $2.2M in Thursday previews…
- Friday – $7.2M
- Saturday – $7.1M
- Sunday – $5.7M
Reviews were excellent at 93% RT critical, with an 88% audience score, 4 out of 5 stars on PostTrak, and genre-solid “B+” CinemaScore. Audiences were 53% male/47% female, with 25-34 being the highest age bracket at 33%. Send Help actually performed solidly in all age brackets except 17-and-under.
Here’s how demographics looked…
- Caucasian – 54%
- Hispanic – 21%
- AA – 13%
- Asian – 6%
- NatAm/Other – 6%
Premium formats accounted for 46% of domestic…
2D – 92%
Traditional 2D – 54%
PLF 2D – 35%
Motion 2D – 1%
ScreenX – 2%
3D – 8%
Traditional 3D – 5%
PLF 3D – 1%
Motion 3D – 2%
Overseas Send Help could not keep pace with North America, taking in only $8.1M internationally from 47 material territories, accounting for around 80% of that footprint. France and the UK have yet to open. Top 3 markets were Mexico ($1.1M), Australia ($0.8M), and Germany ($0.5M).
2. Iron Lung
Markiplier Studios | NEW
$17.86M 3-Day Opening Weekend
YouTube sensation Mark Fischbach (aka Markiplier) used the targeted self-distribution method to his advantage for Iron Lung, a post-apocalyptic mini-sub movie based on the titular video game. The indie film took in $17.86M from 3,015 screens for a $5,970 PSA, above our prediction panel’s high-end estimates, though we did note it certainly had the potential of nearing the $20M mark for its debut. It started off looking like it might be a photo finish with Send Help, which it beat on Friday thanks to big Thursday numbers, but by Sunday had dropped off significantly.
Here’s how the 3-Day looked, including $3.5M in Thursday previews…
- Friday – $8.9M
- Saturday – $5.1M
- Sunday – $3.86M
Reviews were negative at 50% RT, with an 89% audience score showing the disparity between a direct-marketed audience and mainstream criticism. In terms of recent game adaptations, Iron Lung‘s performance is not far from 2018’s Tomb Raider ($23.6M debut) or 2021’s Mortal Kombat ($23.3M), which is surprising for a film that reportedly cost less-than $5M.
3. Melania
Amazon/MGM Studios | NEW
$7M 3-Day Opening Weekend |
Amazon/MGM’s first lady doc Melania from director Brett Ratner took in an estimated $7M from 1,778 locations for a $3,960 PSA. We singled out the doc as a potential surprise performer this weekend following a late surge in bookings on Monday. This performance is in line with the average performance of faith-based titles in recent years, e.g., Homestead ($6M debut), Ordinary Angels ($6.1M debut), Arthur the King ($7.6M), or Unsung Hero ($7.7M). It is also on par with 2024’s conservative biopic Reagan, which brought in $7.65M from 2,754 screens in its debut. The key difference is the location count—with only 1,778 screens, this film performed significantly higher than we expected on a per-screen basis. Top markets for the title include metro areas in states politically-aligned to the President in the 2020 election, including Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, and South Florida.
Here’s how the 3-Day looked…
- Friday – $2.9M
- Saturday – $2.3M
- Sunday – $1.8M
Although the movie was denied to most of the mainstream press before opening, that did not stop it from earning a rock-bottom 10% from RT critics, with the disparate audience rating at 99% and CinemaScore an “A” (again, comparable to typical faith-based audience ratings). White audiences above the age of 55 represented the core audience for this title. At 72% the 55+ grouping was the largest age quadrant, while audiences were 70% female to 30% male.
Here’s how demographics looked…
- 75% White
- 11% Hispanic
- 8% NatAm/ Other
- 5% Asian
- 2% AA
Other Notable Performances
Black Bear could not make magic happen with the Jason Statham geezer teaser Shelter, with the VOD-ish actioner debuting to an estimated $5.5M behind the 10th frame of Zootopia 2 (freshly released to digital). Reviews were mezzo mezzo at 63% RT critical, audience score was 89%, and a “B+” CinemaScore. The low opening is below the $8M debut of Statham’s Expend4bles in 2023, the $8.3M opening of Wrath of Man in 2021, or even the $7.45M opening of Mechanic: Resurrection. You would have to go all the way back to the $2.98M debut of In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale in 2008 to find a lower wide opening for the actor.
Next Weekend
While Renny Harlin’s initial Strangers prequel acquitted itself well with an $11.8M opening and $35.2M domestic total, Chapter 2 failed to launch with a $5.8M debut and $15.15M domestic. With those -50%+ diminishing returns, Lionsgate’s The Strangers – Chapter 3 will have a heavy lift ahead of it. There’s also Angel Studios’ romantic comedy Solo Mio written by and starring Kevin James as a sad sack who gets left at the altar, then chooses to go on his honeymoon alone.
Sunday Studio Estimates | Weekend 5 – 2026
Total 3-Day Domestic Gross: $82,570,665 | (+35.1% vs 2025)
| Title | Weekend Estimate | % Change | Locations | Location Change | PSA | Domestic Total | Week | Distributor |
| Send Help | $20,000,000 | 3,475 | $5,755 | 20,000,000 | 1 | 20th Century | ||
| Iron Lung | $18,000,000 | 3,015 | $5,970 | 18,000,000 | 1 | Markiplier | ||
| Melania | $7,041,612 | 1,778 | $3,960 | 7,041,612 | 1 | Amazon MGM | ||
| Zootopia 2 | $5,800,000 | 9% | 2,880 | -50 | $2,014 | 408,957,359 | 10 | Walt Disney |
| Shelter | $5,505,000 | 2,726 | $2,019 | 5,505,000 | 1 | Black Bear | ||
| Avatar: Fire and Ash | $5,500,000 | -14% | 2,800 | -350 | $1,964 | 386,126,673 | 7 | 20th Century |
| Mercy | $4,730,000 | -56% | 3,468 | n/c | $1,364 | 19,407,819 | 2 | Amazon MGM |
| The Housemaid | $3,500,000 | -11% | 2,603 | -404 | $1,345 | 120,686,000 | 7 | Lionsgate |
| Marty Supreme | $2,913,763 | -18% | 1,703 | -318 | $1,711 | 90,879,867 | 7 | A24 |
| 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple | $1,600,000 | -53% | 2,042 | -1,464 | $784 | 23,651,000 | 3 | Sony Pictures |
| Hamnet | $1,500,000 | -19% | 1,259 | -737 | $1,191 | 20,215,000 | 10 | Focus Features |
| Anaconda | $820,000 | -37% | 1,052 | -755 | $779 | 63,639,000 | 6 | Sony Pictures |
| Primate | $775,000 | -50% | 1,225 | -920 | $633 | 25,036,000 | 4 | Paramount |
| Clika | $575,000 | -54% | 540 | 18 | $1,065 | 2,257,000 | 2 | Sony Pictures |
| The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants | $550,000 | -39% | 802 | -614 | $686 | 70,485,000 | 7 | Paramount |
| Song Sung Blue | $540,000 | -30% | 709 | -443 | $762 | 38,256,000 | 6 | Focus Features |
| The Moment | $427,940 | 4 | $106,985 | 427,940 | 1 | A24 | ||
| Arco | $411,872 | 809% | 302 | 298 | $1,364 | 517,086 | 12 | Neon |
| No Other Choice | $405,000 | -39% | 323 | -359 | $1,254 | 9,098,602 | 6 | Neon |
| David | $332,511 | -41% | 535 | -505 | $622 | 79,965,186 | 7 | Angel Studios |
| The Testament of Ann Lee | $312,000 | -44% | 500 | n/c | $624 | 2,104,511 | 6 | Searchlight |
| The Secret Agent | $276,000 | 36% | 312 | 167 | $885 | 3,248,982 | 10 | Neon |
| Greenland 2: Migration | $275,000 | -72% | 614 | -1,275 | $448 | 17,654,000 | 4 | Lionsgate |
| Sentimental Value | $147,000 | -27% | 276 | 169 | $533 | 4,713,065 | 13 | Neon |
| Is This Thing On? | $75,000 | -50% | 95 | -205 | $789 | 6,171,571 | 7 | Searchlight |
| A Poet | $27,754 | 2 | $13,877 | 27,754 | 1 | 1-2 Special | ||
| The Love That Remains | $27,200 | 2 | $13,600 | 27,200 | 1 | Janus Films | ||
| Natchez | $17,016 | 1 | $17,016 | 17,016 | 13 | Oscilloscope | ||
| OBEX | 3,697 | -43% | 9 | -2 | $411 | 40,078 | 4 | Oscilloscope |
| Mistress Dispeller | $176 | 76% | 1 | n/c | $176 | 93,248 | 15 | Oscilloscope |
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