A massive winter storm sweeping across much of the U.S. is considerably impacting the domestic box office, forcing over 400 theater closures and prompting communities to advise citizens to stay home. Overall revenue is projected to reach the lowest point of the year, marking the first weekend to fall behind the same period in 2025.
Mercy Claims Top Spot Amidst Stormy Box Office
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Despite the challenging weather conditions, Timur Bekmambetov’s new thriller, Mercy, starring Chris Pratt, debuted as the weekend’s winner.
MGM Amazon Studios reported an estimated $12.6 million opening for Mercy on Saturday, before the full extent of the theater closures became clear. The film also saw a promising start overseas, earning $11.6 million.
Critical Reception and Audience Response
However, Mercy isn’t without its challenges in North America. Critics have largely snubbed the film, and audience exits indicate a lukewarm reception, with a B- CinemaScore.
Mercy does, however, hold the distinction of being the film that finally dethroned James Cameron’s avatar: Fire and Ash, which had dominated the box office for the previous 6 weekends, grossing $46.1 million globally.
Oscar Buzz boosts Marty Supreme
The box office bump frequently enough associated with Academy Award nominations can still be a factor. Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme,from A24,had already been an overperformer before landing 9 top nominations on Jan. 22,including best picture and best actor for Timothée Chalamet (many predict he will win). This weekend, the film is projected to come in at No. 6 with an estimated $3.5 million, a drop of just 35 percent.
That could be the second-best hold of any film in the top five, behind Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, another Oscar frontrunner that received 8 nominations for Focus Features after winning best drama at the Golden Globes on Jan. 11. The arthouse pic, which began playing in select theaters in November, expanded to a total of 1,276 theaters this weekend, grossing $2 million for a domestic haul of $17.6 million.
the weekend’s only other new release, Return to silent hill, from Chris McGurk’s Cineverse Entertainment, landed with a thud, earning just $3.3 million.
“The film has a total investment of only $3.5 mil, so it will be very profitable for us and a great addition to our library and streaming channels,” mcgurk said in a statement. “The weather clearly was a big factor this weekend and impacted the box office significantly for everyone. Hopefully the industry will get some of this missed demand back during this week and next weekend if the weather improves.”
A special 25th-year anniversary rerelease of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy continues to draw audiences. Warner Bros. and Fathom are partnering on the event, with the three films collectively bringing in another $6.7 million domestically and $12 million overseas, for a cume of $18.7 million.
Jan. 25, 8:15 a.m.: Updated with revised numbers.
This story was originally published Jan. 4 a.m. at 11:23 am
