NEW YORK — Hollywood took a backseat to football this weekend, as the survival thriller “send help” held onto the No. 1 spot at the box office while the Melania Trump documentary “Melania” experienced a significant drop in ticket sales.
Super Bowl Weekend’s Chill on Moviegoing
Super Bowl weekend is traditionally a slow period for movie theaters, and 2024 proved no different, ranking as the slowest moviegoing weekend of the year.
- “Send Help” remained the top-grossing film, earning $10 million.
- The “Melania” documentary saw a 67% decrease in ticket sales from its debut.
- Studios shifted advertising focus to the Super Bowl’s massive television audience.
- The low-budget indie film “Iron Lung” continued to perform strongly, adding $6.2 million to its total.
Studios strategically focused their advertising efforts on the Super Bowl’s expansive television audience, with trailers expected to air for The Walt Disney Co.’s “Mandalorian and Grogu,” Lionsgate’s “Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” and Universal’s “Kung Fu Panda 4.”
For Angel Studios, the box-office performance of “Send Help” “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 considered strong for a less expensive documentary-were a topic of discussion throughout the week, with late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel commenting on the numbers. Kimmel even called the results a “rigged outcome.”
Elsewhere in theaters,the Italy-set romantic comedy “Solo Mio,” starring Kevin james,debuted with a robust $7.2 million, marking a significant win for the Christian-oriented angel Studios. “Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience,” a K-pop concert film released by Bleecker Street, launched with $5.6 million. The Luc Besson-directed Bram Stoker adaptation “Dracula” opened with $4.5 million, the indie distributor Vertical’s best debut to date.
Perhaps the most unusual release remains the low-budget indie film “Iron Lung.” Self-financed, self-distributed, written, directed, and starring mark Fischbach, known online as Markiplier, the R-rated video game adaptation collected $6.2 million in its second weekend, bringing its two-week total to $31.2 million. The film’s production cost was just $3 million.
With final domestic figures expected Monday, here’s a look at the estimated ticket sales for friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. “Send Help,” $10 million.
2. “Solo Mio,” $7.2 million.
3. “Iron Lung,” $6 million.
4.”Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience,” $5.6 million.
5. “Dracula,” $4.5 million.
6.”Zootopia 2,” $4 million.
7. “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” $3.5 million.
8. “The Strangers: Chapter 3,” $3.5 million.
9. “Shelter,” $2.4 million.
10. “Melania,” $2.4 million.
