Football events and cold weather across the East Coast and Midwest kept people at home and made the Super Bowl weekend a big hit for staying inside. Without any new movies from big studios, Sam Raimi's thriller "Send Help" stayed at the top with $10 million from 3,475 theaters, which is a 47% drop from its first weekend of $19.1 million. On the other hand, the documentary "Melania," which is about the U.S. first lady, dropped to number nine with $2.37 million from 2,003 theaters, that's a big 67% drop in ticket sales.
The Super Bowl is the biggest TV event of the year, and it usually stops movie theaters from making money.
This year, the box office brought in about $60 million, according to Comscore. That’s not the worst ever—actually, the worst was in 2024 with only $38.9 million, which was because of movies like "Argylle" and "Lisa Frankenstein." But it's still way behind what it used to be before the pandemic. Before that, the weekend with the Super Bowl could bring in as much as $75 million to $85 million.
"Send Help" has made $35.8 million in the U.S. and $17.9 million overseas, making a total of $53.7 million worldwide.
Horror movies often lose a lot of money during their second weekend, but this one is doing well because people are talking about it a lot. Still, the movie cost $40 million to make, and Disney hopes it stays in theaters through the winter.
"Melania" has made $13.35 million in the U.S. after two weekends.
That's a big number for a documentary, especially one that's not about nature or music. But it's not just the ticket sales that cost a lot—Amazon MGM spent a huge amount on the film and a related streaming series, totaling $40 million for the film and $35 million for marketing. That's more than most documentaries, and it's made people wonder if Amazon is trying to show support for the current government. Since theaters keep about half of the money, it's hard to see how that spending was worth it. But Amazon made a statement explaining their strategy.
Amazon MGM’s head of domestic theatrical distribution said, “Melania’s strong theatrical performance is a critical first moment that validates our holistic distribution strategy, building awareness, engagement, and provides momentum ahead of the film’s eventual debut on Prime Video.
Together, theatrical and streaming represent two distinct value creating moments that amplify the film’s overall impact. Audience response is already validating this approach, with exit data showing strong intent to rewatch on Prime Video and meaningful interest in the forthcoming docuseries.”
Amazon MGM is a big company that's newer to the movie theater scene than some of its competitors, like Disney and Universal.
The company sees the theatrical window as an important first step in what they call a “long-tail lifecycle.”
“Interest is further amplified by the theatrical marketing halo we consistently see drive increased awareness and viewership once films launch on Prime Video, reinforcing long-term value across the movie’s entire lifecycle,” Wilson concluded.
Another movie, "Iron Lung" by the YouTube creator Markiplier, fell to third place making $6.2 million from 2,930 theaters.
Even though that's almost a 66% drop from its opening, the movie only cost $3 million to make and has already earned $31.2 million so far. That's a huge success for Markiplier, who also directed and starred in the film. The movie is based on a post-apocalyptic video game about someone trying to survive in a blood-filled ocean.
With big studios not sending out new movies during the Super Bowl weekend, some indie movies did well.
For example, "Solo Mio," a romantic comedy from Angel Studios, and "Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience," a K-pop concert documentary, both made it into the top five.
Comscore's head of marketplace trends said, "With minimal competition in the marketplace, independent and alternative films have an opportunity to stand out.
These films may find a more receptive audience given the reduced presence of new major studio releases."
" Solo Mio" came in second place with $7.2 million from 3,052 theaters, which was close to what was expected.
The movie, which got an “A-” on CinemaScore and an 81% Rotten Tomatoes rating, stars Kevin James as a man who goes on his honeymoon alone after being left at the altar.
David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, said, "This is smart counter-programming against the weekend’s big sports events.
It's the right actor and story, made for very little money, from the right distributor. Angel Studios knows how to reach this audience."
Fourth place went to "Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience," which opened to $5.5 million from 1,724 theaters.
Bleecker Street released the film, which includes the music group's world tour and their performance at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Universal is showing the film internationally and it has already made $13.2 million from 61 markets, giving it a total of $19.1 million worldwide.
Lastly, Luc Besson's remake of "Dracula," starring Caleb Landry Jones and Christoph Waltz, made $4.5 million from 2,050 theaters.
That's the biggest opening weekend for newer distributor Vertical so far, beating the recent opening of "We Bury the Dead" which made $2.5 million.
"Vertical is excited to have made it into the top 5 this weekend for the first time with 'Dracula,'” said Steve Bunnell, the president of theatrical distribution. “It’s an amazing and romantic movie experience that comes just in time for Valentine’s Day.”
A new movie, Lionsgate’s "The Strangers: Chapter 3," opened at number 7 with $3.5 million from 2,565 theaters.
That’s much lower than the previous two movies in the rebooted R-rated horror series, including "Chapter 1" from 2024, which made $12 million, and "Chapter 3" from 2025, which made $5.8 million. But Lionsgate spent $20 million on all three films, and the first two have already made a combined $70 million worldwide. Even though the earnings are dropping quickly, the series is still making a profit for the studio.
The box office is expected to pick up next weekend with five new movies coming out, including Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of "Wuthering Heights" with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, the Steph Curry-produced "GOAT," and the star-studded heist thriller "Crime 101" starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Barry Keoghan.
Otherwise, it’s been a slow and disappointing start to the year for movie theater owners, who are hoping that 2026 will finally bring the box office back to life.”
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