Sam Raimi doesn’t need help to dominate the US box office

Send Help maintains the lead in the American rankings where Luc Besson and his Dracula are off to a good start.

The bitter cold on the East Coast and the Super Bowl weekend have put the US box office in survival mode.

In the absence of major new releases from major studios, the survival thriller Send Help by Sam Raimi remains firmly in the lead with $10 million collected in 3,475 theaters in North America, a drop of 47% compared to its start at 19.1 million.

The Super Bowl, which takes place this Sunday evening, the biggest television event of the year in North America, almost always causes a downturn at the box office. This year, revenue has plateaued around $60 million, according to Comscore. However, this is not the worst score ever recorded for a Super Bowl weekend: that sad record belongs to 2024, with only $38.9 million, led by Argyle.

At this point, Send Help – which will be released on February 11 in France – has accumulated 35.8 million dollars on the American market and 17.9 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to 53.7 million. The feature film starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien benefits from excellent word of mouth. The fact remains that the production cost 40 million dollars: Disney is therefore counting on solid operations throughout the winter to cover its costs.

Second place goes to romantic comedy Solo Mio from studio Angel Studios, with $7.2 million earned in 3,052 theaters, a result in line with expectations. The film for all audiences features Kevin James as a man abandoned at the altar, forced to go on his honeymoon alone.

In third position, Iron Lunga very independent project signed by YouTube creator Markiplier, slipped to $6.2 million in 2,930 theaters. Despite a drop of 66% compared to its launch, the film, which would have cost only 3 million dollars, exceeded all expectations with 31.2 million cumulative receipts. A huge commercial success for Mark Fischbach, his real name, who self-financed and distributed this bloody adventure adapted from a post-apocalyptic video game from 2022, while writing it, directing it and playing the main role.

The American press notes that Melaniaa documentary dedicated to the first lady of the United States, tumbled to 9th place with $2.37 million in 2,003 theaters, showing a heavy drop of 67% in its admissions. After two weekends on display, Melania totaled $13.35 million on American soil, a notable score for a documentary that deals neither with nature nor music. But the project stands out above all for its exorbitant cost. Amazon MGM paid $40 million to acquire the film.

Finally, the French remake of Dracula directed by Luc Besson completes the top 5 with $4.5 million collected in 2,050 theaters. This is the best start yet for the young distributor Vertical, surpassing the recent launch of We Bury the Dead in January, which stopped at $2.5 million.