Mercy me.
A massive winter storm impacting much of the U.S. is taking a toll on the domestic box office as numerous communities and cities advise citizens to stay home, and hundreds of theaters closed. Overall revenue is expected to fall to the lowest point of the year to date, while it’s als the first weekend to come in behind the same frame in 2025.
The weekend’s winner is Timur Bekmambetov‘s new thriller Mercy, starring Chris Pratt as a man who is on trial for murdering his wife. In a chilling development, he learns his fate rests in the hands of an artificial intelligence judge. On Saturday, MGM Amazon Studios reported an estimated $12.6 million opening before the extent of theater closures was known.
The storm isn’t Mercy’s only challenge. Critics have snubbed the film, while audience exits are only so-so, including a B- CinemaScore.
Mercy does get bragging rights for being the film that finally toppled James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash after ruling the roost the five previous weekends (several years ago, Avatar: The Way of Water kept the crown for seven weekends).
Fire & Ash, from 20th Century Fox, is looking at a No. 2 finish with an estimated $7 million, putting its domestic cume atd $378.5 million for a global haul of $1 billion. Fellow Disney animated blockbuster Zootopia 2, holding at No. 3, brought in $5.7 million as the record-breaking film notched another milestone in crossing the $400 million mark domestically. (Its global haul is north of an eye-popping $1.7 billion).
Director Paul Feig’s Sydney Sweeney-Amanda Seyfried vehicle The Housemaid also continues to clean up for Lionsgate. It’s holding at No. 4 in its sixth outing with an estimated weekend haul of $6 million. The females-skewing film has earned $250 or more globally in a massive win.
Nia DaCosta’s elevated horror-zombie sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple isn’t so lucky. After opening behind expectations at the MLK Holiday box office, it’s falling to No. 5 in its sophomore outing with a projected $4.2 million for a domestic total of just $21.4 million.
The fabled box office bump that movies can enjoy after landing top Academy Award nominations has diminished over the years, but it can still be a factor. Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme, from A24, had been an overperformer even before landing 9 top nominations Jan. 22, including best picture and best actor Timothée Chalamet (most are betting he wins). This weekend, the film is set to come in 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 behind Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, another Oscar frontrunner that landed 8 nominations for Focus Features after winning best drama at the Golden Globes Jan. 11. The arthouse pic, which started off playing in select runs in November, expanded into a total of 1,276 theaters this weekend. Moving into the top 10, it grossed $2 million for a domestic haul of $17.6 million. Spielberg and Sam Mendes are hitting the awards campaign trail hard for Zhao.
Staying relatively high up on the chart, or at No. 8, is an ongoing special 25th-year anniversary rerelease of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Warner Bros. and Fathom are partnering on the event, which is expected to bring in a total of $11 million to $12 million, if not more.
More to come.
This story was originally published Jan. 4 a.m. at 11:23 am
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