Sam Raimi's latest horror movie, Send Help, has won the weekend at the North American box office with an impressive $20 million. However, while it exceeded expectations domestically, the same could not be said for its overseas performance.
The Rachel McAdams-led movie grossed $8.1 million internationally, resulting in a global bow of $28 million (which is still a solid start for a $40 million production). Send Help is expected to have legs, thanks to a B+ CinemaScore and 93% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
In second place with a surprising $18 million debut was Iron Lung, a $3 million production written, directed, and financed by YouTuber Markiplier (Mark Fischback). The fact that it's managed to nearly match a Disney/20th Century Studios title is bound to grab the attention of executives as they ponder the level of interest YouTubers can clearly bring to new releases.
Of course, the movie that everyone is discussing is Melania, which opened at #3 and exceeded expectations with over $7 million from 1,778 North American theaters. Variety describes that as a "huge start for a documentary," and unless you've been living under a rock, you'll surely know that it revolves around the First Lady of the United States in the lead-up to Donald Trump's second Presidential inauguration.
Melania also marks a comeback for Rush Hour and X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner. His career was derailed by sexual assault allegations in 2017, but he has a powerful supporter in the President.
Last November, it was widely reported that President Trump had urged Paramount CEO David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, one of his most prominent financial supporters, to move forward with Rush Hour 4. However, clearly aware of the optics, while Paramount will be paid a flat distribution fee to release the movie theatrically, it won't be on the hook to market or finance the sequel.
Amazon MGM Studios spent $40 million to acquire Melania and another $35 million on marketing. The documentary is bombing overseas, where there have been news reports about empty screenings, but there has been a big turnout in the U.S. Despite its 10% Rotten Tomatoes score, Melania has received an A grade on CinemaScore exit polls.
"As good as this opening is for a documentary, for any other film, opening like this — against $75 million in costs with very little foreign potential — would be a problem," David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, tells the trade. "But this is a political investment, not a for-profit movie venture."
"If it helps Amazon with a regulatory, taxation, tariff or other government issue, then it will pay back; $75 million is insignificant to Amazon."
The top 10 this weekend was rounded out by Zootopia 2, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Shelter, Mercy, The Housemaid, Marty Supreme, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, and Hamnet.
What did you head to theaters to watch this weekend?