February 6-8 Box Office Predictions

Don’t count on a super weekend at the box office as horror sequel The Strangers – Chapter 3 and Kevin James headlined dramedy Solo Mio compete with the dog days of the season and the Super Bowl. You can peruse my detailed prediction posts on the newbies here:

I don’t see either title toppling Send Help in its second weekend. The Sam Raimi pic had a better than expected start (more on that below) and should see a drop in the low to mid 50s.

In third position, I have Solo edging Strangers in a close race for (non) bragging rights. That said, either could over or underperform.

After another better than anticipated debut, Melania should see a smaller sophomore decline than Iron Lung. That’s with a caveat that the doc about the First Lady might be more front-loaded than my estimate.

Here’s how I see the high five shaking out:

1. Send Help

Predicted Gross: $8.6 million

2. Iron Lung

Predicted Gross: $7.1 million

3. Solo Mio

Predicted Gross: $5.2 million

4. The Strangers – Chapter 3

Predicted Gross: $4.5 million

5. Melania

Predicted Gross: $4.2 million

Box Office Predictions (January 30-February 1)

As much of the nation dug out from a winter snowstorm, more of them headed to theaters than I figured. Three of the four newcomers easily surpassed my forecasts. Send Help, capitalizing on solid reviews, was tops with $19.1 million compared to my $13.5 million prediction. The B+ Cinemascore is promising for its genre though I still think it falls around 50% this coming weekend.

Gamer based Iron Lung was right behind in second with $18.1 million, blowing past my measly $8 million projection. This is widely anticipated to make the bulk of its cash right away. It is still a terrific gross given the reported $3 million price tag.

Melania also exceeded its range with $7.1 million as the political documentary played best between the coasts in third. I went lower at $4.2 million.

Holdovers held up well with Zootopia 2 actually gaining 12% over the previous weekend with $5.9 million. I incorrectly had it outside of my top 6. The ten-week tally is $409 million.

Avatar: Fire and Ash rounded out the top five with $5.6 million (I said $4.9 million). After seven weeks, it has amassed $386 million.

Jason Statham action thriller Shelter was not found by many fans in sixth with $5.5 million compared to my $6.9 million take.

Finally, sci-fi courtroom saga Mercy fell 58% and from 1st to 7th with $4.5 million, in line with my $4.7 million guesstimate. The two-week total is $19 million.

And that does it for now, folks! Until next time…

January 30-February 1 Box Office Predictions

Three new features could fill the top 3 slots to close out January and begin February. We have Sam Raimi’s horror thriller Send Help, video game based sci-fi pic Iron Lung, and Jason Statham’s latest action effort Shelter all seeking viewers. You can peruse my detailed prediction posts on the trio here:

All of them have the potential to exceed my expectations, but I’m giving Send Help (with mostly impressive reviews) the edge with a gross in the low teens.

As for Lung and Shelter, I have them in a close race for the #2 position and both falling under $10 million. I’ll note that Lung‘s gamer fans and Statham’s previous grosses could suggest I’m underestimating.

Some might say for the same for Melania. Brett Ratner’s documentary about the First Lady is a question mark. I didn’t do an individual post for it. I’ll say $4.2 million and that would leave it outside the top 5.

After an unimpressive start, I look for Mercy to lose over half its audience with Avatar: Fire and Ash perhaps placing and Mercy in fifth. Here’s how I see it all shaking out:

1. Send Help

Predicted Gross: $13.5 million

2. Iron Lung

Predicted Gross: $8 million

3. Shelter

Predicted Gross: $6.9 million

4. Avatar: Fire and Ash

Predicted Gross: $4.9 million

5. Mercy

Predicted Gross: $4.7 million

6. Melania

Predicted Gross: $4.2 million

Box Office Results (January 23-25)

Bad weather, Seahawks, Rams, Patriots, and Broncos contributed to a dismal weekend as Mercy with Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson did manage to become 2026’s first feature to hit #1. The poorly reviewed AI courtroom saga made $10.8 million compared to my $9.3 million prediction. Expect it to fade quickly.

Avatar: Fire and Ash, after five weeks in first, dropped to second with $6.4 million. I’ll note now that all holdovers experienced larger drops than I assumed. I had the James Cameron threequel at $9.8 million. The total is $377 million

Zootopia 2 was third with $5.3 million, under my $6.8 million call. The Disney sequel stands at $401 million after nine weeks.

The Housemaid was fourth with $3.9 million (I said $6.2 million) for a six-week tally of $115 million.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple plummeted a massive 73% in its sophomore outing with $3.4 million. I was more generous at $5.5 million. At only $20 million in two weeks, it’s a dud despite impressive critical reaction.

Finally, Return to Silent Hill (another video game based offering) debuted in seventh with $3.2 million. It actually managed to exceed my $2.2 million projection.

And that does it for now, folks! Until next time…