Melania Doc Beats Expectations with $7 Million Debut, Sam Raimi’s Send Help Lands at No. 1 with $20 Million
by Rebecca Rubin
Feb. 1, 2026


Melania, a documentary that shadows the first lady of the United States in the lead-up to Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration, is eclipsing box office expectations.

Melania placed at No. 3 on domestic box office charts behind two fellow newcomers, Sam Raimi’s survival thriller Send Help and YouTube creator Markiplier’s very indie adventure Iron Lung.




Melania has generated $7.04 million from 1,778 North American theaters, a huge start for a documentary (especially one that doesn’t involve music and isn’t about a concert). Projections, which fluctuated throughout the weekend, launched above pre-release estimates of $3 million to $5 million.

Amazon MGM spent a staggering amount of money on the film, acquiring the doc for $40 million and then shelling out $35 million on the marketing spend. Theater owners keep about half of ticket sales, which will make it difficult to justify the theatrical cost of Melania.




However, a deep-pocketed streamer like Amazon cares about much more than box office grosses; the studio plans to recoup some of its costs when Melania lands on its Prime streaming service after its theatrical run.

Melania will need to generate around $40 million to $45 million at the domestic box office to break even, according to sources familiar with the economics of similar films. Those sources believe that Melania has secured lucrative licensing deals that will offset the high promotional costs.




For Melania, opening weekend crowds were mostly older women; 72% of ticket buyers were female and 83% were above the age of 45, according to Amazon MGM. Nearly 75% of audiences were white, with Hispanic, the next-largest demo, at 11% of ticket buyers.

Meanwhile, the top moviegoing markets were outside of traditional locations like New York City and Los Angeles and included Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, Phoenix and West Palm Beach — cities where the president is popular.

Melania may have one of the largest discrepancies between audience sentiments and critical reviews; the film boasts an “A” grade on CinemaScore exit polls as well as a blistering 10% average on Rotten Tomatoes.






After a close race, Send Help narrowly pulled ahead with $20 million from 3,475 North American locations. Disney and 20th Century’s film collected a softer-than-expected $8.1 million at the international box office, bringing its global tally to $28 million.

That’s a solid start for the $40 million production, which is expected to stick around beyond its debut, thanks to great word-of-mouth and enthusiasm for original horror.

The R-rated film earned a positive “B+” grade on CinemaScore exit polls and a 93% Rotten Tomatoes average from critics.





Iron Lung impressed in second place with $17.8 million from 3,015 cinemas. This turnout is especially notable because ticket sales nearly matched the result of a major release from Disney, but without mainstream resources.

Markiplier (his real name is Mark Fischback) wrote, directed, financed and distributed Iron Lung against a reported $3 million budget.





Shelter tumbled to the No. 6 spot with $5.5 million from 2,726 theaters in its first weekend of release.

That’s a dismal start against its $50 million production budget.





In limited release, A24’s Charli xcx mockumentary The Moment scored with $427,940 from four screens — averaging $106,985 per location.

A24 says it’s the third biggest limited opening of the post-COVID era as well as one of the biggest for A24 all-time behind only Marty Supreme and Uncut Gems.

https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/melania-documentary-box-office-strong-opening-weekend-send-help-1236645970/





January 30 - February 1, 2026: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Send Help $20,000,000
2. Iron Lung $17,800,000
3. Melania $7,042,000
4. Zootopia 2 $5,800,000 / $408,957,359
5. Shelter $408,957,359
6. Avatar: Fire and Ash $5,500,000 / $386,126,673
7. Mercy $4,730,000 / $19,407,819
8. The Housemaid $3,500,403 / $120,686,000
9. Marty Supreme $2,913,763 / $90,879,866
10. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple $1,600,000 / $23,650,742

If a lady friend wants to see Melania I might go see that next weekend but I am very curious about the Elvis concert movie EPIC. It has been so long since I have been to the movies (2017) I almost have a phobia about going to see anything.

Thank you for this report Jimmy :)

Melania Plunges 67% to Tenth Place, Send Help Remains No. 1 in Glacial Super Bowl Weekend
by Rebecca Rubin
Feb. 8, 2026


Football festivities and frigid temperatures across the East Coast and Midwest kept moviegoers on the couch and contributed to a glacial Super Bowl weekend at the box office.

Without any new releases from the major studios, Sam Raimi’s survival thriller Send Help remained in first place with $10 million from 3,475 North American venues, a 47% drop from its $19.1 million debut.

Send Help has grossed $35.8 million domestically and $17.9 million overseas, bringing its global total to $53.7 million.






Second place went to Solo Mio with $7.2 million from 3,052 venues, on par with expectations.

The PG film, which landed an “A-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls and 81% Rotten Tomatoes average, stars Kevin James as a man who goes on his honeymoon alone after getting left at the altar.






Iron Lung, a very indie effort from the YouTube creator known as Markiplier, slid to third place with $6.2 million from 2,930 theaters.

Although those ticket sales mark a steep 66% decline from its debut, Iron Lung reportedly cost $3 million and has exceeded all expectations with $31.2 million to date, so it’s a massive commercial success for Markiplier (whose real name is Mark Fischback).

He self-financed and distributed Iron Lung in addition to writing, directing and starring in the film. The gory, R-rated adventure is based on a post-apocalyptic 2022 video game about a fugitive who has to scavenge natural resources in an ocean of blood after a rapture.






In fourth place, Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience opened to a solid $5.5 million from 1,724 theaters. Bleecker Street is releasing the film, which captures the music group’s world tour and sold-out performance at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium.

Universal is rolling out Stray Kids internationally, where the film has earned a mighty $13.2 million from 61 markets for an impressive global tally of $19.1 million.






Director Luc Besson’s Dracula remake, starring Caleb Landry Jones and Christoph Waltz, rounded out the top five with $4.5 million from 2,050 theaters.

Those ticket sales mark the largest opening weekend to date for newer distributor Vertical, besting the recent debut of January’s We Bury the Dead with $2.5 million.






Lionsgate’s The Strangers: Chapter 3 crash-landed at No. 8 with $3.5 million from 2,565 locations. That’s far below the two prior installments in the rebooted R-rated slasher series, including 2024’s Chapter 1 ($12 million) and 2025’s Chapter 2 ($5.8 million).

However, the studio spent $20 million on all three films, and the first two have generated a combined $70 million globally. So, despite the sharp diminishing returns, the franchise will be profitable for Lionsgate.





Melania plunged to the No. 10th spot with $2.37 million from 2,003 theaters, representing a steep 67% decline in ticket sales. It has earned $13.35 million domestically after two weekends of release.

In an unusual move, though, Amazon MGM released a statement to address the second weekend results. “‘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,” said Amazon MGM’s head of domestic theatrical distribution, Kevin Wilson.



“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.”

“That 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.

https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/melania-box-office-plunges-send-help-stays-first-slow-super-bowl-1236656120/





February 6-8, 2026: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Send Help $10,000,000 / $35,839,748
2. Solo Mio $7,200,000
3. Iron Lung $6,000,000 / $30,800,000
4. Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience $5,564,237
5. Dracula $4,505,350
6. Zootopia 2 $4,000,000 / $414,506,721
7. Avatar: Fire and Ash $3,500,000 / $391,533,850
8. The Strangers: Chapter 3 $3,495,000
9. Shelter $2,425,000 / $9,986,795
10. Melania $2,378,874 / $13,353,819

I'm looking forward to Wuthering Heights. Coming out this Friday.