As blanketed a wide portion of the country, Hollywood saw its slowest weekend of the year at the box office. The MGM sci-fi thriller claimed the No. 1 spot from with $11.2 million in North America, according to studio estimates released Sunday.
Around 250 theaters were forced to close from Texas to Maine, data firm Comscore reported. More than 140 million Americans were under winter storm warnings, which dampened moviegoing.
But the weekend was never going to be a blockbuster regardless. “Mercy,” a $60 million thriller starring Chris Pratt as a man in a near-future standing trial before an AI judge, was the top new release. It debuted with scathing reviews (20% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and an equally weak audience reception (a “B-” CinemaScore).
That was still enough to finally push James Cameron’s third Pandora epic from the box office peak. “Avatar: Fire and Ash” slid to second place with $7 million. While The Walt Co. release is starting to fade domestically, it remains a major draw overseas—taking in $28.1 million internationally in its sixth weekend.
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” won’t come close to the box-office heights of the previous two “Avatar” films. The 2009 original grossed $2.9 billion, and the 2022 sequel topped out at $2.3 billion. “Fire and Ash” has now passed $1 billion internationally, but its domestic haul ($378.5 million) lags far behind the other two movies.
The “Oscar bump” that films once enjoyed after nominations is largely a thing of the past. The leading movies in — “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another” — completed their theatrical runs long ago. But a handful of nominees saw strong business.
nominated for eight Oscars including best picture, earned $2 million in its first weekend of wide release. The Shakespearean drama, starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, has been in theaters for two months, steadily expanding its theatrical reach. It’s now up to $17.6 million domestically and $42.1 million worldwide.
Josh Safdie’s nominated for nine Oscars, brought in $3.5 million in its sixth weekend of release. The A24 title, , crossed $100 million globally this week. It has made $86.2 million domestically so far.
But newer releases struggled. “Return to Silent Hill,” the third installment in a horror series launched by 2006’s “Silent Hill,” opened with $3.2 million. While released the 2006 film and Open Road distributed the 2012 sequel, the low-budget “Return to Silent Hill” was put out by Iconic Events.
In its second week of release, dropped sharply. The Sony film, directed by Nia DaCosta, opened last week to a disappointing $13.3 million despite good reviews — but its second weekend was even worse, falling 71% to $3.6 million.
Other new releases flopped. Roadside Attractions’ “H Is For Hawk,” starring Claire Foy, took in just $150,000 from 472 theaters. Sony’s “Clika,” about a migrant worker with musical aspirations, managed only $1.2 million in 522 locations.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
Final domestic figures will be released Monday; this list uses estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. “Mercy,” $11.2 million.
2. “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” $7 million.
3. “Zootopia 2,” $5.7 million.
4. “The Housemaid,” $4.2 million.
5. “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” $3.6 million.
6. “Marty Supreme,” $3.5 million.
7. “Return to Silent Hill,” $2.7 million.
8. “Hamnet,” $2 million.
9. “Lord of the Rings,” $2 million.
10. “Primate,” $1.7 million.