411 Box Office Report: Mercy Topples Avatar: Fire & Ash To Claim #1

It was a quiet weekend at the box office, but we got a new #1 as Mercy put an end to Avatar: Fire & Ash’s reign. Amazon MGM Studios’ sci-fi crime thriller claimed the top spot with an $11.1 million start. That is slightly below the already mild $12 million to $14 million expectations for the film coming into the weekend. It also marks the lowest weekend win for a film of 2026 so far after Fire & Ash ruled each frame so far.

This weekend’s overall take was hampered by winter storms that kept audiences away from heading out to the theaters. Still, it’s not a great start for a $60 million budgeted film that stars a recognizable name in Chris Pratt. While Pratt is known as an A-lister thanks to his appearances in the MCU and Jurassic Park, Mercy is the first real test of his power as a solo star outside of a franchise. (He also headlined The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Garfield Movie, but those are animated films not sold on the cast.)

Mercy’s biggest problem was not the cast though; it was the overall complete lack of buzz. The high-concept sci-fi film, which sees Pratt’s character trying to prove to an AI that he didn’t murder his wife, never got audiences interested and the dismal reviews didn’t help. The film has a 20% aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, which is not going to help a film draw interest. And the B- CinemaScore, while great for a horror film, is lukewarm for a big-budget tentpole release. The film fared slightly better among RT audiences, who gave it an 81% average.

In the end, Mercy feels like a throwback January film from when the month was a dumping ground for movies that weren’t expected to do well. Did a self-fulfilling prophecy come into play here? Perhaps, but either way it’s sitting at a very middling $22.7 million worldwide launch. This doesn’t have the vibe or metrics of a film that is going to have the kind of good holds it needs for profit, and a $30 million final domestic take may even be optimistic.

Meanwhile, Avatar: Fire & Ash slipped 52% from last weekend to finish at $7 million in its sixth frame. The blockbuster threequel is very clearly profitable, though on a lesser level than its predecessors. Fire & Ash now stands at $378.5 million domestically and $1.379 billion worldwide against a $400 million production budget. It is still looking like it will finish out around an acceptable $390 million.

Zootopia 2’s box office legs continue to hold on strong, as the Disney Animation film was off 38% in its ninth weekend to $5.7 million. The family film has now crossed a new milestone as it has $401.4 million stateside and $1.744 billion worldwide. It continues to score strong numbers and is a massive success against its $150 million budget. A $415 million domestic total seems likely.

The Housemaid finally lost some of its audience, as the domestic thriller was down 51% to $4.2 million. Don’t cry for this film though; it is Sydney Sweeney’s biggest hit of her career and director Paul Feig’s as well. The movie, which has a sequel in the works, has totaled $115.5 million stateside and $294.9 million worldwide against a budget of just $35 million. The final domestic gross will be somewhere around $125 million.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple did not have the hold Sony Pictures was hoping for, falling to #4 in its second weekend. The zombie sequel fell a very hefty 71% in its sophomore frame, very much not what it needed. Despite the strong word of mouth, this one is just being passed over by most audiences. Bone Temple has grossed $20.8 million in the US and $46.1 million worldwide, which are not good numbers considering the $63 million budget. At this point, the film is looking like it will finish with around $30 million domestically, roughly on par with 28 Weeks Later which cost only $15 million. It looks like a money loser at this point.

Marty Supreme eased 36% in its sixth weekend, bringing in $3.5 million. The Timothee Chalamet held on well in part thanks to awards momentum, with the film being nominated for a number of Oscars and Chalamet winning the Golden Globes a couple of weekends back. The drama has now tallied up $86.3 million stateside, with $105.1 million worldwide. Again, there are still several markets left to open overseas and it should ultimately be profitable against its $65 million budget. It will likely close out domestically with around $95 million.

Opening low at #7 was Return To Silent Hill. The horror video game reboot brought in just $3.3 million, which was around where analysts expected it to start. That is by far the lowest start for a Silent Hill movie, below the $20.2 million launch of the first in 2006 and the $8 million start of 2012’s Silent Hill: Revelations.

Return to Silent Hill was a victim of marketing and bad buzz. The film was put out by Iconic Releasing, and it had very little marketing. The trailers didn’t do much to whip up excitement and the film’s initial reviews were awful, dropping to the single digits on Rotton Tomatoes before rising slightly to a still lousy 16%. Despite opening in 1,850 theaters, the film does not have a CinemaScore and the RT audience rating is a terrible 29%.

Again, this was all fully expected but it’s still not good news. The movie cost a reported $23 million and barring a surprise success overseas (international numbers are not yet in), this will be a money loser that is unlikely to make it to $10 million stateside.

Hamnet rode a wave of Oscar nominations to climb back into the top 10 after several weeks out. Chloe Zhao’s period drama jumped 48% to gross $2 million. That brings its totals to $17.6 million in the US and $42.1 million worldwide. The film still needs to climb to get profitable in theaters with a $30 million budget but Focus Features will be happy with the results once its digital release comes, which will pull it to profit regardless. A low $20 million range is its endgame in the US.

The The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 25th anniversary re-release stayed in the top 10, dropping 44% to $2 million. The 2001 Peter Jackson blockbuster’s all-time totals are now $325.7 million in the US and $902 million worldwide.

Primate closed out the top 10 as it dropped 67% in its third weekend to $1.6 million. The chimpanzee horror film is at $23.5 million in the US and $30.5 million worldwide, with several major overseas markets still to open. It should be profitable thanks to the overseas numbers, with a $26 million likely domestic take. The budget was $21 million.

Next weekend will have a new #1 again, with Sam Raimi’s Send Help and Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach’s Iron Lung battling it out. Raimi’s horror-thriller is looking at $10 million to $15 million, as is Iron Lung. Also opening are the documentary Melania, which should be in the low single digits, and A24’s The Moment starting Charli XCX which should be in the mid-single digits.

Box Office Top Ten (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)

1. Mercy – $11.1 million ($11.1 million total, $22.7 million WW)
2. Avatar: Fire & Ash – $7 million ($378.5 million total, $1.379 billion WW)
3. Zootopia 2 – $5.7 million ($401.4 million total, $1.744 billion WW)
4. The Housemaid – $4.2 million ($115.5 million total, $294.9 million WW)
5. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – $3.6 million ($20.8 million total, $46.1 million WW)
6. Marty Supreme – $3.5 million ($86.3 million total, $105.1 million WW)
7. Return To Silent Hill – $3.3 million ($3.3 million total, $3.3 million WW)
8. Hamnet – $2 million ($17.6 million total, $42.1 million WW)
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – $2 million ($325.7million total, $902 million WW)
10. Primate – $1.6 million ($23.5 million total, $30.5 million WW)