Sam Raimi’s Send Help throws the box office a lifeline after making $2.2 million in previews
Sam Raimi’s new comedic horror film, Send Help (read our review here), is throwing the box office a bone this weekend by kicking things off with a solid debut of $2.2 million in Thursday preview screenings. The R-rated deserted island thriller, starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien, strands the duo in a remote locale that requires all their wits and cunning to survive.
What is Send Help about?
Want more details? Here’s what Send Help is about: An employee and her insufferable boss become stranded on a deserted island, the only survivors of a plane crash. Here, they must overcome past grievances and work together to survive. Will they make it out alive?
The Disney and 20th Century Studios film is off to a good start with $2.2 million, though the studio hopes for a weekend launch of $14 million to $17 million between Thursday and Sunday. Send Help cost $40 million to produce, so here’s hoping it’s got legs. Some say Send Help is a “return to form” for Raimi, as the film reaches back to the filmmaker’s horror-comedy roots, a la Evil Dead.
Brett Ratner’s Melania documentary is DOA
Raimi’s latest film is already faring better than its competition, Amazon MGM‘s Melania Trump documentary, directed by Brett Ratner. The doc, focusing on the mysterious and often reclusive First Lady of the White House, aims to make $3 million to $5 million this weekend, though it appears to be struggling already. According to multiple reports, tickets are not selling, and moviegoers are already having fun posting images of empty theaters and unoccupied seating charts. People may be having a bit of fun at the movie’s expense, so it’s difficult to gauge how much of the online crowing is justified. Ratner’s Melania documentary cost Amazon $40 million to acquire, and the studio spent another reported $35 million on promoting the project. If the movie doesn’t pick up steam in theaters, its failure could result in one of Amazon’s most significant losses in 2026. This misfire is not a great way to start the year.
Markiplier’s Iron Lung doesn’t need life support
Elsewhere, Markiplier’s directorial debut, Iron Lung (read our review here), could make as much as $10 million over the weekend. Meanwhile, Jason Statham’s latest action flick, Shelter, is looking at a $5 to $7 million debut.
Do you plan to go to the theater this weekend? What will you see? Let us know in the comments section below.
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