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\n Will Sam Raimi\u2019s survival thriller \u201cSend Help<\/a>\u201d answer the box office S.O.S.?<\/p>\n \n It\u2019s not that the nation\u2019s movie theaters are floundering, but they could use a jolt after a recent winter storm contributed to the lowest collective weekend of the (nascent) year<\/a>. Disney and 20th Century\u2019s \u201cSend Help\u201d might be a late-January box office buoy, with the R-rated film aiming for No. 1 with $14 million to $17 million from 3,475 cinemas. With great word-of-mouth and enthusiasm for original horror, industry watchers believe \u201cSend Help\u201d could exceed expectations and then stick around beyond its debut. At the international box office, the movie is projected to bring in $10 million to $12 million. <\/p>\n \n \u201cSend Help\u201d cost $40 million to produce. Raimi, best known for the Tobey Maguire-led \u201cSpider-Man\u201d trilogy, returned to his horror roots with \u201cSend Help,\u201d having created the \u201cEvil Dead\u201d franchise and helming \u201cDarkman\u201d and \u201cDrag Me to Hell.\u201d Rachel McAdams and Dylan O\u2019Brien star in \u201cSend Help\u201d as a looked-over employee and her toxic boss, who get stranded after a plane crash. In Variety\u2019s<\/em> review, chief film critic Peter Debruge<\/a> wrote that \u201cwhat\u2019s so much fun about \u2018Send Help\u2019 is how unpredictable it manages to be for most of their time on the island.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \u201cSend Help\u201d won\u2019t have trouble leading the box office over a trio of newcomers, the sci-fi thriller \u201cIron Lung,\u201d Jason Statham\u2019s action-adventure \u201cShelter\u201d and First Lady-centric documentary \u201cMelania<\/a>.\u201d Based on projections, \u201cIron Lung\u201d could secure second place with $10 million. Meanwhile \u201cShelter\u201d is projecting a $5 million to $7 million bow, and \u201cMelania\u201d is hoping to earn $3 million to $5 million.<\/p>\n \n In the case of \u201cMelania,\u201d a seven-figure start is noteworthy for a documentary (especially one that isn\u2019t about a concert<\/a>) but terrible for a film that cost $40 million to acquire. That\u2019s how much Amazon MGM, which is releasing \u201cMelania\u201d in 1,500 domestic theaters, spent for the rights before reportedly shelling out another $35 million on marketing expenses \u2014 a staggering sum for a documentary. This film has outsized interest, of course, because it\u2019s about First Lady Melania Trump in the 20 days before Donald Trump\u2019s second presidential inauguration. It\u2019s opening in theaters against a backdrop of political unrest<\/a>, with ICE raids in Minneapolis and other parts of the country prompting a bipartisan backlash.<\/p>\n \n Brett Ratner, whose credits include \u201cRush Hour\u201d and \u201cX-Men: The Last Stand,\u201d directed \u201cMelania\u201d in the first project since his career was derailed in 2017 by sexual assault allegations. Amazon MGM is hosting the world premiere on Thursday night in D.C. at the newly renamed Trump-Kennedy Center. Melania and Donald Trump, the president\u2019s supporters like Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Phil, as well as government officials such as Pete Hegseth\u00a0and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are expected to attend. Beyond the mega marketing budget, Trump has taken promotional efforts into his own hands, calling \u201cMelania\u201d a \u201cmust watch\u201d on social media platforms<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n \u201cIron Lung\u201d is another notable release, because it hails from YouTuber Markiplier. The creator, whose real name is Mark Fischback, wrote, directed, financed and stars in \u201cIron Lung,\u201d based on the 2022 video game. Markiplier, who boasts 73 million followers across digital platforms, including 38 million subscribers on Youtube, is also self-distributing the film. Set in the post-apocalyptic future, the story centers on a convict who is sent to explore a moon planet with a \u201cblood ocean\u201d in search of natural resources.<\/p>\n \n \u201cShelter\u201d is tracking a soft start against its $50 million production budget. The R-rated film was directed by Ric Roman Waugh, the filmmaker behind a slew of Gerard Butler-led action thrillers like \u201cGreenland\u201d and \u201cAngel Has Fallen.\u201d It follows a reclusive man who unwittingly sets off a violent chain reaction after he rescues a young girl from drowning in a terrible storm. \u201cShelter\u201d is being released by newer distributor Black Bear, which plans to unveil the Matthew McConaughey-led \u201cThe Rivals of Amziah King,\u201d ensemble comedy \u201cSpa Weekend\u201d and Guy Ritchie\u2019s \u201cWife and Dog\u201d over the next few months.<\/p>\n \n Whether they\u2019re able to pack in crowds remains a question, but exhibitors are thrilled about the prospect of new companies like Black Bear, Row K and Warner Bros. Independent<\/a> entering the theatrical space. That\u2019s because traditional studios have decreased their output in the wake of the pandemic and two Hollywood labor strikes. With fewer new films, domestic revenues have yet to return to pre-COVID levels while last year\u2019s tally fell short of the projected $9 billion mark. Will 2026 finally bring the long<\/em>-awaited box office rebound?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Will Sam Raimi\u2019s survival thriller \u201cSend Help\u201d answer the box office S.O.S.? It\u2019s not that the nation\u2019s movie theaters are floundering, but they could use a jolt after a recent winter storm contributed to the lowest collective weekend of the (nascent) year. Disney and 20th Century\u2019s \u201cSend Help\u201d might be a late-January box office buoy, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Melania-Send-Help-Box-Office-Opening-Weekend-Projections.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18623"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18625,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18623\/revisions\/18625"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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