Howdy, folks!
In the latest example of how original films can turn a theatrical profit, 20th Century Studios’ “Send Help” crossed $53.7 million worldwide this past weekend as it scored its second No. 1 at the box office. That puts it on track for a modest return on investment against the Rachel McAdams/Dylan O’Brien “stranded on an island after an airplane crash” thriller’s $40 million budget. But if it weren’t for Sam Raimi, this one might have gone straight to streaming.
The legendary filmmaker told TheWrap’s Drew Taylor that “Send Help” was originally set up at Sony, but after COVID, the studio decided it wanted to make it as a “lower-budget, controlled streaming film,” likely through its deal with Netflix.
Raimi said no thanks. “I don’t mean to be a snob, but I’m designing this as an audience experience,” he told TheWrap. “I wanted the interaction of the theater to make it work.”
So he took the film to 20th Century, where Steve Asbell has been carving out an exciting genre space with hits like “Predator: Badlands,” “Alien: Romulus” and “The First Omen.” In fact, Raimi said 20th Century executives very explicitly understood that making “Send Help” for theaters was a risk given their penchant for IP. “We usually just do sequels now or franchise titles,” he remembered them saying.
And here we are, with a critical and commercial success story. “Send Help” screenwriters Mark Swift and Damian Shannon pointed to our interview with Raimi and noted that without a filmmaker of his stature — and perseverance — the film would have gone another way.
“The only reason ‘Send Help’ didn’t go straight to streaming is because Sam Raimi fought and won,” they said.”The next director might not have the juice. We get what we pay for as moviegoers.”
Now, on with the rest of this week’s Reel to Real.
Box Office: ‘Send Help’ Adds $10 Million on Slow Super Bowl Box Office Weekend, ‘Melania’ Tumbles
With the box office as slow as it usually is on Super Bowl weekend, 20th Century’s “Send Help” was able to hold on to the No. 1 spot on the charts with $10 million grossed in its second weekend.
The R-rated Sam Raimi thriller has earned $35.8 million domestically and $53.7 million worldwide after 10 days in theaters as it looks to turn a modest theatrical profit against its reported $40 million budget. It is the “Spider-Man” filmmaker’s first R-rated film since “The Gift” in 2000 and his first original film since “Drag Me to Hell” in 2009.
On the flipside, Amazon MGM’s “Melania” fell to ninth on the charts with $2.37 million, a 67% drop from its $7 million opening and behind the $3.5 million eighth weekend of “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” The First Lady documentary now has a 10-day total of $13.3 million.
In second is Angel’s new romantic dramedy “Solo Mio” starring Kevin James, which opened to $7.2 million from 3,052 locations. Among the Utah distributor’s past releases, “Solo Mio” is opening on par with the $7.1 million launch of its 2024 faith-based biopic “Cabrini” and is enjoying strong reception with an A- on CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes scores of 81% critics and 95% audience.
Markiplier’s “Iron Lung” is in third with $6.25 million in its second weekend, a 66% drop from its $17.8 million opening weekend. While it’s having a frontloaded theatrical run, the self-distributed horror film from YouTuber Mark Fischbach is already turning a profit with a $31.2 million 10-day total against a production budget of just $4 million and a marketing campaign largely driven by the director’s fans. – Jeremy Fuster
The Spotlight
The opening weekend success of “Melania” was an exception, not the rule, when it comes to political documentaries in theaters. In fact, in contrast to the days when a film like “Fahrenheit 9/11” could gross $220 million or even the 2010s when a bevy of political docs came out, the current state of the subgenre is dire. Jeremy Fuster spoke with filmmakers, theater owners and producers in the documentary field about what’s being done to rebuild the infrastructure to get docs back in movie theaters. Read the full story here.
New Releases
Josh + Dana: Disney announced its new CEO this week in Josh D’Amaro, but also elevated Dana Walden to President and Chief Operating Officer. Drew Taylor looks back at the company’s history of dual leaders to see how this Josh + Dana combo might work.
Josh’s To-Do List: We also broke down the eight biggest challenges facing D’Amaro as Disney’s new CEO, from a lack of new IP to AI hurdles.
Inside Markiplier’s Box Office Coup: Markiplier, the YouTuber-turned-filmmaker who scored an $18 million opening weekend with an entirely self-distributed film, broke down his surprise success to Jeremy Fuster.
Lionsgate Rallies: Thanks to the success of “Now You See Me 3” and “The Housemaid,” Lionsgate reported an upswing in their latest earnings.
East Asian American Filmmakers on the Rise: An exciting trend at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was the prevalence of East Asian American filmmakers telling personal, emotional stories. Casey Loving takes a closer look.
Concession Stand
Catch up on all the movie trailers that played during the Super Bowl right here.
But arguably the best Super Bowl trailer isn’t even available online — Netflix surprise-dropped a first look at the David Fincher-directed, Quentin Tarantino-written “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” spinoff starring Brad Pitt. This thing looks incredible.
Paul Thomas Anderson and Jonny Greenwood were surprised to discover a piece of Greenwood’s “Phantom Thread” score is being used in “Melania.” They’re asking Amazon MGM to remove it.
Paramount will release David Corenswet’s untitled film about John Tuggle, “Mr. Irrelevant” of the 1983 NFL Draft, on Christmas Day this year.
Paramount also added “Predator: Badlands” director Dan Trachtenberg to its stable of filmmakers under first-look deals.
Austin Butler will play Lance Armstrong in a biopic from “Conclave” filmmaker Edward Berger, whose dance card is getting full.
Lionsgate will adapt Paul Tremblay’s award-winning “A Head Full of Ghosts,” with David Harbour and Rebecca Hall in final talks to star.
A24 now has the rights to “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
Streaming Corner
- “Wicked: For Good” will be on Peacock next month.
- Apple unveiled its 2026 film slate this week — the studio will release its Mattel adaptation “Matchbox,” starring John Cena,” in October.
What We’re Watching
I threw on “Spider-Man: Homecoming” this weekend because my son is obsessed with Spider-Man (if you’re the parent of a toddler, you know), and has there been a better piece of Marvel casting since Tom Holland? I’d say he rivals Robert Downey Jr. in terms of perfectly fitting the role. He’s an effortlessly charming do-gooder, but I think it’s the teenage push-and-pull between selfishness and compassion that really makes Holland’s Peter Parker sing.
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