Melania's Box Office Plunge: A Documentary's Struggle in the Face of Super Bowl Shadow
Melania Trump's documentary takes a nosedive at the box office during its second weekend, while the Super Bowl weekend remains a slow period for cinema attendance.
The Super Bowl weekend is known for its quiet cinema attendance, and this year was no exception. With the NFL broadcast attracting a massive television audience, studios shifted their focus to promoting upcoming blockbusters rather than releasing new films. Among the trailers set to air were Disney's 'Mandalorian and Grogu', Lionsgate's 'Michael Jackson biopic', and Universal Pictures' 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie'.
Despite this, the survival thriller 'Send Help' retained its top spot for ticket sales with $10 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates. Directed by Sam Raimi, the film has proven to be a solid mid-budget success with $53.7 million globally so far. Meanwhile, Disney's animated feature 'Zootopia 2' surpassed $1.8 billion worldwide in its eleventh week of release.
However, 'Melania', a documentary from Amazon MGM, added 300 theaters in its second weekend but dropped sharply to $2.4 million in ticket sales, down 67% from its much-discussed debut. The rapid downturn suggests that the Brett Ratner-directed documentary is likely heading toward flop territory given its high price tag of $40 million for film rights and $35 million for marketing. The North American total for 'Melania' stands at $13.4 million, and international figures are expected to be paltry.
The film's ticket sales, which would be very good for a less expensive documentary, were a talking point throughout the week. Late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel hammered the movie's sales, with Kimmel calling them a 'rigged outcome'.
Elsewhere in theaters, the Italy-set Kevin James romantic comedy 'Solo Mio' debuted with a robust $7.2 million, a major win for the Christian-oriented Angel Studios. 'Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience', a K-pop concert film, launched with $5.6 million, while 'Dracula', a Luc Besson-directed adaptation, opened with $4.5 million, a studio-best debut for the indie distributor Vertical.
One of the most unusual releases in theaters is the low-budget indie 'Iron Lung'. Markiplier, a YouTube filmmaker, self-financed and self-distributed the R-rated video game adaptation, along with writing, directing, and starring in it. In its second weekend, 'Iron Lung' collected $6.2 million, bringing its two-week total to $31.2 million, despite costing only $3 million to make.
With the final domestic figures being released on Monday, here's the top 10 movies by domestic box office:
- Send Help, $10 million.
- Solo Mio, $7.2 million.
- Iron Lung, $6 million.
- Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience, $5.6 million.
- Dracula, $4.5 million.
- Zootopia 2, $4 million.
- Avatar: Fire and Ash, $3.5 million.
- The Strangers: Chapter 3, $3.5 million.
- Shelter, $2.4 million.
- Melania, $2.4 million.
