The Super Bowl dominated the cultural conversation this past weekend (at least in the U.S.) as it typically does. But as the world watched the Seattle Seahawks triumph over the New England Patriots, it was horror that managed to capitalize on what was a very, very slow weekend at the box office overall.
See also: How Markiplier’s Video Game Movie IRON LUNG Became An Indie Horror Sensation
For the second weekend in a row, Sam Raimi’s Send Help topped the charts with an estimated $10 million. That represents a solid hold, dropping just 48% week-to-week. On the flip side, any time a movie can come in at number one with just $10 million, things are a little bleak. Dropping to number three was Markiplier’s Iron Lung, which debuted at number two in its debut, challenging Raimi for the top spot the prior weekend. It pulled in another $6 million with a 66% drop.
To date, Send Help has made $53.7 million worldwide, including $35.8 million from domestic ticket sales. With a $40 million budget, Disney is banking on this one having legs. It’s off to a good start. Meanwhile, Iron Lung is at $37 million worldwide with $31 million of that coming from North America. Against a tiny budget in the $3 million range, this indie sensation is already a huge success.
The number two spot for the weekend went to Solo Mio ($7.2 million), but in a bit of a surprise, Luc Besson’s new Dracula, aka Dracula: A Love Tale, debuted with a solid $4.5 million, putting in the top five just behind Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience ($5.5 million). That represents the biggest debut ever thus for distributor Vertical Entertainment, besting We Bury the Dead ($2.5 million) from earlier this year. Dracula, which stars Caleb Landry Jones in the lead role, has already made nearly $30 million overseas.
The Strangers: Chapter 3 also opened over the weekend but, unfortunately for Lionsgate, it’s a sad end for Renny Harlin’s ambitious trilogy. It made just $3.5 million domestically. It’s been a downward trend for the series ever since Chapter 1 debuted in 2024 to a tepid response. That one topped out at $48 million worldwide. Chapter 2 was murdered at the box office last year, opening to less than $6 million and topping out at $22 million globally. Chapter 3 figures to make even less.
For Lionsgate, the good news is that they produced the entire trilogy for around $25 million (before marketing), meaning they’re still likely to come out ahead in the end. That’s the benefit of working cheap. Harlin has also discussed releasing all three chapters as one big movie. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen.
Much further down the charts was IFC's latest Whistle, which made its debut at Fantastic Fest last year. It pulled in $720,000 in its debut on 1,200 screens. It was a crowded weekend for horror with a massive sporting event pulling a lot of focus. This one was fighting a bit of an uphill battle.
Looking ahead, things get bigger and better very soon. This upcoming weekend sees the arrival of Wuthering Heights, GOAT and Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, which should make the Valentine’s Day frame lucrative. February 20 brings with it Psycho Killer and How to Make a Killing. After that, Ghostface returns as Scream 7 arrives on February 27 to help close out February with a bang.
For more, read about how The Strangers became an unlikely, enduring franchise.
