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The weather wrecked the weeknd box office, leading to the lowest grossing weekend of 2026 so far. Mercy ended up on top.
Posted in: Box Office, Movies | Tagged: Avatar: Fire and Ash, mercy, Weekend Box Office
Mercy Wins A Winter Wonderland Weekend Box Office
The weather wrecked the weeknd box office, leading to the lowest grossing weekend of 2026 so far. Mercy ended up on top.
Article Summary
- Mercy tops a storm-crippled box office weekend with $11.2 million, ending Avatar's run at number one.
- Winter weather closures cause 2026's lowest box office total yet, with only $56 million grossed overall.
- Critics and audiences give Mercy mixed reviews, with its CinemaScore at B- and limited long-term prospects.
- Upcoming weekend sees Sam Raimi's Send Help and Jason Statham's Shelter vying for box office supremacy.
Mercy won a weather-affected weekend at the box office, taking in $11.2 million and dethroning Avatar: Fire and Ash in the process. Numerous theaters were closed due to the winter storm, which continues to affect the entire eastern half of the US, leading to the lowest box office of the year so far at $56 million. To be fair, the box office was looking pretty anemic anyway, with Mercy only tracking for another $7 million or so before the opening. It also wasn't very good, with reviews and a CinemaScore of B-, showing that it was destined to be a low-grossing start for the Chris Pratt-starring film, and it more than likely will not have very long legs either.
Mercy Ends The Avatar Domination At The Top Of The List
Mercy will always get credit for taking down Avatar, which slipped to second place for the first time. The one-two Disney punch of James Cameron's film and Zootopia 2 has had a stranglehold on the top three for weeks on end, but it looks like that might finally be coming to an end, especially since Zootopia 2 is coming to digital release this week. Fourth place was The Housemaid, and it is now only $6 million away from the $300 million mark worldwide. Rounding out the top five was last week's 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which, like 28 Years Later last summer, dropped over -70% in its second week to only $3.6 million. I think that spells the end for that franchise going to theaters if it continues.
The box office top 5 for the weekend of January 23:
- Mercy- $11.2 million
- Avatar: Fore and Ash- $7 million
- Zootopia 2- $5.7 million
- The Housemaid- $4.2 million
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple- $3.2 million
Photo credit: Justin Lubin
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This week, hopefully, the weather cooperates so we can bump those numbers back up. We have an interesting battle for the top spot this week, as Sam Raimi opens his buzzy new thriller Senf Help against this winter's new Jason Statham action film Shelter. Statham usually cleans up this time of year, so I will take him to open number one, but I wouldn't be surprised if Send Help rides good word of mouth to a victory. Mercy has a shot to drop all the way out of the top five.
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