The box office is being disrupted in a big way this weekend. While the Sam Raimi film Send Help will likely dominate the box office in the top spot, two niche titles, Iron Lung and Melania, are posting stronger-than-expected results.
Iron Lung comes from YouTube personality Markiplier and is an adaptation of the video game. It’s having a stronger opening than we predicted, with it on track for about a $15–17 million start, which is hugely successful for a movie that’s self-distributed. Its success will no doubt pave the way for many other YouTube personalities to try their hands at film, and the opening is certainly something that will turn heads. It’s getting decent reviews, with our own Mike Conway being a fan (read his review).
In the end, it likely won’t open high enough to beat Sam Raimi’s Send Help, which is looking at a $17.5–18 million opening (according to Deadline). While that’s a fair result for a movie that only cost $40 million, it seems like a bit of a letdown that this terrific flick is having a rather low-key opening.
Another movie making waves this weekend is Amazon/MGM’s Melania, a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump. Directed by Brett Ratner (who many believe got the greenlight for Rush Hour 4 out of the deal), the reported $75 million budget has raised eyebrows. The film is on track for about $8 million, which is strong for a documentary (and about $7 million more than anyone expected). That said, it still has a long way to go to justify its huge budget. It’s performing similarly to a faith-based movie, in that it’s playing to a specific audience who seem to be loving it, earning an A CinemaScore. Sadly, Jason Statham’s Shelter is bombing, with it on track for only a $5 million opening, which is one of the worst results he’s ever posted.
We’ll be back tomorrow with a full box office roundup.
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