A massive winter storm sweeping across the United States has put a serious chill on the box office, with distributors bracing for closures across a 2,000-mile stretch from Texas to New England. As snow, ice, and emergency declarations disrupt moviegoing, the entire weekend box office is now tracking a muted $58.4 million, marking the lowest total of the year so far and a 9% drop compared to the same weekend last year.
Despite the chaos, Mercy, starring Chris Pratt, has managed to hold the top spot.
Mercy Opens on Top Amid Closures
Backed by Amazon MGM Studios, Mercy is heading toward a $12.6 million opening weekend after pulling in nearly $5 million from previews and Friday showings across 3,468 theatres. While not explosive, the debut is in line with original, mid-budget sci-fi and action titles like The Creator and last year’s Flight Risk.
The Timur Bekmambetov–directed thriller sees Pratt play a detective racing against time to prove his innocence before an advanced AI judge—played by Rebecca Ferguson—decides his fate.
That said, audience response has been lukewarm. The film earned a B- CinemaScore, 2.5 stars on PostTrak, and a 45% definite recommend, suggesting limited staying power. Interestingly, only 31% of viewers cited Pratt as their reason for attending, while 44% said the film simply “looked fun.”
Streaming Strategy and Marketing Push
Mercy marks Pratt’s first original theatrical release as a leading man, following The Tomorrow War, which debuted directly on Prime Video during the pandemic. While Mercy is expected to land on Amazon Prime Video eventually, it will first pass through a PVOD window.
Amazon MGM supported the film with a heavy ad blitz, spending $14.4 million on linear TV advertising, outpacing Sony’s spend for 28 Years Later: Bone Temple. Ads aired during NFL games, college football, SportsCenter, Today, and Gold Rush, generating an estimated 455 million impressions.
Weather Takes a Toll Nationwide
With states of emergency declared in 15 states—including Texas, New York, Missouri, and Georgia—cinema closures have piled up. All AMC locations in Oklahoma shut down, along with multiple Midwest circuits. Even Washington, D.C. was placed under emergency status.
The storm has clearly impacted holdovers too.
Weekend Box Office Snapshot
Here’s how the weekend is shaping up:
- Mercy – $12.6M (Week 1)
- Avatar: Fire and Ash – $7M (Total: $378.4M)
- Zootopia 2 – $5.9M (Total: $401.6M)
- The Housemaid – $4.6M (Total: $115.8M)
- 28 Years Later: Bone Temple – $4.2M (Total: $21.3M)
Outside the top five, Return to Silent Hill debuted modestly with $3.2M, while Hamnet benefited from awards buzz, expanding nationwide after eight Oscar nominations.
Audience Trends and Formats
Premium formats made up nearly half of ticket sales, with 22% coming from 3D screens. Demographically, Mercy skewed older and male, with men over 25 accounting for 45% of the audience. Regionally, the film performed strongest in the South and South Central US, less affected by closures.
Final Words
This weekend was never going to be normal—but the scale of the winter storm has turned it into one of the quietest box office frames of the year. While Mercy managed to claim the top spot, its performance feels more like survival than success.
As weather conditions improve, studios will be watching closely to see whether delayed moviegoers return—or whether January’s deep freeze leaves a longer-lasting impact on early-year theatrical momentum.
