Box Office: ‘Mercy’ Ends ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Five-Weekend Reign With $11 Million Debut

Chris Pratt’s sci-fi thriller “Mercy” has collected $11.2 million in its North American debut, enough to end the five-weekend reign of James Cameron’s behemoth “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”

Though not a blockbuster result for “Mercy,” it’s an impressive tally considering the massive winter storm that’s currently blanketing a large portion of the U.S. with snow. Warnings of frigid temperatures, high winds and blizzards have been issued across 37 states, from Texas to Maine, resulting in major theater closures across the country. Unsurprisingly, this ranks as the lowest collective weekend of the year with roughly $60 million across all films, down roughly 9% from the same period in 2025.

“Mercy” was anticipated to earn $12 million over the weekend but projections were ever-so-slightly revised down as the storm started to spread. Moviegoers who braved the cold (or those in the lucky states who were spared from the sleet, ice and power outages) weren’t impressed by “Mercy,” which was saddled with a “B-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls. Ditto critics, as evidenced by the bleak 20% Rotten Tomatoes average. That could spell trouble for staying power for “Mercy,” which carries a $60 million production budget before factoring in global marketing expenses. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, “Mercy” takes place in the near future as a detective (Pratt) stands trial for allegedly murdering his wife. An advanced AI judge (Rebecca Ferguson) will determine his fate.

“The weekend start is also good considering the soft reception,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research.

“Mercy” is the first big release of the year for Amazon MGM, which didn’t unveil much theatrically in 2025 but plans to remedy that over the next 11 months with offerings such as the Ryan Gosling-led “Project Hail Mary,” toy-inspired “Masters of the Universe” and Colleen Hoover adaptation “Verity.” That’s good news for exhibitors, who have complained about the decrease in the number of new films since the pandemic and two Hollywood labor strikes. With the decrease in volume, overall domestic revenues in 2025 fell short of the $9 billion that analysts had expected the industry to generate over 12 months.

“Avatar 3,” which had spent all of January at the No. 1 spot on domestic charts, slid to second place with $7 million over the weekend. After six weekends of release, “Fire and Ash” has earned $378 million in North America and $1.378 billion globally. Though a huge result, of course, “Avatar 3” isn’t close to reaching the box office heights of its predecessors, 2009’s “Avatar” and 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water.” Those films each remained in first place for seven consecutive weekends and ended up with $2.9 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively.

Disney’s animated juggernaut “Zootopia 2” remained at No. 3 with $5.7 million in its ninth (!) weekend of release. The animated sequel has remained a box office force since Thanksgiving with $401 million domestically and $1.744 billion globally. It remains the highest-grossing animated Hollywood film of all time, ahead of “Inside Out 2” ($1.69 billion).

Another new release, “Return to Silent Hill,” couldn’t crack the top five and debuted in the No. 7 slot with $3 million from 1,850 locations. That’s dramatically behind the first two films in the psychological horror series, 2006’s “Silent Hill” ($20 million debut) and 2012’s sequel “Silent Hill: Resurrection” ($8 million debut). Sony released the initial film, which ended up grossing $100 million worldwide, while the now-defunct Open Road backed the follow-up, which tapped out with just $55 million. Iconic Events, the distributor of thrillers like the “Terrifier” series and “Steamboat,” are behind the third installment, which currently holds a 15% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Meanwhile some Oscar contenders got a boost after nominations were announced on Thursday. Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet” generated $2 million from 1,996 theaters in its first weekend of nationwide release. The Shakespearean drama, which scored 13 Academy Award nods, has earned $17.6 million domestically and $42 million globally after several weekends in limited release.

More to come…