Sam Raimi Thriller ‘Send Help’ Opens No. 1 With $20 Million, ‘Melania’ Earns $7 Million

Director Sam Raimi’s acclaimed new thriller Send Help dominated the weekend box office with a $20 million debut. The survival drama stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien as a neglected worker and her abusive supervisor who become marooned on an deserted island following a plane crash. Iron Lung, the indie adventure from YouTuber Markiplier, opened in second place with $17.8 million. Brett Ratner’s documentary Melania, focusing on the First Lady, claimed third place with $7 million. While marking the strongest documentary launch in a decade, the earnings are a drop in the bucket against its reported $75 million budget. Zootopia 2 finished in fourth place, collecting $5.8 million. Meanwhile, the new action film Shelter and Avatar: Fire and Ash competed closely for fifth place, each earning approximately $5.5 million.