The box office this weekend was a tale of unexpected surprises and resilient hits. Despite the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics, Send Help proved its staying power, reclaiming the top spot in its second week. With a solid $10 million weekend and a total of $35 million, this horror-thriller is a pleasant surprise for director Sam Raimi and 20th Century Studios, especially considering it's Raimi's first R-rated film since 2000's The Gift.

But here's where it gets controversial... faith-based Angel Studios' Solo Mio, starring Kevin James, opened better than expected with $7.2 million. While the studio has had mixed results with its non-religious films, this romance did exceptionally well, earning an A-minus CinemaScore.

And this is the part most people miss: Markiplier's Iron Lung had a steep drop in its second week, but with a total of $31 million, it's clear Markiplier has a dedicated fan base.

Another unexpected entry is the K-pop concert film, Stray Kids: Dominate, which dominated the global box office with a massive $19 million haul, including an impressive $5.5 million in the US.

Vertical's Dracula, directed by Luc Besson, despite poor reviews, is still Vertical's best opening ever and is poised for a successful streaming run.

Meanwhile, Disney's Zootopia 2 continues to dominate the family audience, bringing in another $4 million, with a domestic total of $414 million. Avatar: Fire and Ash is closing in on $400 million, with a $391 million domestic total and a worldwide gross of just under $1.5 billion.

However, not all films are faring well. Lionsgate's The Strangers: Chapter 3 had a disastrous weekend, earning just $3.5 million and receiving terrible reviews, including from our own Tyler Nichols. Similarly, Jason Statham's Shelter is bombing, with a $2.4 million weekend and a total of $9.9 million, one of the star's lowest-grossing films.

Black Bear, the distributor behind Shelter, seems to be struggling to compete with established studios like Lionsgate in the action movie space. Their previous film, Christy, starring Sydney Sweeney, was a disaster, but Sweeney bounced back with The Housemaid.

Melania, which opened strongly, fell a massive 67% in its second week, with a domestic total of $13.3 million.

While this weekend was relatively quiet, next weekend promises to be explosive with two new releases, GOAT and Withering Heights, both with the potential to crack $30 million.

MOVIE TITLE WKND $ TOTAL $

1 Send Help $10 M $35.8 M
2 Solo Mio $7.2 M $7.2 M
3 Iron Lung $6 M $31 M
4 Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience $5.5 M $5.5 M
5 Dracula $4.5 M $4.5 M
6 Zootopia 2 $4 M $414 M
7 Avatar: Fire and Ash $3.5 M $391.5 M
8 The Strangers: Chapter 3 $3.5 M $3.5 M
9 Shelter $2.42 M $9.9 M
10 Melania $2.3 M $13.3 M