Hollywood largely ceded attention to football over a slow box-office weekend, with the survival thriller "Send Help" repeating as No. 1 in ticket sales and the Melania Trump documentary "Melania" falling sharply in its second weekend.

Super Bowl weekend is typically one of the lowest attended moviegoing times of the year. It was the second slowest weekend last year and in 2024 it ranked dead last for moviegoing.

Studios instead put their focus on advertising movies for the massive television audience. Among the trailers expected to hit the NFL broadcast Sunday were The Walt Disney Co.'s "Mandalorian and Grogu," Lionsgate's Michael Jackson biopic, "Michael" and Universal Pictures' "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie."

In North American theaters, the Disney.-20th Century Studios release "Send Help," directed by Sam Raimi, lead all films with $10 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. With $53.7 million globally thus far, the R-rated survival thriller has proved a solid midbudget success. Disney meanwhile watched its remarkably long-lasting "Zootopia 2" cross $1.8 billion worldwide in its 11th week of release.

"Melania," from Amazon MGM, added 300 theaters in its second weekend but dropped steeply to $2.4 million in ticket sales, down 67% from its much-discussed debut. The rapid downturn means the Brett Ratner-directed documentary is likely heading toward flop territory given its high price tag. Amazon MGM paid $40 million for film rights, plus some $35 million to market it.

The North American total for "Melania" stands at $13.4 million. Amazon MGM has not released international figures, though they're expected to be paltry.

Kevin Wilson, head of domestic distribution for the studio, said the movie's... Read More