Melania Documentary Plummets as 'Send Help' Holds No. 1 on Quiet Box Office Weekend

Super Bowl weekend typically sees low moviegoing, with studios focusing on TV ads instead.

Published on Feb. 8, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

The survival thriller 'Send Help' repeated as the No. 1 film at the box office, while the Melania Trump documentary 'Melania' fell sharply in its second weekend. Hollywood largely ceded attention to football over the slow box-office weekend, with studios instead putting their focus on advertising movies for the Super Bowl television audience.

Why it matters

Super Bowl weekend is traditionally one of the lowest attended moviegoing times of the year, as studios shift their focus to advertising during the big game. The performance of 'Melania' is being closely watched as an indicator of the commercial viability of politically-charged documentaries, especially those with high production costs.

The details

In North American theaters, the Disney-20th Century Studios release 'Send Help,' directed by Sam Raimi, led all films with $10 million in its second weekend. The R-rated survival thriller has proved a solid midbudget success so far, with $53.7 million globally. Meanwhile, 'Melania,' the Amazon MGM documentary about former First Lady Melania Trump, added 300 theaters in its second weekend but dropped steeply with $2.4 million in ticket sales, down 67% from its debut. The rapid downturn means the Brett Ratner-directed documentary is likely heading toward flop territory given its high $75 million price tag.

  • Super Bowl weekend is typically one of the lowest attended moviegoing times of the year.
  • In 2024, Super Bowl weekend ranked dead last for moviegoing.
  • The Disney-20th Century Studios release 'Send Help' repeated as No. 1 in its second weekend.

The players

Sam Raimi

The director of 'Send Help'.

Melania Trump

The subject of the documentary 'Melania'.

Brett Ratner

The director of the documentary 'Melania'.

Kevin Wilson

The head of domestic distribution for Amazon MGM.

Stephen Colbert

A late-night host who commented on the box office performance of 'Melania'.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“The movie's box-office performance 'is a critical first moment that validates our wholistic distribution strategy, building awareness, engagement, and provides momentum ahead of the film's eventual debut on Prime Video.'”

— Kevin Wilson, Head of domestic distribution for Amazon MGM (wishtv.com)

“Kimmel called them a 'rigged outcome.'”

— Jimmy Kimmel, Late-night host (wishtv.com)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

Super Bowl weekend's traditionally low moviegoing numbers highlight the challenges facing high-profile documentaries like 'Melania' that rely on strong box office performance to justify their substantial production and marketing costs.