‘Send Help’ tops global box office with $28m debut; ‘Iron Lung’ launches with $21.5m; ‘Shelter’ with Jason Statham opens in sixth

Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.

Help received

Survival horror Send Help fought off competitors to top the global box office this weekend, with a $28.1m opening session.

According to latest estimates, the Disney title made $8.1m in international markets, and $20m in North America, from 48 total territories.

The film has opened on around 80% of its total global footprint, with territories to come including UK-Ireland (February 5) and France (February 11).

Leading international territories from its first weekend included Mexico ($1.1m for first place), Australia ($800,000), Germany ($500,000) and Italy ($400,000). It topped the chart in Kuwait, was the number one non-local film in Thailand and Indonesia, and scored number two in Bahrain, Iceland, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

Send Help’s opening in first place means Disney has now had three films in a row at the top of the chart: Zootopia 2, Avatar: Fire And Ash and Send Help. The studio has also had the number one title since the weekend of November 28-30, when Zootopia 2 knocked Wicked: For Good off top spot. 

Directed by Sam Raimi from a script by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, Send Help stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien as an employee and her boss who become stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash and attempt to survive.

Iron Lung provides support

Mark Fischbach’s post-apocalyptic horror Iron Lung scored $21.5m at the global box office – an excellent result for an indie title playing in a limited number of territories.

The film made $3.7m in six international markets and $17.9m in North America according to latest estimates from Comscore.

Fischbach wrote, directed, produced and starred in the film; and released it himself in North America, with reported presales of over $5m by Tuesday, January 27. Piece Of Magic Entertainment handles distribution in European markets including Germany, Austria, Poland, Benelux, and Nordic territories.

Fischbach is a popular YouTuber under the name Markiplier, with 38 million subscribers and more than 23 billion views on his channel as of late 2025.

Based on the 2022 videogame of the same name, Iron Lung sees a convict sealed inside a decaying submarine and sent to investigate a desolate moon.

Take Shelter

Ric Roman Waugh’s action thriller Shelter started in sixth place on the global chart with a $13m opening weekend, composed of $7.5m from 27 international markets and $5.5m from North America, according to latest estimates.

The UK-US film started at number one in Saudi Arabia and UAE, tracking 78% of last year’s comparison action thriller The Accountant 2 in the former and 7% ahead in the latter.

It made $2.3m across Middle East territories collectively, with China as the top individual international market with $2.1m.

Upcoming territories include Russia, Switzerland, Australia (February 5), Poland (February 13), Turkey (February 20), Norway (February 27), Brazil, Argentina (March 12) and Germany (April 9).

The film sees a recluse on a remote Scottish island rescue a girl from the sea, leading to a perilous sequence of events ending in an attack on his home.

Jason Statham stars in the film and produces for his UK firm Punch Palace Productions; with co-stars including Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Bill Nighy, Naomi Ackie and Daniel Mays.

Milestones

The new genre titles mixed with several long-running favourites, including Disney blockbusters Avatar: Fire And Ash and Zootopia 2 at places two and three on the global chart.

Now playing in 53 territories, Fire And Ash added $24.8m on its seventh weekend in cinemas, taking James Cameron’s sci-fi beyond the $1.4bn mark.

It took $19.3m internationally and $5.5m in North America on this weekend, for a respective $1bn and $386.1m.

Its international drop came in at 34% down, with strongest holds in China (-17%), Spain (-24%), Germany (-26%) and Mexico (-27%).

Disney stablemate Zootopia 2 is nearing $1.8bn worldwide, as the eighth highest-grossing MPA global release of all time.

It made $23.1m worldwide, composed of $17.3m from 52 international territories and $5.8m from North America.

The animated sequel remains the number one film in China and Czech Republic, and number one non-local title in Japan.

It fell just 18% in international markets, including a 47% increase in Czech Republic, 13% up in China and 6% up in Poland; and slim falls in Japan (-3%), Spain (-9%), Austria (-10%), Chile (-11%) and Switzerland (-14%).

The Housemaid starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried crossed the $300m mark this weekend, hitting $315.7m after a near-$20m global session.

It made $16.4m in international markets and $3.5m in North America.

Awards favourites Marty Supreme and Hamnet remain in the global top 10 in eighth and ninth place respectively. Marty Supreme added $10m this weekend to hit a $133.4m global total; while Hamnet took $9.1m, to reach $57.6m worldwide.

European favourites

Sony’s Aida y vuelta topped the chart on debut in Spain with a $2m weekend. Based on the TV series Aida, the film serves as a meta-sequel which follows the production of an episode that reunites the show’s characters, while blurring the line between television and film.

In Germany, local production Extrawurst retained the number one spot, passing one million admissions for Studiocanal Germany after just 16 days in cinemas.

It is the biggest figure across that time for a Studiocanal Germany production, and best for the company overall since The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. Studiocanal has confirmed an Extrawurst remake is in the works through Benelux banner Dutch FilmWorks, with further remake talks underway.

Marcus H. Rosenmuller’s comedy is set at a tennis club, where the proposal to provide the only Muslim member with his own grill causes conflict.

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