Chris Pratt’s New Sci-Fi Thriller Sets an Unwanted Box Office Record

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Chris Pratt has become one of Hollywood’s most successful leading actors, starring in huge hits like Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. However, his biggest successes have all been based on well-known franchises. He hasn’t had the same luck with original films, relying on his own star power to attract viewers. That’s why his latest movie, the sci-fi thriller Mercy, was a key test – would Pratt’s popularity alone be enough to bring audiences to the theater?

Despite the hopes for a strong start, the film Mercy didn’t perform as well as expected. Variety reports it earned only $11.2 million domestically during its opening weekend. While this was enough to move it into first place at the box office, ending Avatar: Fire and Ash‘s five-week run, it’s not a particularly impressive result. This is Pratt’s lowest opening weekend as a lead actor, falling short of the $14.8 million earned by Passengers in 2016. He’s been in films with smaller opening weekends before, but those were either films where he had a smaller role or were released in fewer theaters.

Can Mercy Rebound at the Box Office After Low Opening?

Honestly, I wasn’t shocked to see Mercy open so low at the box office. Even with stars like Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson, it had a lot going against it. The reviews were brutal – a measly 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, and that continues a rough patch for Pratt when he’s not playing a Marvel character. Plus, people just weren’t talking about it positively. And then, to top it off, a huge winter storm hit a lot of the country this weekend! That would’ve kept anyone from going to the movies, even for a really hyped-up blockbuster, but for a film already facing these issues, it was a tough climb.

Movie ticket sales are usually slow at the beginning of the year, and unfortunately, Mercy isn’t expected to improve things. For a film to recover from a weak opening, it needs to stay popular for a while, but Mercy won’t have that staying power. Because most reviews have been negative, it doesn’t have the excitement needed to keep people coming to see it. Plus, several other big movies are coming out soon, like the new horror film Send Help, which might be more attractive to audiences, depending on how critics react. If Mercy had been getting positive attention for its take on AI, it might have had a chance to recover once the weather improved. However, as things stand, it’s likely to quickly fall in the rankings.

While Amazon MGM Studios likely hoped for better ticket sales, the disappointing box office performance of Mercy isn’t a total loss. The film has the potential to find an audience on streaming, following the pattern of other movies that underperform in theaters but succeed on platforms like Prime Video. Although the poor theatrical run doesn’t erase the costs of marketing and distribution, Amazon could still see a return on its investment once Mercy becomes available on Prime Video and viewers start watching it there. This won’t fully offset the box office flop, but it will lessen the impact.

Chris Pratt is poised to return to the top of the box office, and soon. This spring brings the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, a sequel to the hugely successful 2023 animated film that earned over $1 billion. Experts predict the new Mario movie will be one of 2026’s biggest blockbusters, potentially even exceeding the success of the first. Pratt also has upcoming projects with Marvel and is discussing potential roles in James Gunn’s DC Universe, which could ultimately make him one of the world’s highest-grossing actors.

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2026-01-25 20:10