"With a winter storm blanketing a large swath of the country, Hollywood had its quietest weekend of the year at the box office. The Amazon MGM sci-fi thriller "Mercy" dethroned "Avatar: Fire and Ash" from the No. 1 spot with $11.2 million in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday. Some 250 theaters were forced to close, from Texas to Maine, according to data firm Comsore. More than 140 million Americans were under winter storm warnings, depressing moviegoing."
"But the weekend was never going to be a blockbuster one, anyway. "Mercy," a $60 million thriller starring Chris Pratt as a man in a near-future standing trial before an AI judge, was the top new release. It arrived with withering reviews (20% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and an equally poor reception (a "B-" CinemaScore) from audiences. That was still enough to finally dislodge James Cameron's third Pandora epic from its monthlong perch atop the box office."
Heavy winter storms closed roughly 250 theaters and put more than 140 million Americans under warnings, sharply depressing weekend moviegoing. Amazon MGM's sci-fi thriller Mercy grossed $11.2 million in North America to take first place despite a $60 million budget, a 20% Rotten Tomatoes score and a B- CinemaScore. Avatar: Fire and Ash fell to second with $7 million domestically while earning $28.1 million internationally in its sixth weekend and clearing $1 billion overseas, though its domestic total of $378.5 million lags the previous two Avatar films. The Oscar nomination bump has largely faded.
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