It’s shaping up to be a slow weekend at the box office, with major studios understandably hesitant to launch their films against the unstoppable ratings machine that is Sunday’s Super Bowl. That meant Friday was wide open for the K-pop concert film “Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience” to take the top spot.
“Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience,” which recounts the titular K-pop group’s world tour and their sold-out performance at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium, grossed an estimated $3 million on Friday from 1,724 North American theaters. Domestic gross should reach $5 million by Sunday. Crosswalk and Bleecker Street served as distributors.
In second place was “Send Help,” which earned $2.8 million on its second Friday at the domestic box office, representing a 61% decline from its opening day. Disney and 20th Century’s bloody comedy-thriller, which follows a dorky, survival-savvy employee (Rachel McAdams) and her douchey younger boss (Dylan O’Brien) who become stranded together on a remote island, should add $9 million to $10 million by Sunday for a total domestic gross of $34 million. Although landing at No. 2 on Friday, “Send Help” is expected to win the weekend.
Third place went to Angel Studios’ newcomer “Solo Mio,” which grossed an estimated $2.7 million from 3,052 theaters. The rom-com should pull in $6.6 million by Sunday. Starring Kevin James, the film follows a man who was left at the altar and decides to go on his honeymoon alone.
Indie distributor Angel Studios broke into the theatrical market with 2023’s “Sound of Freedom,” which became a sleeper hit after grossing $250 million worldwide. Some of its other recent titles include “David,” “The Senior” and “Grow.”
“Iron Lung,” the feature directorial debut of YouTube star Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach, landed at No. 4 on Friday with $2.04 million domestic, according to rival estimates. That’s a 77% decline from its opening day earnings. Based on the 2022 indie horror game, the film follows a convict in a post-apocalyptic future who must scavenge for resources in an ocean of blood. “Iron Lung” should make $5.7 million by Sunday, bringing its domestic total to $30.7 million.
Fischbach served as co-director with “Iron Lung” game developer David Szymanski. He also wrote, edited, executive produced, distributed, financed, editied and starred in the film. After “Iron Lung” grossed $21 in its debut, Fischbach went live on his YouTube channel and extended an emotional thank you to his fans.
In a distant seventh place was horror newcomer “The Strangers: Chapter 3,” which grossed $1.58 million on Friday from 2,565 North American theaters. The third and final instalment in the rebooted “Strangers” trilogy should cut down $3.8 million by Sunday. Starring Madelain Petsch, Gabriel Basso, Froy Gutierrez and Ema Horvath, “The Strangers: Chapter 3” follows a young woman who is relentlessly hunted by a trio of mask-wearing psychopaths.
The original “Strangers” film came out in 2008 and was followed by a sequel, “The Strangers: Prey at Night,” in 2018. 2024 saw the start of a new reboot trilogy with the release of “The Strangers: Chapter 1,” which was followed by “The Strangers: Chapter 2” in September 2025. Those films made $5.1 million and $2.4 million, respectively, on opening day.
At the No. 5 spot was Vertical’s “Dracula,” from “Fifth Element” director Luc Besson. The film earned $2.03 million on Friday, according to rival estimates, and should bite down on $4.1 million by Sunday. Caleb Landry Jones stars as the titular bloodsucker, while Christoph Waltz plays his nemesis in Van Helsing.
