

Send Help and Iron Lung are expected to top the box office again this weekend, with most studios wary to release big films over the big game. Sam Raimi’s horror-thriller Send Help barely nudged out Markiplier’s video game adaptation last weekend, with the former making $23 million to Iron Lung‘s $21.7 million. This weekend, they are expected to hold their positions, with Send Help expected to gain another $8.6 million and Iron Lung $7.2 million. Send Help also won over the indie film on Tuesday, when most theaters have discounted rates. While being in more theaters than Iron Lung, Send Help also has the advantage of being in premium formats. Regardless, both films have performed quite well, especially in the case of a low-budget independent film like Iron Lung.
This weekend, Lionsgate is releasing the final part of their reboot trilogy of The Strangers with The Strangers: Chapter 3. The three films were shot simultaneously for a budget of around $20 million, with the first two netting a cumulative $70 million. However, with poor reviews for both films and diminishing returns on Chapter 2, it is unlikely that this final installment will make a splash. It is projected about $5 million this weekend.
Vertical Entertainment is releasing a new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula as well, starring Christoph Waltz, Zoë Bleu and Caleb Landry Jones. The film released overseas last year, raking in about $29 million. It is only projected single digits this weekend. Vertical also released the Daisy Ridley-led We Bury the Dead earlier this year, but that only managed $2.5 million.
IFC is rolling out a new body horror film this weekend with Whistle, a film about a group of high schoolers discovering a cursed Aztec Death Whistle, which if blown will send their future deaths to kill them. The film stars Dafne Keen (Logan, Deadpool & Wolverine) as well as Nick Frost.
Finally, Angel Studios is releasing Solo Mio as an early Valentine’s Day film. The romcom stars Kevin James as a discouraged groom who is stood up on his own honeymoon. He must discover a new purpose for his life in Rome, which involves a chance encounter with another woman. It is also expected to earn abut $5 million.
