Sam Raimi wasn’t interested in having Sony release “Send Help” straight to streaming, where it could be swallowed whole by the algorithm. So he took it elsewhere, eventually landing at 20th Century Studios, now under the Disney umbrella and run by Steve Asbell. The end result has been a mid-budget hit — at least by the 2026 definition of “hit.”
“Send Help” will finish #4 at the box office, eyeing a $9M+ third weekend. A drop of only 0.8% is expected—almost unheard of—and would bring the film’s domestic total to around $50M by Sunday evening and $74M worldwide. With a budget in the $35–40M range, the film could very well turn a profit by the end of its run.
What’s even more impressive is that “Send Help” lost 500 theaters this weekend, going from 3,475 to 2,975 starting Friday, yet its per-theater average was still about 16% higher in its third weekend.
The reviews have certainly helped, and the audience scores have been stellar. That’s what happens when you trust a talented filmmaker to deliver a strong genre film with no IP attached to its name—kudos to 20th Century for taking that risk.
Interestingly, “Send Help” marks the second consecutive R-rated wide-release thriller to outperform box office expectations. Just a few months earlier, Paul Feig’s “The Housemaid” debuted around Christmas with a similar profile: a high-profile director, a star-studded cast, and a relatively modest $35M budget. The film has since grossed over $360M.
The success of “The Housemaid” and “Send Help” may be further evidence that mid-budget adult thrillers still have a viable audience in an era dominated by event-driven cinema—and that a strong film can still deliver meaningful financial returns.
Do you really think Ellison fired Gunn before he saw a rough cut of "Man of Tomorrow"? No chance. Clearly, whatever he saw didn't impress him.