Mercy Box Office Collection: Chris Pratt’s Mercy Struggles at Box Office Despite #1 Opening

Mercy Box Office Collection: Chris Pratt’s latest venture into science fiction isn’t quite getting the mercy it needs from moviegoers.

Two weeks into its theatrical run, Mercy finds itself in a precarious position—crowned as the weekend box office champion during its debut, yet simultaneously earning the unfortunate label of a commercial disappointment.

The Numbers Tell a Sobering Story

Since hitting theaters on January 23, the sci-fi thriller has managed to collect approximately $42 million worldwide—a figure that sounds respectable until you dig deeper into the financial realities of modern filmmaking.

Here’s where things stand:

• North American earnings: $20.5 million
• International markets: $21.5 million
• Production budget: $60–$63 million (not including marketing costs)

What Went Wrong?

The film’s opening weekend should have been a victory lap. With $10.8 million domestically, Mercy claimed the top spot at the box office. But industry insiders knew immediately that something was off.

Mother Nature played spoiler to some extent. Severe winter weather across the United States kept many potential viewers home during that crucial opening weekend. But the weather can’t shoulder all the blame.

Critical reception has been ice-cold. The film currently languishes at just 24% on Rotten Tomatoes—a score that makes it difficult to generate the positive word-of-mouth that can sustain a film’s theatrical run beyond opening weekend curiosity.

The Second Week Cliff

If the opening weekend was disappointing, the second week was downright alarming. Weekday collections plummeted by more than 60% compared to the previous week—the kind of sharp decline that signals audiences simply aren’t connecting with the material.

The Financial Reality Check

Here’s where the mathematics become truly challenging for Amazon MGM. Industry analysts estimate Mercy needs to gross roughly $157 million globally just to break even.

This figure accounts for marketing expenditures and the theater chains’ cut of ticket sales—costs that casual observers often forget when evaluating a film’s profitability.

Current projections paint a grim picture: the film is tracking to finish its complete theatrical run somewhere between $60 million and $70 million worldwide. That would leave Amazon MGM nursing a significant financial loss.

What This Means for All Involved

For Chris Pratt, this represents a rare stumble. The actor has built a reliable track record at the box office with the Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World franchises.

While one underperforming film won’t derail his career, it does raise questions about his drawing power outside of established franchises.

For Amazon MGM, it’s another reminder of how challenging the theatrical landscape has become, especially for mid-budget genre films that aren’t connected to pre-existing intellectual property.

The streaming era has fundamentally changed audience behavior. Films like Mercy—ones that might have found a comfortable audience in the pre-pandemic world—now face viewers who are increasingly selective about what justifies the theatrical experience versus waiting for streaming availability.

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The Bigger Picture

Mercy’s struggles arrive during a period when the box office has shown signs of recovery but remains unpredictable. While certain films—particularly those with built-in audiences or overwhelming critical acclaim—can still dominate, original mid-budget fare faces an increasingly difficult path to profitability.

The film’s fate serves as a case study in the multiple factors that must align for theatrical success in 2026: star power alone isn’t enough, critical reception matters more than ever, and even acts of God (or at least severe weather patterns) can impact opening weekend performance in ways that prove difficult to overcome.

As Mercy continues its theatrical run, the question isn’t whether it will turn things around—the trajectory seems fairly set at this point—but rather what lessons the industry will take from its underperformance.

Note: Box office figures are approximate and based on available tracking data as of February 6, 2026.