Sam Raimi’s Send Help Has A Strong Chance Of Breaking A 17-Year-Old Box Office Record

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Sam Raimi’s new movie, Send Help, is a scary thriller that could become one of his biggest hits. It marks Raimi’s return to horror after 17 years. While his 2009 film, Drag Me to Hell, did well with both critics and audiences, his subsequent movies explored different genres.

Critics are praising the new horror film, giving it a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Called Send Help, the movie features Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien as coworkers stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. Now that the usual workplace rules don’t apply, they have to work together to survive.

Sam Raimi’s biggest hit so far was 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which made over $955 million around the world. Although his new film, Send Help, likely won’t be as commercially successful, it has the potential to surpass the box office record currently held by his 2009 film, Drag Me to Hell.

Send Help Could Become Sam Raimi’s Highest-Grossing Horror Film

Sam Raimi’s first major success, The Evil Dead (1981), performed remarkably well in theaters despite being made on a tiny budget of just $375,000. After a wider release in 1983, it earned over $2 million in the United States and an impressive $27 million internationally, bringing its total worldwide earnings to more than $29 million.

He came back to the Evil Dead series with Evil Dead II in 1987, which made over $5.9 million, and Army of Darkness, which earned over $21.5 million. The Evil Dead franchise continues to produce new installments, including Evil Dead Burn, scheduled for release in 2026 and produced by Raimi.

Despite being made for just $30 million, Drag Me to Hell was a major success, bringing in over $90.8 million worldwide and becoming Sam Raimi’s most profitable horror film. Critics also loved it, giving it a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Raimi’s new film, Send Help, currently has the same high score and is poised to potentially surpass Drag Me to Hell’s box office record.

Variety reports that the new movie Send Help is expected to make between $14 million and $17 million during its first weekend in theaters. If it earns closer to $17 million, it would surpass the $15.8 million opening weekend of Drag Me to Hell. The big question then becomes how well the movie will continue to perform in the weeks that follow.

Luckily, Send Help has a clear path until the weekend of Valentine’s Day, February 13th, when Wuthering Heights and GOAT are released. While The Strangers: Chapter 3 comes out on February 6th, the earlier films in that series weren’t very successful. Even during Valentine’s Day weekend, Send Help could be a good option for couples who like scary movies.

With an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, ‘Send Help’ is likely to generate positive buzz. Combined with the current lack of major horror releases, this puts Sam Raimi’s new film on track to potentially become his highest-grossing horror movie ever.

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2026-01-31 05:30