A severe winter storm across the U.S. has significantly impacted movie ticket sales, causing many theaters to close and resulting in the lowest weekend box office numbers of the year.
Severe winter weather, including ice, snow, and power outages from Texas to New England, caused over 400 movie theaters nationwide to close. This led to a significant drop in ticket sales, with the weekend’s total box office revenue estimated at just $58.4 million – the lowest of 2026 so far and a 9% decrease from the same weekend last year, according to Variety.
Even with a difficult release environment, Chris Pratt’s new sci-fi thriller, Mercy, opened at number one, earning around $11.2 million. This ended the five-week run of Avatar: Fire and Ash at the top of the box office.
Despite challenging weather, the film’s opening weekend numbers were in line with what industry experts predicted, considering its $60 million budget.
The storm’s impact intensified as the weekend wore on.
A massive winter storm, named Fern, is impacting a large portion of the U.S. Over 220 million people in 34 states – nearly two-thirds of the country’s population – are under winter weather alerts as the storm travels from the southern Rocky Mountains towards New England.
Starting Sunday morning, cities like New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington D.C. might experience snowfall rates of up to an inch per hour. Meanwhile, parts of the South could see a rare weather event called thunder sleet – essentially a thunderstorm that produces large ice pellets instead of rain.
Cinemark closed 24 of its theaters in cities like Louisville, Plano, Huntsville, and Little Rock. Regal shut down 22 locations, and many smaller, independent theaters also closed their doors.
The movie Mercy made almost $5 million from early showings and its first day in theaters, and is now expected to earn around $12.6 million over the full weekend from 3,468 locations.
Avatar: Fire and Ash earned $7 million during its sixth weekend in theaters, dropping to second place. So far, it has made $378.4 million domestically and a massive $1.378 billion worldwide.
Although still a major success, the third Avatar movie hasn’t performed as consistently well as the first two, Avatar (2009) and The Way of Water (2022).
Zootopia 2 continued to perform well, earning $5.9 million in its ninth weekend. With this, the film has now grossed over $401 million domestically, making it the highest-earning animated movie ever made in Hollywood.
The latest box office numbers follow a severe storm that caused power outages for over 802,000 homes in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and led to the cancellation of more than 13,000 flights over the weekend.
The worst of the storm is predicted to arrive in the northeast by Sunday morning, bringing up to 16 inches of snow to many parts of the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut area.
Experts predict the damage to roads, power lines, and other essential systems could be more severe than what we usually see after a hurricane.
With extreme cold and heavy snow expected, many people are rushing to stock up on frozen and canned foods, preparing to stay home for several days.
Pittsburgh is forecast to reach 18 degrees Fahrenheit, with Manhattan at 11 degrees, Boston at 9 degrees, and Portland, Maine, experiencing a frigid 3 degrees.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill warned on Saturday that a major storm is coming, potentially the strongest the state has seen in years. She also announced restrictions on large trucks and lowered the speed limit on all highways to 35 mph.
‘It’s a good weekend to stay indoors,’ she added.
According to National Weather Service meteorologist Allison Santorelli, the snow and ice will melt very slowly, significantly delaying recovery efforts.
By Saturday, President Trump had authorized emergency declarations for a dozen or more states, and officials anticipated approving even more.
According to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has moved supplies, personnel, and search and rescue teams into several states in preparation for potential emergencies.
‘We just ask that everyone would be smart – stay home if possible,’ Noem said.
As a lifestyle expert, I’m hearing some concerning news out of DeSoto Parish, Louisiana. They’ve been hit hard by falling trees – we’re talking reports of cars colliding with them and, even more seriously, trees actually coming down on homes. The impact has been significant, with over half of the parish’s electric customers currently without power. It’s a really tough situation for folks there right now.
Mark Pierce, from the sheriff’s office, explained that heavy ice has caused tree branches to break and fall to the ground. He said, ‘Branches are breaking and hitting the ground because the trees are covered in so much ice.’
Flight cancellations on Sunday are rapidly increasing and have already reached the highest number for any single day since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm.
As a frequent flyer through Will Rogers in Oklahoma City, I was really disappointed to hear that all flights on Saturday were canceled. And unfortunately, the cancellations continued into Sunday morning! Airport officials are working hard to get things back on track, and they’re hoping to resume flights sometime Sunday afternoon. It’s frustrating, but I understand they need to ensure everything is safe before we can all travel again.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport experienced significant disruptions on Saturday, with over 700 departing flights canceled and almost as many incoming flights canceled as well.
Airports in cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte are experiencing increasing delays and cancellations.
Almost all flights scheduled to depart from Reagan National Airport on Sunday were canceled by late Saturday afternoon.
Temperatures in the Midwest plunged so low that windchills reached minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit, creating conditions where frostbite could develop in as little as 10 minutes.
Saturday morning in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, saw a temperature of -36°F, the coldest it’s been there in nearly three decades.
As a serious snow enthusiast, I was thrilled to hear about the incredible snowfall this weekend! They got over two feet – more than 23 inches – of snow in the Rockies near Crested Butte, Colorado. And it wasn’t just Colorado – we even saw a significant 8 inches fall up in north-central Kansas and in Gibson, Arkansas. It’s been a fantastic weekend for winter weather!
Officials recommend getting ready for potential, extended power outages by gathering supplies like ice, heaters, blankets, and warm clothes.
If the power goes out and your fridge stops working, the Red Cross suggests using inexpensive Styrofoam coolers and ice to keep food cold and safe.
The Red Cross is encouraging people in areas facing dangerous storms to fill their gas tanks, just in case they need to evacuate quickly.
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2026-01-26 01:36