A Recent Surprise Hit Makes Me Think Sam Raimi's New Horror Thriller Could Be A Box Office Smash

Sam Raimi is an icon in the film industry when it comes to both horror and thrillers, and his return to the director's chair with Send Help offers a bit of both. ​​​​​​Starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien, Send Help is a survival thriller with notes of grisly horror, and so far it's earned nothing but rave reviews.

Movie star-laden, adult-aimed thrillers used to be a mainstay at the theater, and while there are still plenty of offerings​ each year, they've fallen out of favor as box office returns on the subgenre fizzled. More straightforward horror has stolen much of the spotlight, as those movies can typically be made for cheaper and have a more lasting cultural impact.

However, a stunningly successful R-rated thriller released at the end of 2025 quietly racked up over $300 million at the box office, which may signal that there is a newfound appetite for similar fare. Raimi's latest may lean a bit closer towards horror than the recent box office darling, but the similarities point to a somewhat similar opportunity for financial success.

Paul Feig's adaptation of Freida McFadden's psychological thriller The Housemaid released the weekend before Christmas 2025, and made an impressive, albeit modest mark at the box office. Expectations were tempered given its release alongside James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash, but The Housemaid still managed a tidy $19 million opening weekend.

However, the star power of Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, the popularity of the novel it was based on, and a lack of impactful alternative fare in the following weeks kept The Housemaid going strong both domestically and overseas. It simply refused to go away, nearly matching its box office return in its second weekend, then dropping just 25% in its third weekend. As of this writing, it's generated $305.4 million worldwide on a budget of just $35 million.

The success of The Housemaid could act as a template for Send Help. The violent, psychological thriller aspects of Send Help mirror that of The Housemaid, and it boasts comparable two-star power in McAdams and O'Brien. There is a "wicked fun" element to both movies, as the intrigue is born from the cat-and-mouse game and eventual battle between the two leads.

Send Help may lose some of the target demographic of The Housemaid due to its more gruesome horror elements, but it should make up the difference from the built-in horror demographic that it appeals to. While it's probably too much to expect it to match the box office return of The Housemaid given its January/February release date, Send Help should have no trouble returning a hefty profit on its $40 million budget.

Send Help Should Have Decent Legs At The Box Office

Send Help should top the box office in its opening weekend, as most estimates have it pegged for around $12-$17 million. What it needs to follow The Housemaid in is its "legs", or the ability to sustain ticket sales beyond its opening weekend. A typical movie release will see a drop between 40-50% in its second weekend, with anything less than that qualifying as legitimate legs.

Positive word-of-mouth and the other aforementioned factors saw The Housemaid drop just 4% in its second week, and while it'd be nearly impossible for Send Help to replicate that success, it does have some positive factors working for it. The unbelievable critic and audience reviews should yield plenty of word-of-mouth and social media buzz beyond the first weekend, and it has the added benefit of Sam Raimi's name recognition.

Send Help also doesn't have much in its way as far as box office competition in the next few weeks. The horror audience may pivot a bit to the Dafne Keen-led supernatural horror Whistle or The Strangers: Chapter 3 the following week, but Send Help gets roughly two weeks to itself to capture the adult thriller audience before the action thriller Crime 101 and the adult romance Wuthering Heights land in theaters for Valentine's Day.

It's nearly impossible for Send Help to fully replicate the box office return that The Housemaid yielded, but it does have enough similar elements in its favor that it can at least replicate the pattern of longevity. With word-of-mouth already taking off thanks to its outstanding reviews, I expect it to exceed initial box office estimates for opening weekend at the very least.