Sci Fi Movies This Week: Weekly column tracking what is coming in the current week in the way of sci fi, fantasy, and horror releases as well as news on genre films.
Premiering This Week:
Arriving on the big screen this week is the sci fi thriller Mercy starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson as well as the horror entry Return to Silent Hill with Jeremy Irvine and Hannah Emily Anderson. Available On Demand are the post-apocalyptic film Savage Flowers, and coming to streaming is Mother of Flies (Shudder), Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (Netflix), and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Disney+). You can see all the premieres for January and beyond at our Sci Fi Movie Schedule page. (Primary Source: MovieInsider.com)
Mercy (In Theaters, Jan 23): In 2029 Los Angeles, a detective stands on trial accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced AI judge he once championed, before it determines his fate.
Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov
Starring: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Annabelle Wallis, Kali Reis
Return to Silent Hill (In Theaters, Jan 23): James, a man broken after his relationship with the love of his life, Mary, ends. When a mysterious letter from her calls him back to Silent Hill, he finds a once-recognizable town transformed by an unknown evil. While James desperately searches for Mary he encounters terrifying creatures and begins to unravel the mystery of what happened to the town. But as he descends deeper into the darkness the secrets he uncovers lead to a horrifying truth, and James finds himself struggling to hold on long enough to save his one true love.
Directed by: Christophe Gans
Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Hannah Emily Anderson, Evie Templeton
Sci Fi Movie News
Kathleen Kennedy will be stepping down as the head of Lucasfilm as of this week, causing a major shakeup in the Star Wars universe. She has helmed the company since Disney bought it in 2012, overseeing the controversial third trilogy in the Star Wars franchise as well as fan-favorites such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the Star Wars: Visions animated series. She will remain on as producer of the films The Mandalorian and Grogu (which arrives May 22nd) and Star Wars: Starfighter (hitting theaters in 2027), but will then be mostly exiting from the franchise. Dave Filoni–known for creating many of the Star Wars animated entries such as The Clone Wars and Rebels–will be stepping in to take over creative direction of the company as president and chief creative officer, and Lynwen Brennan will handle the business side of the company. The move is expected to re-energize the Star Wars franchise with Filoni and Brennan moving forward with new projects, though nothing has been announced at this point.
Avatar: Fired and Ash has surpassed $1 billion at the Box Office globally (more on that below), but it is behind in receipts compared to where the first two movies were at the same point in their theatrical releases. It will still count as a success, but James Cameron has indicated that the next two planned films in the franchise will have to be put together with less money. Following is what he said in a recent interview:
Here’s the thing: the movie industry is depressed right now. Avatar 3 cost a lot of money. We have to do well in order to continue. We have to do well and we need to figure out how to make Avatar movies more inexpensively in order to continue.
If we continue and we do 4, we also do 4 and 5 together. So we made 2 and 3 together, one big story. And then 4 and 5 is another big story. And Michelle [Yeoh] will be in 4 and 5. And she will play a performance capture character. Her character name is Paktu’eylat. She will be a Na’vi.
Work has begun on the fourth film, but it has not been officially given the greenlight yet. I expect that will be coming soon, though.
In the latest Production Weekly listings, there is a new entry for the film Evil Dead Wrath which appears to be the continuation of the franchise that Francis Galluppi was previously attached to as director and it looks like it will be based on the game of the same name. Also on the list is Ken & Mel Meet Frankenstein (more on that one at this link) and The Conjuring: The First Communion, which will act as a prequel to that franchise.
The Oscar nominations have been announced, and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners has set a record with 16 nods from the Academy. That beats the 15 nomination record previously held by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016). Among the categories that Sinners was included in are Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Screenplay. You can see all the nominations at this link.
Box Office Results
Over the three day weekend, Avatar: Fire and Ash held onto the Number 1 slot at the domestic Box Office, adding another $18 million to its total, and that one has now surpassed $1.3 billion globally. Coming in at Number 2 was the second movie in the 28 Years Later trilogy The Bone Temple which pulled in over $14 million in receipts in North America. It added on another $14 million worldwide, but it may have to rely on streaming and home video sales to turn a profit. Primate slipped to Number 6 in its second week with $6 million in ticket sales, but it could still end up in the black seeing as it was made on a modest budget. Also slipping was Greenland 2: The Migration which dropped to Number 7 and Anaconda which slid to Number 8. The Lord of the Rings trilogy re-release looks like a success with each film pulling in decent receipts for their one-day runs. Limited releases All You Need Is Kill and Night Patrol did not do so well over a competitive weekend with both bringing in half a million or less even though they played in around 800 theaters.
Box Office Results for the Weekend of January 16th to 19th:
| Rank | Prior | Title | Weekend Gross | Theaters | Average | Total Gross | Weeks |
| 1 | 1 | Avatar: Fire and Ash | $17,930,548 | 3300 | $5,433 | $368,140,888 | 5 |
| 2 | – | 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple | $14,423,331 | 3506 | $4,113 | $14,423,331 | 1 |
| 6 | 2 | Primate | $6,013,047 | 2964 | $2,028 | $20,608,759 | 2 |
| 7 | 5 | Greenland 2: Migration | $4,271,653 | 2718 | $1,571 | $15,027,971 | 2 |
| 8 | 7 | Anaconda | $4,203,056 | 2424 | $1,733 | $60,094,507 | 4 |
| 9 | – | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | $3,940,331 | 1674 | $2,353 | $3,940,331 | 1 |
| 12 | – | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | $2,493,642 | 1655 | $1,506 | $2,493,642 | 1 |
| 13 | – | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | $2,371,340 | 1655 | $1,432 | $2,371,340 | 1 |
| 21 | – | All You Need Is Kill | $502,424 | 768 | $654 | $502,424 | 1 |
| 26 | – | Night Patrol | $289,119 | 800 | $361 | $289,119 | 1 |
Recent Trailers
The Dresden Sun (In Theaters-Limited, February 27, 2026): A brilliant, principled mercenary with a traumatic past works on an inside job to steal “the sphere”, a valued asset from Peredor Corporation, but the heist goes wrong. Meanwhile, The C & Earth corporation is hoping to use a scientist’s project to gain dominance. Whilst an analyst at the powerful investment firm Mutual One is caught between deadly corporate rivals, financial fraud, technological espionage, and ends up on the run from a psychopathic military contractor.
Directed by: Michael Ryan
Starring: Christina Ricci, Steven Ogg, Linus Roache, Samantha Win, Mena Suvari
Be sure to follow our Sci Fi Movie Schedule page to keep up with all the upcoming genre releases.
