Tepid box office leaves Mercy well short of breaking even
Mercy, the 2026 sci-fi thriller starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson, has stumbled at the box office. The film has earned roughly $20 million domestically and about $21 million overseas, bringing its global total to a little over $40 million. With a reported production budget near $60 million, Mercy is running significantly behind the revenue needed to recoup costs in theaters.
The film’s steep second-weekend drop pushed it toward the brink of exiting the domestic top 10, underlining its struggles to maintain audience momentum after opening week.
A high-concept screenlife film with an expensive price tag
Mercy is presented as a screenlife movie — a format in which the narrative unfolds entirely through digital screens and device interfaces. That approach has yielded low-budget successes in the past: films such as Unfriended, Searching, and Host found critical or commercial resonance while working within modest budgets. Mercy, however, is unusual for the subgenre because it was produced at a considerably higher cost, which magnifies the financial risk when theatrical returns are weak.
The film was directed by Timur Bekmambetov, who previously worked with Pratt on the action picture Wanted. Mercy’s premise centers on a near-future society grappling with violent crime; a detective accused of killing his wife must persuade an AI judge of his innocence — a setup that leans heavily on digital storytelling and techno-thriller beats.
Star power didn’t translate to box office success
Casting-wise, Mercy brought together two established performers with proven genre credentials. Chris Pratt has become one of the generation’s most bankable actors, and Rebecca Ferguson has a track record in science-fiction roles. Despite their names, Mercy represents one of Pratt’s least successful outings as a leading man in terms of box office returns.
Bekmambetov’s involvement and the pairing of Pratt and Ferguson were not enough to overcome the film’s mixed-to-negative critical reception, nor to drive robust theatrical attendance.
Critics panned it while audiences showed more goodwill
Mercy opened to generally poor reviews from critics; aggregator scores reflect that divergence. On Rotten Tomatoes, critical reviews sit in the mid-20s percentage-wise, while audience ratings are substantially higher — around 82%. The critical consensus criticized the picture for confining its leads within an “airless” techno-thriller setup that many found tedious, whereas general viewers have been more forgiving.
This split suggests Mercy could find a more receptive audience outside theaters, particularly on streaming and home video, where films with strong audience feedback sometimes build long-term viewership and revenue.
Still trailing Matt Damon’s Downsizing
Even with its underwhelming box office, Mercy has not yet eclipsed what is widely regarded as one of Matt Damon’s more notable commercial misfires in the genre. Downsizing (2017) — an ambitious, unconventional sci-fi drama directed by Alexander Payne — grossed about $55 million worldwide against reported production costs that were higher than its box office. By comparison, Mercy’s worldwide take of just over $40 million leaves it trailing Downsizing’s global total.
Both films illustrate how even celebrated actors and original premises can struggle to find a large audience when ambitions and budgets don’t align with market expectations.
What’s next for Mercy and its stars
Mercy’s strong audience score offers a silver lining: films with favorable viewer reception often perform better on home platforms and in ancillary markets than their theatrical runs would suggest. That could help Mercy recover part of its investment over time.
For Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson, this setback is unlikely to derail ongoing careers. Pratt has other major projects on the horizon that should restore box office momentum, while Ferguson’s genre work continues to keep her profile high. For Bekmambetov, Mercy represents another experiment in blending format and spectacle — one that succeeded in ambition but fell short commercially.
Moviegoers can still see Mercy in theaters now; its long-term financial picture will become clearer as streaming and home video results arrive.