Chris Pratt’s latest sci-fi thriller, Mercy, has officially claimed the No. 1 spot at the box office, finally unseating James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash after a month-long reign. On paper, it’s a win. In reality, it’s the quietest coronation of the year. With a modest $11.2 million domestic debut, Mercy didn’t so much “dethrone” the King of Pandora as it did inherit a vacant kingdom.
While being No. 1 is a title Pratt and co-star Rebecca Ferguson have held many times before, this victory comes with a side of cold reality. Even accounting for the more than 400 theaters forced to shutter due to winter storms, an $11.2 million opening marks a significant career low for Pratt as a primary leading man.
For context, his 2016 sci-fi gamble Passengers opened to $14.86 million, making Mercy his lowest theatrical start for a major solo-led project. The “win” also marks a bittersweet milestone for director Timur Bekmambetov, who finally secured a No. 1 debut after two decades of missing the top spot with films like Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The catch is its dismal 21% Rotten Tomatoes score, his lowest critical reception since at least 2016.
The Man vs. The Machine
The most compelling friction, however, isn’t in the spreadsheets; it’s in the meta-commentary. Mercy follows a detective (Pratt) fighting to prove his innocence to a cold, calculating AI Judge (Ferguson). It’s a role that mirrors Pratt’s recent, very vocal real-world crusade against the “digitization” of his craft.
During the film’s press tour, Pratt made headlines for his blunt dismissal of the industry’s obsession with AI “actors,” specifically the recent Tilly Norwood controversy. Pratt told Variety on the red carpet, “I heard this Tilly Norwood thing, I think that’s all bullsht… I don’t know who this btch is. She ain’t nobody real.” He doubled down on the sentiment that an algorithm can’t replicate the “soul” of a human performer, citing “human yearning and suffering” as the irreplaceable element of art.
There is a profound irony in watching Pratt defend the “human soul” while starring in a film that critics are largely panning as a “soul-less,” formulaic exercise. Some reviews have even labeled the film “AI propaganda” for its depiction of a “merciful” digital judge that ultimately justifies surveillance. If Mercy was intended to be a cautionary tale about trusting the machine, the irony is that the “algorithm” of modern filmmaking, the one that relies on mid-budget scripts and January release windows, may have done more damage to the film than any fictional AI judge could.
The “Screenlife” Paradox
To understand Mercy, you have to understand Bekmambetov’s obsession with “Screenlife“, a filmmaking style where the story unfolds via computer screens, body cams, and surveillance feeds. While Pratt was busy railing against tech on the red carpet, he was actually working within one of the most tech-reliant production cycles of his career.
Mercy was shot in just six weeks using virtual production stages, often referred to as “The Volume”, allowing Pratt and Ferguson to perform live on separate sound stages while remaining digitally connected. It’s a process Bekmambetov compares to “theatre,” but critics argue it creates an airless, disconnected feel. By using Ring doorbell cameras and drone footage as primary narrative tools, the film inadvertently shills for the very surveillance state Pratt’s character is supposed to be fighting. It’s a paradox that makes the movie feel less like a human drama and more like a high-end tech demo.
Interestingly, the film highlights a recurring phenomenon: the “Pratt Gap.” While critics have been merciless, early audience data suggests a stark divide. While the film holds a 20% critic score, the Rotten Tomatoes “Popcornmeter” sits at a surprising 81% from verified ticket buyers. This suggests that despite a mediocre “B-” CinemaScore, Pratt’s core fanbase is still willing to log in for the star, even if the “soul” of the movie is up for debate.
The Pandora Pulse
As for James Cameron, don’t weep for Pandora just yet. While Fire and Ash is finally “petering out” stateside with a sixth-weekend haul of $7 million and a domestic total of $378.4 million, it remains a juggernaut overseas. The third installment has already cleared the $1.37 billion mark globally, proving that while American blizzards can chill domestic interest, the global appetite for Cameron’s blue-hued epic is far from frozen.
Ultimately, the Mercy debut is a snapshot of Hollywood in 2026: a world where a “win” is often a matter of technicality rather than cultural impact. We are in an era where the industry is panicking over AI taking over the screen, yet the “human” films being produced are struggling to find a pulse.
For Pratt, Mercy is a reminder that being the hero who fights the machine only works if the movie itself feels like it was made by people, for people. In the quiet, snowy aftermath of this weekend, the question isn’t whether Pratt can beat the AI Judge, it’s whether he can still convince an audience to leave the house to watch him try when the weather, and the reviews, are telling them to stay home.
