This past weekend, Hollywood experienced its slowest box office period of the year, as a massive winter storm swept across much of the country. The Amazon MGM sci-fi thriller “Mercy” claimed the top spot, overtaking “Avatar: Fire and Ash” with earnings of $11.2 million in North America, based on studio estimates released on Sunday.

Due to the storm, around 250 movie theaters had to shut down from Texas to Maine, as reported by data firm Comscore. With over 140 million Americans under winter storm alerts, movie attendance was significantly affected.

Even without the storm, the weekend wasn’t expected to be a standout one at the box office. “Mercy,” a $60 million production featuring Chris Pratt as a defendant in a near-future trial presided over by an AI judge, was the most noteworthy new release. However, it faced harsh reviews, scoring just 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences gave it a lukewarm “B-” on CinemaScore.

Despite these challenges, “Mercy” managed to unseat James Cameron’s latest installment in the Pandora series from its long-held No. 1 position. “Avatar: Fire and Ash” dropped to second place, earning $7 million. While its domestic performance is waning, it continues to attract viewers overseas, grossing $28.1 million internationally during its sixth week in theaters.

Unlike its predecessors, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is unlikely to reach the same box-office milestones. The original 2009 “Avatar” amassed $2.9 billion, and its 2022 sequel, “The Way of Water,” achieved $2.3 billion. “Fire and Ash” has surpassed $1 billion globally, but its domestic total of $378.5 million falls short of the franchise’s previous installments.

The “Oscar bump” that films once saw following nomination is largely a thing of the past. The lead movies in Thursday’s nominations — “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another” — long ago completed their theatrical runs. But a handful of nominees saw strong business.

Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” nominated for eight Oscars including best picture, collected $2 million in its first weekend of wide release. The Shakespeare drama, starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, has been in theaters for two months, steadily increasing its theatrical footprint. It’s up to $17.6 million domestically and $42.1 million worldwide.

Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme,” nominated for nine Oscars, earned $3.5 million in its sixth weekend of release. The A24 title, starring Timothée Chalamet, this week cross $100 million globally. It’s made $86.2 million domestically thus far.

But newer releases struggled. “Return to Silent Hill,” the third installment in a horror series kick-started with 2006’s “Silent Hill,” opened with $3.2 million. Though Sony released the 2006 film and Open Road distributed the 2012 follow up, the low-budget “Return to Silent Hill” was put out by Iconic Events.

In its second week of release, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” dropped swiftly. The Sony release, directed by Nia DaCosta, opened last week to a disappointing $13.3 million in sales despite good reviews. But its second weekend was even worse, dropping 71% with $3.6 million.

Other new releases flopped. Roadside Attractions’ “H Is For Hawk,” starring Claire Foy, took in just $150,000 from 472 theaters. Sony’s “Clika,” about a migrant worker with music aspirations, managed only $1.2 million in 522 locations.

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “Mercy,” $11.2 million.

2. “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” $7 million.

3. “Zootopia 2,” $5.7 million.

4. “The Housemaid,” $4.2 million.

5. “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” $3.6 million.

6. “Marty Supreme,” $3.5 million.

7. “Return to Silent Hill,” $2.7 million.

8. “Hamnet,” $2 million.

9. “Lord of the Rings,” $2 million.

10. “Primate,” $1.7 million.