Low-Budget Sci-Fi Thriller I.S.S. Makes A Minor Impact At The Box Office

In Hollywood, January is generally considered a "dump month" where studios dump movies that they lack confidence in. Scattered box office hits like "American Sniper," "Bad Boys for Life," and last year's "M3GAN" have defied those expectations (mainly by taking advantage of the lack of competition), but this week's biggest release fits the "dump month" box to a tee. Sci-fi thriller "I.S.S." — which stars Ariana Debose ("West Side Story") and was directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite ("Blackfish") — grossed just $1.2 million from 2,520 theaters on its opening day (including Thursday previews), and is projected to gross just $3.3 million in its opening weekend, per Variety.

This won't come as a surprise if, like me, you've seen almost no marketing for this movie. "I.S.S." was distributed by Bleecker Street, which also released Meg Ryan's "What Happens Later" and Catherine Hardwicke's "Mafia Mamma" in 2023. Both of those movies scored smaller opening weekends than "I.S.S." is projected to achieve, so relatively speaking this is a success story for Bleecker Street. However, it's not enough of a success story to break into the top five at the box office this weekend, where "Mean Girls" will remain No. 1, followed by "The Beekeeper" at No. 2, "Wonka" at No. 3, "Anyone But You" at No. 4, and "Migration" at No. 5.

"I.S.S." is a pretty low-budget affair, with North Carolina's tax credits report listing a total production spend of $13.8 million in the state. Also starring Chris Messina, John Gallagher Jr., and Pilou Asbæk, the film is set on the International Space Station. When an international conflict breaks out down on Earth, the American and Russian astronauts on the I.S.S. both receive orders from their home countries to seize control of the space station by any means necessary. No pressure.

Science fiction is a mixed bag at the box office. "Soft" sci-fi franchises like Marvel and Star Wars help make the numbers look good overall, but original sci-fi is a tough sell — far more so than original horror movies, which are generally a pretty safe bet. One of the challenges is obviously the higher budget demands when it comes to bringing sci-fi concepts to life on the screen. "The Creator" director Gareth Edwards worked hard to keep the budget to a relatively conservative $80 million, but it was still a box office bomb, grossing just $104.2 million worldwide. 

Even getting an original sci-fi movie to the big screen is an achievement. One of the best films of last year, Brian Duffield's alien invasion thriller "No One Will Save You," was released straight to Hulu. Unfortunately, when an original sci-fi film does make it to the big screen, the results often show why the genre is such a gamble for studios. "I.S.S." may have been hurt (though to a lesser extent) by the same Bad Title Syndrome that doomed last year's Adam Driver-led dinosaur time travel movie "65." (Hell, just calling it "Adam Driver Dinosaur Time Travel Movie" would have sold more tickets.)

"I.S.S." has received middling reviews from critics, and a C+ CinemaScore from audience exit polling, neither of which bode well for its chances for a long life at the box office. Still, like a lot of movies that don't break out theatrically, it might eventually get discovered by a broader audience via streaming.