Pratt plays a man on trial for murdering his wife in the Amazon MGM Studios film, with his fate in the hands of an artificial intelligence judge.

The brutal winter storm hitting a large swath of the US cut into the weekend totals, according to David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

“Considering the extreme weather that’s closing theaters across two-thirds of the US and keeping people home, it’s a very good opening,” Gross said of “Mercy”.

“The final numbers may be lower on Monday after we see the effects of the cold and snow.”

“Avatar: Fire and Ash”, the third installment in James Cameron’s blockbuster fantasy series, came in second in the US and Canada with another US$7 million, Exhibitor Relations said.

That puts its domestic box office haul at US$378.5 million, with an additional US$1 billion overseas, according to Box Office Mojo.

Disney’s Oscar-nominated animated film “Zootopia 2” churned along, remaining in third place at US$5.7 million and crossing the US$400 million mark in the US and Canada.

In fourth place at US$4.2 million was Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid”, an adaptation of Freida McFadden’s best-selling novel about a young woman who is hired by a wealthy couple with dark secrets.

In fifth place was “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple”, the fourth installment in the zombie horror series, at US$3.6 million.

Rounding out the top 10 are:

“Marty Supreme” (US$3.5 million)

“Return to Silent Hill” (US$3.3 million)

“Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (US$2 million in re-release)

“Hamnet” (US$2 million)

“Primate” (US$1.6 million)