Top 5 Breakdown
- Rampage – £4,109,247 – NE
Taking £1m from previews on Wednesday and Thursday;
Most recent computer game adaptation Tomb Raider opened a month ago £3,081,916 including £529,702 from previews and Ready Player One opened three weeks ago with £5,113,041 including £1,081,559 from previews. While Dwyane Johnson’s last film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle opened in December with £8,154,548 taking £4,114,058 from previews.
This is the third film directed by Brad Peyton and starring Dwayne Johnson first in 2012 with Journey 2: The Mysterious Island opening with £1,200,587 taking £6,587,326 and then in 2015 San Andreas opened with £4,628,394 (including £740,464 from previews) taking £11,316,171.
Rampage and San Andreas have become the modern-day Roland Emmerich disaster movies as his films were the 90s equivalent of the 70s disaster films (The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake and Airport).
Disaster movies were common in the 90s with Mars Attacks, Twister, Daylight, Dante’s Peak, Volcano, Independence Day, Deep Impact, Armageddon and The Perfect Storm but then came 9/11 and these films felt to close to home. Signs was the first major disaster film to be released afterwards featuring a different kind of terror (similarly in War of the Worlds, Cloverfield, Get Out and most recently A Quiet Place).
Roland Emmerich returned with The Day After Tomorrow, 2012 and Independence Day: Resurgence but it wasn’t until Brad Peyton’s San Andreas in 2015 also starring Dwayne Johnson filmmakers got the balance right with these films. When Dwyane Johnson moved from wrestling to films as The Rock in his earlier films including The Scorpion King he was just that big guy but over the years he has become the biggest action star on earth taking £77.4m in the UK alone and $2.37bn worldwide.
The same weekend last year Dwayne Johnson starred in Fast & Furious 8 opening with £14,026,301 which was more than this week’s top 10 films put together £12,542,090. This highlights how the marketplace has become so dominated by franchises and comic-book films that even a film based on a bestselling computer game starring Dwayne Johnson
2. Peter Rabbit – £2,021,162 – £38,093,407
Down 36.5% in its fifth weekend; becoming the second biggest film of 2018 after Black Panther overtaking £37m The Greatest Showman has taken of its £44.9m in 2018 to become the second biggest film in 2018; Darkest Hour, Coco, Fifty Shades Freed, Three Billboards, Ready Player One, Early Man and The Post are the other biggest films of 2018.
Peter Rabbit has taken 58% (£22,067,135) of its box office during the 17 days of the Easter holidays, £5.9m in the final week. It was helped to be the only major family film released this year compared to The Boss Baby, The Smurfs: The Lost Village, and Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience last year and the cold wet weather which was perfect weather for the cinema.
Last Easter The Boss Baby took £19,466,656 (66%) of its total £29.11m box office and Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience £3,017,361 (83.1%) of its £3.62m total. The two films combined took £22,484,017; the difference was those two films opened over Easter holidays The Boss Baby did have weekend previews of £5,227,582 which as Peter Rabbit’s £16,032,865 taken before Easter holidays began wasn’t included.
Has overtaken 2014’s Paddington £37.9m 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory £37.35m, 2005’s Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit £31.95m 2016’s The BFG £30.51m also based on classic children’s characters as well as 2001’s Monster’s Inc £37.9m, 2003’s Finding Nemo £37.4m and 2016’s The Secret Life of Pets £36.6m.
With Easter holidays now over Peter Rabbit will be limited to weekend box office but without any children’s film competition for three weeks until Sherlock Gnomes will probably overtake last year’s Paddington 2 which took £42.61m (after five weeks it had taken £29.33m 68.8% of its final box office of £42.61m its fifth weekend took £1.69m but was mid-December); Paddington 2 still has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score while Peter Rabbit only has 62% showing that reviews have little impact on children’s films.
Peter Rabbit will shortly overtake Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and become Sony Pictures biggest film in the UK, not Bond. The last two years have seen a massive turnaround for the studio with Jumanji, Peter Rabbit, Spider-Man Homecoming, Blade Runner 2049, T2 Trainspotting 2, The Emoji Movie and Baby Driver all performing strongly taking over £171m.
But as with 20th Century Fox, their remaining slate for the year isn’t nearly as strong with Hotel Transylvania 3 (opening only 2 weeks after The Incredibles 2 but the previous film was a massive hit in 2015) The Equalizer 2 and Goosebumps 2 the first parts weren’t hugely successful in the UK. Other films include Venom, The Girl In The Spider’s Web, Holmes & Watson and Animated Spider-Man.
3. A Quiet Place – £1,907,585 – £6,350,119
Down 29.5% from last weekend including previews but only 3% without as the film has had strong word of mouth and performed well over the Easter holidays. But still not at the same level as it has performed in the US as using the 10% rule many box office experts use should have taken closer to £3m in its second weekend and about £10m to date.
A Quiet Place has been compared to last year’s Get Out which took £1.36m in its second weekend dropping 37% and taking £4.86m and down 20% £1.09m in its third taking £6.79m of its £10.33m.
While It took 9.8% of its US box office in the UK and Split 8.17% Get Out took only 5.87% which is closer to Happy Death Day 4.8%. the 10% rule is more for standard blockbusters Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Jumanji and Kong: Skull Island. As many films are closer to 15% and higher depending on if the film has any British elements as Dunkirk and Peter Rabbit are both over 30% and Victoria and Abdul and Darkest Hour over 40%.
As Get Out A Quiet Place will take over $150m but closer to £10m in the UK which will be similar to Get Out £10.33m and Split £11.28m.
Several parody films have been made about A Quiet Place A Dwight Place which is A Quiet Place meets The Office
An A Quiet Late featuring James Corden which is probably more relatable to parents who were dragged to the cinema to see Peter Rabbit by their children and suffered the fate of James Corden as Peter Rabbit which was scary enough in the trailers.
- Ready Plater One – £1,183,259 – £14,501,485
Down 49.6% in its third weekend; has become Steven Spielberg’s twelfth biggest film in the UK which is disappointing as does deserve to be much bigger, but the problem is Steven Spielberg hasn’t had a massive box office success since Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ten years ago and even that was overshadowed by the launch of Marvel Cinematic Universe a few weeks before it opened with the release of Iron Man. This was similar to 1999 when The Matrix stole the thunder of the first Star Wars Prequel The Phantom Menace.
Must go back 25 years ago to Jurassic Park for Steven Spielberg to have a film that was close to current box office hits unadjusted for inflation.
The next time a Steven Spielberg film is in the chart will likely now be July 10th, 2020 with Indiana Jones 5 which should see him have his biggest ever opening in the UK opening far bigger than Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull £12,227,799 opening in May 2008 with Star Wars sized opening?
But it’s unlikely Steven Spielberg will have chosen to go back to Indiana Junes to make a remake as JJ Abrams did with Star Wars: The Force Awakens it would be to concluded Indiana Jones Jr story and startup future stories with another Indiana Jones as Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was meant to?
Five years ago, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were talking at the opening of the USC School of Cinematic Arts Steven Spielberg said “There’s eventually going to be an implosion or a big meltdown. There’s going to be an implosion where three or four or maybe even a half-dozen mega-budget movies are going to go crashing into the ground, and that’s going to change the paradigm.” and “I think eventually the Lincolns will go away and they’re going to be on television,” Lucas said. “As mine almost was,” Spielberg interjected. “This close — ask HBO — this close.” Lucas also talked about the high cost of marketing films calling cable TV “much more adventurous” than film nowadays.
Which is of course now happening with the likes of Netflix and Amazon acquiring many films that 10 years ago would get a wide theatrical release but no longer as cinema and TV have switched TV used to be full of repeats and cinema original content now cinema is full of repeats (sequels, reboots, remakes, comic book movies and reimaginations) and TV is full of original content. Netflix announced this week subscriptions up over 7m worldwide while spending $8bn on new content films and TV shows more than their rivals.
This is while cinema attendance was the lowest in the US since 1995 and UK admissions haven’t increased since 2002 as many of the older cinemagoing nations. The only growth is through ticket inflation which has seen ox office double but that’s still lower than prices increased. While the industry turns to Russia, China and now Saudi Arabia to be their saviours.
In 2015 Steven Spielberg said comic-book movies will go the way of the westerns as popular culture comes infinite cycles. Avengers: Infinity War will be the 19th Marvel Cinematic Universe film over the last 10 years and after the recent massive success of Black Panther Steven Spielberg’s comment might seem crazy as the films have taken almost $6bn in the US and $15bn globally. But apart from Black Panther which played beyond the normal comic-book fanbase all the other MCU films are performing similarly and haven’t really grown since Iron Man 3 was released 5 years ago with the first Iron Man film still the sixth biggest MCU film in the US if adjusted for inflation and 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers would still be bigger than Black Panther but released 6 years ago.
While comic-book films aren’t going anywhere in the short-term will they be as popular in 10 years’ time as for me seeing a new Steven Spielberg film like Ready Player One was a film I enjoyed far more than overhyped recent Marvel Cinematic Universe films Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok and I have no interest in seeing Avengers: Infinity War as just like recent Star Wars films it is obvious that they film won’t go the way you think but now after The Last Jedi this is a double bluff as it will go exactly like people think.
Steven Spielberg’s comments repeat similar comments said by Jeffery Katzenberg said about the industry in his infamous memo released in 1991.
Growing up in the 80s a Steven Spielberg film was always an event. Finally saw Ready Player One and it was great fun everything and more than you expect to see from a Steven Spielberg film. I must admit I was enjoying the film only spotting a handful of nostalgic film and TV references and was great to see them again on the big screen. Including The Iron Giant is a wonderful animated film which incredibly flopped when it was released 19 years ago but has been beloved by all that see it. While The Shining was a surprising addition as the film is an 18 while Ready Player One is a 12A.
- Truth or Dare – £931,249 – NE
While Blumhouse Productions adult horror thrillers Get Our £2.2m, Split £2.3m and Insidious: The Last Key £1.8m opened strongly their teen horror thrillers continue to underperform compared to their US openings.
Truth or Dare opened close to last year’s Happy Death Day that opened with £998,388 taking £2,678,427; compared to $26.03m opening in the US taking $55.68m.
Many experts say that UK box office is the equivalent of 10% of the US but with Happy Death Day as Truth or Dare and A Quiet Place, it is closer to 5%.
As with A Quiet Place, last weekend Truth or Dare opened predictably lower than its US both films are rated PG-13 in the US but are given the higher 15 rating in the UK.
In the 80s studios were making more films targetting teens getting a PG-13 rating in the US but were given a 15 in the UK which was why in August 1989 Batman was the first film to receive a 12 rating by the BBFC. In 2002 the BBFC replaced it with 12A which allowed underage children to see the films with an adult like the PG-13 rating in the US.
Many films were borderline 12A/15 films with the BBFC seemingly more lenient on the blockbuster PG-13’s films but many were surprised films including Jurassic World, Spectre, The Hunger Games Mockingjay and Star Wars: The Force Awakens were given 12A’s without cuts.
Films like Truth or Dare and A Quiet Place are borderline 12A films will be pushed up to get a 15 certificate this is due to BBFC guidelines being changed in 2014 after The Woman in Black received 134 complaints after it received a 12A in 2012. The Woman in Black was Daniel Radcliffe’s first film after Harry Potter so attracted a younger audience. While The Woman in Black didn’t have the gore of other horror films tonally it was similar to 2001’s The Others but still terrifying for many younger viewers.
As 20+ years ago with films like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream studios are casting actors from popular teen TV shows in their horror films but making them more accessible to younger audiences going for the PG-13 rating. This has been very lucrative in the US but problematic in the UK as it pushes these films up to a 15-certificate stopping the target audience from legally seeing these films.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £12,710,943 down 4.34% from last weekend £13,288,645
The weekend admissions 1,657,229 down 4.34% from last weekend 1,732,548; 2018 average ticket price is probably up about 3% from last year’s £7.49 to £7.67 for 2018;
18 films opened at weekend taking £5,701,882; Rampage took 72.06% (£4,109,247); Truth or Dare took 16.33% (£931,249); remaining 16 films shared 11.59% (£661,385): Rampage took 32.3% of the top 10.
The weekend was down 45.5x% from last year (£23,325,163) Fast & Furious 8 £14,026,301, The Handmaiden £474,752, The Sense of an Ending £329,948
Down 19.4% from 2016: (£15,777,777): The Jungle Book £9,901,921, Eye in the Sky £1,110,959, Criminal £248,376, Roberto Devereux Met Opera 2016 (Opera) £208,654, 28 Days Later (Secret Cinema 2016) £160,185,
Next weekend in 2017: (£9,428,676) Their Finest £850,328, Eugene Onegin Met Opera 2017 (Opera) £274,598, Unforgettable £270,610, The Belko Experiment £129,942, The Zookeeper’s Wife £101,407, Rules Don’t Apply £47,158
Other news
As expected in its sixteenth weekend The Greatest Showman held strongly to see it take 35% more than Black Panther in its ninth weekend £622,027 Vs £460,000; The Greatest Showman took £3.4m over the Easter holidays an incredible achievement for a film that had already been on release for three months.
In its 16th weekend, The Greatest Showman has probably out-grossed even the inflation increased 16th-weekend box office of Titanic in May 1998 of £292,757.
There is a line in the trailer where the reporter asks Barnum does it him that everything he is selling is fake (which was a similar issue to many critics) and Barnum answered saying do the smiles seem fake (shows why audiences reaction was so different to critics as the audience were just enjoying the show and the songs but weren’t looking deeper).
It has now taken 17.45x it’s opening with its opening only 5.73% of its current box office and is sixteen weeks in playing in over 400 screens with its DVD release in three weeks’ time. Currently on £44.9m and will likely add a couple more million before its out. Interestingly the longer a film plays in cinemas the higher rate exhibitors pay distributors for people using subscription cinema.
While it used to be that exhibitors would earn a higher percentage the longer a film plays in cinema now with a film like The Greatest Showman which was never expected to take a quarter of what it has taken the longer it plays the more lucrative it is for 20th Century Fox.
While its box office will end with about £46m admissions tell a different story as had about 6,208,278; The Full Monty 20th Century Fox’s third biggest film has taken £51.9m but had double the number of admissions 12,774,635 taking 32x opening and its opening was only 3% of its total box office but the film did play in cinemas for almost a year and it was a common occurrence for films to do that. Now, most films are normally played out of cinemas within 6 weeks. Despite Black Panther taking almost £50m it will be out of the top ten after 9 weeks.
UK Box Office Top 10
US Box office
- Warner Bros – Rampage
Opened with $35.75m; after receiving 50% Rotten Tomatoes score (the highest rated video game film on the website) fared much better with cinemagoers getting an A- CinemaScore.
Going into the weekend it was expected Rampage would open upwards of $40m with clear distance between it and last week’s #1 A Quiet Place but on Friday looked like A Quiet Place could hold #1. But after topping A Quiet Place on Friday Rampage managed to open #1 for Sunday estimates taking $34.5m Vs $32.6m final figures saw Rampage taking $1.2m more Warner Bros often underestimate their box office.
Rampage is Dwayne Johnson’s third film directed by Brad Peyton’s San Andreas opened in May 2015 with $54,588,173 taking $155,190,832 and 2012’s Journey 2: The Mysterious Island opened with $27,335,363 taking $103,860,290.
The opening was Dwayne Johnson’s fourteenth biggest opening in the US close to 2016’s Central Intelligence $35.43m taking $127.44m and 2014’s Hercules with $29.8m taking $72.68m. The opening was almost double last year’s Baywatch $18.5m taking $58.08m
He next stars in Skyscraper opening in July and then in wrestling comedy Fighting with My Family in September and then reteams up with his Central Intelligence director Rawson Marshall Thurber in action thriller Red Notice opening in June 2020.
Rampage opened stronger internationally taking $114.1m (including $55m from China) with a global total of $148.6m
- A Quiet Place – Paramount Pictures
Down 34.3% in its second weekend taking $32.97m and $100.005m
A Quiet Place is already Paramount Pictures #101 biggest film in the US and could become their biggest film in the US since 2015’s Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation overtaking Arrival $100.54m, Daddy’s Home 2 $104.02m, Transformers: The Last Knight $130.16m, Daddy’s Home $150.35m and Star Trek Beyond $158.84m to become the 30th biggest film.
Took $22.3m internationally from 55 territories and $51.7m total
- Universal Pictures – Truth or Dare
Opens with $18.66m; received only 15% Rotten Tomatoes and B- CinemaScore.
Was described by many as a disappointment from Blumhouse Productions opening 26% less than similar themed Happy Death Day which opened with $26.03m last October taking $55.68m and Insidious: The Last Key already this year opening with $29.58m taking $67.43m.
Opening a week after A Quiet Place it was always likely to be squeezed as it was another horror targetting similar female audiences after it received positive reviews and strong word of mouth Truth or Dare was always likely to underperform at the box office.
As with A Quiet Place last weekend Truth or Dare performed far stronger in the US than international were it took only $2.6m from 7 countries with half coming from the UK.
- Warner Bros – Ready Player One
Down 53.2% in its third weekend taking $11.51m and $114.92m; has become Steven Spielberg’s 17th biggest film in the US will shortly overtake Hook, Minority Report, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind but as all of them were released over 15 years ago impossible to compare.
Ready Player One should take about $150m in the US would see it become his 13th biggest film in the US.
Steven Spielberg directed films have taken $4.64bn and $10.09bn worldwide; despite his recent films performing not as strongly as his older films he is far ahead of any other highest grossing directors box office is due to one franchise while Steven Spielberg’s is for a30+ year career; Peter Jackson #2 $6.52bn, Michael Bay #3 $6.41bn, #4 James Cameron $6.13bn and David Yates #5 $5.34bn
Took $33.8m internationally and $360.2m total ($192.8m from China the biggest Hollywood film in China this year) and $474.8m globally. #203 biggest film globally overtaking Jaws and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and will shortly overtake Saving Private Ryan and should take $550m+ globally
- Blockers – Universal Pictures
Down a disappointing 47.6% in its second weekend taking $10.77m and $37.4m.
After positive reviews were expected to hold better than it did but with A Quiet Place and Truth or Dare the marketplace is crowded for female-targeted films getting even more crowded this weekend with the release of I Feel Pretty.
Dropping close to Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising down 57% in May 2016 with $9.35m and $38.59m will likely take similar $55.45m.
American Pie dropped only 27.5% in its second weekend with $11.55 and $45.52m in July 1999 taking $102.5m.
Internationally like A Quiet Place and Truth or Dare hasn’t performed nearly as strong taking only $3.9m from 21 territories and $16m total. Comedies as teen horrors play far stronger in the US than internationally Game Night took 63% of its $106m global box office in the US and will be similar for both Blockers and I Feel Pretty.
- Disney – Black Panther
Down 33.6% in its ninth weekend taking $5.77m and $674.23m total; will likely end with about $690m
While Black Panther had the eleventh biggest eighth weekend in the US it dropped down to 30th biggest ninth weekend this compares to ninth biggest for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and 36th biggest for The Greatest Showman.
Showing that Black Panther despite its record-breaking performance in the US in the first six weeks it is now holding as most films have done. As while it overtook Titanic last weekend Titanic was still taking $28.16m in its ninth weekend and Avatar $23.61m.
Took $2.6m over the weekend internationally $639.7m total internationally and $1.313bn worldwide currently #10 biggest film globally the question is will it overtake Star Wars: The Last Jedi $1.33bn before Avengers: Infinity War is released in two weeks’ time.
After early tracking for Avengers: Infinity War was to open with about $200m it is now looking to open closer to Star Wars: The Force Awakens $247.96m which was always likely after Marvel’s The Avengers opened with $207.43m in 2012.
As Avengers: Infinity War will do better internationally than Black Panther it is expected to take over $1.5bn worldwide. The film is one of the most expensive ever made with a budget over $300m and marketing of over $150m and unlikely to have the legs of Black Panther it needs to have a far bigger opening.
- Fox Searchlight – Isle of Dogs
Up 20% in its fourth weekend up to #7 adding 1,385 screens taking $5.47m and $18.92m;
After steady expansion over the last three weeks as with so many expansions, Isle of Dogs expands far too wide after adding 389 screens last weekend up 55% but then adds almost three times more screens but only increases box office by 9.6%.
In its fourth weekend, The Grand Budapest Hotel climbed up to #6 adding 673 screens to 977 screens taking $8.53m and $24.17m going on to take $59,301,324.
After four weeks Fantastic Mr Fox was playing in expanded into 2,034 screens taking $2.91m and $14.08m going on to take $21,002,919.
After four weeks Moonrise Kingdom climbed up to #9 with only 178 screens taking $2.23m and $6.83m took 8 weeks to expand into 924 screens going to take $45,512,466.
The Darjeeling Limited never managed to get into the top 10 in its fourth weekend was in 201 screens taking $1.29m and $3.87m going on take $11,902,715.
Wes Anderson’s nine films have taken $250.2m at the US box office (taking $475.3m globally with The Grand Budapest Hotel his biggest film taking $175m).
Other box office news
Opening UK
UK Box Office Predictions
A quiet weekend for new releases with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society likely to open close to last year’s Their Finest with about £900k. Rampage likely to drop close to San Andreas dropped 61% including previews 54% without similar to Tomb Raider) would be about £1.8m. Peter Rabbit will drop about 40%in its sixth weekend taking £1.2m and A Quiet Place about 20% which could see it #1 depending on how Rampage drops.
The weekend will likely be one of the slowest weekends of the year which will be followed by one of the biggest opening weekends of the year with Avengers: Infinity War expected to open with over £20m the following weekend.
Opening UK
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Studiocanal UK
Historical drama starring Lily James, Michiel Huisman, Glen Powell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Katherine Parkinson, Matthew Goode, Tom Courtenay and Penelope Wilton and directed by Mike Newell based on the 2008 novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows; has recieved positive reviews currently with seven reviews has 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
While the book has been described as a love letter to Guernsey and the island has featured heavily in its marketing the exteriors of the film was last spring in Devon as it looked far more like second World War Guernsey now as the island has changed so much since.
While the film is getting a theatrical release in the UK, Australia, France, and Germany Netflix have acquired the film in many other countries including the US.
Critics have called it a return to form for director Mike Newell best known for 1994’s Four Weddings and a Funeral after which he went Hollywood directing Donnie Brasco, Pushing Tin, Mona Lisa Smile, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. This is his first film since directing 2012’s Great Expectation.
Lily James breakthrough role was in TV series Downtown Abbey which saw here cast as Cinderella in 2015 and more recently in Baby Driver and Darkest Hour will next appear in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again in July as the young Donna and stars in the Untitled Danny Boyle musical themed film written by Richard Curtis filming starts in the summer which will be released next September.
This is the first of two films set around a book club the second stars Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen called Book Club opens in June is centred around the book 50 Shades of Grey.
Mid-April after the schools return from Easter holidays as early June has been when distributors have opened films targetting older audiences. Last year Their Finest opened the same weekend last year despite having a strong marketing campaign and media coverage opened with £850,328 dropping only 26% in its second weekend with £630,544
The film opened on a wide 458 screens adding 21 screens in its second weekend. Which is far too wide for these films to open with seen by its low average of £1,857 in its first weekend and £1,316 in its second weekend; Their Finest took £4,019,741.
In April 2016 Eye in the Sky opened with £1,110,959 from 428 screens taking a decent screen average £2,596 adding 50 screens in its second weekend taking £826,374 and £2,617,312 but then screen average was only £1,729; it went on to take £5,026,117.
Distributors feel the need to go as wide as possible with these films which used to have time to build their audience. The audience who often goes to sees these films won’t rush out to see them on the opening weekend rather wait a few weeks only to discover they aren’t showing anymore.
Don’t know if this is a distributor thing or an exhibitor thing of wanting these films to open so wide but as this is commonplace with these kinds of films most recent with Isle of Dogs. Would of thought both would have realised this by now and would have eliminated sites that aren’t performing as it is likely these films attract similar audiences were ever they play so would have thought they would notice which sites these films play worse in and then not book them in those locations.
It is probably as now its all-digital distributors and exhibitors don’t mind adding another 50+ screens but this should be done in week two or three rather than week one, but then you go back to the issue where many of these films won’t get to a second weekend.
- Funny Cow -eOne
Comedy drama starring Maxine Peake, Paddy Considine, Tony Pitts, Stephen Graham and Alun Armstrong and directed by Adrian Shergold premiered at the London Film Festival receiving mixed reviews.
It is one of a number of films that have been released recently that premiered at the London Film Festival six months ago all of the other films have underperformed and Funny Cow will do similarly its only hope is it opens during a very quiet weekend.
- The Leisure Seekers – Universal Pictures
Comedy-drama starring Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren and directed by Paolo Virzì based on the novel of the same name by Michael Zadoorian; premiered at the Venice International Film Festival receiving average reviews.
Opened on a limited release in the US last month and will have similarly limited release in the UK.
- Wildling – Warner Bros
Horror-fantasy starring Bel Powley, Brad Dourif, Liv Tyler and directed by Fritz Böhm; premiered at South by Southwest receiving positive reviews The Hollywood Reporter included Wildling in their 10 Best Films of SXSW 2018; Warner Bros acquired UK rights in February 2016.
Will hope that after being trailered with female-led horrors A Quiet Place and Truth or Dare it might help find it a limited audience before being released on video.
- Grease – (40th anniversary) – Park Circus
To celebrate the classic 70’s musicals 40th anniversary the film is getting a limited re-release.
It previously had a nationwide re-release in July 1998 opening with £707,726 with over 200 screens taking £3,989,870 and is one of the most popular sing-along screenings that is regularly being shown in cinemas.
Opening in the US
- I Feel Pretty – STX Entertainment
Comedy starring Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams, Emily Ratajkowski, Rory Scovel, Aidy Bryant, Busy Philipps, Tom Hopper, Naomi Campbell and Lauren Hutton and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein.
Was originally set for release in June but was brought forward to April 27th after strong test scores brought forward a week to April 27th after Avengers: Infinity War was brought forward.
When the trailer was released it received backlash over the central theme which was close to the 2001 comedy Shallow Hal but whereas in that film it was Jack Black fixated on physical beauty in I Feel Pretty Amy Schumer believes she’s a supermodel after she hits her head. It is also a spin on the Mel Gibson 2000 film What Women Want which is currently being updated with a female version What Men Want which will be released next year.
Over the years have been many films that have seen women transformed by makeup, fashion and manners including My Fair Lady, Pretty Woman, Clueless, She’s All That, The Duff, and male makeover films including The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Crazy, Stupid, Love. All based on the Cinderella fairy-tale that a duckling can become a swan.
On The Late Show Amy Schumer said the film wasn’t about ‘ugly monster’…she just has low self-esteem,”
Its tracking to open less than Amy Schumer’s previous films 2015’s Trainwreck opening with $30.9m and 2017’s Snatched with $19.54m
- Super Troopers 2 – Fox Searchlight
Comedy starring Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar. Sequel to the 2001 film Super Troopers.
Originally announced at 2006 Comic-Con as a prequel to the original film but three years later it was announced that it Comic-Cona sequel. The original film released in 2002 opened with $6.2m and took only $18.49m but over the years since has become a cult hit on video. The budget for the film was funding by crowdfunding in 2015 the $2m target was raised within 26 hours and ended up raising $4.4m.
