UK/US Box Office January 17th -19th 2020 week 3

 

 

1. 1917 –  £6,190,049  – £18,439,267

Down only 16.87% in its second weekend thanks to very positive word of mouth having similar second weekend drop as 2017’s Dunkirk (17.8%).

Took £12.24m from its opening 7 days taking £4.8m from Mon-Thurs; 131^st biggest opening 7-day box office between The LEGO Batman Movie and Transformers (close to Mamma Mia!, Les Miserables, Jason Bourne and The BFG).

46^th biggest second weekend in the UK between Minions and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (close to Bridget Jones’s Baby, The Dark Knight, it Chapter One and Bohemian Rhapsody); 90^th biggest inflation inflated the second weekend between Hannibal and The Matrix Reloaded (close to Ocean’s Eleven, War of the Worlds, Gladiator and The Sixth Sense).

eOne biggest second weekend in the UK taking 15.8% more than Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (£5,344,508)

After 10 days on release 1917 is already eOne’s 8^th biggest film in the UK between 12 Years a Slave and Gnomeo and Juliet

Second weekend

Took 40.6%+ The King’s Speech (£4,401,926); 29.6%+ Titanic (£4,773,404); 27.9%+  Gravity (£4,838,152); 7.6%+ Bohemian Rhapsody (£5,750,267);

Took 36.6%- Joker (£9,766,608); 24.8%- Dunkirk (£8,235,532); 16.8%- Mary Poppins Returns (£7,441,687); 12.8%- Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (£7,104,808).

Over the last few years, eOne have released many award contenders and if 1917 was to win Best Picture Oscar eOne would have won 5 of the last 10 Best Picture Oscars an incredible performance for an independent distributor.

Output deals for independent distributors with production companies or US studios are vital for their continued success with eOne as they supply them with a steady slate of films over a year, eOne signed their deal with Amblin Partners in 2015 and 1917 is their 12^th released (The BFG, The Girl on the Train, Office Christmas Party, A Dog’s Purpose, The Post, 7 Days in Entebbe, The House with a Clock in Its Walls, Green Book, On the Basis of Sex, Captive State and A Dog’s Journey) with Dark Waters, The Turning (out next week) and BOIS also released this year. The Girl on the Train, The BFG, The Post, Green Book and now 1917 all have performed strongly for eOne.

The second weekend of January has been a popular release date for the Best Picture Oscar favourite as it’s the week BAFTA and Oscar nominations are announced and 1917 is this year must-see Oscar nominee that also has the Brit boost Slumdog Millionaire, The Kings Speech and Darkest Hour had, which saw them open strongly and have very long legs.

Away from James Bond Spectre and Skyfall, Sam Mendes directed 2009’s Revolutionary Road (took £2,751,902; 2006’s Jarhead (took £5,155,997; 2002’s Road to Perdition (took £6,471,752 (£11,286,485 inflation inflated); 20 years ago Sam Mendes directed the Oscar-winning American took £21,261,601 (£34,888,354 inflation inflated).

2^nd weekend

1998’s Saving Private Ryan took £2,077,362 23.2% drop (£3,721,725 inflation inflated) and £6,731,817 35.9% of £18,740,016 (£33,573,924 inflation inflated)  

2012’s War Horse took £3,202,493 18.8% drop and £9,639,624 51.8% of £18,574,862

2017’s Dunkirk took £8,235,532 17.8% drop and £27,017,724 47.7% of £56,585,035

Every year there is one must-see Oscar nominee and 1917 with BAFTA and Oscar nominations will be this year and is now favourite to win many Oscars and BAFTAs along with Parasite. As with

and will perform stronger in the UK due to the Brit boost

Over recent years many of these have been released over the first two weeks of January including Slumdog Millionaire (£41,995,981), The Kings Speech (£54,036,062), 12 Years A Slave (£21,517,696), Birdman (£5,681,710), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (£15,238,741) and Darkest Hour (£24,112,875). As it gives them distance from Christmas releases and is close to BAFTA and Oscar nominations being revealed.

Comparisons have of course been made with Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and reviews have also been similar calling it stunning but lacking in emotion, but while Dunkirk opened in a prime summer spot with Oscars an afterthought 1917 release was primed for Oscars, but unlike many of the other Oscar contenders over recent years didn’t do the Venice or Toronto Film Festival launch it was the more old fashioned pre- Christmas opening.

1917 should take at least £40m and could take closer to £50m if it does as most expect to win BAFTA and Oscar awards over the next few weeks which will see it become eOne’s biggest ever film in the UK and probably one of the biggest films of 2020.

Much has been said that this years film slate isn’t as strong as last year and while it was predictable that the seven Disney films took £50m+ at the box office, the only surprise was the success of Joker.  While 2020 films apart from No Time To Die it’s much harder to see what other films will take £50m+. There will likely be many more £30m+ films as box office will be more evenly spread out between distributors. While last year felt like a sequel to either 1989 or 1999, 2020 feels like a sequel to 1990 a year that had many sequels, many of which underwhelmed but original films including Pretty Woman, Ghost and Home Alone were all very successful.

2. Bad Boys For Life –  £3,781,233    – NE

368^th biggest opening in the UK between Terminator: Genisys and Ice Age: Collision Course (close to Wanted, The Expendables, Battleship, The Meg and The Rock) and 504^th biggest inflation opening between Terminator: Genisys and Confessions of a Shopaholic (close to The Day the Earth Stood Still, Face/Off, The Bourne Identity and The Italian Job).

Sony Pictures 35^th biggest opening between Godzilla and The Smurfs (close to Blade Runner 2049, 22 Jump Street, Baby Driver and Bad Boys 2 #47 and Bad Boys #62 biggest) and 48^th inflation inflated opening between One Direction: This Is Us and The Pursuit of Happyness; Bad Boys For Life opened close to many Sony Pictures films starring Will Smith including Karate Kid, Hitch and The Pursuit of Happyness.

It’s interesting that Bad Boys For Life opening with £3.78m was seen as a good opening but it was similar to Terminator: Genisys, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Battleship and Warcraft: The Beginning all were seen as disappointing openings.

Bad Boys For Life opened 27% bigger than Bad Boys 2 in the US but only 8.5% more in the UK

The second sequel to 1995’s Bad Boys that launched Will Smith’s acting career, he followed it up with Independence Day and Men In Black followed over the next two years.

Sony Pictures probably got Will Smith to sign for Bad Boys 2 after agreeing to finance Ali biopic he had been developing for many years as they probably also agreed to star in Men In Black 3 after Sony also agreed to make The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds.

Bad Boys 2 followed in 2003 and ever since Sony Pictures have been wanting a third film but Will Smith’s salary had stopped the film from moving forward from 2008. In 2015 Joe Carnahan was in talks and Sony announced Bad Boys would be released in February 2017, and Bad Boys IV, for release July 2019, but over the following years those dates were delayed until it was announced in February 2018 with a January 2020 release date.

Unlike with Independence Day sequel and Men In Black 4 Sony realised that they couldn’t make Bad Bays without either Will Smith or Martin Lawrence.

1995’s Bad Boys opened with £866,215 (£2,434,072 inflation inflated) taking £8,408,498 (£13,673,278 inflation inflated)

2003’s Bad Boys 2 opened with £3,175,258 (£5,163,370 inflation inflated) taking £8,141,704 (£7,932,942 inflation inflated).

Bad Boys For Life opens only three months after he starred in Jerry Bruckheimer’s produced Gemini Man opened with £1,718,511 taking £4,464,908, it suffered being a 90s action film opening 20 years late and opening the week after Joker.

With a 17-year gap between Bad Boys For Life and Bad Boys 2 and the soft opening of Gemini Man I was looking at 2014’s Ride Along opened with £1,420,992 taking £3,945,786 and 2016’s Ride Along 2 opened with £2,141,341 taking £5,512,631

After reuniting with two films starring Will Smith, Jerry Bruckheimer will also reunite with Tom Cruise this summer in Top Gun: Maverick opening 34 years after the original film opened, due to the European Football Championships its opens three weeks after the US in the UK which sees it opening against Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, the weekend before Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Minions 2 opens and the week after Jungle Cruise, which will make for three very crazy weeks at the UK box office.

With limited competition until Birds of Prey Bad Boys For Life could hold better than other action films over the coming weeks.

3. Little Women –  £1,480,139    – £16,355,697

Down 26.6% in its fourth weekend

Little Women received 6 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Best Supporting Actress (Florence Pugh) and Best Adapted Screenplay but failed to receive Best Director nomination for Greta Gerwig as she also failed to receive for Lady Bird two years ago.

Greta Gerwig also failed to receive Best Director nomination last week after the film received 5 nominations including Best Actress Saoirse Ronan, Best Supporting Actress Florence Pugh, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Score.

Has been much debate that it’s a snub by the Academy but that’s the problem when you can have up to 10 Best Picture nominees but only have 5 Best Directors there will also be up to 5 films missing out on Best Director nomination.

34th biggest Sony Pictures UK film between The Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists and The Smurfs (close to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Blade Runner 2049), 45^th biggest inflation inflated biggest Sony Pictures UK film between Django Unchained and T2 Trainspotting 2 (close to Erin Brockovich and The Lady in the Van.

Little Women is likely to be one of those films that get nominated but doesn’t win as didn’t win any Golden Globes on Sunday, while Lady Bird received 5 Oscar nominations and 3 BAFTA nominations but won two Golden Globe Awards but no Oscars or BAFTAs. As the 1994 version was also nominated for 3 Oscars including Best Actress Winona Ryder but didn’t win any.

Fourth weekend

53.2% more than 2019’s The Favourite £965,996 and £13,071,931 77.1% of £16,965,411.

63.2% more than 2005’s Pride and Prejudice £906,679 and £11,366,489 78.1% of £14,562,448 (£22,322,903 inflation inflated)

Took 112.5% more than 1996’s Sense And Sensibility £839,498 (£1,606,391) and £11,513,542 (£22,031,318 inflation inflated) 78.8% of £13,539,000 (£25,907,059).

Lady Bird opened in February 2018 taking £5,079,887 staying in the top 10 for 4 weeks

Lady Bird’s release was the week after BAFTAs and week before Oscars and was the last Oscar nominee released so had far less competition than Little Women has. Sony Pictures had originally dated the film in January but brought it forward to Boxing Day opening days after US.

2015’s Little Women took £3.4m (£7.2m inflation inflated).

The success of Little Women will help the new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma opening next month also 25 years after Gwyneth Paltrow’s Emma opened with £2,081,141 taking £4,305,395 (inflation inflated totals are doubled)

4. The Gentlemen – £1,092,084   – £7,895,247

Down 36.5% in its third weekend; continuing to hold strong despite the arrival of Bad Boys For Life due to strong word of mouth as Guy Ritchie’s earlier films have done and his underrated The Man From U.N.C.L.E (which also starred Hugh Grant).

36^th biggest Entertainment Film Distributors film between Bad Moms and A Bad Moms Christmas (close to Blade 2 and Brokeback Mountain) and 47^th biggest inflation inflated biggest Entertainment Film Distributors film between Bad Moms and Southpaw.

Will shortly overtake last year’s Fisherman’s Friends which will be their biggest film at the UK box office since 2017’s Lion;

Third weekends Guy Richie films

1998’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels took £1,041,017 and £4,764,324 of £11.8m

2000’s Snatch took £1,097,240 and £8,544,235 of £12.4m

(Inflation inflated box office for both would be more than double)

2015’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. dropped 28% taking £658,399 and £5,020,176 of £6,455,363

5. Jumanji: The Next Level – £1,064,594  – £32,471,541

Dropped 37.1% in its sixth weekend

Took 12.7% less 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle in its sixth weekend down 34% (£1,219,880) and 4.9% less (£34,147,183)

113h biggest film in the UK between Deadpool 2 and It Chapter One and 182^nd biggest inflation inflated between Deadpool 2 and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.

126^th film since 1993 to take £30m+ at the UK box office and Sony Pictures 10^th biggest film in the UK between Spider-Man 3 and The Da Vinci Code and

Sony Pictures UK have had a strong last six months with Spider-Man: Far From Home, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and now with Bad Boys For Life, Little Women Jumanji: The Next Level, despite this, will have a big James Bond hole this year instead will release Peter Rabbit 2 at the same time Universal Pictures release No Time To Die. With Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Venom spinoff Morbius opening in the summer and Uncharted opened in December.

UK box office in detail

This weekend’s top 10 box office took £16,951,901 down 5.5% from last weekend £17,942,442

The weekend admissions 2,394,336 up  0.2% from last weekend 2,389,140

13 films opened at weekend taking (£5,505,424); Bad Boys For Life 68.6% (£3,781,233); Bombshell 13.4% (£742,085); Just Mercy 9.6% (£529,435); remaining 10 films shared 8.2% (£452,671);

Top three took 67.5% (£11,451,421) of the top 10; 1917 36.5% (£6,190,049); Bad Boys For Life 22.3% (£3,781,233); Little Women 8.7% (£1,480,139);

Up 27.3% from 2019; (£13,317,271); Glass (£3,423,380); Mary, Queen of Scots (£2,082,160); Beautiful Boy (£361,382); La Bayadere – Bolshoi Ballet 2019 (£136,621t); Hey Duggee at the Cinema (£67,672); #1 Glass £3,423,380 1st weeks 559 screens (25.7% of top 10)

Down 15.6% from 2018: (£20,087,765); Coco (£5,209,214); The Post (£2,152,977); The Commuter (£1,602,680); Romeo and Juliet – Bolshoi 2018 (£181,834): #1 Coco £5,209,214 1^st week 575 (25.9% of the top 10)

Up 30.6% from 2017: (£12,971,749); Split (£2,548,516); xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (£1,620,811); Lion (£1,265,282); Jackie (£662,900); Romeo et Juliette – Met Opera 2017 (£228,384); The Sleeping Beauty – Bolshoi 2017 (£218,668); Goodfellas (Re: 2017) (£27,226); #1 La La Land £4,373,249 2^nd week 674 screens 43% drop (33.7% of top 10)

Up 7.2% from 2016: (£15,806,711); The Revenant (£5,235,851); Creed (£2,221,758); Room (£674,033); Les Pecheurs de Perles – Met Opera 2016 (£354,738): Ip Man 3 (£77,650); #1 The Revenant £5,235,851 1^st week 589 screens (33.1% of top 10)

Up 22.4% from 2015; (£13,848,440); American Sniper (£2,530,473); Whiplash (£573,546); Wild (£524,941); The Merry Widow – Met Opera 2015 (£463,195); Testament of Youth (£417,486); #1 Taken 3 £3,295,309 2^nd week 500 screens 51% drop (23.8% of top 10)

Up 12.7% from 2014: (£15,034,724); The Wolf of Wall Street (£4,655,984); Devil’s Due (£1,002,627); The Night of the Hunter (Re: 2014) (£15,270); #1 The Wolf of Wall Street £4,655,984 1^st week 500 screens (30.9% of top 10)

Up 35.4% from 2013 (£12,516,225); Django Unchained (£2,801,312); Monsters, Inc. 3D (£681,247); The Sessions (£84,899); #1 Les Miserables £4,406,828 2^nd week 599 screens 46% drop (35.2% of top 10)

Up 53.3% from 2012 (£11,054,100); Haywire (£1,197,866); Underworld: Awakening (£1,114,327); The Sitter (£910,382); J. Edgar (£413,210); W.E. (£182,914); Coriolanus (£169,308); #1 War Horse £3,202,493 2^nd week 513 screens 19% drop (29% of top 10)

Up 35.3% from 2011 (£12,522,775); The Green Hornet (£1,878,905); Conviction (£279,016); Blue Valentine (£176,411); Henry’s Crime (£64,508); #1 The King’s Speech £4,401,926 2^nd week 422 screens 25% increase (35.1% of top 10)

Up 13.9% from 2010: (£14,882,462); Up In The Air (£1,298,023); The Book Of Eli (£1,232,001); All About Steve (£275,083); 44 Inch Chest (£152,171); #1 Avatar £5,527,039 5^th week 441 screens 16% increase (37.1% of top 10)

Up 40.8% from 2009; (£12,037,268); Seven Pounds (£1,565,949); My Bloody Valentine (£1,337,613); Beverly Hills Chihuahua (£1,028,983); The Wrestler (£802,046); #1 Slumdog Millionaire £2,630,820 2^nd week 1^st #1 330 screens 44% increase (21.8% of top 10)

Up 81.3% from 2008; (£9,348,113); Alien vs. Predator 2 (£1,970,363); No Country for Old Men (£1,257,183); Walk Hard (£240,833); The Good Night (£25,985); #1 Alien vs. Predator 2 £1,970,363 1^st week 399 screens (21.1% of top 10)

Up 57.8% from 2007: (£10,737,948); Rocky Balboa (£3,639,339); The Return (£277,457); #1 Rocky Balboa £3,639,339 1^st week 405 screens (33.9% of top 10)

Up 75.3% from 2006; (£9,668,855); Fun with Dick and Jane (£1,957,060); Underworld: Evolution (£1,146,779); Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (£803,489); A Cock and Bull Story (£332,582); #1 Fun with Dick and Jane £1,957,060 1^st week 422 screens (20.2% of top 10)

Up 89.7% from 2005 (£8,932,279); Closer (£1,568,526); Team America: World Police (£1,526,329); Million Dollar Baby (£803,899); Vanity Fair (£204,693); #1 Closer £1,568,526 275 screens (17.5% of top 10)

Up 74.2% from 2004 (£9,729,138); Paycheck (£927,212); Runaway Jury (£583,367); Girl with a Pearl Earring (£384,498); A Mighty Wind (£62,657); #1 Lord of the Rings: Return of the King £2,377,268 5^th week #1 483 screens 36% drop (24.4% of top 10)

Up 28.2% from 2003 (£13,216,953); 8 Mile (£4,440,334); Chicago (expansion) (£1,983,505); The Transporter (£338,420); The Master Of Disguise (£60,077); #1 8 Mile £4,440,334 1^st week 423 screens (33.6% of top 10)

Up 90.8% from 2002 (£8,882,363); Black Hawk Down (£1,772,920); Long Time Dead (£580,487); Iris (£378,749); #1 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring £3,276,912 5^th week #1 489 screens 25% drop (36.9% of top 10)

Next weekend in 2019: (£10,612,230); Vice (£1,327,464); Dragon Ball Super: Broly (£851,508); The Mule (£725,554); A Dog’s Way Home (£705,875); Love Yourself In Seoul – BTS World Tour 2019 (£518,810); Second Act (£403,211); Destroyer (£106,410); Schindler’s List (25th Anniversary) (£29,745); #1 Glass £1,936,631 2^nd week 559 screens 44% drop (18.2% of top 10)

Also Opened

• Bombshell – Lionsgate

Opened with £736,852 including previews from 484 screens

Bombshell was always going to be a hard sell in the UK without major Oscar and BAFTA nominations as whilst Roger Ailes story was a huge story in the US a few years ago it wasn’t as big internationally and Fox News isn’t available in the UK people haven’t heard of the news anchors.

Sky Atlantic in the autumn broadcast mini-series The Loudest Voice about Roger Allies and how he set up Fox News and in the series it shows how he treated the female staff. While The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston and Reece Witherspoon is a similar fictional version of the story o Apple TV, received mixed reviews from critics but won a SAG award o Sunday for Jennifer Aniston.

While the film has been criticised for factual inaccuracies (but many films based on real events have also been) and the film was directed by a man, the film can’t be faulted the powerful performances of the three female leads Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie.

Charlize Theron recently starred in 2019’s Long Shot (opened £815,049 taking £2.4m); 2018’s Tully (opened £138,559 taking £616,597); Gringo (opened £226,129 taking £436,287); and 2017’s Atomic Blonde (opened £1.1m taking £3.8m).

Nicole Kidman has starred in over 50 films over the last 30 years including 1995’s Top Die For opened with £990,030 taking £1,645,594 which many have compared her performance in Bombshell with.

• Just Mercy – Warner Bros

Opened with £529,435 from 376 screens

Every year there are many films deserving of award recognition and those that would also benefit much more from award recognition and Just Mercy was one of those films this year. The film features two strong performances from the leads that should have been given award recognition that would have made the awards seem not so white.

Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx came to promote the film last week in the UK, but still, it was unlikely Just Mercy would be able to find a wide audience.

Over the years set on death row have been many films either based on true stories or fictional stories including 1996’s Dead Man Walking (opened £950,169 taking £2m) 1995’s Just Cause (opened £711,799 taking £1.12m), 1996’s Last Dance, A Time to Kill (opened £1m taking £3.1m), and The Chamber, 2000’s The Green Mile (opened £1.14m taking £6.58m) 1999’s True Crime (opened £189,149 taking £592,486) and 2003’s The Life of David Gale (opened £725,698 taking £2.2m).

• Waves – Universal Pictures

Opened with £62,943 including previews from 135 screens

• A Hidden Life – 20th Century Fox

Opened with £63,375 from 108 screens including previews; Terrence Malick’s biggest opening in the UK since 2013’s To the Wonder

Was surprising despite recent Terrence Malick films underperforming at the box office it was Fox Searchlight’s first film they acquired since being acquired by Disney as while the film received positive reviews it will have a very limited audience. Was probably more acquired to be another prestige film that is Oscar bait but paying $14m for rights, they are unlikely to turn a profit.

The film began production in summer 2016 and was in the editing room for over 2 years; the film is also the directors longest film at 2hrs 53 mins

The 8 films Terrence Malick directed have taken $226.68m worldwide since 1978 his biggest film is 1998’s The Thin Red Line taking $36.4m in the US and $97.7m worldwide opening with £1,134,952 taking £3,983,932

Terrence Mallick’s recent film

2017’s Song to Song opened with £11,397 from 6 screens

2016’s Knight of Cups opened with £10,323 from 11 screens

2013’s To the Wonder opened with £96,645 from 40 screens

A Hidden Life opened with $50,383 from 5 screens and has taken $1.27m after 4 weeks expanding to 149 screens; A Hidden Life will have a limited theatrical release in the UK

Other Box Office News

UK box office decreased by 2% in 2019 from £1.27bn in 2018 to £1.2bn and admissions dropped 0.5% from 177m in 2019 to 176m in 2019 this was due to industry claiming average ticket price dropped by 2% from £7.22 to £7.08, while Vue Cinemas have reduced many of their cinemas, most of which are older cinemas newer multiplexes, the vast majority cinema prices are going up.

Odeon Darlington was one of the cheapest cinemas in the UK over the last few years with tickets only £3 but recently refurbished becoming Odeon Luxe and tickets are now up 160% £7.75. Vue Darlington less than a mile away was £4.24 now it’s £5.74.

In Islington Vue tickets are £6.99 less than a mile away Odeon Luxe & Dine 168% more £18.75 during the opening month didn’t seem to be more than a handful per screen while Vue was much busier if people wanted waiter service Screen on the Green is still cheaper £16.20 only 0.3m away

In 1994 analysts were predicting admissions would top 200m by 2000 while they never got to 200m they still grew steadily over the rest of the decade and would be 200m+ had average ticket prices remained as industry claims do believe admissions would be over 220m with similar box office (but with more cinemagoers brings more popcorn and soda sales so bigger profits for exhibitors?)

Industry slaps itself on the back because admissions are slightly less than in 2018 as it has done since 2003 as BO keeps rising despite the fact that there hasn’t been any real growth since 2002? From the mid-80s to 2002 admissions grew as BO grew and should have continued to grow.

2019 should have been a record-breaking year with the slate of films but even most of Disney’s 7  massive hits still probably took about 20% less than many would have expected.

Avengers: Endgame took £88.6m but after opening its opening of £43.4m almost 50% of its total box office didn’t have the legs many expected as surely should have taken over £100m.

Toy Story 4 had great reviews strong world of mouth opened with £13.3m (less than Toy Story 3, that was always going to happen as its opening was inflated with previews 9 years ago and opened at the start of the summer holiday) but should have taken more than £65.8m about £8m less than Toy Story 3 opened in 2010.

The Lion King an animated reimagination of the most beloved animated film of all time many expected it to be the biggest film of the year and have very long legs opened with £16.67m taking £76m surely another £100m+ contender?

Frozen 2 had a similar box office as Frozen but again didn’t have the legs but of course, the biggest disappointment was Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as it was expected to be the biggest film of the year and have a similar box office as The Force Awakens 4 years ago but instead it will take less than half. Had The Rise of Skywalker taken similar box office to The last Jedi 2019 box office would have topped 2018. The problem with one studio having so much success is their success only breeds success for them as the trailer is still one of the most important marketing tools a film has, and Disney controls the trailers that will be shown with their megamovies.

2020 is a sequel to 1990 a year also had many sequels most underwhelmed but as originals including Pretty Woman Ghost and Home Alone that attracted cinemagoers and those films still do 30 years later whenever they are shown on TV while many of the sequels were quickly forgotten.

Many have written off 2020 as it doesn’t have any of the megamovies that 2019 had no Star Wars, no major Avengers, Pixar sequels, major Disney reimaginations of Disney sequels, but it does have a much wider mix of films, but away from No Tie To Die it’s hard to see what apart from 1917 will take over £50m, that said no one expected Joker to take £58m and over recent years have also been The Greatest Showman, Peter Rabbit and Bohemian Rhapsody surprises at the box office so with a wider mx of films could there be more similar surprises?

2021 will be the 125th anniversary of Cinema in the UK will there be any special events as 25 years ago with National Cinema Day on June 2nd, 1996 when all cinemas were £1 and 1.5m people went to the cinema it always amazed me never became an annual event after coming back in 1997.

 

UK Box Office Top 10

US Box office

 

• Bad Boys For Life – Sony Pictures

Opened with $62.5m; received positive reviews (77% Rotten Tomatoes) A CinemaScore

Ahead of the release the film was tracking to open between $40m-$45m but after receiving surprisingly positive reviews taking $6.36m from Thursday previews more than American Sniper‘s $5.3m which opened with $107.2m over the 2015 MLK holiday over four days.

The difference between last years costly reboots of Men in Black: International and Charlie’s Angels, Sony waited to get Will Smith and Martin Lawrence to star in the sequel as they knew without them in the film would be similar to the Independence Day: Resurgence that underwhelmed at the box office without Will Smith.

While $59.2m opening was 27% more than Bad Boys 2 opening in 2003 but that is still 27% less than inflation inflated opening of Bad Boys 2 ($75.2m).

1995’s Bad Boys was Will Smith’s breakthrough film opening with $15.52m taking $65.8m and $141.4m worldwide; Bad Boys received mixed reviews (42% Rotten Tomatoes) and Bad Boys 2 received poor reviews (23% Rotten Tomatoes) but both received A CinemaScore

The biggest films of 1995 were Batman Forever ($184.1m); Apollo 13 ($172.1m); Toy Story (146.2m); Pocahontas ($139.21m); Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls ($103.97m); Casper ($100.32m); Die Hard with a Vengeance ($92.73m); Crimson Tide ($91.38m); Goldeneye ($91.34m); Waterworld ($88.24m).

2003’s Bad Boys 2 opened with $46.52m taking $138.6m and $273.33m worldwide

Bad Boys 2 was the 10th biggest film of 2003 having the 10th biggest opening of the year

The biggest films of 2003 were The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($377.1m); Finding Nemo ($339.71m); Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ($305.39m); The Matrix Reloaded ($281.57m); Bruce Almighty ($242.82m); X2: X-Men United ($214.84m); Elf ($167.54m); Chicago ($167.51m); Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ($150.37m); Bad Boys II ($138.6m).

Will Smith’s 27 films have taken $2.55bn in the US; $3.57bn internationally and $6.12bn worldwide. 

Jerry Bruckheimer’s 34 films have taken $4.1bn in the US, $6.3bn international and $10.4bn worldwide; most of his biggest hits were released in the 80s and 90s including Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, Days of Thunder, Bad Boys, The Rock, Con Air, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Coyote Ugly and Remember the Titans.

Opened with $38.6m from 39 territories and $97.8m worldwide; expands further internationally over the next few weeks.

• 1917 – Universal Pictures

Down 41% in its fourth weekend taking $21.98m and $76.6m;

Won two Golden Globes on Sunday Best Picture Drama and Best Director as it positions itself as the major award contender this year overshadowing many other films including The Irishman that were early favourites. Received 9 BAFTA nominations last week and 10 Oscar nominations.

966^th biggest in the US between Payback and Ted 2; 1,697^th biggest inflation inflated between Money Talks and French Kiss and 124^th biggest Universal Pictures film between Good Boys and Ted 2.

Away from James Bond Spectre and Skyfall, Sam Mendes also directed 2009’s Away We Go took $9,430,988), 2008’s Revolutionary Road (took $22,877,808),  2002’s Jarhead (opened with $27,726,210 taking $62,647,540), 2002’s Road to Perdition (opened with $22,079,481 taking $104,054,514) and its 20 years ago since Sam Mendes directed the Oscar-winning American Beauty (opened $9,505,313 wide taking $130,058,047).

1998’s Saving Private Ryan took $216,118,802 and $481,840,909 worldwide

1998’s The Thin Red Line took $36,257,435 and $98,126,565 worldwide

2011’s War Horse took $79,883,359 and $177,584,879 worldwide

2017’s Dunkirk took $188,045,546 and $525,245,546 worldwide

Took $26m from 37 territories internationally and $138.7m total worldwide; now seen as the favourite to win Best Picture. 

• Dolittle – Universal Pictures

Opened with $21.84m; received poor reviews (18% Rotten Tomatoes) and B CinemaScore

Only a month ago Universal Pictures opened Cats which could lose up to $100m and Dolittle could lose even more.

It’s the third film version of Doctor Dolittle after the classic 1967 Rex Harrison adaptation and then Eddie Murphy starred in the 1998 remake and 2001 sequel.

Was originally set for May 24th, 2019 but was moved to April 12th to avoid Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (was then dated for May before moving to December), it was then pushed back to  January 17th, 2020 after extensive reshoots after poor test screenings.

Universal Pictures acquired rights for what was then called The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle in March 2017 against competition from 20^th Century Fox and Sony Pictures. Director Stephen Gaghan was attached to the project that always seemed a surprising choice as he only directed Syriana and Gold previously.

As with all major flops the talent will move on to their next project as with the studio with the director being the scapegoat for the failure and will be often several years until they are able to make a similar-sized film again.

Dolittle is Robert Downey Jr’s first non-MCU film since 2014’s The Judge and is almost a decade since he starred in a non-MCU success Due Date and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows a sequel will be released in 2021. His last family film was 2006’s The Shaggy Dog.

Trailers for Dolittle have been playing with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Jumanji: The Next Level which should see it open ahead of tracking ($25m-$30m) depending on reviews.

1998’s Doctor Dolittle opened with $29.01m taking $144.15m in the US and $294.45m worldwide

2001’s Doctor Dolittle 2 opened with $25.03m taking $112.95m in the US and $176.1m worldwide

Always surprises me with films like Dolittle that was always likely to get poor reviews don’t open globally day and date, instead opened in Asia last weekend and has a staggered international release opening in the UK on February 7^th for half term.

Took $17.2m from 46 territories internationally and $27.3m worldwide; expands across Europe in February and March

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• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – Disney

Dropped 45% in its fifth weekend taking $8.28m and $491.93m

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker became the worst-reviewed Star Wars film dropping below The Phantom Menace Rotten Tomatoes score 52% Vs 53%, but The Phantom Menace received positive reviews when it was first released in 1999 it only dropped its score in 2012 when it was re-released in 3D.

Showing how far The Rise Of Skywalker has fallen in its 4th weekend is similar 2005’s Revenge of the Sith and only 8% more than 2002’s Attack of the Clones and 41% less than 1999’s The Phantom Menace despite 60%+ ticket inflation since and opening 55% and 40% more. Over the years since films are opening bigger but they are also dropping much bigger faster.

Disney had an amazing 2019 but surely much bigger if Avengers: Endgame, Toy Story 4, The Lion King and The Rise of Skywalker lived up their hype, but all took less than many analysts predicted had they done so 2019 would have been the record-breaking year expected?

Surely The Rise Of Skywalker taking only just over $1bn will be seen as a similarly disappointing $1bn+ BO as Transformers: Age of Extinction as it’s just stumbling past $1bn after 4 weeks rather than cantering past as most box office analysts predicted a month ago?

Showing how fast The Rise of Skywalker has dropped in its fifth weekend Aquaman took $10.17m xx% more in its fifth weekend last year

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 5^th weekend was less than all of the previous Star Wars saga films apart from A New Hope in 1977.

2015 – Star Wars: The Force Awakens dropped 37.8% taking $26.34m and $852.27m 91% of $936.66m; $2.068bn WW

2016 – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story dropped 39% taking $13.46m and $498.55m 93.7% of $532.17m; $1.056bn WW

2017 – Star Wars: The Last Jedi dropped 50% taking $11.85m and $592.12m 95.4% of $620.18m; $1.332bn WW

2005 – Star Wars: Episode: Revenge of the Sith dropped 32.4% taking $10.03m and $348.14m 91.5% of $380.27m; $849.99m WW

2002 – Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones dropped 32.6% taking $9.43m and $270.75m 89.6% of $302.19m; $640.91m WW

1999 – Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace dropped 26.4% taking $18.85m and $328.07m 76.1% of $431.08m; $924.3m WW

1983 – Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi dropped 0.8% taking $11.12m and $132.69m 52.5% of $252.58m; $374.59m WW

1980 – Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back taking $10.84m and $47.32m 22.6% of $209.39m and $400.08m WW

Fifth weekend

Took xx% less than Star Wars: The Force Awakens; xx% less than Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and xx% less than Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Ahead of its release, most people would have expected The Rise of Skywalker to challenge Avengers: Endgame as the biggest film of 2019 and even after opening many still believed it could take over $600m, but now it’s likely to take about $500m (similar to Rogue One) taking almost 95% of its total box office after 5 weeks.

It always amazes me that Disney is the one studio holding back other studios from trying to shorten the current theatrical window from 16 weeks as, despite their films opening bigger, they also drop bigger and still take 90% of their box office within for weeks on release.

15^th biggest film in the US between Beauty and the Beast and Finding Dory

54^th biggest film inflation inflated between Avengers: Age of Ultron and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

11^th biggest Disney film in the US between Beauty and the Beast and Finding Dory

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker became Disney’s 7^th 2019 film to take over $1bn worldwide, all 7 were expected to take over $1bn worldwide as previous instalment/versions took similarly; while al 8 was expected to take over $1bn the question is how many $1bn+ films will Disney get this year?

Took $10.9m internationally from 55 territories and $534.6m total internationally and $1.027bn worldwide; UK $71.4m; Germany $61.3m; Japan $54.3m; France $48m; Australia $29.9m; Spain $20.4m; China $20m; Mexico $15.9m; Italy $14.6m; Brazil $12.7m; Russia $11.6m; Sweden $10.8m

41^st biggest film worldwide between Despicable Me 3 and Finding Dory and 23^rd biggest Disney film worldwide between Zootopia and Finding Dory.

• Little Women – Sony Pictures

Down 18% in its fourth weekend taking $6.36m and $84.85m

Hard to compare with 1994’s Little Women opening #2 with $2.41m (behind Streetfighter opening with $6.85m) taking $46.13m ($105m inflation inflated)

881^st biggest film in the US between The Campaign and To Fly! and 1,597^th biggest inflation inflated film between We Bought a Zoo and Power Rangers and 114^th biggest Sony Pictures film between Pineapple Express and The Emoji Movie

Took $6.2m from 13 territories and $44.3m and $107m worldwide; UK $21.3m; Australia $7.9m; Spain $4.4m; Italy $4m; France $3.5m.

1,274^th biggest film worldwide between Boomerang and Wolf and 171^st biggest Sony Pictures film worldwide between Bewitched and Wolf.

• Jumanji: The Next Level – Sony Pictures

Down 31% in its sixth weekend taking $9.7m and $270.61m

Jumanji: The Next Level took 28.1% less than Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle in its fifth weekend down xx% $16.14m Vs $14m and total after 6 weeks is xx% less $257.13m Vs $337.8m; if Jumanji: The Next Level continues to hold as it is currently will take about $300m, will surely be enough for

2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle dropped 32.3% in its seventh weekend taking $10.93m and $352.57m 87.1% of $404.51m and $962.07m worldwide

Dwayne Johnson’s 43 films have taken $4.9bn in the US and $7.87nn internationally and over $12.09bn worldwide.

108^th biggest film in the US between Gravity and Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch; 269^th biggest inflation inflated film between Transformers: Age of Extinction and Ratatouille and 9^th biggest Sony Pictures film between Skyfall and The Amazing Spider-Man.

Took $17m from 65 territories and $438m total and $709m worldwide; UK $42.6m; China $41.2m; Australia $28.5m; France $24.6m; Germany $23.1m; Russia $20.6m; Mexico $20.1m; Indonesia $15.2m; Italy $13.4m; Spain $13.4m; Malaysia $13m; India $10m.

115^th biggest film worldwide between Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and 13^th biggest Sony Pictures film worldwide between 2012 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Best Picture Oscar nominees expansions

Jojo Rabbit – Fox Searchlight

+630% taking $1,489,335 and $23,618,407           

added 880 screens playing in 1,005 screens

Joker – Warner Bros

+487% taking $348,048  and $334,495,249            

added 769 screens playing in 846 screens

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Sony Pictures

+824% taking $320,774  and $141,478,795

added 651 screens playing in 705 screens

Ford V Ferrari – 20^th Century Fox

+41% taking $1,072,856 and $112,883,244            

added 513 screens playing in 1,080 screens

Parasite – Neon

+79% taking $1,711,988 and $27,700,633

added 498 screens playing in 843 screens

UK Box Office Predictions

1917 will stay #1 for a third weekend dropping about 30% taking £4.5m similar to the third weekend of Dunkirk

With The Personal History Of David Copperfield being the best performing new release opening in second with £2m+

Its Armando Iannucci’s first film since 2017’s The Death of Stalin opened with £995,458 taking £5,013,045;  It also had a strange release after receiving positive reviews at Toronto Film Festival premiere opened in 138 screens over a busy weekend in October in fifth, the film expanded further over the following weeks.

He previously directed 2009’s In The Loop which opened with £468,954 from 104 screens taking £2,123,530.

Armando Iannucci also had a new TV series starting on Sky TV this week Avenue 5

Since starring in 2009’s Slumdog Millionaire opened with £1,827,457 taking £31,664,346

Dev Patel is best known for starring in

2012’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opened with £2,222,051 taking £20,308,480

2017’s Lion opened with £1,265,282 taking £11,742,907

Other new releases will be fighting out the bottom of the top 10 with two horrors opening against each other both unlikely to find audiences The Grudge and The Turning

Paw Patrol: Ready, Race, Rescue opens ahead of half-term holidays in three weeks’ time, last year Paw Patrol Mighty Pups opened with £521,505 taking £1,265,526 with Frozen 2 and Spies in Disguise almost played out and being the first children’s film opening for half-term and the continued popularity of Paw Patrol it should have a similar opening.

While with no competition Bad Boys For Life should drop about 40%+ taking just under £2m

With Little Women dropping about 30% in 4^th taking just over £1m as it moves towards £20m

While Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will drop again as it drops further down the chart

While word of mouth could keep Bombshell in the top 10 as it climbed up from 7^th to 5^th on Monday.

While there are many releases over the next two weeks are few that will attract audiences until Birds of Prey opens on February 7^th. Opening against Dolittle delayed for half-term holidays but after poor reviews and poor performance in the US is unlikely to generate much interest, whilst Birds of Prey will continue Warner Bros recent success with DC.

Opening in UK Next Week

• The Rhythm Section – Paramount Pictures

Action drama starring Blake Lively, Jude Law and Sterling K. Brown and directed by Reed Morano based on Mark Burnell’s novel.

In August 2017 Paramount Pictures acquired world rights to the film produced by Eon Productions best known for making the James Bond films. The Rhythm Section is only Eon Productions third non-Bond film they have produced, the other two 1963’s Call Me Bwana and 2017’s Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool.

Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson gave an interview to Variety last week talking a lot about the upcoming James Bond film No Time To Die and that anyone can be Bond as long as it’s a man.

What was surprising was they didn’t mention The Rhythm Section which they could have said that they have no need in making James bond a woman as they have The Rhythm Section based on Mark Burnell’s novel of female spy released at the end of the month.

When the project was first revealed it was planned to be the first of a potential series, so if that was still the case that would surely be mentioned in the interview?

In 2008 Eon signed a deal with Columbia Picture to develop films away from the Bond series but none were made;

Was originally set for February 20219 release before being delayed to November 2019 (in January 2019) before being pushed back to January 2020 in August 2019.

Blake Lively has had box office success with 2016’s The Shallows (opened £800,963 taking £1,723,386), 2015’s Age of Adaline (opened £570,386 taking £1,084,834) and 2018’s A Simple Favour (opened £1,621,900 and £4,930,383)

While also performing similar to action films 2019’s Cold Pursuit (opened £631,467 taking £1,743,561) and 2018’s Peppermint (went straight to Amazon) but not as strongly as female action films 2018’s Red Sparrow (opened £1,843,124 taking £6,395,074) and 2017’s Atomic Blonde (opened £1,686,430 taking £3,063,918).

The film was cut by three seconds by the BBFC to get a 15 certificate

• A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood – Sony Pictures

Drama starring Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Chris Cooper and directed  Marielle Heller inspired by the 1998 article “Can You Say … Hero?” by Tom Junod, published in Esquire.

Had world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival receiving positive reviews (95% Rotten Tomatoes) the film was released in November 2019 opening with $13.3m taking $59m.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood was chosen by Time magazine as one of the ten best films of the year and Tom Hanks was nominated for his performance for the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice, Screen Actors Guild Awards, BAFTA Awards and Academy Awards.

Despite starring Tom Hanks the film is a hard sell internationally as Mr Rogers isn’t well known it would be like trying to sell a Phillip Schofield biopic about his broom cupboard years to US audiences.

It was surprising Tom Hanks was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for the film as ahead of its release many were hoping that he could finally win his third Best Actor Oscar after so many attempts since winning two in two years with Philadelphia and Forrest Gump.

As its It’s incredible that performances for Jim Lovell (Apollo 13), Captain Miller (Saving Private Ryan), Chuck Noland (Cast Away), Michael Sullivan (Road to Perdition); Carl Hanratty (Catch Me If You Can), Captain Richard Phillips (Captain Phillips), Walt Disney (Saving Mr Banks), James B. Donovan (Bridge of Spies), Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger (Sully) and Ben Bradlee (The Post) didn’t win him his third Oscar

Maybe he will have a better chance with next year’s News of the World directed by Paul Greengrass and the untitled Elvis Presley biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann.

• Queen & Slim – eOne

Romantic drama starring Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chloë Sevigny, Flea, Sturgill Simpson and Indya Moore and directed by Melina Matsoukas; had a world premiere at the AFI Fest receiving positive reviews.

Opened with $16m in November taking $43.49m.

Without Oscar nominations will be hard for Queen & Slim to find an audience in the UK in the crowded marketplace.

• Richard Jewell – Warner Bros

Biographical drama starring Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, and Olivia Wilde and directed by Clint Eastwood based on 1997 article “American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell” by Marie Brenner, published in Vanity Fair. 

Had its world premiere at AFI Fest on November 20th receiving positive reviews.

Richard Jewell was one of the many projects 20th Century Fox developed that was put into turnaround by Disney after the acquired the studio and Warner Bros acquired.

The film began development in 2014 when Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill were going to produce the film with Jonah Hill starring as Richard Jewell with Paul Greengrass directing, he left the project and moved on to News of the World also in development at 20th Century Fox but moved to Universal Pictures with Tom Hanks starring, now dated for December 2020 release.

The film started shooting in June with a trailer released in October, Clint Eastwood doesn’t hang around with his films they are quickly turned out.

Clint Eastwood is 89 years old but keeps making films, Richard Jewell is the 8^th film he has directed over the last 9 years having huge success with 2014’s American Sniper and 2016’s Sully with his last 2018’s The Mule taking over $100m

Richard Jewell is Clint Eastwood’s 37th film directed over 48 years taking $2bn in the US and $3.34bn worldwide; Richard Jewell is his 11th film in a row for Warner Bros since 2008’s Gran Torino.

BO of some of Clint Eastwood’s recent films

2019’s The Mule opened with £725,554 taking £1,421,554

2018’s The 15:17 to Paris opened with £290,577

2016’s Sully: Miracle on the Hudson opened with £1,786,844 taking £7,386,195

2015’s American Sniper opened with £2,530,473 taking £13,424,242

2012’s J. Edgar opened with £413,210

After underperforming in the US last month and not receiving any Oscar nominations the film will be a hard well for UK audiences as Queen & Slim and A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood; will likely open similar to 2018’s The 15:17 to Paris opened with £290,577

• The Lighthouse – Universal Pictures

Psychological horror starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson and directed by Robert Eggers; Shot in black-and-white with a 1.19:1 aspect ratio.

Had world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival receiving universal acclaim (92% Rotten Tomatoes); was released in the US in October by A24 on platform release slowly expanding taking $10.8m in the US and $27m internationally and received Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography.

Opening in the US Next Week

• The Rhythm Section – Paramount Pictures

Blake Lively has had box office success with 2016’s The Shallows (opened $16.8m taking $55.12m and $119.1m WW), 2015’s Age of Adaline (opened $13.2m taking $42.62m and $65.66m WW) and 2018’s A Simple Favor (opened $16.01m taking $53.54m and $97.64m WW)

While also performing similar to action films 2019’s Cold Pursuit (opened $11.03m taking $32.13m and $76.41m WW) and 2018’s Peppermint ($13.42m taking $35.41m and $53.91m WW) but not as strongly as female action films 2018’s Red Sparrow ($16.85m taking $46.87m and $151.47m WW) and 2017’s Atomic Blonde (opened $18.28m taking $51.68m and $100.01m WW).

Tracking to open in low teens over Super-Bowl weekend

With Birds of Prey opening the following weekend it’s unlikely to play for long.

• The Assistant – Bleeckers Street

Drama starring Julia Garner, Matthew Macfadyen, Kristine Froseth, Makenzie Leigh, Noah Robbins, Dagmara Domińczyk and Purva Bedi and written and directed by Kitty Green.

Had world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival (receiving positive reviews) tells the fictional story of a young female employee who gets a job at a film production company and the sexual abuses she has to deal with. There are of course comparisons with this fictional story to sexual abuse by Harvey Weinstein and Roger Ailes told in Bombshell currently on release.

• Gretel & Hansel – United Artists

Fantasy horror starring Sophia Lillis, Sam Leakey, Charles Babalola, Jessica De Gouw and Alice Krige and directed by Oz Perkins based on the German fairy-tale Hänsel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm.

In 2013 Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters opened with $19,690,956 taking $55.7m and $226.34m

Tracking to open in single figures