- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – £5,759,504 – NE
Had the biggest 3-day opening since 1917 in January 2020; 3rd biggest opening of 2021 after Black Widow and Fast & Furious 9 (both had two days of previews; 18th biggest opening since January 2019 between F9 and Rocketman.
221st biggest opening in the UK between Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Robin Hood (close to F9, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Iron Man and Thor);
162nd biggest Fri-Sun between Taken 3 and Aladdin (close to Spider-Man, X-Men 2, Venom and Thor: The Dark World)
78th biggest without previews between The Blair Witch Project and Bridget Jones’s Diary;
326th biggest inflation inflated opening between Monsters vs. Aliens and The Hulk (close to The Matrix, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Judge Dredd (1995) and The Fifth Element).
19th biggest MCU film in the UK and 14th biggest Fri-Sun MCU opening between Spider-Man Homecoming and Thor: The Dark World.
44th biggest comic-book opening in the UK between Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Iron Man (close to Wonder Woman, Justice League, X-Men: First Class and Batman and Robin) and 56th biggest inflation inflated between Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and The Hulk) close to Superman Returns, Batman, Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk).
Opened £42k more than Tenet last year; opened with £5,335,654 included £2,044,248 from 3 days of previews taking £3,291,406 Fri-Sun.
Took 7.63% of US opening similar to Black Widow, Suicide Squad, Captain Marvel, Thor, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man Homecoming, Justice League, Avengers Assemble, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Ant-Man;
The 25 MCU films have taken almost £785m at the UK BO since May 2008 (£820m+ inflation inflated); 19 of the 25 have opened with more than £6m and all MCU films except for Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp have opened with over £6m since Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011
Industry uses 10% as the guide to UK openings which only happens with comic-book films in the UK when they have previews inflating openings as Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange, Fantastic Four (2015), Deadpool, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok and Venom.
Timing is everything, Marvel waited until the fanbase was primed for Shang-Chi as they did with 2018’s Black Panther, both films were originally part of the first 10 films Marvel were going to make, but they choose to wait until they had built up the fanbase to a point when they knew they would be far more accepting of a superhero that wasn’t white arrogant male.
Industry reaction to Shang-Chi was predictable as the last 19 months have lowered industry expectations of box office success with the opening of Shang-Chi seen now as a big despite the film targeting the same demographic that the majority of all the other films that have opened since cinemas reopened in May. In normal circumstances, all of these films would have opened with at least a third more and taken a third more.
The industry seems to forget it’s the 25th part of the biggest franchise in the world and the majority of its audience would have still gone to see it if it opened last year. It does again show had the industry worked together last year with the reopening plan and not left it to Warner Bros to singlehandedly do it with Tenet it would be in a far stronger position now.
Marvel first announced Shang Chi same time announced Black Panther in Sept 2005 both parts of the first 10 films Marvel would make along with Captain America, Avengers, Nick Fury, Ant-Man, Cloak & Dagger, Dr Strange, Hawkeye and Power Pack, Iron Man and Thor joined the list in 2006.
Marvel cynically waited till now to make Shang Chi as they did with Black Panther in 2018 as wanted the MCU fanbase to grow and it was far easier to do with white arrogant male superheroes but the delay backfired on Black Widow as waited far too long.
After releasing Cruella, Black Widow and Jungle Cruise with hybrid cinema and Disney+ release Shang-Chi is Disney’s first film since cinemas reopened to have Disney’s new 45-day window, Free Guy was also released with the similar release but that was a former Fox film which couldn’t go directly to Disney+ due to HBO Pay TV deal that ends in 2022.
Shang-Chi was originally due for release on February 12, 2021, on the first day of the Chinese New Year before moving to May 7th and then September 3rd to allow for the release of Black Widow in July. September 3rd is an unusual release date for a tentpole film was Labor Day weekend (the end of summer) is normally a dump week for studios.
The first trailer and poster were released in April which was poorly received saying both presented a “rather stereotyped” view of Chinese people and culture, Disney has a habit of adding Asian actors into their movies in the hope that they will help them play better in Asia. In May Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals weren’t included on a Chinese state media list of upcoming MCU films which led many to speculate they wouldn’t be released in China. (it still hasn’t got a Chinese release date).
Marvel President Kevin Feige went on a charm offensive to try to address China’s biggest concerns over the film at the US premiere talking to a Chinese film critic but it felt like it was being cynically done to make sure they can release the film in China as without it’s unlikely to be anywhere nearly as successful as other MCU films. China as many other countries has far more important things to deal with as COVID cases are again on the increase in China along with other parts of Asia.
Simu Liu surprisingly took to Twitter in response to Disney CEO Bob Chapek saying the release of Shang-Chi was an “interesting experiment.” Saying “We are not an “interesting experiment”. We are the underdog; the underestimated. We are the ceiling-breakers. We are the celebration of culture and joy that will persevere after an embattled year. We are the surprise.” Disney can release Shang-Chi however they want just because Simu Liu stars in the film doesn’t give him a say on how it’s released, and after Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit this will likely become a clause in their contracts in future.
While Shang-Chi and Eternals are part of the MCU and the fanbase would be similar to see all of them the question is how it will play beyond the fans and as Shang-Chi and Eternals are unknown to many non -comic-book fans. Previously Marvel would soft launch new characters in other MCU films but with both of them are completely new, that said the basic plots are still very similar in all of the MCU films.
Shang-Chi was the first MCU since Captain Marvel not to have previews, it will be the seventh MCU film not to have previews inflating its opening and only fifth to be released by Disney (Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 and Captain Marvel).
Marvel are often praised for their diversity but they cynically waited until they felt the fanbase was ready for a non-white male superhero as originally Black Panther and Shang-Chi was going to be part of the first 10 films announced by Marvel in 2005.
Instead, Warner lead the way with Wonder Woman in 2017, before Marvel made Captain Marvel, while Marvel still felt they needed to soft launch Black Panther in Captain America Civil War and also took until 2019 to make Black Widow, why it failed to match expectations in the summer.
2. Free Guy – £956,248 – £13,230,937
Down 40.5% in its fourth weekend; took 54.4% of its box office to date in its opening 10 days and has already taken 5.34x opening better than Inside Out, Aladdin (2019), Jungle Cruise, Independence Day, Wreck-It Ralph, Paddington 2 and Men in Black.
While similar to Love Actually, Ratatouille, Mary Poppins Returns, Downton Abbey, Bend It Like Beckham, Gone Girl, Run, Fat Boy, Run, The Emoji Movie, Taken, Despicable Me and Up. This shows how strong the film has held and in normal circumstances would have performed similarly to Night at the Museum and The Lego Movie taking upwards of £30m.
456th biggest film in the UK (626th film to take over £10m at the UK BO) between 8 Mile and The Suicide Squad (close to Die Hard 4.0, Mr and Mrs Smith, Baby Driver and Shazam!) and 685th biggest inflation inflated film in the UK between Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and The Suicide Squad (close to Wanted, Pokemon Detective Pikachu, The Wolverine and Romeo and Juliet).
Free Guy had a similar fourth weekend as Last Christmas (£1,318,062); Interstellar (£1,157,875); Billy Elliot (£1,142,988); Parasite (£1,047,024); Dumbo (£927,804); Tenet (£796,309); Black Widow (£788,028); Yesterday (£774,895).
Free Guy is holding better than both Black Widow and Tenet showing that both of them didn’t play beyond their fanbase, which was always expected despite exhibitors believing they would play far stronger and have much longer legs
The film has been compared to The Truman Show, (but was adult comedy/drama and played to an older audience) but instead of being set inside a TV show, it’s set inside a computer game like Wreck-It-Ralph or The Lego Movie and was a family film similar to those two films playing to a much wide demographic. The Truman Show has become more than it was due to the TV shows that have launched over the years since similar to 1995’s To Die For and Josie and the Pussycats they were movies ahead of their time so weren’t the successes they deserved to be or would be today.
Fourth weekends
1998’s The Truman Show dropped 33.1% taking £733,267 taking £8,197,130 82.5% of £9,929,680 (£17,789,650)
2006’s Night at the Museum dropped 27% taking £1,414,066 (£2,096,418 inflation inflated) taking £16,669,329 (£24,713,050 inflation inflated) 83.2% of £20,019,417 (£29,227,526.67)
2013’s Wreck-It Ralph dropped 59% taking £1,402,000 and £20,432,173 total 86.5% of £23,607,542
2014’s The Lego Movie dropped 50% taking £1,633,265 and £28,801,707 87.6% of £32,887,286.
2017’s The Lego Batman Movie dropped 47% taking £1,526,823 and £24,954,821 93.2% of £26,771,191
2018’s Ready Player One dropped 57% taking £503,099 and £15,439,019 total 95.8% of £16,114,011
3. Candyman – £754,097 – £2,912,029
Down 32.2% in its second weekend; showing that as with A Quiet Place Part 2 Candyman is playing beyond its horror fanbase.
1,143rd biggest second weekend in the UK between Bringing Down the House and The Lone Ranger (close to Exorcism of Emily Rose, Annabelle Comes Home, Jigsaw and Scream 4) and 1,240th biggest inflation inflated the second weekend between Total Recall and 10 Cloverfield Lane (close to The First Purge, The Devil Inside, Poltergeist and The Chronicles of Riddick)
Had similar second weekend as previous Blumhouse Productions Insidious 2 (£1,076,295); Mama (£1,066,008); Insidious: The Last Key (£1,025,740); The Purge: Anarchy (£811,444); The First Purge (£798,455); Insidious Chapter 3 (£692,560); Ouija (£653,678); The Forever Purge (£598,803); Sinister 2 (£569,830).
75th biggest horror second weekend in the UK between Hostel and Jigsaw (close to Hereditary, The Purge: Anarchy, Poltergeist and The Hills Have Eyes).
96th biggest horror film in the UK between Pet Sematary and Underworld: Evolution (close to Doctor Sleep, Evil Dead, Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones).
Interesting to see Candyman is performing similar to many of the rebooted horrors that underperformed in the UK and that Blumhouse Production horrors haven’t been anywhere nearly as successful in the UK as the US. Maybe that’s because many of them aren’t regular horrors but have a political message attached that doesn’t connect as well to international audiences as in the US.
The original Candyman in 1993 took £1.8m (£4m inflation inflated); 1995’s Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh took £598,063 but the third film Candyman: Day of the Dead went straight to video.
Candyman took a 5.14x opening similar to Skyfall and Paddington 2 showing how front-loaded films have become over the last decade. In the 90s films would play in cinemas for months but now most films take 90% of their total box office in their first 4 weeks.
After Universal delayed Candyman from June 2020 were rumours they might sell it to streaming but as director Nia DaCosta said in September “We made Candyman be seen in theatres. Not just for the spectacle but because the film is about community and stories–how they shape each other, how they shape us. It’s about the collective experience of trauma and joy, suffering and triumph, and the stories we tell around it…We wanted the horror and humanity of Candyman to be experienced in a collective, a community, so we’re pushing Candyman to next year, to ensure that everyone can see the film, in theatres, and share in that experience.”
4. The Paw Patrol Movie – £465,037 – £6,860,274
Down 17.4% in its fourth weekend; the final weekend of the summer holidays
Hard to make direct comparisons with other Paw Patrol films as it took more than the others did in their complete release; 2020’s Paw Patrol: Ready, Race, Rescue took £1,772,296; 2019’s Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups took £1,265,526; 2017’s Paw Patrol: Mission Big Screen £42,460 from 83 Vue Cinemas. The Paw Patrol Movie plays mostly to pre-schoolers while other animated films would play to across a wider age.
While 2017’s Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience took £3,615,538
Likewise, as it’s all about getting the next generation excited about the cinema experience tickets should be cheaper, in November 2017 Disney played Olaf’s Frozen Adventure with Frozen and all cinemas were £1 took £1,115,689 from 611 screens.
Other big-screen outings of animated toddler TV shows include
Bing at the Cinema opened from 85 Vue Cinemas in April 2018 with £65,535
Hey Dugge At, The Cinema opened in January 2019 from 88 Vue Cinemas with £67,672
Peppa Pig: Festival of Fun in April 2019 with £982,617, Vue Cinemas were the one exhibitor that had the 60-minute film at reduced prices.
While exhibitors have for the last 19 months looked No To Time To Die to be their saviour as they did a year ago this week with Christopher Nolan’s Tenet but films like The Paw Patrol Movie and Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience is far more important. As these films bring a new generation to the cinema experience as for many children it’s their first time going to the cinema,, If they enjoy their first experience and their parents don’t think it’s too expensive then they will be going for years to come despite also have Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Sky TV at home.
After Paramount Pictures delaying Top Gun: Maverick from November to May next year The Paw Patrol Movie and Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins are the studio final film releases of 2021, with their next Scream in January.
Paramount Pictures started the second reopening of UK cinemas having the biggest opening with A Quiet Place Part 2 since the last biggest opening before cinemas closed the first time Sonic The Hedgehog and the sequel is one of the films they have scheduled for release next year.
Over the last few years Paramount has started to build up far stronger slates for the year but then something happens and then something happens, and films get pushed back as they have over the last two years due to COVID and Paramount selling many of their films to streamers. On paper, at the moment 2022 slate looks very strong, 10 years on from its 100th anniversary.
5. Jungle Cruise – £266,156- £11,759,812
Down 33.9% in its sixth weekend
As with many films, this summer Jungle Cruise opening (£2,241,651) was about half of what it would normally be but has held strong over the last 6 weeks, with people opting to see the film in cinemas despite it also being available on Disney+. It has currently taken 5.25x opening similar to Ratatouille, Cinderella, The Emoji Movie, Despicable Me, Up, Inside Out, Finding Dory, Wall·E, Wreck-It Ralph and Paddington 2.
515th biggest film in the UK between Fantastic Four and Lion (close to Rise of the Guardians, Pretty Woman, Space Jam and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb) and 777th biggest inflation inflated film between District 9 and Space Jam: A New Legacy (close to Fantastic Mr Fox, National Treasure 2, Wild Wild West and Superman IV).
94th biggest Disney film in the UK between Pretty Woman and The Proposal (close to Starsky & Hutch, Pearl Harbour, Enemy of the State and The Others).
It’s the sixth Disney film based on a theme park ride after the Pirates of the Caribbean five-film series (between 2003 and 2017); 2003’s The Haunted Mansion, 2000’s Mission to Mars, 2002’s The Country Bears and 2015’s Tomorrowland
2003’s The Pirates of the Caribbean took £28,171,721 (£45,810,772 inflation inflated).
2004’s The Haunted Mansion took £8,078,765 (£12,990,798 inflation inflated)
Jungle Cruise wants to be Pirates of the Caribbean meets The Mummy 1999’s The Mummy took £12,627,510 taking £17,439,339 (£29,907,845 inflation inflated) and 2001’s The Mummy Returns took £20,390,060 (£35,559,477 inflation inflated); The Mummy box office is similar to Jumanji Welcome to The Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level box office.
After taking over $100m in the US and $194m worldwide Disney announced plans for a sequel with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt returning. In normal circumstances would have expected Jungle Cruise to take more than three times the amount in the US and worldwide similar to Jumanji Welcome to The Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level.
Also Opened
Rise Of The Footsoldier: Origins – Signature Entertainment
Opened #10 with £122,898 from 243 screens
It opened almost 14 years to the date (September 7th) the first film opened in the UK Rise of the Footsoldier with £85,903 #14 from 138 screens
Here Today – Sony Pictures
Opened with £28,577 from 171 screens
In comparison 20 years ago next month Billy Crystal’s America’s Sweethearts opened with £1,719,897 taking £5,637,933 (£9,832,337 inflation inflated)
Also Released
Our Ladies dropped 64% in its second weekend taking £44,783 #17 from 168 screens and £295,395; this is the latest film that received critical acclaim but struggled to find an audience, while the industry backslaps itself with the predictable opening of Shang-Chi it should be very concerned that most other films are struggling even more.
Other Film News
On August 26th Paramount Pictures screened the first 13 minutes of Top Gun: Maverick and footage of Mission Impossible 7 at CinemaCon, less than five days later they announced that both films would be delayed due to the rise in COVID cases. Top Gun: Maverick delayed from Thanksgiving to Memorial weekend and Mission Impossible 7 from Memorial Day to September 30th.
Top Gun: Maverick and No Time To Die highlight the biggest failure of the industry since January 2020 the lack of a plan. After China shutdown cinemas days before their New Year the West should have taken notice of the seriousness of COVID and looked back on how they dealt with the Spanish Flu a century ago and as many politicians did watch Contagion again.
The problem was the short-sighted nature of the cinema industry could only see how 2020 started so strongly and despite the panic in the supermarkets, they ignored it in the West until it was too late, waiting on guidance from incompetent governments to make the decision for them.
Top Gun: Maverick and No Time To Die had already felt old as both were delayed due to production issues from their original release dates in July and November 2019. Both films are vital to the long-term success of the studios as Tom Cruise in Paramount’s MVP with Top Gun Maverick, Mission Impossible 7 and 8 upcoming and James Bond is MGM. Amazon announced plans to buy MGM in May for $8.45bn, while MGM has a 4,000+ title library as other studios have found launching streaming services most have been licenced to other streaming services for many years.
After delaying No Time To Die several times and interest costing MGM $1m a month they probably decided that they have to just cut their losses as other studios have done and need to move onwards as it now 6 years since Spectre was released and then need to get Bond 26 up and running which will have a new 007. In the trailers, they have teased Lashana Lynch as the new 007 but this is likely as there can only be one 007.
It was surprising when Paramount delayed Top Gun Maverick to next May that MGM didn’t immediately move No Time To Die to Thanksgiving, instead, Sony moved Ghostbuster: Afterlife and after the strong opening of Shang-Chi, they brought forward Venom 2 two weeks to October 1st (unknown at the moment if this is the US only) but will mean that it opens a week before No Time To Die in the US and could open against Bond internationally.
While the pandemic has been used as the reason for Top Gun Maverick being delay could it be related to the US pulling out of Afghanistan at the end of August and a film about the US miltary could be seen as bad taste, and as Top Gun Maverick is vital to Paramount they don’t want anything to potential harm its box office potenial.
After Sony lost Bond rights could they be that vindictive to open Venom 2 against No Time To Die? As the problem with Shang Chi opening is highlighted by the trailers shown with it Venom 2, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Eternals as the next films for the majority of the 7m+ who saw it will be those films, it used to be success breeds success over many films but now it’s comic-book to comic-book movies.
Only need to see an audience breakdown of Shang-Chi to see why Venom 2 would make a massive dent on No Time To Die opening with 77%+ under 35 and 49% saw it as was an MCU film; Venom opened the same weekend in 2018 with £8,031,342 (including £2,431,342 previews) despite poor reviews taking £16,652,223. In 2018 three films could open strongly over the same weekend with A Star Is Born opening with £4,100,196 taking £29,299,129 and Johnny English Strikes Back opening with £4,117,692 taking £17,685,442, but it’s unlike that the same could happen now.
After Venice Jury President Bong Joon Ho opened the film festival “COVID-19 will not destroy cinema”, Dune received predictable critical acclaim, but as 2017’s Blade Runner 2049 received critical acclaim will be a negative rather than a positive for Dune as made it cinephiles wet dream but likely to be far too pretentious for others (opening up as Dune Part 1 highlight this from the start) while it’s release is being split opens in France and 14 other territories Sept 17 and them the rest of the world from mid-October.
With No Time To Die opening three weeks earlier in the UK Bond normally cannibalises everything after for a month after and as No Time To Die doesn’t have the same extended previews as Spectre and Skyfall it’s likely to hold similar to Casino Royale (after opening similar) taking £5.3m in 3rd w/e. There is also the issue of Venom 2 now opening against it.
If Dune fails to find a wide audience from September 17 then it’s unlikely to be booked into the biggest screens in the US and UK so being released on HBO Max will be the least of its problems.
Biggest Films of 2021 todate
Peter Rabbit: The Runaway became the first film since 1917 to take over £20m, the sequel was always likely to be the saviour of the cinema after the original film took £41.1m rather than Christopher Nolan’s Tenet that the industry believed it would be.
The top 10 biggest films of 2021 are currently
Peter Rabbit 2 £20.1m; Black Widow £18.7m; Fast & Furious 9 £16.4m; The Suicide Squad £13.81m; Free Guy £13.21m; Space Jam 2 £12.27m; Jungle Cruise £11.75m; A Quiet Place Part 2 £11.54m; Cruella £9.41m; The Conjuring 3 £9.36m.
While most films have opened about a third less than they would in normal circumstances many have had much longer legs than they would normally do; Free Guy 5.34x; Jungle Cruise 5.25x; Space Jam: A New Legacy 8.61x; 12.32x The Croods: A New Age; 4.45x The Forever Purge and 6.49x Cruella. As Jungle Cruise, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Croods: A New Age and Cruella were widely available legally and illegally online piracy is just an excuse.
These strongholds compare to Tenet only taking 3.27x opening last year which was meant to have very long legs; while Black Widow was 2.68x and F9 2.72x showing again piracy had nothing to do with the fast drop off of Black Widow it was just that the fanbase rushed out to see both over their opening weekends.
The following 10 biggest films from 11-20 highlight this issue even more with two big Oscar winners in 19th and 20th as both targeted older demographics but they weren’t likely to attend cinemas in May/June and this was expected many months before they were dated to open. While neither were likely to be successful as 2019’sOscar winners 1917 and Parasite they should have attracted a far bigger audience than they did especially with Lionsgate opening The Father on over 600 screens.
The Croods 2 £8.58m; PAW Patrol: The Movie £5.68m; In The Heights £4.28m; The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard £3.84m; The Forever Purge £3.6m; Old £3.36m; Spirit Untamed £3m; Godzilla Vs Kong £2.5m; The Father £2.07m; Nomadland £1.93m.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £9,037,233 up 66.5% from last weekend £5,427,888 and up 149.2% from 2020 (£3,625,642)
The weekend admissions 1,271,059 up 74.5% 728,340 from last week; (509,936 admissions in 2020 this week was (up 149.2%);
Top 3 took £7,469,849 82.6% of the top 10; Shang-Chi 63.7% (£5,759,504); Free Guy 10.6% (£956,248); Candyman 8.3% (£754,097);
Up 149.2% from 2020 (£3,625,642); Top 3 took £3,092,897 85.3% of £3,625,642; Tenet 59.3% (£2,151,490); The New Mutants 18.9% (£686,407); After We Collided 7.1% (£255,000); #1 Tenet £2,151,490 2nd week 60% drop 613 screens (62.6% of the top 10)
Up 20.5% 2019 (£7,501,395); Top three 56.7% (£4,255,931) of the top 10; Once Upon A Time In Hollywood 24.5% (£1,841,873); The Lion King 16.3% (£1,226,964); Angel Has Fallen 15.8% (£1,187,094); 16 films opened taking (£1,135,694); The Informer 26.5% (£301,424); #1 Once Upon A Time In Hollywood £1,841,873 3rd week 9% drop 697 screens (24.5% of the top 10)
Down 3.7% from 2018: (£9,386,760); The Nun (£4,098,198); American Animals (£347,486); The Miseducation of Cameron Post (£142,996); Puzzle (£23,565); Final Score (£9,945); #1 The Nun £4,098,198 1st week 548 screens (43.6% of top 10)
Up 45.9% from 2017: (£6,193,484); The Limehouse Golem (£371,412); God’s Own Country (£167,824); Patti Cake$ (£121,446); Inhumans (£80,176); #1 American Made £968,068 2nd week 556 screens 9% drop (15.6% of the top 10)
Down 17.9% from 2016: (£11,014,615); Sausage Party (£2,690,156); Brotherhood (£1,979,309); Cafe Society (£494,457); Morgan (£193,686); Equity (£12,923); #1 Sausage Party £2,690,156 1st week 525 screens (24.4% of the top 10)
Up 67.6% from 2015; (£5,392,011); No Escape (£637,630); Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (£431,726); The Transporter Refuelled (£352,278); American Ultra (£347,401); Ricki and the Flash (£220,032); Dope (£39,787); #1 Straight Outta Compton £1,366,741 2nd week 456 screens (25.3% of top 10)
Up 32.7% from 2014: (£6,808,576); Sex Tape (£1,431,058); Before I Go to Sleep (£790,271); The Hundred-foot Journey (£694,875); The Guest (£313,003); They Came Together (£21,951); Island of Lemurs: Madagascar (£3,341); #1 Sex Tape £1,431,058 1st week 440 screens (21.1% of top 10)
Up 13.8% from 2013: (£7,942,235); About Time (£1,761,079); Riddick (£1,415,141); #1 About Time £1,761,079 1st week 556 screens (22.1% of top 10)
Down 16.4% from 2012 (£10,812,241); Total Recall (£2,493,230); The Watch (£2,235,933); The Possession (£979,192); A Few Best Men (£263,770); Thomas & Friends: Blue Mountain Mystery (£108,503); Berberian Sound Studio (£45,516); Cockneys vs. Zombies (£11,474); Rec 3 (£1,263); #1 Total Recall £2,493,230 1st week 464 screens (23.1% of top 10)
Up 4.8% from 2011 (£8,618,765); Friends with Benefits (£1,947,272); Jane Eyre (£1,012,111); Colombiana (£424,049); Troll Hunter (£200,607); #1 The Inbetweeners Movie £3,679,555 3rd week 475 screens 42% drop (24.9% of top 10)
Up 25.1% from 2010: (£7,227,858); The Last Exorcism (£1,104,856); Dinner for Schmucks (£940,586); The Switch (£666,018); Jonah Hex (£36,456); #1 The Last Exorcism £1,104,856 1st week 313 screens (15.3% of top 10)
Up 3.8% from 2009; (£8,704,321); District 9 (£2,288,378); 500 Days of Summer (£1,242,631);#1 District 9 £2,288,378 1st week 447 screens (26.3% of top 10)
Up 1.2% from 2008; (£8,929,646); Rocknrolla (£1,565,439); The Duchess (£1,402,200); Disaster Movie (£925,655); Bangkok Dangerous (£307,420); #1 Rocknrolla £1,565,439 1st week 362 screens (17.5% of top 10)
Up 16.9% from 2007: (£7,728,093); 1408 (£1,073,963); No Reservations (£512,657); Death Sentence (£260,733); Breach (£156,140); Hallam Foe (£132,972); Two Days in Paris (£110,284); Year of the Dog (£5,733); #1 The Bourne Ultimatum £2,232,971 3rd week 468 screens 22% drop (28.9% of top 10)
Up 52.9% from 2006; (£5,908,103); Little Man (£1,090,761); The Wicker Man (£736,316); The Sentinel (£627,838); Crank (£450,141); Adrift (£337,718); #1 You, Me and Depree £1,165,610 2nd week 412 screens 29% drop (19.7% of top 10)
Up 48.6% from 2005 (£6,082,782); The 40-Year-Old Virgin (£1,757,540); Red Eye (£891,582); The Business (£531,267); On a Clear Day (£58,257); #1 The 40-Year-Old Virgin £1,757,540 1st week 394 screens (28.9% of top 10)
Up 41.3% from 2004 (£6,394,789); The Terminal (£1,451,168); Hellboy (£1,058,375); Stage Beauty (£128,035); #1 The Terminal £1,451,168 1st week 436 screens (22.7% of top 10)
Up 72.5% from 2003 (£5,237,796); Blackball (£376,233); Camp (£245,183); #1 The Pirates of the Caribbean 5th week (4th #1 over 5 weeks ) £1,542,745 456 screens 24% drop (29.4% of top 10)
Up 43.3% from 2002 (£6,305,370); The Bourne Identity (£2,150,511); Importance of Being Earnest (£554,413); Once Upon A Time In The Midlands (£129,920); #1 The Bourne Identity £2,150,511 1st week 419 screens (34.1% of top 10)
Up 20.9% from 2001 (£7,473,347); Moulin Rouge (£2,403,378); Scary Movie 2 (£1,553,796); #1 Moulin Rouge £2,403,378 1st week 284 screens (32.1% of top 10);
Next weekend in 2019 (£11,954,747) It Chapter 2 (£7,368,586); #1 It Chapter 2 £7,368,586 1st week 652 screens (61.6% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – Disney
Opened with $75.38m over 3 days and $91m over 4 days; received positive reviews (92% Rotten Tomatoes and A CinemaScore. (the 16th A for MCU film)
107th biggest opening between Ant-Man and the Wasp and Star Trek (close to Avatar, Venom, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes).
Disney pulled off a masterstroke when they dated Shang-Chi over Labor Day as they turned the worlds biggest franchise into an underdog and as immediately lowered expectations making its opening look far more impressive than it was, but as Marvel has said before they could open a film any time of the year and people will come in large numbers.
Had Shang-Chi not opened to expectations Disney already had many reasons for doing so, it was Labor Day weekend people historically don’t go to the cinema over that weekend, the pandemic and It would have also shown they were right to release Cruella, Black Widow and Jungle Cruise on Disney+ the same day as cinemas. (both Cruella and Jungle Cruise had long legs despite being released on Disney+ showing that the reason why Black Widow dropped off so quickly was nothing to do with piracy, Jungle Cruise was down only 20% in its sixth weekend).
EntTelligence reported almost 7m saw Shang-Chi over the four-day holiday weekend, this compares to 6.5m for Black Widow over 3 days and 5.7m for F9 but the average ticket price for Shang-Chi was $13.72 (37% of BO from IMAX and PLF) while it was $12.63 for Black Widow and $12.70 for F9 (but both of those films would have also had their share of IMAX and PLF BO).
Took $13.2m from IMAX worldwide including $8m from 399 IMAX screens in the US 10% of the opening weekend; international took $5.2m from 391 screens in 66 territories having their second-best pandemic weekends after Tenet.
The audience breakdown shows that the audience for Shang-Chi is the same that has come out to see most of the summer films so its opening wasn’t a surprise, the only surprise was it wasn’t bigger.
Male 61% and Female 39% made up from 88% General Audience; Parents 6%; Kids 6%; 49% of the audience came because it was part of the MCU
9 & Under 1%; 10-12 4%; 13-17 12%; 18-24 33%; 25-34 26%; 35-44 14% and 45+ 9%; only 23% of its audience was over 35. The under 35 audiences rush out to see films over the opening weekend but are very quick to move on to the next film.
The advantage Shang-Chi has over the summer releases is only horror Malignant opens this weekend and then Copshop, Cry Macho the following weekend with Dear Evan Hanson on September 24th so has the market to itself until October 1st with Venom: Let There Be Carnage, The Addams Family 2 and The Many Saints of Newark opens.
As often with Disney films, the final figures were higher than Sunday estimates which were $71.3m; predictably industry went overboard with the size of the opening predictably saying it was a sign that cinema wasn’t dead but really need some perspective here it might have had the biggest Labor Day weekend ever, but this weekend has been famously studio dump weekend.
While Shang-Chi is the 25th part of the world’s biggest film franchise, the only surprise was its opening was so underestimated or was that done on purpose as Disney often seem to do. Disney believe that a Marvel film can open any time of the year so surely not a surprise it found its normal audience over Labor Day?
Ahead of the opening, it was tracking to open with $60m over 4 days but with the Disney $20m+ bonus that brings it up to $80m
By dating Shang-Chi over Labor Day Disney pulled a stroke of genius as was nothing for it to be comparable to as being dump weekend the biggest ever films to open over Labor Day weekend were 2007’s Halloween $30.59m ($26.36m 3 day); 2012’s The Possession $21.07m ($17.7m 3 day); 2005’s Transporter 2 $20.1m ($16.54m). Which made tracking for Shang-Chi impossible as there was nothing it could be compared to.
Saying that as Marvel has shown before they can open a film any time of the year and they will find an audience, so it was surely no surprise Shang-Chi did.
Took $8.8m from Thursday previews similar to Doctor Strange $9.4m and ahead of Thor Dark World $7.1m; Ant-Man $6.4m.
Black Widow took $13.2m from Thursday previews in July; Thor: Ragnarok $14.5m; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 $11.2m; Ant-Man And the Wasp $11.5m; Spider-Man: Homecoming $15.4m; Venom $10m.
Took $29.5m on Friday including ($8.8m previews) down 21.4% on Saturday taking $23.19m and $22.69m on Sunday down only 2.1% and then $19.28m on Monday.
Had the 110th biggest opening day between Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Despicable Me 3;
Selective biggest opening day bigger than Shang-Chi to put its opening into perspective and that it was still far from what it would have opened in normal circumstances
F9 #107; Thor: The Dark World #95; Venom #92; Doctor Strange #91; Logan 90; Ant-Man and the Wasp #88; X-Men Origins: Wolverine #85; Iron Man #79; Justice League #65; Spider-Man: Far from Home #62; Black Widow #59; Thor: Ragnarok #45; Spider-Man: Homecoming #40; Captain Marvel #29; Suicide Squad #26; Captain America: Civil War #14 and Black Panther #12.
The 25 MCU films have now taken $5.078bn in the US since May 2008 and $23.078bn worldwide; the average opening of an MCU film in the US is $130.6m and 13 of the 25 have opened with over $100m. From Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 in 2017 only Ant-Man and the Wasp opened with less than $90m before Black Widow showing that the Shang-Chi opening was always likely to happen.
Trailers playing with Shang-Chi included Spider-Man: No Way Home, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Eternals, Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall and Halloween Kills.
The Labor Day weekend box office took $134.55m 10% above the 2019 Labor Day four-day holiday weekend ($120.76m); top films were Angel Has Fallen with $15.37m; Good Boys $12.19m; The Lion King $9.34m and Hobbs & Shaw $8.4m; The record for Labor Day weekend was 2013 with $161.86m; with The Butler taking $20.2m in its third weekend; One Direction: This Is Us opening #2 with $18.4m and We’re the Millers #3 with $16.2m in its fourth weekend.
The big question is how Shang-Chi will drop in its second weekend as except for Iron Man, Thor. Doctor Strange and Black Panther all other MCUs have dropped over 50% in their second weekend, so likely that Shang-Chi will also drop over 50% similar to Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel and Thor: Ragnarok taking $30-$35m.
As horror films have been the one genre that has performed strongly since cinemas reopened and the second weekend of September being a strong date for horrors over recent years Malignant will likely opening in the teens which could eat into Shang-Chi second weekend.
Disney is an expert at making Field of Dreams movies.. to quote the classic film “People will come, they’ll come to movie theatres for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at the cinema as innocent as children, longing for the past…
Of course, we won’t mind if you look around, you’ll say. It’s only $20 per person. They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack.”
The problem is that few of these films live up to the hype but the pixie dust of nostalgia doesn’t fade away until after a few weeks of these films opening, by which time they have normally taken $1bn and the fickle audience has moved on to the next nostalgic movie.
Opened with $56.2m from 41 territories; UK $7.7m; Korea $6.5m; France $4.3m; Russia $3.2m; Japan $2.8m; Mexico $2.4m; Hong Kong $2.4m; Germany $2.3m; Brazil $1.8m; Spain $1.8m; Italy $1.8m
- Candyman – Universal Pictures
Down 52% in its second weekend taking $10.3m and $38.81m
2,138th biggest film in the US between The Last Exorcism and Money Monster and 3,131st the biggest inflation inflated between Sugar Hill and It Takes Two; 19th biggest 2021 film between Mortal Kombat and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway and 283rd biggest Universal Pictures film between Truth or Dare and Little.
Horrors have been the one genre of films that have performed very well this year as they play strongly to males aged 17-34 which is the key audience demographic who has been comfortable returning to cinemas since they reopened.
1992’s Candyman took $25.79m ($57.5m inflation inflated) and 1995’s Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh took $13.9m.
Took $2.6m from 52 territories UPI and MGM $11m total and $50m worldwide
- Free Guy – 20th Century Studios/Disney
Dropped 32% in its fourth weekend taking $8.88m and $92.05m holding very similar to 1998’s The Truman Show which 31.5% taking $8.5m and $99.49m after 4 weeks (ticket inflation of 80%+ since).
806th biggest film in the US between Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Julie & Julia; 1,472nd biggest inflation inflated between Don’t Breathe and Places in the Heart and 7th biggest film of 2021 in the US between Shang-Chi and Cruella.
A Quiet Place Part II and F9 have taken $160.07m and $172.73m with 45-day windows, Cruella $86.02m, Jungle Cruise $100.09m; Space Jam: A New Legacy $69.45m and Black Widow $181.46m were released in the movie theatres and streaming.
Free Guy has become Disney’s biggest original film since 2009’s The Proposal starring Ryan Reynolds ($317.3m WW). It was predictable that the one studio that hasn’t made anything original in over a decade gets the most original fresh Ted Lasso style comedy after acquiring Fox and then predictable they will then make lots and lots of sequels that will ruin the charm of what made Free Guy different, which was what spoilt The Lego Movie sequel after the original film was so original as was The Lego Batman Movie.
Fourth weekends
1998’s The Truman Show dropped 31.5% taking $8.5m and $99.49m taking $125,61m and $264.11m WW
2012’s Wreck-It Ralph dropped 10.8% taking $16.57m (Thanksgiving weekend) and $149.27m taking $189.42m in the US and $471.2m WW.
2018’s Ralph Breaks the Internet dropped 42.9% taking $9.27m and $154.14m taking $201.09m in the US and $529.32m WW
2014’s The Lego Movie dropped 33.5% and $20.82m and $209.13m taking $257.76m in the US and $468.06m WW
2017’s The Lego Batman Movie dropped 39.1% taking $11.7m and $148.68m taking $175.75m in the US and $311.95m WW
2019’s The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part dropped 31.8% and $6.6m and $91.66m taking $105.8m and $192.3m WW
2010’s Tron Legacy dropped 46.2% taking $10.1m and $148.21m taking $172.06m and $400.1m WW
2018’s Ready Player One dropped 35.6% taking $7.41m and $126.1m taking $137.69m taking $482.89m WW
2018’s The Emoji Movie dropped 31.2% taking $4.44m and $71.85m taking $86.08m in the US and $217.77m WW
2015’s Pixels dropped 38.1% taking $3.36m and $64.48m and $78.74m in the US and $244.87m WW
2006’s Night at the Museum dropped 27.7% taking $17.16m and $185.81m taking $250.86m in the US and $574.48m WW
Took $25.3m (including $18.4m from China opening) from 47 territories and $147.4m internationally and $239.2m worldwide; China $57m; UK $18.2m; Russia $9.8m; France $4.7m; Germany $4m; Saudi Arabia $4m; Japan $3.9m; Australia $3.3m; Hong Kong $2.9m; Mexico $2.8m.
656th biggest film worldwide between Four Weddings and a Funeral and Daddy’s Home and 7th biggest 2021 film worldwide between A Quiet Place: Part II and Cruella.
- Jungle Cruise – Disney
Dropped 20% in its sixth weekend taking $4.01m and $105.7m
Despite it being available on Disney+ and widely available illegally online people choose to see it in cinemas showing again if it’s a film people want to see in the cinema they will see it in the cinema no matter being available elsewhere and Black Widow’s big second weekend drop off wasn’t to do with piracy but due to it being an average MCU film with limited appeal beyond fans.
Comparing Jungle Cruise sixth weekend with recent Dwayne Johnson films into perspective 2019’s Hobbs & Shaw dropped 41.1% taking $3.8m and $164.34m taking $173.95m and four months later Jumanji: The Next Level dropped 30.7% taking $9.7m and $270.61m taking $320.31m; had Jungle cruise opened in normal conditions it would have performed similar to Jumanji: The Next Level.
Sixth weekends:
2003’s The Haunted Mansion dropped 12.4% taking $2.5m and $70.42m of $75.84m and $182.29m WW
2015’s Tomorrowland dropped 52.5% taking $1.05m and $90.16m of $93.43m and $209.03m WW
2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl dropped 29.6% taking $9.16 and $248.72m of $305.41m and $654.26m WW
1999’s The Mummy dropped 21.6% taking $5.48m and $136.21m of $155.38m and $416.38m WW
2001’s The Mummy Returns dropped 39.4% taking $4.7m and $188.74m and $241.26m and $443.28m WW
671st biggest film in the US between Miss Congeniality and Chicken Run; 1,255th biggest inflation inflated between Pale Rider and The Net; 120th biggest Disney film in the US between The Princess Diaries and George Of The Jungle.
Took $2.7m from 49 territories (34% drop) $86.9m total and $187m worldwide; UK $15.1m; Russia $8.3m; Japan $7.2m; France $6.6m; Saudi Arabia $3.9m; Spain $3.6m; Netherlands $3.6m; UAE $3m; Mexico $2.8m; Germany $2.6m
870th biggest film worldwide between Gnomeo and Juliet and The Sum of All Fears; 11th biggest 2021 film worldwide between The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and The Suicide Squad and 135th biggest Disney film worldwide between Gnomeo and Juliet and The Santa Clause.
Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
As Shang-Chi opening wasn’t inflated with previews could have MCU’s lowest second-weekend drop (Ant-Man -37.2%; The incredible Hulk -42.5%; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 -47.6% and -47.9% Captain Marvel) having the current lowest drops. The one Ant-Man, The Incredible Hulk and Captain Marvel as Shang-Chi al didn’t have previews while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 benefited from school holidays.
Shang-Chi second weekend will be between £3-£3.5m similar to Spider-Man Homecoming (£3,718,078); Doctor Strange (£3,445,203); Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 (£3,332,179); Iron Man 2 (£3,214,776); Thor: The Dark World (£2,979,564) and Captain America: Winter Soldier (£2,764,030).
Depends on how Shang-Chi holds next week will determine if it overtakes Peter Rabbit 2 as the #1 biggest film in the UK. As with the US advantage it has is over other films released this year it doesn’t have any major competition until No Time To Die opens at the end of the month.
This weekend’s new releases including Malignant, Respect and Copshop won’t be any match for Shang-Chi, that said Malignant will likely open with £1m+ in second and Gerard Butler action film Copshop could spark up some interest; Den of Thieves opened with £1,082,560 in February 2018 taking £2,790,151; Mile 22 opened September 2018 with £795,888 taking £1,420,868; 21 Bridges opened November 2019 with £655,213 taking £1,508,195
The Aretha Franklin biopic Respect will struggle to find an audience in the UK as it did in the US as it targets an older demographic who just aren’t going to the cinema at the moment; In May 2019 Aretha Franklin documentary Amazing Grace opened with £166,593 from 69 screens while Jennifer Hudson’s Dreamgirls opened February 2007 with £1,329,817 taking £3,475,271 far less than it did in the US taking $103.36m and it was also nominated for 8 Oscars with Jennifer Hudson won Best Supporting Actress.
Horrors along with children’s films have been the two best-performing genres since cinemas reopened in May with The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It opening with £2,708,455, A Quiet Place Part II £3,567,048, Old £866,860, The Forever Purge £696,563, Spiral £779,107 and Candyman with £1,112,674, the only horrors that didn’t find audiences in cinemas were Don’t Breathe 2 £349,702 opening #7 and Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions #6 £278,097.
Malignant director James Wan previously directed horrors
2016’s The Conjuring 2 opened £4,637,862 taking £10,896,992
2013’s Insidious: Chapter 2 opened £2,877,742 taking £6,996,519
2013’s The Conjuring opened £2,156,124 taking £9,337,626
2011’s Insidious opened £1,441,292 taking £7,035,245
2004’s Saw opened £1,239,813 (£1,993,641 inflation inflated) taking £6,645,485 (£10,686,058 inflation inflated)
He also directed 2018’s Aquaman and 2015’s Furious 7
Opening in two weeks
Gunpower Milkshake – Sky Cinema
Action thriller starring Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, and Angela Bassett Chloe Coleman, Ralph Ineson, Adam Nagaitis, Michael Smiley, and Paul Giamatti and directed by Navot Papushado; received mixed reviews (61% Rotten Tomatoes) taking $813,916 worldwide.
Studiocanal acquired rights in 2018 in February 2020 STX Films acquire US rights and in April 2021 Netflix acquired US rights. Netflix released it in the US in July and Sky Cinema acquired US rights in August and will release it in selected cinemas and on Sky Cinema
In July 2021 Studiocanal announced plans for a sequel
As with The Secret Garden Sky Cinema also acquired from Studiocanal last year they are releasing Gunpowder Milkshake three months after it was released on streaming in the US so widely available illegally online.
As Sky Cinema acquired the film major exhibitors will refuse to book the film. Never makes any sense why major exhibitors refuse to book Sky Cinema films as only a quarter of the country subscribe to Sky Cinema, so they are just biting off their nose to smite their face refusing to book it especially while they are crying out for studio content.
Sky Cinema released The Secret Garden last October opening 3rd with £154,087 from 196 screens (Two By Two: Overboard! Opened #1 with £329,265 from 339 screens) and took £1m despite very soft box office due to the impending lockdown. Sky Cinema always heavily promote their films and exhibitors have talked a lot over recent months about opening up content they show and not seeing streaming as the enemy it once was.
In this current climate where original films struggle to find audiences in cinemas, it’s no wonder Studiocanal choose to sell the film to Sky Cinema as Entertainment Films decided to sell The Green Knight to Amazon instead of giving it a cinema release in August.
12 Mighty Orphans – Sony Pictures
American sports drama based on nonfiction book Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football by Jim Dent starring Luke Wilson, Vinessa Shaw, Wayne Knight, Jake Austin Walker, Jacob Lofland, Levi Dylan, Robert Duvall and Martin Sheen and directed by Ty Roberts.
After having a limited release in the US and receiving mixed reviews (63% Rotten Tomatoes) it’s surprising Sony are giving it a theatrical release in the UK, maybe it’s because it’s the first film since Apocalypse Now in 1979 starring Robert Duvall and Martin Sheen. Films about American sports rarely find an audience in the UK.
It will get a very limited release in the UK.
The Many Saints Of Newark – Warner Bros (Wednesday)
Crime drama prequel to The Sopranos starring Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Michael Gandolfini, Billy Magnussen, Michela De Rossi, John Magaro, Ray Liotta, and Vera Farmiga and directed by Alan Taylor.
The Sopranos creator David Chase was against making a spinoff film as he was more interested in a prequel TV series, said in 2019 “I was against the film for a long time and I’m still very worried about it, but I became interested in Newark, where my parents came from, and where the riots took place … I was living in suburban New Jersey at the time that happened, and my girlfriend was working in downtown Newark. I was just interested in the whole Newark riot thing. I started thinking about those events and organized crime, and I just got interested in mixing those two elements.”
The film was originally due for release September 25th, 2020, but delayed a year due to COVID and opens a week earlier in the UK due to No Time To Die and it also gives the film a one-week exclusive cinema release before opening in the US where it’s opening in cinemas and on HBO Max.
Despite ending in 2007 The Sopranos became very popular last year during the first lockdown with GQ calling it “the hottest show of 2020”. In the US on HBO Now viewings increased by 179% only beaten by Westworld and Game of Thrones. In the UK Now TV had a 122% increase and Google searches were far higher than other classic TV shows in June and August.
11.9m watched the final episode of The Sopranos in the US in 2007, the abrupt ending where the scene fades to black had millions of TV viewers thinking HBO signal had cut out with black screen for 10 seconds before the end credits.
The question is will all those who loved the TV show want to see the prequel without James Gandolfini who sadly died in 2013, with his son Michael Gandolfini playing the younger version of Tony Soprano. The big question is even though many have recently rewatched the TV series will they go to the cinema to see the prequel.
As it’s very different to recent modern-day gangster films, there were a lot of gangster films made including star lead 2007’s American Gangster opening with £2,564,853 taking £9,336,495 and 2006’s The Departed opening with £2,298,313 taking £12,442,332; while one of James Gandolfini’s final films 2012’s Killing Them Softly opened with £955,506 taking £2,493,858.
Even though the lockdown introduced The Sopranos to a younger audience the prequel will likely play to an older audience who aren’t currently going to the cinema and probably their first cinema’s experience for almost two years will be No Time To Die at the end of the month.
