1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – £2,362,691 – £15,807,591
Down 35% in its third weekend; having the 11th biggest MCU third weekend between Captain America: Civil War (£2,789,985) and Doctor Strange (£2,357,258) taking £5,433 more but £3,788,576 less after three weekends (£19,596,167) but Doctor Strange took £3,796,170 from previews). But while Doctor Strange had Arrival opening #1 with £2,924,059 in its third weekend and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opening with £15,333,146 in its fourth weekend Shang-Chi will have no direct competition until No Time to Die opens.
So was always expected that while Shang-Chi didn’t open as strongly as most MCU film the lack of previews inflating its opening and lack of competition would mean it would hold far stronger than many other MCU films. Shang-Chi will just squeeze past Peter Rabbit 2 just before No Time To Die overtakes both of them to be the biggest film of the year and the biggest in the UK since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
52nd biggest comic-book movie in the UK between X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men: First Class (close to Venom, Iron Man, X-Men and Batman and Robin)
374th biggest film in the UK between Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip and Bruno (close to Bad Boys For Life, Godzilla, Django Unchained and Kong: Skull Island); 627th film to take over £10m at the UK BO and 583rd biggest inflation inflated film in the UK between Lost in Translation and Mona Lisa (close to World War Z, The Rock, Blade 2 and Santa Claus The Movie).
22nd Biggest MCU film in the UK between Ant-Man and Thor; over the next few weeks it should overtake Iron Man 2, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Blade Widow, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Iron Man.
The 25 MCU films have taken £795m at the UK BO since May 2008 (almost £830m inflation inflated); 15 of the 25 have taken over £20m at the UK BO with only Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Blade Widow, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Ant-Man the only MCU films released by Disney that haven’t.
With Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home still to open this year and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Marvels the film series will have taken over £1bn at the UK BO by the end of next year.
While films like Shang-Chi are being called hits you only need to see the films that performed similarly to it in the past that were seen as disappointments. People seem to see film box office very differently over the last few months maybe they have lowered expectations,. But the fanbase of these films and the target demographic are those who have been most comfortable going to the cinema before cinemas closed for the first time in March 2020 and while cinemas have reopened.
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.
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.
Despite Marvel president Kevin Feige going 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 Shang-Chi is unlikely to be released in China due to social media posts by Simu Liu.
Denis Villeneuve knows how to lose friends and alienate people after his comments about Warner’s decision to release all of their 2021 films including Dune in cinemas and on HBO Max same day compared watching Dune at home to driving “a speedboat in your bathtub.”
Last week he talked about MCU saying, “Perhaps the problem is that we are in front of too many Marvel movies that are nothing more than a ‘cut and paste’ of others,” … “Perhaps these types of movies have turned us into zombies a bit… But big and expensive movies of great value there are many today. I don’t feel capable of being pessimistic at all.” He previously said, “If we’re talking about Marvel, the thing is, all these films are made from the same mold,” he said. “Some filmmakers can add a little colour to it, but they’re all cast in the same factory. It doesn’t take anything away from the movies, but they are formatted.”
Directors (and talent) who criticise studios seem to forget these studios have often spent $100m+ making their films and they are only making them to be profitable, this is of course why all MCU films very similar as like sequels if audiences enjoyed it once they will enjoy seeing it again slightly different.
2. Free Guy – £676,999 – £15,327,761
Down 1.9% in its sixth weekend; took 45.5% of its box office to date in its opening 10 days and has already taken 6.38x opening better than Nanny McPhee, Wedding Crashers, The Muppets, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Bridget Jones’s Baby, Inception, 1917, Incredibles 2 and The BFG
While similar to Jumanji, Bridesmaids, Enchanted, Stardust, The Hangover and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again 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.
375th biggest film in the UK (626th film to take over £10m at the UK BO) between Shang-Chi and Bruno (close to Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, Dolittle, There’s Something About Mary and Who Framed Roger Rabbit) and 584th biggest inflation inflated film in the UK between Shang-Chi and Mona Lisa (close to Bad Boys For Life, Ready Player One, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and The Proposal).
Disney inherited a slate of films from 20th Century Fox of completed films most of which were always likely to underperform, as these films were being made during the time it was first announced Disney was going to acquire the studio in December 2017 to the completion in March 2019, the studio had many more important things to worry about. While these films were being slotted into Disney’s release schedule and marketed by Disney who has had limited success from original films for a decade.
Many were dumped by Disney as they had no interest in them as Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants were X-Men films that had no future under Disney, likewise, films like Stuber weren’t of any interest to Disney. James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari was successful but while it received an Oscar nomination it wasn’t likely to win anything and it’s unlikely Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story will either, the only film Fox film have any interest in are Avtar sequels as they opened The World of Pandora in their theme parks. It was predictable that after Free Guy opened well Disney immediately announced plans for a sequel and away from Free Guy and Avatar sequels the future for 20th Century Studios is probably remakes of their library for Disney+.
Free Guy had a similar sixth weekend as The Lego Movie (£815,020); Last Christmas (£807,105); My Big Fat Greek Wedding (£803,155); Billy Elliot (£751,293); Aladdin (£694,716); Alice in Wonderland (£676,516); Little Women (£659,344);
Its 6th weekend was more than Tenet £628,247); Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (£600,723); Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (£593,454); Gravity (£592,321); Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (£541,886); WOG The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (£505,518); Avengers: Endgame (£480,372); Dumbo (£477,257); The Martian (£437,450); Downton Abbey (£420,134); Yesterday (£366,503); Nanny McPhee (£365,618); Rocketman (£344,134); Black Widow (£226,482).
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.
Sixth weekends
1998’s The Truman Show dropped 34.7% taking £279,418 taking £9,369,721 94.3% of £9,929,680 (£17,789,650)
2013’s Wreck-It Ralph dropped 43% taking £426,343 and £21,995,949 of £23,607,542
2014’s The Lego Movie dropped 18 taking £815,020 and £31,128,785 of £32,887,286.
2017’s The Lego Batman Movie dropped 37% taking £515,771 and £26,602,135 of £26,771,191
2006’s Night at the Museum took taking £20,019,417 (£29,679,711 inflation inflated)
Free Guy would have been the 69th biggest 20th Century Fox film in the UK between Ice Age and X-Men (close to There’s Something About Mary, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Devil Wears Prada and The Beach. Disney has recently removed several untitled previously dated 20th Century Fox films off their release schedule.
3. Respect – £377,395 – £1,174,487
Down 11.1% in its second weekend.
Took a similar to 2005 biopic about Ray Charles Ray second weekend taking £287,435 down 41% #10 from 221 screens taking £1,019,545 and £1,592,017 total.
After receiving mixed reviews and having a disappointing opening in the US the film was always likely to struggle to find an audience in the UK as older audiences aren’t coming out to the cinemas to see these films.
Jennifer Hudson’s Dreamgirls dropped 58% in its second-weekend #8 in February 2007 taking £563,703 and £2,369,272 from 270 screens 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.
4. Candyman – £323,350 – £4,339,536
Down 22.7% in its fourth weekend.
74th biggest horror film in the UK between 30 Days of Night and The Devil Inside (close to The Purge: Anarchy, Dracula Untold, The Happening and Insidious Chapter 3).
Interesting to see Candyman is performing similar to many of the rebooted horrors (Poltergeist, The Omen, The Hills Have Eyes and Evil Dead) in the UK and many Blumhouse 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. What this does do is means they also play beyond the horror fanbase.
14th biggest Blumhouse Production film in the UK between Insidious Chapter 3 and Ouija.
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.
Upcoming Blumhouse Productions includes Halloween Kills opening in October, in the US (will be released same daily on Peacock) with the third film Halloween Kills set for release October 2022. Also, release The Black Phone in January with the Exorcist sequel set for release in October 2023.
5. The Paw Patrol Movie – £263,167 – £7,613,081
Down 19.2% in its sixth weekend
133rd biggest animation film between Hotel Transylvania and Sausage Party (close to Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water, Onward and Shaun the Sheep 2) and
840th biggest film in the UK between Grown Ups and Sausage Party (close to Click, Muriel’s Wedding, About Time and Licence to Kill) and 1,134th biggest inflation inflated film in the UK between Ali and Big Daddy (close to Leon, Scrooged, Muppets Most Wanted and Dead Again).
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. The Paw Patrol Movie plays mostly to pre-schoolers similar to Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water and Shaun the Sheep 2. 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.
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.
Also Opened
• Gunpowder Milkshake – Sky Cinema
Opened with £35,578 from 159 screens (£224 average)
During a quiet weekend of the new release had Sky Cinema’s Gunpowder Milkshake opened wider it could have opened far stronger but the biggest issue at the moment is if its not a tentpole targetting 15-34 or a family film its not going to attract an audience in cinemas.
Sky Cinema released the trailer for the British family film A Boy Called Christmas based on the bestselling novel by Matt Haig, the film will be shown in Sky Cinema in November, but again major exhibitors will refuse to book it.
A few weeks ago, Vue Cinemas talked about bringing Netflix shows to their cinemas. While major exhibitors were happy to screen Event Cinema screenings of Katherine Jenkins and Little Minx concerts in their cinemas despite being broadcast on terrestrial a few weeks later, so really don’t understand the logic over their refusal to book Sky Cinema films.
Sky Cinema last week announced they acquired Doug Liman’s Everest starring Ewan McGregor, Sam Heughan and Mark Strong.
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 as Sky Cinema always heavily promote their films.
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.
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.
Studiocanal had previously 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 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.
- Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – Curzon
Curzon screened in their cinemas but didn’t report box office alongside being released on Amazon after they acquired it from 20th Century Studios in May
Musicals have been hugely popular in the UK and a feel-good musical like Everybody’s Talking About Jamie would have performed well in cinemas as musicals are far more enjoyable to be seen with an audience and are crowd-pleasers.
As seen with films like Mamma Mia! and The Greatest Showman audiences respond far more positively to them than critics, this was seen recently with Dear Evan Hanson getting mixed reviews at the Toronto Film Festival.
Dear Evan Hanson is probably similar to Bohemian Rhapsody and The Greatest Showman it’s a film that needs to be seen with an audience of cinemagoers, not critics, remember going to a media screening of Rock of Ages audience reaction was very positive but then critical was very poor. It’s all about audience reactions Universal had an exhibitor screening of Kick-Ass they hated it, which surprised the studio so invited them a second time to see it but with 500+ comic-book fans and the response was excellent from exhibitors and the film was a hit in the UK cinemas.
This is why it was disappointing to see films like Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Cinderella being sold to streaming services as they collaborate best with an audience, even In The Heights managed to find an audience in the UK holding much stronger than in the US.
Tim Minchin’s Matilda musical will have a cinema release In the UK next Christmas despite being released on Netflix elsewhere and the same should have been done with Everybody’s Talking About Jamie having a proper cinema release in the UK; the theatre show was screened as Event Cinema in July 2018 taking £543,629, while Billy Elliot it was inspired by took £16,972,531 in 2000 (£29m inflation inflated). In times of doom and gloom musicals are what people turn to, with colder wetter weather, inflation going up, COVID cases on the increase and the days getting shorter.
It was surprising Disney sold Everybody’s Talking About Jamie as release Kinky Boots in 2005 opening with £623,163 #5 from 292 screens taking £3,025,544 (£5.5m inflation inflated) along with other feel-good British films including Calendar Girls, but it’s a very different Disney it was then releasing a much wider range of genres.
Also opened
Sony Pictures opened 12 Mighty Orphans in 140 screens taking £17,220 (£123 average) American sporting dramas rarely find an audience in the UK. The film would struggle to find an audience in cinemas in normal circumstance but now they surprising it was released in cinemas even though the film received positive reviews.
Warner Bros released 4k restoration of Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange taking £34,693 from 244 screens (£142 average)
Other Film News
The Morning Consult weekly Tracking the Return to Normal survey reports the public’s comfort going to the movies is down to 46% of adults, the 9th consecutive week comfort with moviegoing has been below 50%, after a July 4 high of 55%.
Only 1 in 10 said they would feel OK going to a cinema in the next month, down from 24% in late July, when the CDC recommended that the vaccinated still wear masks indoors.
This is similar to research in the UK by The Drum and Opinium last week that reported 57% of event-goers unhappy sharing venues with unvaccinated and 51% are anxious attending events because of the risk of catching COVID with 13% willing to pay more to go to an event with fewer people (this is one of the reasons why Everyman Cinemas have done so well since cinemas reopened as they are smaller cinemas with seats more spread out.
Over two-thirds over 55 express dislikes at the prospect of going to an event with others who haven’t been vaccinated and 50% of those aged 18-34 say they wouldn’t want to put themselves in this situation. This is highlighted by surveys by YouGov who have been in favour of vaccine passports and were against the decision made by the government who abandoned plans last week.
Worldwide 2021 is expected to be $20.2bn 52% less than recording breaking 2019 $42.5bn and 68% more than last year. As of August 31st, global box office topped $12bn the same as all of 2020, with F9 the current biggest film worldwide taking $714.4m, 76% BO international with half from Asia territories.
International BO up to September 11th was $5.22bn not including China, with US $2.31bn and China $5.13bn, China is on track to take $6.6bn which has been soft in recent weeks despite taking $1.2bn over the Chinese New Year week in February. Since cinemas reopened in China the majority of the success has come from locally made films with US films underperforming, F9 took a third less than The Fate of the Furious, recently Free Guy has performed well taking $80m+ but it doesn’t look like Shang-Chi will get released.
International BO not including China is expected to take $9.1bn with $4.3bn Europe, Middle East and Africa; $3.85bn from the Asia Pacific; $900m from Latin America and $4.5bn from the US, this depends a lot on how Dune; No Time To Die, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Eternals (possibly without China), Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Matrix Resurrections perform over the next few months. There is a big question over Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Matrix Resurrections opening 5 days apart.
A report published last Friday by the Independent Cinema Office highlighted the issues facing the independent cinema sector since cinemas closed for the first time in March 2020. This was caused by the rush to reopen cinemas by major exhibitors in July 2020, but indies took much longer to reopen with many just about to reopen when the second lockdown happened as BFI FAN Covid-19 Resilience Fund was too little too late for many. Does make me wonder what these trade bodies were doing between March and June last year as should have gone on a war footing putting a reopening strategy together working with studios and exhibitors to get cinemas and cinemagoers ready, confident and comfortable when they reopened.
The audience demographic of independent cinemas is probably older than major exhibitors who have been much slower returning to cinemas since reopening, the one positive No Time To Die likely be a sizeable percentage of older audiences first trip to the cinema since 1917 in January 2020.
The problems started with the industry as they waited on government guidance in March 2020 before doing anything, back then the government was even more incompetent than they are now, and cinema was reactive rather than initiative-taking having no central plan or strategy in the reopening instead major exhibitors rushed to reopen months too soon and indies forced to wait longer needing funding to survive.
The industry was backslapping itself in August 2020 with the LoveCinema campaign as was with Odeon’s Nicole Kidman advert last week, but both are targeting cinemagoers who have already returned, what was needed was something on a much bigger scale as National Cinema Day in 1996 attracting non-cinephiles. I’m not saying this in hindsight now as I said exactly the same 19 months ago.
As soon as China closed their cinemas in January 2020, the industry should have done their homework watching some of their disaster movies and immediately put squabbles aside. The failure of not do this predictably saw exhibitors rushing to reopen cinemas months too soon because Christopher Nolan had to open Tenet in the middle of a pandemic as he wanted to be the “savour of cinema” instead he wasn’t the Messiah but just a naughty boy that caused unnecessary predictable long-term damage to cinema costing exhibitors and studios billions and the loss of many jobs.
This highlights the failure of the industry not to have a reopening strategy for all cinemas in place in March 2020 instead major exhibitors rushed to reopen months too soon in July 2020 due to the saviour of cinema Christopher Nolan failing to see the predictable long-term damage
As soon as China closed cinemas in January 2020 UK should have gone on an immediate war footing instead waited on guidance from the incompetent government who hadn’t watched Contagion yet so had no idea and of course industry were only thinking short-term as Jan-Feb BO was strong.
Universal Pictures acquired Christopher Nolan new project about Robert Oppenheimer last week his first project away from Warner Bros for 19 years since Insomnia. Christopher Nolan felt out with Warner Bros after criticising their plans in December to release all of their 2021 slate on HBO Max the same day as cinemas calling HBO Max the worst streaming service. The reason Warner decided to do this was probably due to his film Tenet underperforming when it opened in August/September in the middle of a pandemic.
Christopher Nolan’s deal for the Robert Oppenheimer film at Universal reportedly includes total creative control, $100 million budget, $100 million in marketing, 20% of first-dollar gross and the studio can’t release any other movies for three weeks before or after his movie and the film will play in cinemas exclusively for 100 days before it goes to streaming.
While Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson fondly look back on cinema as it was the problem is the majority of cinemagoers don’t share that same experience when they go to the cinema anymore, maybe if they did they would be as nostalgic.
Ever since Christopher Nolan wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post urging the nation help save movie theatres after the pandemic seeing himself as the saviour of cinema forcing Warner to open Tenet in the summer when they wanted to delay. Predictably the film underperformed taking 57% less than Inception took a decade earlier $363.65m Vs $836.83m worldwide.
But rather than being the saviour of cinema opening Tenet last summer predictably saw exhibitors rush to reopen cinemas months too soon and while cinephiles and Covidiots were happy to return to cinemas older audiences have been much slower to return to cinemas with many probably going to the cinema for the first time since 1917 in January 2020 for No Time To Die.
Nolan’s delusion of grandeur made him and exhibitors believe he would be the ‘saviour of cinema’ last year but instead it was Peter Rabbit 2 this year and he wasn’t the Messiah but just a naughty boy that predictably caused long-term damage to cinema that won’t see box office return to normal until at least next year.
Biggest Films of 2021
While the industry has praised the hold of Shang-Chi it’s likely only to squeeze past Peter Rabbit 2 over the next few weeks, highlighting the fact again. In normal condition would have expected Tenet, Peter Rabbit 2, Black Widow, F9, Free Guy, The Suicide Squad, Jungle Cruise and Shang-Chi all to take over £30m but the majority have taken about half.
The top 10 biggest films of 2021 are currently
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (£20.4m); Black Widow (£18.8m); F9 (£16.44m); Shang Chi (£15.8m); Free Guy (£15.32m); The Suicide Squad (£14.14m); Space Jam 2 (£12.57m); Jungle Cruise (£12.21m); A Quiet Place 2 (£11.54m); The Croods 2 (£9.48m).
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 6.2x; Jungle Cruise 5.45x; Space Jam: A New Legacy 9.24x; 13.74x The Croods: A New Age; As Jungle Cruise, Space Jam: A New Legacy and The Croods: A New Age were widely available legally while and illegally online piracy is just an excuse.
Does also show had Space Jam: A New Legacy and The Croods: A New Age not opened over the same weekend they could have taken much more that said Space Jam took more than the original 1996 but it was always unlikely having a 7-month delay from the US opening The Croods 2 could have gotten closer to the originals box office.
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, F9 2.74x compared to Shang-Chi 2.75x shows 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
Cruella £9.45m; The Conjuring 3 £9.36m; PAW Patrol: The Movie £7.61m; In The Heights £4.28m; The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard £3.84m; Candyman £3.75m; The Forever Purge £3.6m; Old £3.36m; Spirit Untamed £3.22m; Godzilla Vs Kong £2.5m.
While Marvel gets the headlines with Shang-Chi and Black Widow its family films that have continued to be the strongest performing genre since cinemas reopened with Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Croods: A New Age, Paw Patrol: The Movie and Spirit Untamed, the majority of the box office from these films were reduced children rate and didn’t have any surcharges like IMAX, PLF or 4DX to boost their box office.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £4,811,274 down 25.8% from last weekend £6,488,142 and up 102.3% from 2020 (£2,378,677)
The weekend admissions 676,691 down 25.8% 912,538 from last week; (327,027 admissions in 2020 this week was (up 106.9%);
Top 3 took £3,417,085 71.1% of the top 10; Shang-Chi 49.1% (£2,362,691); Free Guy 14.1% (£676,999); Respect 7.8% (£377,395);
Up 102.3% from 2020 (£2,378,677)); Top 3 took £1,833,875 77.1% of £2,378,677; Tenet 33.5% (£796,309); After We Collided 24.2% (£575,515); Bill And Ted Face The Music 19.4% (£462,05); #1 Tenet 33.5% £796,309 4th week
Down 54.6% from 2019 (£10,591,749); (Top three took 65.4% (£6,933,258) of the top 10 (£10,591,748); Downtown Abbey 30.9% (£3,280,442); Ad Astra 21.4% (£2,265,387); It Chapter Two 13.1% (£1,387,429); #1 Downtown Abbey £3,280,442 2nd week #1 736 screens
Down 50.2% from 2018: (£9,647,148); The Predator (£2,394,163); Crazy Rich Asians (£1,599,858); King of Thieves (£1,535,876); #1 The Predator £2,394,163 1st week 553 screens (24.8% of top 10)
Down 58.1% from 2017: (£11,473,084); Victoria and Abdul (£1,846,970); mother! (£831,676); American Assassin (£768,951); Aces of the Jungle (£374,982); #1 It £6,070,542 2nd week 608 down 39% screens (52.9% of the top 10)
Down 63.5% from 2016: (£13,181,394); Bridget Jones’s Baby (£8,111,077); Blair Witch (£959,401); The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years (£654,726); The Infiltrator (£370,439); Hunt For the Wilderpeople (£167,646); #1 Bridget Jones’s Baby £8,111,077 1st week 641 screens (61.5% of the top 10)
Down 48.4% from 2015; (£9,319,305); Everest (£3,160,154); A Walk in the Woods (£252,175); The Battle Of Britain At 75 (Concert) (£225,942); Bill (£221,807); The D Train (£8,516); #1 Legend £2,446,860 2nd week 544 screens 53% drop (26.2% of top 10)
Down 21.2% from 2014: (£6,109,464); A Walk Among the Tombstones (£1,317,948); The Riot Club (£496,647); 20,000 Days on Earth (£356,467); Magic in the Moonlight (£273,998); The Giver (£186,989); Think Like a Man too (£131,138); Wish I Was Here (£27,739); #1 The Boxtrolls £1,333,137 2nd week 509 screens (33% drop (21.8% of top 10)
Down 38.5% from 2013: (£6,586,232); Diana (£623,051); R.I.P.D. (£506,521); The Call (£409,975); Cold comes the Night (£4,833); #1 Rush £1,336,449 2nd week (1st #1) 464 screens (20.2% of top 10)
Up 4.7% from 2012 (£7,760,490); The Sweeney (£1,545,294); ParaNorman (£1,393,123); Hope Springs (£728,689); To Rome with Love (£141,008); Premium Rush (£115,358); #1 The Sweeney £1,545,294 1st week 406 screens (19.9% of top 10)
Down 44% from 2011 (£8,582,687); Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (£2,814,860); The Change-Up (£727,497); I Don’t Know How She Does It (£562,609); 30 Minutes or Less (£260,337); You Instead (£6,770); #1 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy £2,814,860 1st 382 screens 42% drop (32.8% of top 10)
Down 21.4% from 2010: (£6,120,627); The Other Guys (£1,980,601); Devil (£807,292); Just Wright (£82,513); I’m Still Here (£22,730); Grease Sing-along (£15,701); #1 The Other Guys £1,980,601 1st week 441 screens (32.5% of top 10)
Up 16.6% from 2009; (£5,767,172); Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (£1,583,544); Gamer (£641,568); The Firm (£310,060); Away We Go (£250,211); #1 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs £1,583,544 1st week 438 screens (27.4% of top 10)
Down 27.6% from 2008; (£6,654,546); Tropic Thunder (£2,483,271); Linha De Passe (£34,156); The Wave (£27,981); #1 Tropic Thunder £2,483,271 1st week 460 screens (37.3% of top 10)
Down 35.9% from 2007: (£7,504,924); Superbad (£1,484,456); Disturbia (£728,145); Shoot ‘Em Up (£374,770); 3:10 To Yuma (£368,510); December Boys (£23,145); #1 Run, Fat Boy, Run £1,543,836 2nd week 411 screens 23% drop (20.5% of top 10)
Down 1.7% from 2006; (£4,892,872); Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (£1,033,759); The Queen (£856,273); The Night Listener (£314,078); DOA (£224,786); #1 Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby £1,033,759 1st week 403 screens (21.2% of top 10)
Down 26.5% from 2005 (£6,549,677); Pride and Prejudice (£2,529,947); Wolf Creek (£554,618); Must Love Dogs (£142,199); #1 Pride and Prejudice £2,529,947 1st week 397 screens (38.6% of top 10)
Down 23.3% from 2004 (£6,276,762); Collateral (£2,238,200); Trauma (£144,148); Ae Fond Kiss (£106,366); #1 Collateral £2,238,200 1st week 450 screens (35.6% of top 10)
Down 37.6% from 2003 (£7,710,363); The Italian Job (£2,294,027); Underworld (£1,487,839); Le Divorce (£93,061); Raising Victor Vargas (£50,672); #1 The Italian Job £2,294,027 1st week 428 screens (29.7% of top 10)
Down 30.6% from 2002 (£6,934,104); My Big Fat Greek Wedding (£1,503,436); Swimfan (£396,425); Road To Perdition (platform) (£256,035); #1 Signs £2,657,379 2nd week 440 screens 29% drop (38.3% of top 10)
Down 30.6% from 2001 (£6,893,581); A.I. (£2,285,786); Crazy/Beautiful (£137,017); #1 A.I. £2,285,786 1st week 428 screens (33.1% of top 10);
Next weekend in 2019 (£9,120,747); Ready Or Not (£947,958); The Goldfinch (£320,849); #1 Downton Abbey £2,682,080 3rd week down 18% 722 screens
International Box Office
- Dune – Warner Bros
Opened with $36.8m from 24 territories in 7,819 screens including $3.6m taken from 142 IMAX screenings 10% of the box office. This was 4%+ than Tenet, 33%+ Black Widow, 52%+ Blade Runner 2049, +58% Shang-Chi and +80% Godzilla Vs Kong, but its opening can’t really be compared with any of them.
Interestingly it opened with over 50% more than Shang-Chi in France $7.5m Vs $4.1m taking 56% of the top 5 the 2nd biggest opening of 2021 after F9 and in Germany took 59% more than Shang-Chi $4.9m Vs $2.9m taking 57% of the top 5 and 11% more than Tenet proving health passes help films that target older demographics.
Dune received predictable critical acclaim at Venice and Toronto Film Festivals similar to 2017’s Blade Runner 2049 and it was always likely to perform far stronger in Europe than the US because it opened in most of Europe ahead of No Time to Die, but in the UK and the US opens October 22nd. While cinephiles rushed out to see it over the opening weekend its likely to be too pretentious for others (opening up as Dune Part 1 highlight this from the start)
2017’s Blade Runner 2049 took 65% of its $269.33m global box office international taking $92.1m in the US and $167.28m internationally. The UK was the highest-grossing European territory for Blade Runner 2049 but with No Time To Die opening September 30th it was better to delay Dune until three weeks after so it can have two full weeks playing on IMAX screens.
Germany, France, Spain and Italy were the next highest performing European territories and Dune opened in those.
US Box Office
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – Disney
Down 38% in its third weekend taking $21.67m and $176.86m
Wasn’t a surprise Shang-Chi opened as it did three weeks ago and wasn’t a surprise it holding much stronger than other summer films did as Disney pulled off a trump card dating it for Labor Day as immediately made an MCU film an underdog lowering expectations on how it would perform. While over the last two weeks it hasn’t had any competition to deal with and won’t until Venom 2 opens in two weeks.
Had the lowest third weekend drop for MCU slightly ahead of Iron Man and Captain America: Winter Soldier; the difference is Shang-Chi has had no competition since it opened but normally an MCU film has a competition opening after three weeks.
Had the 15th biggest MCU second weekend between Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok and is the 18th biggest MCU film between Doctor Strange and Thor: The Dark World.
273rd biggest film in the US between How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
606th biggest inflation inflated between Antz and Ruthless People; 4th biggest 2021 film between Black Widow and F9.
54th biggest comic-book movie between Men in Black 3 and Captain America: The First Avenger.
EntTelligence reported 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 (both of those films had a sizeable percentage of IMAX and PLF BO).
Took $1.8m from IMAX worldwide and $24.5m total; it lost IMAX screens in the US and the UK to Ghost in the Shell re-release and Dune opening in twenty-one territories taking $3.6m from 142 IMAX screens in Russia, France, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Ukraine and Hong Kong.
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?
The 25 MCU films have now taken $8.9bn in the US since May 2008 and $23.25bn worldwide; the average opening of an MCU film in the US is $130.6m and 13 of the twenty-five 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 BO was always likely to happen.
Took $20.3m from forty-three territories $143.7m total and $320.6m worldwide; UK $21.8m; Korea $12.6m; France $9.2m, Russia $7.6m; Japan $7m; Germany $6.7m; Hong Kong $6.5m; Mexico $5.9m; Brazil $5.7m; Spain $5.2m; Australia $4.1m; Italy $4m.
271st biggest film worldwide between Schindler’s List and Fatal Attraction; sixth biggest 2021 film worldwide between Black Widow and Free Guy; 91st biggest Disney film worldwide between The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Disney’s A Christmas Carol.
- Cry Macho – Warner Bros
Opened with $4.42m; received mixed reviews (53% Rotten Tomatoes) and B CinemaScore
A mixture of adult drama opening when older audiences still are very slow to return to cinemas and that it had two other films targetting similar demographic that audiences also predictably never came out to see The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Blue Bayou. But of course, exhibitors will blame the poor opening of Cry Macho due to it being also released on HBO Max, but as that excuse can’t be used for either The Eyes of Tammy Faye or Blue Bayou it’s just an excuse.
Recent Clint Eastwood films
2019’s Richard Jewell opened $4.7m taking $22.34m
2018’s The Mule opened $17.5m taking $103.8m
2018’s The 15:17 to Paris opened $12.55m taking $36.27m
2016’s Sully opened $35.02m taking $125.07m
Cry Macho is the 39th film Clint Eastwood has directed since Play Misty for Me 50 years ago in 1971 they have taken $2.016bn in the US; $1.349bn internationally and $3.36bn worldwide.
Opened with only $350k from eighteen territories opening in several more this week.
- Copshop – Open Road Films
Opened with $2.31m; received positive reviews (80% Rotten Tomatoes)
Liam Neeson’s Honest Thief opened last October with $4.11m taking $14.16m
Copshop was directed by Joe Carnahan who was a col up and coming action director, directing Narc and Smokin ‘ Aces but then the awful film reboot of The A-Team having done mostly TV work since. For many years he was attached to direct Bad Boys 3 leaving the film due to creative differences with Will Smith. Was also attached to direct Beverly Hills Cop before being replaced by Bad Boys For Life directors.
Recent Gerald Butler film openings
2019’s Angel Has Fallen opened $21.38m taking $69.03m
2018’s Hunter Killer opened $6.65m taking $15.76m
2018’s Den of Thieves opened $15.2m taking $44.94m
2017’s Geostorm opened $13.7m taking $33.7m
Twenty-seven films starring Gerald Butler have taken $1.22bn in the US and $3.13bn worldwide
- Free Guy – 20th Century Studios/Disney
Dropped 9% in its sixth weekend taking $5.08m and $108.46m holding very similar to 1998’s The Truman Show dropping 29% taking $6.01m and $109.79m after 5 weeks of $125.46m (ticket inflation of 80%+ since).
654th biggest film in the US between Black Hawk Down and Terms of Endearment; 1,234th biggest inflation inflated between The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist and The Fighter; and sixth biggest film of 2021 in the US between Jungle Cruise and Godzilla vs. Kong.
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).
Sixth weekends
1998’s The Truman Show dropped 40.5% taking $3.57m and $116.21m taking $125,61m and $264.11m WW
2012’s Wreck-It Ralph dropped 30.1% taking $4.85m and $164.4m taking $189.42m in the US and $471.2m WW.
2018’s Ralph Breaks the Internet UP 43% taking $6.72m (Christmas Day) and $175.9m taking $201.09m in the US and $529.32m WW
2014’s The Lego Movie dropped 29.4% and $7.7m and $236.92m taking $257.76m in the US and $468.06m WW
2017’s The Lego Batman Movie dropped 39.6% taking $4.6m and $167.32m taking $175.75m in the US and $311.95m WW
2019’s The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part dropped 44.4% and $2.15m and $101.33m taking $105.8m and $192.3m WW
2010’s Tron Legacy dropped 35.8% taking $3.64m and $163.2m taking $172.06m and $400.1m WW
2006’s Night at the Museum dropped 20.4% taking $9.55m and $216.84m taking $250.86m in the US and $574.48m WW
Took $8.4m from forty-eight territories and $189.7m internationally and $298.3m worldwide; China $85.6m (3rd biggest US film since Chinese cinemas reopened); UK $21.1m; Russia $10.8m; France $5.2m; Saudi Arabia $4.7m; Germany $4.6m; Japan $4.5m; Australia $4.2m; Spain $3.3m; Mexico $3.3m.
On Monday Free Guy became the fifth film this year to take over $300m globally ($108.8m US, $193.6m ($98m from China) and $302.4m worldwide the second original film during the pandemic to do after Tenet.
While it’s Disney’s biggest original film for a decade (The Proposal also starring Ryan Reynolds) In normal circumstances and had Fox released the film they would have expected Free Guy to take similar to 2006’s Night at the Museum which took $574.48m worldwide with $250.86m in the US and $323.61m international rather than similar to 1998’s The Truman Show taking $264.11m with $125.6m in the US and $138.5m international. Released 23 years ago inflation inflated would be at least a third more, while Free Guy is a more commercial film similar to The Lego Movie.
Much was made that Disney believed in the film and didn’t release it straight to streaming but didn’t for two reasons one that they have a pay-TV deal with HBO until 2022 and to keep Ryan Reynolds happy as they will want to make a Deadpool 3 in the next few years whilst also being the canary in the coalmine for Shang-Chi. What Disney got by doing this was a new IP and announced plans for a sequel.
509th biggest film worldwide between Stuart Little and Ocean’s 8 and seventh biggest 2021 film worldwide between Black Widow and A Quiet Place: Part II.
Opened on limited release
- The Eyes of Tammy Faye – Searchlight Pictures
Opened #10 with $652,358 received mixed reviews (67% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore
Opened in 450 screens; never understand when studios open films on limited wide as either go platform or go wide as opening in 425 screens means it has nowhere to go if it doesn’t find an audience in its opening weekend.
The film is due to expand into another 400 screens next week but when older audiences aren’t going to the cinema will it expand next week after it received mixed reviews, despite many saying Jessica Chastain performance could get her a Best Actress nomination.
Platform releases are done to build word of mouth over weeks of release normally opening in New York and Los Angeles and then slowly expanding over weeks and months, often films perform well on a platform but then expand far too quickly losing the momentum they have gained. But then are some films starting off in about 400 screens it feels like they are being dumped by the studio as films like 2014’s Kill the Messenger opening with 374 screens with $941,809 taking only $2.4m despite receiving positive reviews.
- Blue Bayou – Focus Features
Opened #13 with $329,840; received positive reviews (72% Rotten Tomatoes)
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Shang-Chi finally faces competition in its fourth weekend of release from two sides from The Sopranos prequel The Many Saints Of Newark opening on Wednesday. Despite ending in 2007 The Sopranos became very popular last year during the first lockdown 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.
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.
The film has received positive reviews, the Hollywood Reporter described it as ‘Entertaining but inessential’ but this could sum up most content being made and released over recent years, a lot of it is enjoyable but is it really necessary or as memorable as what came before and the answer to both is always no.
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; Monday was the 31st anniversary of Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas opening in US cinemas on September 19, 1990 (opened in the UK a month later).
Oasis Knebworth 1996 documentary about Oasis’s Knebworth House concerts on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 August 1996 is released on Thursday, September 23rd on over 300 screens, with additional screenings on Friday and Saturday with Event Cinema surcharges if all the three-day box office is included it could be enough for it to topple Shang-Chi in its fourth weekend.
It will likely have the biggest opening for Event Cinema since cinemas reopened after COVID and the biggest Event Cinema opening since 2019’s Les Misérables: The Staged Concert which took £2,281,150 from December 2nd in over 600 screens.
Also opening is The Green Knight which was pulled from release a week before it was due to open by Entertainment Films concerned correctly that original films targetting older audiences are struggling to find an audience. While The Green Knight recieved critical acclaim in the US it failed to find an audience and fearing the same in the UK it will have a cinema and streaming release in the UK playing in independent cinemas and on Amazon.
Opening in two weeks
- The Addams Family 2 – Universal Pictures
Animated supernatural sequel to the 2019 film featuring voices of features voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Kroll, Javon Walton, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, Bill Hader, and Wallace Shawn and directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon.
The sequel was announced soon after the first film took $100.7m in the US and $203.7m worldwide.
It was originally set to open within a week of Hotel Transylvania: Transformania but after that was sold to Amazon in August MGM announced it would be available on VOD in the US the same day, as while family films have performed well since cinemas reopened they haven’t been as successful in the US.
In 2019 The Addams Family was the last children’s film to open in the UK ahead of half-term, after A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil, Abominable. This time the sequel is the first to open three weeks before half-term with Ron’s Gone Wrong and The Boss Baby 2 opening the next two weeks.
In 2019 (The Addams Family and Abominable) Universal Pictures will be competing against itself with The Addams Family 2 and The Boss Baby 2 with children’s films.
Normally children’s films have previewed the weekend before to inflate their openings but with No Time To Die opening the weekend before The Addams Family 2 is unlikely to have them. As The Addams Family was the third children’s film to open in 2019 it also never had previews.
The Addams Family opened with £2,117,740 taking £4,744,561 over a half-term week taking £9,514,907.
Opened similar to Abominable opening two weeks earlier with £2,141,256 taking £8,341,976; while A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon opened the week after with £1,305,511 playing to a younger audience taking £7,081,393 half the original film took in 2015 (£13,675,389).
Children’s films have been the one genre that has performed strongly since cinemas reopened the first time in July 2020 and children’s films have had very long legs The Croods 2: A New Age and Space Jam: A New Legacy opened the same weekend with £696,563 and £1,363,556 but took 13.38x and 9.12x opening BO with £9,318,671 and £12,440,861.
- Scream (25th Anniversary) – Paramount Pictures (Tuesday 12th October)
Re-release of the classic comedy horror starring The film stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson.
Three sequels followed and a fifth starring the original cast will be released by Paramount in January.
1997’s Scream opened £1,872,660 taking £8,247,094
1998’s Scream 2 opened £2,493,950 taking £8,280,725
2000’s Scream 3 opened £2,449,937 taking £5,585,267
2011’s Scream 4 opened £2,061,885 taking £5,581,902
In 2011 there were plans to make a second trilogy but after Scream 4 failed to be as successful as the first three taking $38.1m in the US and $97.2m worldwide after Scream took $103.1m in the US and $173.1m worldwide; Scream 2 $101.3m in the US and $172.3m worldwide; Scream 3 $89.1m in the US and $161.8m worldwide.
Instead of a fifth and sixth film, they made a TV spinoff in 2015 running for three series on MTV. In December 2019 Paramount acquired a 49% stake in Miramax signing a long-term distribution deal for their library and allowed the studio to develop and distribute new film and TV projects. Miramax library includes over 700 films including Best Picture Oscar winners The English Patient, Chicago, Shakespeare in Love and No Country for Old Men, but few properties could be rebooted or developed apart from Scream, Sky Kids and Scary Movie.
In the late 90s, many teen horrors were starring young actors from popular TV shows but the problem with these films in the UK with no 12 certificates was they all recurved 15 which meant a large part of its target audience couldn’t legally see these films in cinemas, why they became much more popular on video.
Saw Scream for the first time during a Pre-MIFED screening at Plaza Cinema in October 1996 and seeing how it played to an audience was obvious that it was going to be a big hit.
- No Time To Die – Universal Pictures
Tickets went on sale last week in the UK while exhibitors have said sales have been strong there hasn’t been any data saying how strong or how to advance sales compare to other films like Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Sony Pictures screened Skyfall to the UK media two weeks before its UK release date on October 12th, 2012, and screened Spectre on Wednesday, October 21st, 2015, 5 days before opening, both times embargo ended immediately after screening with critics rushing to be the first review to feature on the adverts, rumour is embargo end at 11pm on September 28th day of the world premiere in London a day before it’s UK opening.
The last 5 Bond films didn’t have any direct competition opening in the weeks leading up to release and the weeks afterwards as the films around them were targeting families and children. The biggest film that opened before any of them was Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets the weekend before Die Another Day.
All 5 Bond films had no direct competition opening against them targetting the same demographic until four weeks after, the difference for No Time To Die is it has Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Halloween Kills and The Long Duel opening two weeks after and Dune three weeks after.
The big question is how will they affect No Time To Die’s legs as it’s unlikely to open similar to either Skyfall or Spectre, so will No Timer To Die open lower than recent Bond’s and not hold as strongly?
Die Another Day opened on 430 screens on November 20th, 2002
£9,122,344 (including £2,237,249 from 2 days of previews); Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets #2 £7,313,056 2nd weekend
2nd weekend £5,364,433 down 41% (down 22% without previews) with Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets #2 £4,654,618 3rd weekend
3rd weekend £3,426,623 down 36%; Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets #2 £2,678,629 4th weekend
4th weekend £2,220,351 down 35%; Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets #2 £1,802,435 5th weekend
Dropped down to third in its 5th weekend with Lord of the Rings: Two Towers opened #1 £13,063,560; Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets #2 £1,164,992 6th weekend (weekend before Christmas)
Stayed in the top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 9 weeks
Casino Royale opened in 505 cinemas (988 screens) on 19th November 2006
£13,370,969 including £1,949,270 from previews; Borat #2 with £2,531,264 3rd weekend
At the time it was the third biggest opening in the UK after Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
2nd weekend £8,546,238 dropped 36% (25% without previews); Borat #2 £1,470,923 4th weekend
3rd weekend £5,307,969 dropped 36%; #2 Flushed Away opened with £3,106,874
Dropped down to #3 in its fourth weekend taking £2,741,362; Happy Feet opened #1 £3,689,166; #2 The Holiday £2,826,520
Stayed in the top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 12 weeks
Quantum of Solace opened in 540 screens 31st October 2008
£15,384,217 (no previews); #2 High School Musical 3 £2,742,682 2nd weekend
2nd weekend £9,221,744 dropped 40%; #2 High School Musical 3 £1,518,469 3rd weekend
3rd weekend £5,164,182 dropped 44%; #2 Max Payne opened £1,004,995
4th weekend £2,884,789 dropped 44%; #2 Body of Lies opened £991,979
Dropped down to #2 in its fifth weekend taking £1,453,184; Four Christmases opened £2,275,585
Stayed in top 5 for 6 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks
Skyfall opened in 587 screens 26th October 2012
£20,180,369 (no previews) #2 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted £2,803,874 2nd weekend
2nd weekend £16,107,687 dropped 20% 593 screens; #2 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted £2,863,112 3rd weekend
3rd weekend £10,447,385 dropped 35%; #2 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted £1,357,193 4th weekend
Dropped to #2 in its 4th weekend taking £5,566,537; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 opened #1 £15,850,825
Held #2 5th weekend taking £3,809,893; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 #1 £5,344,508
Returned #1 6th weekend taking £2,275,469; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 #2 £2,180,909 3rd weekend
Dropped to #2 7th weekend taking £1,428,708 (513 screens); #1 Rise of the Guardians #1 £1,602,689
Dropped to 4th 8th weekend taking £809,406 (434 screens); #1 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey £11,601,538;
Stayed in top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 11 weeks
Spectre opened in 651 cinemas and in over 2,500 screens on October 26th, 2015
£41,299,090 (£21,321,626 from 4 days of previews); #2 Hotel Transylvania 2 £2,417,940 3rd weekend
2nd weekend £13,145,138 (660 screens) dropped 68% (34% not including previews); #2 Hotel Transylvania 2 £1,105,023 4th weekend
3rd weekend £7,833,891 (617 screens) dropped 40%; #2 The Lady in the Van opened £2,256,121
Dropped to #2 in its 4th weekend taking £3,821,156 (607 screens); #1 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 £11,255,566
Stayed in top 5 for 7 weeks and top 10 for 10 weeks
UK exhibitors have noticeably increased their prices for No Time To Die as they also did with Spectre in 2015 when Odeon Cinemas doubled their blockbuster tax from £1 to £2; in 2015 BFI IMAX increased ticket prices by 19% from £19.50 to £22 and have increased prices by 10% from £25 to £27.50 for No Time To Die, while the Odeon Leicester Square stays the same price for both Shang-Chi and No Time to Die £27.50 but the positive is they have at least dropped the price down from £40.75 when Mary Poppins Returns was showing there in 2018. But when the industry still claims the average price is £7.11 it would be interesting to know how many cinemas apart from PeckhamPlex can see it for that price over opening weekend.
James Bond opening days
Casino Royale opened with £1.7m on Thursday 19th November 2006 which was twice as much as Die Another Day opened in 2002 (£1.1m)
Skyfall opened Friday, October 26th taking £6.2m and had at the time the largest ever Saturday box office
Quantum of Solace took opened with £4.9m
Skyfall opened with £6.2m on Friday and took £8.5m Saturday and Sunday £10.2m (at the time biggest ever)
Spectre opened with Tuesday £6.3m and Wednesday £5.71m and taking 60% off Mondays box office with the first shows at 7.30pm with £4.18m;
Casino Royale was the first James Bond film approved to open in China and last week No Time To Die was confirmed for release in October in China.
