- Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness – £2,968,358 – £35,284,937
Down 47.8% in the third weekend
Down 50% on its 3rd Friday (£750k) from (£1.55m) second Friday and £4.88m opening Friday
11th biggest MCU 3rd weekend between Thor: Ragnorok (£3,073,349) and Captain America: Civil War (£2,789,985) close to Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi (+-£605,667)
Took £611,100+ than Doctor Strange 3rd weekend (£2,357,258) despite opening with 113%+ (£19,765,718 Vs £9,288,898) showing how front-loaded the sequel was despite having no competition over the last 3 weeks
57th biggest 3rd weekend between Love Actually and Paddington (close to The Lego Movie, Sing 2, A Star Is Born and Slumdog Millionaire); took £382,930 less than The Batman third weekend (£3,351,288) and £410,224 less than Captain Marvel (£3,351,288).
Had the 17th biggest 3rd-weekend drop between Spider-Man: Far From Home and Avengers Assemble, normally after an MCU has a big second-weekend drop they stabilise with a third-weekend drop under 40% due to strong word of mouth but films like Doctor Strange don’t play to the wider MCU audience so drop much quicker after their big opening weekend.
The same is likely with Thor Love and Thunder in July and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in November as without Chadwick Bosman is unlikely to have the legs of the first film and won’t have as much impact on non-comic book fans.
It’s the 7th biggest MCU film after 3 weeks between Black Panther (£35,362,230) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (£33,041,913) close to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Captain America: Civil War and Iron Man 3. z
103rd biggest film in the UK between Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 and Inception (close to Men In Black, Jumanji: The Next Level, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Spider-Man) and 207th biggest inflation inflated between Hancock and Ted (close to Tomorrow Never Dies, A View to A Kill, Gandhi and Twister).
19th biggest comic-book movie between Men In Black and Spider-Man 3 (close to Captain America: Civil War, Batman Vs Superman, Deadpool 2 and Thor: Ragnarok) and 28th biggest inflation inflated between Hancock and Man of Steel (close to Deadpool, Spider-Man: Far From Home, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Batman and Robin).
4th biggest film since cinemas reopened between The Batman and Sing 2.
The 28 MCU films have taken almost £950m and almost £1bn inflation inflated; Thor: Love and Thunder opening in July will see the 29 MCU films taking over £1bn at the UK BO since 2008.
- 2. Everything Everywhere and All-Around – £839,974 – £1,889,946
Up 23.3% in its second weekend (up 50% without previews) adding 345 screens from the opening weekend (150 screens)
When Parasite won the Golden Globe in 2020 Bong Joon Ho said, “Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.” This follows similar comments in 2019 from Alfonso Cuarón after winning Best Foreign-Language Oscar for Roma saying, “I grew up watching foreign-language films and learning so much from them — films like Citizen Kane, Jaws, Rashomon, The Godfather and Breathless.”
But despite the success of Parasite in 2020 foreign-language films have struggled to find an audience in the UK over the last 20 years.
In 2002 131 foreign language films were released in the UK 38% of the films released took 2.2% of the yearly box office with Y Tu Mama Tambien taking £1.74m was the biggest foreign language film of the year.
Over the following years, the number of foreign language films released has more than doubled but its box office share and its box office haven’t grown, so similarly to the growth of Event Cinema much of this is due to the number of titles released with box office shared more rather than audience growth.
In 2016 368 foreign language films were released in the UK; 44.8% of all film releases, but only took 2.4% of the box office while in 2017; 349 foreign language films were released in the UK taking £28.6m taking 2.1% of the yearly box office; The Handmaiden taking £1.5m was the biggest foreign language film of the year.
Impossible to compare the film with 2020’s Parasite opened #4 with £1,397,387 from 137 screens and ten expanded into 428 screens in the second weekend up 81% (132% without previews) #2 taking £2,523,518 and £5,092,732 and then into 565 screens in third-weekend #2 down 32% taking £1,722,236 and £8,397,639 of £12.03m (COVID affected); the only thing that can be compared with is that it opened with a similar amount of screens but as Parasite opened days after BAFTA awards the buzz for Parasite was far bigger but being a multiverse film Everything Everywhere and All-Around would surely attract some cinemagoers who had seen Doctor Strange 2.
Biggest foreign language films in the UK
2020’s Parasite £12.03m; 2004’s The Passion of Christ £11.1m; 2001’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon £9.4m; 2001’s Amelie £5m; 2007’s Apocalypto £4.1m; 2004’s Hero and House of Flying Daggers £3.8m.
A similar question will be asked about Everything Everywhere and All-Around as was said with Parasite as both films have brought audiences to see the films that don’t normally see subtitled films. As COVID happened soon after Parasite opened it unlikely had any effect but the question is will Everything Everywhere and All-Around get people to look beyond subtitles?
While Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness hype Everything Everywhere and All-Around was a far superior multiverse film and is very much a word-of-mouth film which will be helped by opening in 150 screens as will expand further net weekend and then should hold its own against Top Gun Maverick as it has done in the US for the last 8 weeks.
It’s a rarity as it’s a film that it’s hard to make any comparison with especially a film that has been given a similar wide release playing in independent cinemas along with mainstream cinemas; the nearest film would be 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind took £4,874,405 and £8,163,814 inflation inflated.
Michelle Yeoh has starred in many films over the last 20+ years including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Crazy Rich Asians and Shang-Chi and will star in the four Avatar sequels, with co-star Key-Huy Quan previously starring in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies.
After expanding into 495 screens in its second weekend while it might keep the screen numbers in its third weekend it will have far fewer screenings, my local multiplex went from screenings all day on Tuesday to one at 2 pm on Wednesday.
- 3 Downton Abbey: A New Era– £757,303 – £12,256,158
Down 22.1% in its fourth weekend; 48.2% less than Downtown Abbey 4th weekend (£1,461,074) and 44.9% less than Murder on the Orient Express (£1,373,756 ).
512th biggest film between Gosford Park and Back to the Future (close to The Holiday, Ghostbusters, Parasite and Pretty Woman) and 808th biggest inflation inflated between District 9 and Wild Wild West (close to the Kingdom of Heaven, A Quiet Place, The Iron Lady and Superman IV).
Has taken £3,090 less than 2001’s Gosford Park also written by Julian Fellowes took £12,259,248 (£22,268,006 inflation inflated) Downton Abbey TV series was a spinoff of the film.
2019’s Downton Abbey dropped 42.5% taking £1,461,074 #3 and £23,109,145 81.8% of £28,248,361; took 5.45x opening; stayed #1 for 3 weeks.
Other fourth weekend grey pound films include
2021’s Death on the Nile dropped 63% taking £283,550 and £7,150,696 of £8,012,201
2017’s Murder on the Orient Express #4 dropped 40% to £1,373,756 (from 599 screens) taking £20,442,641 84.3% of £24,224,914; stayed in the top 10 for 7 weeks (taking £196,186 in its 7th)
2021’s House of Gucci #5 £289,041 dropped 63% 440 screens and £8,074,049 81% of £9,964,144
2012’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel #3 £1,530,112 down 14% 479 screens and £13,855,438 68.2% of £20,308,480.
2015’s The Lady in the Van #7 £470,763 down 51% 504 screens and £10,450,946 82.5% of £12,660,028.
2015’s The Second-Best Marigold Hotel #3 £671,088 down 53% 518 screens and £13,413,705 86.1% of £15,575,797.
2015’s Suffragette #7 £404,805 down 32% 438 screens and £8,579,916 80.9% of £10,600,616
2013’s Philomena dropped 46% taking £541,068 and £8,866,771 84.6% of £10,470,225
Other Fourth weekend dramas
The Girl on the Train took £1,215,472 £20,427,279 of £23,372,415; 2014’s Gone Girl took £1,597,962 and £17,064,765 of £21,945,199.
Down 18.5% in its eighth weekend;
4th biggest film of 2022 between Sing 2 and Uncharted; 6th biggest film since cinemas reopened between Sing 2 and Uncharted and Paramount’s biggest film since 2013’s Star Trek: Into Darkness (£25.54m).
While many are surprised by Sonic the Hedgehog 2 but as it’s similar to both Uncharted and Wreck-It Ralph it’s not surprising at all as it would have attracted a similar audience as Uncharted.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 overtook the BO of the first film two weeks ago but it’s impossible to compare the two films as the first film opened at the start of COVID with cinema attendance slowing down in the weeks before the first lockdown and films in late February early March before lockdown weren’t attracting the audiences they would in normal conditions (despite industry saying at the time that everything was normal);
In 2020’s Sonic The Hedgehog was pulled from cinemas at its sixth weekend after the first lockdown taking £19,280,822 but had cinemas not closed as often with half-term films Sonic The Hedgehog would have played through to Easter and taking £22m+.
Uncharted dropped 43% in its sixth weekend taking £605,723 #3 from 558 screens and £22,704,081 96% of £23,641,476
180th biggest film in the UK between Ocean’s Eleven and Prometheus (close to Star Trek: Into Darkness, I am Legend, Ratatouille and Hancock) (274th film to take £20m+) and 365th biggest inflation inflated between The Hunchback Of Notre Dame and Cars (close to Despicable Me, The Addams Family, Bolt and The Rugrats Movie).
7th biggest Paramount Pictures film between Star Trek: Into Darkness and Mission Impossible: Fallout) (close to Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Rocketman and Transformers) and 15th biggest inflation inflated between Iron Man and Rocketman.
Paramount have yet to confirm a release date for a third film but that would be likely in April 2024 release with the spinoff series Knuckles set to be released on Paramount+ in 2023.
- 5. The Lost City – £357,144 – £9,817,320
Up 2.7% in its sixth weekend
10th biggest 2022 film between The Bad Guys and Death on the Nile and 30th biggest film since cinemas reopened between The Croods 2 and Cruella.
48th biggest Paramount Pictures film between Megamind and Baywatch (close to The Spiderwick Chronicles, Instant Family, Transformers: The Last Knight and Cloverfield).
739th biggest film in the UK between The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials and Traffic (close to The Mummy, Rampage, National Treasure 2 and Goosebumps) and 1,100th biggest inflation inflated between The Jackal and RoboCop (close to Super 8, Edge of Tomorrow, Wall Street and Nuns on the Run).
The Lost City has been compared to action-adventure films like Romancing of the Stone and Tropic Thunder, which received positive reviews but some felt while there is great chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum with a fun cameo from Brad Pitt they seem to be having more fun than the audience as it’s let down by the script.
It’s Sandra Bullock’s first action-comedy since 2013’s The Heat took £6,825,860 and £7,860,715 inflation inflated; and first rom-comedy since 2009’s The Proposal dropped 41% £445,689 and £10,367,556 #9 from 380 screens taking £11,740,551 (£16,229,585 inflation inflated).
While Channing Tatum recently starred in Dog taking £3,228,094 and action-comedies 21 Jump Street in 2012 dropped 29% £376,781 #9 from 271 screens and £9,465,305 of £9,863,555 and 22 Jump Street dropped 38% #6 £416,025 from 331 screens and £17,489,355 of £18,322,998
Other similar films include
2008’s Tropic Thunder took £8,387,745 (£12,129,970 inflation inflated) out of top 15 after 5 weeks
2021’s Jungle Cruise dropped 34% taking £266,156 #5 from 520 screens and £11,759,812 of £12,487,739
2021’s Free Guy dropped 2% taking £676,999 #2 from 596 screens and £15,327,761 of £16,866,112
While 1998’s Six Days Seven Nights took £4,535,477 (£8,463,223 inflation inflated); 2005’s Sahara £4,726,275 (£7,545,985 inflation inflated) and 2012’s Journey 2: The Mysterious Island £6,467,920.
Paramount Pictures has had a strong start to 2021 with Scream, Jackass Forever, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, The Lost City and Top Gun: Maverick opening at the end of the month. The problem is they lose all of the momenta they gained this year having only two more films set for release this year Secret Headquarters and Tadeo Jones 3.
The positive is in 2023 they had their strongest slate for more than a decade including Babylon directed by Damien Chazelle already generating strong buzz, Scream sequel, Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts, Mission Impossible 7 and a new Star Trek film.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £6,243,546 down 34.9% from last weekend’s £9,597,322
924th biggest top 10 of the last 20 years between 03 October 2008 #1 How to Lose Friends and Alienate People £1,154,607 (18.42% of top 10) and 30 August 2002 #1 Insomnia £1,159,754 (18.60% of top 10) and 997th biggest inflation inflated between 11 December 2015 #1 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 £1,286,244 (20.85% of top 10) and 01 September 2017 #1 American Made £968,068 (15.63% of top 10).
The weekend admissions were 830,259 down 33.7% from last week 1,252,241
Top 3 took £4,565,635 73.1% of the top 10; Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness 47.5% (£2,968,358); Everything Everywhere and All Around 13.4% (£839,974); Downton Abbey: A New Era 12.4% (£757,303);
Down 33.2% from 2021 (£9,347,953); Peter Rabbit 2(£4,605,673); Godzilla Vs. Kong (£1,227,878); Nomadland (£874,785); Spiral (£779,107); The Unholy (£405,391); Judas and the Black Messiah (£261,776); Ammonite (£130,324); #1 Peter Rabbit 2 £4,605,673 1st week (49.27% of top 10).
2020 n/a cinemas closed
Down 41.1% from 2019; (£10,607,906) John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum (£3,562,524); Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups (£521,504); Breakthrough £81,134; Batman 30th anniversary 4K (£38,112); Batman Returns (£7,906); Batman Forever (£293); Batman & Robin (£154); #1 John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum 1st week £3,562,524 (77.4% of top 10)
Down 63.4% from 2018: (£17,042,583); Deadpool 2 (£12,974,669); An American in Paris – The Musical (£68,201); On Chesil Beach (£67,017); 2001: A Space Odyssey (Re) (£4,646); #1 Deadpool 2 £12,974,669 636 screens 1st week (76.1% of top 10)
Down 28.6% from 2017: (£8,745,494); King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (£2,501,993); Snatched (£842,489); Colossal (£150,642); King Arthur: Legend of the Sword £2,501,993 564 screens 1st week (28.6% of top 10)
Up 55.6% from 2016: (£14,060,126); X-Men: Apocalypse (£7,354,293); A Hologram For The King (£378,759); Thomas & Friends: The Great Race (£147,617); Sing Street (£126,269); X-Men: Apocalypse £7,354,293 598 screens 1st week (52.3% of top 10)
Down 39.6% from 2015; (£10,348,193); Tomorrowland – A World Beyond (£1,482,178); Poltergeist (£1,463,014); The New Girlfriend (£94,839); Moomins On The Riviera (£84,595); #1 Pitch Perfect 2 £2,665,428 534 screens 2nd week 47% drop (25.7% of top 10)
Down 62.2% from 2014: (£16,521,299); X-Men: Days of Future Past (£9,144,971); Postman Pat (£774,750); Blended (£688,547); Fading Gigolo (£160,781); The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – NT Live 2012 (£40,484); Driving Miss Daisy – Melbourne 2013 (£65,389); #1 X-Men: Days of Future Past £9,144,971 537 screens 1st week (57.2% of top 10)
Down 66.3% from 2013: (£18,557,112); Fast & Furious 6 (£8,717,534) The Great Gatsby (£4,095,325); #1 Fast & Furious 6 £8,717,534 462 screens 1st week (46.9% of top 10)
Down 49.1% from 2012 (£12,276,016); The Dictator (£4,963,745); The Raid (£417,596); 2 Days in New York (£87,385); #1 The Dictator £4,963,745 1st week 509 screens (40.4% of top 10)
Down 57.9% from 2011 (£14,816,587); Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (£11,634,860); Blitz (£266,148); Win (£155,463); Fire in Babylon (£107,312); Julia’s Eyes (£49,142); #1 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides £11,634,860 1st week 569 screens (78.5% of top 10)
Down 10.1% from 2010: (£6,945,108); Streetdance (£2,493,948); Prince of Persia (£1,371,066); Bad Lieutenant (£178,953); Cop Out (£64,935); #1 Streetdance £2,493,948 1st week 412 screens (35.9% of top 10)
Down 40.1% from 2009; (£10,425,478); Night at the Museum 2 (£4,160,496); Tormented (£284,757); Awaydays (£39,045); Everlasting Moments (£9,530); #1 Night at the Museum 2 £4,160,496 515 screens 1st week (39.9% of top 10)
Down 58.6% from 2008; (£15,095,445); Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (£12,227,799); Cassandra’s Dream (£47,359); #1 Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull £12,227,799 1st week 538 screens (81% of top 10)
Up 5.8% from 2007: (£5,900,836); Zodiac (£818,369); Magicians (£366,188); Love Wrecked (£223,400); Spider-Man 3 £2,549,712 3rd week 508 screens 54% drop (43.2% of top 10)
Down 53.5% from 2006; (£13,433,839); The Da Vinci Code (£9,501,444); Waiting (£307,791); #1 The Da Vinci Code £9,501,444 1st week 523 screens (70.7% of top 10)
Down 64.1% from 2005 (£17,406,831); Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (£14,361,469); Mysterious Skin (£39,382); Only Human (£26,574); #1 Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith £14,361,469 1st week 490 screens (82.5% of top 10)
Up 49.2% from 2004 (£4,185,573); The Football Factory (£207,683); Troy (platform) (£89,286); Shattered Glass (£46,921); #1 Van Helsing £2,403,036 2nd week 456 screens 56% drop (57.4% of top 10)
Down 58.1% from 2003 (£14,900,979); The Matrix Reloaded (£12,165,276); The Hot Chick (£169,452); #1 The Matrix Reloaded £12,165,276 1st week 481 screens (81.6% of top 10)
Down 57.6% from 2002 (£14,728,512); Star Wars Ep II: Attack of the Clones (£11,386,209); The Closet (£75,396); #1 Star Wars Ep II – Attack of the Clones £11,386,209 467 screens 1st week 32% drop (77.3% of top 10)
Next weekend 2020 Cinemas Closed First Lockdown
Next weekend 2021 (£7,692,672); The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (£2,708,455); Cruella (£1,453,635); Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (£693,081); #1 The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It£2,708,455 (35.21% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness – Disney
Dropped 48% in its third weekend taking $32.3m and $342.78m
EntTelligence reported average $13.72 due to playing in Playing in 400 Imax cinemas; 890+ PLF, 2,600 3D screens, 250 D-Box/4DX and 60 ScreenX all having surcharges on regular prices.
59th biggest film between American Sniper and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; 167th biggest inflation inflate Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I and Night at the Museum; 28h biggest Disney film between Aladdin and Zootopia; 19th biggest comic-book movie between Deadpool and Spider-Man 3.
While Doctor Strange 2 BO is no concern for either Marvel or Disney it is for cinemas as exhibitors need films to play for more than a few weeks or it just proves studios are right to reduce the theatrical window to 31 days. As Doctor Strange 2 will likely take less than $15m in its 4th weekend (days 28-30) by which time taking over 90% of its BO.
MCU fanbase grew strongly from 2008 to 2012 since then except for Black Panther and Spider-Man No Way Home all the films have performed as they expected to with the fanbase the series has. Both Black Panther and Spider-Man No Way Home played to a wider audience that doesn’t normally see comic-book fans.
28 MCU films have taken $10.15bn in the US and $10.74bn inflation inflated; average US BO is $363m
Took $40m (down 53%) from 49 territories $461.1m and $803.2m worldwide; Korea $45.9m; UK $43.8m; Mexico $35.7m; Brazil $29.2m; Australia $23m; overtaken the global BO of Doctor Strange at $678m and The Batman at $768.4m both always expected to do and take $925m.
89th biggest film worldwide between Shrek the Third and Jumanji: The Next Level; 22nd biggest comic-book movie between Wonder Woman and Spider-Man 2 (close to Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 and Deadpool); 33rd biggest Disney film between Thor: Ragnarok and Coco.
- Downton Abbey: A New Era – Focus Features
Opened $16m; received positive reviews 79% Rotten Tomatoes) and A CinemaScore
Took $1.1m from Thursday midnights 27% less than 2019’s Downton Abbey ($1.5m) taking $7.4m 46.5% ($13.82m) less taken on Friday
2019’s Downton Abbey opened with $31.03m taking $96.85m and $192.19m worldwide
Much was made that it would be a test to see if over 45s are ready to return to cinemas with 73% of Fridays audience female and over 50% 55+. But after the film opened in the UK 4 weeks ago with a third less than the original film so it was always likely it would open similarly down in the US.
On Friday it was expected to open with $18m+, then on Sunday $16.1m normally final figures see a slight increase but they were lower than expected.
The problem has been exhibitors have been focused only on under 35s since cinemas reopened so surely should have done much more knowing older audiences are still slow to return to cinemas almost 2 years after they reopened. The question is will this have an impact on Top Gun Maverick next week as over 45s will be key to its success.
2001’s Gosford Park opened on platform release with $241,219 taking $41.3m and $87.75m worldwide
Took $3.5m internationally from x territories and $35.7m and $51.7m worldwide
- The Bad Guys – Universal Pictures
Dropped 13% in the fifth weekend taking $6.14m and $74.4m
140th biggest animated film between Coraline and Captain Underpants; 32nd biggest Dreamworks Animation film between Turbo and Captain Underpants; 1,113th biggest film between War Games and Six Days, Seven Nights; 1,890th biggest inflation inflated The Accidental Tourist and Chronicle; 8th biggest 2022 film between Scream and Morbius; 146th biggest Universal Pictures film between Ray and The Jerk.
Similar DWA include 2014’s Penguins of Madagascar taking $83.35m and $366.94m worldwide which saw seen as disappointing, similar to 2013’s Turbo taking $83.02m and 2017’s Captain Underpants taking $73.92m
42 Dreamworks Animation films have taken over $5.87bn in the US and over $15.84bn worldwide
Took $6.8m internationally from 68 territories and $109.61m and $184m worldwide; UK $15.6m; Australia $10.9m; Spain $7.2m; France $6.3.
137th biggest animated film worldwide between Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Storks; 939th biggest film worldwide between Alien and The Hitman’s Bodyguard and 123rd biggest Universal Pictures worldwide between I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Cape Fear.
- Men – A24
Opened with $3.29m; received positive reviews (82% Rotten Tomatoes) and D+ CinemaScore (many expected it to receive an F CinemaScore as often these horrors get critical acclaim but the audience is far more polarised).
Alex Garland’s previous films 2018’s Annihilation opened $11.07m taking $32.73m and $43.07m worldwide and 2014’s Ex Machina after two weeks on platform release took $25.44m and $36.86m worldwide.
2019’s Midsommar opened $6.56m taking $27.42m and $47.96m worldwide
2018’s Hereditary opened $13.57m taking $44.06m and $81.26m worldwide
The box office performance of Men and Everything Everywhere highlights the problem independent and art-house films have in the current marketplace showing also how important dating is Men opened immediately after the Cannes premiere but Everything Everywhere was boosted by the strong buzz received two weeks earlier at SXSW. While opening ahead of Doctor Strange 2 also boosted Its profile being a multiverse film.
- Everything Everywhere All at Once – A24
Down 6% in its 9th weekend taking $3.13m and $52.26m
It’s A24’s biggest film in the US ahead of Uncut Gems $50.02m and Lady Bird $48.95m
1,700th biggest film in the US between Stand by Me and Insidious Chapter 3; 2,607th inflation inflated between What’s the Worst That Could Happen? And The Legend of Bagger Vance
Since opening on a platform at the end of March taking $501,305 from 10 screens and then $1.07m from 38 screens at the second weekend it then expanded into 1,250 screens at the third weekend and 2,220 at the fourth weekend. Often films will expand far too quickly and then lose screens but word of mouth has kept audiences returning.
The film has overtaken the box office of many award contenders from last year including Nightmare Alley, West Side Story and Licorice Pizza and will shortly overtake the box office of House of Gucci.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
After Top Gun: Maverick generated huge media coverage and buzz after the Cannes premiere and then Royal Film Performance it never made any sense that its release date was 5 days afterwards as the audience was primed and ready to go on Friday. As Tom Cruise is all about the cinema experience why didn’t Top Gun Maverick have an exclusive IMAX opening between Friday and next Tuesday and it could have had a 10-day opening rather than 5.
After the predictable reactions from exhibitors at CinemaCon and critics the question for Top Gun Maverick was never about if they were going to like it, it was always like all legacy sequels if their children would be as excited to see it as their dads as they were for other legacy sequels including Jurassic World and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Top price tickets at the Odeon Leicester Sq. have increased to £32.50 and BFI IMAX £30, BFI IMAX prices have increased 33% since Morbius opened 8 weeks ago. So have to ask if this recovery is real or is fuelled by huge price increases by most exhibitors. Top Gun opened in 1986 with £441,257 from 234 cinemas average ticket price was £1.88
Jerry Bruckheimer returned to Paramount Pictures in a swap deal with Disney in 2013 with Disney acquitting distribution rights to Indiana Jones. This was despite his deal with Disney ending in 2014. Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson (until he died in 1996) had been at Disney since 1994 after they left a $500m production deal at Paramount in 1990 giving them the freedom to make any 5 films they liked without studio approval. But only made one film as part of the production deal Days of Thunder reteaming with Tom Cruise and director Tony Scott as they fell out with the studio over the Beverly Hills Cop 3 budget.
In the early 90s were several of these lucrative production deals made with studios including Largo Entertainment at 20th Century Fox which moved to Universal Pictures in 1994 and a $500m production deal with Lightstorm Entertainment in 1992 with 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures. What connects these three massive production deals is that there were plans to many half a dozen n of more films but only a couple were made. Jerry Bruckheimer returned to Paramount in 2013 but only made one film Gemini Man in 2019 before Top Gun Maverick, while also producing Bad Boys For Life for Sony and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Don’t tell No Tales.
Jerry Bruckheimer produced many huge films at Disney including Crimson Tide, The Rock, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Coyote Ugly and Pearl Harbour in his first 7 years but over the following decade, the films he liked to make were very different to what Disney was interested in making, which were more family advance like Pirates of the Caribbean and National Treasure rather than the action films. After Prince of Persia: The Sands of Times, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and The Lone Ranger disappointed even the success of Pirates of the Caribbean sequels wasn’t going to stop Disney from renewing his contract so do have to wonder why Paramount felt they needed to buy out his contract.
After the disappointing performance of Gemini Man there was reported in the trade press Paramount wouldn’t extend their production deal with Paramount, which was due to end last year, but with the deal of the release of Top Gun Maverick and how positive the reaction has been, they will surely have already extended his deal Jerry Bruckheimer has also produced Secret Headquarters for Paramount opening in August but will be interesting to see what he makes next for the studio as it’s unlikely there will ever be a Top Gun Maverick Jr.
Industry hype positioned Top Gun Maverick as a far bigger film than it is similarly Christopher Nolan’s delusions of grandeur made Tenet become the saviour of cinema. I grew up with Tom Cruise films Top Gun was probably the first I saw in the cinema and the first 15 I saw aged 13 in 1986 and have seen most of his films in cinemas ever since and for me as for you a Tom Cruise film was an event but sadly over the last 15 years he has been gazumped by properties .. over this time he has become the last action hero and the greatest showman but he can’t compete against comic-book movies, Jurassic World 3, Minions 2 and Avatar 2.
It would be great if I’m wrong and Top Gun Maverick becomes Tom Cruise’s first $1bn+ film but it’s more likely to play as a Mission Impossible film taking $850m which would be seen as a massive success to Paramount being their biggest in a decade but not against the other big movies of the year as to quote The Social Network a million dollars isn’t cool anymore, a billion dollars is and with all the industry hype Top Gun Maverick needs now to take $1bn+ or be seen as a disappointment?
Looking back to 1986 did Paramount see Top Gun and Crocodile Dundee be their two biggest films and the two biggest films of the year? Surely it was more Jewel of the Nile, Poltergeist 2, The Golden Child, Cobra, Aliens, The Karate Kid 2 and Howard the Duck?
The problem is the industry has overhyped the film believing that its bigger than it is as sadly it couldn’t ever be included as one of the top 5 releases this year as they are Doctor Strange 2, Thor Love and Thunder, Jurassic World Dominion, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: The Way of Water.
There are certain films like Fantastic Beasts 3 many were happy to underperform but that only exists as Avatar 2 to 4 as rivals needed something big enough to compete against Disney but now with Avatar owned by Disney has made it far worse. The only joy there is with a film like Morbius reshoot several times and delayed several times using COVID as the excuse, but this just delays the inevitable.
While Top Gun was the biggest film of 1986 Crocodile Dundee second-biggest film it was never expected to be the success it was but Crocodile Dundee had a sequel released two years later as many of the other big hits of those years but was never under the same pressure Top Gun Maverick has to perform at the same level.
This was similar to the industry believing Tenet was going to be the saviour of cinema but this time around Tom Cruise isn’t the one having delusions of grandeur he has done everything and more to make the film a hit but it was never going to be the size hit the industry and exhibitors believe it was going to be similar to Tenet.
The difference was Nolan believed it was going to be as Cruise had been it’s all about seeing it in the cinema never been about show me the money.. had the industry not included it as one of the big 5 then as I said opening with £11m+ over 5 days as I expect it to open with would be a strong opening as its likely to hold well as Edge of Tomorrow did, but given the hype, the industry had put it under it £15m-£20m is level needs to open with which it was never going to achieve.
The problem is marketing and hype are two different things but the industry believes they are the same, while marketing is a commercial solicitation designed to sell some commodity, service or similar, the hype is promotion or propaganda; especially, exaggerated claims. The problem is audiences see through the hype far quicker.
This is why there are many members of the $100m loser club as hype gets people through the door over the opening weekend but if it doesn’t live up to that hype which few films do then it drops heavily in the second weekend… with a film like Top Gun Maverick its 5-star reviews are three stars for the film 2 stars for the hype as is the case with films like The Force Awakens, Spectre, Skyfall and No Time To Die as critics get caught up in the hype when they see these films and then review them immediately after seeing them and reactions are far more positive than if they waited a few weeks. This is why premiere reaction is always far more positive than reviews a few weeks later as seen with Ghostbuster Afterlife generating rave reviews after sneak preview in October but reviews a few weeks later were far more mixed.
Remember coming out of seeing Attack of the Clones the first time it was the first-ever screening in Europe and saw it just with Ewan McGregor and when he asked him what I thought if it said it was amazing…a few hours later not so much… Fox went the other approach with The Greatest Showman they screened the film very early but then had a very late embargo which allowed critics to overthink the film and gave poor reviews, always reminds me of Kick-Ass Universal screened it to exhibitors and they hated it but Universal believed they had a good film so they invited the exhibitors back but this time with 800+ comic-book fans and the reaction was completely different .. believe where and how you see a film has a massive effect on what you think of the film why many Netflix films get poor reviews but their customers enjoy them as their subscribers see them for what they are and not what critics believe they are. But most cinemagoers don’t experience films the same way as critics do so their reactions to them are very different.
Much has been made about the 5-minute standing ovation Top Gun Maverick received as US films have often received muted responses from the glitterati as The Great Gatsby and The Da Vinci Code which instead received boos.
Three years ago Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood received 7 minutes and was seen as disappointing as previous Inglourious Basterds received 11. Standing ovations mean very little as in 2011 The Beaver received 10 minutes received negative reviews.
The longest-standing ovations at Cannes have been Pan’s Labyrinth 22, Fahrenheit 9/11 20, Mud 18, The Neon Demon 17, Capernaum 15, and The Paperboy 15 starring ex Nicole Kidman who was missing in the Tom Cruise montage shown before the film.
But if Tom Cruise made Top Gun Maverick for cinemagoers and his fans why did he opt to premiere it at the two most elite cinema events Cannes Film Festival and Royal Film Performance rather than to the fans who will be paying £15+ (up to £32.50 at the same cinema) to see it next week?
The original film opened in October 1986 with £441,267 from 235 cinemas taking £5.5m (£25m inflation inflated) but impossible to compare with any films released over the last 25+ years.
The big question for Top Gun Maverick is how it will perform which has always been a massive question, it was tracking to open over Memorial Day weekend with $95-$130m; the film has a 5-day opening in the UK which would likely see it opening with about 12% of US opening (as Mission Impossible: Fallout) between £11.5m-£13.5m with the normal 10%+ from 46 IMAX screens. Exhibitors have increased prices for Top Gun Maverick with BFI IMAX £30 up 33% within less than 8 weeks, Morbius tickets were £22.50 while Odeon Leicester Square top price is £32.50 up from £30 for Doctor Strange 2, neither cinema has yet a sold-out screening despite tickets being on sale for a couple of weeks.
Of Tom Cruise’s previous films only 2005’s War of the Worlds has a comparable opening as it’s his last big non-Mission Impossible opening in the UK opening with £8,644,787 including £1,116,200 previews (£13,802,293 inflation inflated) taking £30,367,791 (£48,485,305 inflation inflated)e’s
Tom Cruise’s 44 films have taken $4.44bn in the US, $6.29bn internationally and $10.74bn worldwide; he had huge success in the 80s and 90s and is the last action hero outlasting Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger along with Nicolas Cage and Harrison Ford (Harrison Ford may have returned in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and will return in Indiana Jones 5 but he hasn’t had the continued success in action films as Tom Cruise has had over the last 25 years due to Mission Impossible films. But as his biggest hits were in the 80s and 90s Top Gun, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, the Firm, and Interview With the Vampire hasn’t had a $1bn film globally, that said inflation inflated both Top Gun and Rain Man would be $1bn+ hits.
Other comparisons are legacy sequels Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (£12,227,799 including £2,047,618 previews), Jurassic World (£19,350,727 including £2,514,284 previews), Star Wars The Force Awakens, Spider-Man No Way Home, Independence Day Resurgence (£5,067,855 including £944,356 previews), Ghostbusters Afterlife (£4,314,263 including £549,710 previews), Mad Max: Fury Road (£4,538,933 including £638,690 previews), Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, Creed, Rocky Balboa, The Matrix Resurrections, Terminator: Dark Fate, Halloween, Scream, Live Free or Die Hard and Rambo.
All of them have some direct connection to the original film made over a decade before often featuring the next generation with a legacy character dying and their children following in their footsteps in the planned at the time sequels.
In September 2021 Paramount Pictures delayed Top Gun Maverick from its November release date to May using the excuse of COVID but it was probably more to do with seeing how Ghostbusters Afterlife performed as it was a similar nostalgic lead sequel that was going to play heavily to original fans despite targetting Stranger Things audience. As Ghostbusters Afterlife received rave reviews from its fan screening at NYCC in October but its media screening reaction was far more mixed getting a 63% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Critical reaction has been very positive but how much is nostalgia towards the original than the film itself as many of those critics reviewing the sequel were teens when the original opened so it became their film, but critically in 1986 the film received mixed reviews.
As with Doctor Strange and The 5Batman, exhibitors have increased ticket prices for Top Gun Maverick with BFI IMAX up to £30 from £29 for Doctor Strange 2 while Odeon Leicester Square is up to £32.50 from £30 top price for Doctor Strange 2 and Fantastic Beasts 3. 36 years ago Top Gun opened at the Empire Leicester Square in 70mm for about £3.
In the US Top Gun Maverick is similarly expected to have Tom Cruise’s biggest opening again ahead of 2005’s War of the Worlds opened with $64.8m ($95m inflation inflated) taking $234.3m ($350m inflation inflated) and $603.87m worldwide (4900m inflation inflated) opening between $90m-$120m over 4-day Memorial Day weekend; Pirates of the Caribbean: At world’s End #1 $139.8m and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull #2$126.91m #2 with X-Men: The Last Stand #3 with $122.86m.
About 40% of the film’s opening will come from 755 IMAX cinemas worldwide including 46 in the UK along with 890+ /PLF screens and 300+ ScreenX worldwide (56 minutes of footage) with average ticket prices of $13,.77;
Much has been made about Tom Cruise having his first $100m opening in the US with Top Gun Maverick but while his films were massive events at the time they can no longer compete against the properties, a film like Doctor Strange 2 opens with $187.42m 11 biggest but then drops heavily in its second weekend while a Tom Cruise film opens with about a third as much but has far stronger legs.
Memorial Day weekend used to be the second biggest weekend of the year after Independence Day but over the last 20 years studios have opened their biggest summer films earlier in May so Memorial Day weekend hasn’t had the biggest films of early summer
Bob’s Burgers never had the popularity of other Fox Animation TV shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad being broadcast on E4 and ITV2. While 2007’s The Simpsons Movie opened £13,626,853 (no reviews) (£20,291,868 inflation inflated) taking £38,312,694 (£57,051,774 inflation inflated).
Bob’s Burgers is more likely to open similar to 2016’s Sausage Party £2,690,156 taking £7,580,034; 1999’s South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut inflation inflated £2,673,228 (£1,496,581 opening) taking £6,367,065 (£11,373,000 inflation inflated) and 2005’s Team America: World Police inflation inflated £2,436,941 (£1,526,329 opening) taking £4,688,765 (£7,486,096 inflation inflated). Opens the same weekend in 1997 Beavis and Butt-Head Do America opened in the UK.
Most other films will see upwards 50% drop as normally happens when a major release opens but that will see Doctor Strange 2 still taking £1m+ in its fourth weekend.
After Everything Everywhere All At Once performed strongly in its opening two weeks it will e one of many films that will see the number of screenings cut down dramatically when Top Gun Maverick opens on about 8 screens in many multiplexes.
Opening next week
- Men – Entertainment Film Distributors
Horror starring Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear and written and directed by Alex Garland. Received positive reviews (82% on Rotten Tomatoes); premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and opened in the UK on May 20th.
Men is Alex Garland’s third film directed after 2014’s Ex Machina and 2018’s Annihilation
- Dashcam – eOne
Horror starring Annie Hardy, directed by Rob Savage and produced by Blumhouse Productions, the film is shot from the perspective of the iPhone and dashcam live streaming the events
Received premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and was second runner up for the People’s Choice Award: Midnight Madness; received mixed reviews 57% on Rotten Tomatoes.
