- Thor: Love and Thunder – £12,283,719 – NE
Took £3.1m from Thursday previews (25.2% of opening) having the 6th biggest opening day post-pandemic; Fri £3.1m; Sat £3.6m; Sun £2.6m
2D took 85.1% (£10,422,685); 3D 6.8% 299 screens (£838,046); IMAX 6.3% 51 screens (£771,908) and IMAX 3D 43 screens 1.8% (£218,383) IMAX cinemas had mixed 2D and 3D IMAX performances.
Friday BO took 33.8% (close to Birds of Prey, Doctor Strange 2, Captain America: Civil War, Captain Marvel and Eternals) while despite having a 4-day opening took 8.5% of US opening similar to Birds of Prey, Black Widow, Suicide Squad and Morbius) all of this shows that the hot weather likely had little impact on the films opening weekend.
65th biggest opening between Fantastic Beasts 2 and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (close to Captain Marvel, Joker, The Matrix Reloaded and Spider-Man 3) and 108th biggest inflation inflated between Bruce Almighty and The Day After Tomorrow (close to Sex and the City, Finding Nemo, X-Men 2 and Avatar).
14th biggest MCU opening between Thor: Ragnorok and Spider-Man Homecoming (close to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange and Thor: The Dark World).
Took £92,085 less than Thor: Ragnorok (6-day opening over half-term) and £361,5547 more than Thor: The Dark World (5-day opening)
12th biggest Fri-Sun £9.1m between Black Panther (£10,510,000) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (£8,399,539) without previews a clear indication the opening wasn’t affected by the hot weather
20th biggest comic-book movie opening between Thor: Ragnarok and Spider-Man 3 (close to Deadpool 2, Captain Marvel, Suicide Squad and Man of Steel) and 28tn inflation inflated Thor: Ragnarok and X-Men 2.
The showing opening was disappointing it had a similar opening to The Batman, Captain Marvel, Joker, Suicide Squad and Man of Steel all having three-day openings.
Has the success of films like Top Gun Maverick made audiences realise that the MCU films aren’t as great as their hype and don’t live up to expectations, and audiences want something different, whileMCU fans will always go and the the next film there are millions of others who went to see Black Panther and Spuder-Man No Way Home who don’t normally watch comic-book movies that made them far bigger films. I was a big fan of MCU films at the sdtart but since Captain America: Civil War just find them exhasusting, I couldn’t see much difference between the infighting of Team Iron Man Vs Team Captain America and Batman Vs Superman and the Transformers fighting against each other with the humans in the middle as collateral damage. I am of course in thre minority of one, but it’s hard to make direct comparsions to see if the MCU audience is really getting bigger as ticket prices are now far more than they were in 2008.
Thor: Love and Thunder being the 29th MCU and direct sequel to Thor: Ragnarok that follows on from events in Avengers Endgame has of course massive advantage as the fanbase for MCU films is huge with the 29 films taking almost £1bn at the UK BO since 2008. It does make them less accessible than earlier films as to fully understand everything need to have done your homework before now over 93 hours of content that includes all the films and TV spinoff shows.
The 29 MCU films have taken over £960m since 2008 (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will see MCU take over £1bn in the UK) and over £1bn inflation inflated.
As with a lot of these MCU films, the ensemble cast has made the film feel like Avengers 5 as they feature other Avengers characters including several from Guardians of the Galaxy including Rocket and Groot similar to Thor: Ragnarok featured The Hulk.
The first trailer was released in April, Thor has changed a lot since his arrival in the first film in 2011 as with Thor: Ragnarok Thor: Love and Thunder are more of a space comedy and was watched 209 million times in the first 24 hours. The second trailer was released in May feeling like Masters of the Universe.
The film premiered in Los Angeles on June 23rd receiving the normal reaction MCU films get with the embargo that ended July 5th a day before opening. The film was originally due to be released on November 5th, 2021, but was delayed after Eternals was moved there and that saw Doctor Strange 2 moved to May.
2017’s Thor:Ragnorok opened £12,375,804 (£5,141,794 previews) taking £30,936,228
2015’s Thor: The Dark World opened £8,668,172 (£3,098,193 previews) taking £19,711,938
2011’s Thor opened £5,449,300 (£2,335,701 previews) taking £13,854,712
Being an Avengers Lite film it should have opened similar to Doctor Strange 2 at £19,765,71 (£4,847,458 previews), industry will say the weather was the reason why it opened lower than expected, but it also opened lower than expected in the US this is an excuse as people would go to see a film if they wanted to see it no matter the weather.
The previous Thor films were very front-loaded and Thor: Love and Thunder is likely to be similarly so after receiving mixed reviews and mixed word of mouth could see it drop upwards of 70% in its second weekend
It’s 8 weeks since Doctor Strange 2 opened and this has seen almost £200m taken at the box office shared over several films as a success for non-comic-book movies breeds success for the next. The industry believes comic-book movies are good for the industry as they open big but they don’t grow the marketplace as those who go to one comic-book movie will go to the next, but those who went to see Top Gun Maverick many went on to see Jurassic World Dominion and others.
Always thought Disney had a deal with the man upstairs as over the last few years the weather in the week leading up to a major Disney release and the week after was often hot killing off the competition but the week the Disney film opened was colder and wetter. The only weekend that wasn’t the case was in July 2013 when Monsters University opened, but over the last year, this hasn’t been the case.
Thor: Love and Thunder are the 29th MCU and the fourth Thor film and follows up to Thor: Ragnarok as other recent MCU films it features many other Avengers characters so feels more like a fifth Avengers film.
Thor: Love and Thunder opened in almost 700 cinemas playing on multiple screens it will open on close to 3,000 screens including all IMAX, PLF and 4DX screens.
Premiere reaction was predictable with the normal, it’s the best MCU ever, but reviews have been more mixed saying that it doesn’t match up to Thor: Ragnarok with the LA Times calling it “A painless, pointless MCU sequel” … “These issues smack of run-of-the-mill Marvel fatigue”.
Phase 4 of the MCU has been mostly disappointing with Black Widow, Shang-Chi, Eternals, Doctor Strange 2 and now Thor: Love and Thunder, these films follow the same formula that targets the same audience who saw the last but don’t add anything new, all hype no sustenance. While many believe the TV shows have become far more superior, these are being used to launch characters that will feature in later MCU films which will make them less accessible to newbies as they would have to watch 60 hours of films to fully understand the plots.
This was a similar issue with Disney’s Star Wars films with Star Wars The Force Awakens as it was basically a remake of A New Hope it was accessible to the fans of the original films but as it also featured a young cast it also attracted younglings, the problem with the sequels were they were targeting the fanbase bit also tweaking elements which alienated many.
After the post-credit scene, it says Thor will return
Previous Thor films have been front-loaded with Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: The Dark World #1 for 1 week while the first film was #1 for 3 weeks in May 2011 but took a low share of the top 10 (44.41%, 20.26% and 17.98%) with other MCU films it’s closer to double the amount.
2015’s Minions dropped 46% in its second weekend taking £6,238,498 with Terminator: Genisys opening #2 with £3,793,617
2017’s Thor: Ragnarok opened with £12,375,804 including £5,141,794 from 3 days of previews over half-term) taking 64.29% with Jigsaw #2 £1,851,249
2013’s Thor: The Dark World opened in a more crowded marketplace similar to this weekend at £8,668,172 with 49.23% of BO with multiple films playing to multiple demographics Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (£2,074,667) Captain Phillips (£1,622,925) Philomena (£1,509,726) Turbo (£1,351,821)
After 6 strong weeks of strong holds due to a wide range of films targeting different demographics that play well together as success breeds success but then the latest MCU opens and cannibalises the marketplace with all films dropping 50%+ (after they dropped far less over previous weeks) while Thor: Love and Thunder also opened lower than expected.
This weekend (July 15) has been historically the start of the summer holiday UK BO with films from Jurassic Park and Phantom Menace opening but this year all the big summer releases opened a month earlier. Unlikely to be a double-figure opening in the UK after Thor until Black Adam in October in 15 weeks. There are big questions over how Qatar World Cup will affect BO between November 21st and December 18th and then if Avatar 2 and 3D can return to the levels, they were in 2009, Minions 2 3D was 7% of opening compared with 30% for Minions.
The industry will use the hot weather as an excuse for the film not opening as expected but as It also opened lower than expected in the US this is just an excuse as if it’s a film people want to see they will go and see it no matter the weather. I remember going to see many films in Leicester Square in the 90s and 00s on their hottest days of the year but still, cinemas were packed.
- 2. Minions: The Rise of Gru – £4,327,537 – £18,491,693
Down 58.5% in its second weekend
Took £14.1m in opening week £10.42m 74% Fri-Sun and £3.67m Mon-Thurs 26%
121st biggest second weekend between Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and The Inbetweeners Movie 2 (close to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The LEGO Batman Movie, Frozen and Incredibles) and 195th biggest inflation-inflated between Sonic The Hedgehog and Aliens (close to Ratatouille, The Pirates of the Caribbean, Planet of the Apes and Paddington).
22nd biggest animation second weekend between The LEGO Batman Movie and Frozen (close to The Secret Life of Pets, Shrek Forever After, Despicable Me 2 and Sing) and the 35th biggest inflation-inflated animation between Sonic The Hedgehog and Bolt (close to Despicable Me 3, Sing 2, Kung Fu Panda and Finding Dory).
So Minions: The Rise of Gru took what it was expected to take in its second weekend despite the hot weather as it took similar to previous Illumination Entertainment films.
12th biggest Universal Pictures UK opening between Sing and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (close to Fast & Furious 7, Jurassic World Dominion, Ted and Les Miserables) and 13th biggest inflation inflated between Sing and Fast & Furious 6.
The 11 Illumination Entertainment films have taken almost £325m since the first Despicable Me opened in 2010 upcoming Mario opening in April 2023, Migration in June 2023 and Despicable Me 4 July 2024 and then surely Minions 3 in July 2025,
Minions: The Rise of Gru is the last film to open delayed due to COVID as with many films that were delayed the first trailer for the film was released in February 2020 and was trailered before Sonic The Hedgehog and then Sonic The Hedgehog 2 when cinemas reopened. It shows the studios were right to delay the films until audiences had returned to cinemas as exhibitors predictably rushed to reopen cinemas for the first time after the first lockdown on July 4th. As it was for Christopher Nolan to force Warner Bros to open Tenet in summer 2020 despite all other films being delayed as he wanted to be seen to be supporting cinemas but in doing so they both caused predictable long-term damage until summer 2022.
Ahead of the opening of Minions: The Rise of Gru the Minions Cult went viral on TikTok, the hashtag #MinionsCult was viewed 6.1m times the day before opening and by July 12th it was up to almost 650m views. This saw fans attending cinemas in suits and fans interacting with the film in auditoriums which ruined the cinema experience for other members of the audience while they left a mess in auditoriums. This saw exhibitors banning the Gentle Minions at first before holding Gentle Minion screenings for fans
Universal Pictures reacted quickly to this TikTok craze with a Tweet on Friday “to everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you and we love you. 🫶” but exhibitors reacted slowly to it.
2015’s Minions dropped 46.03% taking £6,238,498 and £20,973,912 while 2013’s Despicable Me 2 dropped 49% taking £3,996,837 and £22,914,407 and 2017’s Despicable Me 3 dropped 52.7% taking £5,275,120 and £19,578,209.
But Minions: The Rise of Gru should play out the summer despite being likely released on VOD about August 1st will be the same time Lightyear will likely be released on Disney+.
Down 56% in the third weekend; down 45% Friday (£425k)
12th biggest 2022 film between Downtown Abbey 2 and The Bad Guys and 460th biggest film in the UK between Yesterday and Paul (close to Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, American Pie, The Devil Wears Prada and Sense and Sensibility) and 721st biggest inflation inflated between Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and The Wolverine (close to Good Will Hunting, The Queen, Dirty Dancing and Maid In Manhattan).
71st biggest Warner Bros film in the UK between 300- and Two-Weeks’ Notice (close to The Great Gatsby £15,446,265, Superman Returns, The Fugitive and Ocean’s Thirteen)
As it’s opening week Elvis took almost the same box office Mon-Thurs as it did Fri-Sun as older audiences prefer going to the cinema during the weekdays; taking £5.2m in its second week Fri-Sun £2.96m and Mon-Thurs £2.23m
Some films work better in a crowded marketplace as they work off each other unlike when a comic-book movie opens and it cannibalizes the marketplace. This is of course not helped by the number of screens they open in so it will be interesting to see how Elvis, Jurassic World Dominion and Top Gun: Maverick hold against Minions: The Rise of Gru as normally MCU film doesn’t open in such a crowded marketplace.
Despite being a biopic about an American music legend Elvis is likely to perform stronger internationally than in the US as in all other Baz Luhrmann films. It was surprising Warner Bros dated the film for late June as while historically it was a good time to launch a drama in the summer they would normally open late July/Aug as Where the Crawdads Sing opens away from the crowded tentpoles. While internationally these dramas would 20+ years ago back to open In September as Moulin Rouge was in 2001 very successfully.
Elvis is Baz Luhrmann’s 6th film and its 30 years since he made his directorial debut with Strictly Ballroom, he followed that up with three films at 20th Century Fox 1996’s Romeo & Juliet, 2001’s Moulin Rouge and 2008’s Australia and Elvis is his second film for Warner Bros after 2013’s The Great Gatsby.
All of his films are visually stunning was blown away when I first saw Romeo & Juliet and Moulin Rouge both many months before opening in the UK and before seeing any trailers. The Great Gatsby is an enjoyable romp despite not being as good as would have hoped, Strictly Ballroom is bursting with energy and charm Australia is his only dud but again it’s a visually stunning epic but far too long.
Third weekends
2001’s Moulin Rouge dropped 18% £1,533,223 #2 (£2,790,465 inflation inflated) from 340 screens taking £8,366,042 (£15,226,196 inflation inflated) 46% of £18,166,288 (£32,997,702 inflation inflated); #1 A.I. £2,285,786; #3 The Fast and the Furious £1,139,633; Moulin Rouge was #1 for two weeks and then returned #1 in 5th w/e
2008’s Australia dropped 46% £811,555 #7 426 screens £5,992,406 86% of £6,984,243; #1 Role Models £2,330,145; #2 Slumdog Millionaire £1,827,457; #3 Bride Wars £1,717,894; #4 Defiance £1,198,425; #5 Yes Man £1,036,683
2013’s The Great Gatsby dropped 34% £1,302,008 #5 545 screens £12,056,175 77.8% of £15.5m; was similarly crowded weekend with #1 The Hangover Part III £2,917,887; #2 Fast & Furious 6 £2,054,372 2nd w/e; #3 Epic £1,988,507; #5 Star Trek: Into Darkness £1,315,069; #6 The Purge £1,019,877
The 7 weeks since Top Gun: Maverick opened have been very healthy for cinema as normally when a comic-book movie opens like Doctor Strange on May 6th they take upwards of 85% of weekend BO cannibalizing for several weeks after, while Top Gun Maverick took 82% in the opening weekend it’s success led into the strong opening of Jurassic World Dominion and then Elvis as with non-comic-book movies success leads to much wide success. That said it’s still concentrated on a small group of films as despite positive reviews Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is the latest British comedy to struggle to find its audience.
Down 62.3% in its seventh weekend
31st biggest seventh weekend (31st to take £1m+) between Jurassic World (£1,004,125) and Bohemian Rhapsody (£978,075). Other 7th weekends include Avatar £4,865,081; Titanic £3,010,921; The Greatest Showman £1,925,895; Spider-Man: No Way Home £1,778,556; No Time To Die £1,567,870; Casino Royale £1,417,179; Toy Story 4 £1,357,910; Star Wars: The Force Awakens £1,342,877; The Lion King £1,226,964; Black Panther £1,044,075; Dunkirk £935,980; Toy Story 3 £934,423; Beauty and the Beast £835,004 while Tenet took £296,049
15th biggest film in the UK (15th to take over £70m since Titanic in 1998) between Avengers: Infinity War and Mamma Mia! (close to Toy Story 3, Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story 4 and Star Wars: Rogue One) and 45th biggest inflation inflated between Moonraker and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (close to Flash Gordon, Quantum of Solace, Independence Day and Live and Let Die)
Took £4.3m (down 30.2%) in 6th week from 5th week (£5.6m) taking 62% (£2.66m) Fri-Sun down 21.1% (£4.24m) and 38% (£1.63m) Mon-Thurs down 0.9% (£2.25m) took £69.6m in 436 days
Biggest Paramount Pictures film in the UK ahead of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Shrek The Third and 4th biggest Paramount Pictures film between Shrek Forever After and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)
After 7 weeks Top Gun Maverick has taken similar BO as The Lion King £70,636,853; Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 2 £70,620,857; Beauty and the Beast £70,113,995; Toy Story 3 £69,878,376; Avenger Infinity War £69,563,230
In an interview with Playboy in 1990, Tom Cruise said he was dead against making a sequel to Top Gun saying “I want kids to know that that’s not the way war is – that Top Gun was just an amusement park ride, a fun film with a PG-13 rating that was not supposed to be reality. That’s why I didn’t go on and make Top Gun II and III and IV and V. That would have been irresponsible.”
In 1990 Tom Cruise starred in Days of Thunder which many believe was written originally as a Top Gun sequel but was adapted to NASCAR as at the time he wanted to make a NASCAR film and the plot is very similar to Top Gun and is also directed by Tony Scott.
In a recent interview, Miles Teller said he has been talking to Tom Cruise about a third film, after the huge success of Top Gun Maverick Paramount Pictures will surely want a Top Gun 3 and of course not wait another 36 years for it to happen when Tom Cruise will be 96. Tom Cruise stars in Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Parts 1 and 2 due for release in 2023 and 2024 and once he finishes filming them he is then due to make the first film shot in space with Doug Liman and then maybe Edge of Tomorrow 2? So Top Gun 3 is unlikely to happen before 2025.
- 5. Jurassic Dominion £560,166 –£31,739,573
Down 69.3% in its fifth weekend
124th biggest film in the UK (£134th film to take £30m+) between Incredibles and Slumdog Millionaire (close to Deadpool 2, iT, Thor: Ragnarok and The BFG) and 250th biggest inflation inflated between True Lies and Hot Fuzz (close to Pretty Woman, The Fugitive, Rain-Man and The Mummy).
5th biggest film of 2022 between Sing 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 2; 15th biggest Universal Pictures film between Sing 2 and Ted (close to Fifty Shades of Grey, Fast & Furious 7, Furious 8 and Sing) and 19th biggest inflation inflated between Mr Beans Holiday and Hot Fuzz.
Took £2.6m In its 4th week taking £1.82m Fri-Sun and £777k Mon-Thurs
Fifth weekends
In 2018 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom dropped #2 taking £1,318,104 from 612 screens down 34% with The First Purge #1 at £1,778,157
In 2015 Jurassic World held #3 £1,853,867 down 29% from 546 screens taking £57,148,254 90% of £63,674,773 with #1 Minions £4,154,359 3rd w/e and #2 Ted 2 £3,867,723 NE
Similar 5th weekend as Yesterday £613,000; Interstellar £610,289; The Martian £590,743; Lost in Translation £578,251; Black Widow £539,999; The Incredibles £530,750; Parasite £529,550
The first two Jurassic Park films had their biggest openings in 1993 and 1997 and Jurassic Park films have a much bigger appeal and wider audience than comic-book movies as they play to all generations those children who saw the original with their parents in 1993 and now their children.
Jurassic Park took 9.82x opening compared with 3.29x for Jurassic World; 2.9x for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom; 4.53x for The Lost World: Jurassic Park and 3.84x for Jurassic Park 3
The 6 Jurassic Park films have taken over £230m and almost £335m inflation inflated
Jurassic Park opened on July 16th at the start of the summer holidays and played in cinemas for almost a year taking £47,790,337 and £112m inflation inflated. 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park took £25.79m (£48.62m inflation inflated) and 2001’s Jurassic Park 3 took £18.1m (£33.54m inflation inflated)
Jurassic World Dominion will likely be released on PVOD at the end of the month.
Other Cinema News
June 2022 BO was £95.7m #1 Top Gun Maverick taking 39% (£37.17m); #2 Jurassic World Dominion taking 30% (£28.6m) #3 Lightyear 8% (£7.6m) #4 Elvis 7.5% (£7.2m) #5 Doctor Strange 2 2.5% (£2.4m) #6 Black Phone 2.1% (£2m) #7 Everything Everywhere All At Once 1.4% (£1.4m #8 Downton Abbey 2 1% (£1m)
May BO took about £93m with top 10 films taking 96% with Doctor Strange 2 taking £38.6m and Top Gun Maverick £21.3m 64% with 11.3m admissions this would see an average £8.23
Despite the huge success of Top Gun Maverick and the strong performance o Sonic the Hedgehog 2, The Lost City and Scream Universal Pictures are #1 studio in the UK with 24%
2022 UK BO January-June was £492.8m I industry expects BO for the year will be about £1.05bn similar to 2009; 2021 was £597m and 2020 £323m. With BO returning to pre-COVID levels in 2023 which was expected when cinemas shut after the first lockdown.
UK Distributor share estimates
Universal £130m 24%; Paramount £118m 22%; Warner £79m 16%; Disney £58m 12%; Sony £52m 10.5%;
In the US up to July 4, 2022, the year’s box office was $3.9bn up 250% from 2021, but down 32% from 2019; Summer box office to July 4th $1.96bn up almost 200% from 2021 but down only 15% from 2019 while average ticket price is up 5% since 2019 ($8.93 Vs $9.37)
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £20,163,540 up 3.1% from last weekend’s £19,545,955
66th biggest top 10 of the last 20 years (67th week to take £20m+) between 20 November 2009 #1 £11,683,158 (57.45% of top 10) and 04 July 2008 #1 Hancock £9,589,095 (47.58% of top 10) and 149th biggest inflation inflated between 24 May 2013 #1 £5,964,619 (34.1% of top 10) and 17 August 2001 #1 Planet of the Apes £5,445,983 (49.12% of top 10).
The weekend admissions were 2,681,322 up 3.1% from last week 2,599,196
Top 3 took £17,937,109 89% of the top 10; Thor: Love and Thunder 60.9% (£12,283,719); Minion: The Rise of Gru 21.5% (£4,327,537); Elvis 6.6% (£1,325,853;
Up 107.6% from 2021 (£9,713,818); Black Widow (£6,889,187); The Truffle Hunters (£14,300); #1 Black Widow £6,889,187 1st week 644 screens (70.92% of the top 10).
Up 7,519% from 2020 (£264,643) Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (40th Anniversary) (£50,406); Black Water: Abyss 10.6% (£28,053); #1 Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (40th Anniversary) £50,406 1st week
Down 18.4% from 2019 (£24,700,057); Spider-Man: Far From Home (£14,148,624); Westlife – The Twenty Tour Live (£899,488); Midsommar (£812,052); The Queen’s Corgi (£520,540); Anna (£198,391); Don’t Look Now (4K Restoration) (£13,977); #1 Spider-Man: Far From Home £14,148,624 1st week 635 screens (57.3% of top 10)
Up 261.9% from 2018: (£5,570,742); The First Purge (£1,778,157); The Beatles Yellow Submarine (50th Anniversary) (£163,155); Uncle Drew (£151,337); Whitney (£142,936); #1 The First Purge £1,778,157 1st week 481 screens (31.92% of top 10)
Up 14.5% from 2017: (£17,613,020); Spider-Man: Homecoming (£9,369,846); It Comes at Night (£226,688); Paw Patrol: Mission Big Screen (£42,460); #1 Spider-Man: Homecoming £9,369,846 1sr week 616 screens (53.2% of top 10)
Up 23.9% 2016: (£16,278,631); The Legend of Tarzan (£3,570,350); Now You See Me 2 (£2,964,641); The Neon Demon (£126,996); Maggie’s Plan (£102,534); #1 The Secret Life Of Pets £3,624,751 2nd week 612 screens 24% drop (22.2% of the top 10)
Up 48.7% 2015; (£13,559,349); Ted 2 (£3,867,723); Love & Mercy (£105,718); Song Of The Sea (£72,172); The Human Centipede 3 (£938); #1 Minions £4,154,359 3rd week 605 screens 33$ drop (30.6% of top 10)
Down 12.1% 2014: (£22,934,264); Transformers: Age of Extinction (£11,751,427); How to Train Your Dragon 2 (£7,779,040); Begin Again (£456,438); Boyhood (£332,834); #1 Transformers: Age of Extinction £11,751,427 1st week 533 screens (51.2% of top 10)
Up 90% from 2013 (£10,613,251); Now You See Me (£2,898,997); The Internship (£1,248,431); The Bling Ring (£141,425); A Field in England (£21,399); Chasing Mavericks (£21,985); #1 Despicable Me 2 £3,996,8372nd 539 screens (37.6% of top 10)
Up 43.1% from 2012 (£14,098,577); The Amazing Spider-Man (£11,091,972); Katy Perry: Part of Me (£449,491); #1 The Amazing Spider-Man £11,091,972 1st week 552 screens (78.6% of top 10)
Up 95.4% from 2011 (£10,318,687); The Guard (£473,878); The Tree of Life (£406,062); #1 Transformers: Dark of the Moon £4,750,519 2nd week 56% drop 522 screens (46.1% of top 10)
Down 7.1%: (£21,686,365); The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (£13,756,653); Predators (£2,203,193); Leaving (£35,532); #1 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse £13,756,653 1st week 523 screens (63.4% of top 10
Up 37.3% 2009; (£14,688,163); Bruno (£5,000,229); Fired Up (£30,691); #1 Bruno £5,000,229 1st week 456 screens (34.1% of top 10)
Up 21.3% from 2008; (£16,622,538); Mamma Mia! (£6,594,058); Journey to the Centre of the Earth (£953,878); Forbidden Kingdom (£676,217); #1 Mamma Mia! £6,594,058 1st week 496 screens (39.6% of top 10)
Up 65.2% from 2007: (£12,207,040); Die Hard 4.0 (£5,004,916); Dead Silence (£22,580); #1 Shrek the Third £5,084,641 2nd week 70% drop 538 screens (41.6% of top 10)
Up 14.9% from 2006; (£17,550,776); Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest (£13,740,784); District 13 (£98,747); #1 Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest £13,740,784 1st week 514 screens (78.3% of top 10)
Up 204% from 2005 (£6,632,112); The Descent (£570,850); #1 War of the Worlds £4,219,120 2nd week 506 screens 51% drop (63.6% of top 10)
Up 59.6% from 2004 (£12,636,832); Around the World in 80 Days (£1,631,963); Fahrenheit 9/11 (£1,304,115); Walking Tall (£356,193); Twisted (£108,235); #1 Shrek 2 £7,097,154 2nd week 512 screens 56% drop (56.1% of top 10)
Up 312.4% 2003 (£4,889,023); Daddy Day Care (£796,259); Veronica Guerin (£271,996); Whale Rider (£121,610); The In-Laws (£108,031); #1 Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle £1,581,273 2nd week 475 screens 52% drop (32.3% of top 10)
Up 151% from 2002 (£8,034,538); The Minority Report (£4,506,315); Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron (£719,681); #1 The Minority Report £4,506,315 1st week 426 screens (56.1% of top 10)
Next weekend 2021 (£5,617,410); Space Jam: A New Legacy (£1,363,556); The Forever Purge (£720,032); The Croods 2: A New Age (£696,563); Summer Of Soul (£62,562); #1 Black Widow £1,801,017 2nd week 649 screens (32.1% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Thor: Love and Thunder – Disney
Opened with $144.16m; received mixed reviews (67% Rotten Tomatoes better than Thor: The Dark World 66% but not as good as Thor: Ragnarok (93%) and B+ CinemaScore (similar to Thor while Ragnarok had A and The Dark World A-)
Had the 4th lowest Rotten Tomatoes score for MCU ahead of Eternals, Thor: The Dark World and The Incredible Hulk, with Black Widow #19 shows Phase 4 has been disappointing so far apart from Spider-Man No Way Home.
30th biggest opening between Jurassic World Dominion and The Twilight Saga: New Moon; #45 Thor: Ragnarok $122.74m; #94 Thor: The Dark World $85.73m; #159 Thor $65.72m
13th biggest MCU opening between Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 and Iron Man 2
Opened in 4,300 cinema including 412 IMAX, 900 PLF 2,500 3D, 270 4DX and 70 ScreenX locations.
37% of opening taken from IMAX/PLF similar to other tentpoles; took $13.8m from IMAX 10% of opening weekend BO
EntTelligence data showed most exhibitors increased prices for the film with AMC’s average of $15.05 and Regal $14.40 compared to an average of $13.48 while Cinemark was average was $12.25.
EntTelligence data said Thor: Love and Thunder was the 6th film during the pandemic to have over 10m admissions in its opening weekend, after Spider-Man: No Way Home (20.6m), Doctor Strange 2 (14m), Top Gun: Maverick (11.6m), Jurassic World Dominion (10.8m), and The Batman (10.1m); exhibitors would claim admissions are higher as they use their $9.37 average compared with EntTelligence which is up to 60% more.
Thor: Love and Thunder presales were $48m less than Doctor Strange 2‘s $85m opening with $187.4m; Thor 4‘s ticket sales were ahead of Top Gun: Maverick ($38m), The Batman ($42m) and Jurassic World Dominion ($40m).
53% bought their tickets the day when they saw the movie
Had the 14th biggest Thursday previews taking $29m between Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; Doctor Strange 2 took $36m #8 taking 19.2% of opening from previews; 5th biggest for MCU after Avengers: Endgame ($60m); Spider-Man: No Way Home ($50m), Avengers: Infinity War ($39m) and Doctor Strange 2 ($36m).
23rd biggest opening day taking $69.5m (including $29m previews) between The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Iron Man 3; #52 Thor: Ragnarok $46.5m; #103 Thor: The Dark World $31.9m; #145 Thor $25.5m
Compared Thor Ragnarok took $14.5m (12%); Thor: The Dark World $7.1m (8.2%) and Thor $3.25m (5% of opening) shows how Thursday previews have boosted openings over the last decade as fans are desperate to see the films as soon as possible to avoid spoilers.
The one positive of its lower-than-expected opening is it won’t become the latest member of the $100m loser club next week after mixed reviews and low CinemaScore, other members MCU Doctor Strange 2, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Avengers Infinity War, Avengers Assemble, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War and Iron Man 3.
The teaser trailer was released in April ahead of the release of Doctor Strange 2 (the normal schedule for MCU) and was viewed 209m times in 24 hours similar to Avengers Infinity War, Avengers Endgame and Spider-Man No Way Home which is why it’s opening should have been far bigger.
Ahead of the release, it was expected to open with $300m worldwide with $140m-$160m in the US and $150m internationally
2017’s Thor: Ragnarok opened $232m worldwide $122.74m in the US (53%) $109.1m internationally (47%); UK $16.2m: Korea $15.7m; Australia $8.4m; Brazil $8.1m; France $7.7m. opened 20% more than it was expected to do ($85m-$100m) which often happens with Disney films they lowball estimates ahead of the opening so films look like they are opening bigger than expected but they are opening as expected.
Thor: Ragnarok opened with $6m in 189 IMAX screens Thor: Love and Thunder opened on 400 IMAX screens
Thor: Love and Thunder is the last $100m+ opener until Black Panther 2 in November and Avatar 2 in December, there are a lot of films opening over the next few months but few are sure things.
2013’s Thor: The Dark World opened with $109.4m internationally (opened a week ahead of the US) from 36 territories
Other recent internationally openings are The Batman ($105m), Top Gun: Maverick ($115m), Jurassic World Dominion ($132m) and Doctor Strange 2 ($245m and $432.4m worldwide).
Opened with $159m from 47 territories and $302m worldwide; Korea $15.3m; UK $14.8m; Australia $13.8m; Mexico $11.8m; India $10.3m.
Had 3rd biggest opening during the pandemic and the 2nd biggest opening of 2022 after Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. Despite this has to be seen as a disappointing opening as MCU films would normally open with about 20% more than expectations.
Took $23m from IMAX worldwide including $9.2m internationally the 3rd biggest July opening
- Minions: The Rise of Guru
Dropped 57% in the second weekend taking $46.12m and $210.65m
74th biggest second weekend between Finding Nemo and Monsters University; #67 Minions $49.27m; #84 Despicable Me 2 $43.89m; #161 Despicable Me 3 $33.58m
38th biggest animated film between Dr Seuss’ The Lorax and Coco; 199th biggest film between It: Chapter Two and 300; 452nd biggest inflation inflated between Bad Boys II and Se7en; 26th biggest Universal Pictures film between Back to the Future and Fast Five.
EntTelligence had the highest average ticket price for an animated movie at $12.82; Lightyear ($12.45), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($11.76), The Bad Guys ($11.32) and Sing 2 ($10.69).
Despicable Me franchise has taken over $4bn worldwide since the first film was released in 2010
Second weekends
2015’s Minions dropped 57.4% $49.27m #2 and $215.76m 64.2% of $336.04m and $1.15bn worldwide 71% $823.39m internationally; (55% Rotten Tomatoes) #1 Ant-Man $57.22m 1st w/e
2017’s Despicable Me 3 dropped 53.6% $33.58m #2 and $148.77m 56.2% of $264.62m and $1.03bn worldwide 74% $770.17m internationally; (75% Rotten Tomatoes); #1 Spider-Man Homecoming $117.02m
2013’s Despicable Me 2 dropped 47.4% $43.89m #1 and $228.37m 52.1% of $368.06m and $970.76m worldwide 62% internationally $602.7m; (59% Rotten Tomatoes) #2 Grown-Up 2 $41.5m
2010’s Despicable Me dropped 41.8% $32.8m #2 and $118.43m 47.1% of $251.55m and $543.15m worldwide 53% internationally $291.6m; (81% Rotten Tomatoes); #1 Inception $62.78m 1st w/e
The 12 Illumination Entertainment films have taken almost $3bn in the US and over $7.53bn
Took $56.4m (down 41%) from 64 territories and $189.8m and $399.9m worldwide; UK $22.1m; Mexico $22.1m; Australia $20.2m; Germany $10.4m; Brazil $7.3m
67th biggest animated film worldwide between Ice Age: Collision Course and Ice Age; 326th biggest film worldwide between Snow White and the Huntsman and Tron: Legacy; 5th biggest 2022 film between The Batman and Fantastic Beasts 3; 40th biggest Universal Pictures film worldwide between Snow White and the Huntsman and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!
- Elvis – Warner Bros
Down 39% in the third weekend $11.18m and $91.3m
859th biggest film between Heaven is for Real and Back to School; 1,557th biggest inflation inflated between The Full Monty and Bad Santa; 13th biggest 2022 film between Fantastic Beasts 3 and Scream; 150th biggest Warner Bros film between Blade Runner 2049 and Space Jam.
As success breeds success but when a comic book opens with $180m+ it’s targeting only one demographic and its success predominantly only helps the next comic-book movie. There will then be 11 weeks before Black Adam opens and then Black Panther 2 opens two weeks later so there is room in the marketplace for many other films to find an audience this year.
Third weekend
1996’s Romeo + Juliet dropped 39.9% taking $5.42m ($11m inflation inflated) and $31.43m ($65m inflation inflated) taking $46.35m ($102m inflation inflated) and $147.54m worldwide ($325m inflation inflated)
2001’s Moulin Rouge dropped 34.2% $5.03m ($9m inflation inflated) 4th weekend (after two weeks on platform) and $36.62m ($57m inflation inflated) of $57.38m ($97m inflation inflated) and $179.21m worldwide ($303m inflation inflated)
2008’s Australia dropped 40.9% taking $4.16m ($6m inflation inflated) and $37.76m ($49m inflation inflated) of taking $49.55m ($67m inflation inflated) and $211.78m worldwide ($285m inflation inflated)
2013’s The Great Gatsby dropped 43.4% taking $13.54m and $114.27m of $144.85m and $353.65m worldwide 47
Took $8.7m (down 44%) taking $64m and $155.1m worldwide; UK $16.9m; Australia $14.8m; France $5m; Germany $3.1m; Japan $2.6m; 1,161st biggest film worldwide between Limitless and Scary Movie 3; 17th biggest 2022 film worldwide between Morbius and Scream; 187th biggest Warner Bros film between P.S., I Love You and Final Destination 5.
- Jurassic World Dominion
Down 47% in the fifth weekend taking $8.59m and $350.51m
93rd biggest 5th between Runaway Bride and Look Who’s Talking; #40 Jurassic Park ($10.86m); #35 Jurassic World ($11.45m);
66th biggest film between Transformers: Dark of the Moon and American Sniper; 158th inflation inflated between The Firm and Skyfall; 4th biggest 2022 film between The Batman and Minions: The Rise of Gru; 8th biggest Universal Pictures film between Furious 7 and Minions; #1 Jurassic World $652.3m; #3 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom $417.71m; #4 Jurassic Park $402.52m; #19 The Lost World: Jurassic Park $329.08m #31 Jurassic Park 3 $181.16m
As the 6 Jurassic Park films have taken $2.23bn in the US and $5.88bn worldwide while Jurassic World Dominion has been called the final Jurassic Park film it’s unlikely Universal Pictures won’t be making more films in the future Jurassic Universe?
Fifth weekends
2015’s Jurassic World dropped 37.9% $18.15m #2 taking $590.68m of $653.4m; $1.018bn internationally $1.671bn WW; #1 Minions $115.71m 1st w/e
2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom dropped 30.5% $11.26m #7 taking $384.16m of $417.71m; $892.74m internationally and $1.31bn WW;# 1 The Equalizer 2 $36.01m
1993’s Jurassic Park dropped 19.3% $15.31m ($36m inflation inflated) #2 taking $236.42m ($550m inflation inflated) of $357.06m ($860m inflation inflated) and $978.16m worldwide ($2.4bn inflation inflated); #1 The Firm $17.93m 2nd week
1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park dropped 35.6% to $8.03m ($16m inflation inflated) #4 taking $204.93m ($400m inflation inflated) of $229.08m ($422m inflation inflated) (third biggest film of 1997 behind Titanic $600.78m and Men in Black $250.69m); #1 Batman & Robin $42.87m
2001’s Jurassic Park 3 dropped 41% to $4.44m ($9m inflation inflated) #9 taking $172.66m ($310m inflation inflated) of $181.71m ($331m inflation inflated) (ninth biggest film of 2001) and $368.78m worldwide; #1 American Pie 2 $21.1m 2nd week
Took $15.5m (down 48%) from 72 territories taking $526.1m and $876.5m worldwide; China $144m; Mexico $42.3m; UK $38.7m; France $26m; Australia $23.6m; 74th biggest film worldwide between Spider-Man: Homecoming and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; 3rd biggest 2022 worldwide between Doctor Strange 2 and The Batman; 10th biggest Universal Pictures film worldwide between The Secret Life of Pets and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; #6 Jurassic Park $1.04bn; #3 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom $1.3bn; #1 Jurassic World $1.66bn
Took $53.5m from IMAX worldwide
- Top Gun: Maverick – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 40% in the seventh weekend taking $15.5m and $597.41m
16% have seen the film more than once in the cinema and 4% have seen it more than 4 times or more
6th biggest 7h weekend between Grand Torino and The Passion of the Christ; but as American Sniper, Grand Torino and Frozen had platform openings it had the 3rd biggest 7th weekend between Home Alone and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (Top Gun took $5.03m and $14m inflation inflated)
1986’s Top Gun took $5.03m in its 7th-weekend inflation inflated would be similar to Top Gun Maverick taking $72.4m 41% of $176.8m
12th biggest film between Incredibles 2 and The Lion King; 30th biggest inflation inflated between Incredibles 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest; 2nd biggest Paramount Pictures film in the US after Titanic. (Paramount will re-release Titanic next February for its 25th anniversary)
Currently, Paramount have a 25.84% share of the US BO taking $1,009bn biggest BO since 2011($1.96bn) but this shows how far the studio has dropped over the last decade as in 2011 they had Marvell and Dreamworks which along with Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol helped celebrate their 100th anniversary in style; Universal have 19.73%; Warner Bros 14.12%; Disney 13.41% Thor: Love and Thunder will see Disney become #2 studio by the end of the month
Paramount’s 2023 slate is probably their strongest for more than a decade with Transformers: Rise of the Beats, Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1, Scream 6 and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie.
Tom Cruise’s 42 films have taken almost $5bn in the US and $11.76bn worldwide; after Top Gun Maverick took $1bn+ globally Tom Cruise tweeted on Monday “To all the films in release, to all the studios, and all the exhibitors: congratulations. To the audience: thank you for venturing out and allowing us to entertain you.” See you at the movies.
Took $23m (down 38%) taking $586.2m and $1,184bn from 65 territories; the UK $87.9m; Japan $63.2m; Australia $55m; France $44.7m; Korea $37.8m; 25th biggest film worldwide between Aquaman and Spider-Man: Far From Home; 2nd biggest Paramount Pictures film between Titanic and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Has taken $96m IMAX ($52m from the US and $44m internationally
Top Gun Maverick is the 50th film to take $1bn+ since Jurassic Park in 1993; its Paramount’s first $1bn+ film globally since 2014’s Transformers: Age of Extinction (inflated with China BO)
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
This weekend was historically the start of the UK summer film box office as it was the weekend before school holidays started and studios would hold back films from early summer in the US to open this weekend in the UK, including films like Jurassic Park in 1993, Godzilla in 1998 and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 1999. Disney would also hold back their Pixar summer film that opened in June in the US to this weekend until Toy Story 4 in 2019 as they released The Lion King over this weekend.
This year all the big summer films have opened and the rest of the summer feels very soft are a few stand-out titles that will get audiences excited, this weekends-only major release is The Railway Children Return, the sequel to the beloved The Railway Children that delighted children of all ages in 1970.
While audiences will go and see the latest MCU no matter the weather a film like The Railway Children Returns will suffer with the hottest temperatures of the year this weekend, but if it manages to hold on to its screens over the coming weeks as 2016’s Swallows and Amazons remake received positive reviews (94% Rotten Tomatoes) opened with £676,175 #8 from 452 screens taking £3,021,437. While 2020’s The Secret Garden which was originally due to be released by Studiocanal was sold to Sky Cinema opening in October 2020 in the middle of the pandemic with £154,087 #3 from 196 screens taking £710,860. Being a Sky Cinema film major exhibitors refused to book it so its opening and its BO were very good at a time when BO was very soft.
Surprisingly, Studiocanal is opening The Railway Children Returns in mid-July as British family films perform far better in August or April after the Easter holidays and then before the May half-term, especially as it was originally due to open in April. Studiocanal had huge success with the adaption of another British children’s classic Paddington with two films and the third due to start filming soon.
But as seen by the soft performance of The Railway Children re-release taking £14,464 from 324 screens on Sunday for matinee even before the hot sunny weather it was going to be a massive challenge for the sequel as again being a legacy sequel is it for those children who saw the original in cinemas in 1971 now in their 60s or their grandchildren.
Like the previous Thor films Thor: Love and Thunder will drop upwards of 70% due to its 4-day opening, mixed reviews and being front-loaded despite no major releases opening over the next 3 weeks which will see it hold #1 until Bullet Train. Taking £3.6m-£4.5m similar to Shang-Chi, Thor: Ragnorok, Doctor Strange and Thor: The Dark World.
Minions: The Rise of Gru will drop 35%-45% in its third weekend taking £2.4m-£3m similar to the third-weekend drop as Sing 2 and Minions
Elvis and Top Gun Maverick will have 30%-40% drops in their 4th and 8th weekends taking £700k-£900k.
With Jurassic World Dominion likely to drop another 50% in its sixth weekend this could see The Railway Children Return open in the 5th. With only Where The Crawdads Sing, DC League Of Super-Pets and Bullet Train opening over the next three weeks word of mouth should keep it in the top 10 for a few weeks.
Opening next week
- Where The Crawdads Sing – Sony Pictures
Mystery drama based on the novel of the same name by Delia Owens starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, Michael Hyatt, Sterling Macer, Jr and David Strathairn and directed by Olivia Newman and produced by Reese Witherspoon.
Crawdads is produced by Elizabeth Gabler’s 3000 Pictures one of the first films she has made since Fox 2000 closed after 20th Century Fox was acquired by Disney. Fox 2000 had much success over the years making similar films like Where The Crawdads Sing original films targetting female audiences including The Devil Wear Prada, Hidden Figures, Life of Pi, The Fault in Our Stars, Marley & Me, In Her Shoes and Water For Elephants.
After a nostalgic heavy summer now has three original films that will hopefully build from their success as cinemagoers will have seen trailers for Where The Crawdads Sing, Nope and Bullet Train and choose to see these rather than going to see Top Gun Maverick for their dozenth time.
The novel sold over 12 million copies worldwide spending 150 weeks on the best-seller chart (was #1 for 27 non-consecutive weeks, was part of Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine book club and was back as the bestselling novel at Amazon when the last trailer was released at the end of May.
Taylor Swift’s original song Carolina features in the film
Similar film adaptions include The Girl on the Train, The Help, Gone Girl, The Secret Life of Bees
and upcoming The Nightingale, The Marsh King’s Daughter
And then for TV Normal People, Big Little Lies, The Woman in the Window, The Kite Runner
Where The Crawdads Sing was due to open at the end of August, a month after opening in the US likely to give it a talker screening program to build awareness but when David Leitch’s Bullet Train (previously directed Hobbs & Shaw, Deadpool 2 and Atomic Blonde) starring Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock (recently starred together in The Lost City) to August 5th) was moved forward probably after seeing the film and knowing that it would get mixed t poor reviews that would hurt it if delayed more than a week.
It all depends on if the 12m who have read the book want to see the film as reviews have sai if you like the book then could enjoy the film more but this highights the problem when adapting books as not all books make good films and many readers are disapponited when they see the film adaptation as it’s not how they imagined it to be .
Daisy Edgar-Jones starring in the hugely popular Normal People shown on BBC1 in summer 2020 and started in the well-received rom-com horror Fresh last year, released straight to Disney+.
2011’s The Help opened with #7 £896,597 from 294 screens (including £271,336 previews) taking £3,865,125 (£4,796,327 inflation inflated)
