- Black Adam – £5,655,002 – NE
Took £1.77m (31.3%) from Friday (58% share of top 5); 9% from 63 IMAX screens £160k; £2.1m (37.1%) Saturday and £1.7m (31%) Sunday
Took (£5,176,896) 92.6% from 2D; £412,308 (7.4%) from IMAX
235th biggest opening between Clash of the Titans and Austin Powers in Goldmember (close to F9 (£6,014,132), The Blair Witch Project (£5,875,318), Paul (£5,517,121) and Planet of the Apes (£5,445,983) and 377th biggest inflation inflated between The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Pirates of the Caribbean 5 (close to Speed (£2,310,237), Seven (£2,628,821), Ghostbusters (£1,250,000) and Armageddon (£2,768,975).
50th biggest comic-book opening between Shang-Chi and Iron Man (close to Venom 2 (£6,167,833), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (£6,037,850), Eternals (£5,456,577) and Thor (£5,449,300) and 66th biggest inflation inflated between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) and Ant-Man and The Wasp (close to Batman (£2,058,159), Fantastic Four (2005) (£3,541,391), The Mask (£2,034,434) and Superman III (£1,103,312).
9th biggest 2022 opening between Fantastic Beasts 3 and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (close to Uncharted, Elvis and Lightyear).
8th biggest DC Extended Universe film between Wonder Woman and Aquaman
43rd biggest Warner Bros opening between Clash of the Titans and Interstellar (close to Inception, Dune, Tenet and Batman and Robin) and 65th biggest inflation inflated between Ready Player One and Pokemon Dlyletective Pikachu (close to Lethal Weapon 3 (£2,531,653), The Bodyguard (£2,348,330), Interview with the Vampire (£2,334,399) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (£1,506,863).
UK opening was 8.4% of US often the case with comic-book films that don’t have previews despite the industry using 10% as a guide for UK Vs US opening.
It had the biggest opening since Thor: Love and Thunder (£12,283,719) showing how BO is being affected by comic-book movies as the problem over the last decade its success of one comic-book movie leads to success for the next. As all of these films target the same demographic who rush out to see them over the opening weekend, so the films break the latest BO record but then often see big drops the following weekend, which will be the case next weekend.
The one recent exception was the 8 weeks between Doctor Strange 2 and Thor when Top Gun: Maverick allowed success to spread into several other films. The problem is BO is being split by fewer films as cinemagoers have become far more selective with the films they see in cinemas and those they wait to see unless they have subscription cinema when they are going to the cinema 100-200 times a year.
Find it strange that Black Adam opening was seen as positive when you compare it to similar-sized openings that were seen as disappointing including last year’s Eternals (£5,456,577) having similar Rotten Tomato scores of 47% Vs 39% for Black Adam and inflation-inflated opening of 2005’s Fantastic Four.
Putting Black Adam opening into perspective took only £714,436 more than 1997’s Batman and Robin £4,940,566 (£9,808,298 inflated) taking £14,676,429 (£29,136,498 inflated) and £940,849 more than 1995’s Batman Forever (£4,714,153) taking £19,915,659 (£46,240,955 inflated); other inflated Batman openings 1989’s Batman £7,137,307; 1992’s Batman Returns £6,984,533; 1995’s Batman Forever £10,945,505
The problem is films are being called hits after their opening weekends when their global opening takes close to their budget despite everyone knowing a film like Black Adam will drop 60% in its second weekend. Black Adam’s budget might be $195m but its marketing costs along with reshoots and delays add $150m+ to costs so Black Adam would need to take $600m+ worldwide to be profitable. Since cinemas reopened after the lockdown industry has been calling out films being hits like Tenet and Dune that would have been seen as disappointments previously as both should have taken closer to double their totals.
Over the last 2 years costs across the board have increased from film budgets, marketing, distribution, exhibitor and tickets, while many of these films’ BO are being artificially inflated by IMAX/PLF surcharges taking upwards of 40% of their BO, with Avatar: The Way of Water 80%+ of BO coming from 3D IMAX/PLF with much more than original film for IMAX as are now hundreds more IMAX cinemas globally since 2009. (In the UK there were less than 10 in 2009 and now 52 with these films taking about 10% of their openings from those cinemas.
The 11th film of the DC Extended Universe and a spin-off from 2019’s Shazam! and the third DC film released this year after The Batman and DC League of Super-Pets. It’s the sixth comic-book film released this year with Black Panther Wakanda Forever still to open with nine set for release next year with three DC films Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
As always happens premiere reaction was positive for Black Adam but always must take that with a pinch of salt as audiences react immediately after seeing the film and get caught up in the hype. Critical response was far different when the embargo ended on October 19th, two days before opening.
It was impossible to compare Black Adam opening recent DC films Wonder Woman 1984 and Birds of Prey, likewise, compare it with Joker (£12,555,328) or The Batman (£13,531,854) instead of Wonder Woman (£6,179,616); Aquaman (£5,230,285); Shazam! (£4,067,068).
While Dwyane Johnson and Jaume Collet-Serra recently worked together on 2021’s Jungle Cruise opened £2,241,651 taking £12,487,739,87 Black Adam is much darker and unlikely to have similar legs. There were reports the first test screening of Black Adam assessed as low as Batgirl which was scrapped due to its low score and also similar to Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Selected Dwayne Johnson openings (not including Fast & Furious or Jumanji)
2019’s Hobbs & Shaw opened £6,377,583 taking £20,448,914
2018’s Skyscraper opened £1,829,830 taking £5,454,205
2018’s Rampage opened £4,109,247 taking £8,695,722
2016’s Central Intelligence opened £3,050,261 taking £8,459,045
2015’s San Andreas opened £4,628,394 taking £11,316,171
Dwayne Johnson Black Adam character is similar to The Scorpion King in 2001’s The Mummy Returns (opened £5,929,146 (£11,571,860 inflated) taking £20,390,060 (£39,795,093 inflated) and spinoff The Scorpion King in 2002 (opened £1,610,794 (£3,143,772 inflated) taking £4,944,146 (£9,649,444 inflated).
The combination of comic-book movie and Dwyane Johnson film should have attracted a wider demographic, but the problem is the audience demographic for both is the same
Black Adam was originally rated an R and had to reduce the number of characters Black Adam killed in the film from 10 to 5 to get it a PG-13 having to lose several great moments according to producers get the lower rating. This has been noticeable in the film feeling like it needs to be a higher certificate but the studio demanded a PG-13 (12A) and won’t be the film fans want it to be.
Blade Adam will have a second-weekend drop similar to Shazam! (47%); Aquaman (54%); Man of Steel (55%); Justice League (59%) lower than Suicide Squad (62%) and Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (68%) and likely to be front-loaded with Black Panther Wakanda Forever opening in two weeks.
Black Adam took 47.1% of the top 10 BO and 70% of the BO of the 19 new releases over the weekend highlighting again that audiences might be returning to the cinema to see the biggest films but they aren’t seeing many others , the divide between the biggest 20 films of the year and the rest is getting wider.
- 2. The Banshees of Inisherin – £1,643,220 – NE
Included £90,693 from previews
Took £500k from Friday (30.4% of opening); the film opened #1 in Ireland
992nd biggest opening between Big Fish and Blade (close to Green Book, Cape Fear, Atonement and The Accountant) and 1,586th inflation inflated between Silent Hill and Parental Guidance (close to Lethal Weapon (£444,098), Rob Roy (£711,111), Gosford Park (£837,169) and Boogie Nights (£805,839).
Martin McDonagh’s first film since Oscar won Three Billboards in 2018 and also directed 2012’s Seven Psychopaths and 2008’s In Bruges.
Bruges opened in the UK in April 2008 with £638,654 #3 (after opening in Ireland for 6 weeks taking £2.2m) from 270 screens taking £4,729,687 (taking about 50% of its BO from Ireland from about 60 screens).
Dropped 36% in second weekend #5 £408,109 from 259 screens and £3,554,199; dropped 27% in third w/e #7 £296,972 from 233 screens and £4,065,217; dropped 65% in fourth w/e #8 £103,252 and £4,326,430.
2012’s Seven Psychopaths opened £1,121,679 (including £301,551 previews) taking £3,141,163
2018’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri opened £2,361,782 #3(including £190,281 previews) from 484 screens (opened same weekend as Darkest Hour £4,058,356 from 605 screens); dropped 31% in second weekend (25% not including previews) £1,621,878 #6 added 37 screens to 521 and £5,232,135 34.3% of £15,238,741.
Dropped 23% third w/e £1,249,691 from 448 screens #7 and £7,605,591 staying in the top 10 for 7 weeks; played in the top 15 for 11 weeks until the end of March taking £143,670 #14 in 11th w/e from 181 screens £14,693,527 96.4% of £15,238,741.
After the success of Three Billboards opening in January ahead of award success, it was surprising The Banshees of Inisherin didn’t have a similar release, as January opening is far more lucrative with BAFTA and Oscar nominations and award contenders having longer legs often playing through till March. By opening in October it limits its chances of a long cinema release.
As Three Billboards the film had its UK premiere at the London Film Festival after premiering at the Venice International Film Festival last month receiving critical acclaim praising Colin Farrell’s performance and Martin McDonagh’s script seen as a major Oscar contender.
Surprised to see the film opening the same day in the UK as the US after the success Three Billboards had holding it back to January allowing it to build on from the momentum of award season as the end of October is crowded with family and horror films for the half-term and Halloween.
The Banshees Of Inisherin is one of the three films made by Searchlight Pictures seen as award contenders this year with The Menu opening in November directed by Mark Mylod and Empire of Light in December directed by Sam Mendes. All three films were launched at film festivals last month.
While the film opened immediately wide in the UK (in 550 screens) it opened on 4 screen platform release, expanding over the next two weeks, expanding into 50 and 800 screens, films regularly had platform releases in the UK up to the 90s but rarely do now, while in the US these films still have platform release to build momentum and word of mouth.
- 3. Lyle, Lyle Crocodile – £1,436,154 – £4,920,515
Down 48.4% in its second weekend (16.3% not including previews)
Had the 647th biggest second between The Smurfs and The World’s End (close to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Back to the Future Part II, The Rugrats Movie and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) and 1,138th biggest inflation inflated between Ocean’s Eight and World Trade Centre (close to The LEGO Ninjago Movie, Scrooged, Onward and Daddy Day Care).
43rd biggest family film opening between Peter Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Karate Kid (close to Hook, Doctor Dolittle, Stuart Little and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) and 77th biggest family film inflated opening between The Muppets Christmas Carol and Cruella (close to The Borrowers, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, Garfield and Beethoven).
Other live-action animated CGI family second weekend include
2004’s Garfield dropped 35.5% £741,371 (£1,334,138 inflated) and £3,363,449 38.4% of £8,762,150 (£15,767,967)
1995’s Casper dropped 23.6% £1,253,042 (£2,909,362 inflated) and £4,751,167 29.8% of £15,965,083 (£39,691,653)
1998’s Doctor Dolittle dropped 51.2% £1,511,007 (£3,029,513 inflated) and £7,209,140 36.3% of £19,854,598 (£39,807,730)
1999’s Stuart Little dropped 17.4% £1,398,922 (£2,568,929 inflated) and £6,436,379 36.1% of £17,828,403 (£32,739,431)
2002’s Scooby-Doo dropped 51% £2,513,564 (£4,905,700 inflated) and £9,420,817 44.2% of £21,333,007 (£41,635,434)
2007’s Alvin and the Chipmunks dropped 4.5% £1,370,313 and £3,653,124 33% of £11,080,538 (£17,728,861)
2007’s Charlotte’s Web up 0.1% £1,895,160 and £6,192,820 57.7% of £10,738,495 (£17,181,592)
2011’s Yogi Bear dropped 24.7% £1,370,585 and £3,862,364 44.8% of £8,625,654 (£11,500,872)
2014’s Paddington dropped 25.1% £3,837,885 and £10,332,911 27.2% of £37,916,343
2018’s Peter Rabbit dropped 36.8% £4,595,239 and £13,639,088 33.2% of £41,100,000
2021’s Clifford the Big Red Dog dropped 40.8% £766,122 and £2,380,042 23.7% of £10,052,296
1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit dropped 15% £1,280,841 (£4,499,650 inflated) and £3,911,019 25% of £15,612,005 (£54,845,652)
1,367th biggest between Memphis Belle and The Princess Diaries (close to Tomorrowland – A World Beyond, The Scorpion King, Return of the Jedi (R97) and Corpse Bride) and 1,876th biggest inflation inflated between Power Rangers and Defiance (close to Ron’s Gone Wrong, Galaxy Quest, Uncle Buck and Teen Wolf Too).
Sony has had success opening children’s films in Sept/Oct over recent years including Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs dropped 11.4% £1,402,854 and £3,436,639 58.4% of £5,881,661; Hotel Transylvania dropped 41% £1,023,722 and £3,375,280 43.7% of £7,722,310 and Goosebumps dropped 60.1% £1,072,028 and £4,180,487 48.7% of £8,575,763.
Those three animated films have stayed in the top 10 much longer than they would have normally due to the lack of any other children’s films. Minions: The Rise Of Gru and DC League Of Super-Pets has been available to watch at home on VOD for the last month but people still have opted to see them in the cinema, this was similarly the case when cinemas reopened the first time when cinemagoers went to see Onward and Trolls World Tour in cinemas and Encanto still attracted audiences in cinemas more than a month after being released on Disney+.
Half-term this week and Lyle, Lyle Crocodile is the only family film being released, normally there are about three openings over the weekends ahead of half-term, but this year it hasn’t got any competition for 4 weeks until Disney’s Strange World and Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical opens at the end of November (released by Netflix elsewhere in the world.
Children have grown up with the Lyle, Lyle Crocodile books since the first one were released in 1965 but they aren’t as popular in the UK as the US, so it was then surprising it opened better in the UK than the US, but many family films apart from Minions: The Rise of Gru have struggled to find an audience this year in the US.
The film features original songs written by composers of the songs for The Greatest Showman, they also wrote the songs for La La Land and Dear Evan Hanson.
- 4. Smile – £996,477 – £9,018,685
Down 29.9% in its fourth weekend
20th biggest 2022 film between Don’t Worry Darling and Ticket To Paradise (close to Bullet Train, The Lost City, Nope and Scream).
957th biggest film between Alien Resurrection and Prisoners (close to Judge Dredd, The Matrix Resurrections, Rush Hour and The Fifth Element) and 1,508th inflation inflated between The Green Hornet and The Other Boleyn Girl (close to The Witches (1990), The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The Crow and Contagion).
26th biggest horror between Us and Final Destination 3 (close to Paranormal Activity, The Ring, Scream (1997) and Halloween) and 55th biggest horror inflated between The Fly and Annabelle (close to Scream 3, My Bloody Valentine, The Ring Two and Nightmare on Elm Steet III).
What helped Smile break out was its very strong marketing campaign which went viral and the success of recent female horrors Scream and Bodies, Bodies, Bodies. Horror has had a long history of films with a female lead with Jamie Lee Curtis returning for her last Halloween film later this month 44 years after the first film.
Similar 4th-weekend horrors include (originals do not reboot)
2003’s The Ring dropped 46% £688,234 and £8,172,646 88.4% of £9,246,275 (£16,826,555 inflation inflated)
1997’s Scream dropped 29% £683,968 and £5,472,626 66.3% of £8,247,094 (£16,372,609 inflation inflated)
2004’s The Grudge dropped 45% £439,726 and £7,175,344 92.6% of £7,743,528 (£13,934,901 inflation inflated)
- 5. Halloween End – £703,338 – £3,658,659
Down 66.7% in its second weekend
1,480th biggest second weekend between War Dogs and Sleeping With The Enemy (close to The Hills Have Eyes, Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension 3D, Fantastic Four (2015) and Snakes on a Plane) and 1,861st biggest inflated between Sunshine, Body of Evidence, Dog Soldiers and A Clockwork Orange (re-issue).
96th biggest horror second weekend between Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension 3D and Insidious Chapter 3 (close to Scream 4, The Hills Have Eyes, The Black Phone and Don’t Breathe) and 128th biggest inflated horror between Pet Sematary (2019) and Witches of Eastwick (close to Blair Witch 2, The Frighteners, The Purge and Evil Dead).
100th biggest horror between The Unborn and The Lawnmower Man (close to I Know What You Did Last Summer, Don’t Breathe, Stigmata and House on Haunted Hill) and 134th biggest inflation inflated between Unfriended and Ghost Ship (close to The Black Phone, Don’t Breathe, Sinister 2 and Underworld 3).
37th biggest 2022 between Mrs Harris Goes To Paris and Dog (close to The Black Phone and The Northman).
1,633rd biggest between Just Married and Hide and Seek (close to Snakes on a Plane, Leon, Flatliners (1990) and The Lawnmower Man) and 2,058th biggest inflation inflated between The Butterfly Effect and Ender’s Game (close to Snake Eyes, Breakdown, Unlawful Entry and Broadcast News).
2021’s Halloween Kills dropped 44.17% £771,657 and £3,195,777 69.5% of £4,594,478
2018’s Halloween dropped 36.82% £1,678,162 and £5,854,328 71.6% of £8,171,544
It was promoted as the final film in the H40 trilogy, but this film series never end and there will likely be another reboot celebrating the film’s 50th anniversary in 6 years.
Halloween End opened in a far less crowded marketplace than Halloween Kills last year opening third behind No Time To Die at £8,404,165 (third weekend and Venom: Let There Be Carnage at £6,167,833 and 2018’s Halloween behind the third weekend of A Star is Born and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween and Johnny English Strikes.
Film News
UK admissions topped 90.7m until the end of September up 157.6% from 2021 but down 29.7% from 2019. Much will depend on Black Panther Wakanda Forever and Avatar: The Way of Water matching the BO totals of the original films if BO will top £1bn for 2022 and admissions will top 130m which will be down 25% if BO will top industry expectations.
When Black Panther opened in 2018 and Avatar in 2009, they became a global phenomenon attracting audiences beyond their demographics, the sequels are likely to play more to their target demographics and not have the legs of the original films.
Black Panther Wakanda Forever will open about 20% less than the original but Avatar: The Way of Water will likely open to about double, due to the rise in IMAX/PLF screens. That said it opens the weekend of the World Cup Final in Qatar when over 1.2bn people will be watching globally on Sunday.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £12,015,544 up 27.1% from last weekend’s £9,458,247: 1,487,072 admissions up 27.1% from 1,170,575
403rd biggest top 10 of the last 21 years (out of 1,071) between 16 January 2009 #1 Slumdog Millionaire £2,630,820 (21.9% of top 10) and 11 March 2016 #1 Kung Fu Panda 3 £4,771,131 (39.7% of top 10) and 725th biggest inflation inflated between 09 April 2010 #1 Clash of the Titans £2,441,682 (27.6% of top 10) and 12 May 2017 #1 Alien: Covenant £5,178,531 (46.5% of top 10).
Top 3 took £8,734,376 72.7% of the top 10; Black Adam 47.1% (£5,655,002); The Banshees Of Inisherin 13.7% (£1,643,220); Lyle, Lyle Crocodile 11.9% (£2,783,562);
Down 31.8% from 2021 (£17,614,556); Dune (£5,876,892); The Boss Baby 2 (£1,193,115); The French Dispatch (£867,672); Dear Evan Hansen (£236,397); #1 Dune £5,876,892 1st week 657 screens (33.4% of top 10)
Up 821.6% from 2020 (£1,303,830); Two By Two: Overboard! (£329,265); Honest Thief (£254,267); The Secret Garden (£154,087); Pixie (£116,517); All My Life (£50,489); Cinema Paradiso (30th Anniversary 4K Restoration) (£28,320); #1 Two By Two: Overboard! £329,265 1st week 339 screens
Down 18.3% from 2019 (£14,701,611); Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil (£3,300,000); Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (£1,305,511); Zombieland: Double Tap (£1,242,352); Official Secrets (£537,990); The Shining (Re: 2019) (£18,191); #1 Joker £5,489,716 44% drop 3rd weekend 682 screens
Down 16.4% from 2018: (£14,380,280); Halloween (£2,656,097); Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (£2,119,165); Hunter Killer (£368,082); Samson Et Dalila – Met Opera 2018 (£176,889); Fahrenheit 11/9 (£56,814); #1 A Star is Born £2,883,000 2nd week 663 screens 7% drop (20.1% of top 10)
Up 22.8% from 2017: (£9,783,969); Geostorm (£1,625,895); Happy Death Day (£998,388); The Death of Stalin (£995,458); My Little Pony (£916,123); Paw Patrol: Big Screen Tails (£35,332); Marshall (£14,967); The Princess Bride (30th Anniversary) (£1,128); #1 Blade Runner 2049 £1,791,027 3rd week 2nd #1 (w1 and w3) 617 screens (18.3% of the top 10)
Down 22.2% from 2016: (£15,448,907); Trolls (£5,440,878); Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (£2,688,561); Ouija: Origin of Evil (£779,626); I, Daniel Blake (£444,800); Keeping Up with the Joneses (£271,306); Don Giovanni – Met Opera 2016 (£254,469); Queen of Katwe (£73,754); #1 Trolls £5,440,878 1st week 608 screens (35.2% of the top 10)
Up 10.6% from 2015; (£10,858,414); Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension 3D (£1,472,427); #1 Hotel Transylvania 2 £2,275,612 588 screens down 64% 2nd week
Up 11% from 2014: (£10,824,678); Fury (£2,692,786); The Book of Life (£981,432); Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (expansion) (£571,581); Love, Rosie (£482,535); The Babadook (£347,512); This Is Where I Leave You (£109,441); Serena (£95,109); #1 Fury £2,692,786 1st week 462 screens (24.8% of top 10)
Down 4.1% from 2013: (£12,528,593); Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (£3,658,618); Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (£1,940,476); Ender’s Game (£1,158,548); One Chance (£717,857); The Selfish Giant (£81,737); Reef 2: High Tide (£26,910); Closed Circuit (£19,998); #1 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 £3,658,618 1st week 510 screens (29.2% of top 10)
Down 18.1% from 2012 (£14,670,714); Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (£6,030,904); Paranormal Activity 4 (£2,544,701); Frankenweenie (expansion) (£741,683); Beasts of the Southern Wild (£181,801); #1 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted £6,030,904 1st week 532 screens (41.1% of top 10)
Up 7.1% from 2011 (£11,227,673); Paranormal Activity 3 (£3,405,036); Contagion (£1,463,638); Monte Carlo (£237,469); Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (£33,605); Restless (£11,270); #1 Paranormal Activity 3 £3,405,036 1st week 390 screens (30.3% of top 10)
Down 2.1% from 2010: (£12,266,017); Paranormal Activity 2 (£3,764,722); RED (£1,662,472); Legend of the Guardians (£737,444); Alpha and Omega (£643,425); Easy A (£277,975); Africa United (£177,827); Ramona and Beezus (£84,475); #1 Paranormal Activity 2 £3,764,722 1st week 389 screens (30.7% of top 10)
Up 15% from 2009; (£10,454,829); Saw VI (£1,736,287); Fantastic Mr. Fox (£1,517,312); Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (£798,641); The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (£35,362); #1 Up £3,807,003 3rd week 549 screens 26% drop (31.1% of top 10)
Down 24.1% from 2008; (£15,824,329); High School Musical 3 (£8,409,375); Saw V (£2,436,817); Ghost Town (£1,347,678); Incendiary (£18,964); #1 High School Musical 3 £8,409,375 1st week 493 screens (53.1% of top 10)
Up 12.1% from 2007: (£10,717,468); Saw IV (£2,482,889); Eastern Promises (£623,491); Sicko (£156,173); #1 Ratatouille £3,056,938 2nd week 525 screens 19% drop (33.5% of top 10)
Up 41.6% from 2006; (£8,486,228); Barnyard: The Original Party Animals (£1,022,890); The Guardian (£826,569); The Grudge 2 (£773,422); The Last Kiss (£431,071); Marie Antoinette (£283,883); #1 The Departed £1,456,564 3rd week 2nd #1 358 screens 14% drop (17.1% of top 10)
Up 6.1% from 2005 (£11,324,493); Nanny McPhee (£2,603,834); Corpse Bride (£1,150,464); Sky High (£646,569); Broken Flowers (£395,880); Dreamer (£149,058); #1 Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit £4,666,723 2nd week 499 screens 50% drop (41.2% of top 10)
Down 24.5% from 2004 (£9,648,812); Alien vs Predator (£2,003,663); Alfie (£1,314,156); The Princess Diaries 2 (expansion) (£807,008); #1 Shark Tale £3,199,963 2nd week 504 screens 58% drop (33.1% of top 10)
Up 17.1% from 2003 (£10,261,167); Intolerable Cruelty (£1,555,684); Second-hand Lions (£200,851); #1 Finding Nemo £3,887,996 4th week 3rd #1 501 screens 34% drop (37.9% of top 10)
Up 32.8% from 2002 (£9,046,691); XXX (£3,435,891); Slap Her, She’s French (£210,321); All Or Nothing (£164,291); The Powerpuff Girls (£92,007); #1 XXX £3,435,891 1st week 435 screens (37.9% of top 10)
Up 27% from 2001 (£9,463,581); America’s Sweethearts (£1,719,897); Jeepers Creepers (£1,533,151); Atlantis (expansion) (£1,282,458); Brotherhood of the Wolf (£123,245); #1 American Pie 2 £2,823,776 2nd week 420 screens 49% drop (29.8% of top 10);
Next weekend 2021 (£14,743,119); Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone (20th Anniversary) (£965,008); Last Night In Soho (£731,950); Antlers (£251,100); My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission (£218,956); Cliff Richard – The Great 80 Tour (£157,345); Blade (4K Restoration) (£20,342); #1 No Time To Die £3,514,308 5th week 4th split #1 (23.8% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Black Adam – Warner Bros
Opened $67m; received poor reviews (43% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore (similar to The Suicide Squad, Birds Of Prey, WW84 and Justice League.
155th biggest opening between Rush Hour 2 and World War Z (close to The Mummy Returns, Aquaman, X-Men: Apocalypse and Captain America: The First Avenger).
Had the biggest opening for a Dwayne Johnson leading film (not including ensemble films The Mummy Returns and Fast & Furious films) but while Black Adam might star Dwayne Johnson it needs to be compared to other comic-book films as the target audience should be much wider.
The industry seems to have lowballed expectations of film openings since cinemas reopened after COVID despite all costs increasing since from production, marketing, distribution, and exhibitor costs along with ticket price increases. As with other similar films, 35%+ came from IMAX/PLF formats.
Took $7.6m from Thursday previews starting at 3 pm.
More than Dwyane Johnson’s Fast and Furious 6 $7.5m; Hobbs & Shaw $5.8m; Jumanji: The Next Level $4.7m; San Andreas $3.1m and Rampage $2.4m.
Also, more than comic-book movies Ant-Man $6.4m; Shazam $5.9m and Morbius $5.7m but less than Aquaman $9m; Man of Steel $9m; Venom $10m; Wonder Woman $11m; Venom: Let There Be Carnage $11.6m; Justice League $13m; Joker $13.3m
Took $26.8m from Friday 64% males (including $7.6m previews) 410th single day BO between Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (close to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Star Trek, Venom and X-Men: Apocalypse.
Took 35% from IMAX ($6.3m) /PLF screens
Two weeks ago, Black Adam was tracking to open between $70m-$75m similar to 2018’s Venom ($80.25m) but after receiving poor reviews dropped to $65m+ early last week.
2019’s Shazam! opened $53.5m taking $140.48m and $366.08m WW
2018’s Aquaman opened $67.87m taking $335.1m and $1.138bn WW
Will likely drop 60%+ in its second weekend
IMAX took $10.8m (7.7%) globally and included $4.5M (6.2%) internationally from 343 screens.
Opened with $75.9m from 76 territories and $142.9m worldwide
- Halloween Ends – Universal Pictures
Dropped 80% taking $8.02m and $54.19m
Exhibitors will blame the huge drop on the film being available on Peacock, but Halloween Ends had poor reviews (39% Rotten Tomatoes), low audience score (57%) and C+ CinemaScore so was always going to be very front-load. What made Halloween Ends drop even more than Halloween Kills last year is the stronghold of Smile.
16th biggest second-weekend drop between Friday the 13th and Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace
2021’s Halloween Kills dropped 70.8% by $14.45m and $73.05m of $92m and $131.64m worldwide
2018’s Halloween dropped 58.8% by $31.41m and $126.07m of $159.34m and $255.61m worldwide
The 13 Halloween films have taken $615m+ in the US and $833m worldwide since the first film was released in 1978.
Universal Pictures are currently #1 studio in the US taking $1.36bn 22.7%; Paramount Pictures $1.27bn 21.2%; Disney $880.9m 14.7%; Warner Bros $837m 14%; Sony $807m 13.4%; With Adam Warner Bros will top $1bn by November and then with Black Panther Wakanda Forever, Strange World and Avatar: The Way of Water this will push Disney’s 2022 BO to about $2.5bn.
Dropped 62% internationally taking $6.6m from 75 territories $28.2m total and $82.4m worldwide
- Ticket To Paradise – Universal Pictures
Opened with $16.33m; received mixed reviews (59% Rotten Tomatoes) and A- CinemaScore
After opening with $16.3m Ticket To Paradise industry reaction was it was a sign romcoms can still find audiences in cinemas, but the opening was almost half of 2022’s The Lost City opened at $30.45m taking $105.34m. While it might be higher than many other George Clooney and Julia Roberts films but would be lower than their inflation-inflated openings.
Unusually for a film opening, none of the highest-grossing cinemas was from New York with Lincoln Square #11
Took $1.1m from Thursday previews 71% female, 61% 35+, 44% 45+
Rom-coms have struggled at the box office over the last decade as they were 32 years ago when they were at their peak when Julia Roberts starred in Pretty Woman.
242nd biggest rom-com between The Perfect Man and That Old Feeling.
Selective George Clooney films
1996’s One Fine Day opened $6.22m taking $46.15m and $97.52m WW; disappointed in the US opening the week after Jerry Maguire in December 1996
2003’s Intolerable Cruelty opened $12.52m taking $35.32m and $120.8m WW
2009’s Up In The Air opened $11.27m (wide) taking $83.82m and $166.84m WW
1998’s Out of Sight opened $12.02m taking $37.56m and $77.74m WW
Selective Julia Roberts films
1990’s Pretty Woman opened $11.28m taking $178.4m and $463.4m WW
1997’s My Best Friend’s Wedding opened $21.67m taking $127.12m and $299.28m WW
1999’s Runaway Bride opened $35.05m taking $152.25m and $309.46m WW
2001’s America’s Sweethearts opened $30.18m taking $93.6m and $138.3m WW
George Clooney and Julia Roberts previously worked together on 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven 2002’s Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (took $16m) 2004’s Ocean’s Twelve and 2016’s Money Monster opened $14.78m and $41.01m and $93.28m WW
The producers of the film described it as a kind of sequel to 1990s rom coms like Notting Hill (opened $21.81m and $116.08m and $363.88m WW); 1994’s Four Wedding and a Funeral opened $3.94m (after 4 weeks platform) and $52.7m
Took $73m internationally over five weeks ahead of the US and is released on VOD in the UK this week.
Took $5.1m from 78 territories $80.6m total and $97.1m; 1,742nd biggest worldwide between Philomena and Black Mass; 37th biggest 2022 between Everything Everywhere All At Once and Downton Abbey: A New Era; 83rd biggest rom com between How to be Single and French Kiss; 219th biggest Universal Pictures film between Street Fighter and Bowfinger.
- Smile – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 33% in the fourth weekend taking $8.47m and $84.43m
433rd biggest fourth weekend between Men in Black II and Flight (close to Se7en, Mission: Impossible, Scary Movie and Top Gun)
949th biggest film between The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause and Ferdinand; 1,684th biggest inflation inflated between Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never; 19th biggest 2022 between The Black Phone and Scream; 37th biggest horror between Paranormal Activity 2 and Annabelle; 125th biggest Paramount Pictures film between Paranormal Activity 2 and Up in the Air.
Comparisons have been made with The Black Phone dropping 31% taking $5.37m and $72.1m out of $89.88m; $159.56m worldwide
Other similar horror fourth weekends
2022’s Barbarian dropped 41.6% by $2.82m and $33.11m of $36.54m
2002’s The Ring dropped 14.4% by $15.5m and $85.6m of $129.12m; $259.34m WW
1996’s Scream dropped 25.7% $7.43m and $50.02m of $103.04m
2004’s The Grudge dropped 44.7% by $7.01m and $99.24m of $110.35m; $187.28m WW
2018’s Hereditary dropped 37% $2.28m and $39.4m of $44.06m; $80.2m WW
2020’s The Invisible Man took $70.41m after 3 weeks COVID lockdown week 4
The $17m film had an extraordinarily strong marketing campaign which went viral, was originally made for Paramount+ but was given a theatrical release after high test scores and the studio had a lack of releases after Top Gun: Maverick until Babylon opening in December.
Took $10.6m (down 40%) from 61 territories $82.6m total and $167m worldwide
1,066th biggest worldwide between The Suicide Squad and Up in the Air; 23rd biggest 2022 film between Nope and Morbius; 43rd biggest horror between Nope and Deep Blue Sea; 122nd biggest Paramount Pictures film between Ghost in the Shell and Up in the Air.
- Lyle, Lyle Crocodile – Sony Pictures
Dropped 42% in the third weekend $4.25m and $28.76m
2,971st biggest film between Molly’s Game and Capote; 3,904th biggest inflation inflated between Babylon A.D. and Ready or Not; 37th biggest 2022 between Beast and The Invitation; 155th biggest animation/live action between Monster Trucks and Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties; 402nd biggest Sony Pictures film between L.A. Story and Baby Boy.
Sony had success with family films in Sept/October with 2009’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs taking $124.87m; 2012’s Hotel Transylvania $42.5m $148.31m; Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 $119.79m; 2015’s Hotel Transylvania 2 $169.7m and Goosebumps $80.08m, so why didn’t Lyle, Lyle Crocodile find a similar audience especially when there has been a lack of children’s films this year?
Other live-action animated animal CGI family films third weekends include
2004’s Garfield dropped 33.6% $7.52m and $56.29m of $75.36m; $203.17m WW
1999’s Stuart Little up 35.6% (Christmas) $16.02m and $79.4m of $140.03m; $300.13m WW
2007’s Alvin and the Chipmunks up 3% (Christmas) $29.02m and $94.47m of $217.32m; $365.35m WW
2014’s Paddington dropped 32.6% $8.26m and $50.3m of $76.27m; $282.37m WW
2018’s Peter Rabbit dropped 27.1% $12.76m and $71.5m of $115.25m; $351.26m WW
2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog dropped 37.7% $16.31m and $128.6m of $148.97m; $319.71m WW
2021’s Clifford the Big Red Dog dropped 38.3% $5m and $43.01m of $48.94m; $107.34m WW
1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit down 20% by $11.51m and $54.51m of $156.45m; $329.8m WW
Took $4m from 16 territories $8.4m total and $38.1m worldwide; the film expands slowly internationally over the next two months
- The Banshees Of Inisherin – Searchlight
Opened with $181k from 4 screens; received critical acclaim (100% Rotten Tomatoes)
44% less than Three Billboards also from 4 screens in 2017 and 60% less than In Bruges from 28 screens in 2008
Expands into 50 screens this weekend and then 800+ screens in two weeks, while in the UK it opened immediately wide into 550 screens, art-house films regularly start on platform release in the US, and this was also regularly in the UK but platform openings in the UK over the last decade have become a rarity.
In 2008 In Bruges opened with $459,575 from 22 screens expanding over 4 weeks to 232 but its best weekend was 2nd weekend expanding into 112 screens taking $1.16m while in its 4th took $775,255.
2017’s Three Billboards also opened in 4 screens taking $322,168, expanding into 53 screens (+ 49) in 2nd weekend ($1,102,166 up 242.1%) and into 612 screens in 3rd weekend (+561) ($4,403,003 up 299.5%) but then dropped off the next two weeks despite adding almost 1,000 more screens. It expanded again in January after receiving Oscar nominations, going on to take about a third of its BO after Oscar nominations taking $54.51m.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Black Adam will hold #1 for its second weekend but is likely to drop upwards about 40%, lower than it would normally be due to half-term holidays and wet weather with limited competition for films targetting teens.
For half-term only a choice between Lyle, Lyle Crocodile for younger audiences and Black Adam for older audiences, normally there are many more films opening for half-term like Bond or Marvel along with a couple of animated films. This year the other releases aren’t aimed at younger audiences with Smile and Halloween Ends both 18 along with the new release Barbarian, while The Banshees Of Inisherin, Decision To Leave and Ticket To Paradise wouldn’t attract under-18s either.
Black Adam second weekend taking between £2.6m- £3.4m (it will drop much more next weekend and then of course the following weekend against Black Panther Wakanda Forever.
With half-term holidays Lyle, Lyle Crocodile will have a minimal third-weekend drop moving up to #2 taking £1.3m-£1.5m, whilst having a strong Mon-Thurs BO.
Also holding strongly due to strong word of mouth The Banshees Of Inisherin is down 15%-20% taking £1.2m-£1.4m, it will likely add more screens going from 550 to 600+.
Barbarian will be the highest entry new release, the horror received positive reviews and has been trailered with Smile and Halloween Ends likely to attract many of those who saw both and opening the weekend before Halloween could see £1m+ opening, this is dependent on how Smile holds in its fifth weekend, while Halloween Ends facing competition from Barbarian and Prey For The Devil will have another heavy drop in its third weekend.
Warner will be hoping Harry Potter fans will come out again to see the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets as they did the same weekend last year for Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone (20th Anniversary) opening #6 with £965,008 from 494 screens.
Do find it crazy that re-releases like Harry Potter and all of the many others this year including all James Bond films, E.T and Jaws tickets are regular price (tickets start at £9.99 at Vue Westfield) so these re-releases will only attract a limited audience. As the cinema re-release is normally part of the marketing campaign ahead of re-releasing the films for home entertainment, they would attract a much wider audience with cheaper prices. In 2017 Disney released Olaf Frozen Adventure in UK cinemas with a screening of Frozen all tickets £1 opening with £1,115,689 #5 from 611 screens.
Comedy Bros flopped in the US last month, has received mixed reviews might find an audience as Love, Simon opened with £1,179,593 in 2018 taking £3,540,552, but the issue with it is more Judd Apatow comedies struggle to find an audience in the UK and Billy Eichner is known even less than in the US.
Prey For The Devil also opens while studios like to open horror films for Halloween with Smile, Halloween Ends and Barbarian out surely it could have opened another time as it will surely struggle to find an audience against those other three.
Coldplay Music Of The Spheres Live Broadcast From Buenos Aires is showing in cinemas on Saturday with tickets £20+; Westlife: Life From Wembley Stadium opened in August with £468,214 from 571 screens #8. While Take That concerts. 2015’s Take That Live opened with £965,000; 2017’s Take That: Wonderland Live from the O2 2017 £1,004,918 and BTS – Permission to Dance on-Stage Live in March 2022 £899,126.
Opening next week
- Black Panther Wakanda Forever – Disney
30th Marvel Cinematic Universe film and sequel to 2018’s Black Panther starring Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Dominique Thorne, Florence Kasumba, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman, and Angela Bassett and directed by Ryan Coogler.
The third MCU film of 2022 after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse (£19,765,718 opening taking £41,878,091) and Thor: Love and Thunder (£12,283,719 opening taking £34,562,340).
Early tracking is predicting an opening in the US of $175m comic-book movies open with about 8.5% of their US opening in the UK without previews so Black Panther Wakanda Forever should open with about £13-£15m more than Thor: Love and Thunder but less than Doctor Strange in the Multiverse, being the third biggest opening of the year after Doctor Strange and Top Gun: Maverick. Black Panther went on to take £52.4m but Wakanda Forever is likely to take about £40m which is the norm for MCU films since Captain America: Civil War.
Plans for the sequel were announced in 2019 but had to change in August 2020 after Chadwick Boseman died from colon cancer.
It’s the last film in Phase Four of the MCU. Phase 4 has been disappointing with Blade Widow, Shang-Chi, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse and Thor: Love and Thunder all being more hype than sustenance and that’s despite the huge success of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Letitia Wright made anti-vaccine comments in August 2020
In 2018 Black Panther attracted a much wider audience of non-comic book fans as it became the must-see film as it was heralded as the first black leading comic-book movie despite opening 21 years after the first Spawn and Blade.
Marvel received much praise for taking this “risk” in making Black Panther but they choose to launch it in the 18th MCU film after giving the Black Panther a soft launch in Captain America: Civil War as they did with Spider-Man. When did Marvel announce their original 10 film slate of films Black Panther was one of those ten films so then why did it take until the 18th film for Marvel to make it as DC took a far bigger risk with Wonder Woman?
Black Panther opened with £17,700,000 including £7,190,000 from 3 days of previews (Tues-Thurs) and £10,510,000 Fri-Sun over half-term holidays and opened with $202m in the US while Black Panther Wakanda Forever opens without previews.
Upwards of 40% of its opening weekend, BO will come from the 51 IMAX screens and PLF and 21 4DX screens with average ticket prices up about 25% since Black Panther opened.
The sequel will likely be much more front-loaded than the first film and has to deal with Qatar World Cup that opens two weeks after opening, in 2018 Black Panther #1 for 4 weeks with no direct competition until Rampage opened 9 weeks later, but the sequel has Matilda the Musical, Strange World and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery opening two weeks later.
