- Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical – £2,531,782 – £7,848,147
Dropped 38.8% in its second weekend
Took £1.62m 64% (down 38.4%) Fri-Sat and £911k 36% (down 38.6%) Sunday
294th biggest second weekend between The Mummy (1999) and Johnny English (close to The Lion King (1994), Babe, Mrs Doubtfire and The Lego Movie: The Second Part ) and 581st, biggest inflation inflated between Robots and Twins (close to Stuart Little, My Girl, Pitch Perfect 3 and Father of the Bride).
Had musical second weekend close to A Star Is Born (£3,083,089); High School Musical 3 (£2,742,682); Rocketman (£2,486,043) and The Greatest Showman (£2,409,143).
19th biggest family film second weekend between How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Scooby-Doo (close to Night at the Museum, Babe, The Flintstones and Elf) and the 41st inflation inflated between Stuart Little and Flubber (close to The Haunted Mansion, The Santa Clause, Miracle on 34th Street and Big).
For the next two weeks Matilda will take the majority of its BO from Sat/Sun until school holidays start
So many films get described as “this is the movie we need right now” but Matilda The Musical is that kind of film with all the doom and gloom with the news, and the cold wet weather, a feel-good musical is a perfect antidote. It’s interesting that after all the hostility major exhibitors have had to Netflix over the last few years two of their films performed strongly at the BO over the weekend.
It’s the second film adaptation of the book based on the stage musical by Tim Minchin based on the book Matilda by Roald Dahl. The 1996 film was the 14th biggest film of 1996 in the UK dropped 27.1% in the second weekend taking £985,764 (£2,152,695 inflated) of £10,227,163 (£22,333,913 inflated).
British audiences love seeing musicals even films that underwhelmed have performed stronger in the UK including most recently In The Heights and Cats. So, the combination of a musical, based on a hugely popular stage show, Roald Dahl and with a strong British cast it was a no-brainer that Matilda was going to open strongly and have long legs, as that’s the other thing musicals do in the UK have long legs.
Roald Dahl’s film adaptations have been extremely popular in the UK as are musicals and the stage show of Matilda has been immensely popular since it premiered in 2010, receiving critical acclaim and selling over 11m seats worldwide. The film will stay #1 until Avatar: The Way of Water opens in two weeks but is likely to have longer legs playing through to half-term as Paddington did in 2014, Sony is holding charity screenings of the sing-along version on December 17th. While it’s the only major family film to open until Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (February 3rd).
The stage musical had been hugely popular selling over 11m seats and British cinemagoers love their cinematic musicals and Matilda the Musical is the perfect antidote for the cold wet weather and children who have been lacking good family entertainment in cinemas this year.
Second weekends
1990’s The Witches up 36.5% £230,394 (£798,963 inflated) and £661,159 31% of £2,135,460 (£7,405,372 inflated)
1996’s Matilda dropped 21.3% £985,764 (£2,152,695 inflated) taking £10,227,163 (£22,333,913 inflated)
1996’s James And The Giant Peach up 11.6% £445,947 (£973,852 inflated) and £1,974,916 34.3% of £5,750,628 (£12,558,128 inflated)
2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory dropped 44.3% £4,441,851 (£8,524,978 inflated) and £19,422,510 52% of £37,354,584 (£64,081,749 inflated)
2009’s Fantastic Mr Fox up 2% £1,545,325 (£2,295,262 inflated) and £5,589,484 60.3% of £9,260,892
2016’s The BFG dropped 36.4% £3,362,699 and £14,478,457 47.2% of £30,694,086
Matilda the Musical should be a big family Christmas film and an alternative to Black Panther Wakanda Forever and Avatar The Way of Water and be an alternative for the World Cup. Should go on and take upwards of £20m.
879th biggest film between The Santa Clause 2 and A Bad Moms Christmas (close to One Direction: This Is Us, Back To The Future Part III, The Naked Gun and Hotel Transylvania) and 1,438th biggest inflated between Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa and Predators (close to Stakeout, A League of Their Own, Pitch Perfect and Mannequin).
- 2. Black Panther Wakanda Forever – £1,505,886 –£29,473,743
Dropped 45% in its fourth weekend; £1,425,796 less than Black Panther (£2,931,682)
Took £1.09m Fri-Sat 67% (down 44.8%); £496k Sunday 33% (down 42.4%);
Had a 4th weekend similar to The Incredibles; Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith; Shang-Chi; The Simpsons; Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix and Chicken Run and inflation inflated similar to Licence to Kill, Iron Man 3, The Batman, Mission: Impossible II, Beauty and the Beast (1992), Pretty Woman and X-Men.
13th biggest MCU third weekend between Shang-Chi (£1,558,002) Iron Man 3 (£1,400,462) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (£6,097,082) close to Avengers: Age of Ultron (£1,661,968); Spider-Man Homecoming (£1,560,458); Doctor Strange 2 (£1,371,319) and Captain America: Civil War (£1,334,385).
14th biggest MCU film after 24 days between Spider-Man: Far From Home (£30,564,827) and Thor: Ragnarok (£28,210,484);
17th biggest MCU film between Spider-Man Homecoming (£30,380,216) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 (£28,326,152) close to Thor: Love and Thunder and Thor: Ragnorok).
144th biggest film between Furious 8 and Ice Age II (close to War of the Worlds, King Kong, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 and Shrek) and 319th biggest inflation inflated between Total Recall (1990) and Scooby-Doo Too (close to Superman III (£6,710,000), Lethal Weapon 3 (£11,878,179), Bram Stokers Dracula (£11,548,429) and Ghostbusters 2 (£8,301,000).
(will shortly become the 137th film to take £30m+ at the BO since 1993’s Jurassic Park)
27th biggest comic-book movie between Man of Steel and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 (close to Deadpool 2, Spider-Man 3, Hancock and Logan) and 41st biggest inflated between Superman III and Batman and Robin (close to X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: The Last Stand, Men in Black 3 and X-Men).
After 4 weeks Black Panther had taken 80% of its total BO (£40m) Wakanda Forever has taken 24% less and is likely to take about £36m (26% less than Black Panther).
Next year’s MCU films are unlikely to change this (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Marvels) with the possibility of the four DC films (Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom getting much closer to MCU BO than would have expected. This is of course why Avengers 5 and 6 are planned for 2024 and 2025 and why so many MCU solo films now feel like Avengers 2.1 films.
The 30 MCU films have taken £1.01bn at the UK BO since Iron Man was released in May 2008 (£1.25bn inflated).
2018’s Black Panther dropped 22% in its fourth weekend £2,931,682 taking £39,830,023 79.9% of £49,858,826 with holdovers The Greatest Showman #2 £1,567,366; Red Sparrow #2 £1,166,764; Game Night #3 £887,115 and Lady Bird #4 £703,115.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2022 BO); Doctor Strange 2; Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has taken £150m+ between them in 2022 about 20% of 2022 BO to date. Adding all comic-book films together will take about £250m, about 25% of 2022 BO.
- 3. Violent Night – £822,646 – NE
Took £613k Fri-Sat (74.5%) and £210k Sunday (25.6%)
1,748th biggest opening between Never Been Kissed and Dog (close to Bad Boys, Kiss the Girls, Cocktail and The Bone Collector) and 2,170th biggest inflated opening between Happy Death Day 2U and Dog (close to Showgirls, Plane’s Trains and Automobiles, True Romance and My Cousin Vinny).
Opened similar to 2016’s Bad Santa 2 £799,156 #4 from 423 screens taking £1,961,362.
After the last two weeks that have had four wide releases opening in the top 10 this weekend will only have one new entry. Violent Night has been described as a cross between Home Alone and Die Hard.
Other Christmas action films include Die Hard (opened £612,125); Lethal Weapon (£444,098); Ronin (£875,545); RED (£1,662,472); The Long Kiss Goodnight (£1,195,105); Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (£458,826) and Bad Santa (£474,450); We’re No Angels (£46,354 from 26 screens); Trapped in Paradise (£96,814 #10 from 102 screens); The Last Boy Scout (£474,723).
Violent Night is produced by David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2 and Bullet Train) and the trailer is exactly what you expect.
- 4. Strange World – £442,409 – £1,392,346
Down 46.9% in its second weekend
Fri-Sat £263k 59.5% (down 40.4%); Sunday £179k 40.5% (down 54.2%)
Had a similar second weekend as Disney Animated classic (since 1989) Meet the Robinsons (£421,608); Oliver & Company (£390,210) and The Rescuers Down Under (£384,963)
After 12 days it’s the 29th biggest Disney Animated classic (since 1989) between Brother Bear (£1,834,587) and The Rescuers Down Under (£1,217,412) and will likely end up taking about £4m the 28th biggest Disney Animated Classic between Brother Bear and Meet the Robinsons
There has been a lack of family films this year why Minions: The Rise of Gru and DC League of Super-Pets held well in cinemas for many weeks after being released on VOD. Strange World is the first family film to open in the UK since Lyle, Lyle Crocodile last month, but faces immediate competition from Matilda the Musical opening two days later, Roald Dahl film adaptations have been hugely popular in the UK.
In 2017 Disney delayed Coco to January 2018 to avoid its opening against Paddington 2, instead, they screened Olaf’s Christmas Adventure the first week of December with Frozen with tickets £1m (£1,115,689 #5 from 611 screens with 1.11m admissions that was more than Daddy’s Home 2 #1 £4,919,051 and Paddington 2 £4,545,218 3rd weekend).
The problem of course is with global openings set to US release Strange World will be released on Disney+ on Christmas Eve in 4 weeks so Disney couldn’t have delayed the film, which said Encanto took a third (£1.75m) of its £7.2m BO in the UK after being released on Disney+ (£5.2m). Likewise, many other films have found audiences in cinemas many weeks after they were available to watch at home (Minions The Rise of Gru took £18,155 in its 22nd week taking £46.8m (£8m+ after VOD release).
The 33 Disney animated classics have taken £450m at the UK BO since 1989 and £720m inflation inflated. Disney would regularly re-release their classic animated films and they were always very popular in cinemas as they found new audiences each time the reimaginations Disney have made over the last decade is just a new way to show their classic films to new audiences.
- 5. The Menu – £334,430 – £2,602,865
Down 22.3% in the third weekend
Took £254k 76% Fri-Sat and £80k Sunday 24%
45th biggest film of 2022 between Fisherman’s Friends 2 and Avatar (re-release) close to Fisherman’s Friends 2 and Licorice Pizza rather than what The Duke, Operation Mincemeat, See How They Run and Mrs Harris Goes To Paris would normally expect from a film like The Menu. The Menu played in a much more crowded marketplace for adult dramas than those including Bones and All, She Said, Armageddon Time, Living, Triangle Of Sadness and The Banshees Of Inisherin, but Disney knew this when it was dated.
1,928th biggest film between Innerspace and Circle of Friends (close to Dangerous Liaisons, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Untouchables and Ruthless People).
Other third weekends social commentary horrors include
2022’s Triangle Of Sadness dropped 36% #8 £139,402 from 148 screens and £981,057 of £1,287,088
2015’s It Follows dropped 54% #14 £105,548 from 216 screens and £1,058,742 of £1,058,742
2000’s American Psycho took £3,141,585 (£5,769,092 inflated)
2020’s Parasite dropped 32% £1,722,236 #3 from 565 screens and £8,397,639 of £12.03m
2019’s Ready Or Not took £1,637,064
Also released
As often in early December, there were several families’ classic Christmas films re-released in cinemas including Home Alone £68,226 #13 (246 screens) ; The Muppet Christmas Carol (30th Anniversary) £66,678 #14 from 315 screens and Elf £65,600 #15 (229 screens) (three films had one afternoon show in those screens over the weekend).
The Muppets Christmas Carol originally opened in December 1992 (one of Buena Vista’s first films they released) opening with £1.15m (£2.89m inflated) taking £2.5m (£6.2m inflated). The film wasn’t a huge success when it opened but over the year since it has become a beloved family Christmas film.
Disney had tried to buy the Jim Henson Company many times, but the two companies couldn’t agree on terms in 1990 after the death of Jim Henson but Disney did acquire film rights. Similar to Disney’s plans to make annual Star Wars films they also originally had plans for annual Muppet films but their 90s films (The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island and Muppets from Space weren’t as successful as hoped so weren’t another film until The Muppets in 2011 and Muppets Most Wanted in 2014.
The film has been re-released many times over recent years for Christmas, Park Circus last re-released it for its 25th anniversary taking £36,287 #22 from 29 screens
Also re-released for its 80th anniversary Casablanca £24,723 from 371 screens (again had one show on most of those screens)
The other new openers struggled to find an audience Paramount opened The Infernal Machine taking only £16,500 from 170 screens. As with Confess, Fletch opening two weeks ago with £56k from 299 screens was surely only given a theatrical release to qualify it for their Sky Pay TV deal. The same was probably the case with Sony Picture’s Summering opening with £5.4k from 104 screens, but that was probably more to do with the film being an acquisition and they were contractually bound to give a nationwide UK release.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £6,230,511 down 33.6% from last weekend’s £9,383,987: 771,103 admissions down 33.2% from 1,153,843
948th biggest top 10 of the last 21 years (out of 1,077) between 30 August 2002 #1 Insomnia £1,159,754 (18.6% of top 10) and 28 August 2020 #1 Tenet £5,335,654 (85.7% of top 10) and 1,031st the biggest inflation inflated between 06 July 2018 #1 The First Purge £1,778,157 (32% of top 10) and 16 June 2017 #1 Wonder Woman £1,868,607 (32.5% of top 10).
Top 3 took £4,860,314 78% of the top 10; Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical 40.6% (£2,531,782); Black Panther Wakanda Forever 24.2% (£1,505,886); Violent Night 13.2% (£822,646)
Taking 40.6% of the top 10 it’s the 378th highest percentage #1 between 17 April 2015 Fast & Furious 7 £3,039,720 (40.6%) and 21 December 2012 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey £5,979,241 (40.6%).
Up 2.1% from 2021 (£6,103,233); Christmas With Andre (£693,676); Boxing Day (£265,263); Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City (£253,200); The Matrix (Re: 2021) (£128,585); Elf (Re: 2021) (£111,036); C’mon C’mon (£106,680); CBeebies Christmas Show 2021 (£105,864); Love Actually (Re: 2021) (£24,848); It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) (75th Anniversary) (£27,723); Eurydice – Met Opera 2021 (£25,683); Blue Bayou (£8,975); #1 House of Gucci £1,511,982 2nd week 706 screens 38% drop (24.8% of top 10)
2020 COVID Second Lockdown
Down 61.1% 2019 (£15,983,967); Les Miserables: The Staged Concert (£946,786); Gremlins (4K Restoration) (£162,528); Motherless Brooklyn (£153,821); Elf (Re: 2019) (£148,489); Friends 25th: The One With The Anniversary (£126,302); Ordinary Love (£66,688); Honey Boy (£33,463); Frozen 2 £8,711,498 50% drop 2nd week 676 screens (54.5% of top 10)
Down 59.5 % 2018:(£15,392,277); Ralph Breaks the Internet (£4,032,775); Creed 2 (£2,991,509); Disobedience (£193,907); Pokemon the Movie: The Power of Us (£177,750); The Possession of Hannah Grace (£113,537); #1 Ralph Breaks the Internet £4,032,775 1st week 613 screens (26.2% of top 10)
Down 36.9% 2017: (£9,864,139); Wonder (£1,240,245); The Man Who Invented Christmas (£168,137); The Nutcracker – Bolshoi 2017 (£160,421); Happy End (£135,682); The Disaster Artist (£130,238); #1 Paddington 2 £2,883,617 3rd week 2nd #1 37% drop 652 screens (29.2% of top 10)
Down 44.2% 2016: (£11,160,568); Moana (£2,214,898); Sully: Miracle on the Hudson (£1,786,844); The Edge of Seventeen (£273,139); Bleed for This (£250,975); Blue Velvet (Re: 2016) (£16,880); Eat that Question (£1,468); #1 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them £4,494,727 3rd week 649 screens 50% drop (40.3% of the top 10)
Down 31.4% 2015; (£9,087,311); Christmas with the Coopers (£683,217); Victor Frankenstein (£431,125); Krampus (£412,713); The Night Before (£272,930); The Lady of the Camellias – Bolshoi 2015 (£105,300); #1 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 £2,240,723 3rd week 539 screens 51% drop (24.6% of top 10)
Down 45.6% 2014: (£11,455,843); Penguins of Madagascar (£1,575,949); Get Santa (£576,722); St. Vincent (£389,136); Black Sea (£246,309); The Pyramid (£190,049); Men, Women and Children (£73,393); #1 Paddington £3,837,885 2nd week 540 screens 25% drop (33.5% of top 10)
Down 45% 2013: (£11,314,366); Free Birds (£1,044,074); Saving Mr Banks (£795,615); Carrie (£662,625); The Best Man Holiday (£128,503); #1 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire £5,525,476 2nd week 55% drop 557 screens (48.8% of top 10)
Down 39.1% 2012 (£10,220,354); Rise of the Guardians (£1,968,984); Great Expectations (£544,636); Alex Cross (£226,780); Sightseers (£213,066); Trouble with the Curve (£41,391); #1 Skyfall £2,275,469 6th week 4th #1 41% drop 532 screens (22.2% of top 10)
Down 25.3% 2011 (£8,340,633); Happy Feet 2 (£1,686,197); Hugo (£1,225,987); The Thing (£485,534); The Big Year (£122,591); Margaret (£4,595); #1 Arthur Christmas £1,896,595 4th week 1st #1 502 screens 25% drop (22.7% of top 10)
Down 31.2% 2010: (£9,062,260); Megamind (£2,827,502); Monsters (£348,577); The Warrior’s Way (£105,389); Secretariat (£40,941); #1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1 £3,739,781 3rd week 570 screens 55% drop 41.2% of top 10)
Down 38.9% 2009; (£10,195,907); Planet 51 (£1,513,003); The Box (£474,938); The Descent: Part 2 (£313,739); Me and Orson Welles (£166,389); #1 Paranormal Activity £1,839,273 2nd week 398 screens 49% drop (18.1% of top 10)
Down 43.7% 2008; (£11,060,816); Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (£6,342,997); Transporter 3 (£958,615); Lakeview Terrace (£224,493); The Secret Life of Bees (£74,626); #1 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa £6,342,997 1st week 520 screens (57.3% of top 10)
Down 8.9% 2007: (£6,812,364); Fred Claus (£1,937,042); Hitman (£1,240,698); The Assassination of Jesse James (£180,886); This Christmas (£46,820); #1 Fred Claus £1,937,042 1st week 445 screens (28.4% of top 10)
Down 49.5% 2006; (£12,348,508); Flushed Away (£3,106,874); Deck the Halls (£600,047); Stranger than Fiction (£368,627); Big Nothing (£83,829); London to Brighton (£29,153); #1 Casino Royale £5,307,969 3rd week 506 screens 38% drop (43% of top 10)
Down 35.1% 2005 (£9,591,419); Keeping Mum (£645,886); Doom (£612,087); Where the Truth Lies (£67,446); #1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire £4,829,804 3rd week 536 screens 48% drop (50.3% of top 10)
Down 23.3% from 2004 (£8,128,185); Christmas with the Kranks (£777,771); Churchill: The Hollywood Years (£148,326); The Merchant of Venice (£147,709); The Polar Express (platform) (£104,632); School for Seduction (£39,213); #1 The Incredibles £4,187,280 3rd week 2nd #1 57% drop 495 screens (51.5% of top 10)
Down 41% from 2003 (£10,553,520); S.W.A.T. (£1,960,281); Brother Bear (£887,321); Timeline (£279,505); Thirteen (£53,553); #1 Love Actually £3,202,417 3rd week 478 screens 31% drop (30.3% of top 10)
Down 49.9% 2002 (£12,415,161); The Santa Clause 2 (£951,754); Enough (£340,600); The Quiet American (£240,552); #1 Die Another Day £5,364,433 2nd week 431 screens 41% drop (43.2% of top 10)
Down 32.4% 2001 (£9,215,665); Zoolander (£676,518); Bandits (£644,271); Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (£381,940); Ghosts of Mars (£104,723); The Devil’s Backbone (£45,145); #1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone £5,809,759 3rd week 508 screens 31% drop (63.1% of top 10);
Next weekend 2021 (£5,216,792); West Side Story (£1,297,786); Clifford The Big Red Dog (£1,293,354); Home Alone (Re) (£122,999); The Nutcracker – ROH, London 2021 (£89,705); Sword Art Online The Movie (£64,612); #1 West Side Story £1,297,786 1st week 678 screens (24.9% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Black Panther Wakanda Forever – Disney
Dropped 62% in the fourth weekend $17.54m and $393.67m
Took 57% less than Black Panther’s 4th weekend ($40.81m then the 3rd biggest after Avatar and The Force Awakens in comparison to Avengers Endgame took $36.7m) and 30% less than its total after 4 weeks ($561.7m) 80% of total $700.6m, Wakanda Forever is expected to take about $440m about 40% less.
79th biggest 4th weekend between The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ($17.54m) and Aquaman ($17.35m) (close to The Dark Knight Rises ($18.97m); Thor: Ragnarok ($16.83m) and Deadpool ($16.77m)
43rd biggest film between Frozen and Spider-Man: Far From Home; 111st biggest inflation inflated between Rain Man and Spider-Man: Far From Home; 3rd biggest 2022 between Doctor Strange 2 and Jurassic World: Dominion; 15th biggest comic-book movie between Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Far From Home; 24th biggest Disney between Frozen and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.
7th biggest MCU after 17 days between Avengers: Age of Ultron ($372.03m) and Captain America: Civil War ($347.21m) close to Doctor Strange 2 and Iron Man 3
All of these stats show MCU non-Avengers films have plateaued since Civil War in 2016, of course, many deny this (as there also was for Disney’s Star Wars films) but after steady growth for the first 13 films over the first year the films that followed haven’t seen growth as big since.
EntTelligence reports the average ticket price for normal formats is $11.19 while IMAX/PLF is $15.64 but NATO hasn’t updated their average price since 2019 of $9.16.
30 MCU films have taken $11bn in the US ($365.83m average) and $27.8bn worldwide ($930.9m average)
Took $20.2m (down 37%) from 51 territories and $339.2m total and $733m worldwide; 9th biggest global film since cinemas reopened after the pandemic; Spider-Man No Way Home $1.92bn; Top Gun Maverick $1.49bn; Jurassic World Dominion $1bn; Doctor Strange 2 $955.8m; Minions: The Rise of Gru $939.2m; No Time To Die $774.2m; The Batman $770.8m; Thor Love And Thunder $761m; Black Panther Wakanda Forever $733m; F9 $726.2m
UK $35.1m; Mexico $32.4m; France $27.9m; Brazil $18.1m; Australia $16.9m; Korea $16.4m; Germany $14.8m; Japan $8.5m; taken $43.5m globally from IMAX
In comparison, Black Panther took $100m in its 4th weekend (including $66.1m from China opening 4 weeks after the US) taking $1.08bn worldwide ($516.6m internationally and $561.7m US)
122nd biggest worldwide between The Matrix Reloaded and Up; 7th biggest 2022 between Thor: Love and Thunder and Fantastic Beast 3; 32nd biggest comic-book movie between Thor: Love and Thunder and Captain America: The Winter Soldier; 40th biggest Disney between Monsters University and Up.
- Violent Night – Universal Pictures
Opened $13.45m; received mixed reviews (70% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore
Took $1.1m from Thursday midnights
Was expected to open with $12m-$15m but was hoped to overperform similar to Smile $22.6m opening taking $105.55m and $215.75m worldwide.
The trailer has been viewed 115m times since launching October 5th and was screened before Halloween Ends, Pray For The Devil and also Black Adam and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
It’s been described as a cross between Home Alone and Die Hard.
Other Christmas action films include Die Hard ($7.1m taking $83m); Lethal Weapon ($6.8m taking $65.2m); Ronin ($12.69m taking $41.6m); RED ($21.7m taking $90.3m); The Long Kiss Goodnight ($9.1m taking $33.4m); 1989’s We’re No Angels ($2.1m taking $10.5m); 1994’s Trapped in Paradise ($2.7m taking $6.02m);
2003’s Bad Santa opened $12.5m taking $60.06m and $76.49m worldwide
2016’s Bad Santa 2 opened $6.17m taking $17.78m and $25.08m worldwide
2015’s Krampus opened $16.29m taking $42.72m and $61.34m worldwide
2005’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang opened $180,660 from 8 screens taking $4.24m and $15.78m worldwide
1991’s The Last Boy Scout opened $7.92m taking $59.5m
While it was also being compared to 2021’s Nobody opened $6.822m taking $27.56m and $57.51m worldwide
Violent Night was produced by David Leitch who also produced John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2 and Bullet Train) and the trailer is exactly what you expect.
Opened with $7.1m from 72 territories
- Strange World – Disney
Dropped 60% in the second weekend taking $5.08m and $25.68m
32nd biggest Disney Classic Animation second weekend between Winnie the Pooh and Oliver & Company.
After 12 days has taken similar to Home on the Range, The Emperor’s New Groove and Treasure Planet
The 34 Disney Animated Classic films since 1988 have taken $5.3bn in the US and $8bn inflation inflated.
The most recent Disney animated original film 2021’s Encanto dropped 51.7% in the second weekend taking $13.14m and $58.36m of $96.09m and $245.78m worldwide; 2017’s Coco dropped 45.8% taking $27.53m and $110.1m of $210.46m and $807.81m worldwide
Strange World is expected to lose up to $147m, many have questioned the decision by Disney to give it a theatrical release but then Hocus Pocus 2 and Disenchanted both went to Disney+.
Strange World tested badly in August, but Disney still believed they should give it a theatrical release as it could have done a lot of harm to Disney animation. Had it gone straight to streaming after Pixar’s original film Soul, Luca, Turning Red and Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon all went to Disney+ received critical acclaim but then gave Lightyear theatrical release receiving mixed reviews and underwhelmed at the BO.
Took $5.2m from 42 territories and $16.8m and $42.3m worldwide; The film wasn’t released in over 20 territories due to LGBTQ+ scenes Disney refused to cut.
- The Menu – Searchlight Pictures
Dropped 35% taking $3.47m in the third weekend and $24.64m
Holding similar to 2019’s Ready or Not dropped 60.9% by $2.31m and $25.71m taking $28.71m
Box office performance of Searchlight Pictures films since Disney acquired the studio has been underwhelming releasing 13 films with The French Dispatch their biggest film taking $16.12m showing these films aren’t finding a wider audience. This is highlighted by The Banshees of Inisherin taking $6.3m as it performs similarly to In Bruges ($7.8m) rather than Three Billboards ($54.51m) as the notable change has been the films have expanded from platform release much quicker. This highlights Disney’s Achilles heel for the last decade as they have struggled with original films.
Took $5m from 50 territories $22.5m total and $47.2m worldwide
- The Fabelmans – Universal Pictures
Dropped 44% in the fourth second weekend taking $1.26m #8 and $5.53m
Performing similarly to Barry Levinson’s autobiographical 1990 film Avalon which took $2.14m in its fourth weekend (after two weeks on platform release from 7 screens) in 635 screens and $6.45m of $15.74m. But of course, the average ticket price in 1990 was $4.22m now it’s $9.38 125% more so impossible to compare the two.
It’s also going to be released on VOD in December so as many other films targetting older audiences despite receiving critical acclaim will struggle to find a wider audience.
Steven Spielberg has talked about the evils of HBO Max and Warner Bros’ decision to release their 2021 films on HBO same time as a theatrical release but if audiences aren’t going to see these films in the same numbers they did a decade ago in cinemas then studios must give them alternative release to try to get them to be seen by as wide an audience as they deserve to be seen.
- Bones And All – MGM
Dropped 47% in its third weekend taking $1.18m and $6.03m
The soft BO performance adult dramas Bones and All, Devotion and The Fabelmans struggling to find a wider audience show Netflix’s limited exclusive theatrical release is the best bad idea studios have now as audiences aren’t going to see them as they used to do decade ago.
Thanksgiving used to be a strong weekend to open adult dramas that would play into the new year but now these films will be released on VOD by Christmas.
Took $1.5m from 47 territories and $10.5m worldwide
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical will be the only film that will hold strong in its third weekend down 30% taking £1.7m-£2m while all other films will be affected by England’s World Cup Quarter Final game on Saturday evening against France with over 20m expected to watch (England’s previous game was watched by 20.4m last Sunday).
This weekend is likely to be the lowest weekend of the year; currently March 25th when top 10 took £4,302,969 in The Batman 4th week #1 taking £1,664,503 and 38.7% of the top 10. If it was to drop below £4m it would be one of the lowest weekends (not including COVID reopening weeks) for over 21 years.
Exhibitors will say what’s the problem as we have Avatar The Way of Water opening in a week, but cinema shouldn’t be just about the top 10 with Top Gun 2, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Doctor Strange 2, The Batman, Thor: Love and Thunder, Spider-Man No Way Home (2022 BO), Black Panther 2, Jurassic World 3, Sing 2 and Avatar The Way of Water taking £450m+ between them when there are another 900 other films also being released fighting over scraps.
Avatar The Way of Water will of course have a huge opening next weekend (opening £15m+£18m) but that will be about half of what Spider-Man No Way Home opened the same weekend last year (£31,899,232 with weekend top 10 of £34,452,923) of course the two films aren’t comparable, but Avatar 2 will need to attract the similar audience of No Way Home, will younger audiences be as interested in Avatar as those who grew up with the original 12 years ago, as the original film played stronger to 25+ who are now in their late 30s have children of their own who are far more interested in Marvel than Smurfs.
Opening in two weeks
- Avatar: The Way of Water – Disney
Epic science fiction sequel to 2009’s Avatar starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, Giovanni Ribisi, Sigourney Weaver and Kate Winslet and directed by James Cameron.
The London premiere was on Tuesday, December 6 (with the LA premiere next week) at the Odeon Leicester Square (the social media embargo ended after the premiere with the review embargo ending on December 13th after the LA premiere). Avatar premiered in London in December 2009 (press junket also here) at the Odeon and Empire Leicester Square watched by over 3,000 compared to 800 for the sequel.
At the premiere, James Cameron said “Theatres are full again and moviegoers of the world have declared resoundingly that we need this. We need this ability to gather together to sit in these great dark spaces and to dream together with our eyes wide open in a cinema. To me tonight is not about the new Avatar film. It’s about cinema, and here you are in your black-tie finery. It’s a celebration of this art form that we love so much. It’s back it’s alive and it’s as great as it’s ever been.”
Immediate social media reaction when the embargo ended at 11 pm on Tuesday was what you would expect gushing about how visually stunning it is and never bet against James Cameron, but while his films are always visually stunning the issue is always the storyline. Highlighted Titanic winning 11 Oscars, winning Best Picture, Director, Actress, Supporting Actress, Cinematography, and many technical awards but not for the script. James Cameron is passionate about cinema, but part of this passion is similar to Quentin Tarantino who takes elements from other films. So, Avatar shared a similar plot to Dances with Wolves and many have suggested the sequel shares a lot of similarities to Free Willy.
Have to take premiere reactions with a dose of skepticism, especially with film fans have been waiting over a decade for, only need to look at The Force Awakens a 3-star film that got 5-star reviews as critics got caught up in the hype as how you see a film has a massive impact on how you react to a film. As always go back to when Universal had exhibitors’ screenings for Kick-Ass and they all hated it watching it in a preview theater, but Universal believed in it and invited the same exhibitors to a screening at the Empire with 1,000+ comic-book fans who loved the film and exhibitors realised they had a hit and were eager to book it.
This is why national press screenings on Mon/Tues in preview theatres would often get far different reviews than those who saw the same film in a packed Leicester Sq cinema for its multimedia screenings.
This of course is also why the reaction to films that premiere on streaming is far worse than cinema as you’re seeing the film alone and for many of these films you need to see an audience…. it’s a vastly unique experience watching Top Gun Maverick at home on TV than watching it in a crowded cinema as you notice this is just a remake of the original and that laughable ending where Maverick walks across the runway to find a 40+-year-old fighter jet that’s flight worthy. You don’t notice these things when you’re watching it in a crowded cinema, but when you see the film at home you are often far more critical. This is also why films that go straight to streaming will often receive poorer reviews, despite being popular on streaming,
It would be great to think that is true but exhibitors around the world have seen Avatar 2 as a way to increase prices, my local Vue reduced their prices a few years ago to £5.99, which increased to £6.99 and then £8.99 when they changed to recliners, but Avatar 2 tickets are now up to £11.99 plus £2 for 3D glasses.
The first teaser trailer was attached to Doctor Strange 2 in May and released online on May 9th viewed 148.5m times in its first 24 hours (23m in China). An edited version of the trailer was released with Lightyear (removing the gun sequences). It received a mixed reception, while it looked stunning it felt more like a computer game than a film, this was the issue with previous films released in HFR.
8 minutes of 3D footage was shown at D23 Expo in September, with more footage screened with the Avatar re-release in September, and the trailer was released on November 2nd.
20th Century Fox feared Avatar would underperform so they released Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel the following week. Avatar opened #1 in week 1 (£8,509,050 only 21% was from 2D), lost #1 in its second weekend with The Squeakquel (playing to younger family audience) while Avatar dropped 55% taking £3,828,123. Few would have imagined that Avatar would take £4m+ for the next 8 weeks returning to #1 for 8 of the next 9 weeks and go on to take £93,442,625 (£140m inflated).
The big question is whether will it top Avatar BO and whether will it have similar legs, as the sequel will open about twice as much as the original it’s unlikely to play as long as the first film. That said with a lack of major releases in January if it doesn’t come closer to the first film January is going to be a soft start of the year. As I’ve said many times the fact that the sequel opens 12 years later with 50%+ ticket inflation and many exhibitors have increased prices for the film it should take more than Avatar
Would expect Avatar: The Way of Water to open with more than double Avatar’s opening due to 50%+ ticket inflation, the growth of IMAX screens in the UK from (9 in 2009) to 63 today (BFI IMAX had 99% capacity) along with 4DX, ScreenX, and PLF. What will be interesting to see is if audiences embrace 3D as much as they did with the first film.
In an interview, James Cameron described making Avatar sequels as “the worst business case in movie history.” As the industry gets caught up in the hype when seeing films like Black Panther Wakanda Forever opening with $181m in the US and taking $287m after 10 days in the US and $550m worldwide. As these films have massive budgets attached to Wakanda Forever $250m+ and then the same again on marketing it will need to take over $1bn globally.
James Cameron admitted Avatar: The Way of Water will need to be the 4th/5th film worldwide to break even (currently Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens $2.07bn and Avengers: Infinity War $2.05bn).
He could be saying this for effect as he knows saying something so outrageous (even though it’s true) he will get huge media coverage (which he did) he also previously said that the Avatar film series could end after the third film and not the fifth as originally planned in 2017. As James Cameron in “The Greatest Showman” talks so passionately about the films he makes and audiences, he has only directed 9 films since The Terminator in 1984 (including 2 IMAX films) and they have taken almost $2bn in the US and $6.4bn worldwide (inflation inflated those would be more than double as its 25 years ago since Titanic opened taking $2.2bn worldwide which would be about $6bn inflated alone).
James Cameron said in 2006 if Avatar was successful, he wanted to make two sequels (set for 2014 and 2015 releases), but he chooses to develop innovative technologies before making the sequels as he did develop the innovative technology to make the original film. Filming of Avatar 2 finally started in August 2017 with a budget of $1bn for 4 sequels.
At that time the sequels were vital to the studio, but everything changed a few months later when Disney announced they would acquire the studio (in December 2017). While Avatar might have been the biggest film globally Disney was far more interested in MCU and Star Wars, Avatar was only interested in Disney after Pandora: The World of Avatar opened at Disney World Florida in May 2017.
For Disney films are often just software for the hardware (theme park and merchandise) so as with Star Wars films the addition of more Avatar films would mean that Pandora would continue to attract people to its parks and sell merchandise for decades to come as Yogurt said in Spaceballs “Merchandising is where the real money from the movie is made.” Disney’s films took $2.9bn globally in 2021 but in comparison made $56.2bn on sales of licenced merchandise (up from $54bn in 2020) and is the world’s biggest licensor. In comparison, Warner Bros are 4th with $15bn, Hasbro 6th at $8.4bn (with Peppa Pig) Universal 7th at $8.3bn and Paramount 10th at $6bn.
This is why 20th Century Fox never acquired Lucasfilm, as they must have had the opportunity to do so between making the first Star Wars film in 1977 and before Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 and similarly acquired Marvel in 2009 as Disney are the only studio who could fully exploit merchandising with their IPs.
Had 20th Century Fox made released Avatar sequels it would have been vital for them to match the BO of the original film but as Disney are it doesn’t need to take as much, of course, there will be lots of analysis comparing the performance of the two films, but the sequels will help to generate billions of licensed merchandises over the next decade.
Of course, it’s a different story for cinemas as exhibitors will be desperate for Avatar: The Way of Water to match the BO of the original, but 12 years on with 50%+ ticket inflation and the huge increase in IMAX screens globally, the massive hype and little competition it should do?
As 20th Century Fox greenlit the four Avatar sequels before the studio was acquired by Disney, wouldn’t they have paid for much of the production costs before Disney acquired the studio? Disney paid almost $20bn more to acquire the studio in 2019 than the $52.4bn deal announced in December 2017 due to Comcast pushing the price up in a bidding war.
If Avatar 2 needs to take $2bn+ to break even, then Fast X with a budget of a third more will need to take even more. Early tracking for Avatar 2 is between $ 150m-$175m m used to be a Disney film that would open $20m+ above tracking but recently they are opening as tracking as Wakanda Forever. The question for Avatar 2 is the running time factored into tracking as is the impact on the World Cup Final match at 3 pm (GMT) Sunday, December 18th with a global audience of 1.2bn
If Avatar 2 needs to take $2bn to break even this will surely have partly to do with James Cameron’s first dollar gross deal. He made $350m+ from Avatar and $97m from Titanic, according to Deadline, had a ‘significant gross percentage’ for those films, this will surely be much more for Avatar sequels.
Surely James Cameron’s comments are no surprise with a film budgeted at $250m+ and globally marketing probably more as the industry gets caught up in the hype with these $150m+ openings but they must be tearing the hair out of studio accountants trying to see how these films can be profitable. James Cameron is on a first-dollar gross deal for Avatar sequels (he made $350m+ for Avatar and $97m+ for Titanic according to Deadline).
Avatar 2 early tracking is $150m-$175m more than twice as much as Avatar ($77m) but the question for the sequel (as with all sequels) is not how big it opens but how big it drops the second weekend as Avatar only dropped 1.8% Christmas weekend while The Force Awakens dropped 40%; Rogue One 59%: Aquaman 23%; Rise of Skywalker 59%; No Way Home 57%.
It will likely open with about $450m worldwide (more if opens day and date in China) this would be the 9th biggest global opening similar to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($483.2m); Captain Marvel ($456.7m); Doctor Strange 2 ($452m); Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($450.8m); Batman Vs Superman ($422.5m)
If Avatar 2 is to match the BO of the first film it needs to have similar legs playing through to February but if The Force Awakens couldn’t do so it’s going to be much harder for Avatar 2 as the lengthy running time will impact multiple viewings, especially during weekdays (have seen this with Wakanda Forever).
The positive for Avatar 2 is it opens in many more IMAX screens than the first film, but as exhibitors are playing it in more 3D screens than 2D much will depend on cinemagoers’ interest in seeing it in 3D and wearing the glasses for over 3 hours. Originally in 2017, James Cameron had planned glassless 3D for Avatar sequels.
In 2009 Avatar had much more competition as few expected Avatar to be a massive success it was so Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 and Sherlock Holmes opened the week after, both opening strongly with £5.34m and £3.1m. In its third weekend increased by 55% taking £5,940,479 but other holdovers Sherlock Holmes (£3,439,616 up 12%; Alvin And The Chipmunks II £2,457,029 up 83% (not including previews); Nine (£780,255), St. Trinian’s 2 £671,480 up 54% with new release Did You Hear About The Morgan’s opening with £1,155,060.
The question is how many weeks Avatar will: The Way of Water stay at #1 as Empire of Light (January 9th 7-day opening) and Babylon (January 20th) are the only two films that could open #1 with Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (February 3rd)
In 2009 there were 18 different versions of Avatar created for the US and 92 internationally in 47 languages, which included 52 subtitled and 18 dubbed versions on film, 58 subtitled and 36 dubbed versions in digital 3D, 9 subtitled and 8 dubbed versions in digital 2D and 23 subtitled and 15 dubbed versions for IMAX. James Cameron made the film using three aspect ratios Scope (2:39:1), flat (1:85:1), and IMAX (1:43:1) and released on 17,000 35mm screens, 7,382 digital 3D screens, 553 digital 2D screens, and 272 IMAX 3D screens. (178 US IMAX screens and 83 internationally)
Avatar The Way of Water will be over 160 different versions globally including 3D, 4K, HFR48, ScreenX and 4DX. The 35mm screens will be replaced with digital and the number of IMAX screens it will play in will be about double 400+ in the US and 200+ internationally as since 2009 many IMAX screens have been retrofitted into conventional multiplexes. In 2009 Avatar opened in 9 IMAX cinemas (Birmingham IMAX Millennium Point, National Media Museum IMAX Bradford, Cardiff, Gateshead Metrocentre, Glasgow Science Centre, ODEON Greenwich, BFI London IMAX, Manchester The Printworks and ODEON Wimbledon). While Avatar The Way of Water will play in 63+ with only a couple of the IMAX cinemas giving the full IMAX experience audiences expect.
With Avatar The Way of Water 3hrs 10 mins long a reporter asked James Cameron when it might be a good time to take a toilet break and he replied, “Any time they want,”… “They can see the scene they missed when they come to see it again.” But it does ask the question again about having intermissions in films like Avatar: The Way of Water as over the last 30 years films have gotten longer. In 1992 the average was 118.4 mins but 20 years later the average increased to 141.6 mins, this has added about 23 minutes to film running times.
The problem has been many directors like James Cameron and Peter Jackson belief epic means long and many of these films including most recently Black Panther Wakanda Forever don’t need to be as long as they are. But as they are this length and many cinemagoers often get restless after the 2-hour mark, often ruining the cinema experience for others, why don’t exhibitors bring back intermissions for some films?
As films like Avatar The Way of Water open on half a dozen screens in many multiplexes it should allow exhibitors to offer the film to different audiences, those cinephiles who are all about the film will sit in silence not eating throughout the film, to those who can’t go to the cinema without being overloaded with gallon tubs of popcorn and coke. While even could have text-friendly screens to stop them from being used in other screens and have 18+ only for 12A and 15 films.
Intermissions were used to give cinemas a break and buy more concessions, (as they are still in live theatre) as exhibitors make most of their money from the highly profitable popcorn and syrup it would surely make sense for them to return as they could be very lucrative for exhibitors.
Between the 1950s and 1970s intermissions were used for epic films including 1954’s Seven Samurai, 1963’s It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, 1965’s The Sound of Music and 1972’s The Godfather. While intermission gave the films an Event status feel compared to the other films that didn’t have intermissions.
But exhibitors opted to add more screenings daily over having an intermission in cinemas and in 1982 Gandhi was the last US film to have an intermission on general release. But when films are playing on so many screens surely there is the opportunity for them to return as restless audiences ruin the cinema experience for other cinemagoers.
While cinephiles want to see these three-hour-plus films in their entirety without a break for many other cinemagoers they are exhausting to watch and a break during the film would make the experience more enjoyable.
In the US Avatar opened with $77m in 7,000+ screens at 3,452 cinemas, it was then the highest-grossing opening ever for a film, not a sequel, a remake or a spinoff. It was also the second highest-grossing December opening weekend after I Am Legend ($77m).
It took $3.53m from midnight previews with 3D taking 85% of BO (in comparison I Am Legend took $1.7m.
Avatar opened in 3,129 3D screens at 2,038 cinemas taking $55m (72% of opening) and IMAX took $9.5m (12.4%) from 178 cinemas.
Internationally opened with $164.5m in five days from 106 territories (opening didn’t include Japan (opened a week later) and China and Italy (in January); Played in 14,505 screens, 26% 3D accounting for 56% of the opening. Taking $241.6m globally was the 9th highest grossing of all time and the biggest for a non-sequel.
In 2009 The Princess and the Frog took $12.2m #2; The Blind Side $10.02 #3 and Did You Hear About the Morgan? Opened $6.6m #4. Avatar The Way of Water holdovers will likely be closer to The Twilight Saga: New Moon #5 $4.4m and Invictus #6 $4.2m as rival studios have opted to hold back their other Christmas films to the following week (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Monday 21st) and I Wanna Dance with Somebody and Babylon (Wednesday 23rd). Both films target different audiences who don’t target audience for Avatar 2 children and women.
After 45 days of release, Avatar overtook Titanic to become the biggest film globally $2.039bn and went on to take $749.76m in the US (held #1 for 7 weeks; Titanic was #1 for 15 weeks), $1.99bn internationally and $2.743bn worldwide. It remained the biggest film globally until Avengers Endgame overtook it after 91 days of release, but after Avengers Endgame opened globally with $1.2bn over its opening weekend many expected it to overtake Avatar many weeks earlier and take over $3bn. Avatar retained its #1 global status after it was re-released in China in March 2021. (Avatar took $262m in China).
A Lot has changed since Avatar opened, in 2009 were 9 IMAX cinemas in the UK and BFI IMAX sold an average 99% capacity at £12 (prices at BFI IMAX will be about £22). IMAX took 7% of the UK BO of Avatar, more than it took from 2D in 300 screens. Avatar 2 will open in 63+ IMAX cinemas in the UK, 400+ in the US and 300+ elsewhere worldwide.
With ticket prices doubling since Avatar opened in 2009 the sequel needs to take more than double the original film to be as successful which is highly unlikely, so what’s success for Avatar 2? The original was #1 for 7 weeks in a row taking £4m+ for all those weeks after opening with £8.5m, Avatar 2 will double. (That said the big question will be its Sunday BO as 1.2bn+ worldwide will be watching the World Cup Final in Qatar).
Much was made about Avatar’s re-release being successful in September, but the post-COVID industry seems to have lowered expectations as needed to compare it to Star Wars re-release in 1997.
While Avatar 2 will have massive hype the problem is the bubble burst very quickly with the first film as it was all hype and technology and just a remake of Dances with Wolves and FernGully, while it couldn’t take the film seriously after South Park’s Dances with Smurfs.
The industry is far too quick to call a film a hit. and post-pandemic so many films are now getting stuck on $400m+ WW which would have taken $600m+ two years ago. if Black Adam loses up to $100m then surely Dune taking similar amount also lost money, but Warner greenlit the sequel to save face as surely Dune and Tenet were both expected to take upwards of $800m WW before COVID. but post COVID industry seems to lower expectations of what a film needs to take as they have gotten caught up in the hype of the opening weekend ignoring the fact that most of this film will drop much more heavily in their second weekends than they did before COVID.
In two weeks, Avatar 2 will be heralded as an enormous success after opening with $500m worldwide despite James Cameron admitting it needs to take $2bn to turn a profit.
There are huge expectations for Avatar 2 but rather than audiences going to see that half a dozen times they need to be seeing many of the other films that will open before the next MCU in February, but the problem is they won’t. As BO goes from lows (last weekend and this weekend, two of the lowest weekends of 2022 to having one of its highest in two weeks.
Has losing Fox had an impact on BO looking back at UK studio shares in 2017 and 2018 they took £191m and £180m alongside Disney’s £243m and £283m but the lack of their films in addition to Disney’s as Disney has only made a handful of films by Fox with majority delayed from before acquisition. But pre-acquisition they would have released 20+ films
My rough 2022 UK studios breakdown Universal #1 £205m; Disney #2 £152m (will Disney overtake Universal A2 and BP2 would need to take £53m+ BP2 has £5m+ left in it and so could A2 take £50m in 2 weeks?) Warner #3 £152m Paramount #4 £149m (if only they had a couple more films could be battling it out for #1 for the first time since 2011) Sony #5 £105m with a third from NWH 2022 BO with Lionsgate £9.2m, EFD £9m, Studiocanal £4m and eOne £6m a long way back in 6th to 9th
