- The Equalizer 3 – £2,783,302 – NE
Took £819,504 (29.5$%) from previews Weds/Thurs; (Weds £439k and £381k Thurs)
Took £579k (20.8%) Friday; £819k (29.4%) Saturday and £562k (20.2%) Sunday.
564th biggest opening between Lyle, Lyle Crocodile and The Hateful Eight (close to Bullet Train, Django Unchained, Armageddon and Kill Bill – Volume 2) and 950th biggest inflated between Lyle, Lyle Crocodile and Jackie Brown (close to The Jackal, War of the Roses, Final Destination and Olympus Has Fallen).
21st biggest 2023 opening between Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Shazam 2; Sony Pictures 2nd biggest opening of the year.
It opened far bigger than the first two films.
233rd widest opening in 578 cinemas similar to Justice League; 556th 500+ cinema opening since 2001’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
2014’s The Equalizer opened £1,890,146 #2 from 444 screens taking £6,669,034: behind Billy Elliot The Musical Live 2014 #1 £1,904,098 £2,957,072
While 2018’s The Equalizer 2 opened E1,980,754 #4 from 493 screens (behind Disney’s Christopher Robin #1 £2,553,810; Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! #2 £2,241,507; The Meg #3 £2,113,490) taking £7,247,966; opening mid-August the marketplace was much more crowded with 9 films taking £1m+ while this weekend there were only 2 and The Equalizer 3 opening was inflated with about £1m from previews and had IMAX screens it didn’t have in 2018.
Taking £819k on NCD probably didn’t affect The Equalizer 3 BO as much as the previous complaint by studios with NCD was as while exhibitors gain with vastly more popcorn and drinks sold studios are the big losers. In 1997 Pathe felt they lost £1m+ from The Fifth Element opening over NCD opened with £1,510,073 (£2,957,072 inflated) increasing BO by 14% in its second weekend £1,720,531, took £7,088,854 (£13,881,613 inflated).
It’s the fifth film starring Denzel Washington and directed by Antoine Fuqua after 2002’s Training Day (opened £739,718 #5 taking £1,942,439), 2014’s The Equalizer 2016’s The Magnificent Seven (opened £2,132,609 #2 taking £5,895,017) and 2018’s The Equalizer 2.
After Barbie was #1 for six weeks there will likely be a new #1 each weekend in September as most are likely to be frontloaded with The Nun 2 this weekend followed by A Haunting In Venice (doing better than Death on the Nile but worse than Murder on the Orient Express), Expend4bles, The Creator.
The two previous films dropped 36% in their second weekend, but The Equalizer 3 will likely drop over 50% due to having two days of previews and losing IMAX screens to The Nun 2.
- 2. Barbie – £1,641,410 – £92,584,022
Dropped 15.6% in the seventh weekend; £363k 22.1% (38.9% drop £594k) Friday; £963k 58.8% (up 35.4% £711k) Saturday and £338k 20.6% (47.1% drop £639k) Sunday.
12th biggest seventh weekend between Frozen 2 (£1,660,432) and Paddington 2 (£1,625,960) close to The Full Monty, The Greatest Showman, No Time to Die and Slumdog Millionaire) and 36th biggest inflated between No Time to Die (£1,661,692) and Fantastic Beasts (£1,628,663) close to The Bodyguard, Babe, Shrek and Top Gun).
7th biggest between Avatar (£94,025,474) and Avengers: Endgame (£88,719,051) close to No Time To Die, Spectre, Top Gun Maverick and Titanic and 19th biggest inflated between Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Casino Royale (close to Toy Story 3, Spider-Man No Way Home, Shrek 2 and Toy Story 2; 7th since 2009’s Avatar to take £90m+ and is Warner Bros UK biggest film overtaking 2011’s Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Barbie is one of a kind as normally by now, a sequel would be dated for summer 2026 along with spinoff TV shows, but with no deals in place for sequels for Margot Robbie, Greta Gerwig and Ryan Gosling unlikely a sequel will happen as it will be vastly more expensive and Ryan Gosling is ‘one and done’, doesn’t do sequels. As The Lego Movie has shown with its sequel lightning doesn’t strike twice as what made the first film so much fun and unique can’t be replicated. (That said spinoff The Lego Batman Movie is the best Batman movie).
Comparing Barbie with Top Gun Maverick after 44 days (had two days of previews) took £70.63m 23.7% less than Barbie over 46 days, this was 84.5% of its final BO of £83.5m; took £1.002m in its seventh weekend 63.8% less than £1.641m. If Barbie was to hold similar to Top Gun Maverick it could take £105m+ and will overtake Skyfall, Spider-Man No Way Home, No Time To Die, Spectre and Avatar over the next few weeks becoming the 2nd biggest film in the UK behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but as Barbie wasn’t released in IMAX/3D and had limited PLF/premium this would be the equivalent of £130m+.
Looking to next summer it is sequels and comic-book heavy, Deadpool 3 has big question marks against them due to strikes and will likely be delayed, but others include Furiosa, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes, Inside Out 2, Mission Impossible 8, Despicable Me 4, Mufasa: The Lion King, Venom 3, Twisters and Captain America: Brave New World aren’t that exciting to anyone 35+ or female.
Barbie: The Soundtrack has taken over the singles chart with; Billie Eilish’s What Was I Made For? #3; Dua Lipa’s Dance The Night #15; Charli XCX’s Speed Drive #17; Ryan Gosling’s I’m Just Ken #25; Barbieworld Nicki Minaj #30; Lizzo’s Pink #58; The soundtrack album #1 Compilations (where it will likely be for many weeks as seen by The Greatest Showman soundtrack #5 in its 289 weeks on release) and of course #1 on the Soundtrack chart.
Barbie has become the highest-grossing film at the Irish box office ever, has overtaken Avatar taking €8,854,036 also overtaking Titanic €8,253,258.
- 3. Oppenheimer £960,504 – £55,413,088
Down 41.4% in the seventh weekend it had the biggest drop over the weekend some believed that it could have overtaken Barbie this weekend but after 5 weeks of having smaller drops Barbie had the biggest drops.
Took £262k 27.3% (39.4% drop £432k) Friday; £469k 48.8% (23.2% drop £611k) Saturday and £228k 23.7% (61.7% drop £595k) Sunday.
Oppenheimer has taken 5.09x opening (Dunkirk 5.65x; Insomnia 4.87x; Inception 5.92x) hard to make comparisons with Inception 7th weekend #7 taking £699,041 as was in a more crowded marketplace with 4 films taking £1m+ (Grown Ups, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Toy Story 3 and The Expendables). While the marketplace is more crowded than Dunkirk’s 7th-weekend #2 £935,980 slightly behind American Made #1 £968,068.
50th biggest seventh weekend between Incredibles (£974,056) and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (£941,370) close to Bohemian Rhapsody, Gladiator, Dunkirk and Despicable Me 2) and the 111th biggest inflated between Lost in Translation (£960,605) and Casper (£955,871) close to Seven, Wayne’s World, The Dark Knight Rises and Pulp Fiction).
34th biggest between Casino Royale (£55,515,205) and Bohemian Rhapsody (£55,219,023) close to The Dark Knight Rises, Incredibles 2, Fantastic Beasts and Super Mario Bros and 76th biggest inflated between Black Panther and The Greatest Showman (close to Notting Hill, The Incredibles, Avengers Age of Ultron and Spider-Man 3); 47th film to take £50m+ since 1997’s The Full Monty.
This weekend three years ago Tenet opened in the UK with £5,335,654 (including £2,044,948) and took 85.7% of weekend BO due to no other major films on release and despite huge media coverage and hype that it was going to be the saviour of cinema audiences didn’t come out to see it in the numbers industry expected.
Seventh weekends
2010’s Inception dropped 35% £699,041 #7 339 screens and £33,085,858 93.8% of £35,264,403; dropped 40% in the eighth weekend £417,302; held #1 for 1 week and in the top 5 for 5 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.
2020’s Tenet dropped 52% £296,049 #1 from 355 screens and £16,563,616 94.8% of £17,479,421; dropped 36% in the eighth weekend taking £187,275 held #1 for 8 weeks and in the top 5 for 9 weeks and top 10 for 10 weeks
2017’s Dunkirk dropped 6% £935,980 #2 545 screens and £53,735,483 94.6% of £56,797,955; dropped 32% in the eighth weekend taking £629,435 held #1 for 4 weeks and in the top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 10 weeks.
2014’s Interstellar dropped 43% £120,355 #14 130 screens and £20,066,636 96.2% of £20,852,599; held #1 for 2 weeks and in the top 5 for 4 weeks and top 10 for 6 weeks.
2005’s Batman Begins dropped 51% £141,036 #9 from 89 screens and £15,851,987 94.7% of £16,733,960: #1 for 2 weeks, top 5 for 5 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.
2008’s The Dark Knight dropped 35% £586,944 #7 from 328 screens and £46,997,023 95.1% of £49,411,323: #1 for 2 weeks, top 5 for 6 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.
2012’s The Dark Knight Rises dropped 44% £759,838 #6 from 339 screens and £54,535,548 96.6% of £56,446,768: #1 for 2 weeks, top 5 for 6 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.
Christopher Nolan’s films have taken over £315m at the UK BO and £400m inflated; average £28.6m and £41.2m over the last 7 films.
In the UK there are over 50 IMAX cinemas and Oppenheimer has taken 20%+ of its BO from those cinemas but 90% of cinemagoers aren’t getting what they expected from IMAX as BFI IMAX is 85ft wide and 65ft high (height of almost five double-decker buses).
- 4. Sound of Freedom – £760,060 – NE
Took £170,571 from previews (22.4%).
Took £216k (28.4%) Friday; £202k (26.6%) Saturday and £171k (22.5%) Sunday.
422nd widest opening in 523 cinemas similar to Gemini Man, The Lady in the Van, Twilight Saga: Eclipse and The Da Vinci Code; 556th 500+ cinema opening since 2001’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
The film was made in 2018 and was due to be released by 20th Century Fox but after the studio was brought by Disney the producers brought the rights back for the film and Angel Studios acquired world rights and used crowdfunding to pay for marketing and distribution costs encouraging audiences to pay it forward to get people who might have not seen the film in cinemas for free.
Sound of Freedom was a surprise hit when it opened in the US in July taking over $180m more than Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Elemental. As faith-based films don’t travel well outside the US opening with £760k over 4 days is far better than expected but will likely be front-loaded.
Faith-based films have been very lucrative in the US as they are often low-budget and attract audiences by word of mouth without needing expensive marketing budgets, but they don’t travel well outside the US. Over the last decade, Sony Pictures has had a lot of success with films made by Affirm including Heaven is for Real, Miracles from Heaven, and War Room.
2017’s Hacksaw Ridge was the biggest faith-based film, but it wasn’t sold as that but a World War 2 film starring Mel Gibson opening £1,490,158 #5 from 432 screens taking £4,945,211.
As seen by films like 2014’s Heaven Is For Real opening £7,762 #32 from 68 screens; 2002’s Father Stu £60,844 #16 203 screens; 2011’s Tree of Life £406,062 #6 from 75 screens taking £1,513,423; 2016’s Risen £69,909 #19 from 162 screens; 2017’s The Star £204,497 #11 from 421 screens taking £1,072,650. Most recently Big George Foreman £204,220 #11 from 457 screens and Jesus Revolution £56,243 #12 from 157 screens.
Having National Cinema Day, the weekend it opened could be seen by some conspiracy theorists’ Exhibitors tried to kill it as conspiracy theorists believed in the US, but NCD probably helped it find a much wider audience than it would have normally done.
- 5) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – £618,912 – £9,148,597
Up 29.34% in the fourth weekend; took £419k from NCD (67.7% of weekend)
After having a 7-day opening Mutant Mayhem predictably dropped heavily in its second weekend but held well in its third weekend and as all other family films National Cinema Day saw it have a big increase on Saturday, Super Mario Bros, Elemental and Haunted Mansion also saw increases from last weekend.
As with last year family films saw the biggest increase in their box office over National Cinema Day and it shows again with Super Mario Bros and Elemental audiences will choose to see films in the cinema despite being available legally at home.
773rd biggest between Cold Mountain and Arrival (close to Dumb and Dumber, Cliffhanger, Wayne’s World and Bee Movie) and 1,284th biggest inflated between Thunderbirds and Looney Tunes: Back in Action (close to Predator (1988), G. I. Joe, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie).
But Mutant Mayhem hasn’t performed as well as Paramount’s first live-action Turtles film, maybe the reason was despite sharing the same language as America we don’t always see the same comedy as is the case with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg as their films like Judd Apatow don’t travel as well and aren’t as popular in the UK as the US.
It’s the seventh theatrical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film since 1990, the first was released as Hero Turtles in the UK and is the second animated film after 2007’s TMNT taking £2,739,160.
While the fourth weekend of 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dropped 48% £738,766 #3 from 489 screens taking £12,889,684 of £13,771,574 and 2016’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows dropped 57% £185,584 #7 taking £5,823,141 from 383 screens of £5,957,182.
1990’s Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles took £5,452,740 (£18,651,647 inflated)
1991’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 took £2,250,201 (£5,918,846 inflated).
Predictably before the film was released Paramount already had plans for a sequel and spinoff show for Paramount+.
Also Opened
Jurassic Park – Park Circus
Opened with £283,296 #11 re-released on 456 screens for its 30th anniversary it couldn’t attract a similar audience as E.T. (40th Anniversary) which opened over last year’s National Cinema Day £438,715 #7 from 529 screens and Jaws £524,233 #3 from 447 screens.
The re-release of Jurassic Park opened in 22 more cinemas than it did when it opened on July 15, 1993 (a month after the US) with £4,875,137 from 434 screens (£12,104,312 inflated) and was #1 for 8 weeks, top 5 for 12 weeks and top 10 for 15 weeks taking £1m+ for 7 weeks taking £47,886,423 (£118,895,574 inflated); played at the Empire Leicester Square for 31 weeks taking £1.4m (prices were £4-£8).
30 years after opening it’s still the 54th biggest film between Bridget Jones’s Baby and Despicable Me 3 and the 7th biggest inflated between LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring and LOTR: The Return of the King.
UK box office in detail
Almost 50% of weekend BO came from National Cinema Day (£4.63m) taking about double the normal level, that said hot sunny weather returned on Sunday which could have likely had an impact along with The Equalizer 3 and Sound Of Freedom front-loaded.
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £9,073,887 up 16.7% from last weekend’s £7,775,273: 1,138,505 admissions up 23.5% from 921,959.
25th biggest weekend of the year out of 35 weeks between 27 January 2023 #1 Avatar: The Way of Water £2,116,615 and 21 April 2023 #1 Super Mario Bros (£4,271,315).
28 April 2023 (£7,835,588 #1 Super Mario Bros £3,067,431) and 17 March 2023 (£7,418,583 #1 Shazam! Fury Of the Gods £2,397,953)
68th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 126 weeks between 29 April 2022 #1 Downton Abbey: A New Era (£3,072,762) and 03 September 2021 #1 Shangi-Chi (£5,759,504)
697th biggest top 10 of the last 21 years (out of 1,118) between 09 August 2002 #1 Men In Black 2 £3,106,105 (34.2% of top 10) and 31 January 2014 #1 The Wolf of Wall Street £2,385,585 (26.3% of top 10) and 967th biggest inflation inflated between 09 December 2016 #1 Fantastic Beasts £2,734,960 (32.3% of top 10) and 05 August 2022 #1 Bullet Train £2,858,197 (32.7% of top 10).
The top 3 took (£5,385,216) 59.3% of the top 10; The Equalizer 30.65% (£2,783,302); Barbie 18.07% (£1,641,410); Oppenheimer 10.58% (£960,504).
654th highest percentage (30.67%) between 17 July 2015 Ant-Man (30.68%) and 17 March 2006 The Pink Panther (30.67%).
870th biggest admissions #1 (349,222) between 01 November 2002 28 Days Later (349,669) and 06 January 2012 Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (349,011).
Up 61.8% from 2022 (£5,607,200); Spider-Man: No Way Home (Extended) £469,309; E.T. (40th Anniversary) (£438,715); Three Thousand Years Of Longing (£307,176); The Forgiven (£182,772); Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan – Director’s Cut 4K (40th Anniversary) (£96,105); #1 Minions: The Rise Of Gru #1 £1,056,163 up 84% 3rd weekend #1 over 10 weeks (National Cinema Day) (23.23% of top 10)
Up 0.4% from 2021; (£9,037,234) Shangi-Chi (£5,759,504); Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins (£122,898); Annette (£86,670); Here Today (£28,577); #1 Shangi-Chi £5,759,504 640 screens 1st week (63.7% of top 10)
Up 150.3% from 2020 (£3,625,642); The New Mutants £686,407; After We Collided £255,000; #1 Tenet £2,151,490 2nd week 60% drop 613 screens (62.6% of the top 10)
Up 20.9% from 2019; (£7,501,395); The Informer £301,424; #1 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood £1,841,873 3rd week 9% drop 697 screens (24.5% of the top 10)
Up 15.2% from 2018: (£7,876,859); Searching (£765,050); The Happytime Murders (£694,044); Yardie (£438,088); Cold War (£228,780); Upgrade (£58,006); Action Point (£33,993); #1 Disney’s Christopher Robin £1,173,235 3rd week 646 screens (14.9% of top 10)
Up 46.5% from 2017: (£6,193,484); The Limehouse Golem (£371,412); God’s Own Country (£167,824); Patti Cake$ (£121,446); Inhumans (£80,176); #1 American Made £968,068 2nd week 556 screens 9% drop (15.6% of the top 10)
Down 17.6% from 2016: (£11,014,615); Sausage Party (£2,690,156); Brotherhood (£1,979,309); Cafe Society (£494,457); Morgan (£193,686); Equity (£12,923); #1 Sausage Party £2,690,156 1st week 525 screens (24.4% of the top 10)
Down 68.3% from 2015; (£5,392,011); No Escape (£637,630); Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (£431,726); The Transporter Refuelled (£352,278); American Ultra (£347,401); Ricki and the Flash (£220,032); Dope (£39,787); #1 Straight Outta Compton £1,366,741 2nd week 456 screens (25.3% of top 10)
Up 33.3% from 2014: (£6,808,576); Sex Tape (£1,431,058); Before I Go to Sleep (£790,271); The Hundred-foot Journey (£694,875); The Guest (£313,003); They Came Together (£21,951); Island of Lemurs: Madagascar (£3,341); #1 Sex Tape £1,431,058 1st week 440 screens (21.1% of top 10)
Down 8.1% from 2013: (£9,874,123); One Direction: This Is Us (£3,471,872); Pain & Gain (£1,016,136); The Way, Way Back (£532,487); You’re Next (£523,549); Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain (£36,882); #1 One Direction: This Is Us £3,471,872 1st week 476 screens (35.1% of top 10)
Down 16.1% from 2012:(£10,812,241); Total Recall (£2,493,230); The Watch (£2,235,933); The Possession (£979,192); A Few Best Men (£263,770); Thomas & Friends: Blue Mountain Mystery (£108,503); Berberian Sound Studio (£45,516); Cockneys vs. Zombies (£11,474); Rec 3 (£1,263); #1 Total Recall £2,493,230 1st week 464 screens (23.1% of top 10)
Down 5.3% from 2011: (£8,618,765); Friends with Benefits (£1,947,272); Jane Eyre (£1,012,111); Colombiana (£424,049); Troll Hunter (£200,607); #1 The Inbetweeners Movie £3,679,555 3rd week 475 screens 42% drop (24.9% of top 10)
Down 25.5% from 2010: (£7,227,858); The Last Exorcism (£1,104,856); Dinner for Schmucks (£940,586); The Switch (£666,018); Jonah Hex (£36,456); #1 The Last Exorcism £1,104,856 1st week 313 screens (15.3% of top 10)
Up 4.2% from 2009; (£8,704,321); District 9 (£2,288,378); 500 Days of Summer (£1,242,631); #1 District 9 £2,288,378 1st week 447 screens (26.3% of top 10)
Up 2.7% from 2008; (£8,832,337); Stepbrothers (£1,681,492); The Strangers (£1,250,624); Babylon A.D. (£536,968); #1 Step Brothers £1,681,492 1st week 362 screens (19.04% of top 10)
Up 17.4% from 2007:(£7,728,093); 1408 (£1,073,963); No Reservations (£512,657); Death Sentence (£260,733); Breach (£156,140); Hallam Foe (£132,972); Two Days in Paris (£110,284); Year of the Dog (£5,733); #1 The Bourne Ultimatum £2,232,971 3rd week 468 screens 22% drop (28.9% of top 10)
Up 53.6% from 2006; (£5,908,103); Little Man (£1,090,761); The Wicker Man (£736,316); The Sentinel (£627,838); Crank (£450,141); Adrift (£337,718); #1 You, Me and Depree £1,165,610 2nd week 412 screens 29% drop (19.7% of top 10)
Up 49.2% from 2005: (£6,082,782); The 40-Year-Old Virgin (£1,757,540); Red Eye (£891,582); The Business (£531,267); On a Clear Day (£58,257); #1 The 40-Year-Old Virgin £1,757,540 1st week 394 screens (28.9% of top 10)
Up 41.9% from 2004: (£6,394,789); The Terminal (£1,451,168); Hellboy (£1,058,375); Stage Beauty (£128,035); #1 The Terminal £1,451,168 1st week 436 screens (22.7% of top 10)
Up 73.2% from 2003 (£5,237,796); Blackball (£376,233); Camp (£245,183); #1 The Pirates of the Caribbean 5th week (3rd #1 over 5 weeks) £1,542,745 456 screens 24% drop (29.4% of top 10)
Up 45.5% from 2002: (£6,235,380); Insomnia (£1,159,754); The Sweetest Thing (£592,722); Windtalkers (£388,212); #1 Insomnia £1,159,754 1st week 264 screens (18.6% of top 10)
Up 42.3% from 2001: (£6,378,036); A Knight’s Tale (£1,678,264); Angel Eyes (£162,648); What’s Cooking (£45,445); #1 A Knight’s Tale £1,678,264 1st week 377 screens (26.3% of top 10);
Next Week 2022 (£5,007,757); See How They Run (£1,163,484); Tad the Lost Explorer and the Curse of the Mummy (£818,525); Jaws (Re: 2022) (£524,233); Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva (£516,943); Bodies Bodies Bodies (£351,159); #1 See How They Run £1,163,484 1st week 690 screens (23.2% of top 10)
Film News
National Cinema Day took £4.65m from 713 cinemas 66% of 1,087 cinemas in the UK and Ireland with 1.56m admissions, but what wasn’t reported was the split between NCD cinemas and full-price cinemas as chains like Everyman weren’t part of NCD and tickets for Barbie on Saturday were up to £20. Surely the 34% of cinemas that weren’t part of NCD would have taken about 50% of the BO?
Last year all tickets were £3 but this year they were £3 with only Cineworld, one of the major exhibitors, charging £3 all others had surcharges, Picturehouse £3.70, Vue £3.90, Odeon, Curzon and Showcase £4. That difference in pricing makes a big difference as at £3.90 it’s 1.2m admissions. Again, I feel the need for more transparency with BO numbers as the problem is very limited data is made publicly available.
It would be great to see the circuit breakdown, could see what the real admissions were and what the non-NCD cinemas took. NCD is a great addition to the cinema, but it shouldn’t just be a one-day event and that’s it till next year and over one of the slowest weekends of the year but as part of a round-the-year campaign to get people going to the cinema man more times a year.
The majority still going about twice a year Barbenheimer was probably most people’s two trips to the cinema this year. While Cineworld and Odeon’s subscription cinema members might be going 50+ times a year the majority aren’t going to the cinema any more than they did 30+ years ago. 30 years ago, Jurassic Park was the catalyst that saw UK admissions increase from 103.6m to 114.4m and the industry believed this would see admissions continue to grow steadily for the rest of the decade to top 200m by 2000, while they didn’t get to 200m they did increase steadily each year, until they stopped in 2002.
My question has always been why the industry didn’t do anything in the years that followed after 17 years of steady growth surely after 5 years of no admission growth industry should have said we needed to do something. While admissions where flat BO was still steadily increasing as exhibitors saw an easier way to increase BO was just to increase ticket prices and they have done that ever since.
Being booking fees this was likely money exhibitors wouldn’t share with the studio. Exhibitors for years said they don’t make money from cinema tickets, seeing them offering monthly subscription cinema from Cineworld and Odeon for the price of one cinema ticket. Reducing prices to £3 likely saw them sell much more of their highly profitable popcorn and syrup than they did on a normal day.
Last year all tickets were £3 having 1.4m admissions, It was the first National Cinema Day since 1998. The first weekend of September 2022 was one of the lowest of the year with the only new releases E.T. (40th Anniversary) £438,715; Three Thousand Years Of Longing £307,176 and The Forgiven £182,772. But this year will have The Equalizer 3, Sound Of Freedom and Cobweb.
The first in 1996 was to celebrate 100 years of cinema all tickets £1 with 1.1m admissions, this was more than 2.5 times the normal Sunday audience of 400k. Over 150 films were shown, which included new releases, classics and previews, and were similarly successful a year later.
National Cinema Day is hugely popular so why did it take 24 years for it to return to the UK? The 1996/97 NCDs were hugely popular in 1996 all tickets £1 (no booking fees) had 1.4m admissions and 2.5x normal Sunday admissions.
In 1998 they brought in McDonald’s as a sponsor Daniel Battsek, chairman of the All Industries Marketing Committee for Cinema, said: “National Cinema Day is fast becoming an institution. On NCD 1998 we are toasting the success of British Cinema and its continued development.” The cinema market is expected to continue to grow over the next five years, with admissions expected to increase to 185m by 2002. While admissions didn’t get to 185m by 2002 still grew steadily up to 36.3m. Had NCD continued beyond 1998 200m+ would have happened within a decade.
Industry heralds the success of National Cinema Day but why did it end in 1998 and not become an annual event? After admissions stopped increasing in the years after 2002 NCD should have returned.
August BO was £104.9m up 67% from last August. 2023 BO is 10% up from 2022 taking £751.5m (after 34 weeks) it was down 15% from 2019 £880.4m. Barbie and Oppenheimer have taken 65% of BO between them since July 21st.
Biggest August films Barbie #1 £31.3m; Oppenheimer £20.7m; The Meg 2 #3 £11.9m; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem #4 £8.5m; Elemental #5 £4.1m; Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One #6 £4.1m; Haunted Mansion #7 £3.5m; Blue Beetle #8 £3.4m; Gran Turismo #9 £2.5m; Strays #10 £1.5m.
July admissions were 17.6m with August expected to be 13.5m which will see admissions for May-August 49.6% up 8% from 2022. The problem is admissions Aug-Dec will be lower than in 2019 and probably 2021 and 2022 and maybe lowest since 2011 as autumn is lacking the must-see cinema films 2021 previous years had.
Autumn 2022 had a similar slate as this year what it did have was Matilda and Avatar 2 in November/December but it’s unlikely Wonka and Aquaman 2 will come close to their combined £105m BO. While The Marvels is unlikely to match the £35m Black Panther Wakanda Forever took.
The strike will continue to affect almost all upcoming films as it has done with films opening this month as they need talent to promote them. Much has been made about Dune Part 2 being delayed but as Warner didn’t delay either Wonka or Aquaman 2 the delay could have more to do with premiering it at the Berlin Film Festival as the first film was far more successful in Europe than the US.
Despite losing IMAX/PLF screens after a week to Oppenheimer Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 has become the biggest Mission Impossible film in the UK taking £25,643,245, overtaking Mission Impossible: Fallout £24,421,935. In the US it’s taken $168.24m and $552.14m
The 7 films since 1996 have taken £140m and £170m+ inflated. Mission: Impossible took £18,619,357 (£40,107,101 inflated) and Mission: Impossible II £17,299,719 (£31,336,082 inflated). The 7 films have taken $2bn in the US ($2.8bn inflated) and $4.1bn worldwide ($6.1bn inflated)
While Elemental played out the summer holidays, staying in the top 10 for 9 weeks taking £16,910,822, Increased 64% this weekend due to a big increase on National Cinema Day taking £559,291 over the weekend. While that’s far from the success of the majority of Pixar films it has taken 5.9x £3,049,002 opening. It’s the second biggest original Pixar film since 2015’s Inside Out (sequel released next year). In the US it’s taken $151.69m and $469.5m WW.
While Barbie and Oppenheimer have taken £142m+ between them many summer films failed to meet their expectations including Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny £20,157,704, The Little Mermaid £27,202,427 and Fast X £15,073,671 should have taken a third more.
Films including The Flash and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts underperformed but after all the delays and negativity surrounding The Flash it was never likely to take much more The Transformers film franchise should have ended many years ago but only survived due to China. Much was made about Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse taking much more than Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse but after the enormous success of Spider-Man: No Way Home it surely wasn’t such a surprise.
Looking at the 20+ films from studios released between September and December there are big questions over many of them with few sure things as The Marvels will perform as all other MCU films, no trailer yet for Aquaman 2 opened in December (trailer due late this month) do we really need a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory prequel. While will audiences come out to see the latest from Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Ridley Scott’s Napoleon both films made by Apple given a full theatrical release, while will audiences be excited to see the Hunger Games prequel without Jennifer Lawrence?
Horrors are strong with The Nun 2, The Exorcist: Believer, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Saw X and Thanksgiving. Half-term for children has Paw Patrol: The Movie 2 and Trolls 3 and then Disney’s Wish for Christmas.
But overshadowing all of them is the strike as the majority of them need talent to promote them so many films have struggled to find their audience since the strike started and will only get worse over the next few months, but it needs to start hurting the studios as it will also see many of 2024’s films like Deadpool 3 and Snow White unlikely to meet their current release dates as they haven’t finished filming.
US summer BO took $4bn on Friday with the expected total for summer $4.087bn 19% up from 2022 but 6% down from 2019.
On Thursday it was announced Taylor Swift: Eras Tour would open in US cinemas on October 13th taking $26m in presales on the first day at AMC Theatres more than Spider-Man: No Way Home’s $16.9m and is expected to open with upwards of $100m.
The deal was done between the Swift family and AMC with the Swift family taking 53% share of the BO. Studios rejected the deal probably due to them wanting to open globally day and date but as Taylor Swift doesn’t start her international concerts in November and doesn’t end until August 17th at Wembley Stadium, they wouldn’t be able to release it internationally before August.
Unlike other Event Cinema screenings that have surcharges of up to 100% regular US cinemas have a fixed price for adults $19.89 (Taylor Swift’s birth year) and $13.13 for children (her favourite number) with surcharges for IMAX. Cinemas will have to show it for a minimum of four weeks and then it will be sold to streaming services. AMC will also sell promotional Taylor Swift popcorn for $14.99 and drinks for $11.99.
Due to the strong presales of the concert, Universal Pictures brought forward the release of The Exorcist: Believer by a week to October 6th.
US Box Office
- The Equalizer 3 – Sony Pictures
Opened $34. 6m and $42m 4 days; received positive reviews (79% Rotten Tomatoes) and A CinemaScore.
Took $3.8m from Thursday midnights; The Equalizer 2 took $3.1m and The Equalizer $1.45m
38% of BO from IMAX/PLF and had 2.6m admissions according to EntTelligence with an average price of $16.37 for IMAX/PLF and $13.28 standard formats.
IMAX took $3.4m from 360 IMAX screens over 4 days.
493rd biggest opening between The Magnificent Seven and Identity Thief (close to The Expendables, Gladiator, Ransom and The Equalizer).
2018’s The Equalizer 2 opened $36.01m taking $102.08m and $190.4m WW
2014’s The Equalizer opened with $34.13m taking $101.53m and $192.33m WW.
Had the second biggest Labor Day weekend opening after Shang-Chi’s $94.6m 4-day opening.
The Equalizer 2 was Denzel Washington’s third biggest opening after 2007’s American Gangster ($43.56m taking $130.16m and $269.75m WW) and 2012’s Safe House $40.17m taking $126.37m and $208.07m WW.
Denzel Washington’s biggest films to date at the US box office were 2007’s American Gangster taking $130.16m and 2012’s Safe House $126.18m.
He hasn’t had the success other African American actors have had as The Equalizer sequels are the only sequels he has made and has played so many unforgettable non-fiction and fictional characters over the years including Steve Biko (Cry Freedom), Trip (Glory), Malcolm X, Joe Miller (Philadelphia), Lt. Cmdr. Hunter (Crimson Tide), Rubin ‘Hurricane’ (The Hurricane), Dr. Jerome Davenport (Antwone Fisher) and Frank Barnes (Unstoppable) next stars in Gladiator 2. He won two Oscars Best Supporting Actor for Glory and Best Actor for Training Day.
His films have taken $2.41bn at the US box office and $4.14bn WW. The Equalizer are the only sequels he has made.
Opened with $26.1m from 49 territories; UK $3.5m; France $2.8m; Germany $2.4m; Spain $1.7m; Saudi Arabia $1.6m.
- Barbie – Warner Bros
Dropped 30% in the seventh weekend, taking $10.21m and $609.09m.
25th biggest seventh weekend between Beauty and the Beast and Hidden Figures (close to Spider-Man: No Way Home, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York)
Barbie will finally be released in IMAX on September 22nd for one week only and will include new post-credit footage a week after its VOD release.
EntTelligence average ticket price of Barbie $12.65 and Oppenheimer $13.65. They also said Barbie has had over 50m admissions.
13th biggest film between Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi and Incredibles 2; 34th biggest inflated between The Lion King and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest; 1st biggest 2023 film ahead of The Super Mario Bros. Movie; biggest Warner Bros film ahead of The Dark Knight ($533.72m)
What helped Barbenheimer is the audience of the two films are almost a mirror image of each other. Barbie’s audience is 66.2% female and 74.6% under 29, while Oppenheimer is 70.7% male and 52.9% over 30. The two films complimented each other Barbenheimer probably helped Oppenheimer far more than Barbie, as while Barbie’s audience also went to see Oppenheimer, not as many Oppenheimer probably went to see Barbie.
What will be interesting to see is lessons will be learnt from Barbenheimer studios realise two films playing to very different demographics can perform strongly, this, of course, was the case 30 years ago when studios would open films like Sleepless in Seattle the week after Jurassic Park and the two films would play strongly together.
Barbie has blown away all the cobwebs of Warner Bros.’ disappointing start of 2023; Universal $1.44bn; Disney $1.29bn; Warner $1.02bn; Paramount $697.3m; Sony $669m.
Took $13.2m (down 31.5%) from 75 territories and $771.5m and $1.381bn worldwide (likely taking $1.5bn+); UK $119.5m; Australia $54.7m; Germany $54.9m; Mexico $54.2m; France $46.8m.
15th biggest worldwide between Avengers: Age of Ultron and The Super Mario Bros. Movie; biggest worldwide 2023 ahead of The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.359bn); Biggest Warner Bros film worldwide ahead of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II ($1.31bn) and Aquaman ($1.14bn).
- Gran Turismo – Sony
Dropped 62% in the second weekend $6.57m and $28.68m.
Due to extended previews inflating last week’s opening, predictably had a much bigger second-weekend drop than it would have had, this regularly happens at second weekends in the UK after films have extended openings.
Gran Turismo was directed by Neill Blomkamp, who previously directed 2009’s District 9 (took $115.64m and $210.9m WW); 2013’s Elysium ($93.05m and $286.1m WW); 2015’s Chappie ($31.56m and $102.81m WW).
2019’s Ford v Ferrari dropped 50% $15.73m #2 and $57.72m of $117.62m and $225.5m WW
2013’s Rush dropped 55.3% $4.47m #5 and $18.16m of $26.94m and $95.22nm WW
2008’s Speed Racer dropped 56.3% $8.11m #4 and $30.28m of $43.94m and $93.94m WW
2008’s Death Race dropped 50% $6.3m #6 and $23.15m of $36.31m and $76.01m WW
2014’s Need For Speed 55.5% $7.94m #6 and $30.56m of $43.57m and $203.27m WW
1990’s Days of Thunder dropped 30.9% $10.7m #2 and $40.52m of $82.67m and $157.92m WW
Took $8.7m from 64 territories $50.3m total and $79m WW; Mexico $4.9m; Brazil $4.2m; UK $3.5m; France $2.8m; Indonesia $1.7m.
- Oppenheimer – Universal Pictures
Down 30% in the seventh weekend taking $5.75m and $308.78m.
133rd biggest seventh weekend between The Silence of the Lambs and Ocean’s Eleven (close to The Dark Knight #36 $8.62m; Gravity #122 $6.1m; Joker #155 $5.33m; The Dark Knight Rises #120 $6.11m; Inception #190 $4.87m).
95th biggest between Iron Man 2 and Star Wars Ep. II: Attack of the Clones; 234th biggest inflated between Rocky 2 and The Perfect Storm; 5th biggest 2023 between Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 and The Little Mermaid; 12th biggest Universal Pictures film between Minions and Meet the Fockers.
The 400 IMAX cinemas in the US (1%) have taken 30% of the US BO and 20% of worldwide BO.
Took $900k from IMAX and $85.5m total US.
Seventh weekends
2020’s Tenet dropped 26.5% taking $1.54m #3 $50.65m 86.6% of $58.5m and $365.3m WW; dropped 17.4% in the eighth weekend taking $1.27m; held #1 for 5 weeks and stayed in top 10 for 13 weeks.
2017’s Dunkirk up10.8% taking $4.37m #6 taking $179m 95.2% of $188.045m and $525.24m WW; up 57.4% in the eighth weekend taking $1.86m held #1 for 2 weeks and stayed in the top 10 for 9 weeks.
2014’s Interstellar dropped 50.4% $2.7m #11 taking $173.53m 92.3% of $188.02m and $677.89m WW; up 11.1% in the eighth weekend taking $3m stayed in the top 10 for 6 weeks.
2010’s Inception dropped 37.8% $4.87m #7 taking $270.51m 92.5% of $292.57m and $825.79m WW; dropping 6.2% in the eighth weekend $4.57m held #1 for 3 weeks and staying in the top 10 for 11 weeks.
2008’s The Dark Knight dropped 18.2% $8.62m #3 taking $502.29m 94.2% of $533.34m and $1.003bn WW; dropped 36% in the eighth weekend $5.51m held #1 for 4 weeks and stayed in the top 10 for 10 weeks.
Oppenheimer has now taken more than Interstellar worldwide, do find it interesting post-COVID industry sees things very differently as in 2014 Interstellar global BO was seen as disappointing; Deadline said it made a profit of $47m. 9 years on production, marketing is higher for Oppenheimer and video sales have shrunk so will it be as profitable after Christopher Nolan takes his percentage?
2012’s The Dark Knight Rises dropped 15.3% $6.11m #7 taking $431.43m 96.3% of $448.13m and $1.081bn WW; dropped 47.4% in the eighth weekend $3.21m; held #1 for 3 weeks and stayed in the top 10 for 8 weeks.
2020’s Tenet ($205m budget) took $365.3m worldwide; 2017’s Dunkirk ($150m+ budget) took $527m worldwide; 2014’s Interstellar ($165m+ budget) took $773.43m worldwide; 2010’s Inception ($160m+ budget) took $870.1m worldwide.
Took $49.7m (up 63.5% due to $30.4m opening in China $9.3m IMAX) from 81 territories $542.7m total and $851.3m worldwide (expected to take $900m+); UK $70.7m; Germany $45.4m; France $39.3m; China $30.3m; Australia $25.3m.
It has taken $170m internationally for IMAX; 5th highest grossing IMAX film worldwide after Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avengers: Endgame.
85th biggest worldwide between Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Inside Out; 3rd 2023 worldwide between The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3; 2nd biggest R-rated between Joker and Deadpool 2; 13th biggest Universal Pictures worldwide between The Secret Life of Pets and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Hot sunny weather returned to the UK from Sunday with 30c temperatures expected from Mon-Sat, this will likely have an impact on this weekend’s BO.
The Nun 2, the ninth instalment of The Conjuring Universe is likely to open similarly to recent horrors Insidious: The Red Door, M3gan and Scream VI rather than 2018’s Nun opening with £4,098,198 #1 from 548 screens taking £11,302,155 and with A Haunting in Vienna opening week after unlikely to hold as well as The Nun.
Horror has been one of the strongest-performing genres of films since cinemas reopened three years ago, with 19 wide-released horrors including Insidious: The Red Door, Evil Dead Rises, Scream VI, M3gan, The Menu, Smile, Nope, The Black Phone, Scream, Candyman, A Quiet Place Part II and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It taking over £100m. There are 4 more due for release this year The Exorcist: Believer, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Saw X and Thanksgiving.
Insidious: The Red Door opened in July £2,279,084 (£816k Friday; £837k Saturday and £628k Sunday) the second-biggest opening of the Insidious film series after 2013’s Insidious 2 and the third biggest horror opening in 2023 after M3gan (£2,356,357) and Scream VI (£3,043,922).
The Equalizer 3 will drop 60%+ having had an opening inflated with two days of previews and IMAX/PLF screens (The Nun 2 will get) taking £1m-£1.2m
Battled out third will be Barbie in its eighth weekend down 35%-40% taking £1m-£1.2m similar to My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 having a similar opening to the 2016 sequel wasn’t nearly as successful or opening £983,534 #4 from 434 screens taking £3,811,836; stayed in the top 10 for only 3 weeks.
2002’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding opened £1,503,436 #2 from 341 screens taking £13,441,558; it had very long legs taking 8.94x opening and stayed in the top 10 for 9 weeks (top 5 for 6 weeks).
Fifth will likely be Bollywood’s Jawan having a 4-day opening weekend some are expecting it to have a similar opening as Pathaan (£1,967,854) as presales have been strong.
- Opening in three weeks
- The Great Escaper – Warner Bros
Drama starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson (her final film before her death in June 2023) directed by Oliver Parker. Based on the true-life story of a British World War II veteran who ‘broke out’ of his nursing home to attend the 70th anniversary D-Day commemorations in France.
It plays to an older demographic who prefers going to the cinema during the week rather than the weekend. The problem with both is they won’t film audiences rush out to see over the weekend. Exhibitors always talk about the need for more films to be released but it is not more films they want but the right kind of films as they should be supporting films like The Great Escaper and give them a chance to find their audience as similar feel-good British films 20+ years ago would.
Recent films targetting older audiences include Allelujah opened £715,783 #4 from 558 screens taking £3,393,983 and Man Called Otto £1,088,410 #4 from 638 screens taking £4,780,386. The problem with these films is they open far too wide as they used to open on limited wide release and then expand, the problem distributors have is if these films don’t find an audience in their opening weekend they won’t expand further.
Other grey pound films Include 2023’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry opened £784,698 #3 from 642 screens taking £3,357,529; 2022’s The Duke opened £992,659 #3 from 651 screens taking £5,283,515; 2018’s The Guernsey Literary and Potato opened £825,777 #3 from 499 screens taking £5,937,280; 2015’s The Lady In The Van opened £2,256,121 #2 from 523 screens taking £13,237,194.
