- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – £7,352,760 – NE
Took £2.23m 30.33% Friday; £2.82m 38.36% Saturday; £2.302m 31.31% Sunday; took £677k Monday; £722k Tuesday.
174th biggest opening between X-Men: Apocalypse and The Day After Tomorrow (close to Taken 2, It Chapter 2, War for the Planet of the Apes and Men In Black) and 266th biggest inflated opening between Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Star Wars Special Edition (close to Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rocky IV, Batman and Back to the Future Part II)
5th biggest 2024 opening between Despicable Me 4 and Bob Marley: One Love; the 5th biggest September opening; Tim Burton’s 3rd biggest opening after 2005’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (£7.9m) and 2010’s Alice In Wonderland (£10.6m).
Took 83.6% top 3 (£8,790,504); 73.4% top 5 (£10,022,804) and 64.47% top 10 (£11,405,575)
Opened in 714 cinemas (1,556 screens); 34th 700+ cinema opening since 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi; screen average £10,298/£4,725 285th biggest between The Croods and How to Train Your Dragon (close to Sweeney Todd, Wonder Woman, Mission: Impossible and F9); 1988’s Beetlejuice had £2,535 screen average opening in 207 screens.
Took 26% (£1.91m) from IMAX/PLF
The opening was 6.62% of the US similar to 6.53% Beetlejuice took.
57% of the audience was female probably why Warner Bros cut a 15-certificate trailer in July which was likely played with It Ends With Us. Movio says about half of the audience was female as the film features three generations of Deetz women: Delia (Catherine O’Hara), Lydia (Winona Ryder) and Astrid (Jenna Ortega). While the original was about the gentrification of the countryside.
Micheal Keaton only appeared in the original film for 17 minutes and he is in the sequel for a similar amount of time.
Compared to similar recent legacy-sequels opened 45%+ 2016’s Independence Day: Resurgence (£5,067,855); 62%+ 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road (£4,538,933); 67.5%+ 2016’s Ghostbusters (£4,388,944); 70.4%+ 2021’s Ghostbusters Afterlife (£4,314,263); 77.2%+ 2024’s Twisters (£4,149,210); 81.3%+ 2024’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (£4,056,097)
The sequel to 1988’s Beetlejuice received its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival at the end of August receiving positive reviews; it had a UK premiere a few days later. Events happen 36 years after the original film featuring Winona Ryder’s daughter who accidentally brings Betelgeuse back.
Plans started for a sequel in 1990, a script was finished in January 2015 with a plan to start filming later in the year. But the project kept getting delayed until April 2019 when Warner Bros cancelled the film. In February 2022, a sequel was announced again and Tim Burton returned to direct in March 2023. Filming started in May 2023 and was stopped in July due to the SAG strike with only two days of production left, filming restarted in November 2023
Beetlejuice opened in August 1988 £524,740/£1,806,931 207 screens taking £3,604,282/£12,411,267 inflated; received 15 certificate in the UK (12 didn’t launch in the UK until 1989’s Batman) but surprisingly received a PG in the US, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has a PG-13 will likely get 12A as the BBFC are more lenient on fantasy films as seen with The Hunger Games and The Woman In Black.
Since its release, it has become a Halloween favourite and was the first film Netflix sent out on DVD in 1998 and was an enormous success on home video.
Beetlejuice was the second film Tim Burton directed after 1985’s Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and followed Beetlejuice with 1989’s Batman opened £2,058,159/£6,995,974 inflated taking £12,034,291/£40,906,260 inflated; 1991’s Edward Scissorhands opened £1,341,367/£3,506,147 taking £4,299,657/£11,238,707 inflated. Batman Returns and Ed Wood followed and then 1997’s Mars Attacks opened £2,121,878/£4,129,060 inflated taking £7,061,157/£13,740,630 inflated; 2000’s Sleepy Hollow opened £2,848,933/£5,128,079 inflated taking £10,046,249/£18,083,248 inflated.
He then directed 2001’s Planet of the Apes when asked if he would like to do a sequel said, “I’d rather jump out a window.” He went back to more quirky films like Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Sweeny Todd, Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows, Frankenweenie and Big Eyes, his last was 2019’s live-action reimagination of Dumbo poorly received critically.
In 2022 Park Circus re-released 1988’s Beetlejuice in 350 screens tsking £93,042 #14; originally opened with £524,740 (£1,818,338 inflated) taking £3,604,282 (£12,489,621 inflated). The film was originally released as a 15 and was reclassified as 12A in 2018.
Legacy sequels have had mixed success from the tremendous success of Top Gun: Maverick, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, Avatar: The Way of Water.
The mixed success of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Bad Boys for Life, Tron: Legacy, Live Free or Die Hard, Creed, Blade Runner 2049, Mary Poppins Returns, T2 Trainspotting and Mad Max: Fury Road.
Ahead of opening Beetlejuice 2 was looking to open similarly to Ghostbusters in the UK but generated strong awareness with trailers played with films including Deadpool & Wolverine and Alien: Romulus, the 12A certificate and no competition allowed it to play to a much wider demographic.
The question is will Beetlejuice 2 be front-loaded, it has limited competition over the next few weeks and the 12A certificate again will be key as there is limited competition for films targetting younger audiences over the next few weeks.
Tim Burton has ruled out making a third film as he believes it could take several decades before it got made.
- 2. The Greatest Of All Time – £768,84 – NE
Included £382k (49.7%) from previews.
Took £156k 20.31% Friday; £157k 20.44% Saturday; £73k 9.51% Sunday.
The second biggest opening for an Indian language film after Kalki 2898 AD £886,366; as with many Indian films, it was front-loaded taking almost 50% from previews.
- 3. It Ends With Us £668,902 – £20,110,598
Down 41.4% in its fifth weekend
Took £196k 29.34% (-45.56% £360k) Friday; £265k 39.67% (-43.97% £473k) Saturday; £207k 30.99% (-33.01% £309k) Sunday.
332nd biggest fifth weekend between The Beach and Sleepers (close to The Hunger Games: THG Mockingjay Part 1, The Da Vinci Code, 22 Jump Street and The Others) and 565th biggest inflated fifth weekend between Smile and How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (close to A Time To Kill, The Girl on the Train, Sommersby and LA Confidential).
While the headlines in 2024 will be about the predictable £50m+ BO of Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2 they should be for films like It Ends With Us as few would have expected it to open with £4.5m and then hold strongly for the next month as these films are normally front-loaded.
19th biggest romantic drama in the UK between 1999’s Shakespeare In Love (£21.0m) and 2001’s Moulin Rouge (£18.4m).
7th biggest 2024 film between Migration and Bob Marley: One Love
304th film taking £20m+ since 1986’s Crocodile Dundee
After It Ends With Us has now taken almost $310m worldwide (overtaking the global box office of Anyone But You $220m and The Help $222m)) Sony Picture would be hoping to announce plans for the sequel but it’s complicated due to the fallout between Blake Lively Justin Baldoni as Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios acquired rights to Colleen Hoover sequel It Starts With Us. Baldoni’s character Ryle has a smaller role in the sequel. Blake Lively could direct the sequel.
The trailer was viewed 128.1m in the first 24 Hours becoming the biggest recent it’s for female-led films Wicked 112.9m views; Barbie 101.6m; Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour 96.2m; Mean Girls 79.3m; Challengers 75m; The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 61.6m and its had many more views playing with many summer films.
The first trailer for Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy was released exclusively in cinemas with It Ends With Us.
As with 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling there were claims of tensions between the director Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively during postproduction with two cuts of the film the director’s cut and a second cut Blake Lively requested which became the released version, despite the original version testing better. It was reported Ryan Reynolds wrote a key rooftop scene at the start of the film. Blake Lively said “We help each other. He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does. So, his wins, his celebrations are mine and mine are his.”
Fifth weekends
Films about abusive relationships include.
2013’s Safe Haven took £2,076,306/£2,518,276 inflated
1991’s Sleeping With the Enemy dropped 11.9% £477,126/£1,255,015 and £6,824,694 73.93% of £9,230,825/£24,128,097 inflated.
Blake Lively recent films include.
2015’s The Age of Adaline took £1,084,834 and 2018’s A Simple Favor took £4,930,383
Other comparisons include.
2014’s The Fault in Our Stars dropped 50.1% £278,559/£299,611 inflated and £10,570,369 96.04% of £11,006,752.
2022’s Where The Crawdads Sing up 6.5% £273,154 and £6,894,946 84.96% of £8,115,231.
2022’s Don’t Worry Darling dropped 53.1% £286,411 and £9,995,806
297th biggest between Clash of the Titans and War for the Planet of the Apes (close to Calendar Girls, Tangled, Batman Forever and Venom) and 555th biggest inflated between 102 Dalmatians and The Bourne Supremacy (close to Erin Brockovich, The Holiday, When Harry Met Sally and Dead Poets Society).
- 4. Deadpool & Wolverine £661,592 – £55,988,625
Down 46.1% in its seventh weekend
Took £158k 23.9% (-49.03% £310k) Friday; £293k 44.33% (-51% £598k) Saturday; £210k 31.77% (-33.96% £318k) Sunday.
101st biggest seventh weekend between Ratatouille and Billy Elliot (close to The Mask, Crocodile Dundee, Ralph Breaks the Internet and Up) and the 208th inflated seventh weekend between Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and The Artist (close to Batman, Total Recall (1990), In the Line of Fire and Sleeping With The Enemy).
8th biggest comic-book seventh weekend between Avengers Assemble and Men In Black (close to Joker, The Dark Knight Rises, Captain Marvel and The Dark Knight) and 13th inflated comic book seventh weekend between Batman and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 (close to The Dark Knight, Batman Forever, Spider-Man 2 and Men in Black 3).
Deadpool and Wolverine along with Alien: Romulus, Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2 have benefited from fewer films being released in July/August than in previous years.
3rd biggest MCU seventh weekend between Avengers Assemble and Captain Marvel (close to Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1, Thor: Love And Thunder and Avengers Infinity War).
Seventh weekends
2016’s Deadpool dropped 60% £205,940 #10 208 screens and £37,339,716 of £37,616,432 (£40.45m inflation inflated); took 2.74x opening; #1 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice £14,621,007
2018’s Deadpool 2 dropped 47% £241,659 #9 315 screens and £32,049,598 of £32,501,893/£35.87m inflated; took 2.51x opening; #1 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom £2,001,876
2018’s Black Panther dropped 21% £1,044,075 #5 420 screens and £46,711,648 of £52,399,681/£70,189,153 inflated: #1 Peter Rabbit £5,610,556
2019’s Joker dropped 40% £1,009,309 #3 523 screens and £56,104,383 of £57,800,000: #1 Last Christmas £2,654,354
2012’s The Dark Knight Rises dropped 45% £759,838/£950,692 inflated #6 339 screens and £54,535,548 96.97% of £56,237,758/£70,363,412 inflated: #1 Total Recall £2,493,230
2008’s The Dark Knight dropped 35% £586,944/£899,605 inflated #7 328 screens and £46,997,023 96.15% of £49,309,894 (£75,102,762 inflated; #1 Rocknrolla £1,565,439
2023’s Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse dropped 28.7% £687,116 and £28,871,089 95.08% of £30,366,099
Curiously, it’s holding similar to inflation-inflated 1989’s Batman dropped 34.9% £195,664/£669,288 and £11,316,222 94.03% of £12,034,291/£41,164,506 inflated.
Deadpool & Wolverine couldn’t be compared to the first two films as it has received far more hype and media coverage than those films received and needed to be compared to other MCU films similar to MCUs.
The 34 MCUs have taken £1.137bn since 2008 and £1.32bn inflated.
35th biggest between The Dark Knight Rises and Incredibles 2 (close to Dunkirk and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Casino Royale and Bohemian Rhapsody) and the 96th biggest inflated between Alice In Wonderland and Black Panther (close to Back to the Future, Gladiator, Shrek and The Lion King (1994).
6th biggest comic book between The Dark Knight Rises and Marvel Avengers Assemble (close to Avengers: Infinity War, Joker, The Dark Knight and Avengers Age of Ultron) and the 10th biggest inflated between Joker and Black Panther (close to The Dark Knight, Men In Black, Spider-Man 2 and Batman Forever).
The upcoming MCU includes a new Daredevil TV series, 20th Century Fox made the 2003 film, it was then remade for Netflix as a TV series and Marvel is bringing it back as a TV series titled Born Again. Footage received rave reactions for Captain America: Brave New World at D23 but the film has had extensive reshoots and has been delayed from May 2024 to February 2025. While their reboot of Blade keeps having delays.
Down 47.1% in its fourth weekend
Took £147k 25.8% (-50% £294k) Friday; £239k 41.9% (-48.3% £462k) Saturday; £184k 32.28% (-43% £323k) Sunday.
682nd biggest fourth weekend between Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Longlegs (close to Final Destination 3, Annabelle: Creation, Trainspotting and Fantastic Four (2005) and 979th inflated between Yogi Bear and Longlegs (close to Black Hawk Down. Justice League, Lethal Weapon and Die Hard).
Alien: Romulus was originally developed to be released straight to Disney+ as the Predator prequel Prey released in 2022 and received positive reviews. Predator: Badlands has just started production directed by Dan Trachtenberg it is not yet known if it will be given a theatrical release or go to Disney+ but after the impressive performance of both Prey on Disney+ and Alien: Romulus it’s likely to be given a theatrical release in August 2025.
Fede Álvarez previously directed 2013’s Evil Dead took £3,355,676, 2016’s Don’t Breathe took £3,719,221)
1979’s Alien was the 5th biggest film of the year after Moonraker, Superman 2, Jaws and Every Which Way But Loose; Alien and Aliens had a long-exclusive run at the Odeon Leicester Square all others opened wide.
1997’s Alien Resurrection took £7,232,926/£14.074m inflated
Fourth weekends
1986’s Aliens dropped 20.8% £258,085/£1,094,116 and £3,374,433 78.51% of £4,298,142/£18,107,066 inflated
1992’s Alien3 dropped 41.4% £332,335/£825,143 and £5,646,328 86.57% of £6,522,262/£16,092,310 inflated
2012’s Prometheus dropped 48.7% £1,029,758/£1,288,410 and £21,641,986 87.54% of £24,628,830/£30,621,716
2017’s Alien: Covenant dropped 54.8% £327,309/£348,285 and £12,320,505 95.29% of £12,913,468 (£13,654,829 inflated)
573rd biggest between The Lion King 3D and The Fall Guy (close to Back to the Future, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, Batman and Home Alone) and 969th biggest inflated between Something’s Gotta Give and Wimbledon (close to Misery, Crimson Tide, Looper and The Last of the Mohicans).
Also opened.
- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge Of The Sith – Disney
Opening with £159,313 #9 from 192 screens taking £39,411,480
All of the Star Wars films returned to the cinemas in September in order without the Fox logo, exhibitors are playing them at various times during the month. This is from Cineworld and Odeon cinemas, Vue will be showing Revenge of the Sith later in the month.
- Spider-Man Homecoming – Sony Pictures
Opened with £70,800 from 377 screens and £30,776,853
It’s the latest Spider-Man film to be re-released over the last five weeks.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opened £129,875 #14 from 409 screens.
2002’s Spider-Man opened £253,261 #7 586 screens
2004’s Spider-Man 2 opened £208,243 #10 449 screens
2007’s Spider-Man 3 opened £156,781 #11 428 screens
2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man opened £146,633 #14 404 screens
- blur: Live At Wembley Stadium – Altitude
Opened £81,680 #13 from 319 screens.
Released three months after blur: To The End opened £147,981 #8 from 477 screens. It opened in cinemas a week after Oasis fans struggled to buy tickets for next summer’s concerts. Next year will be the 30th anniversary of the Battle of Britpop, in August 1995 Blur released Country House and Oasis released Roll with It on the same day: Country House outsold Roll With It by 274,000 to 216,000. Blur fans will have none of the issues to see Live At Wembley Stadium in cinemas this weekend.
- Firebrand – MetFilm Distribution
Opened £119,952 #10 from 149 screens.
Firebrand premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival receiving positive reviews. STX originally acquired UK rights, but Amazon acquired the film from STX in May 2023. The title was changed from Queen’s Gambit to avoid confusion with Netflix’s TV drama The Queen’s Gambit starring Anya Taylor-Joy.
- Batman Forever (Re: 2024) – Park Circus
Took £21,104 #31 from 282 screens; released as part of the 85th anniversary of Batman.
Batman Forever was originally released in July 1995 opening £4,714,153/£10,728,762 inflated from 386 screens taking £19,915,659/£45,325,293 inflated.
This weekend Batman and Robin is re-released; originally released in 1997 with £4,940,566/£9,614,074 inflated from 457 screens taking £14,676,429/£28,559,538 inflated.
It was previously re-released in 2019 in 4K opening for £293 from 2 screens along with Batman (£38,112), Batman Returns (£7,906) and Batman & Robin (£154) The Dark Knight trilogy and The Batman will be re-released at the end of the month.
UK box office in detail
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £11,405,575 up 57.6% from last weekend’s £7,236,745: 1,440,098 admissions up 65.5% from 870,209 admissions.
20th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 20 October 2023 #1 Trolls Band Together £3,051,810 (25.95%) and 21 June 2024 #1 Inside Out 2 £7,762,903 (68.96%)
63rd biggest since cinemas reopened out of 199 weeks between 22 July 2022 #1 Minions: The Rise Of Gru £3,086,374 (26.94%) and 21 June 2024 #1 Inside Out 2 £7,762,903 (68.96%)
486th biggest top 10 of the last 22 years (out of 1,170) between 08 June 2012 #1 Prometheus £3,135,504 (27.45%) and 02 March 2018 #1 Black Panther £3,736,954 (32.78%) and 796th inflated between 16 May 2014 #1 Godzilla £6,385,483 (66.32%) and 05 May 2017 #1 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 £6,097,082 (56.9%)
The top 3 took (E8,790,504) 77.1% of the top 10; Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 64.47% (£7,352,760); The Greatest of All Time 6.74% (£768,842); It Ends With Us 5.86% (£668,902)
Year to date BO is 13% down from 2023. While September looks soft October has Joker: Folie à Deux and then November sees the release of Paddington in Peru, Gladiator 2, Wicked and Moana 2 far stronger than last year.
104th highest #1 percentage (64.47%) between 22 April 2016 #1 The Jungle Book (64.54%) and 21 November 2014 #1 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (64.33%)
307th biggest admissions #1 (928,379) between 15 January 2010 #1 Avatar (928,914) and 10 November 2006 #1 Borat (926,213)
Up 71.2% from 2023; (£6,660,831); The Nun 2 (£1,743,903); Jawan (£1,346,689); Past Lives (£515,509); My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (£411,191); School Of Rock (20th Anniversary) (£16,300); #1 The Nun 2 £1,743,903 1st week 561 screens (26.18%)
Up 127.7% 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)
Up 75.8% 2021 (£6,488,144); Respect (£424,514); Malignant (£409,299); Copshop (£198,225); #1 Shangi-Chi £3,583,848 2nd week 38% drop 653 screens (55.2% of top 10)
Up 204.4% 2020; (£3,746,637); The New Mutants (£686,407); After We Collided (£65,797); Les Miserables (£48,090); #1 Tenet £2,151,490 2nd week down 60% 613 screens (57.42% of top 10)
Down 4.8% 2019; (£11,975,243); It: Chapter Two (£7,368,586); #1 It: Chapter Two £7,368,586 1st week 652 screens (61.5% of the top 10)
Down 21.5% 2018: (£9,386,760); The Nun (£4,098,198); American Animals (£347,486); The Miseducation of Cameron Post (£142,996); Puzzle (£23,565); Final Score (£9,945); #1 The Nun £4,098,198 1st week 548 screens (43.6% of top 10)
Down 18.5% 2017: (£13,995,695); It (£10,002,443); Wind River (£437,899); Poster Boys (£24,964); #1 It £10,002,443 1st week 606 screens (71.4% of the top 10)
Up 53.7% 2016: (£7,420,952); Ben-Hur (£1,047,800); Don’t Breathe (£1,028,938); Kubo and the Two Strings (£844,027); Hell or High Water (£552,230); Captain Fantastic (£280,614); Anthropoid (£227,591); #1 Sausage Party £1,219,972 2nd week 55% drop 533 screens (16.4% of the top 10)
Up 111.5% 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 67.5% 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 43.6% 2013: (£7,942,235); About Time (£1,761,079); Riddick (£1,415,141); #1 About Time £1,761,079 1st week 556 screens (22.2% of top 10)
Up 84.1% 2012: (£6,196,846); Dredd (£1,049,345); Lawless (£973,234); Anna Karenina (£875,702); That’s My Boy (£254,621); #1 Dredd £1,049,345 1st week 415 screens (16.9% of top 10)
Up 32.3% 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 £2,147,393 4th week 475 screens 42% drop (24.9% of top 10)
Up 57.8% 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 31.1% 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 27.7% 2008; (£8,929,646); Rocknrolla (£1,565,439); The Duchess (£1,402,200); Disaster Movie (£925,655(; Bangkok Dangerous (£307,420); #1 Rocknrolla £1,565,439 1st week 362 screens (17.53% of top 10)
Up 62.8% 2007:(£7,003,476); Run, Fat Boy, Run (£2,010,250); Atonement (£1,634,065); Rise of the Footsoldier (£85,903); #1 Run, Fat Boy, Run £2,010,250 1st week 413 screens (28.7% of top 10)
Up 197.8% 2006; (£3,829,476); Right at your Door (£441,548); Little Miss Sunshine (£349,810); Pulse (£210,409); Beerfest (£208,782); Snow Cake (£23,944); #1 You, Me and Depree £746,602 3rd week 410 screens 36% drop (19.5% of top 10)
Up 93.8% 2005: (£5,883,345); The Longest Yard (£1,255,334); Cinderella Man (£614,346); Green Street (£446,369); The Man (£329,233); #1 The Longest Yard £1,255,334 1st week 379 screens (21.3% of top 10)
Up 78.3% 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 117.7% 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 80.9% from 2002: (£6,305,370); The Bourne Identity (£2,150,511); Importance of Being Earnest (£554,413); Once Upon A Time In The Midlands (£129,920); #1 The Bourne Identity £2,150,511 1st week 419 screens (34.1% of top 10)
Up 52.6% from 2001 (£7,473,347); Moulin Rouge (£2,403,378); Scary Movie 2 (£1,553,796); #1 Moulin Rouge £2,403,378 1st week 284 screens (32.1% of top 10)
2023 Next week: (£6,463,338); A Haunting in Venice (£2,186,930); Rise Of The Footsoldier: Vengeance (£179,804); The Dark Knight (Batman Day) (£175,576); The Jungle Book (Re: 1993) (£117,015); ABBA: The Movie – Fan Event (£116,574); Batman (Batman Day) (£66,351); Joker (Batman Day) (£37,014); Dazed And Confused (30th Anniversary) (£6,433); #1 A Haunting in Venice £2,186,930 1st week 711 screens (33.84% of top 10)
UK Box Office News
2024 is still 12% behind 2023 levels despite August’s box office taking £120.2 million ($158.2m) the highest month since July 2023’s £160m ($210.5m) Barbenheimer.
In August Deadpool & Wolverine took £29.7m (taking £55.98m the third highest grossing 15 behind Joker (£58.2m) and Oppenheimer (£59.7m).
#2 It Ends With Us taking £19.4m; #3 Despicable Me 4 £16.9m; #4 Alien: Romulus £11.6m; #5 Inside Out 2 £7.2m; #6 Twisters £5.2m; #7 Trap £3.7m; #8 Coraline £3.2m; #9 Harold and the Purple Crayon £2.9m; #10 Blink Twice £2.2m.
Apart from Beetlejuice 2 September’s slate looks soft with the biggest other releases Speak No Evil starring James McAvoy, Kate Winslet’s biopic Lee and The Critic starring Ian McKellen and Gemma Arterton all opening on Friday.
October brings Joker: Folie A Deux unlikely to match the £58.5m/£64.6m inflated 2019’s Joker took as it is likely to not have the legs and not stay #1 as long with Venom 3 opening three weeks later.
It’s the calm before the storm of November with Paddington in Peru, Gladiator 2, Wicked and Moana 2. Paddington 3 is likely to take £50m+ as the first two films and British audiences love musicals so Wicked is likely to be another £50m+ having long legs into the new year.
Gladiator 2 is another long-gap sequel opening 24 years after the first film. Moana wasn’t an immediate success having exceptionally long legs, but will the sequel be overshadowed by Paddington in Peru and Wicked? December sees the release of the Lion King prequel Mustafa unlikely to be as big as 2019’s The Lion King.
The remaining films will see 2024 overtake 2023 BO but by how much as surely BO needs to add at least £100m from last year’s £978.5m so 2025 will return to 2019 levels (£1.251bn?
With admissions increasing about 20m from last year’s 117.3m if they are to return to 2019’s 176.1m over the next few years and finally top 200m as the UKCA predicted would happen within 10 years in 2020, this will be about 30 years later than originally expected.
US Box Office
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Warner Bros
Opened $110m; received positive reviews (73% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore.
Took $13m from Thursday previews (started 3 pm) including $3m from fan IMAX previews on Wednesday; It $13.5m; Joker $13.3m; IT Chapter Two $10.5m; Five Nights at Freddy’s $10.3m; Paranormal Activity 3 $8m; Halloween $7.7m; A Quiet Place: Day One $6.8m.
1988’s Beetlejuice opened #1 $8,03m/ $21.06m inflated taking $74,664,632/$195,835,701 inflated; it had a $15m budget compared to $100m+ for the sequel; Beetlejuice received B CinemaScore, has 83% Rotten Tomatoes critics score and 82% audience score, but doesn’t factor in reviews from 1988.
Hollywood Reporter’s March 1988 review “It’s an experience, rather than another helping of the same old thing. There isn’t much to it, story-wise, but it brilliantly creates a sense of wonder missing from so many current Hollywood films. Driven by director Tim Burton and his fanciful imagination, the film is colourful, delightfully deranged and endlessly inventive a grand-scale funhouse that can be enjoyed by children of all ages.”
Joining many of the original cast of Beetlejuice was Jenna Ortega who starred in the TV series Wednesday and the two recent Scream reboots and dropped out of Scream 7 due to filming commitments filming series 2 of Wednesday.
1988’s Beetlejuice was given a PG certificate while the sequel is a PG-13.
Beetlejuice was the 10th biggest film in 1988; 1 Who Framed Roger Rabbit $156,45m; 2 Coming to America $128.15m; 3 Good Morning, Vietnam $122.23m; 4 Big $114.96m; 5 Crocodile Dundee II $109.3m; 6 Three Men and a Baby $90.52m; 7 Die Hard $83m; 8 Moonstruck $80.03m; 9 Cocktail $78,2m; 10 Beetlejuice $73.7m.
A month before opening it was tracking to open with $80m and over the weeks since, it increased to $120m+. What helped Beetlejuice 2 open as strongly was its audience was about 58% female and Jenna Ortega starred in the Netflix hit TV show Wednesday.
Tim Burton’s 20 films have taken over $4.5bn worldwide.
Played in all premium formats (IMAX, ScreenX, 4DX, Dolby, Dbox and PLF) taking 36% from IAX/PLF
Took $11m worldwide from IMAX; $9.3m US and $1.7m internationally.
Biggest September openings
2017’s It Part 1 $123.4m taking $327.48m and $702.78m worldwide
2019’s It Part Two $91.06m taking $211.59m and $473.09m worldwide
2021’s Shang-Chi $75.38m taking $224.54m and $432.24m worldwide
2018’s The Nun $53.8m taking $117.45m and $366.05m worldwide
Beetlejuice 2 sees Tim Burton reteam up with Micheal Keaton again (Beetlejuice/Batman/Batman Returns) and Winona Ryder (Beetlejuice/Edward Scissorhands).
78th biggest opening between Transformers: Age of Extinction and The Fate of the Furious (close to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, The Little Mermaid and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour).
Beetlejuice 2 was expected to open with $145m worldwide including $35m internationally. Beetlejuice 2 was expected to perform similarly to Ghostbusters films internationally; Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire opened $61m worldwide including $16.4m internationally from 25 territories; Ghostbusters: Afterlife opened with $60m including $16m from 31 territories ($4.7m worldwide from IMAX); UK $5.8m; Mexico $2.4m and Italy $1.4m.
Opened $35.4m from 40 territories; UK $9.6m; Mexico $6.5m; Australia $2.6m; Spain $2.5m; Italy $1.7m.
- Deadpool and Wolverine – Disney
Down 55% in its seventh weekend $7m #2 and $613.84m
90th biggest sixth weekend between The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Revenant (close to Jurassic World, The Fugitive, Wonder Woman and Batman).
15th biggest between Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi and Incredibles 2; 49th biggest inflated between Tootsie and Smokey and the Bandit; 2nd biggest 2024 between Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 4; 6th biggest comic-book between The Avengers and The Dark Knight; 8th biggest Disney between Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi and Incredibles 2.
Has taken 30% from IMAX/PLF
Seventh weekends
2018’s Deadpool 2 dropped 32.2% $3.57m #7 and $310.47m of $324.59m/$384.1m inflated and $785.89m/$929.96m worldwide inflated
2016’s Deadpool dropped 38.9% $4.89m #7 and $349.37m of $363.07m/$452.5m inflated and $782.83m/$975.6m worldwide inflated
The 34 films have taken $12.34bn in the US and $30.85bn worldwide.
Disney has taken $4bn globally in 2024 due to Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine. Alien: Romulus, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Deadpool & Wolverine has 1.21 billion posts across TikTok, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram combined compared to Spider-Man: No Way Home (1.2bn), Thor: Love & Thunder (963m) and Black Panther (900m). Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War 2.47bn.
Took $8.4m from 52 territories $673.2m total and $1.287bn worldwide; UK $71.7m; China $59.5m; Mexico $43.4m; Australia $41.8m; Germany $36.9m.
22nd biggest worldwide between Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Frozen; the 7th biggest comic book between Black Panther and Iron Man 3; the 11th biggest Disney between Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi and Frozen.
- Alien: Romulus – Disney
Dropped 57% in the fourth weekend $5m #3.93m and $97.21m.
Took $37.2m worldwide from IMAX; US $13.1m; International $24.1m
853rd biggest between Inspector Gadget and Public Enemies; 1,761st biggest inflated between Bronco Billy and The Paper; 15th biggest 2024 between Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Bob Marley: One Love; 115th biggest sci-fi between Meet the Robinsons and M3GAN; 32nd biggest horror between Sleepy Hollow and The Others.
Fourth weekends
2017’s Alien: Covenant dropped 55.7% $1.82m #9 and $71.23m of $74.26m and $240.89m worldwide; took 69.2% internationally
2012’s Prometheus dropped 50.3% $4.92m #8 and $118.25m of $126.47m/$171.3m inflated and $403.35m worldwide; 68.6% internationally
1997’s Alien Resurrection dropped 60.3% $1.29m #11 and $43.99m of $47.79m/$112.2m inflated and $161.37m worldwide; 70.4% internationally
1992’s Alien³ dropped 31.8% $2.73n #7 and $46.6m of $55.47m/$144.1m inflated and $159.81m worldwide; 65.3|% internationally
1986’s Aliens dropped 18.1% $5.77m #1 and $47.31m of $85.16m/$248m inflated and $131.06m internationally; 35% internationally
1979’s Alien dropped 16.1% $2.24n #2 and $14.92m of $84.2m and $108.59m worldwide; 22.5% internationally
Took $13.7m from 52 territories $216.96m total and $314.18m worldwide: China $73.3m; UK $10.7m; S. Korea $9.7m; France $7m; Mexico $5.6m; Spain $4.7m; Australia $4.2m; Germany $3.8m; Hong Kong $2.4m; Italy $2.3m.
526th biggest between The Proposal and As Good as It Gets; 13th biggest 2024 between Twisters and It Ends With Us; 103rd biggest Sci-fi between Free Guy and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter; 9th biggest horror between The Conjuring and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.
- It Ends With Us – Sony Pictures
Dropped 50% in the fifth weekend $3.7m #5 and $141.31m.
597th biggest fourth weekend between John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Safe House (close to The Big Sick, Les Misérables, The Devil Wears Prada and Sleepless in Seattle)
501st biggest between Argo and Anger Management; 1,181st biggest inflated between Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Scary Movie 2; 102nd biggest based on fiction book between 101 Dalmatians and Live Free or Die Hard; 11th biggest 2024 between A Quiet Place: Day One and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire; 43rd biggest drama between The Godfather and Wonder; 56th biggest Sony Pictures between Godzilla and Anger Management.
In June Sony Pictures screened a rough cut at Colleen Hoover’s Book Bonanza in Dallas, they screened the Blake Lovely cut of the film rather than the director’s version. Sony said “Blake, Colleen and so many women put so much effort into this remarkable movie, working selflessly from the start to ensure that such an important subject matter was handled with care. Audiences love the movie. Blake’s passion and commitment to advancing the conversation around domestic violence is commendable,”
It’s the biggest romantic drama since 2018’s A Star Is Born
Fifth weekends
2014’s The Fault in Our Stars dropped 51% $2.51m #12 and $115.91m of $124.87m and $307.16m worldwide.
2011’s The Help dropped 38.8% $8.92m #2 and $137.32m of $169.7m and $216.63m worldwide
Films about abusive relationships include.
2013’s Safe Haven dropped 34.6% $2.45m #9 and $66.91m of $71.34m and $97.59m worldwide
1991’s Sleeping With the Enemy dropped 25.2% $6.08m #4 and $61.8m of $101.6m/$260.2m inflated and $175m/$450m worldwide inflated
Blake Lively recent films include.
2015’s The Age of Adaline dropped 53.8% $1.48m #11 and $39.87m of $42.62m and $65.66m worldwide
2018’s A Simple Favor dropped 61.2% $1.32m #11 and $51.98m of $53.54m and $97.64m worldwide; a sequel has been made and will be released by Amazon/Lionsgate next year.
While
2022’s Where the Crawdads Sing dropped 29.5% $4m #7 and $72.15m of $90.23m and $144.35m worldwide
2022’s Don’t Worry Darling dropped 61.2% $867,750 #8 and $44.26m of $45.3m and $87.6m worldwide
Took $10.8m (down 37%) from 58 territories internationally $168m and $309.4m worldwide; UK $26m; Australia $14m; Germany $14.0m; Mexico $13.6m; Brazil $9.8m; France $8.9m; Spain $7.9m; Holland $5.3m; Argentina $3.6m; Saudi Arabia $3.5m.
It’s the highest-grossing global romantic drama since 2018’s A Star Is Born overtaking lifetimes of The Fault in Our Stars, Crazy Rich Asians, Anyone But You, Little Women and Me Before You.
601st biggest worldwide between Elysium and Lethal Weapon 4; 15th biggest 2024 between Alien: Romulus and A Quiet Place: Day One; 56th biggest drama between The Departed and Saturday Night Fever; 161st based on fiction book between American Pie 2 and Lethal Weapon 4; 59th biggest Sony Pictures between Elysium and The Tourist.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Battle between comedy horror Beetlejuice 2 and psychological horror Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil starring James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis receiving positive reviews. Blumhouse films don’t often perform as strongly in the UK as the UK, but James McAvoy could attract a similar audience as 2019’s Glass (opened £3,423,380 taking £9,646,964) as it could attract a similar audience who have seen A Quiet Place films or 2020’s The Invisible Man (opened £2,163,797 taking £6,841,147).
Speak No Evil is directed by James Watkins (The Woman In Black) and is a reboot of the 2022 Danish horror Gæsterne. It’s the third Blumhouse Productions film to star James McAvoy after Split and Glass. Has a similar plot to Blink Twice (opened £746,328 taking £2,620,132).
In Speak No Evil a family is invited for a weekend at an idyllic country house that becomes a psychological nightmare, while in Blink Twice they go to an exotic island.
See No Evil has been described by critics as a British Get Out (opened £2,160,099 taking £10,053,463) even though it’s an American film.
Beetlejuice 2 should hold #1 for a second weekend dropping about 50% and taking between £3.5m-£4.5m but that depends on if James McAvoy’s Speak No Evil can
Also released The Critic starring Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong and Lesley Manville and directed by Anand Tucker, previously directed 1999’s Hilary and Jackie, 2006’s Shopgirl, and 2007’s When Did You Last See Your Father? Opened £133,347 #13 from 153 screens taking £447,655.
The Critic was acquired in June by Lionsgate from True Brit Entertainment run by former Lionsgate boss Zygi Kamasa. True Brit Entertainment ae launching its own UK distribution.
The biographical drama Lee starring Kate Winslet has generated a lot of media coverage but will likely struggle to find an audience in cinemas. Kate Winslet has recently had success on TV with The Regime and Mare of Easttown, starring in Avatar: The Way of Water, it’s her first leading acting role since 2017’s The Mountain Between Us.
There are three Event Cinemas likely to open in the top 10.
After releasing Taylor Swift and Beyonce concerts last year now have Usher: Rendezvous In Paris opening on Thursday, his popularity is much less than either Taylor Swift or Beyonce; Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce opened £1,082,080.
Prima Facie – NT Live (Re: 2024); previously opened in July 2022 £447,014 #6 from 347 screens taking £5,448,881 over 14 weeks.
Riize Fan-Con Tour Riizing Day Finale; K-pop boy band RIIZE’s first world fan-concert tour in Seoul; the last BTS: Yet To Come In Cinemas Concert in February 2023 opened £535,337 #8 380 screens.
Opening in three weeks
- Joker: Folie A Deux – Warner Bros
The musical psychological thriller sequel to 2019’s Joker based on DC characters starring Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Zazie Beetz, Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener and directed by Todd Phillips.
The first film was originally conceived as a standalone film but after taking 1.078bn worldwide Todd Philips started development on a sequel. It’s a DC Elseworlds project outside of the DC Cinematic Universe. It was shot entirely in IMAX.
Had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 4th receiving an 11-minute standing ovation.
The teaser trailer was released in April featuring a cover of What the World Needs Now Is Love had 167 million views in its first 24 hours, the most watched Warner Bros trailer.
It’s released internationally on October 2nd two days before it opens in the US.
2019’s Joker opened £12,555,329 #1 666 screens (3 day opening no previews); took £3.81m Friday taking £58.5m/£64.6m inflated.
Joker received positive reviews (69% on Rotten Tomatoes) Joker: Folie A Deux received average reviews.
Joker: Folie A Deux is likely to open similarly to Joker but likely not to have the legs Joker had #1 for 6 weeks. It was a perfect storm for Joker in 2019 as the film’s opening afterwards Gemini Man, Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil, A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon. Terminator: Dark Fate and Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep came short of expectations. Transformers One opens the week after followed by Smile 2 and Venom: The Last Dance over the following two weeks, so Joker: Folie A Deux will likely stay #1 for at most three weeks.
- A Different Man – Universal Pictures
Comedy psychological thriller starring Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Adam Pearson and written and directed by Aaron Schimberg.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, receiving positive reviews (86% Rotten Tomatoes).
