- Toy Story 5 £9,160,892 – £29,005,614
Down 40.3% in its second weekend (36% without previews)
£1.91m 20.8% (-40.1% £3.19m Fri; £3.56m 38.9% (-36.4% £5.6m) Sat; £3.69m 40.3% (-34.4% £5.63m) Sun
17th biggest second weekend between Quantum of Solace and Fantastic Beasts (close to Avengers: Infinity War, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Casino Royale and Wicked) and 45th biggest inflated second weekend between Toy Story 4 and The Dark Knight Rises (close to Alice In Wonderland, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Love Actually and Mary Poppins Returns)
Biggest second weekend over the last 52 weeks ahead of Wicked – Part 2 and Michael
Biggest Pixar second weekend ahead of Toy Story 4, Toy Story 3 and Inside Out 2
It’s 30 years in the UK since Toy Story opened; the five films have taken over £230m and over £340m inflation-adjusted.
1996’s Toy Story dropped 29% £2,430,057/£4,782,495 and £7,019,246 31.4% of £22,297,733/£43,883,253
2000’s Toy Story 2 dropped 15.9% £6,521,187/£12,290,519 and £17,333,696 39% of £43,491,021/£81,967,783
2010’s Toy Story 3 dropped 61% £8,115,193/£10,924,823 and £39,791,223 54.2% of £73,405,113/£98,819,320
2019’s Toy Story 4 dropped 32% £8,284,437/£9,190,906 and £26,989,023 41% of £66,030,065/£73,254,961
Toy Story 5 took 10.6% more than Toy Story 4 in its second weekend, but there has been 10.9% ticket inflation since 2019, and with a larger percentage of BO from IMAX/PLF/3D and premium formats, admissions were less than Toy Story 4, but the problem is the industry just sees a bigger number and doesn’t look beyond that larger number.
180th biggest between The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 and Shrek (close to Twilight Saga: Eclipse, A Star Is Born, Shrek and Life of Pi) and 353rd biggest inflated between Hitch and Wreck-It Ralph (close to Scooby-Doo Too, Jumanji, Batman and Robin and Look Who’s Talking).
The cinema industry is so fickle; normally when there are hot temperatures they use it as an excuse for soft box office, but with Toy Story 5 they have said the hot temperatures are the reason why Toy Story 5 had a strong second weekend.
So next time admissions drop over a hot weekend, they can’t use the excuse it was too hot, as it all depends on what the film is; if it’s a must-see film like Toy Story 5, no matter the temperature, they will go see it. I remember going to many screenings at cinemas in Leicester Square 25+ years ago on the hottest day of the year, and the auditoriums were full. Exhibitors have been promoting cinema with air conditioning as a way to escape the heat.
Toy Story 5 took £1m+ Mon-Thurs helping admissions increase 32% from the same week last year but that surely wasn’t a surprise as last year’s top 5 was F1 The Movie £7,071,647; 28 Years Later £2,379,964; How To Train Your Dragon £1,996,805; Elio £765,541; Lilo & Stitch £539,281 taking £12.75m while the top 5 this year took £14,134,345.
While Vue Cinemas said admissions were stronger than expected, Odeon and Picturehouse wouldn’t go into detail about admissions in a Variety article, as there were reports some cinemas struggled with their air conditioning failing, seeing cinemas as hot as they were outside, but it surely saw exhibitors selling more drinks and ice cream.
The VAT reduction came in on June 25th, seeing children’s tickets and family package prices drop; the question is, does 20% VAT show on BO or is it at the reduced rate, or is it similar to Meerkat Movies and subscription cinema where the full ticket price is added and then it’s removed later on.
The Inconvenient Truth
The box office is just the beginning. The real value of Toy Story is not in the box office, but in the merchandise and the streaming hours that follow. Toy Story has sold over $16bn of merchandising, more than four times its global box office, so the value of the franchise is over four times its cinema value as the films found a far bigger audience after their cinema release over the last 30 years, with tens of millions of VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, TV views and streaming views on Netflix and Disney+ since.
This is also why Lilypad couldn’t be the enemy in Toy Story 5 as Disney are a Tech company and they know more children will watch Toy Story 5 on Disney+ on their tablet and Disney have launched their own Lilypad designed for children aged 3-5, while it might not have chat or AI functions of the Lilypad in the film it will replace much of the time children would play with toys and be creative alone or with friends?
Lilypad: The Jessica Rabbit of Toy Story 5
In Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Jessica Rabbit is the femme fatale who is actually not a villain. She says the famous line: “I’m not bad. I’m just drawn that way.”
The Comparison
| Jessica Rabbit | Lilypad (Toy Story 5) | |
| The Surface | A seductive femme fatale | A sinister tablet threatening to replace toys |
| The Reality | She is loyal, loving, and misunderstood | It is not evil — it is a tool |
| The Framing | The villain is the viewer’s assumption | The villain is the assumption that technology is bad |
| The Film’s Cop-Out | It exposes the assumption | It softens the critique by making the tablet not the villain |
The Contradiction
Lilypad is not evil. It is a tablet. It does not have a will. It is not a villain. It is just technology.
The film backs away from its own critique because it cannot afford to make technology the enemy. Disney is a tech company. Disney sells screens. Disney+ is the future.
| The Film’s Promise | The Film’s Delivery |
| “Technology is replacing real play.” | “But the tablet is actually nice.” |
| “Screens are the enemy.” | “But the tablet is not evil.” |
| “This is a warning about technology.” | “This is a product placement for a tablet.” |
The Reality
Disney has partnered with LeapFrog to release a real Lilypad tablet for children aged 3-5. The film cannot make Lilypad the enemy because Disney needs children to want the real-world tablet.
After taking over $500m after 10 days Disney will surely announce Toy Story 6 in a few months and the series will go on and on for decades to come, as Tom Hanks said Disney doesn’t need him to return for sequels as they have access to so much recorded dialogue of Woody over the last 31 years that AI could easily string words together into new sentences to bring Woody back for Toy Story 6.
Potential plots for the next few films
Toy Story 6: The Digital Menace. Bonnie’s new “toy” is an AI subscription. The villain is a smooth-talking, all-knowing AI assistant that makes the physical toys feel obsolete. The lesson: “Real play is better than screen time!” (Sponsored by Lilypad).
Toy Story 7: The NFT. A limited-edition Buzz Lightyear NFT is minted on the blockchain. The physical Buzz has to journey into the internet to confront his digital twin, who claims to be the “true, verified” Buzz.
Toy Story 8: The Subscription Box. A new toy arrives every month, making the old toys feel like they’re in a constant state of replacement anxiety. The plot becomes a commentary on consumerism and planned obsolescence.
Toy Story 9: The Meta-Sequel. The toys discover they are characters in a long-running film franchise. Woody has an existential crisis about his own nostalgia-based irrelevance. The villain is a slick Hollywood executive toy who wants to “reboot” the nursery.
Toy Story 5: The Sugary Cereal of Cinema
Toy Story films have always been nostalgic for adults. But the fourth and fifth entries have added elements that are cynically designed to get a reaction from the audience that sobbed like babies at the end of Toy Story 3.
The emotional additions to Toy Story 5 felt like a sugary breakfast cereal that has vitamins added to make it look healthy and good for children. The sugar is still there. The manipulation is still there. The vitamins are just a marketing tactic.
After seeing how carefully Taylor Swift songs were woven into Voicemails For Isabelle’s story, it’ll be disappointing to Swifties after Taylor Swift talked so passionately about her love of the Toy Story films. Still has the films on video, dressed as Jessie as a child. She said being welcomed into the franchise “feels very poignant for me and for my family and for me. Her song deserved a far more prominent position in the film. It deserved to be woven into Jessie’s story, not tacked onto the end credits.
The music video for I Knew It, I Knew You is very similar to Jessie’s flashback in Toy Story 2 after realising she has been outgrown by her original owner, Emily, set to When She Loved Me by Sarah McLachlan, and Bonnie experiences the same abandonment issues in Toy Story 5 after being abandoned by Bonnie.
Taylor Swift’s I Knew It, I Knew You was #1 two weeks ago, dropping down to #7 this week
It surely highlights the difference between modern Disney and the creativity of the first Disney from 30+ years ago. In 1999, the creative team at Pixar and Disney decided that Jessie’s flashback needed a song. They chose Sarah McLachlan because her voice could carry the emotional weight of a toy being abandoned by her child. The song served the story. The story was the priority.
Third weekends
2019’s Toy Story 4’s third weekend dropped 33%, taking £5,543,052/£6,149,563 #2 and £36,039,107 54.6% of £66,030,065/£73,254,961 behind Spider-Man: Far From Home #1 £14,148,624
2010’s Toy Story 3 dropped 42.5% £4,666,021/£6,281,484 and £51,524,519 70.2% of £73,405,113/£98,819,320; Knight And Day #2 £2,404,163 (new); Inception #3 £2,259,595; Step Up 3D #4 £2,015,403 (new) and Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore #5 £1,553,005 (new); Toy Story 3 took a large percentage of its BO from 3D; in 2010 Toy Story 3 was only the 15thfilm to take £50m+ now there are 54; Toy Story 5 going to be the 55th.
- 2. Supergirl £2,725,611 – NE
Included £576,441 21.15% Thursday previews
Took £700k Friday 25.7%; £785k 28.83% Saturday; £662k 24.3% Sunday
663rd biggest opening between Rush Hour 3 and The Last Samurai (close to Batman Returns, Kill Bill – Volume 2, DC League of Super-Pets and Fantastic Four (2015) and 1,056th biggest inflated opening between Valkyrie and Split (close to Beverly Hills Cop, Tomb Raider 2, Scream 4 and Pacific Rim).
31st biggest opening over the last 52-week weekend between Weapons and Masters Of The Universe (close to The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants, The Magic Faraway Tree, One Battle After Another and The Running Man)
Opened in 632 cinemas; 207th biggest opening similar to The Naked Gun (2025), Sing 2, Onward and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2; 311th 600+ cinema opening since 2015’s Jurassic World.
Opening was 7.35% of US opening (4 days) and 5.79% (3 days) of US opening
Female-led comic-book films have always struggled to find audiences, despite 2017’s Wonder Woman and 2019’s Captain Marvel being both critical and box office successes.
The Supergirl Review Backlash: When Criticism Becomes a Weapon
There has been backlash over Variety’s review for Supergirl, which seemed to be overly harsh, describing the screenplay as “a comic-book movie with the worst script I can remember.”
Supergirl is far from a good film. But it does not deserve the toxic negativity it has received. Warner Bros. has made many far worse comic-book films. And being that it is a female superhero film, there could be elements of misogyny in some of the reviews.
The Seth Rogen Problem
In a recent interview, Seth Rogen spoke about how reviews have affected his mental health. They often feel like a personal attack. He said:
“I worked my way up to not having to deal with that much personal conflict face to face, but I will have a cultural institution tell everyone that I suck.”
Rogen’s point is simple: creators do not set out to make bad films. They put years of work into them. They care about them. A review that attacks the film feels like an attack on them.
The Critical Inconsistency
There are films that critics go completely overboard with their positivity for, getting caught up in the hype. The same critics must also get caught up in the negativity that surrounds a film ahead of seeing it.
| What Critics Do | The Problem |
| Over-praise certain films | They get caught up in the hype. |
| Over-attack certain films | They get caught up in the negativity. |
| Inconsistency | The same film, in a different context, would get a different review. |
There seem to be certain films that critics single out for all their frustration. With a film like Supergirl, it is an easy target.
The Del Griffith Defence
It reminds me of the scene in 1987’s Planes, Trains and Automobiles when Del Griffith says:
“You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better. I’m an easy target. Yeah, you’re right, I talk too much. I also listen too much. I could be a cold-hearted cynic like you… but I don’t like to hurt people’s feelings. Well, you think what you want about me; I’m not changing. I like… I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. ‘Cause I’m the real article. What you see is what you get.”
Supergirl is an easy target. Critics attack it because it is safe. They know there will be no consequences. They can use all their bottled-up frustration on a film that will not fight back.
The Inconsistency Exposed
There are many films that critics get caught up in the hype for, and are not as good as critics think they are. Toy Story 5 is a perfect example. Critics praised it, but they were responding to 30 years of nostalgia, not the film itself. Critics will go to the other extreme on Monday when they get to post social media tweets about The Odyssey.
| Film | Critical Response | The Reality |
| Supergirl | Overly harsh | A flawed film, but not the disaster critics claim |
| Toy Story 5 | Overly positive | A nostalgia product, not a masterpiece |
The inconsistency is glaring. Critics attack Supergirl because it is safe. They praise Toy Story 5 because they are afraid of Disney. The result is a critical landscape that rewards power and punishes weakness.
Over the last 40 years, there have been many more that failed to match the success of male superhero films, as seen with Supergirl. After the huge success of Superman in the 70s, they made a spinoff, Supergirl, and it was a critical and box office failure.
There is surely some misogyny, as of course it’s Superman vs Supergirl, and as men are the key demographic for comic-book films, men don’t seem to believe women can be as heroic wearing tights and Spandex.
While male comic-book films led the way, female films always accompanied them, not led them. The difference was with Wonder Woman: while she did have a cameo in Batman v. Superman, as often happens in MCU films, the film was always seen to be a standalone film that was part of the universe.
Wonder Woman’s cameo in Batman v Superman was a cameo, a carefully calculated one. Zack Snyder described her role as “super-important” and “the gateway drug to the rest of the Justice League”. The cameo was designed to generate demand for a standalone film, not to set up a spinoff from a failing franchise.
2017’s Wonder Woman opened £6,179,616 (including £1,219,884 previews), taking £22,086,045
Female-led superhero movies have often been set up to fail because they followed male-led entries that had already damaged their franchises. Supergirl (1984) followed Superman III. Catwoman (2004) followed Batman & Robin. Elektra (2005) followed Daredevil. Each time, the studio waited until the franchise was already in decline before greenlighting the female-led spinoff.
Other female-led comic-book films include.
2021’s Black Widow opened £6,889,187 (including £2,250,092 previews) taking £18,841,549
2020’s Birds of Prey opened £2,833,297 (including £930k opening day) taking £8,705,688 (COVID)
2024’s Madame Web opened £2,273,544 (including £938,543 previews) taking £4,196,294
2019’s Captain Marvel opened £12,750,000 (including £4.1m opening day) taking £39,234,293
Captain Marvel is the exception as it was the lead-in to Avengers: Endgame and had an end-credit scene in Avengers: Infinity War, as other MCU female films haven’t been successful like Black Widow, The Marvels and Eternals.
The only difference is with Marvel is they walked before they ran, they built the foundations to the MCU with the first few films which allowed them to introduce non white rich arrogant superheroes and audience were primed to accept them, Warner hasn’t done this with their DC Universe they have always been playing catch up despite leading the way with comic-book films with Batman in the late 80s and 90s and Chrstopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy.
Warner Bros didn’t learn anything from 20th Century Fox launching X-Men in 2000 and Sony Pictures launching Spider-Man in 2002; instead they did what they had previously done with 2006’s Superman Returns, which was very different to Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins that opened a year earlier. Rather than trying to copy Marvel, Warner Bros needed to do it differently, as seen with 20th Century Fox’s Deadpool in 2016 and Warner Bros’s Joker in 2019; if they try to go head-to-head with Marvel as 20th Century Fox tried to do in the years before they were acquired by Disney, they will fail.
There have, of course, been some massive female comic-book flops like Catwoman, Elektra and Barb Wire, but there have also been many male comic-book flops too.
DC started development of a Supergirl film in 2018 and was introduced in 2023’s The Flash. Supergirl has probably been DC’s most successful superhero over the last decade, after the Supergirl TV series ran for 6 series from 2015 to 2021. It was similarly the case with the 16-film DC Extended Universe between 2013-2023; their biggest success and most well-received critically was 2017’s Wonder Woman. While DC have struggled with their male superheroes since 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.
So, it was then disappointing to see the final poster for Supergirl with Lobo overshadowing Supergirl, while Jason Momoa might be more well-known than Milly Alcock, the film is called Supergirl, not Lobo. Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson were the biggest actors and paid vastly more than Christopher Reeve and Michael Keaton in 1978’s Superman and 1989’s Batman, but neither took over the posters for the films. With 1984’s Supergirl, Helen Slater’s last name was listed after the A-list cast.
DC started development of a Supergirl film in 2018 and was introduced in 2023’s The Flash. Supergirl has probably been DC’s most successful superhero over the last decade, after the Supergirl TV series ran for 6 series from 2015 to 2021. It was similarly the case with the 16-film DC Extended Universe between 2013-2023; their biggest success and most well-received critically was 2017’s Wonder Woman. While DC have struggled with their male superheroes since 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.
When Warner Bros started development with Supergirl, they wanted to have a female director, as they had just had huge success the year before with Patty Jenkins directing Wonder Woman. Production was originally due to start in 2020 but was delayed due to COVID.
In 2021, Sasha Calle was cast as Supergirl, and the film was set for release in 2023, but then Warner Bros merged with Discovery and the film got cancelled as Warner Bros had different plans for DC, with James Gunn brought in to run DC Studios and reboot the DC films. Milly Alcock was signed in 2024 to play Supergirl, and they wanted her to be different to the Supergirl Melissa Benoist had been in the TV series; surely that was their first mistake- why make the film different to a successful TV series fans enjoyed?
Supergirl featured in the final scene in last year’s Superman film as the dog Krypto is Supergirl.
After the huge success of the original 70s Superman films, the 1984 spinoff Supergirl was made, starring Helen Slater. The film was a box office and critical flop and saw Superman rights being sold to Cannon, who made the equally terrible Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Don’t have access to the UK box office for Supergirl, but it must be less than 1987’s Superman IV opened £508,468.
The first teaser trailer was released in December, receiving positive reactions. Supergirl had a test screening in December, receiving positive reactions and generating good buzz since. From reports from those who saw the test screening, about 20 mins have been cut from that version.
Comparisons have been made with 2024’s Joker: Folie A Deux (opening £5,674,029; £2.15m Friday; £2.17m Saturday; £1.44m Sunday), while Supergirl opened with about half Joker: Folie A Deux was a far bigger failure as expectations for Supergirl were always low.
Despite the huge success of Wonder Woman, DC seems to have little interest in female-led superhero films after they killed 2022’s Batgirl film despite spending over $90m making it, but then chose to release The Flash in 2023 despite the allegations surrounding Ezra Miller.
2023’s The Flash opened £4,252,532 including £1.1m previews; £818k Friday; £1.23m Saturday; £1.05m Sunday
Last year Superman opened £6,992,902 (£2.65m Friday; £2.34m Saturday; £2.1m Sunday), opening almost half as much as 2013’s Man Of Steel £11,198,786/£13,736,949.
The soft opening of Supergirl follows Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu and Masters Of The Universe, three films that have failed to find their target audience and their marketing campaigns have targeted a different audience than the film was aimed at.
England’s third World Cup game was on Saturday at 10 pm, which must have had an impact on Supergirl’s Saturday BO as it should have had a bigger increase Fri-Sat as 13.76m watched the game; being at 10 pm on a very hot day, it was likely barbecue and football for many.
This wouldn’t have affected Toy Story 5 as audiences would have seen it in the afternoon and early evening. England’s next game is at 5 pm on Wednesday, the day Minions & Monsters opens; if they win, their following games will be Monday 6th July 1 am; Saturday 11th July 10 pm, Wednesday 15th July 8 pm and Sunday 19th July 8 pm.
Other Superman openings
2006’s Superman Returns opened £4,337,637/£7,098,761, taking £15,727,425/£25,738,722
2016’s Batman V Superman opened £14,621,007/£15,725,968, taking £36,495,828/£39,253,947
1987’s Superman IV opened £508,468/£2,342,795, taking £3,457,959/£12,818,574
1983’s Superman III opened £1,103,312/£4,623,403, taking £6,710,000/£28,118,095
1980s Superman II took £10,752,997/£54,244,418; 1978’s Superman took £10,046,159/£86,484,325.
Supergirl will likely drop 70%+ in its second weekend, similar to Morbius 77.25% and Madame Web 73.52%
The question is, will lessons be learnt from Supergirl, or will the lesson Warner Bros will take is they were right to write off Batgirl and not release it.
- 3. Disclosure Day £881,544 £10,784,867
Dropped 48.8% in its third weekend
£246k 27.9% (-46.2% £457k) Fri; £348k 39.5% (-48.8% £680k) Sat; £287k 32.6% (-50.9% £585k) Sun
774th biggest third weekend between The Specialist and Pokemon: The First Movie (close to Robocop (2014), Waterworld, X-Men: The Last Stand and The Fall Guy) and 1,112th biggest inflated third weekend between Gothika and Southpaw (close to Pacific Rim, Source Code, Bullet Train and Bridge Of Spies).
Steven Spielberg’s recent sci-fi films’ third weekends include
2001’s AI dropped 40.9% £920,267/£1,780,517 and £6,361,900 79.2% of £8,027,562/£15,531,587
2002’s Minority Report dropped 14.7% £2,010,518/£3,753,904 and £13,007,585 64.2% of £20,245,815/£37,801,627
2005’s War of the Worlds dropped 47.3% £2,223,949/£3,782,130 and £21,900,630 72.1% of £30,367,791/£51,644,587
2018’s Ready Player One dropped 50.6% £1,183,259/£1,312,729 and £14,501,485 89.9% of £16,136,025/£17,901,601
It’s Steven Spielberg’s 15th biggest film between Schindler’s List and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, overtaking The Post, Lincoln, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and West Side Story; and 20th biggest inflated between Lincoln and The Post (close to The Terminal and Bridge of Spies.
699th biggest film between London Has Fallen and Bullet Train (close to Batman Returns, Terminator: Genisys, Superman II and Speed) and 1,151st biggest inflated between A Room With A View and The Other Woman (close to Flatliners (1990), The Terminal, The Day the Earth Stood Still and The World’s End).
Steven Spielberg films have taken over £425m at the UK box office for 27 of his films (missing the BO for Jaws and a few of his other smaller releases) and $950m inflated, showing how huge his films were in the UK; 2016’s The BFG was his last massive hit in the UK, taking over £30m.
Growing up in the 80s, a Steven Spielberg film was always an event. I have seen almost all of the films he has directed, and most of those he produced, in cinemas since E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial in 1982.
It’s rumoured Steven Spielberg’s next film could be a western, a genre he has never done before. He said at SXSW, “There will be horses. There will be guns. There will be no tropes, I can tell you that. There’s going to be no stereotypes.”
- 4. Jackass: best and last – £781,483 – NE
Took £293k 37.52% Friday; £240k Saturday 30.73%; £248k 31.75% Sunday
2,177th biggest opening between Sorority Row and Goodbye Christopher Robin (close to Elektra, Movie 43, 16 Blocks and Semi-Pro) and 2,784th biggest inflated opening between Prom Night and The Iron Claw (close to My Cousin Vinny, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and Last Night In Soho).
62nd biggest opening over the last 52 weeks between Song Sung Blue and The Bride! (close to Shelter, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Roofman and Mercy).
Final has meant different things to the Jackass team over the years. But with the cast now in their 50s, this one might actually stick. The first trailer was released in April. Was rated 18 by the BBFC, as all the other films have been.
2003’s Jackass; The Movie opened £1,314,740 (£2,137,933 inflation inflated) taking £3,860,921 (£6,278,345 inflation inflated)
2006’s Jackass: Number Two opened £735,274, taking £1,684,673 (lasted only 2 weeks in the top 10)
2010’s Jackass 3D opened #2 £1,696,909 taking £5,576,683
2013’s Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa opened £1,940,476 including £546,025 previews taking £6,343,622
2002’s Jackass Forever opened £2,091,017, taking £6,112,992
2025 was the 25th anniversary of Jackass, which started as a TV series on MTV in 2000. The film was announced in January 2026 and was shot in February.
Slapstick toilet comedy never gets old for teens and 20-something males, so Jackass: Best and Last attracted the children of the parents who saw the original 20 years ago and will be very front-loaded.
And while younger teens will be claiming to be 14 to get cheaper 5% VAT tickets until September, they will also be claiming to be 18 to sneak into Jackass: Best and Last. The same teenager, the same weekend, two different ages. That is not hypocrisy. That is just surviving the system.
As with Scary Movie, Jackass: Best and Last will not reinvent the wheel. It will just set it on fire, jump over it on a tricycle, and land in a pile of something unspeakable. The fans know what they are paying for.
- 5. Obsession £584,815 – £16,519,964
Down 36.7% in its seventh weekend.
£192k 39% (-39% £315k) Fri; £204k 34.9% (-46.3% £380k) Sat; £189k 32.3% (-18% £230k) Sun
126th biggest seventh weekend between Peter Rabbit and Project Hail Mary (close to Wish, Sliding Doors, Doctor Dolittle and American Beauty) and 252nd biggest inflated seventh weekend between Cast Away and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (close to Liar Liar, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Three Billboards Outside and Cape Fear).
424th biggest between Enchanted and F9 (close to The Bodyguard, Sinners, Kingsman: The Secret Service and About A Boy) and 731st biggest inflated between War of the Roses and Christopher Robin (close to The X-Files, The Break-Up, While You Were Sleeping and Sommersby).
5th biggest horror after It £32.30m; The Woman In Black £21.33m; It: Chapter Two £18.91m; The Conjuring: Last Rites £18.33m; but all of these films were straightforward horror films.
UK Summary
In the UK, Obsession has been a genuine phenomenon. It has held in the top five for seven weeks, defied every expectation, and outperformed films with ten times its budget.
Why It Worked in the UK
- Word-of-mouth drove the run. The film played to audiences who do not normally watch horror.
- Female audiences discovered it after opening weekend and told their friends.
- Social media amplified the conversation about the “nice guy” and toxic masculinity.
- The UK rom-com tradition meant audiences recognised the “You’ve Got Mail” dynamic — and saw it subverted.
What the Analysts See
What They See What They Miss
| A Blumhouse horror film A film about power, control, and toxic masculinity |
| A supernatural thriller A story about the fear of losing control of your own life |
| A film about a monkey’s paw A film about the “nice guy” who is not so nice |
| A film for horror fans A film for people who do not like horror |
| A front-loaded genre film A leggy word-of-mouth hit |
| They are looking at the packaging. They are not looking at what is inside. |
What the Audience Saw
| The audience saw something different. They saw a film about: |
| The “nice guy” who is not so nice — they have met him. |
| The fear of losing control of your own life — they have felt it. |
| The man who believes his desire justifies his actions — they have experienced it. |
| The woman who is destroyed by a man who claims to love her — they have seen it. |
| The audience did not see a horror film. They saw a documentary. |
The “Nice Guy” Problem
Obsession is about the “nice guy” who is not so nice.
| What Bear Appears to Be | What Bear Really Is |
| Kind, supportive, caring | Entitled, controlling, dangerous |
| A friend to Andy | A man who believes his desire justifies his actions |
| A man who loves Andy | A man who wants to own Andy |
| A man who would do anything for her | A man who will destroy her if he cannot have her |
The film is not about a monster. It is about a man who believes his love entitles him to control.
The Historical Lineage
Obsession is the latest in a long line of films about men who cannot let go.
| Film | The Dynamic | The Lesson |
| The Shop Around the Corner (1940) | Man knows who woman is; she does not know who he is | She is the last to know |
| You’ve Got Mail (1998) | Man knows who woman is; she does not know who he is | She forgives him |
| Obsession (2026) | Man knows who woman is; she does not know who he is | He destroys her |
The difference is that Obsession removes the romantic framing. There is no happy ending. There is no forgiveness. There is just control, manipulation, and destruction.
| What the Rom-Coms Did | What Obsession Does |
| Romanticised the deception | Exposed it |
| Let the man off the hook. | Showed the consequences |
| Made the woman the last to know | Made the woman the victim |
The “When Harry Met Sally” Line
There is a moment in When Harry Met Sally (1989) when Harry lays out his theory of male-female friendship: “No man can be friends with a woman he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her.”
In 1989, that line was played for laughs. In 2026, it is a diagnosis.
Bear is Harry without the redemption arc. He does not fall in love. He does not learn. He just wants. And the horror is that the film gives him everything he wants, and he still cannot be happy.
The Real Horror
The horror of Obsession is not supernatural. It is not about a monkey’s paw. It is about the feeling of not being in control of your own life.
| The Fantasy | The Reality |
| A magic monkey’s paw grants wishes | A man pretends to be your friend, waits for you to be vulnerable, then makes his move. |
| The wish twists and becomes a nightmare | The “nice guy” reveals himself — and you realise you were never safe |
| The protagonist must undo the wish. | You spend weeks or months unpicking the manipulation. |
For women, Obsession is not a fantasy. It is a documentary. The horror is not supernatural. It is normal.
——————-
2026 BO is currently up 13% from 2025.
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £15,066,080, down 25.5% from last weekend’s £20,219,356: 1,740,221 admissions, down 25.9% from 2,348,357 admissions.
14th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 24 April 2026 #1 Michael £11,574,192 (76.08%) and 09 January 2026 #1 The Housemaid £3,523,229 (23.62%)
47th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 293 weeks between 14 June 2024 #1 Inside Out 2 £11,321,387 (74.84%) and 05 May 2023 #1 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 £12,079,820 (80.59%)
249th biggest top 10 of the last 25 years (out of 1,2644) between 23 May 2008 #1 Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull £12,227,799 (81%) and 08 January 2016 #1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens £6,001,948 (39.87%) and 593rd biggest inflated between 11 August 2006 #1 Cars £1,340,219 (15.73%) and 24 January 2014 #1 The Wolf of Wall Street £3,608,968 (30.71%)
The top 3 took £12,768,047 (84.7%) of the top 10; Toy Story 5 60.8% (£9,160,892); Supergirl 18.9% (£2,725,611); Disclosure Day 5.85% (£881,544)
154th biggest percentage share #1 (60.80%) between 08 July 2022 #1 Thor: Love And Thunder £12,283,719 (60.92%) and #1 Black Panther £17,700,000 (60.78%)
234th biggest admissions (1,143,682) between 12 July 2024 #1 Despicable Me 4 £8,856,183 (1,145,690) and 27 July 2012 #1 The Dark Knight Rises £7,275,558 (1,142,160)
Up 7.06% from 2025; (£14,072,301); #1 F1 (£7,071,647); M3GAN 2.0 (£508,947); Miley Cyrus: Something Beautiful (£69,335); Clueless (30th Anniversary 4K Re-Issue) (£45,850); #1 F1 £7,071,647 1st week 703 screens (50.25% of top 10)
Up 16.27% from 2024; (£12,103,063); A Quiet Place: Day One (£2,933,722); Kalki 2898 AD (£886,366); Kinds Of Kindness (£322,142); Horizon: An American Saga Chapter One (£150,371); Riverdance 25th Anniversary Show (Re: 2024) (£80,615); #1 Inside Out 2 £6,003,526 3rd weeks down 23% 719 screens (49.6% of top 10)
Up 24.48% from 2023; (£13,307,283); Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny (£7,144,441); Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (£885,056); #1 Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny £7,144,441 743 screens 1st week (53.69%)
Up 0.6% from 2022 (£14,973,318); Elvis (£4,023,573); The Black Phone (£1,384,344); George Michael Freedom Uncut (£68,399); First Blood (40th Anniversary 4K Restoration) (£11,880); #1 Elvis £4,023,573 1st week 740 screens (26.9% of top 10)
Up 51.70% 2021 from (£9,931,625); Fast & Furious 9 (£6,014,132); Supernova (£245,715); Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds (£212,334); #1 Fast & Furious 9 £6,014,132 1st week 594 screens (60.6% of top 10)
2020 Lockdown
Up 11.19% from 2019; (£13,549,874); Yesterday (£2,212,380); Apollo 11 (£324,732); #1 Toy Story 4 £8,284,437 2nd week 37% drop 691 screens (61.1% of top 10)
Up 132.50% from 2018: (£6,480,095); Sicario 2: Soldado (£698,466); Tag (£475,373); Adrift (£405,240); Patrick (£299,862); The Bookshop (£65,558); Leave No Trace (£50,445); Zoo (£12,516); #1 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom £2,001,876 3rd week 4th week on release 633 screens 38% drop (30.9% of top 10)
Down 23.25% from 2017: (£19,630,337); Despicable Me 3 (£11,154,904); Baby Driver (£3,605,705); All Eyez on Me (£912,662); The House (£487,542); Alone in Berlin (£108,047); #1 Despicable Me 3 £11,154,904 1st week 608 screens (56.8% of top 10)
Down 1.62% from 2016: (£15,368,987); Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (£4,042,959); Central Intelligence (£3,050,261); Notes on Blindness (£20,049); #1 The Secret Life Of Pets £4,739,295 2nd week 601 screens 51% drop (30.8% of the top 10)
Down 23.54% from 2015; (£19,704,414); Minions (£11,558,946); Knock Knock (£250,825); Slow West (£140,858); The Terminator (Re: 2015) (£66,492); She’s Funny That Way (£22,311); Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (£16,849); Everly (£160); #1 Minions £11,558,946 1st week 571 screens (58.6% of top 10)
Up 43.92% from 2014: (£10,468,569); Mrs. Brown’s Boys d’Movie (£4,301,306); Chef (£605,976); How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Scotland) (£604,325); Walking on Sunshine (£403,490); Cold in July (£156,783); Seve (£47,294); #1 Mrs. Brown’s Boys d’Movie £4,301,306 1st week 522 screens (41.1% of top 10)
Down 31.43% from 2013: (£21,973,402); Despicable Me 2 (£14,822,427); This is the End (£1,390,323); Hummingbird (£206,731); The East (£65,523); Stand Up Guys (£44,845); #1 Despicable Me 2 £14,822,427 1st week 534 screens (67.4% of top 10)
Up 191.89% from 2012 (£5,161,480); Ice Age: Continental Drift – Scotland only (£853,226); Friends with Kids (£357,520); Killer Joe (£208,553); Storage 24 (£131,342); Your Sister’s Sister (£81,098); Joyful Noise (£32,205); #1 Ice Age: Continental Drift (Scotland only) £853,226 1st week 134 screens (16.5% of top 10)
Up 55% from 2011; (£9,716,933) Bridesmaids (£3,445,395); Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon (£82,464); #1 Bridesmaids £3,445,395 1st week 482 screens (21.8% of top 10)
Up 379.03% from 2010: (£3,145,120); Get Him to the Greek (£1,569,556); The Collector (£109,519); Whatever Works (£72,678); When in Rome (£61,512); #1 Get Him to the Greek £1,569,556 1st week 389 screens (49.9% of top 10)
Up 54.08% from 2009; (£9,778,033); Year One (£978,008); My Sister’s Keeper (£922,947); Blood: The Last Vampire (£232,190); #1 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen £4,368,024 2nd week 521 screens 48% drop (44.6% of top 10)
Up 34.83% from 2008; (£11,174,084); Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (£4,060,532); Wanted (£3,814,055); Female Agents (£68,412); A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (£12,772); #1 Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian £4,060,532 1st week 546 screens (36.3% of top 10)
Down 28.72% from 2007: (£21,135,733); Shrek the Third (£16,671,727); Hostel 2 (£681,426); The Flying Scotsman (£60,754); #1 Shrek the Third £16,671,727 1st week 536 screens (78.8% of top 10)
Up 136.78% from 2006; (£6,362,835); Over the Hedge (£3,589,038); Just My Luck (£579,306); Cave of the Yellow Dog (£12,623); #1 Over the Hedge £3,589,038 1st week 504 screens (56.4% of top 10)
Up 125.24% from 2005: (£6,688,816); Kung Fu Hustle (£469,211); A Lot Like Love (£417,904); #1 Batman Begins £2,926,042 2nd week 34% drop 516 screens (43.75% of top 10)
Up 179.47% from 2004 (£5,390,891); The Ladykillers (£565,137); The Notebook (£309,507); Eurotrip (£147,439); You Got Served (£68,255); #1 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban £2,029,289 4th week 499 screens 40% drop (37.6% of top 10)
Up 45.86% from 2003 (£10,329,409); Bruce Almighty (£7,260,467); Wrong Turn (£370,562); Nicholas Nickleby (£222,376); Biker Boyz (£65,412); Feardotcom (£23,025); #1 Bruce Almighty £7,260,467 1st week 446 screens (70.3% of top 10)
Up 174.92% from 2002 (£5,480,099); Murder by Numbers (£729,164); Big Fat Liar (£406,105); Birthday Girl (£237,165); Rollerball (£136,243); What’s The Worst That Could Happen? (£69,194); #1 Spider-Man: The Movie £2,605,993 3rd week, 507 screens, 39% drop (47.5% of top 10)
Up 279.66% from 2003 (£5,325,585); 2 Fast 2 Furious (£2,747,875); Basic (£248,088); I’ll Be There (£14,829); #1 2 Fast 2 Furious £2,747,875 1st week 424 screens (51.6% of top 10)
Up 193.54% from 2002 (£6,888,015); The Musketeer (£131,338); Kissing Jessica Stein (£102,234); Hardball (£79,864); Before You Go (£58,387); #1 Spider-Man: The Movie £4,255,920 2nd week 509 screens 55% drop (61.8% of top 10)
2025 Next week: (£20,218,867); Jurassic World: Rebirth (£12,493,782); Hot Milk (£87,350); #1 Jurassic World: Rebirth £12,493,782 1st week 683 screen (61.77% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Toy Story 5 – Walt Disney
Dropped 55.6% in its second weekend, $70.82m and $298.07m
30th biggest second weekend between Spider-Man and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (close to Shrek 2, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash)
Comparing Toy Story 5’s second weekend with other recent Pixar sequels: Finding Dory #23 $72.95m; Incredibles 2 #16 $80.34m; Inside Out 2 #7 $101.21m- Toy Story 5 should have taken much more IN its second weekend. Going into the weekend, it was expected to take about $90m; this dropped to $75m on Saturday and $70m on Sunday, and as with its opening, to have its final so close to its estimate means it’s taken the low end of Disney expectations.
EntTelligence said standard average price $15.25; $19.03 PLF, $13.12 child and $16.66 child PLF
The first four Toy Story movies have grossed more than $3bn worldwide
2019’s Toy Story 4’s dropped 50.6% $59.7m/$81.3m and $238.69m/$325m of $434m/$640m and $1.073bn/$1.5bn WW
2010’s Toy Story 3’s dropped 46.2% $59.33m/$94m and $226.9m/$360m of $415m/$667m and $1.067bn/$1.7bn worldwide
1999’s Toy Story 2 dropped 51.6% $27.76m/$68.3m and $116.78m/$287.2m of $245.8m/$570m and $397.37m//$1.15bn WW
1995’s Toy Story dropped 30.8% $20.16m/$64.67m of $223.3m/$630.9m and $401.15m/$1.11bn WW
The inflated second weekends of all of the previous four Toy Story films highlight that Toy Story 5’s $70.82m was far from extraordinary; it was the lowest it was expected to take, but no one will say that. For Toy Story 5 to almost take the inflated second weekend of Toy Story, released 31 years ago, is far from positive. As the average used is industry $12.49 rather than EntTelligence $15.25, its admissions are less than a third of that, as that doesn’t include the 30%+ from IMAX/PLF $19.03 average.
The five Toy Story films have taken almost $1.5bn in the US and $3.5bn+ worldwide; they have sold over $16bn in merchandising and more since 1995. As with everything for Disney, the film is just the start of the journey. Disney’s economic impact study said the franchise has generated nearly $50bn in “overall economic impact” globally. It creates the cultural event that drives the real revenue streams: around $1bn a year in global retail sales for Toy Story products.
Took $89.1m international from 48 territories, $287.8m total, and $585m worldwide; Mexico -$48m; UK $37.8m; China $29.8m; France $15.7m; Australia $12.6m; Brazil $12.6m; Spain $11.2m; S. Korea $10.8m; Argentina $9m; Colombia $8.5m
Has taken $24m worldwide from IMAX
Toy Story 5 will become the 63rd film to take $1bn worldwide, but to paraphrase Sean Parker ‘A billion dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? Three billion dollars.” A tentpole taking $1bn worldwide was cool 20+ years ago, but now, billion-dollar films should be taking much more. $1bn film had about 150m admissions worldwide in 2006; now it’s less than half, but in reality it’s less than a third. EntTelligence average for Toy Story 5 was $15.25 and a third more for IMAX/PLF, $19.03; with tentpoles taking 30% from IMAX/PLF and making a huge dent in admissions
- Supergirl – Warner Bros
Opened $37.1m; received mixed reviews (57% Rotten Tomatoes) and an x CinemaScore
Took $7.8m from Thursday previews (includes Weds fan previews); Black Widow $13.2m; Wonder Woman $11m; Birds of Prey $4m; The Marvels $6.6m; Black Adam $7.6m; The Flash did $9.7m
503rd biggest opening weekend: Air Force One and S.W.A.T. (close to Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Joker: Folie à Deux, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and 21 Jump Street).
Took $10.9m from IMAX worldwide; $7.4m US and $3.5m internationally
Predictably, it’s been compared to 2024’s Joker: Folie à Deux, but they are very different films. After the huge success of Joker, there were massive expectations for Joker: Folie à Deux before its disastrous Venice Film Festival premiere, while expectations have been low for Supergirl for months.
After a film underperforms, there is an inquest, but its asking the wrong questions as the issue with Supergirl goes right back to 1984’s Supergirl film (opened $5.73m/$21.4m taking $14.29m/$53.2m) making a female version but not on the same terms, in Supergirl there’s a newspaper front page saying Superman saves town from nuclear reactor explosion while Supergirl saves a cat from a sewer. In the same way, in the films Superman says the planet, while Supergirl saves a man; this is very different from in Wonder Woman when she saves the world, and her cameo in Batman Vs Superman was the best bit, as Wonder Woman was on equal footing to the male superheroes.
There are deeper issues with DC that go back to not connecting Batman and Superman and other characters sooner; despite doing that in the 90s Batman films with Robin, Batgirl and Bane, they were doing something there 20th Century Fox would do years later with X-Men, Sony Pictures with Spider-Man and Marvel with the launch of the MCU universe in 2005.
The problem has been that, despite leading the way with comic-book films with Tim Burton’s Batman, they got gazumped by The X-Men and were playing catch-up ever since, and it always felt that they were copying Marvel rather than, as 20th Century Fox did in 2016 with Deadpool, something Disney would never do with Marvel, as DC finally did with 2019’s Joker. The problem was, despite the success of Joker and building from that with a different style of comic-book films, they target the same vanilla superhero films Marvel has made since 2005.
Ahead of opening, Supergirl was tracking to open with $55m a month ago, but closer to opening, rather than increasing, it dropped off. Going into the weekend, it was looking to open with about $40m.
Last year Superman opened $125.02m, taking $354.22m and $618.72m worldwide; next for DC Studios is the Clayface body horror and Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow next summer, by which time it will be released by Paramount Pictures.
2023’s The Marvels opened $46.1m, taking $84,5m and $206.13m worldwide
2022’s Black Adam opened $67m, taking $16815m and $393.45m worldwide
2023’s The Flash opened $55m, taking $108.13m and $271.43m worldwide
And 2017’s Wonder Woman opened $103.25m, taking $412.84m and $823.97m worldwide
Opened $30m from 70 territories and $68m worldwide; UK $4.1m; Mexico $3.4m and Australia $2m
In 2011 Green Lantern opened with $53.2m, taking $116.6m and $219.85m worldwide and in 2013 Man of Steel opened with $116.61m, taking $291.04m and $668.04m worldwide
In 2017 Wonder Woman opened $228.1m worldwide including $125m from 34,775 screens in 55 territories; China $38.2m; Korea $8.4m; Mexico $8.4m; Brazil $8.1m; UK $7.9m; Wonder Woman opened much lower than it was expected too due to the terrorist attack at Ariana Grande’s concert the weekend before, which saw the UK premiere cancelled and Ariana Grande’s One Love Charity concert over the weekend Wonder Woman opened.
In 2023, The Flash opened $139m worldwide, including $75m from 78 international territories; China $13.8m; Mexico $9.4m; UK $5.3m; Korea $3.7m; Brazil $3.5m; Australia $3m; France $2.8m; Indonesia $2.6m; India $2.5m.
2019’s Shazam! opened internationally with $102m from 79 territories (#1 in 60 of 79 territories) and $158.6m worldwide; top international: China $30.9m; Mexico $6.2m; UK $5.3m; Russia $5.2m; Brazil $5.1m; Indonesia $4.1m; Korea $3.9m; Australia $3.4m.
- Jackass: Best and Last – Paramount Pictures
Opened $8.46m; received mixed reviews (87% Rotten Tomatoes) and an A- CinemaScore; Jackass Forever had a B+ CinemaScore as Jackass Number Two and Jackass 3D; Jackass: The Movie A-
Took $1.2m from Thursday previews; Jackass Forever $1.65m; Jackass 3D $2.5m; Jackass: Bad Grandpa $1.4m
24 years after the first film opened and 4 years after the last film, with a budget of $10m will easily turn a profit, but Jackass films haven’t travelled well previously. It surely should have gone straight to Paramount+ internationally.
2002’s Jackass: The Movie opened $22.76m, taking $64.25m and $79.49m worldwide
2006’s Jackass Number Two opened $29m, taking $72.77m and $84.64m worldwide
2010’s Jackass 3D opened $50.35m, taking $117.22m and $171.68m worldwide
2013’s Jackass: Bad Grandpa opened $32.05m, taking $102m and $151.82m worldwide
2022’s Jackass Forever opened $23.15m, taking $57.74m and $80,56m worldwide
Jackass Forever opened with $5.2m from 9 territories internationally
Opened with $1.9m internationally from 19 territories; UK $1m; everywhere else took much less; Holland $240k; Germany $210k, and Mexico $105k.
- Disclosure Day – Universal Pictures
Dropped 53.4% in its third weekend, $8.25m and $94.63m
961st biggest third weekend between Paddington and Don’t Breathe (close to Bridge of Spies, The Fall Guy, Terminator Salvation and A Wrinkle in Time).
It’s Steven Spielberg’s popcorn film since 2018’s Ready Player One; since then, he has directed more adult films, including West Side Story, The Post and The Fabelmans. The problem is it’s not the popcorn film under 35s want to see in the cinema in the summer.
2002’s Minority Report dropped 41.8% to $12.55m and $97.11m of $132.07m and $358.37m worldwide
2005’s War of the Worlds dropped 50% to $15.24m and $192.42m of $234.28m and $603.87m worldwide
2001’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence dropped 62.9% to $5.21m and $70.09m of $78.61m and $235.92m worldwide
Spielberg’s films were understated blockbusters. The problem is they sadly don’t belong in the tentpole world of the last decade; they aren’t films audiences will rush out to over opening weekend; they are films audiences will see over weeks and months, not days, as this isn’t cinema anymore. Disclosure Day is not a tentpole. It is a Spielberg film. That is the difference. And that is why the numbers should be read differently.
The 34 films Steven Spielberg has directed have taken $4.8bn over the last 52 years in the US; over 1.1bn admissions and taking $14bn, showing how big his successes were over his first 19 years. They took half of the total BO: $2.3bn and $10bn inflated.
Took $10.4m internationally from 81 territories and $193.7m worldwide; UK $14.5m; Mexico $9.5m; France $7m.
- Obsession – Focus Features
Down 27.6% in its seventh weekend, $9.7m and $233.8m
31st biggest seventh weekend between The Lion King (1994) and The Super Mario Bros. Movie (close to Barbie, Wicked, The Dark Knight and Inside Out 2).
It’s hard to make direct comparisons with any other horror, as the only possible one would be 1999’s The Sixth Sense, taking $11.2m down 32.1% and $213.27m of $293.5m and $672.8m worldwide.
Obsession originally had a 17-day theatrical window; after its strong hold, it was extended to 45 days and was released on PVOD on June 30, despite still being third in the chart. It goes back to the problem of having fixed-length windows of any length; they shouldn’t be fixed ahead of release; they should be flexible, decided after they have opened, so Obsession window could be continually extended as long as it’s funding a wide audience in cinemas and then a film like Jackass: Best and Last can be released on PVOD after 17 days.
Obsession is currently the 5th biggest film of 2026 in the US $233..8m, but Toy Story 5 has taken more in only 10 days of release ($298.07m). Will the industry remember Obsession when it’s out of the top 10 despite its success being far more lucrative than any of the films that will take more than it this year? The question is, will the industry have learned anything from Obsession?
Why the International Split Is Unusual
The international split is 36.9%, significantly lower than the typical horror film.
This is because Obsession is not a typical horror film. It is a culturally specific film about the “nice guy”, a dynamic that resonates differently in different territories.
- The US drove the gross because the “nice guy” conversation is more prominent there.
- International audiences were slower to respond because the dynamic is more culturally specific.
- It still performed well internationally, but the US was the engine.
Key Achievements
- First film since 1982 to increase in its second and third weekends.
- Held in the top five for seven straight weeks.
- Never dropped more than 30% week-over-week until its seventh weekend.
- Highest-grossing live-action English-language original movie of the 2020s.
- 2,300% return on investment on a $12m budget.
The Crew’s Reality
But while the film was making $372m, the crew who made it were paid poverty wages.
| Crew Member | Role | What They Were Paid |
| Sally Choi | Art Director | $300/day, ~$6,000 total, no expenses |
| Crew | Various | Low wages, multiple roles, some “volunteers” |
Why the Analysts Will Never Understand
| What the Analysts See | What the Audience Sees |
| A horror film | A documentary |
| A supernatural thriller | A story about power and control |
| A monkey’s paw | A “nice guy” |
| A film for horror fans | A film for people who do not like horror |
| A front-loaded genre film | A leggy word-of-mouth hit |
The One-Sentence Summary
Obsession is not a horror film. It is a documentary about the “nice guy” who is not so nice — and the analysts will never understand it because they are still watching from Bear’s perspective.
The Final Thought
Obsession made $372m on a $12m budget. It held for seven weeks. It is the first film since 1982 to increase in its second and third weekends. It is the highest-grossing live-action English-language original movie of the 2020s.
And yet, the industry will not learn from it.
They will celebrate the billion-dollar tentpoles. They will ignore the film that delivered a 3,000% return on investment. They will keep chasing the wrong numbers. They will keep making the same mistakes.
Obsession is not a horror film. It is a lesson. And the industry will never learn it.
Took $13.7m from 61 territories, $136.2m total, and $370.1m worldwide; UK $17.6m; Mexico $6.8m; Australia $5.5m; France $4.3m and opened with Germany $2.6m and Spain $1.4m
UK Box Office Top 10
Box Office Preview
The last time Illumination and Pixar opened a major sequel was in 2024 when Despicable Me 4 opened 4 weeks after Inside Out 2; this time Minions & Monsters opens only 13 days after Toy Story 5 due to Moana opening July 10th.
Minions & Monsters can’t open later, as Christopher Nolan probably has a similar requirement as he had with Oppenheimer; the studio can’t release a major film within a month of The Odyssey, so it was either July 1st or mid-August.
While Scottish school holidays started on Wednesday, it was madness to open it on Wednesday, as there must be thousands of 9 am – 12 pm shows that will have a handful of people at most in. In 2012, 20th Century Fox opened Ice Age: Continental Drift in Scotland three weeks before the rest of the UK opening with £853,226 and three weeks later opened £10,087,052 in the UK. Disney also opened Brave in Scotland earlier than the rest of the UK in 2012.
In 2024, Despicable Me 4 opened #1 £8,856,183 3-day opening, now previews with Inside Out 2 down 57% in its fifth weekend £2,225,170 and £44,485,366 75.8% £58,721,001/£60,769,408.
Despicable Me 4 opened a week after the US and the weekend before the start of the summer holidays; Minions & Monsters opens two weeks after Toy Story 5 and three weeks before summer holidays start. Last weekend Toy Story 5 took 80% of its weekend box office Sat/Sun, and this weekend Minions & Monsters and Toy Story 5 will take similar BO over Sat/Sun, despite Minions & Monsters having two days of previews opening Wednesday.
Minions & Monsters plays younger than Toy Story 5, while Toy Story 5 plays stronger to girls, but there will surely be cannibalisation between the two of them. This will surely see Toy Story 5 dropping 50%+ in its third weekend and Minions & Monsters opening much lower than previous films.
2022’s Minions: The Rise of Gru opened £10,424,758 (£2.7m Friday and £4.2m Saturday and £3.52m on Sunday; 7% from 3D (£729,432 from 142 screens (compared to 28% of Minions BO coming from 3D in 2015 taking £45,764,546
2024’s Despicable Me 4 opened £8,856,183 (£2.43m Friday; £3.99m Saturday: £2.436m Sunday) taking £48,001,206
2017’s Despicable Me 3 opened £11,154,904, taking £47,562,575
2015’s Minions opened £11,556,856 (3D took £3,194,166) taking £47,091,449
2013’s Despicable Me 2 opened £14,822,427 (£4,868,323 previews 33%) taking £46,815,412
2010’s Despicable Me opened £3,664,376, taking £19,750,505
Minions: The Rise of Gru opened three weeks after Lightyear in 2022, but Lightyear underperformed. In 2015, Minions opened three weeks before Inside Out, but that weekend was the start of the summer holidays; the summer holidays don’t start in the UK for another three weeks.
The problem with day-and-date opening is that while they opened for strong dates in the US, Toy Story opened 5 weeks before the summer holidays and Minions & Monsters three weeks before their start, which means audiences have limited time to see these films. With Moans opening the following weekend and The Odyssey the following weekend being a 15, there will be limited choices for children until Spider-Man: Brad New Day opens in 5 weeks.
Minions & Monsters and Toy Story 5 will likely share about 85% of the top 10 box office, but as they are both family films there will still be room for The Invite directed by Olivia Wilde, her third film after 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling opened £2,771,935 taking £9,995,806 and 2019’s Booksmart opened £632,363.
Rereleased as counter-programming to summer tentpoles and boosted by A24 marketing influence, even though it’s being released by Black Bear in the UK. The film has received positive reviews and will target adults.
Holdovers: Supergirl will drop 60% in its second weekend, taking £1.2m-£1.5m, with jackass: Best and Last having an even bigger second weekend drop.
Disclosure Day will drop about 50% in its fourth weekend, with Obsession likely dropping 40%in its seventh weekend.
Coming Soon
- The Odyssey – Universal Pictures
Epic fantasy action film starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya and Charlize Theron, directed by Christopher Nolan. An adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic, The Odyssey
For decades been considered unfilmable due to its sprawling, episodic structure, immense timeline, and heavy reliance on mythical monsters and divine intervention.
The 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, directed by the Coen Brothers, was a satirical retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey, but the most famous was the 1990 episode of The Simpsons, Homer’s Odyssey. There was also 2004’s Troy starring Brad Pitt and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, based on Homer’s Iliad, one part of the 24 parts of Homer’s The Odyssey, so how can Christopher Nolan possibly make one 3-hour film about all 24 parts that will be faithful to the complete story? Of course, Nolanites believe Christopher Nolan can turn water into wine.
2004’s Troy opened £6,017,523/£10,735,047 taking £18,001,854/£32,114,666
The $250m budget film was shot entirely in 70mm IMAX
IMAX tickets went on sale for opening weekend a year before its opening, and Nolanites immediately rushed online to book tickets. The BFI IMAX sold four opening weekend screenings; more tickets were sold when advance bookings opened on June 16; BFI IMAX announced they had sold 28,000 tickets in its first 24 hours, breaking first day sales records, taking £750k.
The previous record for BFI IMAX was Dune: Part Two, £366k in the first 24 hours and Oppenheimer, £254k. The BFI IMAX has been the unofficial home of Christopher Nolan films since 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises took over £1 million in advance bookings at BFI IMAX 5 weeks before opening, selling 62,300 tickets (£16 average; today tickets are £24). 43 shows ahead of opening were sold out for The Dark Knight Rises including early morning screenings at 04.25 and 04.55; the film broke BFI IMAX records for highest first-day sales (24,754 tickets taking £409,838) and the highest first-week sales (38,658 tickets, taking £634,013) breaking the records previously set earlier in 2012 by Ridley Scott’s Prometheus and James Cameron’s Avatar in December 2009 sold 47,000 tickets, grossing £607,000 (£12.90 average).
It’s no surprise these tickets sold out so fast, as Nolanites are similar to Swifties, obsessive fans who will book up to see immediately when tickets go on sale; the difference is there will still be massive availability for The Odyssey in cinemas up to minutes before the show, as seen with Toy Story 5; it will still probably sell less than 20% of all seats available.
Despite the strong advance sales for The Odyssey, opening weekend estimates have been all over the place, as Christopher Nolan films work best in crowded marketplaces, while Barbenheimer was so successful; a similar thing happened 16 years ago with Inception and Toy Story 3, which opened a week apart in July 2010 and held strongly for several months.
The Odyssey opens the weekend after Moana reimagination and the weekend of the World Cup Final, but also the start of the school summer holiday. The mid- July weekend has been one of the most lucrative weekends of cinema for over 30 years since Jurassic Park.
Oppenheimer opened £10,891,486; £3.24m Friday 30%; £4m Saturday 37%); £3.6m Sunday (33%); took £2.13m Mon and £2.1m Tues taking £58.5m; opening second behind Barbie £18,509,235, so The Odyssey should be opening £15m+.
As with Oppenheimer, Tenet and Dunkirk, The Odyssey will receive massive media coverage, having its world premiere on July 6; the embargo is July 15th, but there will be social media reactions after that, and they are going to be very predictable: the greatest film ever made and other similar hyperbole.
Universal Pictures has said influencers won’t be involved in the promotional campaign of the film, but will be a different form of influencers, the Nolanites that will flood social media on July 6 after the world premiere with the predictable hyperbole comments (can play social media bingo; these will be included within the immediate reactions): Masterpiece/The greatest film ever made. Stunning/Spectacular/Breathtaking. Left me stunned/Once-in-a-lifetime experience. I was sobbing/ Tears of joy. Mind-blowing/Peak incoming. “This is why we go to the cinema.” “You are not ready.” And give it the Best Picture Oscar now.
2010’s Inception opened £5,912,814 from 452 screens, taking £35,264,403; dropped 29% and 22% in the second and third weekends, taking £4,172,568 and £3,229,651; held #1 for 1 week and in the top 5 for 5 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.
2020’s Tenet opened £5,335,654 from 611 screens, taking £17,479,421; dropped 59% and 42% in the second and third weekends, taking £2,151,490 and £1,233,090; held #1 for 8 weeks and in the top 5 for 9 weeks and top 10 for 10 weeks
2017’s Dunkirk opened £10,023,720 from 638 screens, taking £56,797,955; dropped 17% and 43% in the second and third weekends, taking £8,235,532 and £4,624,570; held #1 for 4 weeks and in the top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 10 weeks.
2014’s Interstellar opened £5,378,220 from 574 screens, taking £20,852,599; dropped 29% and 49% in the second and third weekends, taking £3,777,804 and £1,895,368; held #1 for 2 weeks and in the top 5 for 4 weeks and top 10 for 6 weeks.
Impossible to compare Oppenheimer with The Dark Knight Trilogy, only that the films had similar holds #1 and stayed in the top 5 and top 10 for similar weeks, having similar legs.
2005’s Batman Begins opened £4,427,802 from 514 screens, taking £16,733,960: #1 for 2 weeks, top 5 for 5 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.
2008’s The Dark Knight opened £11,191,824 from 502 screens, taking £49,411,323: #1 for 2 weeks, top 5 for 6 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.
2012’s The Dark Knight Rises opened £14,362,443 from 594 screens, taking £56,446,768: #1 for 2 weeks, top 5 for 6 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.
Oppenheimer and Dunkirk are far more accessible than The Odyssey, as they told stories people knew; most people have probably heard of The Odyssey and bought the book, but it’s one of those that just sit on the bookshelf that never gets opened.
