Top 5 Breakdown
- Kingsman: The Golden Circle – £8,525,664 – NE
After taking £2.3m from previews on Wednesday and Thursday took £6.2m over the weekend this compares to Kingsman: The Secret Service which opened with £4.24m in January 2015 including £679,498 from one day of previews.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle has the second biggest spy opening in the UK beating 2015’s Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation opening with £5.35m taking £21.05m; will overtake Kingsman: The Secret Service box office of £16.29m climbing into the top 20 next week.
Will likely end up overtaking both War for the Planet of the Apes and Logan to become 20th Century Fox’s second biggest film of the year taking £25m+ but could go bigger it all depends on how Blade Runner 2049 performs while it has much hype and expectation the big question is who is its target audience will millennials prefer a CGI vagina?
Kingman: The Golden Circle opened far stronger in the UK is another film that had the Brit Boost close to Dunkirk in July. Its opening was over 3x the size of Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword opening with £2.5m. Matthew Vaughn produced several of Guy Richie’s films including Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels which opened 19 years ago £941,638 taking £11.39m, 2000’s Snatch opening with £3.18m taking £12.13m, 2002’s Swept Away (went straight to video in the UK). Before making his directorial debut with the excellent 2004’s Layer Cake starring a pre-James Bond Daniel Craig followed by Stardust, Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle was originally due to be released June 16th, 2017 but last November 20th Century Fox switched the release dates of several of their films including bringing forward the release of Alien: Covenant from August to May moved the film to October 6th to open against Blade Runner 2049. Several months later was moved to September 29th and then finally September 22nd after Universal Pictures kept switching release date for American Made. 20th Century Fox date switching was the catalyst of many other rival studios switching films release dates which I believe was one of the reasons why summer 2017 ended with a poor August.
20h Century Fox date switching saw them have a disappointing summer with Alien: Covenant (£12.92m) opening to close to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Captain Underpants (£7.81m) to close to Despicable Me 3 (£46.5m) and Cars 3 (£11.42m) and War for the Planet of the Apes (£20.58m) sandwiched between Spider-Man-Homecoming (£30.39m) and Dunkirk (£56.08m).
20th Century Fox has had a mixed 2017 to date with their 18 films taking £128m with Logan and The Boss Baby performing far better than expected but then their high-profile summer releases underperforming Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul taking £5.53m was a big surprise as it unperformed in the US.
Remaining films for 2017 are Goodbye Christopher Robin, The Mountain Between Us, Murder on the Orient Express, Battle of the Sexes and Ferdinand could generate strong if not spectacular box office targeting older audiences apart from Ferdinand which will be an alternative for younger audiences this Christmas opening opposite Star Wars: The Last Jedi; based on a classic children’s book was banned in many countries including Spain when it was first published in 1936 outselling Gone with the Wind to become #1 best seller in the US. In Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler ordered the book burned “degenerate democratic propaganda”; first heard of the Story of Ferdinand in the 2009 Oscar-winning film The Blind Side.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle and mother highlights the impact the director has on the film’s marketing. While Darren Aronofsky was calling the shots on mother demanding the studio didn’t reveal too much about the film in the trailers, but with Kingsman: The Golden Circle director Matthew Vaughn was annoyed the trailers had too many spoilers including the return of Colin Firth’s Harry Hart who got shot in the head in the first film. He told IGN “Well, I’m not in charge of marketing. The thinking about that was stupidity, to be blunt. I begged the studio not to reveal it. Because it’s the whole driving force of the first act and if you didn’t know that scene it would’ve made the whole audience gasp. So, you must ask the lovely marketing guys because I think their job is to open the movie and don’t really care about the experience of the movie.
Matthew Vaughn also said it was a lesson for him and if there is a third film (which is planned) he will try to have more power over the marketing. The ending of Kingsman: The Golden Circle sets up a third film which will likely be released in 2020.
Kingsman: The Secret Service opened 30th January 2015 with £4.24m second to Big Hero 6 opening with only £51,994 more (£4.29m) going on to take £16.39m; the film received positive reviews Mary Poppins meets James Bond but generated criticism with the surprising misogynistic end scene. Many have taken similar issue with the misogyny in the sequel with Eggsy putting racking device in Poppy Delevingne vagina audiences see with a CGI scene that sees it go into her vagina.
Matthew Vaughn’s 2004 Layer Cake opened in October 2004 with £1.1m was his first film as a director, 2011’s X-Men: First Class opened with £5.4m, Kick-Ass £3.9m in 2010 and Stardust opened with £2.2m in 2007.
The original film was released in 2D and IMAX sequel and after the downturn in sales of 3D films in recent months was surprised to see the poster saying see it in 3D but as the film wasn’t released in 3D Matthew Vaughn was just trolling fans?
In an interview for Yahoo Movies UK director Matthew Vaughn said the cost of going to the cinema is killing the industry. (something I have been saying for years but exhibitors, the BFI and UK Cinema Association have been in denial about still claiming the average ticket price is £7.62 instead of nearer £10 my local Vue is £13.49).
Vaughn said “My problem with cinema is that everything around the cinema is so expensive that it’s killing appetite to go see it, because you’ve got your kids who are having the world’s most expensive popcorn. I think it’s become a little too commercialised in that sense.” …. “I miss when you go to the cinema ushers telling you ‘I’ve just seen this movie, you need to see it’, because they’re not there anymore. Cinema needs to become theatrical again, the experience like you’re going to a rock concert, and your fans. Even in the box office, someone saying ‘you shouldn’t buy a ticket to that movie, it’s dreadful, buy a ticket for this one’. “Bring back the love of cinema so cinema can survive.”
Matthew Vaughn also told Entertainment Weekly that they cut out many Donald Trump jokes including Julianne Moore’s villainous Poppy apparently expressed her desire to become the host of The Apprentice, and the appearance of the Oval Office in the movie was at first imagined as a Trumped-out set-piece laden with gold.
Last February Manchester United announced a global partnership with 20th Century Fox saw their players feature within several of their film campaigns Deadpool, X-Men Apocalypse and Independence Day 2, Logan and Kingsman: The Golden Circle was the latest promo; In June, Universal Pictures announced a similar partnership with Arsenal but have yet to feature in a film promo.
- It – £2,852,965 – £26,451,709
Dropping 53.2% in its third weekend has overtaken both 1999’s The Sixth Sense £25.4m and 2007’s I Am Legend £25.9m to become the biggest horror film of all time in the UK; I Am Legend had 5.12m admissions in 2007 be £39.1m today and The Sixth Sense 6.03m £45.97m today unlikely It will match either total as currently having 3.46m admissions.
It has overtaken Wonder Woman and on Monday will have overtaken The Lego Batman Movie to become Warner Bros second biggest film of the year and the tenth biggest film of 2017; by the end of next weekend will have overtaken The Boss Baby, Sing, The Fate of the Furious and possibly Spider-Man: Homecoming and La La Land to become the fifth biggest film of the year. (behind Guardians of the Galaxy, Despicable Me 3, Dunkirk and beauty and the Beast.
Will face competition this weekend with the arrival of another horror reboot this time from the 90s Flatliners.
Warner Bros announced on Monday, September 6th, 2019 the release date for It 2 which is set 20 years after the events of the first film.
- Victoria and Abdul £1,239,085 – £4,831,777
Down 32.9% in its second weekend has already overtaken the total box office of 1997’s Mrs Brown which took £2.54m (0.62m admissions would be £4.75m in 2017).
As with many films targeting an older audience, Victoria and Abdul took £1.74m over Mon-Thurs last week but will face competition from Goodbye Christopher Robin this weekend.
Victoria and Abdul is playing in 615 cinemas the widest release of the top 10 always surprised when distributors release these kinds of films so wide as will probably play stronger in big cities but then poorly elsewhere so doesn’t need to be on so wide; Kingsman: The Golden Circle played in 602 sites but this was on 1,583 screens as most showing in multiple screens.
Stephen Frears second weekends
2016’s Florence Foster Jenkins £461,784 down 35% – £1,883,019
2013’s Philomena £1,407,318 down 34% – £4,762,182
2006’s The Queen £908,295 up 6% – £2,658,523
2005’s Mrs Henderson Presents £518,838 down 31% – £1,906,152
2000’s High Fidelity £562,641 down 19% – £1,862,202
- Mother – £364,301 – £1,668,307
Down only 56.4% in its second weekend; many have compared Mother to Get Out but while that opened with £2.16m and took £10.05m the confusion over what the film was with its marketing was it a horror or a psychological home invasion thriller polarized its reaction
Mother should overtake the box office of Jennifer Lawrence 2012’s The House at the End of the Street £2.26m and Darren Aronofsky’s 2009 film The Wrestler £2.5m
But will be a long way from Darren Aronofsky previous films Noah opened with £2,511,397 April 2014 taking £9,851,448; Black Swan opened January 2011 with £2,762,429 taking £15.7m;
Paramount created TV spot and poster to incorporate the polarized reaction the film has received. Had they run this marketing campaign after receiving such a marmite reaction from screening at Venice and Toronto Film Festivals it might have had a chance but the damage was done with its opening weekend while its second-weekend drop wasn’t as big as many predicted but will drop much heavier this coming weekend.
Darren Aronofsky has said recently that he would be interested in directing a Superman film but after the flop that is mother it will be interesting to see what studio would be willing to take a gamble on him next.
When a film flops the actors will rarely get affected as with Jennifer Lawrence starring in next Red Sparrow out next March (was originally set for release in November but pushed to beginning of March to separate itself from Mother and after 20th Century Fox had huge success with Logan this year and have already dated Ridley Scott produced James Mangold-directed The Force for March 1st, 2019) and X-Men: Dark Phoenix released next November.
With a big flop, the studio boss will get fired and then get a lucrative production deal at the same studio or rival but the director will find it very hard to get another film made e.g. Michael Lehmann, Martin Brest and Kevin Reynolds directors who made some great films prior to the glop Heathers, Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves but then made Hudson Hawk, Gigli and The Count of Monte Cristo and have barely made a film since.
- The Emoji Movie – £359,793 – £14,043,072
Down only 7.43% in its eighth weekend having the lowest drop again of the top 10; it is the 19th biggest film of the year and Sony Pictures UK’s third biggest film of the year behind T2; Trainspotting and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
As with the success of the inferior Despicable Me 3 to the far superior Captain Underpants timing was everything for The Emoji Movie as despite being slated by critics its audience young children don’t read reviews but they do send emoji conversations to each other.
With The Emoji now taken over $185m worldwide and Sony Pictures short on animated franchises, there could still be an Emoji Movie 2.
Sony Pictures released the trailer for their next animated film Peter Rabbit last week based on the books by Beatrix Potter and the trailer was slanted online James Corden voices Peter who is badly miscast as they have turned this beloved children’s book into this horrific mess; Beatrix Potter famously refused to sell Peter Rabbit rights to Walt Disney in 1936 and will probably be turning in his grave seeing this film version. But after the success of films, The Emoji Movie children will probably be more accepting to the film rather than adults who read the books to their children when they were younger; the CGI animated TV series ran from 2012 to 2016 had the right mix of charm and fun.
Also released
Borg Vs McEnroe – Curzon Artificial Eye – £101,888 from 145 screens; disappointing opening for the film which received strong media coverage due to its Toronto Film Festival premiere and the release of the similar film Battle of the Sexes which also premiered at the festival and opened in the US last weekend has its UK premiere next month in the UK at the London Film Festival and opens in November it’s Emma Stone’s first film since winning Best Actress Oscar for La La Land.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £14,426,112 up 25.7% from last weekend £11,473,081
The weekend admissions 1,893,191 up 25.7% from last weekend 1,505,654 (average price £7.62 by UK Cinema Association/BFI for 2017).
Kingsman: The Golden Circle took 59.1% of the top 10; 12 films opened at weekend taking £8,891,515; Kingsman: The Golden Circle 95.9% (£8,525,664); remaining 11 films shared £365,851 (4.1%); including Lawrence of Arabia 70mm re-issue £9,359 from 1 screen
The weekend was up 23.8% from last year (£11,647,518): The Magnificent Seven £2,132,609 and The Girl with All the Gifts £432,529.
Up 102.3% from 2015: (£7,140,352): Miss You Already £487,247, Solace £340,537
Next weekend in 2016: (£13,075,476) Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children £3,473,781, Deepwater Horizon £1,984,340, Supersonic £542,263, Free State of Jones £118,635.
UK Box Office Top 10
US Box Office Top 10
US Box office
20th Century Fox – Kingsman: The Golden Circle – $39.02m; received B+ CinemaScore while the first film received A-
Opening ahead of Kingsman: The Secret Service which opened February 2015 with $36.2m going on to take $128.21m and took $286.1m internationally and $414.35m worldwide. After film tracking has been poor in recent months Kingsman: The Golden Circle opens very close to tracking predicted a month ago $40m was surprising given the mixed critical reception to the film and would have thought It holding strongly in its third weekend would squeeze Kingsman’s box office rather than Lego Ninjago.
After taking $3.4m from Thursday previews many were predicting opening of anywhere between $40-$50m but for the film to end up opening as tracking predicted a month ago must be a disappointing as the majority of a films marketing is done within those final weeks so should have seen it open at $10-20m bigger but of course it was affected by It holding but of course opened far stronger than Lego Ninjago.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle received 50% Rotten Tomatoes compared with 74% for the original film which dropped almost 50% in its second weekend the sequel is likely to drop similar facing tougher competition with Flatliners and American Made compared to McFarland, USA, The Duff and Hot Tub Time Machine in 2015.
The film took $61.2m internationally 63% more than the first film taking $100.2m worldwide.
Warner Bros – It drops 50.5% taking $29.75 in its third weekend taking $266.09m; It has become the biggest R-rated horror in the US overtaking The Exorcist $236.9m and will become the biggest horror overtaking 1999’s The Sixth Sense $293.5m by next weekend; It has become the fifth biggest film of the year and should take over $300m by next weekend.
It took $38.3m internationally and $211.7m internationally and $478m globally; after 10 days on release its #14 biggest film of the year globally overtaking War for the Planet of the Apes and will shortly overtake The Boss Baby and Dunkirk; #190 biggest ever ahead of The LEGO Movie and San Andreas.
Warner Bros – The Lego Ninjago Movie – opens with $20.43m; while Kingman: The Golden Circle opened as tracking predicted going into the weekend Lego Ninjago was expecting to open with $35m+; it received a B+ CinemaScore so will likely drop heavier than the previous two Lego movies maybe opening two Lego films within a year was too much of Lego; Storks opened $21.31m taking $72.67m a similar box office is now expected for Lego Ninjago which was expected to take closer to double. Normally Warner Bros underestimate films openings but with Lego Ninjago overestimated by almost $800,000.
Was surprisingly cannibalized by Kingsman as would of thought as family films have performed strongly this time of year recently apart from last year with Storks that a marketplace that was empty for family films would see Lego Ninjago have a strong opening especially as previous two Lego movies opened well and Lego Ninjago while nothing new reviews were positive. But I guess teenage boys preferred seeing a CGI vagina than Lego.
While many have suggested The Lego Movie franchise might have run out of steam after only three films but Lego Ninjago was very different to both The Lego Movie and the Lego Batman Movie as based on an existing Lego toy. After being fired from Han Solo movie Phil Lord & Chris Miller are now rewriting the script for The Lego Movie 2 is set to open in February 2019.
Third weekend in September has been very lucrative for family films in recent years with Hotel Transylvania 2 $48,464,322, Cloud with the Chance of Meatballs 2 $34,017,930, Hotel Transylvania $42,522,194, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs $30,304,648 and Dolphin Tale $19,152,401 only slight disappointments were 2016’s Storks $21,311,407 2014’s The Boxtrolls $17,275,239, and 2010’s Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole $16,112,211.
The Lego Movie opened February 2014 with $69.05m taking $257.76m and The Lego Batman Movie opened February 2017 with $53m taking $175.75m;
The Lego Ninjago Movie took $10.5m international opening in most international territories in October.
Paramount Pictures – Mother – $3.29m down 56.3% in its second weekend taking $13.45m; mother was one of 19 films that received an F CinemaScore while it received 68% Rotten Tomatoes score so its failure was more due to marketing failure rather than the film itself. The confusion over what the film was about annoyed and frustrated the audience which polarized the films reaction.
Many of the other films that also received an F CinemaScore were because they weren’t the films audiences were expecting Solaris, Bug, Killer Joe, In the Cut, The Box and Killing Them Softly their failure as mother was due to their marketing. Had Paramount got its marketing right the film would have still received a mixed reaction but audiences would of know what they were expecting and would have gotten a C.
Darren Aronofsky refused to take about the film before the film premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and had his hands on the films marketing and trailers demanding that Paramount didn’t reveal too much about the film. The synopsis was very vague “A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.” Originally the film was marketed as a thriller but when it wasn’t tracking well they switched it to a horror which made little sense opening a week after It which was building huge awareness and buzz.
Many questioned why mother wasn’t platformed as Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan was but his previous Noah opened wide but that was a far more commercial film starring Russell Crowe and Emma Watson of course mother starred Jennifer Lawrence who is a far biggest actress but mother was similar to her films before The Hunger Games which her current fanbase wouldn’t be so interested in seeing.
It took $4.6m from 29 territories and $12.5m total and $25.9m worldwide.
Roadshow Attractions – Stronger – opened $1.61m from 573 screens; the film has received critical acclaim with a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score; Was strange to open the film in 500+ screens as after strong reviews would have thought a platform release would have helped the film find its audiences as opening in 500+ screens the film has little wiggle room as it should have opened with $2m-3m being an indie distributor its unlikely exhibitors will be willing to expand the film, this weekend.
Opening on limited release
Fox Searchlight – Battle of the Sexes – $515,450 from 21 screens; after strong reviews at Venice and Toronto Film Festivals regular reviews were more mixed; expands this weekend into 1,200 screens.
Focus – Victoria & Abdul – $158,845 from 4 screens; Judi Dench and director Stephen Frears are doing several Q&As screenings in Los Angeles; 20 years ago, Mrs Brown opened with $76,268 from 6 screens with ticket prices increased from $5.06 to $8.95 its opening is close to inflation inflated opening of Mrs Brown.
20 years after playing Queen Victoria in Mrs Brown (winning Best Actress Bafta and nominated for Best Actress Oscar) she back in Mrs Brown 2; Mrs Brown was made by BBC originally as a TV drama but was acquired by Miramax premiered at the Cannes Film Festival opened July 18th, 1997 $76,268 from 6 screens taking $9,229,808.
Stephen Frears last directed Florence Foster Jenkins opened with $6,601,313 his biggest opening in the US ahead of High Fidelity $6,429,107 but most of his films opened in limited release as Victoria and Abdul also will opening on only four screens; Philomena opened November 2013 with $128,435 from 4 screens; The Queen in September 2006 $122,014 from 3 screens;
Opened September 29th
Opening UK
- Flatliners – Sony Pictures
Science fiction psychological horror starring Ellen Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev, James Norton, Kiersey Clemons and Kiefer Sutherland and directed by Niels Arden. It is the sequel to the 1990 film starring Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt, and Kevin Bacon directed by Joel Schumacher.
Remakes, reboots, and sequels have had mixed success at the box office in recent years with more success from 80s reboots than 90s reboots for every Jurassic World there are The Mummy, Point Break, Power Rangers and Terminator Genisys (James Cameron announced last week plans to make another Terminator film starring Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by Tim Miller released by Paramount in US and 20th Century Fox internationally no release date has yet to be announced but will probably be June 2019).
With Kingsman: The Golden Circle likely to take £3m in its second weekend and It £1.5m Flatliners is expected to open with about £1m in third.
- Goodbye Christopher Robin – 20th Century Fox
Drama starring Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie and Kelly Macdonald and directed by Simon Curtis; it tells the story of Winnie the Pooh in a similar way as Finding Neverland did for Peter Pan many reviews said feels close to many other biopics about English literary figures.
Finding Neverland opened 29th October 2004 with £776,124 taking £3,306,342; was nominated four six Oscars winning Best Original Score; other similar films include Saving Mr Banks opened 29th November 2013 £662,625 taking £4,338,941
Simon Curtis previous films My Week with Marilyn opened 25th November 2011 £753,886 taking £3,106,156 and The Woman in Gold opened 10th April 2015 £494,512 taking £2,833,478.
Disney releases their own film about A. A. Milne’s creation Christopher Robin in an untitled reimagination with a grown-up Christopher Robin opening next August directed by Marc Forster and starring Ewan McGregor and Hayley Atwell; Marc Forster also directed Finding Neverland.
Goodbye Christopher Robin should open close to Finding Neverland, My Week with Marilyn and Saving Mr Banks also close to this year’s Jackie (£0.66m) Viceroy’s House (£0.92m), Their Finest £0.85m), My Cousin Rachel (£0.63m). With trailer played with Victoria and Abdul and the love and the nostalgia of Winnie the Pooh.
- Home Again – STX Entertainment
Romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon, Nat Wolff, Jon Rudnitsky, Pico Alexander, Michael Sheen, and Candice Bergen. Written and directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer youngest daughter writer/director Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer who previously made films including 1998’s The Parent Trap, 2000’s What Woman Want, 2003’s Something’s Gotta Give 2006’s The Holiday (2006) 2000’s It’s Complicated and 2015’s The Intern.
Opened in the US on September 8th receiving average reviews seen as an alternative to It but was predicted to open with $10–12 million but opened instead with only $8.6 million and has taken $19m to date. After the disappointing performance of Home Again in the US may speak about the death of the rom-com which used to be a mainstay at the box office in the 80s and 90s but in the 00s became more and more gross-out than Meg Ryan which brought the audience down. Last September Bridget Jones’s Baby opened with a similar box office in the US but was a huge success in the UK but then the more gross-out comedy Bad Moms was a far bigger success in the US than the UK with the sequel opening in November. At the Sundance Film Festival, The Big Sick was hyped as the return of the rom-com which was a decent, not huge success in the US and took £1.74m in the UK despite claims by the media that it was the best rom-com since For Weddings and a Funeral.
While in recent years Reese Witherspoon has had success as a producer with film and TV Gone Girl and the recent Emmy award-winning Big Little Lies since winning her Best Actress for Walk the Line in 2005 most of her films have disappointed at the box office apart from animated Monsters Vs Aliens and Sing.
Reese Witherspoon next stars in Alexander Payne’s Downsizing; previously starred in Alexander Payne’s 1999 film Election one of three breakthrough roles playing Tracy Flick alongside Pleasantville and Cruel Intentions. Was five years earlier in the barely seen films S.F.W, Freeway, and Fear that you saw a star in the making along with her debut film 1991 film The Man in the Moon. A Wrinkle in Time and Tinker Bell another Disney reimagination despite recent Peter Pan films that have flopped at the box office.
Home Again is STX Entertainment second release in the UK their first Wind River opened with strong reviews and has taken £1.2m after three weeks. Next week Andy Serkis’s Breathe opens the London Film Festival starring Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy. Was described as a crude copy of Stephen Hawking Biopic The Theory of Everything by US critics UK critics have been kinder but unlikely to find a wide audience in the UK despite the media coverage it will receive similar to last year’s London Film Festival opening film A United Kingdom which was to Oscar-winning Moonlight.
As with the US apart from Bridget Jones’s Baby regular non-gross-out rom-coms have underwhelmed at the box office despite all the hype surrounding The Big Sick with reviews calling it the best rom-com since Four Weddings and a Funeral it opened with the only £0.48m in July taking £1.74m Home Again is likely to do similar.
As in the US Reese Witherspoon recent films not including animated films Sing and Monsters Vs Aliens; Hot Pursuit opened with £311,673 in July 2015, Wild £524,941 in January 2015; 2012’s This Mean’s War £1,821,698 was her biggest opening in recent years; while Nancy Meyers last film The Intern Reese Witherspoon was originally attached to before being replaced by Anne Hathaway opened the same weekend two years ago with £758,713;
Opening in the US
Both films produced by Cross Creek Pictures also produced Hacksaw Ridge released last year and upcoming Roman Israel, Esq starring Denzel Washington; Cross Creek previously had a distribution deal with Universal Pictures moved to Sony Pictures in 2015.
- American Made – Universal Pictures
Biographical action comedy starring Tom Cruise and directed by Doug Liman his first for Universal Pictures since The Bourne Identity in 2002 and is the second film for Cruise/Liman previously making 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow which also opened internationally early in 2014 due to the World Cup. Edge of Tomorrow was well received critically but was poorly dated opening soon after X-Men: Days of Future Past and Maleficent. Tom Cruise film used to be an event which rival studios feared opening against 2013’s Oblivion was the last time had the weekend to itself but with competition and away from Mission Impossible franchise he doesn’t have the star power anymore.
American Made was strangely released internationally (taking $58.6m) a month before the US and was the first film to open in the UK without having a UK premiere since The Firm in 1993.
The Mummy took 80% of its $407.7m box office from international after disappointing in the US; Jack Reacher: Never Go Back took 63.8% of its $162.1m; Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation 71.4% of its $682.7m; Edge of Tomorrow 73% of its $370.5m; Oblivion 68.9% of its $286.1m. But the difference between those films rather than American Made they were global films while American Made is as its title suggests very American.
Tom Cruise films have taken $3.72bn in the US (now #8 biggest actor n the US behind Samul L. Jackson, Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Morgan Freeman, Robert Downey Jr, Eddie Murphy, Stanley Tucci, of course, many of those are only there because they starred in ensemble franchises) and $9.25bn worldwide but American Made is currently his third-lowest grossing film globally behind Magnolia and Endless Love which shows how badly Universal Pictures cocked up with the film opening internationally first. While American Made isn’t a great film it is a far better film than The Mummy and deserves more respect. Tom Cruise’s next films are Mission Impossible 6 and Top Gun: Maverick released in July 2018 and 2019.
American Made is likely to open close to Jack Reacher $15m+ which was one of his worst openings the mixed reaction the film has received international could see it open behind Flatliners in fourth.
Strange coincidence American Made opens against Flatliners remake as many have compared it to Air America which opened the same day August 10th, 1990; Flatliners opened #1 with $10.3m with Air America #3 with $8.06m; average tickets in 1990 were $4.22 Flatliners had 2.44m admissions $21.8m today while Air America had 1.90m $17.09m unlikely either film will match their inflation increased opening. American Made has also got similarities to Focus Features Kill the Messenger which was also handled poorly in the US despite positive reviews opening limited wide similar to Stronger this week which gave it no room for any expansion.
- Flatliners – Sony Pictures
The original film opened with $10.03m in August 1990 went on to take $61.48m was Julia Roberts follow-up to her breakthrough role Pretty Woman which is still her leading role to date. (Ocean’s trilogy films are bigger but she had small roles in them)
The remake is likely to open in the low teens questioning what Sony Pictures bothered making a reboot it will open close to the original which opened 27 years ago. But Sony Pictures will be hoping that having the trailer playing with It would spark up some interest and nostalgia.
In recent years have been reboots of many 90s films with very mixed success (opening BO in brackets) Total Recall ($25.57m), Dredd ($6.27m), Point Break ($8.51m), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ($65.57m), Beauty and the Beast ($174.75m), Power Rangers ($40.3m) and It ($123.4m) with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle opening in December and are many more 90s remakes in current development.