- Michael £4,432,922 – £40,515,865
Down 12.8% in its fourth weekend
£1.07m 24.1% (-15.8% £1.27m) Fri; £1.89m 42.6% (-64% £2.02m) Sat; £1.47m 33.2% (-30.6% £1.8m) Sun;
9th biggest fourth weekend between Spider-Man: No Way Home and Barbie (close to Avatar, No Time To Die, Barbie and The Lion King (2019) and 32nd biggest inflated fourth weekend between Quantum of Solace and Top Gun: Maverick (close to Men In Black, Crocodile Dundee, Die Another Day and Monsters, Inc).
Michael took almost 50% more in its fourth weekend than Bohemian Rhapsody (£3,021,6480 but the marketplace is in a very different place than it was in November 2018. In Bohemian Rhapsody’s fourth weekend, it was the opening weekend for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (£12,318,966) while Widows and A Star is Born were strong holdovers targeting adult audiences. This year, the films are split out against demographics, while Michael Jackson fans are far more obsessive with a siege mentality to their icon, something Bohemian Rhapsody never had.
While Michael also focuses on Michael Jackson’s most successful time up to his Bad concert in 1988. Bohemian Rhapsody does end similarly with Queen’s iconic Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium in 1985, but then the end credits explain about Freddie Mercury’s death a few years later and his legacy. The ending is final, bittersweet, conclusive.
While Michael’s end credits start with “is story will continue”, that ending is surely more optimistic for fans, highlighting the death of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody as he will live on in the sequel. The ending is open, optimistic, and sequel-baiting and why it’s seen fans dancing during the end credits as their icon lives on to be in the sequel.
Critics will have the same issues with the sequel to Micheal as it won’t include the allegations, they did feature in the original four hour cut of the film, but filmmakers didn’t have legal permission, so they had to reshoot the ending of the film, in the process have the film a much more positive ending to fans, as it was all about the Micheal Jackson they loved. The fans don’t want the truth. They want the hits. And the sequel will give them more of the same. That’s not a biopic. It’s a brand. And the brand is immortal. The man is optional.
The last Michael Jackson film was 2009’s Michael Jackson’s This Is It, still the biggest concert film globally, taking $267.9m ahead of 2023’s Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour ($261.65m).
Showing how hugely popular in the UK Michael Jackson is despite the massive controversy surrounding his life, 2009’s Michael Jackson’s This Is It took £14,330,528.
And Michael Jackson’s 1988 Moonwalker took £3,401,538/£11,846,226.
Michael is the latest Biographical musician drama after Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen), Walk the Line (Johnny Cash), Ray (Ray Charles), Elvis, Straight Outta Compton (N.W.A), A Complete Unknown (Bob Dylan), Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere and Rocketman (Elton John); Upcoming musician biopics include Sam Mendes’s four Beatles films, and Ridley Scott directed Bee Gees biopic.
3rd biggest film over the last 52 weeks between Wicked – Part 2 and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (close to Lilo & Stitch, Zootropolis 2, Project Hail Mary and Jurassic World Rebirth).
91st biggest between Les Misérables and Indiana Jones …The Crystal Skull (close to Peter Rabbit, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Dune Part 2 and Captain Marvel) and 197th biggest inflated between Shark Tale and Sex and the City (close to Men In Black 2, Doctor Dolittle, Mission: Impossible, and I am Legend).
Michael Jackson songs have climbed into the singles chart this week: Billie Jean #3; Beat It #5; Human Nature #6; I Want You Back Jackson 5 #27; The Essentials #1; Thriller #5; Bad #6; Off The Wall #39; Dangerous #74; soundtrack album #1 on soundtrack album chart.
Michael will have a bigger drop in its fifth weekend than in previous weekends, but The Mandalorian and Grogu are unlikely to affect it that much, dropping between 30%-40%, similar to Bohemian Rhapsody’s fourth weekend BO £3,021,648/£3,352,272.
- 2. The Devil Wears Prada 2 £3,177,721 – £27,295,315
Down 38.9% in its fourth weekend
£962k 30.3% (-37.9% £1.55m) Fri; £1.24m 39% (-41.5% £2.12m) Sat; £975k 30.69% (-45.5% £1.79m) Sun
111th biggest third weekend between Iron Man 3 and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (close to Wicked: For Good, Love Actually, Star Wars: Phantom Menace and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason) and 215th biggest inflated third weekend between Thor: Love And Thunder and What Women Want (close to A Star Is Born, Night At The Museum, American Pie 2 and Who Framed Roger Rabbit).
11th biggest film over the last 52 weeks between Superman and Mission Impossible 8 (close to Wuthering Heights, The Fantastic Four, How To Train Your Dragon and F1).
195th biggest between Elvis and The Little Mermaid (close to Downton Abbey, Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Sex and the City) and 389th biggest inflated between Johnny English Reborn and X-Men (close to Shirley Valentine, Meet the Parents, Catch Me If You Can and The Wolf of Wall Street).
As with so many of Disney’s sequels, reimaginations and reboots, it has these touches like the opening scene of Andy wiping the mirror clean as in the original film and her walk to the awards when she walks past a market stall selling two belts that look identical, to the influencers taking selfies outside an event.
I’ve overthought The Devil Wears Prada 2 because I see my own life in the original. 30+ years ago, I was like Andy junior, overworked, desperate for recognition. I watched colleagues climb the ladder by playing the system, becoming the boss, replacing their own Mirandas.
The sequel starts with Andy winning a journalist award after a successful career, but after being fired by email takes a job at Runway, and despite almost two decades since leaving she seems to fall back into the same dynamics as a 23-year-old. No growth. Still seeking Miranda’s approval, still terrified. That’s not relatable. While 20 years later Miranda hasn’t changed either, as many bosses of her generation struggled to adapt to the changes and wouldn’t be able to cope with HR watching over them, Scrubs reboot understood this: Dr Cox couldn’t cope with holding his tongue, so he retired.
While the original stays long in the memory, with quotable lines, the sequel might be a fun film to watch, but it’s a sugar rush. A Big Mac. Enjoyable in the moment, 20 minutes later, hungry again, they were just empty calories, making you crave the original film again. To quote Mark Kermode, “I’m not angry, but disappointed”.
As with all of Disney’s reimaginations, sequels, and reboots, once the hype and pixel dust fade away, audiences see them for what they are, as South Park said in 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a memberberries. Randy said, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens was ‘not as good as everyone thought it was ‘”. “It may be fun to go back and recycle the past we loved, but we end up with no sustenance”
Third weekends
2006’s The Devil Wears Prada dropped 27.4% £1,358,015/£2,233,614 and 68.7% of £13,681,185/£22,502,319
While The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened much bigger than the original film, it is having similar legs as 2025’s Wicked Back For Good dropped 58.2% £3,225,766 and £37,651,990 79.8% of £47,164,566, and Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy dropped 40.1% £4,130,747 and £35,959,640 77.5% of £46,367,473.
Early in the year, Wuthering Heights dropped 42.3% £2,238,428 and £20,777,747, 82.1% of £25,302,404
While taking similar to inflated
2008’s Sex and the City dropped 42.1% £1,787,507/£2,753,448 and £20,322,757 77.4% of £26,232,557/£40,408,227
2010’s Sex and the City 2 dropped 39.8% £1,489,833/£2,005,641and £17,418,854 80.6% of £21,606,766/£29,087,428
So, despite all the hype, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is doing exactly as it was expected to take, as all other legacy sequels, as Miranda Priestly would say, “that’s all”. As with all legacy sequels, this is the difference, while in 2006 the original Devil Wears Prada was a surprise and has beloved audiences ever since, legacy sequels feel like wearing your favourite sweater 20 years later, as Andy does in the end scene.
As with Sex and the City, younger audiences grew up with many similar TV shows, from The Bold Type, Younger and Unreal. Why the Sex and the City spinoff show, And Just Like That, didn’t connect with fans who didn’t grow up with the Sex and the City TV show.
At the end of the film, there is a tribute to the film Working Girl, where you see Andy in an office, and the screen pans out. Working Girl has been seen as the inspiration for The Devil Wears Prada. Katharine Parker could have been Miranda Priestly’s former boss, as Working Girl was set in 1988, when Miranda was an assistant.
The predecessor to Working Girl could be 9 to 5 and going back much further to 1959’s The Best of Everything.
- 3. The Sheep Detectives £1,380,614 – £5,454,156
Dropped 58.4% in its second weekend (18% without previews)
£212k 15.36% (-34.8% £325k) Fri; £611k 44.3% (-14.8% £717k) Sat; £557k 40.4% (-37.1% £667k) Sun
784th biggest second weekend between Fun with Dick and Jane and White Noise (close to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Ferdinand, Yogi Bear and Free Willy) and 1,281st biggest inflated second weekend between Analyse This and Hot Shots: Part Deux (close to Death on the Nile, The Smurfs 2, Cruella and Encanto).
29th biggest second weekend over the last 52 weeks between The Roses and The Salt Road (close to Weapons, The Bad Guys 2, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants).
Despite that big second weekend drop removing previews from it, The Sheep Detective had a very strong hold due to receiving very positive word of mouth, as seen with its low Friday, it will also have a low Friday this weekend, but this leads into half-term holidays and should see it taking steady BO for the following 8 days.
Has taken more than Haunted Mansion (£4.36m) and Harold and the Purple Crayon (£3.22m) its these kinds of family films that The Sheep Detectives was always likely to perform closer to rather than the likes of Paddington.
The Sheep Detectives has shades of Babe, the ensemble wit of Chicken Run, and the quiet family-word-of-mouth potential of Paddington if it lands with audiences. But more likely similar to films like Shaun the Sheep Movie and The Bad Guys, it feels like The Thursday Murder Club with sheep.
While The Sheep Detective has a PG certificate, there are some scary moments, including when the sheep meet the flock in the next field and stumble into a building, seeing the farmer teaming up with a local butcher. Up to that point, the sheep think that when they die, they become clouds. That scene probably passes children in a similar way as the Watership Down scenes passed me when I saw it when I was a child, but it has much more impact on me as an adult.
- 4. Obsession – £1,342,900 – NE
Included £31,673 from previews
Took £402k 29.96% Friday; £477k 35.54% Saturday; £463k 34.50% Sunday
1,393rd biggest opening between Stuart Little 2 and Nightmare On Elm Street (2010) (close to Longlegs, Unfriended, My Bloody Valentine and Edward Scissorhands) and 2,048th biggest inflated opening between Four Brothers and The Untouchables (close to American Psycho, High Fidelity, Boogeyman (2005) and Scary Movie 5)
51st biggest opening over the last 52 weeks between Marty Supreme and Deliver Me From Nowhere (close to Ballerina, Crime 101, Materialists and Regretting You).
It’s the third biggest horror opening this year behind Scream 7 (£3.83m) and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (£3.36m), and ahead of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (£972k) and Iron Lung (£949k). Horror films have underwhelmed this year, but Obsession isn’t a traditional horror like the others that have been released this year. It has more in common with Get Out, as it’s a social horror, while the magic might be fantasy, it is based on a dark reality of toxic relationships and how men and women interact.
The Darker Devil
Obsession arrived three weeks after The Devil Wears Prada 2, and it’s hard not to see it as a darker, more honest version of that film. If Miranda Priestly were really the devil, if her power were literal, her cruelty intentional, and her goal destruction, she would be the antagonist of Obsession. The film is a social horror story about toxic relationships, manipulation, and the terrifying gap between what we wish for and what we actually get.
It’s also the natural successor to films like 2020’s The Invisible Man (opened £2.16m, taking £6.84m), and The Housemaid and Send Help, both of which feature women stuck in toxic situations and finding ways to escape. But Obsession goes a step further: it shows the man as the architect of his own nightmare, wishing for love but unable to receive it because he cannot be vulnerable.
The Bedazzled Connection
Obsession could be seen as a darker version of the 2000s Bedazzled. In that film, Elliot Richards (Brendan Fraser) sells his soul to the Devil (Elizabeth Hurley) for seven wishes, hoping to win the affection of his crush, Alison Gardner. Each wish is twisted by the Devil, revealing the shallowness of his desires. But Elliot eventually learns that he cannot force Alison to love him. In his final wish, he hopes she has a happy life, with or without him. It’s a rare moment of genuine selflessness in a genre built on selfish wishes.
Obsession offers no such redemption. The man’s wish is granted, and it destroys them both. There is no lesson learned. There is no happy ending. There is only the nightmare made flesh.
What was surprising is that its audience was majority male, unlike Send Help and The Housemaid, as Obsession is the dark mirror of The Devil Wears Prada, not just in theme, but in audience. One is for women who have survived toxic bosses. The other is for men who fear they might be the problem.
Beyond Horror: The Rom-Com Manipulator
Toxic male manipulation is not confined to horror. Some of the most beloved romantic comedies and dramas are built on the same dynamic.
Groundhog Day (1993) – Phil Connors uses his infinite loop to manipulate Rita into falling for him, learning her secrets, her preferences, her fears. He becomes the perfect partner by cheating the system. It’s charming, but it’s also deeply unsettling.
About Time (2013) – Tim uses time travel to win Mary’s affection, resetting moments until he says the right thing. The film frames it as romantic. But strip away the whimsy, and it’s a story about a man who cannot trust that he is enough.
You’ve Got Mail (1998) – Joe Fox knows that Kathleen Kelly is his online romantic interest, but he hides his identity, using her trust against her while secretly planning to destroy her bookshop. The film is a rom‑com, but the premise is stalker‑adjacent.
Of course, there was a more innocent culture 30 years ago; the darker element of this behaviour wasn’t realised. It’s like looking back at films from the 70s and 80s, and the way people are portrayed wouldn’t be allowed today.
Obsession also belongs to a lineage of “devil’s bargain” films where ambition is the poison. In The Devil’s Advocate (1997), a young lawyer gets the job of his dreams, only to discover that his boss is Satan and his success is a trap. The film ends with him choosing his soul over his career – a choice that Andy Sachs also makes, and that the protagonist of Obsession is never given. The Devil’s Advocate is the corporate horror that The Devil Wears Prada only hinted at, and Obsession is the supernatural nightmare that both films were too afraid to become.
Obsession takes these hidden dynamics and makes them explicit. There is no whimsy. No time travel. No secret identity played for laughs. Just the raw, terrifying reality of a man who wants to control the woman he claims to love.
A Wish That Curdles
Obsession joins a long tradition of “be careful what you wish for” stories, from The Monkey’s Paw to Bedazzled, Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar, The Craft, and Wishmaster. To be given the chance to have what you dreamed about is the ultimate fantasy. But as The Monkey’s Paw taught us a century ago, and Obsession reminds us today, the nightmare is usually hiding inside the wish. (The exception, of course, is Aladdin – though even he had to deal with Jafar.)
Most of these are from the male perspective, while Taylor Swift’s short film for her song All Too Well sees it from the woman’s perspective, as it looks very different from the other side…
The film will likely drop steeply in its second weekend, as horror and social thrillers are front‑loaded. But its cultural conversation may linger, especially among audiences who recognise the men in these stories, and the ones who need to hear the warning most.
- 5 Mortal Kombat II £603,111 – £2,854,242
Down 62.5% in its second weekend
£175k 29% (-67.7% £542k) Fri; £255k 42.3% (-55.5% £573k) Sat; £173k 28.7% (-83.9% £292k) Sun
1,781st biggest second weekend between Reign Of Fire and Clueless (close to Cruel Intentions, The Monkey, Madame Web and Den of Thieves) and 2,363rd biggest inflated second weekend between Lights Out and Inspector Gadget (close to Balls of Fury, Very Bad Things, The Avengers (1998) and Hard Target).
51st biggest second weekend over the last 52 weeks between Mothers Pride and Ballerina (close to The Running Man, The Black Phone 2, Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come and Mercy).
Sequel to 2021’s Mortal Kombat, and the fourth film instalment based on the long-running video game franchise. The 2021 film opened the weekend cinemas opened the second time after COVID, having a muted UK theatrical launch and dropped 84% in its second weekend to £52,967 and £ 465,162.
UK exhibitors will probably blame Warner Bros’ Project Popcorn on Mortal Kombat opening far lower in the UK to its US, but the previous films, 1995’s Mortal Kombat (taking £2m) and 1998’s Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, also failed to make much impact at the UK box office.
The Mortal Kombat series has sold more than 100 million games worldwide, while 2023’s Mortal Kombat 1 has reportedly shifted around 8 million copies. UK sales were said to be down 38% on Mortal Kombat 11, suggesting a loyal audience, if not one on the scale of Super Mario Bros or Minecraft. In cinema terms, it may sit closer to Street Fighter, which itself is heading back to screens later this year.
Also opened
Over the weekend, there were three major anniversary re-releases
• Top Gun (40th anniversary) – Paramount Pictures
Opened £520,907 #6 from 462 screens
Including £199,370 from two days of previews (£125k Weds and £74k Thursday
Taking £106k Friday; £118k Saturday and £97k Sunday
As with all these film anniversaries, Top Gun was tied to its US opening in 1986, as it opened 5 months later in the UK in October with £441,257/£1,880,036 from 236 screens, taking £6,427,039/£27,383,289
Top Gun was released for the first time in IMAX; when it was originally released in 1986, it was released in selected cinemas in 70mm.
Top Gun was also re-released over the weekend in the US, opening with $3.3m
It was re-released with Top Gun: Maverick opening with £206,043 #12 from 3823 screens
Taking £22k Friday; £111k Saturday; £73k Sunday
Paramount Pictures and Tom Cruise are currently developing Top Gun 3. Top Gun: Maverick worked so successfully because it had the nostalgia; this can’t be replicated in a sequel made a few years later.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer described the original 1986 film Top Gun as “Star Wars on Earth”, so Top Gun: Maverick was surely Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Earth; how can this be repeated in the third film? As with all legacy sequels, nobody changes and learns anything, and that’s highlighted by Top Gun: Maverick; 30+ years later, he hasn’t changed. It would have ended far better if, as in The Force Awakens, Maverick had died to save the others as Han Solo did.
- Shrek (25th anniversary) – Universal Pictures
Opened £242,889 #9 from 452 screens
As with Top Gun, Shrek’s anniversary was tied to its US opening, as it originally opened in the UK in June 2001 with £3,179,558/£6,151,754 from 470 screens, taking £29,004,582/£56,117,561
Universal Pictures had originally planned to release Shrek 5 this year, but it was delayed to next summer.
Warner Bros also re-released Space Jam (30th Anniversary), opening far less with £19,307 #28 from 218 screens. Space Jam originally opened in the UK in March 1997 with £1,467,506/£2,888,138 from 368 screens, taking £11,648,511/£22,924,957.
——————–
BO is currently up 16% from 2025.
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £12,714,732, down 30.8% from last weekend’s £18,366,289: 1,473,818 admissions, down 30.6% from 2,122,869 admissions.
23rd biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 11 July 2025 #1 Superman £6,992,902 (53.61%) and 06 June 2025 #1 Lilo & Stitch £3,528,384 (30.2%)
80th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 287 weeks between 01 April 2022 #1 Sonic The Hedgehog 2 £4,986,334 (39.18%) and 28 January 2022 #1 Sing 2 £6,867,533 (54.21%)
417th biggest top 10 of the last 25 years (out of 1,258) between 01 April 2022 #1 Sonic The Hedgehog 2 £4,986,334 (39.18%) and 13 April 2018 #1 Rampage £4,109,247 (32.33%) and 806th biggest inflated between 11 November 2016 #1 Arrival £2,924,059 (26.62%) and 02 September 2016 #1
The top 3 took £8,991,257 (70.7%) of the top 10; Micheal 34.86% (£4,432,922); The Devil Wears Prada 2 24.99% (£3,177,721); The Sheep Detectives 10.86% (£1,380,614)
608th biggest percentage share #1 (34.86%) between 06 April 2007 #1 Mr Beans Holiday £2,451,283 (34.89%) and 13 March 2026 #1 Hoppers £2,288,827 (34.85%)
703rd biggest admissions (514,857) between 28 February 2025 #1 Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy £4,130,747 (48.95%) and 25 April 2003 #1 Johnny English £2,279,100 (28.90%)
Up 78.87% from 2025; (£7,108,411); Final Destination: Bloodlines (£4,009,856); Hurry Up Tomorrow (£164,832); Hallow Road (£81,954); ATEEZ WORLD TOUR [TOWARDS THE LIGHT: WILL TO POWER] (£59,812); The Chosen: Last Supper (Season 5) Part 2 (£58,908); Salome – Met Opera 2025 (£54,581); Eurovision – Grand Final Live (2025) (£32,878); #1 Final Destination: Bloodlines £4,009,856 1st week 622 screens (56.41% of top 10)
Up 83.02% from 2024; (£6,947,311); IF (£2,435,054); The Strangers: Chapter 1 (£452,507); 42nd Street – The Musical (Re: 2024) (£119,585); Transformers: 40th Anniversary Event (£64,994); #1 IF £2,435,054 649 screens 1st week (35.05% of top 10)
Up 22.96% from 2023; (£10,340,735); Fast X (£5,895,674); Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (£327,197); Beau Is Afraid (£231,370); Don Giovanni – Met Opera 2023 (£99,842); Local Hero (40th Anniversary) (£16,033); #1 Fast X £5,895,674 1st week 653 screens (57.01%)
Up 103.65% from 2022 (£6,243,546); Lucia Di Lammermoor – Met Opera 2022 (£78,829); Robocop (35th Anniversary 4K Restoration) (£20,004); On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (Re: 2022) (£11,114); #1 Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness £2,968,358 3rd week 699 screens 48% drop (47.5% of top 10)
2021 Lockdown
2020 Lockdown
Up 19.86% from 2019: (£10,607,906) John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum (£3,562,524); Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups (£521,504); Breakthrough £81,134; Batman 30th anniversary 4K (£38,112); Batman Returns (£7,906); Batman Forever (£293); Batman & Robin (£154); #1 John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum 1st week £3,562,524 (77.4% of top 10)
Down 25.39% from 2018: (£17,042,583); Deadpool 2 (£12,974,669); An American in Paris – The Musical (£68,201); On Chesil Beach (£67,017); 2001: A Space Odyssey (Re) (£4,646); #1 Deadpool 2 £12,974,669 636 screens 1st week (76.1% of top 10)
Up 23% from 2017: (£8,745,494); King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (£2,501,993); Snatched (£842,489); Colossal (£150,642); King Arthur: Legend of the Sword £2,501,993 564 screens 1st week (28.6% of top 10)
Down 8.84% from 2016: (£14,060,126); X-Men: Apocalypse (£7,354,293); A Hologram for the King (£378,759); Thomas & Friends: The Great Race (£147,617); Sing Street (£126,269); X-Men: Apocalypse £7,354,293 598 screens 1st week (52.3% of top 10)
Down 4.85% from 2015; (£13,363,529); Pitch Perfect 2 (£5,005,394); Mad Max: Fury Road (£4,538,933); #1 Pitch Perfect 2 £5,005,394 496 screens 1st week (37.4% of top 10)
Up 32.06% from 2014: (£9,627,777); Godzilla (£6,385,483); The Two Faces of January (£328,438); Concussion (£9,507); #1 Godzilla £6,385,483 550 screens 1st week (66.3% of top 10)
Down 31.48% from 2013: (£18,557,112); Fast & Furious 6 (£8,717,534) The Great Gatsby (£4,095,325); #1 Fast & Furious 6 £8,717,534 462 screens 1st week (46.9% of top 10)
Up 3.57% from 2012 ((£12,276,016); The Dictator (£4,963,745); The Raid (£417,596); 2 Days in New York (£87,385); #1 The Dictator £4,963,745 1st week 509 screens (40.4% of top 10)
Down 13.28% from 2011; (£14,816,587); Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (£11,634,860); Blitz (£266,148); Win (£155,463); Fire in Babylon (£107,312); Julia’s Eyes (£49,142); #1 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides £11,634,860 1st week 569 screens (78.5% of top 10)
Up 83.07% from 2010: (£6,945,108); Streetdance (£2,493,948); Prince of Persia (£1,371,066); Bad Lieutenant (£178,953); Cop Out (£64,935); #1 Streetdance £2,493,948 1st week 412 screens (35.9% of top 10)
Down 16.63% from 2009; (£15,250,846); Angels and Demons (£6,054,627); Fighting (£991,180); Synecdoche, New York (£123,125); #1 Angels and Demons £6,054,627 506 screens 1st week (39.7% of top 10)
Up 120.90% from 2008; (£5,755,952); Caramel (£122,790); Charlie Bartlett (£97,181); Smart People (£88,235); Shutter (£72,574); #1 Iron Man £1,917,925 3rd 496 screens 3% drop (33.3% of top 10)
Up 115.47% from 2007: (£5,900,836); Zodiac (£818,369); Magicians (£366,188); Love Wrecked (£223,400); Spider-Man 3 £2,549,712 3rd week 508 screens 54% drop (43.2% of top 10)
Down 5.35% from 2006; (£13,433,839); The Da Vinci Code (£9,501,444); Waiting (£307,791); #1 The Da Vinci Code £9,501,444 1st week 523 screens (70.7% of top 10)
Down 26.96 from 2005: (£17,406,831); Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (£14,361,469); Mysterious Skin (£39,382); Only Human (£26,574); #1 Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith £14,361,469 1st week 490 screens (82.5% of top 10)
Up 203.78% from 2004 (£4,185,573); The Football Factory (£207,683); Troy (platform) (£89,286); Shattered Glass (£46,921); #1 Van Helsing £2,403,036 2nd week 456 screens 56% drop (57.4% of top 10)
Up 118.13% from 2003 (£5,829,019); Kangaroo Jack (£764,917); The Actors (£226,860); Secretary (£165,318); Antwone Fisher (£59,976); To Kill a King (£59,701); Extreme Ops (£14,751); #1 X-Men 2 £2,115,011 3rd week 468 screens 31% drop (36.2% of top 10)
Down 13.67% from 2002 (£14,728,512); Star Wars Ep II: Attack of the Clones (£11,386,209); The Closet (£75,396); #1 Star Wars Ep II – Attack of the Clones £11,386,209 467 screens 1st week 32% drop (77.3% of top 10)
2025 Next week: (£21,932,424); Lilo & Stitch (£9,568,923); Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (£8,579,185); The Phoenician Scheme (£770,562); Ballet To Broadway: Wheeldon Works – ROH, London 2025 (£42,367); #1 Lilo & Stitch £9,568,923 1st week 685 screens (43.63% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Michael – Lionsgate
Dropped 31% in its fourth weekend, $26.14m and $282.81m
EntTelligence Michael’s basic price was $15.01, and the average PLF price was $18.56
23rd biggest fourth weekend between Jumanji: The Next Level and The Dark Knight (close to Spider-Man, Incredibles 2, The Jungle Book and Project Hail Mary).
After four weeks its hard to compare Michael with any other film, and especially any other biopic, as it’s a unique film, and despite many making the comparison with Bohemian Rhapsody, they are very different films, as the fanbase of the two films is so very different.
Queen was huge in the US but Micheal Jackson was on a completely different level and still is amongst his massive obsessive fanbase that Micheal Jackson has and the fanbase still see their icon as the singer he was in the 80s with Bad and Thriller, they don’t believe the allegations that followed him in the 90s to his death, they probably made them more passionate as they wanted to be seen as supporting him through what they see as fake news. As with Bohemian Rhapsody, Michael ends at the highest point of his career to date in 1985 why fans will watch it again and again.
2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody dropped 12.7% $14m and $152.15m of $216.66m and $910.81m WW.
The one thing Bohemian Rhapsody has in common with Micheal and all other musician biopics it was made for their fans who just wanted to see him as they still do, as he was in 1996; they don’t believe the allegations or controversy that have surrounded him ever since, they just love him for his music and how it made them feel 30 years ago, which is how it makes them feel today.
2009’s Michael Jackson: This Is It dropped 61.4% $5.07m and $67.19m of $72.09m and $267.98m worldwide; the documentary was the biggest musician film in the US until 2023’s Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour dropped 53.2% $15.54m and $150.61m of $180.75m and $261.65m worldwide;
Social media 417.9m Michael followers across TikTok, YouTube, X, Facebook, and Instagram; Elvis 278.6m; Bohemian Rhapsody 242.1m; Rocketman 113.5m; House of Gucci 407m; Jaafar Jackson 500k; Nia Long at 10m; Laura Harrier 1.5m; Coleman Domingo 1.5m; Juliano Krue Valdi 1.4m.
Has taken $60.4m worldwide from IMAX worldwide; $30.1m US and $30.3m internationally
Took $57.7m from 83 territories, $421.1m total, and $703.9m worldwide; UK $54.6m; France $41.1m; Mexico $26.5m; Spain $22m; Germany $24.7m; Australia $23.6m
- The Devil Wears Prada 2 – 20th Century Studios
Dropped 46% in its third weekend, taking $17.85m and $175.71m
EntTelligence average price of $14.56 and an average PLF of $17.91;
241st biggest third weekend between Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Air Force One (close to Fantastic Beasts, Ratatouille, Happy Feet and Gone Girl).
While the original film struggled to get the fashion industries involvement as they were scared of the wrath of Anna Wintour all fashion brands and other companies were desperate be part of the films promotional campaigns with over $250m from promotional partners including Dior, Tiffany & Co, Diet Coke, Hilton (Waldorf), GE Cafe, Google, Grey Goose, Lancôme, L’Oréal Paris, Samsung, Starbucks, Zillow, TRESemmé, United Airlines and Mercedes Benz.
It was no wonder that social media reach across TikTok, YouTube, X, Instagram and Facebook was huge, over 500m. Wicked: For Good was 1.3bn.
There is always a double standard in the way some box office analysts treat women-targeting films, despite so many of them over recent years outperforming and having long legs like The Housemaid. Saying that because it’s a female audience, it will be front-loaded is surely misogynistic, failing to understand that the cinema audience is over 51% female.
After opening almost twice as big as 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada, the sequel inflation inflated weekend BO is more than the sequel showing the sequel hasn’t had the legs of the original.
Third weekends
2006’s The Devil Wears Prada dropped 30.8% $10.38m/$19.9m and $83.49m/$159.2m of $124.74m/$237.9m and $326.72m/$623.1m worldwide
2008’s Sex and the City dropped 53.9% $9.78m/$16.3m and $119.52m/$199.1m of $152.64m/$265.6m and $418.76m/$728.5m worldwide
2010’s Sex and the City 2 dropped 55.9% $5.43m/$8.6m and $84.65m/$134.1m of $95.34m/$151m and $290.74m/$460.5m WW
2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey dropped 52.6% $10.55m/$15.7m and $147.39m/$218.4m of $166.2m/$246.2m and $570m/$844m WW
These were very different films, as they received poor reviews while The Devil Wears Prada 2 received far more positive reactions, again showing there are no comparisons, as other female-led legacy sequels haven’t had the same media attention and audience excitement, as it’s unlikely Practical Magic 2 will get this kind of excitement and media attention. So, the only film you can compare it to is 2023’s Barbie, dropping 42.6% $93.01m and $351.41m of $636.23m and $1.447bn.
Took $50.6m from 82 territories, $370.3m total, and $546.2m worldwide; Italy $34.5m; Brazil $27m; UK $36.9m; Mexico $24.6m; Australia $23.4m; China $14.3m; Germany $25m; France $21.2m; Japan $21.8m; Spain $10.5m.
- Mortal Kombat II – Warner Bros
Dropped 65% in its second weekend, $13.4m and $62.23m
2021’s Mortal Kombat (COVID) dropped 73.3% $6.22m and $35.47m of 2.32m and $84.42m worldwide
1995’s Mortal Kombat dropped 55.7% $10.3m and $43.06m of $51.74m and $122.19m worldwide
1997’s Mortal Kombat: Annihilation dropped 59.5% $6.78m and $27.78m of $35.92m and $51.37m worldwide
Took $13.1m worldwide from IMAX
Took $10m from 80 territories and $101.2m worldwide; UK $3.9m; Mexico $2.9m, and Australia $2.8m
The one positive for Mortal Kombat II was that it didn’t have the biggest second weekend drop. Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft—The Tour had a massive 87% drop, taking $913,517 and 9.4m.
- Obsession – Focus Features
Opened $17.19m; received positive reviews (94% Rotten Tomatoes) and A- CinemaScore
Took $2.6m from Thursday previews; Heretic and Talk to Me took $1.2m
Opened in 435 PLF screens
Interestingly, Obsession opened three weeks after The Devil Wears Prada 2, as it could be seen as a darker version of Miranda Prestley, who was really the devil, and it would be a dark social horror of toxic relationships and manipulation. It was probably one of the reasons why The Devil Wears Prada 2 dropped so heavily in its third weekend, as Obsession told a darker version.
Obsession received its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September, receiving positive reviews and soon afterwards, Focus Features acquired world rights.
Comparisons include
2026’s Send Help opened $19.1m, taking $64.73m and $94.04m worldwide
2020’s The Invisible Man opened $28.2m, taking $70.41m and $144.49m
2022’s Smile opened $22.6m, taking $105.93m and $217.4m worldwide
2024’s Heretic opened $10.82m, taking $27.98m and $59.77m worldwide
2022’s Talk to Me opened $10.43m, taking $48.29m and $92.2m worldwide
There have been many different films using the “be careful what you wish for” plot, often used with comedies including Bedazzled, Bruce Almighty and Liar Lair and horrors The Monkey’s Paw, Wishmaster and The Craft. To be given the chance to have what you dreamed about is the ultimate fantasy, but it normally never ends well, apart from Aladdin, though even Aladdin had to deal with Jafar trying to steal the lamp.
Opened $7m from 34 territories and $23.1m worldwide; UK $1.6m and France $1.4m
- In The Grey – Black Bear
Opened $2.92m; received mixed reviews (48% Rotten Tomatoes) and B CinemaScore
Guy Ritchie’s recent films since Aladdin
2024’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare opened $8.91m, taking $20.53m and $29.76m worldwide
2023’s Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant opened $6.38m, taking $16.93m and $21.94m worldwide
2023’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre opened $3.14m, taking $6.49m and $48.98m worldwide
2021’s Wrath of Man opened $8.3m, taking $27.46m and $103.96m worldwide
2020’s The Gentlemen opened $10.65m, taking $36.47m and $115.17m worldwide
Also, 2024’s Fountain of Youth for AppleTV
- The Sheep Detectives- Amazon/MGM
Down 38% in second weekend, $9.57m and $29.91m
The Sheep Detective was never going to be a huge film as it’s an original family film and they struggle to find an audience, but it’s still holding well, receiving strong word of mouth and will find a much bigger audience when it’s released on Amazon later in the year.
Took more in its second weekend than 2024’s Paddington in Peru dropped 49% $6.5m and $31.47m of $45.8m, taking $211m worldwide
21 years ago, Babe dropped 23.1% $6.71m and $20.65m of $63.65m/$182.8m and $254.1m/$729.7m WW
Took $14m internationally from 75 territories, $29m total and $58.7m worldwide; UK $7.1m; Germany $3.5m and Australia $2.6m: China $1.6m
UK Box Office Top 10
Box Office Preview
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is the first Star Wars film released in cinemas since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker released 7 years ago, normally ahead of Star Wars films, they are surrounded by massive hype and excitement, but there feels very little for The Mandalorian and Grogu, it feels similar to the build-up to 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is a follow-up to The Mandalorian, which had 3 series between 2019 and 2023 on Disney+. It is also the first Star Wars film released since the polarised Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. After not releasing a Star Wars film for 7 years, Disney will release two Star Wars films within 12 months, along with re-releasing the original Star Wars film in February in cinemas for its 50th anniversary, similar to 20th Century Fox re-releasing the film for its 25th anniversary in 1997.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu feel less like a film than a 2hr marketing promotion to sell millions of Grogu toys. Last year, Lilo & Stitch reimagination took $1n worldwide in cinemas and sold many more times that in merchandising. As with Toy Story 5, these films are less about BO but merchandising and theme park rides.
It’s Disney’s sixth Star Wars film they have released since 2015, and they have also made over 10 Star Wars spinoff TV shows since 2019 (The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, The Bad Batch, Tales of the Jedi/Empire, Visions, and Young Jedi Adventures). It’s making many compare Disney Star Wars films as they do with the MCU, that you have to do hundreds of hours of homework before seeing the film, which alienates many who just liked Star Wars films that were accessible to new audiences.
The Mandalorian and Grogu also feel like it arrived a few years too late, as Lucasfilm originally had plans for a fourth series in 2024, but opted to develop a film with a fourth series to follow the film.
The first teaser trailer was released in September. The trailer should have been a massive event, being the first Star Wars film since 2019, but the reaction was underwhelming. A TV spot followed at the Super Bowl, which was similarly received. The trailer was released in February reaction was slightly better. The first 17 minutes were shown at CinemaCon in April.
In 2019, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opened with £20,864,500 with massive hype and expectations. The Mandalorian and Grogu will likely open similar to 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, £6,061,231, but as with most Disney films, it exists to sell merchandising and will sell hundreds of millions of Grogu dolls. The Mandalorian and Grogu have the advantage of half-term holidays and being the only film targeting males under 35, but it is likely to be front-loaded.
The holdovers, Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2, are unlikely to be affected by The Mandalorian and Grogu as they play to different demographics, but they will still likely drop 30%-40%, especially if temperatures are the hottest of the year as expected.
Strong word of mouth should help The Sheep Detectives and Obsession hold well.
The other new releases are likely to struggle to find audiences, including horror Passengers, likely to open similarly to other recent horrors Hokum and Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come.
Finding Emily is a rom-com but could easily be seen similar to Obsession, about a man who tries to find a woman called Emily he had a short conversation in a bar and goes to extreme ways to try and find her, but as his seen to be a hopeless romantic, its seen as a sweet romcom, this was similar to 2013’s About Time also made by Working Title. Interestingly, it’s being released the week after Obsession, as they feel very similar about men’s obsession with a woman they don’t know.
Coming Soon
- Masters Of The Universe -Sony Pictures/Amazon
Medieval fantasy film based on the Mattel toy franchise Masters of the Universe, starring Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Morena Baccarin, Kristen Wiig, Jared Leto, and Idris Elba and directed by Travis Knight.
It is the second live-action film adaptation after the 1987 film. There were plans for a sequel to the 1987 film, but they never materialised, and a reboot has been in development since 2009, started at Warner Bros, then Sony Pictures, then rights were moved to Netflix (they cancelled the film after spending $30m on development) and in May acquired by Amazon/MGM.
Tracking in the US has been soft for Masters Of The Universe over the last few weeks and is expected to open with about $35m, which will be seen as a massive disappointment and probably the reason why it’s been in development for so long, as if any of the other studios had faith in the film, it would have been made much sooner.
Premiere reactions have been surprisingly positive, will help boost its profile over the next two weeks and increase tracking expectations.
The original film was made by Cannon Films and was more like a B movie, never anything more, opening with £342,680/£1,276,682 from 234 screens, taking £2,198,857/£8,192,021; it came out soon after the popular animated TV series was released, which ran a few years earlier. If it’s a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, then it could find an audience similar to 2023’s Dungeons & Dragons, which opened £3,544,354, taking £13,666,940.
- Scary Movie – Paramount Pictures
Comedy spoof horror; the sixth instalment and the first since 2013’s Scary Movie 5, but as with many sequels, it ignores the third to fifth films and is a sequel to the second film. Stars Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Chris Elliott, Dave Sheridan, Jon Abrahams, and Anthony Anderson and directed by Michael Tiddes.
Scary Movie was the working title for Wes Craven’s Scream, the original film, which was a spoof of horror films, and Scary Movie takes it to extremes that aren’t as funny as they think they are.
Development started after Paramount Pictures acquired Miramax films, and soon after, they had rebooted the Scream film series.
As with Paramount’s Scream reboot, Scary Movie isn’t targeting the teens who saw the original Scary Movie films over a decade ago, but targeting their children. The question is, will they think it’s funny, as the The Naked Gun reboot last year failed to find a new audience. Of course, the difference is that the original cast is back for Scary Movie.
That said, are Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans known to younger audiences, as the last time they tried to make a spoof was Fifty Shades of Black a decade ago, and that underwhelmed. Scary Movie is likely to do much better in the US than internationally. Anna Faris appeared on The Claudia Winkleman Show in April to promote the film. The chat show got an audience of 2.5m on BBC1 on Friday night, the same slot The Graham Norton Show is on.
2000’s Scary Movie opened £3,191,096/£6,014,277 taking £9,955,478/£18,763,148
2001’s Scary Movie 2 opened £1,553,796/£3,006,257 taking £4,327,602/£8,372,969
2004’s Scary Movie 3 opened £3,490,585/£6,227,079 taking £8,907,831/£15,891,253
2006’s Scary Movie 4 opened £1,953,094/£3,212,378 taking £5,795,802/£9,532,726
2013’s Scary Movie 5 opened £1,085,932/£1,332,054 taking £2,344,473/£2,875,839
Scary Movie will likely be front-loaded following the pattern of legacy sequels that are all hype and no sustenance.
Scary Movie has brought back Wassup; they included the parody of a Budweiser advert, which became a cultural phenomenon a year earlier.
Budweiser rebooted the Wassup campaign in a Super Bowl advert in 2020. Scary Movie is now parodying its own past parody, which is the perfect metaphor for a film that has nothing new to say, only old jokes to reheat. Cineworld have created a TikTok Wassup to promote Scary Movie, but the joke feels very dated now as Gen Z won’t know what these things people are talking about.
- Savage House – Paramount Pictures
Comedy starring Claire Foy, Richard E. Grant, Bel Powley, Jack Farthing and directed by Peter Glanz.
Paramount Pictures acquired world rights in February 2024 and was made in 2023: Paramount Pictures releasing it almost 2.5 years after the acquisition is all that you really need to know about the film. They are obviously dumping by opening the same weekend they are releasing Scary Movie.
As with Scary Movie, period British parodies struggle to find an audience as they aren’t as funny as they think they are, as seen by Fackham Hall, released last year, opening £407,006, taking £1,424,684.