- The Wild Robot £2,179,601 – £11,682,082
Up 11.9% in the third weekend (due to half term returning to #1)
Took £792k 36.45% (+54.09% £514k) Friday; £759k 34.93% (-2.44% £778k) Saturday; £622k 28.62% (-4.16% £649k) Sunday.
Took £4,202 more than Venom 3 but The Wild Robot had mostly children’s tickets as Venom 3 had adult and IMAX/PLF screens so likely had far fewer admissions. With Paddington In Peru opening Friday The Wild Robot will drop about 50% with a big drop Fri/Fri.
206th biggest third weekend between Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 2 and The Simpsons (close to Hot Fuzz, Spider-Man Homecoming, Enchanted and The Greatest Showman) and 395th biggest inflated third weekend between School Of Rock and Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical (close to Batman Returns, Transformers, St. Trinian’s and Twister)
50th biggest animated third weekend between Despicable Me 2 and The Simpsons (close to The Croods, Sing, Toy Story and The Boss Baby) and the 74th biggest inflated animation between Cars and Inside Out (close to Ice Age, Hercules, Trolls and Kung Fu Panda 2).
11th biggest Dreamworks Animation third weekend between The Croods and The Boss Baby (close to Shrek, Shark Tale, Monsters Vs. Aliens and Trolls) and the 17th inflated second weekend between The Boss Baby and Trolls (close to Antz, Home, Trolls and Kung Fu Panda 2).
The Wild Robot had the 5th biggest third weekend for an original Dreamworks Animation film after 2001’s Shrek £2,796,124/£5,382,876; 2004’s Shark Tale £2,435,188/£4,322,594; 2015’s Home £2,387,579; 2013’s The Croods £2,364,348.
18th biggest 2024 film between Bad Boys: Ride or Die and Joker: Folie à Deux (close to If, The Fall Guy, A Quiet Place: Day One and wicked Litle Letters)
597th biggest between The Proposal and Over the Hedge (close to Cats, Fantastic Four (2005), Space Jam and Bumblebee) and 1,009th biggest inflated between Moonwalker and 28 Days Later (close to Shaun of the Dead, Prince of Persia, The Green Mile and The Karate Kid Part 3).
- 2 Venom: The Last Dance £2,175,399 – £9,126,154
Down 49.4% in the second weekend.
Took £678k 31.22% (-56.82% £1.57m) Friday; £878k 40.42% (-43.54% £1.55m) Saturday; £616k 28.36% (-47.35% £1.17m) Sunday.
421st biggest second weekend between American Pie: The Wedding and Over the Hedge (close to Unbreakable, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Tenet and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) and 711th biggest inflated second weekend between Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and Sommersby (close to Under Siege, Prince of Persia, Face/Off and Gremlins 2: The New Batch)
10th biggest second biggest 2024 weekend between Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (close to Kung Fu Panda 4, It Ends with Us, Alien: Romulus and The Wild Robots)
66th biggest comic-book second weekend between X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Shazam! (close to Batman and Robin, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, X-Men and The Incredible Hulk) and 79th biggest inflated comic=book between The Wolverine and Blade (close to The Hulk, Blade 2, Dick Tracy and Daredevil)
2018’s Venom dropped 63% (47% without previews) £3,002,032 #2 554 screens and £13,729,817 of £20,123,186; A Star is Born #1 £3,083,089 and Johnny English Strikes Again #3 £2,900,426; new openers First Man £2,415,330; Smallfoot £2,324,189; Cliff Richard Live: 60th Anniversary Tour £1,123,885; Kler £1,006,141 and Bad Times at the El Royale £491,878.
2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage dropped 60% £2,470,169 #3 607 screens and £11,193,195 of £18,027,072; Dune #1 £5,876,892; No Time To Die #2 £4,672,560; The Boss Baby 2 #4 £1,193,115.
82nd biggest comic-book film between Captain America: The First Avenger and Blade 2 (close to Batman Returns, Superman, Birds of Prey and The Hulk) and 95th biggest inflated between Daredevil and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (close to Superman IV, Blade: Trinity, Green Lantern and X-Men: Dark Phoenix).
812th biggest between Jack Reacher and Cloverfield (close to Cliffhanger, Alita: Battle Angel, Knight & Day and A Fish Called Wanda) and 1,312th biggest inflated between The Scorpion King and RoboCop (2014) (close to Predator (1988), Edge of Tomorrow, 300: Rise of An Empire and Broken Arrow).
- 3 Heretic – £1,979,339 – NE
Includes £429k from Thursday.
Took £521k 26.38% Friday; £596k 30.18% Saturday; £558k 28.25% Sunday.
901st biggest opening between The Other Guys and Brotherhood (close to The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Ferrari, Tron Legacy and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) and 1,366th biggest inflated between Mr Popper’s Penguins and Jigsaw (close to The Running Man, Enemy of the State, Unforgiven and Bad Boys).
28th biggest 2024 opening between Smile 2 and Furiosa (close to Madame Web, Argylle, Civil War and Transformers One) had the biggest opening for an original horror ahead of Longlegs £1.4m.
Had A24/Entertainment’s biggest opening ahead of Hereditary (£1.8m) and Civil War (£1.8m); it’s Hugh Grant’s second horror after 1989’s Lair Of The White Worm. His films have taken over £355m at the UK BO including Paddington 2 (£42.7m), Bridget Jones’s Diary (£42.0m) and Love Actually (£36.8m). Heretic is Hugh Grant’s first lead role since 2016’s Florence Foster Jenkins. He has had smaller roles in several films recently including Wonka, Dungeons & Dragons, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, Green Onions and The Gentlemen since Paddington 2, has a cameo in Paddington in Peru and is next seen in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy opening in February.
Bryan Woods and Scott Beck’s last film 2023’s 65 opened £1,270,409 #3 581 screens taking £3,211,908.
- 4 Small Things Like These £890,104 – NE
Took £269k 30.29% Friday; £347k 39.08% Saturday; £272k 30.63% Sunday.
1,867th biggest opening between Red Eye and The Mask Of Zorro (close to Single White Female, The Faculty, The X-Files: I Want to Believe and Where The Wild Things Are) and 2,481st biggest inflated between Midsommar and Fright Night (close to Too Wong Foo, The Frighteners, To Die For and The Negotiator).
41st biggest 2024 opening between The Beekeeper and Fly Me to the Moon (close to Trap, The Bikeriders, Monkey Man and Blink Twice).
Took almost 60% of the opening from Irish cinemas (£528k) having the fourth biggest Irish opening after Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie (£4.3m), Brooklyn (£1m) and Kneecap (£1m).
Had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival receiving positive reviews (83% Rotten Tomatoes). The film was financed by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity after Cillian Murphy met Matt Damon while working on Oppenheimer.
Similar films include 2013’s Philomena, which opened £1,509,726 taking £10,470,225 and 2002’s The Magdalene Sisters opened £78,151 #16 from 31 screens (widest expansion in 57 screens after 20 weeks) taking £2,138,010.
Opened the same weekend as Cillian Murphy’s first major film Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later starring Cillian Murphy £1,500,079/£2,769,377 taking £6,322,336/£11,672,005 and 2015’s Brooklyn £1,041,278 taking £5,869,996.
- 5 Smile 2 – £600,979 – £5,464,674
Down 40.8% in its third weekend
Took £199k 33.28% (-39.70% £330k) Friday; £242k 40.47% (-39.04% £397k) Saturday; £157k 26.25% (-44.52% £283k) Sunday.
1,051st biggest third weekend between Dr Dolittle 2 and Ghostbusters (2016) (close to Demolition Man, Déjà vu, Scream VI and Crash (2005) and 1,368th biggest inflated third weekend between Seabiscuit and The Vow (close to Little Miss Sunshine, The Royal Tenenbaums, Nope and Game Night).
36th biggest horror third weekend between Five Nights At Freddy’s and The Exorcist: Believer (close to Jeepers Creepers, Paranormal Activity 2, The Amityville Horror (2005) and 28 Weeks Later) and 49th biggest inflated horror third weekend between The Strangers and Nope (close to The Ring Two (2005), 30 Days Of Night, The First Purge and Insidious: The Last Key).
2022’s Smile dropped 17% £1,420,692 #3 and £7,220,529 of £11,096,080; against Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile #1 £2,783,562 and Halloween Ends #2 £2,110,010.
Taking $83m worldwide to date it has performed stronger than many recent studio horrors including Tarot, The First Omen, Abigail, Imaginary, and Night Swim, so will surely be a Smile 3 in October 2026.
1,322nd biggest between Hereditary and Skyscraper (close to Die Hard 2 Die Harder, Arachnophobia, Law Abiding Citizen and Dawn of the Dead) and 1,893rd biggest inflated between The Rescuers Down Under (1991 RE) and Tomorrowland – A World Beyond (close to Executive Decision, The Shawshank Redemption, Red Heat and V for Vendetta).
Also opened.
• Anora – Universal Pictures
Opened £509,005 #7 from 345 screens including £132k from previews.
Premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival winning the Palme d’Or, the first American film to do so since The Tree of Life in 2011. Had a 10-minute standing ovation receiving critical acclaim (98% Rotten Tomatoes). Also screened at the Toronto and London Film Festivals.
Universal Pictures acquired international rights as they did with Sean Baker’s previous film 2022’s Red Rocket (opened £74,709 #12 168 screens.
It was acquired by Neon and became the fifth consecutive Palme d’Or winner distributed by Neon in the US after Parasite, Titane, Triangle of Sadness and Anatomy of a Fall.
2023’s Anatomy Of A Fall opened £291k from 163 screens taking £2.1m and 2022’s Triangle Of Sadness £309k from 125 screens took £1.7m
The question is will it be able to keep all of its screens over the next few weeks and will it be limited to a couple of daily shows in the cinemas it remains in? as both Anatomy Of A Fall and Triangle Of Sadness opened in fewer cinemas.
• Juror #2 – Warner Bros
Opened £334,827 from 342 screens #10.
The film’s world premiere was at AFI Fest on October 27 and received positive reviews. Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette previously starred together in 2002’s About A Boy.
Juror #2 was expected to be Clint Eastwood’s last film he would direct (aged 94), but he is already working on another film. Clint Eastwood has been directing films for over 53 years (1971’s Play Misty For Me) received 11 Oscar nominations, four for Best Director with two wins (1992’s Unforgiven and 2004’s Million Dollar Baby).
Juror #2 is Clint Eastwood’s first directed film since 2021’s Cry Macho. His recent films have had mixed success at the box office. 2015’s American Sniper opened £2,530,473 and took £13,424,242.
Warner Bros has made most of the films Clint Eastwood has acted and starred in taking $2bn in the US and $3.33bn worldwide for the 40 films he has directed and $1.81bn in the US and $2.44bn worldwide for his acting roles.
2011’s Hereafter opened £601,728 #7 274 screens taking £1,151,807
2012’s J. Edgar opened £413,210 #12 259 screens
2014’s Jersey Boys opened £415,608 #6 448 screens taking £1,325,962
2016’s Sully opened £1,786,844 taking £7,386,195
2018’s The 15:17 to Paris opened £290,577 #14 323 screens
2019’s The Mule opened £725,554 taking £1,421,554
2019’s Richard Jewell opened £158,868 #19 119 screens
2021’s Cry Macho opened £72,131 #15 341 screens
• Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – Warner Bros
Opened £30k from 343 screens.
Documentary about the life of American actor Christopher Reeve directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui (previously directed 2020’s Rising Phoenix and 2018’s McQueen (opened £131,278 #10 63 screens taking £660,787)
Warner Bros acquired world rights for $15m after the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received critical acclaim (100% Rotten Tomatoes).
Received a UK premiere at the London Film Festival last month generating strong media coverage with several emotional interviews on TV and radio with Christopher Reeves’s children.
UK box office in detail
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £9,827,429 up 7.1% from last weekend’s £9,176,580: 1,240,837 admissions up 7.1% from 1,158,659 admissions.
25th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 15 December 2023 #1 Wonka £6,362,786 (64.27%) and 08 March 2024 #1 Dune Part 2 £5,851,155 (61.97%)
83rd biggest since cinemas reopened out of 207 weeks between #1 15 December 2023 #1 Wonka £6,362,786 (64.27%) and 26 May 2023 #1 The Little Mermaid £5,012,929 (51.1%)
635th biggest top 10 of the last 22 years (out of 1,179) between 13 June 2008 #1 The Incredible Hulk £3,253,723 (33.1%) and 09 February 2007 #1 Music and Lyrics £1,929,058 (19.63%) and 927th inflated between 09 December 2011 #1 Puss in Boots £1,975,758 (26.43%) and 20 June 2014 #1 The Fault in Our Stars £3,434,334 (41.45%)
The top 3 took (£6,334,339) 64.5% of the top 10; The Wild Robot 22.18% (£2,179,601); Venom: The Last Dance 22.14% (£2,175,399); Heretic 20.14% (£1,979,339)
1,019th biggest admissions #1 (275,202) between 15 September 2023 #1 A Haunting in Venice (276,128) and 11 August 2006 #1 Cars (275,199)
990th biggest percentage share #1 (22.18%) between 07 March 2008 #1 Vantage Point (22.21%) and 06 September 2013 #1 About Time (22.17%)
Up 43.6% from 2023; (£6,841,865); Bottoms (£226,585); How To Have Sex (£134,090); The Royal Hotel (£78,469); Dance First (£27,805); #1 Trolls Band Together £1,829,764 3rd week 2nd #1 split over 3 weeks 28% drop 667 screens (26.74% of top 10).
Up 51.2% 2022 (£6,497,741); Living (£670,206); One Piece Film: Red (£559,623); Watcher (£140,396); The Bodyguard (30th Anniversary) (£24,074); #1 Black Adam £2,006,821 3rd week dropped 43% 650 screens (30.9% of top 10)
Down 18.5% 2021 (£12,060,491); Eternals (£5,456,577); Spencer (£492,643); The Card Counter (£48,989); Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (Re: 2021) (£12,303); #1 Eternals £5,456,577 1st week 642 screens (45.2% of top 10)
Up 740.5% 2020; (£1,169,275); Blumhouse’s The Craft: Legacy (£119,680); Halloween (Re: 2020) (£71,264); The Nightmare Before Christmas (Re) (£43,172); Burnt Orange Heresy (£14,546); V For Vendetta (Re: 2020) (£5,346); #1 Two By Two: Overboard! £190,761 2nd week down 42% 332 screens
Down 18.6% 2019; (£12,078,831); Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep (£1,460,643); Sorry We Missed You (£364,849); #1 Joker £2,446,199 5th weekend #1 29.4% drop (20.2% of top 10)
Down 31.8% 2018: (£14,405,189); The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (£1,733,235); Slaughterhouse Rulez (£397,792); Peterloo (£348,697); Juliet, Naked (£51,813); #1 Bohemian Rhapsody £5,750,267 2nd week 681 screens 40% drop (39.9% of top 10)
Down 32% 2017: (£14,453,653); Murder on the Orient Express (£4,985,600); A Bad Moms Christmas (£1,781,738); The Killing of a Sacred Deer (£286,448); The Son of Bigfoot (£23,213); The Silence of the Lambs (Re: 2017) (£8,383); #1 Murder on the Orient Express £4,985,600 1st week 618 screens 1st week 611 screens (34.5% of the top 10)
Down 14.1% 2016: (£11,430,004); The Accountant (£1,623,866); A Street Cat Named Bob (£985,557); Nocturnal Animals (£755,427); The Light Between Oceans (£733,421); #1 Doctor Strange £3,445,203 2nd week 599 screens 63% drop (30.1% of the top 10)
Down 44.9% 2015; (£17,844,077); Brooklyn (£1,041,278); Burnt (£445,777); Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (£297,263); Kill Your Friends (£102,221); #1 SPECTRE £13,145,138 2nd week 660 screens 68% drop (73.6% of top 10)
Up 1.1% 2014: (£9,722,282); Ouija (£1,373,907); Nightcrawler (£1,003,822); Mr Turner (£904,947); Horns (£396,042); Carmen – Met Opera 2014 (£326,430); Aliens (Re: 2014) (£27,134); The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman (£12,180); The Woman in Black (Re: 2014) (£4,743); #1 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3rd-week 2nd #1 over 3 weeks 514 screens 26% drop (14.7% of top 10)
Down 44.2% 2013: (£17,605,847); Thor: The Dark World (£8,668,172); Philomena (£1,509,726); Krrish 3 (£408,624); Haunting in Connecticut 2: The Ghosts of Georgia (£102,955); Drinking Buddies (£18,379); #1 Thor: The Dark World £8,668,172 1,327,438 1st week 510 screens (49.23% of top 10)
Down 57.3% 2012: (£22,991,689); Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (£1,043,068); Fun Size (£410,028); Rust and Bone (£252,099); The Shining (Re: 2012) (£132,470); The Master (£65,701); For a Good Time, Call… (£43,882); #1 Skyfall £16,107,687 2nd week 593 screens 20% drop (70.1% of top 10)
Up 3.7% 2011; (£9,478,695); In Time (£1,882,365); Tower Heist (£1,451,029); Machine Gun Preacher (£331,578); Straw Dogs (£41,912); Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (£4,895); #1 The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn £2,199,171 2nd week 510 screens 67% drop (23.2% of top 10)
Down 23.8% 2010: (£12,911,776); Saw 3D (£3,600,083); Burke and Hare (£942,894); The Kids Are All Right (£411,960); #1 Saw 3D £3,600,083 1st week 382 screens (27.8% of top 10)
Down 25.8% 2009; (£13,240,462); Michael Jackson’s This Is It (£4,877,255); 9 (£468,455); An Education (£399,122); Dead Man Running (£198,442); An American Werewolf in London (re) (£35,151); #1 Up Michael Jackson’s This Is It £4,877,255 1st week 498 screens (36.8% of top 10)
Down 54.1% 2008; (£21,398,860); Quantum of Solace (£15,384,217); Hunger (£136,413); Midnight Meat Train (£20,444); #1 Quantum of Solace £15,384,217 1st week 540 screens (71.9% of top 10)
Up 21.5% 2007: (£8,089,452); 30 Days of Night (£1,532,976); Elizabeth: The Golden Age (£1,348,440); Death at a Funeral (£357,212); The Lookout (£33,833); Brothers Solomon (£21,231); Man of the Year (£2,391); #1 Ratatouille £3,056,938 4th week 498 screens 57% drop (19.2% of top 10)
Down 8.5% 2006; (£10,744,444); Borat (£6,242,344); Sixty-Six (£292,295); Little Children (£158,012); #1 Borat £6,242,344 1st week 428 screens (58.1% of top 10)
Down 23.3% 2005: (£7,969,627); The Brothers Grimm (£919,713); Elizabethtown (£668,604); Murderball (£14,335); #1 Nanny McPhee £1,656,113 3rd week 1st #1 421 screens 46% drop (20.7% of top 10)
Up 30.1% 2004; (£7,550,271); Finding Neverland (£776,124); Exorcist: The Beginning (577,128); House of the Dead (£107,045); Saved! (£80,772); #1 Shark Tale £2,435,188 3rd week 503 screens 24% drop (32.2% of top 10)
Up 7.3% 2003 (£9,161,054); The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (£1,357,534); In America (£284,259); In the Cut (£279,068); Alien – Director’s Cut (£208,081); #1 Finding Nemo £3,393,575 5th week 4th #1 501 screens 13% drop (37.1% of top 10)
Up 125.5% from 2002: (£4,357,114); Rabbit Proof Fence (£221,758); Orange County (£167,051); #1 28 Days Later £1,073,042 2nd week 320 screens 28% drop (24.6% of top 10)
Up 38.7% from 2001 (£7,083,187); The Others (£2,259,538); The Animal (£345,651); #1 The Others £2,259,538 1st week 385 screens (31.9% of top 10).
2023 Next week: (£7,279,587); The Marvels (£3,465,783); Anatomy Of A Fall (£412,751); Dream Scenario (£384,560); Don Quixote – ROH, London 2023 (£54,229); #1 The Marvels £3,465,783 662 screens (47.61% of top 10).
UK Box Office News
October 2024 box office was 17% down from last year which saw the year-to-date drop down to 11% in 2023 this was mostly due to Joker: Folie À Deux underperforming. After the tremendous success of Joker in 2019 rival distributors avoided opening similar major films again it.
Biggest October releases
#1 Joker: Folie À Deux £10.2m
#2 The Wild Robot £9.5m
#3 Venom: The Last Dance £6.9m
#4 Smile 2 £4.9m
#5 Beetlejuice £4.3m of £25.9m
#6 Transformers One £4m
#7 Terrifier 3 £3.1m
#8 The Apprentice £1.8m
#9 The Substance £1.8m of £3.6m
#10 The Outrun £1.4m of £2.2m
2024 BO is currently £799.1m admissions to date 100.8m using last year’s £7.92 average.
November box office with Paddington In Peru, Gladiator II and Wicked likely to take over £125m between them will see box office overtake 2023, but December releases ae softer than last year with Mufasa: The Lion King unlikely to get close to the box office of 2019’s The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 opening Boxing Day films.
#1 Wicked £60m+
#2 Paddington in Peru £40m+
#3 Gladiator II £35m+
#4 Mufasa: The Lion King £30m
#5 Moana 2 £30m
#6 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 £30m
Wicked likely to perform similarly to musicals Mamma Mia!, The Greatest Showman and Bohemian Rhapsody as UK audiences love their musicals and Wicked stage musical has been hugely popular in the UK.
Paddington in Peru will perform similarly to the last two films despite reviews being more mixed it’s still far superior to most other family films.
Gladiator II will take more than the original film £31,257,293 but will come far from its inflated total £58,616,618 as many other long-gap legacy sequels. Its box office will be inflated with a huge ..percentage of BO from IMAX/PLF screens, far more than the other films and they will be mostly adult tickets.
Current interest in Mufasa: The Lion King is exceptionally soft; this will surely increase over the next 6 weeks but it’s still hard to see it open anywhere near 2019’s The Lion King £16,671,764 taking £75,938,299.
Despite competition from Paddington in Peru and Wicked, Moana 2 will perform stronger than the first film’s opening £2,214,898 in December 2016 taking £20,041,031.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will take similar to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 having a preview inflated opening more than Sonic 2’s £4,986,334 and taking more than £26,182,692 having the normal Christmas boost.
2024 admissions are currently estimated at 127m similar to 1994’s admissions of 123.5m when annual BO was £401.38m and average tickets were £3.25 inflated BO £984.30m. This will still be over 50m admissions fewer than 2019.
Compare this to admissions in France which has a similar population as the UK but their admissions for 2024 will be much closer to pre-pandemic levels, with admissions expected to return to over 200m. So why are UK admissions so slow to return to 2019 levels when there will be 10 films taking over £30m at the BO in 2024: Inside Out 2 £58.72m; Deadpool & Wolverine £57.50m; Despicable Me 4 £48.5m; Dune: Part 2 £39.17m.
Surely things like France having a 4-day Fete Du Cinema in June/July with over 4.5m admissions while the UK holds National Cinema Day over one of the slowest weekends for cinema=going.
The reason of course is seen in recent BFI research UK audiences have become much more selective in the films they see in the cinema as most now see going to the cinema as a treat rather than something they do regularly like watching the new must-see TV series on Netflix.
US Box Office
- Venom: The Last Dance – Sony Pictures
Dropped 49.2% in the second weekend $25.9m and $89.85m
298th biggest second weekend between Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Black Widow (close to Eternals, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Captain America: The First Avenger and Gladiator).
Had the best second-weekend drop for the trilogy ahead of Deadpool & Wolverine (-54%) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (-63%) but this was due to a lack of major new releasing opening against it.
Took $2.2m from IMAX US $7.8m total and $17.7m internationally.
943rd biggest between The Black Phone and Terminator: Genisys; 1,911th biggest inflated between Peter Pan: Return to Neverland and 10 Cloverfield Lane; 20th biggest 2024 between The Garfield Movie and Longlegs; 90th biggest comic book between Unbreakable and The Marvels; 125th biggest Sony Pictures between Where the Crawdads Sing and Don’t Breathe.
Has 715m social media followers across TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, less than Venom (754m) and more than Let There Be Carnage (417m).
2018’s Venom dropped 56.4% $35m #1 and $142.1m of $213.51m and $856.08m worldwide; received 30% Rotten Tomatoes and B+ CinemaScore.
2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage dropped 64.7% $31.75m #2 and $141.41m of $213.55m and $506.81m worldwide.
Took $68.4m from 66 territories $227m total and $317.1m worldwide; China $70.6m; Mexico $13.4m; UK $11.9m; S. Korea $9.4m; Germany $9m; France $6.5m; India $6.5m; Italy $6.3m; Australia $5.6m; Spain $5.3m.
- Smile 2 – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 29% in its third weekend $6.76m #3 and $52.64m.
Third weekend
2022’s Smile dropped 32.2% $12.56m #2 and $71.33m of $105.93m and $217.4m worldwide
Smile 2‘s social media across TikTok, X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube has 154.4m followers ahead of Saw X (134m) and The Nun II (149.8m).
1,781st biggest between Four Weddings and a Funeral and The Boys in the Boat; 3,067th biggest inflated between Rounders and The Boys in the Boat; 28th biggest 2024 between Joker: Folie à Deux and Terrifier 3; 113th biggest horror between Arachnophobia and Insidious Chapter 3; 238th biggest Paramount Pictures between 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi and King Kong (1976).
Smile took $8.7m from 67 territories $57.1m total and $109.74m worldwide; UK $7.1m; France $6.1m; Germany $5.1m; Italy $3.1m; Australia $3.1m.
1,693rd biggest worldwide between Hoodwinked and Sideways; 33rd biggest in 2024 between Transformers One and Longlegs; 102nd biggest horror between Pet Sematary and The Amityville Horror (2005); 193rd biggest Paramount pictures between Pet Sematary and Snake Eyes.
- The Wild Robot – Universal Pictures
Dropped 9% in the sixth weekend $7.44m #2 and $121.37m.
137th biggest sixth weekend between Coco and Dune: Part Two (close to The Lego Movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Inside Out and Finding Dory).
104th biggest animated film between The Good Dinosaur and Mulan; 602nd biggest between Free Guy and The Bourne Identity; 1,370th biggest inflated between Coyote Ugly and Sideways; 13th biggest 2024 between A Quiet Place: Day One and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire; 89th biggest Universal Pictures between The Bourne Identity and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!
Dreamworks Animations have taken $6.51bn in the US and almost $17.5bn worldwide.
Took $15.8m from 79 territories $146.7m total and $269.9m worldwide; Mexico $17.8m; UK $15m; France $11.1m; Australia $10.6m; Spain $7.9m.
116th biggest animated worldwide between The Princess and the Frog and Mr. Peabody & Sherman; 641st biggest worldwide between Rocky III and Mr. Peabody & Sherman; 19th biggest 2024 worldwide between Venom: The Last Dance and A Quiet Place: Day One; 86th biggest Universal Pictures worldwide between Neighbors and American Gangster.
- Here – Sony Pictures
Opened $5m #5; received poor reviews (36% Rotten Tomatoes) and B- CinemaScore
Took $475k from Thursday previews.
Sony Pictures acquired US rights for distribution fee for the $45m budget film.
Tom Hanks and Robin Wright reunite 30 years after Forrest Gump with director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriter Eric Roth; 1994’s Forrest Gump opened $24.45m/$64.6m and $330.45m/$873.11m; took $1m+ for 21 weeks and won 6 Oscars including Best Picture/Director and Actor.
Here was rejected by all studios including Paramount where Miramax had a deal and Robert Zemeckis made Forrest Gump, it was a strange film to be financed by foreign sales as it was a very American film that was unlikely to travel without award recognition, similar to Somy’s Saturday Night.
It was originally set for a platform opening but received mixed testing so had to open immediately wide, the problem is it’s a ’90s film released 30 years late as there isn’t the audience in cinemas to see films like Here anymore why they go to streaming as Apple found with the films they made. Zemeckis said, “I think the theatrical movie business is in a stressful situation right now.”
Director Robert Zemeckis has had mixed success since Forrest Gump with Contact/What Lies Beneath/Castaway/The Polar Express/Beowulf/Flight/The Walk ($1.56m opening and $10m $61m WW)/Allied/Welcome to Marwen ($2.4m opening taking $10.7m and $13m WW)/The Witches. State-of-the-art technology has often featured heavily in the films he has directed including 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit opened $11.22m taking $156.45m and $329.8m worldwide and the Back to the Future trilogy and Death Becomes Her.
Maybe if Sony Pictures had global rights they might have handled the film differently so it could find an international audience, but it often happens when a studio only has US rights they are often focused on films having global rights.
Tom Hanks has starred in several Sony Pictures films recently, including 2023’s A Man Called Otto, which opened (after platform) at $4.2 m and took $64.26m and $113.36m worldwide; 2019’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood opened at $13.25 m and took $61.7m and $67.92m worldwide (it was COVID-19 affected). It’s not his lowest opening which was 1990’s Bonfire of the Vanities $4.2m/$10.79m inflated taking $15.69m/$40.17m.
Tom Hank’s films have taken $5.56bn in the US and $11.778bn worldwide and won two Best Actor Oscars over two consequential years for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. Would have expected over the next 30 years he would have won again for roles in films like Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan. The Green Mile, Cast Away, Road to Perdition, Catch Me if You Can, Captain Phillips, Bridge of Spies, Sully and The Post.
Here features de-ageing AI technology, as Ang Lee’s (Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk and Gemini Man) state-of-the-art digital technologies overshadowed many of director Robert Zemeckis’s films since Forrest Gump including The Polar Express, Beowulf and Welcome to Marwen.
Here was acquired by Amazon MGM Studios for the UK; Here received its world premiere at AFI Fest
- Juror #2 – Warner Bros
Opened $275k from 35 screens; received positive reviews (94% Rotten Tomatoes)
Despite receiving positive reviews Warner Bros have no plans to expand the film beyond its current screens. Warne Bros say the film was made for streaming but as it is Clint Eastwood’s final directed film would have thought Warner Bros would give him more respect.
Many articles were asking why Warner Bros never supported the film with some saying it was due to Clint Eastwood’s politics, but if that were the case Warner Bros would have stopped many Clint Eastwood films many years ago, it was more likely due to his last film underperforming.
Clint Eastwood has directed 40 films taking $2bn in the US and $3.33bn worldwide.
Recent Clint Eastwood films
2021’s Cry Macho opened $4.42m taking $10.3m
2019’s Richard Jewell opened $4.7m taking $22.34m
2018’s The Mule opened $17.5m taking $103.8m
2018’s The 15:17 to Paris opened $12.55m taking $36.27m
2016’s Sully opened $35.02m taking $125.07m
Opened with $6m from 6 territories; France $3.1m; Spain $0.9m; UK $0.4m.
- Anora – Neon
Up 98.6% added 219 screens to 253 screens $1.8m #11 and $3.85m
It’s currently the favourite to win Best Picture Oscar next year ahead of Emilia Perez, Conclave and The Brutalist. Next year’s Oscars are wide open compared to other years with fewer contenders. In the last 70 years has only been one film that won both the Palme d’Or and Best Picture: Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite.
Sean Baker’s previous films
2021’s Red Rocket expanded to 377 screens after three weeks taking $1.02m and $2.31m worldwide.
2017’s The Florida Project expanded to 229 screens after 6 weeks taking $5.9m and $10.95m worldwide
2015’s Tangerine expanded to 44 screens after 5 weeks taking $702,354
It was acquired by Neon and became the fifth consecutive Palme d’Or winner distributed by Neon in the US after Parasite, Titane, Triangle of Sadness and Anatomy of a Fall.
- A Real Pain – Searchlight
Opened $228,856 from 4 screens; received positive reviews (93% Rotten Tomatoes)
Had the third-highest screen average for a platform opening this year after Anora ($91k) and Kinds of Kindness ($75k).
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival receiving critical acclaim; soon after Searchlight Pictures acquired world rights for $10m.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Paddington In Peru is the third instalment of the film series and the first to not be directed by Paul King, the first two films received critical acclaim but Paddington In Peru has had mixed reviews, but they are unlikely to have any impact on how it performs. The film had its world premiere last Sunday generating strong media coverage.
The first two films were hugely popular in the UK, but they faced lesser competition over the weeks after opening so both had exceedingly long legs which saw them play through to January. It’s different for Paddington In Peru with Moana 2 opening three weeks later and then Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic The Hedgehog 3 over the Christmas holidays.
2014’s Paddington opened £5,125,519 518 screens #1 taking £738,000: 14.4% from Friday a school day
; dropped 25% in the second weekend £3,837,885 #1 and £10,332,911 with Penguins of Madagascar opening #2 £1,575,949 and 24% in the third weekend £2,909,674 #2 staying in top 5 for 8 weeks (£943,320) and top 10 for 12 weeks (£208,857) (mid-February) taking £38,027,750.
2017’s Paddington 2 opened £8,260,160 607 screens #1: taking £1,080,000 13.07% from Friday a school day.
dropped 20% in the second weekend £6,612,699 #3 and £16,893,580 with Justice League opening #1 £7,264,784 and 32% in the third weekend £4,545,218 #2; staying in top 5 for 8 weeks (£1,884,062) and top 10 for 10 weeks (£401,521) mid-January taking £42,661,628.
As Paddington 2 opened 61% more than the first film and it is 10 years ago since the original film opened would expect Paddington In Peru to open about 40% more than Paddington 2 with about £11m similar to Inside Out 2 having the second biggest opening of the year (to date) after Deadpool & Wolverine.
Opening on Wednesday and a week ahead of the US is the Christmas Action comedy Red One starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans and directed by Jake Kasdan who previously directed Dwayne Johnson in two Jumanji films (also directed 2014’s Sex Tape, 2011’s Bad Teacher and 2007’s Walk Hard). Early reactions have been mixed.
2004’s Bad Santa opened £474,450/£836,892 taking £2,407,426/£4,246,506
2016’s Bad Santa 2 opened £799,156 taking £1,882,879
1996’s Jingle All the Way opened £943,769/£2,020,176 taking £4,065,966/£8,703,365
There have been other Christmas set action films including 2022’s Violent Night; 2000’s Reindeer Games; 1996’s The Long Kiss Goodnight; 1990’s Die Hard 2; 1998’s Enemy of the State; 2005’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang; 2005’s The Ice Harvest; 1992’s Batman Returns; 1987’s Lethal Weapon; 1988’s Die Hard. Which of course starts the debate is a film set at Christmas a Christmas film, as Die Hard was released in July while Christmas features in all of Shane Black’s screenplays, but does that make them Christmas films?
Piece By Piece is an animated biographical of Pharrell Williams featuring voices of Pharrell Williams, Morgan Neville, Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, and Snoop Dogg; the fifth LEGO-based film and the first released by Universal Pictures, they have just announced a slate of new LEGO films having acquired licensing rights after Warner Bros deal expired. Opens in 65 territories in 1,074 IMAX cinemas.
The film received critical acclaim and recently closed the London Film Festival but will struggle to find an audience in UK cinemas as it did a few weeks ago in the US. Being LEGO, it should have meant the biopic was more accessible to a wider demographic but that didn’t happen.
Opening in three weeks
- Moana 2 – Disney
Animated musical adventure sequel to 2016’s Moana featuring voices of Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, Alan Tudyk and directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller.
It was originally developed as a TV series for Disney+ before Disney announced it would be turned into a theatrical film in February 2024.
In December 2020 Disney announced they were developing Moana: The Series for release on Disney+ in 2023. The first trailer was released in May after being shown at CinemaCon in April. The trailer was watched 178 million times in its first 24 hours becoming the most-watched trailer for a Disney animated film, ahead of Frozen II and Pixar’s Inside Out 2; Moana 2 trailer was attached to Inside Out 2.
2016’s Moana opened £2,214,898 #2 556 screens opened a week after the US due to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them which was #1 in its third weekend £4,494,727 649 screens taking £37,886,538; Moana was never #1 due Fantastic Beasts #1 for 4 weeks and then Rogue One: A Star Wars Story #1 for 3 weeks.
But it held strongly down 14% in second weekend £1,911,784 #2; 26% in third weekend £1,424,527. Dropped 22% fourth weekend £1,105,469 #3; up 45% in fifth weekend (Christmas) £1,620,268 #5; dropped 28% in sixth weekend £1,179,760 #6; dropped 11% in seventh weekend £1,050,979 #3; playing strongly to February taking £20,041,031.
With Paddington In Peru, Gladiator II and Wicked Moana 2 is unlikely to be #1 but will likely play through till Christmas.
It’s expected to open with about $150m over Thanksgiving weekend but as it is school term it will open far less in the UK; it does a lot depend on how films like Paddington In Peru hold in its second and third weekends.
- Conclave – Black Bear
Mystery thriller starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, Isabella Rossellini and directed by Edward Berger based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris.
Had the world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival receiving positive reviews (92% Rotten Tomatoes).