- Dungeons And Dragons: Honour Among Thieves – £3,544,354 – NE
Opened with £950k (26.8%) on Friday, taking £185,001 from previews)
435th biggest opening between Scooby-Doo Too and Cars 2 (close to Life of Pi, Snow White and the Huntsman, Fantastic Four (2005) and Cloverfield) and 687th biggest inflated between Open Water and Everest (close to Deep Impact, Edward Scissorhands, Beowulf and Highlander 2: The Quickening).
5th biggest opening of 2023 between Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Scream VI
35th widest opening 680 cinemas (as BFG and Solo: A Star Wars Story) and between House of Gucci and Spider-Man No Way Home; 158th 600+ opening since 2015’s Jurassic World; 13th 600+ opening of 2023 and 69th post-pandemic.
eOne’s 9th biggest opening between The Impossible (included £1,560,204 previews) and The House With A Clock in Its Walls (included £1,074,601 previews) and its joint second widest opening 680 cinemas similar to The BFG with 1917 its widest ever 683 cinemas.
5th different #1 over 5 weeks, last time this happened was in July 2018 when Disney’s Christopher Robin, The Meg, Ant-Man and The Wasp, Mission: Impossible Fallout, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, Incredibles 2 and The First Purge all opened #1 over 7 weeks.
Co-director John Francis Daley said the film’s influences included The Princess Bride, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Lord of the Rings, Willow, and Indiana Jones. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley previously directed 2018’s Game Night (opened £1,094,478 taking £4,633,708) and 2015 Vacation and wrote screenplays for Horrible Bosses, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming making the film accessible to non-fans.
Of course, fantasy and Dungeons & Dragons have had mixed success at the BO few will remember the 2000 film that opened with £366,840 in the UK taking £1,425,131.
Similar films have had mixed success at the box office including (Clash of the Titans opened the same weekend in 2010)
2006’s Eragon opened £1,317,687 taking £8,551,316.
1996’s Dragonheart opened £1,204,249 (£2,629,819 inflated) taking £6,573,083 (£14,354,192 inflated).
2015’s Seventh Son opened £411,576 taking £867,103
2010’s Clash of the Titans opened £5,682,875 taking £20,111,003
1999’s The Mummy opened £3,771,429 (£7,238,277 inflated) taking £17,439,339 (£33,470,275 inflated)
1988’s Willow opened £299,652 (£1,052,691 inflated) taking £1,641,213 (£5,765,653 inflated)
1987’s Masters of the Universe opened £342,680 (£1,287,839 inflated) taking £2,198,857 (£8,263,611 inflated).
2016’s Warcraft opened £3,623,725 taking £5,947,228
2002’s Reign of Fire opened £932,168 (£1,819,304 inflated) taking £3,216,609 (£6,277,826 inflated)
1986’s Labyrinth opened £608,513 (£2,615,311 inflated) taking £3,568,402 (£15,336,536 inflated)
1991’s Highlander 2: The Quickening opened £1,302,491 (£3,473,309 inflated) taking £5,250,692 (£14,001,845 inflated)
2007’s Beowulf opened £2,199,848 taking £7,043,429 (£11,269,486 inflated)
1988’s The Princess Bride opened £27,325 from 9 screens; The Princess Bride has since become one of the most beloved fantasy films but as with so many other films it struggled to find an audience in cinemas, it did ok in London cinemas (opened at Cannon Haymarket £10,811 with tickets £2) opened the same weekend as Batteries Not Included and the week before Three Men and A Baby opened in London.
Also, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit trilogies, How to Train Your Dragon and Shrek.
It looks impressive to see two films taking £2m+ but it was still the worse last weekend of March since 2011 when HOP opened with £1,392,740. As the last weekend of March is normally a strong weekend, it does of course depend on when Easter is a week earlier than last year. This year it is like 2004 (Scooby-Doo Too), 2007 (Mr Beans Holiday), 2009 (Knowing) and 2012 (Wrath of the Titans) each had a bigger top 10 BO total than this year.
- 2. John Wick: Chapter Four – £2,593,806 – £10,113,750
Down 51.3% (46% without previews) in the second weekend
Dropped 51.2% on Friday (£732k) 28.2%
284th biggest second weekend between Little Women and Despicable Me (close to Seven, Mad Max: Fury Road, Goldeneye, and Mission: Impossible II) and 569th biggest inflated between Thor and The Santa Clause (close to Die Hard, Good Morning Vietnam, Alien3 and Mars Attacks).
Took 83.1% more than John Wick 3; 126.2%+ John Wick 2 and 734%+ John Wick
2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum dropped 60.2% of £1,416,278 and £6,246,151 65.1% of £9,587,828
2017’s John Wick: Chapter 2 dropped 49% (42% without previews) taking £1,146,520 and £4,443,479 #4 (after The Lego Batman Movie, Fifty Shades Darker, and Sing) 77.1% of £5,766,633.
2015’s John Wick dropped 42% taking £311,102 and £1,185,362 of £1.5m total; 6 months after its US release and a week after Fast & Furious 7
669th biggest film between Look Who’s Talking and The Addams Family 2 (close to The Spy Who Loved Me, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Superman and The A-Team) and 1,151st biggest inflated between The LEGO Ninjago Movie and No Country for Old Men (close to Falling Down, The Untouchables, Robocop (1988) and Cobra).
- 3. Mummies – £648,459 – NE
Took £113k on Friday (17.4%)
Had similar opening close to Strange World, Tad The Lost Explorer And The Curse Of The Mummy, The Angry Birds Movie 2 and The Croods 2: A New Age, and inflation inflated close to Oliver & Company (£302,952), Free Willy 2 (£330,410), The Rescuers Down Under (£224,390) and Batteries Not Included (£155,080).
Opened stronger than Epic Tails at £259,637 #9 taking £2,082,956 and Tad The Lost Explorer And The Curse Of The Mummy opened with £818,525 (inflated with £467,361 of previews) taking £1,606,387.
Good opening for the animated film especially with Puss In Boots: The Last Wish still holding well in its 9th-weekend #7 taking £273,942 and £24,942,811.
but will face tough competition from Wednesday from Super Mario Bros, but Mummies will play to a younger audience so will still have a lucrative two weeks of Easter holidays.
- 4, Shazam! Fury Of The Gods – £469,120 – £4,851,844
Down 57.1% in the third weekend
Had a similar fourth weekend as Licence to Kill, Total Recall (1990), Under Siege, Die Hard 2 Die Harder, and Bad Boys).
928th biggest second weekend between Taken and The Haunting (close to Team America: World Police, Green Lantern, Dragonheart and Blade) and 1,505th biggest inflated between Hanna and Stepmom (close to Rambo III, The Running Man, The Lawnmower Man, and Stakeout).
96th biggest comic-book film between Kick-Ass 2 and Ghost Rider (close to Fantastic Four (2015), Dick Tracy, Daredevil and Kick-Ass 2) and 101st biggest inflated between Hellboy (2004) and TMNT (close to Super Mario Brothers, Morbius, Spawn and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance).
1,396th biggest film between Jigsaw and The Piano (close to Airplane, The Island, The Man in the Iron Mask, and The Usual Suspects) and 1,926th biggest inflated between See How They Run and Zombieland: Double Tap (close to Sphere, Galaxy Quest, Jupiter Ascending and Teen Wolf Too).
The industry gets caught up in its hype with comments 18 months ago after the huge opening of No Time To Die saying it was the start of a second golden age of cinema and the next 12-18 months will extraordinary, while very quick to dissect the reasons why films like Shazam 2 and Ant-Man 3 failed to meet expectations, that said Shazam 2 had low expectations for months tracking low while expectations for Ant-Man 3 were far stronger and of course hype got it to have the biggest opening of the trilogy but then as predictable dropped off far quicker than the first two films.
Since Man of Steel DC has tried to build a similarly extended universe as MCU but they have struggled both critically and at the BO, but at least they are trying different things with films like Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Shazam!, Joker and Birds of Prey while MCU is similar to how was in 2016. DC keeps changing which saw James Gunn join DC Studios announcing a new slate in January, whilst he is editing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3.
2019’s Shazam! dropped 54.7% in third weekend £979,787 and £11,787,522 of £13,151,121
Shazam! Fury Of The Gods is the first of four DC films set for release this year The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will open over the next 9 months.
The 14 DC Extended Universe films have taken over £321m since Man of Steel opened 10 years ago.
- 5. Creed III – £426,742 – £13,522,826
Down 41.6% in the fifth weekend
Took £119k Friday down 36% (27.9%)
Had a similar fourth weekend as Mission: Impossible III, X-Men: The Last Stand, Troy, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula and inflated close to The Rock, Bad Boys, Die Hard 4.0, and The Social Network.
Fourth weekends
Variety said Creed III “was a sports film that is closer to ‘Cape Fear’ than ‘Rocky”; 1992’s Cape Fear dropped 22% £670,524 (£1,606,333 inflated) and £7,349,874 of £10,396,215 (£26,168,666 inflated).
Creed III has far stronger legs than 2015’s Creed and 2007’s Rocky Balboa both dropped out of the top 15 within 4 weeks with Creed taking £5,684,690, Rocky Balboa £8,503,135 and 1991’s Rocky V £3,482,057 (£9,285,485 inflated).
2018’s Creed II dropped 9% £411,795 #10 and £9,090,207 of £9,672,937
1977’s Rocky took £1,656,000 (£16,317,659 inflated)
1980’s Rocky II took £1,655,000 (£9,483,972 inflated)
1982’s Rocky III took £3.1m (£15,089,157 inflated)
1987’s Rocky IV took £4,030,109 (£17,990,763 inflated).
483rd biggest film between Fast & Furious and The Bad Guys (close to Flash Gordon, True Lies, The Beach, and Crocodile Dundee II) and 848th biggest inflated between Turbo and The Cat in the Hat (close to Under Siege, Rocky Balboa, 12 Monkeys, and Midnight Express).
Also Released
• Rye Lane – Disney
Dropped 17.1% in the third weekend taking £124,966 #10 from 142 screens and £825,360 total.
It dropped 96 screens from last weekend and 227 screens from the opening weekend showing predictably it opened far too wide and should have opened In less than a third of the screens.
Ahead of its opening Rye Lane received widespread critical acclaim but word of mouth would be key for the film to find a wide audience and that doesn’t happen when a film opens on almost 400 screens. The film has received much love on social media from the likes of Jack Whitehall and Marion Keyes
Films like Rye Lane need careful handling with cinema locations carefully chosen as they used to be when distributors had to worry about the cost of 35mm prints. Now all films open far too wide Dungeons & Dragons opened in 680 cinemas but over 1,000 screens and then this weekend Super Mario Bros will do the same.
Exhibitors talk about the need for more films to be released but there was 911 released in 2022 with the top 100 taking over 95% of the BO while 26 took over £10m,59 didn’t take more than £1k, and 254 take more than £10k.
Exhibitors complained 25 years ago 300 films were far too many films being released and now it’s three times as many and the audience hasn’t grown that much since. It’s not more films exhibitors want but the right kind of films as a film like Rye Lane should have had much more time to find its audience.
There were 19 films released last weekend taking £4,838,158 with Dungeons & Dragons taking 73.3% and Mummies 13.4% with the other 17 films including two Event Cinemas (Life Of Pi – NT Live 2023 (£89,515) and Falstaff – Met Opera 2023 (£68,655) took 13.3% (£645,344).
The problem distributors have is do they stick or twist with films do they take the gamble to open on limited wide and then plan expansion in the second weekend but risk the film not finding an audience immediately and exhibitors preferring to book the next shiny new film, or open as wide as possible. As exhibitors want distributors to play out films for 90 days then the exhibitors surely need to play these films much longer.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £8,882,883 down 5.9% from last weekend’s £9,441,651: 1,227,783 admissions down 5% from 1,215,962.
705th biggest top 10 of the last 21 years (out of 1,096) between 13 August 2021 #1 Free Guy £2,477,891 (27.9% of top 10) and 18 January 2002 #1 LOTR: Fellowship of the Rings £3,276,912 (36.9% of top 10) and 962nd biggest inflation inflated between 23 April 2010 #1 Date Night £1,272,405 (19.4% of top 10) and 09 June 2006 #1 The Omen £2,096,002 (39.2% of top 10).
The top 3 took £6,786,619 76.4% of the top 10; Dungeons & Dragons 39.9% (£3,544,354); John Wick: Chapter Four 29.2% (£2,593,806); Mummies 7.3% (£648,459).
39.9% of the top 10 400th highest percentage #1 between 03 July 2015 Minions (39.9%) and 08 January 2016 Star Wars: The Force Awakens (39.87%).
685th biggest admissions #1 (460,904) between 20 September 2019 Downton Abbey (461,384) and 25 May 2012 Men in Black 3 (460,869).
Down 30.2% from 2022 (£12,727,545); Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (£4,986,334); Morbius (£3,254,830); The Bad Guys (£2,279,074); #1 Sonic The Hedgehog 2 £4,986,334 1st week 650 screens (39.2% of top 10)
2021; Lockdown
2020; Lockdown
Down 34.8% from 2019; (£13,628,515) Shazam! (£4,067,068); Pet Sematary (£1,554,881); Peppa Pig: Festival of Fun (£982,617); Missing Link (£644,649); The Sisters Brothers (£253,187); The Keeper (£77,806); The Golden Age – Bolshoi Ballet 2019 (£76,563); #1 Shazam! £4,067,068 1st week 599 screens (29.8% of top 10)
Down 50.2% from 2018: (£17,838,773); Ready Player One (£5,113,041); Isle of Dogs (£1,641,509); Blockers (£1,349,627); Duck Duck Goose (£653,832); Cosi Fan Tutte – Met Opera 2018 (£261,409); Midnight Sun (£163,482); Journeyman (£60,249); #1 Peter Rabbit 694 screens 3rd week up 22%
Down 39% from 2017: (£14,560,830); Ghost in the Shell (£2,300,753); Smurfs: The Lost Village (£1,383,059); Free Fire (£480,644); Peter Kay’s Car Share: A Second Series Celebration (£283,024); Madama Butterfly – Royal Opera, London 2016/17 (£65,810); The Autopsy of Jane Doe (£12,678); #1 Beauty and the Beast £6,750,000 3rd week 647 screens 45% drop
Down 33% from 2016: (£13,252,091); Eddie the Eagle (£2,834,785); Madama Butterfly – Met Opera 2016 (£421,695); Victoria (£108,602); #1 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice £4,661,959 2nd week 612 screens 68% drop.
Down 31.2% from 2015; (£12,903,791); Cinderella (£3,803,799); The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water 3D (£2,262,498); Get Hard (£1,438,389); Seventh Son (£411,576); Wild Tales (£183,423); The Signal (£10,103); #1 Cinderella £3,803,799 1st week 554 screens (29.5% of top 10)
Down 18.4% from 2014: (£10,881,865); Captain America: The Winter Soldier (£6,037,850); Muppets Most Wanted (£2,214,906); The Legend of Hercules (£189,881); 20 Feet from Stardom (£62,154); #1 Captain America: The Winter Soldier £6,037,850 1st week 535 screens (55.5% of top 10)
Down 28.9% from 2013: (£12,481,896); GI Joe: Retaliation (£2,792,861); Trance (£1,592,339); The Host (£991,017); Finding Nemo 3D (£264,779); In the House (£209,431); Good Vibrations (£56,320); #1 The Croods £3,305,642 2nd week 535 screens 38% drop (26.5% of top 10)
Down 11.4% from 2012 (£10,028,615); Wrath of the Titans (£2,192,740); The Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists (£2,176,195); Streetdance 2 (£608,024); #1 The Hunger Games £2,986,317 2nd week 505 screens 39% drop
Up 36.9% from 2011 (£6,490,539); HOP (£1,392,740); Source Code (£1,306,661); Sucker Punch (£814,976); Killing Bono (£112,206); Oranges and Sunshine (£82,922); Psycho (£8,552); The Railway Children (RE) (£1,470); #1 HOP £1,392,740 476 screens 1st week.
Down 59.2% from 2010: (£21,761,471); Clash of the Titans (£5,682,875); How to Train your Dragon (£4,846,532); Kick-Ass (£3,881,704); Remember Me (£987,310); #1 Clash of the Titans £5,682,875 446 screens 1st week.
Up 2.5% from 2009; (£8,665,959); Knowing (£2,471,605); The Haunting in Connecticut (£1,127,679); The Damned United (£618,929); Two Lovers (£88,060); Traitor (£78,675); The Life Before Her Eyes (£1,596); #1 Knowing £2,471,605 1st week 391 screens (28.5% of top 10)
Up 9.9% from 2008; (£8,081,479); 27 Dresses (£1,752,897); Drillbit Taylor (£724,738); First Sunday (£40,706); Grindhouse (£27,225); The Hottie and the Nottie (£17,167); #1 27 Dresses £1,752,897 1st week 428 screens (21.7% of top 10)
Down 27.8% from 2007: (£12,296,196); Mr Beans Holiday (£6,440,093); Meet the Robinsons (£895,955); The Hills Have Eyes II (£775,160); The Last Mimzy (£188,116); The Namesake (£125,084); #1 Mr Beans Holiday £6,440,093 1st week 512 screens (52.4% of top 10)
Up 45% from 2006; (£6,128,821): Failure to Launch (£874,999); The Shaggy Dog (£831,250); Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction (£487,031); Firewall (£465,880); Yours, Mine, and Ours (£330,665); The White Countess (£70,012); #1 Inside Man £1,117,054 2nd week 356 screens 38% drop.
Up 18.6% from 2005 (£7,489,470); The Ring Two (£2,062,792); Be Cool (expansion) (£1,150,434); Downfall (£163,413); #1 The Ring Two £2,062,792 419 screens 1st week.
Down 22.6% from 2004 (£11,477,491); Scooby-Doo Too (£3,549,487); The Cat in the Hat (£1,739,814); Gothika (£1,398,777); Monster (£320,983); #1 Scooby-Doo Too £3,549,487 489 screens 1st week
Up 116% from 2003 (£4,112,397); The Recruit (expansion) (£923,834); The Core (£583,238); Cradle 2 The Grave (£374,938); The Rules of Attraction (£227,531); #1 The Recruit £923,834 1st week 382 screens (2nd weekend up 2545% (22.4% of top 10)
Down 3.6% from 2002 (£9,207,851); Blade 2 (£2,540,226); Crossroads (£1,126,053); E.T. (20th Anniversary) (£465,048); #1 Blade 2 £2,540,226 1st week 345 screens (27.6% of top 10)
Next week 2022; (£11,707,957); Fantastic Beasts 3 (£5,884,934); The Outfit (£96,600); Julia (£1,471); #1 Fantastic Beasts 3 £5,884,934 1st week 711 screens (50.3% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – Paramount Pictures
Opened $37.2m; received positive reviews (92% Rotten Tomatoes) and A- CinemaScore
429th biggest opening between Pacific Rim and Mr. Deeds (close to The Legend of Tarzan, District 9, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and The Scorpion King).
EntTelligence said 74% came from standard formats with 22% from PLF; 10% IMAX and 3% from other premium formats with 35% from PLF ($13.4m); this has been the norm for films recently last weekend 38% of John Wick: Chapter Four came from these formats losing many of them to D&D as it will lose them to Super Mario Bros which is another reason for these films dropping 60% in their second weekend as these screens come with surcharges of a third more than regular prices.
Took $5.6m from Thursday midnights including $1.5m from previews ahead of Thursday; like Uncharted $3.7m; Kong: Skull Island $3.7m; Mad Max: Fury Road $3.7m; A Quiet Place $4.3m.
Ahead of the opening was expected to open with $65m worldwide.
Dungeons & Dragons was previously made in 2000 opening $7.23m taking $15.31m and $33.97m, while fantasy films have had mixed success at the box office. They launch with huge expectations of multiple film series but then struggle to find an audience.
2006’s Eragon opened $23.23m taking $75.03m and $250.42m WW
1996’s Dragonheart opened $15.02m taking $51.36m and $115.26m WW
2015’s Seventh Son opened $7.21m taking $17.22m and $114.17m WW
2010’s Clash of the Titans opened $61.23m taking $163.21m and $493.21m WW
1999’s The Mummy opened $43.36m taking $155.38m and $415.93m WW
1988’s Willow opened $8.3m taking $57.26m
1987’s Masters of the Universe opened $4.88m taking $17.33m
2016’s Warcraft opened $24.16m taking $47.36m and $438.04m WW
2002’s Reign of Fire opened $15.63m taking $43.06m and $82.15m WW
1986’s Labyrinth opened $3.54m and $13.91m
1986’s Highlander opened $2.45m and $5.9m
2007’s Beowulf opened $27.51m taking $82.28m and $196.39m WW
Dungeons & Dragons should surely open similarly to Clash of the Titans if BO were back to pre-pandemic levels but despite the industry’s claims of normality, it is a new normal since cinemas reopened with industry expectations lower than they would have been 3 years ago.
As with the other films opening in March, the industry has focused on the opening weekend of Dungeons & Dragons to ask if was big enough to launch a franchise, but the second-weekend hold is now a far more important indicator to tell if the film will be front-loaded. As with the previous #1 films, the target audience of Dungeons & Dragons is the same as the target audience for Super Mario Bros.
Opened with $33m internationally from 60 territories and $71.5m worldwide; UK $4.3m; Mexico $2.4m; Australia $2.4m; Germany $2m; Italy $1.3m; Spain $1.1M.
Took $5.7m worldwide from IMAX including $2m internationally.
- John Wick: Chapter Four – Lionsgate
Dropped 62% in the second weekend $28.34m and $123.01m
Lost IMAX and PLF screens to Dungeons & Dragons
237th biggest second weekend between Get Out and Alvin and the Chipmunks (close to World War Z, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Kong: Skull Island, and Black Adam).
Second weekends
2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum dropped 56.7% $24.58m and $101.22m of $171.01m and $328.34m
2017’s John Wick: Chapter Two dropped 46.7% by $16.21m and $58.4m of $92.02m and $171.53m worldwide.
2014’s John Wick dropped 44.5% by $7.99m and $27.53m of $43.03m and $88.76m
John Wick Chapter 3 dropped 56.7% taking 33% of its total BO over the opening weekend; took $24.58m #2 and $101.22m 59% of the total against Aladdin #1 $91.5m.
John Wick Chapter Two opened with 46% less and opening $30.43m was a similar 33% of the total $92.02m but had a budget half the size of Chapter 3. Chapter 2 also had a lower second-weekend drop of 46.7% taking $16.21m and $58.4m a similar 63.5% of the total. After opening #3 behind The Lego Batman Movie and Fifty Shades, Darker (all opening the same weekend) dropped #4 in the second.
2014’s John Wick opened with $14.41m 53% less than Chapter 2, 77% less than Chapter 3, and 80.5% less than Chapter 4, having a budget a quarter of the size of Chapter 4 ($30m) but also took 33.5% of the total in its opening weekend. Opened #2 behind Ouija by $19.87m dropping #6 in the second weekend down 44.5% by $7.99m and $27.53m by 64% of $43.03m.
If Chapter 4 holds like the previous it will take $180-$190m and Lionsgate will be dating John Wick Chapter 5 for 2025 within a few weeks.
Took $35m from 75 territories and $122m total and $245m worldwide; UK $12.2m; Germany $10.6m; Australia $8.7m; France $4.6m; Taiwan $4.5m.
- Shazam! Fury Of The Gods – Warner Bros
Dropped 51% in the third weekend $4.6m and $53.47m
2019’s Shazam! dropped 32.7% in the third weekend $16.46m and $120.47m and $365.97m WW
1,679th biggest film between A Simple Favour and Problem Child; 2,587th biggest inflated between Meet the Browns and Raising Arizona; 8th biggest 2023 between Cocaine Bear and Jesus Revolution; 97th biggest comic-book film between The Suicide Squad and Blade: Trinity; 275th biggest Warner Bros film between P.S., I Love You and Life as We Know It.
The 12 DC Extended Universe took $2.47bn in the US and $6.31bn worldwide; has overtaken the US BO of Wonder Woman: 1984 $46.8m and will shortly overtake The Suicide Squad $55.81m but both were affected by opening during COVID. Shazam suffered similarly to Ant-Man 3 and worse for opening after Ant-Man 3 in a comparable way X-Men: Dark Phoenix suffered after opening after Captain Marvel.
Took $7.2m from 78 territories $66.4m total and $119.87m worldwide.
1,489th biggest worldwide between Jeepers Creepers 2 and Michael; 10th biggest 2023 between Scream VI and Cocaine Bear; 229th biggest Warner Bros film between Lethal Weapon and Blazing Saddles.
- Scream VI – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 36% in the fourth weekend $5.33m and $98.26m
943rd biggest third weekend between Changing Lanes and Wild Wild West; Scream 2 #586 ($7.28m); 1996’s Scream #569 ($7.43m).
Fourth weekends
1996’s Scream dropped 25.7% #4 taking $7.43m and $50.02m 48.5% of $103.04m and $173.04m worldwide; had an extraordinarily strong word of mouth and held very strongly staying in the top 10 for 9 weeks)
1997’s Scream 2 dropped 19.8% $7.28m #5 and $85.49m 84.3% of $101.36m and $172.36m WW
2000s Scream 3 dropped 41.7% $5.02m #8 and $78.1m 87.6% of $89.14m and $161.83m WW.
2011’s Scream 4 dropped 67.8% of $701,100 #16 and $36.92m 96.7% of $38.18m and $97.23m WW
1996’s Scream dropped 0% #6 taking $7.34m and $59.47m 57.7% of $103.04m and $173.04m worldwide; had an extraordinarily strong word of mouth and held very strongly staying in the top 10 for 9 weeks)
2022’s Scream dropped 34.2% $4.75m #4 and $68.96m 84.5% of $81.64m and $137.74m WW
Scream film series has taken $512m in the US and $890m worldwide.
809th biggest film between Date Night and The Addams Family; 1,432nd biggest inflated between Porky’s II: The Next Day and Sahara; 4th biggest 2023 between John Wick: Chapter 4 and M3gan; 29th biggest horror between Sleepy Hollow and The Others; 112th biggest Paramount Pictures film between Heaven Can Wait and Rocketman.
2022’s Scream took $4.3m from 55 territories in its 4th weekend and $51.4m total international and $120.3m worldwide; UK $8.3m; Australia $3.8m; France $3.7m.
Took $3.5m internationally from 54 territories $49.35m total and $147.62m worldwide; 1,246th biggest worldwide between Arthur Christmas and Romeo + Juliet; 60th biggest horror between Mama and The Exorcism of Emily Rose; 141st Paramount Pictures between No Strings Attached and Blades of Glory; 2022’s Scream $138.87m
- Creed III – MGM
Dropped 39% in the fifth weekend $5m taking $148.58m
582nd biggest fifth weekend between The Big Sick and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (close to Rocky III ($5.09m); Field of Dreams ($5.08m); Unforgiven ($4.9m); Fast & Furious 6 ($4.9m); Creed II ($4.3m) #717
405th biggest film between Uncharted and As Good as it Gets; 821st biggest inflated between Uncharted and Mortal Kombat (1995).
2015’s Creed dropped 12.5% by $4.38m #11 and $96.08m of $109.76m and $173.56m worldwide
2018’s Creed II dropped 71.3% by $1.54m #14 and $108.73m of $115.71m and $214.21m worldwide
The 8 Rocky films have taken $940m in the US and $1.77bn worldwide but as of course the first Rocky film opened almost 50 years ago, Rocky’s $225m worldwide BO would be $2.1bn worldwide.
Took $2.7m internationally from 71 territories $111.5m total and $260.7m worldwide.
622nd biggest worldwide between Robots and The Lone Ranger; 4th biggest 2023 film between Ant-Man 3 and Scream VI.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Super Mario Bros will make it six different #1 over 6 weeks after Creed III, Scream VI, and Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, John Wick: Chapter Four, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves. Super Mario Bros will open far bigger than the other films and could hold #1 for up to a month until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 opens.
As with the other five films Super Mario Bros will take most of the IMAX and PLF screens after only a week which will again affect Dungeons & Dragons as all of the other films in their second weekends, that said Dungeons & Dragons won’t drop as heavily due to Easter holidays and playing to a slightly older audience than Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros could open with £8m-£10m including up to £4m from previews from Weds/Thurs as the Easter holidays start on Monday. Being the only major family film released for Easter, Super Mario Bros should take £30m+ like The Secret Life of Pets and Sing, especially with three Bank Holidays coming up in the next 3 weeks.
30 years ago, the live-action Super Mario Bros opened #1 £907,342 from 266 screens (opened the weekend before Jurassic Park) dropped 54% £417,378 #3 and £1,657,898 62% of £2,835,463 (£7,137,240 inflated) in the second weekend against Jurassic Park opening £4,875,137 from 434 screens and Cliffhanger #2 £572,152. Played in the top 10 for 4 weeks and top 15 for 7 weeks taking £2,835,463.
The other new releases are likely to struggle to find an audience Ben Affleck’s Air, has received positive reviews, and being a sports film without any sport will help it find an audience outside of the US despite being a very American film, some critics have compared it to Jerry Maguire, but of course, never going to get anywhere near its box office despite opening 26 years later. Jerry Maguire opened March 1997 £1,532,506 (£2,895,570 inflated) taking £9,930,120 (£18,762,315 inflated).
The Pope’s Exorcist is based on a true story as The Conjuring was, the first of two Exorcist films opening this year with Blumhouse Productions reboot-quel The Exorcist opening in October. The Pope’s Exorcist is directed by Julius Avery, who previously directed 2018’s Overlord opened £677,844 #6 from 421 screens taking £1,154,232, likely to be front-loaded with other horrors Renfield and Evil Dead Rises opening over the next two weeks.
Dungeons & Dragons should drop about 45% holding better due to Friday being Bank Holiday taking £1.9m-£2.3m, John Wick: Chapter Four will drop a similar amount taking £1.2m-£1.6m and Mummies should have a minimal second-weekend drop even with the arrival of Super Mario Bros as plays to a younger audience as well increase its Friday BO from opening weekend.
While Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, Creed III, Scream VI, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish will all drop much more heavily.
Opening in two weeks
Quiet weekend for major releases due to the end of the Easter school holidays and before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 opens.
- Missing – Sony Pictures
The standalone sequel to 2018’s thriller Searching starring Storm Reid, Joaquim de Almeida, Ken Leung, Amy Landecker, Daniel Henney, and Nia Long, directed by Will Merrick and Nick Johnson.
It premiered at Sundance Film Festival receiving positive reviews (87% rotten Tomatoes) and opened in the US in January with $9.2m taking $35.2m.
Searching opened £765,050 #5 from 401 screens taking £2,023,281 and Missing will likely take similar so it was surprising it didn’t open day and date to the US, maybe Sony was hoping that if it was trailered with the March releases it might spark up more interest.
- Evil Dead Rise – Studiocanal
Supernatural horror sequel and the fifth of the Evil Dead film series starring Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, and Nell Fisher, directed by Lee Cronin.
Received premiere at South by Southwest receiving positive reviews (96% Rotten Tomatoes)
2013’s Evil Dead opened £1,375,842 #3 from 394 screens taking £3,355,676
1993’s Army of Darkness opened £161,150 from 93 screens taking £430,146
1987’s Evil Dead II opened £142,757 taking £1,180,250 (£4,435,544 inflated)
Two Event Cinema will have encore screenings over the weekend, Coldplay – Music Of The Spheres: Live At River Plate screening on Wednesday and Good – NT Live on Thursday, and could chart in the top 10.