- No Time To Die – £8,404,165 – £68,580,003
Down 44.5% in its third weekend; Saturday BO had a 60% increase from Friday compared to 6% for Venom 2
3rd biggest third weekend between Star Wars: The Force Awakens (£10,304,562) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (£7,975,174).
14th biggest film in the UK between Mamma Mia! and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (21st film to take over £50m since Titanic in 1998) and 66th biggest inflation inflated film in the UK between The Matrix Reloaded and Despicable Me 2.
2nd biggest Universal Pictures film in the UK is between Mamma Mia! (£68,823,998) and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (£65,593,712)
Took £7.51m Mon-Thurs in its second weekend down 35% from opening Mon-Thurs (£11.54m); second Thursday was down 49% from the first weekend £4.88m to £2.5m.
Gower Street Analytics predicted No Time To Die will take 12.8% of the total box office for 2021 with one in eight cinema tickets in 2021 being for the film.
James Bond third weekend drops
2002’s Die Another Day dropped 36.1% £3,426,623 and £23,655,020 65.6% of £36,043,520
2006’s Casino Royale down 37.9% £5,307,969 and £37,086,857 66.8% of £55,495,547
2008’s Quantum of Solace down 44% £5,164,182 and £40,280,807 78.8% of £51,089,938
2012’s Skyfall down 35.1% £10,447,385 and £72,019,129 70% of £102,816,893
2015’s Spectre down 40.4% £7,833,891 and £77,579,879 81.5% of £95,183,468
2021’s No Time To Die down 44.8% £8,404,165 and £68,580,003 70% of £96m
Top 20 Biggest Third Weekends
Skyfall down 35.1% £10,447,385 and £72,019,129 70% of £102,816,893
Star Wars: The Force Awakens £10,304,562 up 1.3% and £97,383,157 79.2% of £123,000,894
No Time To Die 44.8% £8,404,165 and £68,580,003
Star Wars: The Last Jedi £7,975,174 down 21.5% and £68,263,774 82.6% of £82,676,198
Spectre down 40.4% £7,833,891 and £77,579,879 81.5% of £95,183,468
Beauty and the Beast down 45.2% £6,750,000 and £51,385,248 71% of £72,430,579
LOTR: Return of the King down 8.5% £6,496,723 and £41,841,702 68.9% of £60,666,284
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story up 4% £5,959,299 and £52,070,413 78.9% of £66,013,076
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Rings down 23.7% £5,967,910 and £34,988,861 55.7% of £62,759,288
Avatar up 55.2% £5,940,479 and £32,815,618 35.1% of £93,442,625
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone down 30.5% £5,809,759 and £38,134,347 59.6% of £63,957,673
Jurassic World down 48.1% £5,776,475 and £48,901,995 76.8% of £63,674,773
LOTR: Two Towers down 29.4% £5,774,170 and £38,403,392 68.7% of £55,889,009
The Jungle Book 28.8% £5,758,824 and £30,201,705 65.3% of £46,235,032
Avengers: Infinity War down 43.7% £5,706,170 taking 85.2% of £70,804,892
Toy Story 4 down 33% £5,543,052 and £36,039,107 57.6% of £62,536,622
Joker down 43.8% £5,489,716 and £40,302,422 69.7% of £57,800,000
Casino Royale down 37.9% £5,307,969 and £37,086,857 66.8% of £55,495,547
Quantum of Solace down 44% £5,164,182 and £40,280,807 78.8% of £51,089,938
The Lion King £10,660,287 down 51.6% £5,158,310 and £50,701,448 66.7% of £76,013,812
Had a similar third-weekend drop as
Tenet -42.69%; Avenger Infinity War -43.75%; Joker -43.79%; Dunkirk -43.85%; Quantum of Solace -44%; The Incredibles -44.49%; Beauty and the Beast -45.27%; Black Panther -45.52%; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow Part 2-46.41%
There were rumours in 2017 that Bond 25 would be a remake of 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and No Time To Die has a lot of similarities ending with Louis Armstrong, We Have All the Time in the World. After all the positivity immediately after critics saw the film audiences have many questions over the plot and the surprise ending, but that was rumoured to be why Danny Boyle left the film.
While OHMSS was one of the biggest films of 1969 it took half of You Only Live Twice starring Sean Connery who quit Bond after the film after five James Bond films (similar to Daniel Craig) after being dissatisfied with the character development, failing out with Bond producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman and his pay ($750,000 plus 25% of merchandising profits, in comparison Daniel Craig got $25m for No Time To Die). Producers refused to pay Sean Connery more and recast James Bond with George Lazenby but left after the one film and Sean Connery returned paid $1.25m for Diamonds Are Forever.
Despite OHMSS being the lowest-grossing James Bond film, it is the favourite for many including Christopher Nolan as it mixed action with romance with James Bond falling in love and getting married to Diana Rigg’s Tracy (spoiler) dying soon after they get married and we got to see that happen again in Casino Royale with Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd in Daniel Craig’s first James Bond film. Nolan compared Inception to OHMSS in an interview with Empire Magazine in 2010 saying “I think, ‘Her Majesty’ Secret Service’ would be my favourite Bond. It’s a hell of a movie, it holds up very well. What I liked about it that we’ve tried to emulate in this film is there’s a tremendous balance of action, scale, and romanticism and tragedy and emotion. Of all the Bond films, it’s by far the most emotional. There’s a love story and Inception is kind of a love story as well as anything else. I’m going soft in my old age.”
Christopher Nolan said at the time “… This is absolutely my Bond film,” … “I’ve been plundering ruthlessly from the Bond movies in everything I’ve done, forever. They’re a huge influence on me.” That is surprising as many saw Tenet as his Bond film as before announcing the project he was rumoured to be in the running to direct Bond 25 with Tom Hardy as James Bond, but this all changed when it was announced Daniel Craig was staying on for a final Bond film with Danny Boyle attached to direct.
It used to be success breeds success in 2015 with Universal Pictures having success from a mix of different genres Fifty Shades of Grey, Furious 7, Pitch Perfect 2, Jurassic World, Minions and Straight Outta Compton. But over the years since they have been much more limited to comic-book movies and reimaginations of hits of the past. But since reopening success breeds success from similar genres so it was predictable that Shang-Chi would open similar to Black Widow and that same audience will see Venom Let There Be Carnage in two weeks and then Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home. The question is what the next films will be those who saw No Time To Die over the weekend who haven’t been to the cinema since January 2020 with 1917.
James Bond film stands above any other film franchise or series in the UK their success in the UK for almost 60 years is incomparable to any other with only Star Wars: The Force Awakens taking more than Skyfall and Spectre. There is no other film series that galvanizes the UK media as James Bond, while MCU, Star Wars and Harry Potter have been successful at the box office none of those films receives the media coverage a James Bond film does.
Showing how big James Bond is in the UK from the box office data I have available of 20 of the 25 films they have taken over £525m adding rough estimates of the missing box office that’s over £500m but as 19 of them were released over 20 years ago their inflation inflated totals would be over £1.5bn which is about twice as much as MCU films have taken at the UK box office since 2008.
Only need to see the inflation inflated box office of many of the earlier James Bond films to see how popular the James Bond film series was.
1964’s Goldfinger £98,956,471
1965’s Thunderball £101,423,810
1967’s You Only Live Twice £59,400,909
1973’s Live and Let Die £65,315,814
1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me £90,602,195
1979’s Moonraker £68,104,407
1981’s For Your Eyes Only £43,687,898
Goldfinger, Thunderball and The Spy Who Loved Me took as much as Skyfall and Spectre, probably a lot more as used industry average but Skyfall and Spectre had many IMAX and PLF screens with tickets more than three times the industry average.
The last 5 Bond films didn’t have any direct competition opening in the weeks leading up to release and the weeks afterwards as the films around them were targeting families and children. The biggest film that opened before any of them was Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets the weekend before Die Another Day.
Die Another Day opened on 430 screens on November 20th, 2002
2nd weekend £5,364,433 down 41% (down 22% without previews) with Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets #2 £4,654,618 3rd weekend
3rd weekend £3,426,623 down 36%; Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets #2 £2,678,629 4th weekend
4th weekend £2,220,351 down 35%; Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets #2 £1,802,435 5th weekend
Dropped down to third in its 5th weekend with Lord of the Rings: Two Towers opened #1 £13,063,560; Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets #2 £1,164,992 6th weekend (weekend before Christmas)
Stayed in the top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 9 weeks
Casino Royale opened in 505 cinemas (988 screens) on 19th November 2006
2nd weekend £8,546,238 dropped 36% (25% without previews); Borat #2 £1,470,923 4th weekend
3rd-weekend £5,307,969 dropped 36%; #2 Flushed Away opened with £3,106,874
Dropped down to #3 in its fourth weekend taking £2,741,362; Happy Feet opened #1 £3,689,166; #2 The Holiday £2,826,520
Stayed in the top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 12 weeks
Quantum of Solace opened on 540 screens on 31st October 2008
2nd-weekend £9,221,744 dropped 40%; #2 High School Musical 3 £1,518,469 3rd weekend
3rd weekend £5,164,182 dropped 44%; #2 Max Payne opened £1,004,995
4th-weekend £2,884,789 dropped 44%; #2 Body of Lies opened £991,979
Dropped down to #2 in its fifth weekend taking £1,453,184; Four Christmases opened £2,275,585
Stayed in the top 5 for 6 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks
Skyfall opened on 587 screens on 26th October 2012
2nd-weekend £16,107,687 dropped 20% 593 screens; #2 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted £2,863,112 3rd weekend
3rd-weekend £10,447,385 dropped 35%; #2 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted £1,357,193 4th weekend
Dropped to #2 in its 4th weekend taking £5,566,537; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 opened #1 £15,850,825
Held #2 5th weekend taking £3,809,893; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 #1 £5,344,508
Returned #1 6th weekend taking £2,275,469; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 #2 £2,180,909 3rd weekend
Dropped to #2 7th weekend taking £1,428,708 (513 screens); #1 Rise of the Guardians #1 £1,602,689
Dropped to 4th 8th weekend taking £809,406 (434 screens); #1 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey £11,601,538.
Stayed in the top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 11 weeks
Spectre opened in 651 cinemas and on over 2,500 screens on October 26th, 2015
2nd weekend £13,145,138 (660 screens) dropped 68% (34% not including previews); #2 Hotel Transylvania 2 £1,105,023 4th weekend
3rd weekend £7,833,891 (617 screens) dropped 40%; #2 The Lady in the Van opened £2,256,121
Dropped to #2 in its 4th weekend taking £3,821,156 (607 screens); #1 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 £11,255,566
Stayed in the top 5 for 7 weeks and top 10 for 10 weeks
James Bond films normally hold very strongly but that’s partly to do with rival studios not opening anything targetting a similar demographic for over a month after. One of the terms of Christopher Nolan’s contract with Universal Pictures for his next film is that the studio can’t release a major film for several weeks after. What Christopher Nolan did not understand with this request is his films perform best when they are released close to other similar-sized films.
Have been so many articles saying No Time To Die will ‘save cinema’ which is complete nonsense but what it does show is predictable that cinemas reopened far too soon in July 2020 for Bond rip-off Tenet which was never going to be the ‘saviour of cinema’ either Christopher Nolan or exhibitors believed it was going to be. Not saying this in hindsight as all of Christopher Nolan’s biggest films have opened in the middle of other similar-sized films.
As often with recent James Bond films, a lot of what happened in No Time To Die makes little sense once you start to think about it why they like the embargo to end at once after the screening ends so critics don’t have a chance to see it for what it is. Interestingly, US reaction to recent James Bond films has been far more mixed both critically and at the box office than elsewhere. Having recently watched OHMS again there are many similarities between the two films with Bond saying to the dying Tracey we have all the time in the world as he also says to Madeleine at the end of No Time To Die.
Up to Skyfall, many thought James Bond was a codename but even after ‘the big reveal’ could still be true and Bond’s parent’s gravestones at Skyfall could have been fake? Was he James Bond before the two kills at the start of Casino Royale when he became 007?
2. Venom: Let There Be Carnage £6,167,833 – NE
201st biggest opening in the UK between Wonder Woman and Sex and the City 2 (close to Prometheus, Kong: Skull Island, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and F9) 71st biggest Fri-Sun opening between Prometheus and Sex and the City 2 (close to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Hancock, Star Trek and Inception).
296th biggest inflation inflated between The Living Daylights and Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (close to Batman Returns, Batman, The Pirates of the Caribbean and Solo: A Star Wars Story).
43rd biggest comic-book opening between Wonder Woman and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (close to Black Widow, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Shang-Chi and The Wolverine) and 54th biggest inflation inflated between Batman Returns and Wonder Woman (close to Thor, X-Men: First Class, The Hulk and Fantastic Four).
Showing again comic-book movies attract similar audiences Venom: Let There Be Carnage opened with £721,354 less than Black Widow and £408,329 more than Shang-Chi, but those two films had the advantage of having IMAX and PLF screens and opened without any competition.
That said the audience for Venom: Let There Be Carnage and No Time To Die would be different as younger audiences rush out over the opening weekend by its third weekend was playing to older audiences one of the many reasons why The Last Duel did not find any audience opening against it.
Opened £1,863,509 less than 2018’s Venom but removing £2,431,342 taking from two days of previews Venom Let There Be Carnage took £567,833 more than Venom Fri-Sun BO but it’s impossible just to remove the preview box office and compare the two as many who saw Venom in its previews would have seen it on Friday night had it not had previews.
24th biggest Sony Pictures UK opening weekend between Men In Black 2 and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (close to Terminator Salvation, Men In Black, Blade Runner 2049 and Trainspotting 2).
It was originally set for release on October 2nd, 2020 (the same weekend as the original) but was delayed to June 25th, 2021, in April 2020 due to COVID and was delayed to September 17th to give more time for visual effects. In August 2021 it was delayed to October 15th due to rising COVID cases but after Shang-Chi opened well was brought forward in the US to October 1st but due to No Time To Die opening on that date kept October 15th in the UK.
Had a fan screening in London on September 14th
The last time several major films opened over the same weekend was October 5th when Venom opened with #1 £8,031,342 (including £2,431,342 previews) from 556 screens with Johnny English Strikes Again #2 £4,117,692 from 589 screens and A Star is Born #3 £4,100,196 from 526 screens. The difference was these films opened without any competition as The House with a Clock in its Walls, Night School, A Simple Favour and Crazy Rich Asians had played out;
Venom went on to take £16,652,223 despite receiving poor reviews (30% Rotten Tomatoes) but the audience score was far more positive.
Morbius the third film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe was due to open before Venom: Let There Be Carnage in July 2020 but was delayed due to COVID first to March 2021, then October 8th and finally to January 2022. Away from Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Sony will also release Spider-Man: No Way Home in December that could crossover with Morbius.
The first film had a running time of 140 minutes but the sequel is only 97 minutes long; the sequel is also a 15 as the original film.
Fans have called the end credit scene the most important ever Eddie and Venom are in a hotel room, watching a Mexican soap opera and are transported to a different universe, with a news report Peter Parker is Spider-Man which was also seen at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Audiences who see the sequel can see footage from Matrix 4 as the two films were being filmed in San Francisco in February 2020 at the same time using the same helicopters that feature in Matrix 4.
3. Halloween Kills – £1,382,070 – NE
1,137th biggest opening in the UK between Smurfs: The Lost Village and The Snowman (close to Gothika, Parasite, Evil Dead and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and 1,321st the biggest inflation inflated opened between Sense and Sensibility and The Internship (close to Hidden Figures, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Attack the Block and Unfriended).
80th biggest horror opening in the UK between Gothika and Evil Dead (close to 28 Days Later, Poltergeist, The Amityville Horror and Saw).
Friday had the biggest for an 18 certificate since the Gentlemen in January 2020; the third biggest Friday for horror since It Chapter 2 in September 2019 and the biggest opening day for Blumhouse film since Glass in January 2019 and the biggest opening for Blumhouse since The Invisible Man in February 2020.
Opened 48% less than 2018’s Halloween (£2,656,097) but 24% more than Candyman (£1,112,674) and the 13th biggest Blumhouse Productions film in the UK between Sinister and Ouija
The sequel to 2018’s Halloween and the twelfth instalment in the Halloween franchise starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Will Patton, Thomas Mann, Anthony Michael Hall, Produced by Blumhouse Productions and directed by David Gordon Green.
Blumhouse Productions had planned to make Halloween Kills and Halloween at the same time but waited to see the response to the first film. The third film in this new trilogy Halloween Ends opens next October.
Halloween Kills had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival receiving mixed reviews (59% Rotten Tomatoes) in the US it will be released in cinemas and on Peacock.
2018’s Halloween opened with £2,656,097 #2 behind A Star Is Born £8,171,544 (3rd weekend) taking £8,171,544. Halloween Kills is an 18 as the 2018 film, all of the other Halloween films were also rated 18 but the original film released in 1978 was first rated X and then reclassified in 2012 as an 18 and reclassified again in 2018 as 15.
4. The Addams Family 2 – £1,382,070 – £3,928,188
Down 31.2% in its second weekend suprising hold with the arrival of Ron’s Gone Wrong, but in doing so the new release had a disappponinting opening.
638th biggest second weekend between The Hulk and Fun with Dick and Jane (close to Ferdinand, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween and Coraline) and 900th inflation inflated the second weekend between Anger Management and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (close to Muppet Treasure Island, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Bee Movie and Hoodwinked).
As In 2019 (The Addams Family and Abominable) Universal Pictures are competing against itself with The Addams Family 2 and The Boss Baby 2 with children’s films for half-term holidays.
1991’s The Addams Family opened £1.2m (£2.86m inflation inflated) taking £10m total (£23.82m inflation inflated) and 1993’s sequel Addams Family Values opened £853,923 (£1.92m inflation inflated) taking £6.5m (£14.61m inflation inflated)
2019’s The Addams Family increased 5% in its second weekend taking £2,234,172 (due to being half-term taking £4,744,561 over a half-term week) and £6,978,733 and £9,514,907 total.
Children’s films have been the one genre that has performed strongly since cinemas reopened the first time in July 2020 and children’s films have had very long legs The Croods 2: A New Age and Space Jam: A New Legacy opened the same weekend with £696,563 and £1,363,556 but took 13.38x and 9.12x opening BO with £9.8m and £12.8m.
5. Ron’s Gone Wrong – £868,053 – NE
Opened similar to animated films Monster House (£1,030,305); Looney Tunes: Back in Action (£926,447); Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (£828,550); Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (£719,681); The Angry Birds Movie 2 (£701,223); The Croods 2: A New Age (£696,563)
In 2017 20th Century Fox announced a multi-year production deal with Locksmith Animation (they had been previously based at Paramount but left when Jim Gianopulos joined the studio) had plans to release a new animated film every 18 months alongside Blue Sky Studios also owned to fill the gap from losing Dreamworks Animation films to Universal after Comcast brought the company. Ron’s Gone Wrong was originally due to be released in 2020 but was delayed due to COVID.
Locksmith Animation plans were to make original animated films not based on books or pre-existing intellectual property. But after 20th Century Fox was brought by Disney, Disney soon after shutdown Blue Sky Studios and Locksmith Animation signed a multi-film deal with Warner Bros in 2019.
Has its world premiere at the London Film Festival on October 9th having a 45 theatrical window before going to streaming. The film received widespread critical acclaim and compared to Pixar films that play on both levels children and adults, unlike many other animated films that only children can enjoy which is the case with The Addams Family 2.
Ron’s Gone Wrong is the second of three children’s films opening ahead of half-term at the end of the month, often the middle film gets squeezed by the film opening first and lasts which will be likely this time with The Addams Family 2 opened last weekend and The Boss Baby 2 this weekend.
Also Opened
- The Last Duel – Disney
Opened £325,522 from 439 screens
After a film underperforms there are always many articles written about why but the reasons why The Last Duel did not find an audience have been known about for almost two years. The problem has been despite all the industry research since March 2020 saying older audiences will take much longer to return to movie theatres nothing was done about it and unlike the UK hasn’t been a must-see film like No Time to Die that would want them to go back yet.
Exhibitors focus since movie theatres reopened was 15-34 demographic all films that have had success in the US since reopening have all been aimed at that audience any targeting older has struggled, this was also seen by No Time To Die opening lower than expected and dropping 56%. The Last Duel BO wasn’t a surprise, the question is will Dune and The French Dispatch perform similarly poorly this weekend, as with Halloween Kills exhibitors have their excuses ready for Dune blaming day and date streaming, but as seen with Halloween Kills opened with almost $50m in the US with 1.2m watching it on Peacock. As with many other films that have been released same-day streaming many who probably watched Halloween Kills on Peacock also saw it in the cinema.
Everyone says The Last Duel was a remnant of 20th Century Fox, while it might have been in development there for many years due to their production deal with Ridley Scott he can make films for other studios. The Last Duel wasn’t acquired by 20th Century Fox until July 2019 four months after the studio was acquired by Disney. Disney at once shut down Fox 2000 and shut down many films that were close to production with Fear Street trilogy acquired by Netflix that started production in March 2019. Many were surprised Disney owned 20th Century Fox acquired the film as its subject matter wasn’t very Disney and at the time there were many other studios interested in acquiring the project.
Disney has had little interest in the films 20th Century Fox made why they have sat on the shelf for so long and have been used as a canary in the coalmine films for Disney they have no interest as they are films, not properties that they can exploit with merchandise and sequels saying that New Line made many Final Destination movies.
This was similarly the case with Ron’s Gone Wrong despite it getting rave reviews and being compared to Pixar they have no interest in animation unless it’s made by Walt Disney Animation or Pixar. Holding back these films to 2022 means they will be available to go to Disney+ after their theatrical release as Fox have a pay-TV deal with HBO that ends in a few months.
Disney has four more 20th Century Fox films still to be released on paper it’s a strong three Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake, the film began development in 2014 with Spielberg attached from 2018. He was going to make the film after directing the fifth Indiana Jones film but when it was pushed back he started pre-production. The film was originally set for release in December 2020 but was delayed a year due to COVID, 2021 is the 60th anniversary of the original film.
The King’s Man the third film of the Kingsman series directed by Matthew Vaughn who developed the idea after being considered briefly to direct Casino Royale in 2006. 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service and 2017’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle both performed well in the UK so there is strong interest in the prequel.
The film will open over two years after it was originally due to be released in November 2019 on December 22nd the problem is that it opened close to both Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Matrix Resurrections with all three targetting similar demographics. Disney has far more interest in Spider-Man: No Way Home being a success rather than The King’s Man as while there were plans under Fox for further films this is unlikely now but Spider-Man: No Way Home success will help the MCU films in 2022.
Death on the Nile follow up to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express which was a strong success for Fox playing strongly to older audiences, the film will open over 2 years after originally due to be released (December 2019) in February 2022.
The Bob’s Burgers Movie film based on the animated TV series will open almost two years after originally being due for release in July 2020 in May 2022.
The film was first announced in 2015 with Francis Lawrence attached to direct, Studio 8 were in negotiations to buy the film rights but when their rights lapsed. It was then announced in July 2019 Ridley Scott had signed to direct the film with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck starring (previously starred together in Good Will Hunting and School Ties while being fans in the stadium in Field of Dreams). It’s also Matt Damon’s first film with Ridley Scott since the Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe Best Comedy winner The Martian in 2015.
It began shooting in Ireland in February 2020 but production shutdown in March due to COVID restarting in September 2019; was originally set for release on December 25th, 2020, and delayed from July 2020 to October 2021 due to COVID. It will have a 45-day theatrical window
Had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival receiving mixed reviews (69% Rotten Tomatoes).
Ridley Scott also directed House of Gucci starring Lady Gaga, Jared Leto and Adam Driver opening 6 weeks after The Lost Duel opens. House of Gucci will be Ridley Scott’s 16th film he has directed over the last 20 years and produced many more films and TV shows including The Good Wife, The Good Fight, The Man in the High Castle, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile and his 83.
Recent Ridley Scott directed films include
2017’s All the Money in the World opened £1,161,476 taking £3,176,255
2015’s The Martian opened £6,531,734 taking £23,578,878
2014’s Exodus: Gods and Kings opened £2,607,453 taking £7,529,032
2013’s The Counsellor opened £815,051 taking £1,855,158
2010’s Robin Hood opened £5,750,332 taking £15,381,416
2008’s Body of Lies opened £991,979 taking £2,859,641
2007’s American Gangster opened £2,564,853 taking £9,336,495
2005’s Kingdom of Heaven opened £2,530,445 taking £7,755,814
Other historical dramas include
2004’s King Arthur opened £1,908,084 taking £6,804,952
2004’s The Last Samurai opened £2,723,081 taking £11,503,317
1995’s Braveheart opened £3,764,431 taking £12,649,000
- Scream (25th anniversary) – Paramount
Celebrating the films 25th anniversary over 6 months early as often happens in the UK the classic Wes Craven horror screened in cinemas from last Tuesday #3 and over the weekend.
On Wednesday Paramount released the trailer of the new Scream film set to open in January which they hope will launch a new trilogy of films as many long-gap sequels those who survived the earlier four films might not all survive this one as they will be looking to reimagine the series after the disappointing fourth film in 2011 that was previously planned to be the first of a second trilogy.
Other Film News
Gower Street Analytics estimated the full-year box office for the UK will be £590m up from £560m after No Time To Die BO this would be a 77% increase in 2020.
On October 14th ComScore reported box office for 2021 had taken £323.7m more than £323m taken last year, while January and February were very strong March slowed down before cinemas closed at the end of March until reopening in July. The box office was soft over the next 6 weeks before the opening of Tenet which did not be the success the industry expected it to be and the rest of the box office for the year was soft so it’s impossible to make any comparisons.
While this year UK cinemas reopened in May with a far stronger line-up of films from then onwards but all the films apart from No Time To Die took about a third less than they would have done in normal circumstances.
Total BO for 2021 up until September 30 was £254m and since then-No Time To Die has taken £68,580,003 in 18 days. Cinemas need people to see other films than sure things like James Bond and comic-book movies so will be interesting to see if Dune is the hit exhibitors believe it will be or if it will perform similar to Blade Runner 2049, opening the weekend after Venom 2 strong opening and No Time To Die taking £8m it will need to open similar to Blade Runner 2049 (£6,071,625) taking £858,095 in previews to overtake Bond #1. It will receive help from getting the IMAX and PLF screens from No Time To Die and being trailered before Bond.
The big question is what the next film will be all those millions of people who went to the cinema for the first time in almost two years see next, as of course those who went to see Venom 2 this weekend previously saw Black Widow and Shang-Chi and will see Eternals in two weeks and Spider-Man: No Way Home in December.
For months exhibitors have talked up this pent-up demand but No Time To Die can’t be just a one-hit-wonder this audience needs to come back many more times before the end of the year to see other films that aren’t sequels or remakes.
The UKCA conference was on Tuesday and Wednesday after the O2 two years after the last one which was early March 2020 when the elephant in the room was COVID that they didn’t even mention despite lockdown being imminent in the UK were in complete denial. At CineEurope attendees had to show proof of vaccination and masks were mandatory in all indoor areas while all screenings still had one seat gap between; Spain have 10% of COVID daily as in the UK but UKCA has no similar requirements due to believing after the success of No Time To Die they are now invincible.
But this is very short-sighted as with UK cases almost 50k on Monday there are expectations of face masks becoming mandatory again and some COVID restrictions returning as the government can’t delay taking action this time around after the report published last week highlighted their poor handling. As the UKCA approach in March 2020 was waiting on government guidance rather than making a decision themselves they are to blame as much as the UK government probably more so as Hollywood has made films about every possible natural and unnatural disaster all anyone had to watch was Contagion to know exactly what was happened in early March when the UKCA approach was “nothing to see here”.
UKCA Conference had a lot of data about cinemagoers before lockdown and now showing demographic split is back to how it was before lockdown then the success of No Time To Die should breed further success. It’s interesting to look back on weekly box office over the last 20 years with ticket inflation of 75%+ since 2001 weekend box office should be about double it was then but look back on the same weekend in 2003- 2005 it’s only about 40% showing all the “growth” since has been ticket inflation.
Disney surprisingly announced plans to shift their 2022 Marvel slate Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness moved May 6, 2022, Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder July 8, 2022, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever November 11, 2022 (10 days before the start of the Qatar World Cup).
Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels moves on February 17, 2023, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania moves to July 28, 2023. James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the only MCU film not to move its release date to May 5, 2023.
Disney also delayed the untitled Indiana Jones sequel a year to June 30th, 2023 (the same day 34 years earlier Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade opened in the UK).
These new release dates for MCU films were announced the day after DC FanDome 2021 that showed new footage of several DC films for release next year including the new trailer for The Batman and announced future DC films and TV shows.
Interestingly the one film Disney didn’t move was Avatar 2 and at DC FanDome 2021 Warner is still currently keeping Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom opening on December 16th, 2022, so the two films will open against each other same weekend as the World Cup Final.
Biggest Films of 2021
The top 10 biggest films of 2021 are currently
No Time To Die £68.58m; Shang-Chi (£20.96m); Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (£20.4m); Black Widow (£18.83m); Free Guy (£16.78m); F9 (£16.44m); The Suicide Squad (£14.2m); Space Jam 2 (£12.85m); Jungle Cruise (£12.55m); A Quiet Place 2 (£11.54m);
No Time To Die is the only film that is performing as it would in normal circumstances all others opened about a third less than they would but many have had much longer legs than they would normally do; Free Guy 6.79x; Jungle Cruise 5.6x; Space Jam: A New Legacy 9.46x; 14.3x The Croods: A New Age.
These strongholds compare to Tenet only taking 3.27x opening last year which was meant to have very long legs; while Black Widow was 2.68x, F9 2.74x compared to Shang-Chi 2.75x shows again piracy had nothing to do with the fast drop off of Black Widow it was just that the fanbase rushed out to see both over their opening weekends.
The following 10 biggest films from 11-20
The Croods 2 (£9.8m); Cruella £9.45m; The Conjuring 3 £9.36m; PAW Patrol: The Movie £8.41m; Venom 2 £6.16m; Candyman £4.73m; In The Heights £4.28m; The Addams Family 2 £3.92m; The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard £3.84m v; The Forever Purge £3.6m; Spirit Untamed £3.41m;
Major UK Distributor 2021 BO over 139 days between May 17 to October 17th £298m
Universal Pictures 36.7% £109.36m x10 films
Disney 27.6% £79.71m x 7 films
Warner 16.1% £48.1m x10 films
Sony Pictures 9.9% £29.69m x 8 films
Paramount 7% £20.75m x 3 films
Lionsgate 2.5% £7.5m x 3 films
eOne 0.4% £1.2m x1 film
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £19,158,548 up 4.1% from last weekend £18,397,227 and up 2,076% from 2020 (£880,280)
The weekend admissions 2,694,592 up 4.1% 2,587,771 from last week; (123,809 admissions in 2020 this week was (up 2,076%);
Top 3 took £16,170,060 84.4% of the top 10; No Time To Die 43.9% (£8,404,165); Venom Let There Be Carnage 32.2% (£6,167,833); Halloween Kills 8.3% (£1,598,062);
Up 2,076% from 2020 (£880,280); Michael Ball & Alfie Boe – Back Together (£175,778); I Am Greta (£29,687); #1 Tenet £187,275 down 37% 8th week 320 screens
Up 30.3% from 2019 (£14,701,610); Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil (£3,300,000); A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (£1,305,511); Zombieland: Double Tap (£1,242,352); Official Secrets (£537,990); The Shining (Re: 2019) (£18,191); #1 Joker £5,489,716 682 screens 44% drop 3rd week
Up 33.2% from 2018: ((£14,380,280); Halloween (£2,656,097); Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (£2,119,165); Hunter Killer (£368,082); Samson Et Dalila – Met Opera 2018 (£176,889); Fahrenheit 11/9 (£56,814); #1 A Star is Born £2,883,000 2nd week 663 screens 7% drop (20.1% of top 10)
Up 58.4% from 2017: (£12,090,714); The LEGO Ninjago Movie (£3,642,038); The Snowman (£1,377,909); The Ritual (£424,352); Loving Vincent (£274,036); The Party (£234,985); Die Zauberflote – Met Opera 2017 (£213,605); #1 The LEGO Ninjago Movie £3,642,038 1st week 613 screens (30.1% of the top 10)
Up 28.6% from 2016: (£14,897,205); Inferno (£2,970,027); Storks (£2,247,038); Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary Performance (£2,033,031); American Honey (£175,383); #1 The Girl on the Train £3,412,472 2nd week 51% drop 630 screens
Up 9.9% from 2015; (£17,426,172); Hotel Transylvania 2 (£6,317,438); Suffragette (£2,938,446); Pan (£2,738,758); Crimson Peak (£967,168); The Lobster (£229,619); Otello – Met Opera 2015 (£172,773); The Program (£144,181); #1 Hotel Transylvania 2 £6,317,438 1st week 557 screens (36.2% of top 10)
Up 50.4% from 2014: (£12,738,897); Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (£4,785,448); The Judge (£420,720); Northern Soul (£278,829); Black Butler (£1,327); #1 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles £4,785,448 1st week 522 screens (37.5% of top 10)
Up 77.2% from 2013: (£10,812,691); Turbo (£3,892,774); Captain Phillips (£3,483,981); Escape Plan (£961,470); Enough Said (£170,357); #1 Turbo £3,892,774 1st week 528 screens (36% of top 10)
Up 30.6% from 2012 (£14,670,714); Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (£6,030,904); Paranormal Activity 4 (£2,544,701); Frankenweenie (expansion) (£741,683); Beasts of the Southern Wild (£181,801); #1 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted £6,030,904 1st week 532 screens (41.1% of top 10)
Up 90.3% from 2011 (£10,065,543); The Three Musketeers (£1,461,251); Real Steel (£1,337,491); Footloose (£460,271); Dolphin Tale (£429,140); #1 Johnny English Reborn £3,072,542 2nd week 38% drop 521 screens
Up 91.1% from 2010: (£10,027,140); Despicable Me (£3,664,376); The Social Network (£2,486,454); Vampires Suck (£1,089,339); #1 Despicable Me £3,664,376 1st week 522 screens (36.5% of top 10)
Up 83.4% from 2009; (£10,447,511); Couples Retreat (£1,825,142); The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (£905,786); Triangle (£260,626); #1 Up £5,162,325 2nd week 535 screens 19% drop (49.4% of top 10)
Up 161.3% from 2008; (£7,332,004); Burn After Reading (£2,045,565); Eagle Eye (£1,096,777); Igor (expansion) (£981,750); The Rocker (£217,745); #1 Burn After Reading £2,045,565 1st week 396 screens (27.9% of top 10)
Up 149% from 2007: (£7,694,181); Stardust (£2,245,143); Rendition (£583,345); Dark is Rising (£214,058); Nancy Drew (£135,753); The Last Legion (£125,540); Daddy Day Camp (£65,989); Once (£65,256); Razzle Dazzle (£6,185); #1 Ratatouille £3,056,938 2nd week 535 screens 31% drop (39.7% of top 10)
Up 105.9% from 2006; (£9,304,316); Open Season (£1,666,750); History Boys (£794,672); Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (£669,760); Stick It (£131,043); #1 The Departed £1,957,646 2nd week 1sr #1 364 screens 14% drop (21.1% of top 10)
Up 42.2% from 2005 (£13,473,346); Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (£9,374,932); Lord of War (£723,406); Domino (£481,409); #1 Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit £9,374,932 1st week 501 screens (69.6% of top 10)
Up 52.6% from 2004 (£12,551,675); Shark Tale (£7,545,074); White Chicks (£884,955); Inside I’m Dancing (£219,256); Boo, Zino and the Snurks (£131,020); Fat Slags (£58,252); 5 Children & It (£37,132); #1 Shark Tale £7,545,074 1st week 504 screens (60.1% of top 10)
Up 43.2% from 2003 (£13,372,837); Kill Bill Volume One (expansion) (£2,693,742); The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (£2,005,435); Mystic River (£295,135); Bollywood Queen (£27,020); #1 Finding Nemo £5,923,138 3rd week 2nd #1 475 screens (44.3% of top 10)
Up 111.7% from 2002 (£9,046,691); XXX (£3,435,891); Slap Her, She’s French (£210,321); All Or Nothing (£164,291); The Powerpuff Girls (£92,007); #1 XXX £3,435,891 1st week 435 screens (37.9% of top 10)
Up 107.8% from 2001 (£9,219,269); American Pie 2 (£5,508,709); The Pledge (£142,100); Atlantis (£79,695) (platform) #1 American Pie 2 £5,508,709 1st week #1 3rd week 420 screens (59.7% of top 10);
Next weekend in 2019 (£14,176,042); Top three took 57.7% (£8,488,929) of the top 10; Joker 23.5% (£3,464,682); Terminator: Dark Fate 19.5% (£2,864,941); Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil 14.7% (£2,159,306); #1 Joker (£3,464,682) 4th weekend #1
US Box Office
- Halloween Kills – Universal Pictures
Opened $49.4m; received mixed reviews (53% Rotten Tomatoes while Halloween received positive reviews 79%) and B- CinemaScore Halloween received B+)
Took $4.9m from Thursday midnights (similar to A Quiet Place Part 2 $4.8m opening with $47.54m) down 36% from Halloween ($7.7m)
261st biggest opening in the US between How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Wreck-It Ralph; 1,795th biggest film in the US between Shampoo and National Lampoon’s European Vacation; 2,722nd biggest inflation inflated between Frankenstein and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.; 235th biggest Universal Pictures film between Land of the Lost and The Dilemma.
2018’s Halloween opened $76.22m (#106 biggest opening) taking $159.34m in the US and $255.61m worldwide
The film was expected to open with about a third less than the first film with some believing being also available on Peacock in the US would affect its box office, but horrors like Halloween Kills are films people want to watch with an audience rather than alone at home. While Peacock has far fewer subscribers than other streaming services with 54m subscribers compared to Netflix (209m), Disney Plus (116m) and HBO Max (67.5m).
The real reason Halloween Kills opened far less than the first film was it surprisingly received its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last month this wasn’t the right place to launch the film similar to Dear Evan Hanson premiering at the Toronto Film Festival. Both films received far harsher reviews than they might have received had they premiered elsewhere.
Both films might have received media coverage with the red carpet at the two films festivals but the negativity they both were always likely to receive was always likely to damage their box office.
SambaTV reported Halloween KIlls was watched by `1.2m on Peacock as with other films probably many of those who went to the cinema to see it watched it again at home.
Opened with $5.5m from 20 territories
- No Time To Die – Universal Pictures
Dropped 57% in its second weekend taking $23.79m and $99m
Friday dropped 69% from opening weekend taking $7.2m having the lowest second weekend for James Bond since 1999’s The World Is Not Enough.
778th biggest film in the US between Hercules and Olympus Has Fallen; 1,379th biggest film inflation inflated between Young Guns and About Schmidt; 9th biggest film of 2021 between Godzilla vs. Kong and Cruella.
Took 12.3% of its box office taking $3m and $19.3m internationally and $31.6m total worldwide
25% of the audience had their first trip to the cinema since the pandemic started. Someone in Hollywood Reporter suggested “Bond took one for the team,”… “We need more films to take a chance.” This is a crazy suggestion as Warner took the gamble last year with Tenet and WW84 along with several other films year and most lost money.
The industry should have worked together with a relaunch plan all picked one major film to open as part of a relaunch of cinema. This was similar to the Chinese box office taking $1.2bn over their New Year. The problem was there was lots of talking during lockdown but no action as it was all about getting people comfortable to return which exhibitors failed to do for over a year.
Variety reported that No Time To Die needs to take over $900m worldwide to make a profit but that’s no different than any of these other films that need to take two thirds more than their budget. No Time To Die budget was reported $250m+, with marketing $200m+ including the marketing costs from the first postponed release in April 2020 along with interest of about $1m every month it was delayed. F9, Black Widow, Shang-Chi and Venom Let There Be Carnage all have similar high budgets of over $200m with similar marketing costs.
James Bond films normally have long legs but that’s because they haven’t had direct competition opening against them since 1999; Casino Royale took over 4x opening, Skyfall 3.4x and Spectre almost 3x while Spectre dropped -52% and Skyfall -53% in their second weekends.
This was why it always made more sense to move No Time To Die to Thanksgiving when Paramount delayed Top Gun: Maverick to Memorial Day 2022. Instead, Sony moved Ghostbusters: Afterlife to Thanksgiving as they doubled up on their vengeance over MGM in losing Bond rights after previously moving Venom: Let There Be Carnage to the weekend before No Time To Die.
Since Die Another Day in 2002 James Bond films hasn’t had any direct competition opening the week before and opening against it and the following weekend as they are normally family films.
1989’s Licence to Kill down 41.9% #5 taking $5.1m with Lethal Weapon 2 #1 $13.02m, Batman #2 $11.16m, When Harry Met Sally #3 $8.84m, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids #4 $6.43m; took $34.66m in the US, $121.5m internationally, $156.16m worldwide
1995’s Goldeneye down 30.9% second-weekend #2 $18.11m with Toy Story #1 $29.14m, Money Train and Casino opening #4 and #5 with $10.6m and $9.94m; took $106.42m in the US, $245.76m internationally, $352.19m worldwide
1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies down 18.5% second-weekend #2 $20.48m with Titanic #1 $35.45m and Jackie Brown #5 $9.29m; took $125.3m in the US, $207.7m internationally, $333.01m worldwide
1999’s The World Is Not Enough #2 down 34.6% taking $23.23m with Toy Story 2 #1 $57.38m and End of Days #3 $20.52m; took $126.94m in the US, $234.88m internationally $361.83m worldwide
2002’s Die Another Day second-weekend #2 down 34.1% taking $31.01m with Treasure Planet, Eight Crazy Nights and Solaris opening with $12.08m, $9.43m and $6.75m; took $160.94m in the US, $271.02m internationally $431.97m worldwide
2006’s Casino Royale down 24.6% #2 second weekend taking $30.78m with Déjà vu and Deck the Halls opening with $20.57m and $12m; took $167.44m in the US, $449.05m internationally $616.5m worldwide
2008’s Quantum of Solace dropped 60.4% in second-weekend #2 taking $27.7m with Twilight opening #1 $69.63m and Bolt opening #3 $26.22m; took $168.36m in the US, $421.21m internationally $589.58m worldwide
2012’s Skyfall dropped 53.5% second weekend taking $41.1m #2 with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 opening #1 $141.06m; took $304.36m in the US, $804.2m internationally $1.1bn worldwide
2015’s Spectre dropped 52.2% second weekend taking $33.68m #2 The Peanuts Movie #2 $24.01m with Love the Coopers and The 33 opening #3 and #5 with $8.31m and $5.78m; took $200.07m in the US, $680.6m internationally $880.68m worldwide
The 25 James Bond films have taken $2.253bn in the US and $7.56bn worldwide but inflation inflated this is almost $20bn
The five Daniel Craig James Bond films have taken $3.56bn worldwide to date while the last 6 Mission Impossible films have taken $1.15bn in the US and $3.57bn worldwide (Mission Impossible 1 and 2 were released in 1996 and 2000 taking $1bn worldwide but inflation inflated would be close to $2bn).
Since 2006 James Bond and Mission Impossible films have opened within a year of each other; in May Mission Impossible 3 opened in November Casino Royale; in December 2011 Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol opening and Skyfall opened October; in July 2015 Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation opened and in October Spectre opened. Since Spectre was released Mission Impossible: Fallout became the biggest film of the franchise in the US and worldwide.
In January 2011 Paramount were the favourites to buy distribution rights for Bond 23 and 24 (Skyfall and Spectre) and Eon approved Paramount as a distributor, but MGM was demanding a 6% distribution fee for James Bond lower than 8% got from DreamWorks Animation. MGM was also interested in partnering with some of Paramount’s films in development.
Took $54m from 72 territories internationally ($11.34m from IMAX) and $348.3m total and $447.5m worldwide; 267th biggest film worldwide between Tarzan and The Secret Life of Pets 2; 6th biggest 2021 film worldwide between Godzilla vs. Kong and Shang-Chi;
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage – Sony Pictures
Dropped 48% in its third weekend taking $16.5m and $168.7m;
2018’s Venom dropped 48% in its third weekend taking $18.04m and $171.06m
311th biggest film in the US between Wild Hogs and Kong: Skull Island; 675th biggest inflation inflated between Star Trek Beyond and California Suite; 54th biggest comic-book movie between Captain America: The First Avenger and Batman Returns; 29th biggest Sony Pictures film between Quantum of Solace and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation.
Third weekends
Shang-Chi dropped 37.6% taking $21.67m and $176.86m
Black Widow dropped 55% taking $11.61m and $154.82m of $183.63m
After opening similar to both Black Widow ($80.4m) and Shang-Chi ($75.38m), it was always expected that it would hold similar m its second weekend as despite Venom: Let There Be Carnage not being part of the MCU the fanbase is the same so those who saw Black Widow would go to see both Shang-Chi and Venom: Let There Be Carnage and then will also go to see Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Of course, much was made that Venom: Let There Be Carnage was released exclusively in cinemas as Shang-Chi unlike Black Widow but all three opened similarly and will take similar box office.
Venom went on to take $213.51m in the US (the sequel is likely to take about $180m) and $856.1m worldwide.
514th biggest film worldwide between Lethal Weapon 4 and Wedding Crashers; 11th biggest 2021 film worldwide between A Quiet Place: Part II and Cruella; 63rd biggest comic-book movie worldwide between Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Batman Returns; 52nd biggest Sony Pictures film worldwide between Elysium and The Tourist.
Took $62.3m from 44 international territories $115.6m total and $283.7m worldwide; opened in 190 IMAX cinemas this weekend in 34 territories.
- The Last Duel – 20th Century Studios
Opened with $4.75m; received positive reviews (86% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore
The audience breakdown highlighted the problem with The Last Duel which was known for over a year so have to ask the question why Disney kept it dated this weekend especially after Venom 2 and No Time To Die moved to October.
Male – 52%: Female – 48%
13-17 – 2%: 18-24 – 17%: 25-34 – 29%: 35-44 – 24%: 45-54 – 15%: 55+ – 12%
The Last Duel is the ninth film Ridley Scott has directed for 20th Century Fox since Alien in 1979 with him next to direct the Napoleon Bonaparte epic Kitbag next year with Joaquin Phoenix for Apple and rumours that he will follow this with the long-rumoured Gladiator sequel.
Will the blame of the disappointing performance of The Last Duel be put on 20th Century Fox or Disney as while the film might have been developed under its earlier owners the film went into production under Disney in July 2019 four months after acquisition and they choose to date it October 15th and then date The French Dispatch the week after. It’s another nail in the coffin for original films for theatrical release.
Recent Ridley Scott directed films include
2017’s All the Money in the World opened $5.84m taking $25.11m and $56.99m worldwide
2015’s The Martian opened $54.3m taking $228.43m and $630.16m worldwide
2014’s Exodus: Gods and Kings opened $24.11m taking $65.01m and $268.17m worldwide
2013’s The Counsellor opened $7.84m taking $16.97m and $71m worldwide
2010’s Robin Hood opened $36.06m taking $105.26m and $321.66m worldwide
2008’s Body of Lies opened $12.88mm taking $39.39m and $115.9m worldwide
2007’s American Gangster opened $43.56m taking $130.16m and $269.75m worldwide
2005’s Kingdom of Heaven opened $19.63m taking $47.49m and $218.12m worldwide
2000’s Gladiator opened $34.81m taking $187.7m and $465.38m worldwide
Ridley Scott has directed 28 films including House of Gucci since Alien in 1979 taking $1.65bn in the US and $4.2bn worldwide
Other historical dramas include
2017’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword opened $15.37m taking $39.17m and $148.67m worldwide
2004’s King Arthur opened $15.19m taking $51.88m and $203.56m worldwide
2003’s The Last Samurai opened $24.27m taking $111.12m and $454.62m worldwide
1995’s Braveheart opened 49.93m taking $75.6m and $213.21m worldwide
The Last Duel was always going to struggle to find an audience over this weekend so it was no surprise of the opening and also have to question the logic behind opening The French Dispatch in 50 cinemas next weekend rather than far more limited as earlier Wes Anderson films have started successfully with including The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Searchlight surprisingly opened The Eyes of Tammy Faye in 450 screens after receiving mixed reviews opened with $652,358 added 902 screens the following weekend but box office only increased by 3.9% taking $626,798 and then dropped 60.4% and 81.5% in its third and fourth weekends losing 1,200+ screens taking $2,321,533 to date. It will be films like The Last Duel and The French Dispatch that will show if older audiences are really comfortable returning to movie theatres not No Time of Die, Halloween Kills or Venom Let There Be Carnage…
It was interesting to see Venice Film Festival critics gave The Last Duel far harsher reviews but more recent reviews have been far more positive, but this was also the case with Halloween Kills and Dear Evan Hanson as audiences who go to these film festivals are cinephiles that dislike more commercial releases so always a surprise studio opted to premiere these films at film festivals.
Studios can control the audience who see films at media and premiere screenings they hold but with film festivals in the invite list is often in the hands of film festival organisers. We saw in the Sony hacking emails the studio was wary of showing films at the London Film Festival as the studio isn’t in control of the guest list.
Open with $4.2m from 37 territories
- The Addams Family 2 – MGM
Dropped 30% in its third weekend taking $7.06m and $42.14m
190th biggest animated film in the US between Planet 51 and The Angry Birds Movie 2; 2,093rd biggest film in the US between White Nights and Drag Me To Hell;
2019’s The Addams Family dropped 26.4% in its third weekend taking $12m and $73.1m of $100.72m (took $203.78m worldwide). 3,083rd biggest inflation inflated between The Fog and He Got Game; 23tf biggest 2021 film between Mortal Kombat and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway.
The sequel is holding surprisingly well despite receiving worse reviews than the original film 23% Vs 45% and the sequel is also available on VOD and children’s films have struggled to find an audience in the US (unlike the UK). This was why MGM choose to release The Addams Family 2 in cinemas and on VOD and Hotel Transylvania: Transformania due to open against it was sold to Amazon (releasing it in January) despite the popularity of the earlier three films in cinemas.
Took $9.7m from 31 international territories and $16.3m total.
International BO
- Dune – Warner Bros
Took $8.5m from 5,240 screens in 36 territories and $129.3m ahead of further expansion this weekend in 40 territories including the US, UK and China.
It has taken $11m of its total box office from IMAX 9% of the total box office.
Dune was always expected to perform far stronger internationally than in the US and exhibitors already have the excuse that the film is available on HBO Max same day in the US, but as shown with Halloween Kills (available on Peacock) if it’s a film people want to see in the cinema they will see it In the cinema no matter if its available to watch at home.
In China, The Battle At Lake Changjin took $72m in its third weekend and $763m showing again how far from the normal Wester box office despite the performances of Venom Let There Be Carnage, No Time To Die and Halloween Kills.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has been out in the same tentpole category as comic-book movies with huge expectations but the problem with Denis Villeneuve’s films is they are critical and cinephile darlings Arrival, Blade Runner and Dune but are too pretentious for mainstream audiences. Dune opened strongly in selective territories a month ago to give it a head start on No Time To Die but was held back in the UK as the US till now.
In the UK, it’s likely to perform similar to 2017’s Blade Runner 2049 opening with £6,071,625 (£858,095 previews) taking £18,820,009 about 12% of its BO will come from IMAX with more from PLF.
In 2017 Blade Runner 2049 had the market to itself opening three weeks after Kingsman: The Golden Circle taking £2,112,966 with no other film taking over £1m. It will be a different story for Dune opening the weekend before half-term and with two strong holdovers in No Time To Die and Venom Let There Be Carnage.
With No Time To Die down 44.8% £8,404,165 taking £68,580,003 similar to 2015’s Spectre down 40.4% £7,833,891 and £77,579,879 81.5% of £95,183,468 its likely also to hold similar in its fourth weekend taking £4m+.
James Bond Fourth Weekends
Die Another Day £2,220,351 down 35%; Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets #2 £1,802,435 5th weekend
Casino Royale down to #3 taking £2,741,362; Happy Feet opened #1 £3,689,166; #2 The Holiday £2,826,520
Quantum of Solace £2,884,789 dropped 44%; #2 Body of Lies opened £991,979
Skyfall down to #2 taking £5,566,537; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 opened #1 £15,850,825
Spectre down to #2 in its 4th weekend taking £3,821,156 (607 screens); #1 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 £11,255,566
While Venom Let There Be Carnage if it drops similar to the first film (dropped 62.6% with previews 46.3% without) taking £3m so Venom 2 could take £3.5m.
While Dune, No Time To Die and Venom Let There Be Carnage will be battling it off for adults there is a similar three-way battle for children’s films for half term with The Boss Baby 2 joining Ron’s Gone Wrong and The Addams Family 2 with all three likely to take upwards of £1m with strong word of mouth helping Ron’s Gone Wrong soft opening.
As with Croods: A New Age The Boss Baby opens in UK cinemas several months after its US release but despite that, while The Croods: A New Age took far less than the original it has had very long legs taking almost £10m over 12 weeks despite opening with only £696,563 it has taken an incredible 13.8x opening; 2013’s The Croods opened £5,372,290 (including £1,850,943 previews) taking £26,328,511 4.9x opening. 2017’s The Boss Baby opened £8,025,886 (including £5,227,582 previews) taking £28,682,992 3.57x opening. As with The Croods 2, The Boss Baby 2 won’t take anywhere near the box office of the first film but it will have a strong couple of weeks and half-term 10 days.
The other two openers will struggle to find an audience, Dear Evan Hanson, after all the negativity it unjustifiably received ahead of its US opening and poor reviews. Musicals are far more popular in the UK than in the US even In The Height which opened a week after its US release had a decent opening held well as musicals are extremely popular in the UK including Mamma Mia!, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Greatest Showman, Les Miserables, La La Land, Moulin Rouge, Chicago, Evita and Hairspray.
2019’s Cats opened £3,207,471 taking £11,907,188 and $73.83m
2021’s In the Heights opened £1,073,687 taking £4,286,073 and $43.87m worldwide
2017’s The Greatest Showman opened £4,754,049 taking £49,523,728 and $436.75m worldwide
2016’s La Land opened £6,596,256 taking £29,816,588 and $447.4m worldwide
The industry has been gunning for the failure of Dear Evan Hanson for the last few weeks but Universal have to take some responsibility for this as it was a predictable mistake to launch it at TIFF. As the film festival demographic was wrong for the film (as was also for Halloween Kills) and this generated a chain reaction of negativity and hostility from the demographic it was never aimed at. As those who did liked it, giving it A- CinemaScore.
Critics will often give musicals poor reviews as they don’t connect with them as audiences do and need to be watched with an audience rather than just a bunch of snobbish film critics.
It was a strange decision to open Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch the same weekend as Dune as both directors are critics and cinephile darlings and The French Dispatch will struggle to get much attention with critical attention on Dune. As with The Last Duel last weekend there was no reason for The French Dispatch to open this weekend apart from that many of the premiere of his film at the London Film Festival and want to use the media attention they receive to help with its minimal cinema release.
Wes Anderson’s biggest opening in the UK is 2018’s Isle of Dogs £1,641,509 (£194,905 from previews) taking £6,009,438
2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel opened £1,532,239 (dropped only 20% in its second weekend taking £1,309,103 and £4,115,618) taking £10,978,014
The Isle of Dogs opened wide in 472 screens compared with The Grand Budapest Hotel opening in 284 screens adding over 90 screens in its second weekend which saw it drop only 20%.
2009’s Fantastic Mr Fox opened in 481 screens £1,517,312 after receiving its premiere at the London Film Festival (increased 2% in its second weekend taking £1,545,325 (due to half-term) £5,589,484) taking £8,707,283.
The Moonrise Kingdom opened in May 2012 with £251,760 taking £1,378,748
The Darjeeling Limited opened in November 2007 with £435,198 taking £1,323,698
Last weekend other new releases Halloween Kills will likely drop 50%+ and The Last Duel 60%+ and be out of the top 10 in only a week. Disney announced that both Free Guy and The Last Duel would have 45-day theatrical windows but the performance of the two films shows that the window needs to be flexible as Free Guy held very strongly after opening so its window should have been extended but The Last Duel will be out of cinemas within 14 days so should be available on VOD after 17 days.
Opening in two weeks
- Eternals – Disney
26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe starring ensemble cast Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie and directed by Chloé Zhao.
The Eternals are an immortal alien race, appear from hiding after thousands of years to protect Earth from the Deviants, but why didn’t they do that when the Earth was in trouble in the earlier 25 MCU films. In the trailer, The Eternals say someone stopped them from being involved but they don’t say who, as surely they must have a WhatsApp to stay connected with each other so must know what the others are up to and offer to help?
Predictable headlines were saying Eternals first day was bigger than Black Widow and Shang-Chi and were AMC’s biggest first day of advance ticket sales this year as the fans that rushed out to buy tickets for both and also Venom Let There Be Carnage was always going to rush out to buy tickets for Eternals as they will also for Spider-Man: No Way Home in December.
While the opening box office of these films was always going to be bigger than the earlier one with Spider-Man: No Way Home opening with $120m+. Despite this, the industry has expressed surprise by this but a pandemic won’t stop people watching comic-book movies and UK audiences with the latest James Bond film these are indestructible.
Eternals took $2.6m in its first 24 hours 86% more than Shang-Chi and 30% more Black Widow ($2m). While the US will regularly release advance ticket sales for films the UK rarely releases similar data, needs to be similar transparency with box office data but for the UK compared to the UK which is limited to weekend data and rarely makes daily data available.
Had press screenings on October 18same day as its world premiere with embargo ending October 24th; social media reaction predictably called it the best MCU ever as they always do and always have to take these immediate reactions with a pinch of salt as they are always over the top with praise why the embargo ends immediately after some films are screened but not for others.
It will likely open similar to Shang-Chi £5,759,504
- The Card Counter – Universal Pictures
Crime drama starring Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan, Willem Dafoe and written and directed by Paul Schrader; had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival receiving positive reviews (86% Rotten Tomatoes).
The film opened on limited wide release in the US in September with $1,039,580 taking $3,440,123. Will have a limited release in the UK.
- Spencer – STX
Biographical about Prince Diana starring Kristen Stewart, Timothy Spall, Jack Farthing, Sean Harris and Sally Hawkins and directed by Pablo Larraín.
Had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival receiving critical acclaim (92% Rotten Tomatoes) praising Kristen Stewart’s performance with many suggesting she will receive her first Oscar nomination. The film received its UK premiere at the London Film Festival; STX bought UK rights in January.
When actors star in massive film series it’s often hard for them to break away from the characters they played Kristen Stewart performance in Spencer and fans reaction with The Batman trailers starring Robert Pattinson almost a decade after Twilight ended.
In 2013 another biopic called Diana was released by eOne receiving poor reviews opened #5 in September with £623,051 from 523 screens taking £1,847,427 lasting only two weeks in the top 10.
Opening as alternative programming for Eternals, early November has been used often over recent years to open a British film 2019 The Good Liar opened £960,536; 2018 Widow opened £2,409,112; 2017 Murder on the Orient Express £4,985,600; 2015 The Lady in the Van £2,256,121; 2014 The Imitation Game £2,742,725; 2013 Philomena £1,509,726; many of these films also received UK premiere at the London Film Festival.
Distributors will normally release films that premiere at the London Film Festival at the end of October/early November or else open them in January.