- Minions: The Rise of Gru – £10,424,758 – NE
Took £2.7m Friday and £4.2m Saturday (up 55%) and £3.52m on Sunday
7.05% from 3D (£729,432 screens) from 142 screens (compared to 28% of Minions BO coming from 3D in 2015
Opened in 637 cinemas having the widest opening for Universal Pictures animated film but as with all these tentpole releases was playing on closer to 3,000 screens playing on up to 6 screens in many multiplexes.
88th biggest opening Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and The Hangover Part II (close to Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Alice In Wonderland, The Jungle Book and Incredibles 2) and 139th biggest inflation-inflated opening between Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug and Bridget Jones’s Diary (close to The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Crocodile Dundee, Batman Forever and Austin Powers in Goldmember).
11th biggest animation opening between Sing and Ice Age: Continental Drift (6th biggest opening without previews between Despicable Me 3 and Finding Dory) close to Minions, Despicable Me 3, Ice Age II and Incredibles) and the 21st biggest inflation-inflated animation opening between Sing and The Secret Life of Pets (close to Finding Nemo, Shrek Forever After, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Pocahontas).
Opened with more than Despicable Me (£6,760,382); The Secret Life of Pets (£844,723); Sing (£3,557,234); The Secret Life of Pets 2 (£6,934,168) but less than Despicable Me 2 (£4,397,667); Minions (£1,134,185); Despicable Me 3 (£730,140); Sing 2 (£62,617);
12th biggest Universal Pictures UK opening between Sing and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (close to Fast & Furious 7, Jurassic World Dominion, Ted and Les Miserables) and 13th biggest inflation inflated between Sing and Fast & Furious 6.
It had a world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 13 receiving positive reviews with Variety calling it a “delightfully silly sequel” so likely to play strongly throughout summer.
The 11 Illumination Entertainment films have taken almost £325m since the first Despicable Me opened in 2010 upcoming Mario opening in April 2023, Migration in June 2023 and Despicable Me 4 July 2024 and then surely Minions 3 in July 2025,
2015’s Minions opened £11,556,856 (3D took £3,194,166) taking £47,091,449
2010’s Despicable Me opened £3,664,376 taking £19,750,505
2013’s Despicable Me 2 opened £14,822,427 (£4,868,323 previews 33%) taking £46,815,412
2017’s Despicable Me opened £11,154,904 taking £47,562,575
Minions: The Rise of Gru is the last film to open delayed due to COVID as with many films that were delayed the first trailer for the film was released in February 2020 and was trailered before Sonic The Hedgehog and then Sonic The Hedgehog 2 when cinemas reopened. It shows the studios were right to delay the films until audiences had returned to cinemas as exhibitors predictably rushed to reopen cinemas for the first time after the first lockdown on July 4th. As it was for Christopher Nolan to force Warner Bros to open Tenet in summer 2020 despite all other films being delayed as he wanted to be seen to be supporting cinemas but in doing so they both caused predictable long-term damage until summer 2022.
In the days leading up to the opening of Minions: The Rise of Gru the Minions Cult went viral on TikTok, the hashtag #MinionsCult had been viewed over 6.1m times by Thursday on TikTok and by Monday lunchtime had over 311.7m views (366m views on Tuesday).
This saw people change their TikTok profile to a Minion and saw many fans dressed in suits going to the cinema. While seen as a bit of fun for many some of the Minions Cult took it too far and ruined the cinema experience for other cinemagoers which saw some cinemas ban children dressed in suits from going to the cinema. This of course was also met with negativity by some parents who found out their children were refused entry.
Universal Pictures reacted quickly to this TikTok craze with a Tweet on Friday “to everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you and we love you. 🫶” but exhibitors reacted slowly to it.
With films like Minions playing on multiple screens in most cinemas there should be one screen that’s Minion Cult friendly and then others that aren’t, this is similar to having an adult-only PG+ screen and dare I say it a social media-friendly screen. If films are going to play on multiple screens then they should play to different audiences, in some other countries they have children-friendly screens similar to what MediCinema do for their screenings in the UK.
2015’s Minions dropped 46.03% taking £6,238,498 and £20,973,912 while 2013’s Despicable Me 2 dropped 49% taking £3,996,837 and £22,914,407 and 2017’s Despicable Me 3 dropped 52.7% taking £5,275,120 and £19,578,209, so would expect Minions: The Rise of Gru to have a similar drop and not be affected by the opening of Thor: Love and Thunder. But even though the films don’t share an audience when a film the size of Thor: Love and Thunder all other films are affected.
But Minions: The Rise of Gru should play out the summer despite being likely released on VOD about August 1st will be the same time Lightyear will likely be released on Disney+.
- 2. Elvis – £2,963,292 – £10,197,943
Down 26.5% in its second weekend; down 36% Friday (£771k from £1.25m opening weekend)
Took £7.2m in opening week (8th biggest in 2022 between Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Downtown Abbey 2) taking 55.8% Fri-Sun and 45.2% Mon- Thurs
233rd biggest second weekend between Cinderella and Night at the Museum (close to A Star Is Born (£119,797 less), War Horse (£119,404 less) and £452,269 more than Slumdog Millionaire and £483,952+ Little Women) and 378th biggest inflation inflated between Clear And Present Danger and Wall·E (close to Marley & Me, Billy Elliot, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and The Devil Wears Prada 2).
14th biggest 2022 film between Minions: The Rise of Gru and Death on the Nile and 640th biggest film in the UK between Deep Impact and Die Hard with a Vengeance (close to Sweeney Todd, Matilda, Miss Congeniality and House of Gucci) and 945th biggest inflation inflated between Get Out and Limitless (close to Working Girl, Into the Woods, The Time Traveller’s Wife and The Usual Suspects).
39th biggest Warner Bros second weekend between Justice League and Batman Begins (close to Wonder Woman, Dune, Fantastic Beasts 3 and Mad Max: Fury Road) and 64th biggest inflation inflated between Justice League and Beetlejuice (close to Sex and the City 2, The Hangover, A.I. and Sherlock Holmes).
Elvis is director Baz Luhrmann’s first #1 film in the UK since Moulin Rouge in Sept/Oct 2001 as with Christopher Nolan films his films perform better in crowded marketplace Romeo + Juliet opened the week after Star Wars Special Edition in March 1997 likewise The Great Gatsby opened second in 2013 against Fast & Furious 6. This is similar to Christopher Nolan’s films all except for Tenet opened in a crowded marketplace, but then Tenet opens on its own exhibitors believed his delusions of grandeur and results were predictable.
Some films work better in a crowded marketplace as they work off each other unlike when a comic-book movie opens and it cannibalizes the marketplace. This is of course not helped by the number of screens they open in so it will be interesting to see how Elvis, Jurassic World Dominion and Top Gun: Maverick hold against Minions: The Rise of Gru as normally MCU film doesn’t open in such a crowded marketplace.
The big question for Elvis was who the target audience for the film as fans who grew up with his music would be in their late 50s But being directed by Baz Luhrmann it was surely targetting a younger audience and as seen in the crowds watching Paul McCartney at Glastonbury on Saturday it was young and old as great music plays to all audiences, while have been many remixes of Elvis songs over the years. It was interesting that there were reports in UK cinemas it was playing younger than expected.
The 2hr 39 min running time for Elvis will limit the number of shows but exhibitors will surely be pleased it didn’t have the original 4-hour running time, that said as with all major releases it will open on multiple screens in multiplexes.
Despite being a biopic about an American music legend Elvis is likely to perform stronger internationally than in the US as in all other Baz Luhrmann films. It was surprising Warner Bros dated the film for late June as while historically it was a good time to launch a drama in the summer they would normally open late July/Aug as Where the Crawdads Sing opens away from the crowded tentpoles. While internationally these dramas would 20+ years ago back to open In September as Moulin Rouge was in 2001 very successfully.
Elvis is Baz Luhrmann’s 6th film and its 30 years since he made his directorial debut with Strictly Ballroom, he followed that up with three films at 20th Century Fox 1996’s Romeo & Juliet, 2001’s Moulin Rouge and 2008’s Australia and Elvis is his second film for Warner Bros after 2013’s The Great Gatsby.
All of his films are visually stunning was blown away when I first saw Romeo & Juliet and Moulin Rouge both many months before opening in the UK and before seeing any trailers. The Great Gatsby is an enjoyable romp despite not being as good as would have hoped, Strictly Ballroom is bursting with energy and charm Australia is his only dud but again it’s a visually stunning epic but far too long.
Second weekends
2001’s Moulin Rouge dropped 23% (15% not including previews) £1,859,732 (£3,378,064 inflation inflated) from 314 screens 31.2% of £18,166,288 (£32,997,702 inflation inflated); #2 The Fast and the Furious £1,763,020; Moulin Rouge was #1 for two weeks and then returned #1 in 5th w/e
While The Great Gatsby dropped 52% (42% not including previews) £1,972,425 #4 536 screens £8,424,006 54.5% of £15.5m; was similarly crowded weekend with #1 The Hangover Part III £5,964,619 NE; #2 Fast & Furious 6 £3,539,474 2nd w/e; #3 Epic £3,190,574; #5 Star Trek: Into Darkness £1,948,810
Despite the arrival of Minions: The Rise of Gru it still played on x screens at the second weekend. It will be interesting to see how many screens the holdovers play in against Thor; Love and Thunder as like all other MCU it will take up to 6 screens in man multiplexes.
The 6 weeks since Top Gun: Maverick opened have been very healthy for cinema as normally when a comic-book movie opens like Doctor Strange on May 6th they take upwards of 85% of weekend BO cannibalizing I for several weeks after, while Top Gun Maverick took 82% in the opening weekend it’s success led into the strong opening of Jurassic World Dominion and then Elvis as with non-comic-book movies success leads to much wide success. That said it’s still concentrated on a small group of films as despite positive reviews Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is the latest British comedy to struggle to find its audience.
While the next month is very predictable with Minions: The Rise of Gru and then Thor: Love and Thunder. The 11 weeks between August 5th and October 21st is far less predictable, there’s a lot of buzz for Bullet Train opening on August 3rd but then no buzz for the latest Stephen King adaptation Salem’s Lot with no trailer released despite the September release date. While the biggest two September releases could be two re-releases Spider-Man No Way Home and Avatar, it feels a very long time ago since the first Avatar film was released.
Down 21.1% in its sixth weekend; down 14% on Friday (£771k) from last Friday (£850k).
4th biggest sixth weekend (11th to take £2m+) between Paddington (£2,834,003) and Toy Story 4 (£2,525,047); #1 Avatar (£5,155,844) #2 #2 Titanic (£3,403,199); close to The Lord of the Rings (£2,416,452), Spider-Man: No Way Home £2,335,488, Skyfall £2,275,469, Mamma Mia! £2,208,482, The Greatest Showman £2,201,523 and Frozen 2 £2,092,775.
16th biggest film in the UK (23rd film to take over £60m since Titanic in 1998) between Mamma Mia! and Toy Story 4 (close to Beauty and the Beast, Avengers: Infinity War, Star Wars: Rogue One and Jurassic World and 50th biggest inflation inflated between Live and Let Die and Monsters, Inc. (close to Moonraker, Independence Day, Die Another Day and Finding Nemo).
Took £5.6m in its 5th week down 13.8% from 4th week (£6.49m) taking 60.2% (£3.37m) Fri-Sun down 20.5% (£4.24m) and 39.8% (£2.23m) Mon-Thurs down 0.9% (£2.25m) took £63.5m in 36 days
Biggest Paramount Pictures film in the UK ahead of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Shrek The Third and 4th biggest Paramount Pictures film between Shrek Forever After and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)
After 5 weeks Top Gun Maverick has taken similar BO as The Lion King (£69,064,201); Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 2 (£68,946,098); Avenger Infinity War (£68,824,457); Beauty and the Beast (£68,772,576); Toy Story 3 (£67,593,215) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (£64,341,177).
Has much in common with The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast while having the nostalgia of Toy Story 3 and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as while being a sequel is very much a remake of the original film with added nostalgia and more advanced aeroplane sequences while The Lion King was also a remake of the original film but with photorealistic computer animation with all the nostalgia from the beloved original film.
Top Gun Maverick’s success is a testament to Paramount Pictures holding out until they knew audiences had returned to cinemas waiting to see how films like No Time To Die and Spider-Man No Way Home performed along with how legacy sequel Ghostbuster Afterlife performed. The timing was key for Top Gun Maverick was similar to No Time To Die and Spider-Man No Way Home it was the perfect film at the perfect time with the audience primed.
Tom Cruise travelled to San Diego, Mexico City, Japan, Cannes, London and Seoul to promote the film, but years ago he was similarly everywhere ahead of the opening of Edge of Tomorrow in May 2014 having three premieres in one day (London 7 am, Paris 2 pm and New York 10 pm) and the film received rave reviews (91% Rotten Tomatoes compared to 97% Top Gun Maverick. But the problem was the damage was done many months earlier dating the film against Maleficent bringing it forward a week internationally due to the World Cup which also meant opened weekend after X-Men Days of Future Past. In the US opened a week later opening third behind The Fault in Our Stars and Maleficent, While Edge of Tomorrow held strongly due to strong word of mouth over the following weeks the damage was done.
Had Top Gun Maverick kept its original UK release date of July 17th, three weeks after the US things could have been very different as it would have opened against Tenet which is a strange twist of fate as Christopher Nolan believed he would be the saviour of cinema?
After being the biggest studio in the UK in May Paramount dropped to #2 behind Universal in June, after the success of Top Gun Maverick along with Scream, Jackass Forever, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and The Lost City it is the first time since 2011 Paramount Pictures has taken over £100m+ in a year (in 2011 they took £160m and were the UK #1. This year they will likely have to settle for third behind Disney and Universal as only have two small releases for the rest of the year Tadeo Jones 3 and Smile.
After becoming Paramount Pictures’ biggest film they would surely want a Top Gun 3 and of course not wait another 36 years for it to happen when Tom Cruise will be 96. Tom Cruise stars in Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Parts 1 and 2 due for release in 2023 and 2024 and once he finishes filming them he is then due to make the first film shot in space with Doug Liman and then maybe Edge of Tomorrow 2?
Down 46.6 % in its fourth weekend
132nd biggest film in the UK (£134th film to take £30m+) between War of the Worlds and The Da Vinci Code (close to Gladiator, Thor: Ragnarok, Man of Steel and King Kong) and 269th biggest inflation inflated between Stuart Little and Superman III (close to Armageddon, Never Say Never Again, Hook, Star Wars Special Edition and Godzilla (1998)
5th biggest film of 2022 between Sing 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 2; 15th biggest Universal Pictures film between Sing 2 and Ted (close to Fifty Shades of Grey, Fast & Furious 7, Furious 8 and Sing) and 19th biggest inflation inflated between Hot Fuzz and Furious 8.
In 2018 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom returned to #1 in the 4th weekend taking £2,001,876 down 38% and £34,498,111 83% of £41,573,492; Ocean’s 8 #2 £1,283,488 down 70% with Sicario 2: Soldado #3 £698,466 and Tag #4 £475,373
Dropped #2 in the 5th weekend taking £1,318,104 from 612 screens down 34% with The First Purge #1 £1,778,157
In 201 Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom opened 2 weeks early in the UK to open ahead of the World Cup which meant it had little competition until the 6th weekend with Incredibles 2 and Skyscraper. Jurassic World Dominion is holding similar to Fallen Kingdom and will likely take about £36m+
In 2015 Jurassic World dropped 55% in its 4th weekend taking £2,610,612 #3 behind Minions #1 Minions £6,238,498 (down 46%) and Terminator: Genisys #2 £3,793,617 and #4 Magic Mike XXL £1,575,092
In its 5th weekend held #3 £1,853,867 down 29% from 546 screens taking £57,148,254 90% of £63,674,773 with #1 Minions £4,154,359 3rd w/e and #2 Ted 2 £3,867,723 NE
The first two Jurassic Park films had their biggest openings in 1993 and 1997 and Jurassic Park films have a much bigger appeal and wider audience than comic-book movies as they play to all generations those children who saw the original with their parents in 1993 and now their children.
Jurassic Park took 9.82x opening compared with 3.29x for Jurassic World; 2.9x for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom; 4.53x for The Lost World: Jurassic Park and 3.84x for Jurassic Park 3
The 6 Jurassic Park films have taken over £230m and almost £335m inflation inflated
29 years ago, the first Jurassic Park film opened 6 weeks after the US when distributors dated films to give them the best date for their country rather than now with most opening days and dates with the US, so the release date isn’t always the optimal date for the film. Jurassic Park opened on July 16th at the start of the summer holidays and played in cinemas for almost a year taking £47,790,337 and £112m inflation inflated. 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park took £25.79m (£48.62m inflation inflated) and 2001’s Jurassic Park 3 took £18.1m (£33.54m inflation inflated)
Jurassic World Dominion will likely be released on PVOD at the end of the month.
- 5. Lightyear £864,035 –£8,515,725
Down 62.3% in its third weekend due to the arrival of Minions: The Rise of Gru and the lack of interest in the Toy Story prequel.
Has overtaken the box office of Onward (£7,068,168) the lowest-grossing Pixar film in the UK but it’s unlikely to get close to either The Good Dinosaur (£11,069,063) or Cars 3 (£13,812,017).
Lightyear is holding similar to 2017’s Cars 3 taking £1,013,547 down 38% #7 from 606 screens and £7,403,511; weekend Captain Underpants opened #2 £2,495,744 with Despicable Me 3 #3 £2,250,597 in 5th w/e while 2015’s The Good Dinosaur #2 £1,273,294 from 545 screens and £6,748,842 held better as the marketplace was quiet the w/e before Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened.
With Minions: The Rise of Gru opening three weeks after Lightyear opened while both might be prequels there was only ever going to be one winner. It was surprising Disney kept Lightyear dated June 17th after Universal delayed the sequel (in March 2021) which meant Lightyear was sandwiched between Jurassic World Dominion and Minions 2 similar to Inside Out was in the US in 2015 with Jurassic World and Minions, while in the UK Inside Out opened three weeks after and was targetting girls and was the start of the summer holidays so there was room in the marketplace for both.
Since then Disney has opted to open their summer Pixar film day and date with the US which has meant they open in term time and closer to the latest Illumination film which has seen Universal open some of them over half-term.
Last week Tim Allen said he was in early discussions but he felt that Lightyear had nothing to do with his Buzz Lightyear (despite being the same character) saying “There’s no Toy Story’s Buzz without Woody” and Tom Hanks was recently asked and he didn’t understand Tom Allen’s absence from the film.
Now Disney is so focused on streaming Lightyear had to open day and date as it would be released on Disney+ globally the same day, but as films like Onward, Trolls World Tour and Encanto have shown audiences will still see these films in cinemas despite being on streaming as Encanto took £2m+ after being released on Disney+, was still playing in 451 screens in its 10th weekend £98,074 #10 (6 weeks after being released on Disney+).
Encanto was released 30 days after cinema release on Disney+ but Lightyear will likely have a 45-day window and be released on August 1st.
Lightyear will be limited to morning and afternoon screenings from Friday
After Lightyear had a lower-than-expected opening much has been written to explain why it struggled to find its audiences as Pixar films are hugely popular as is the Toy Story franchise with some saying the film was too woke as it had a token gay kiss. But the reasons were far simpler poor dating (a week after Jurassic World Dominion as soon as Universal delayed JW3 Disney should have moved Lightyear) and similar to Solo was an unwanted unnecessary prequel can’t have Buzz Lightyear not voiced by Tim Allen as you can’t have Han Solo that’s not Harrison Ford.
But long before that in December 2020 at Disney’s Investor’s Day Pete Docter’s comments highlighted the problem with the film after saying ‘At first glance, you might think, ‘this is a Toy Story film.’ Well, not so fast!’ See, back when we created the first Toy Story, we designed Buzz Lightyear with the idea that he was a toy based on some cool character from an epic blockbuster film. Well, all these years later we decided it’s time to make that film.’
The problem was Disney didn’t know who the target audience for the film was, was fans of Toy Story? but then adding the robot cat Sox felt it was targeting a much younger audience who wouldn’t be interested in the nostalgic elements.
The problem Disney have now is expectations are always so high with their films and when a film doesn’t match those high expectations they are seen as a disappointment, but if anon Disney film were to perform similarly it would be seen as a success.
The 23 Pixar films have taken over £700m since 1996 and over £935m inflation inflated (Soul, Luca and Turning Red were all originally due for cinema release but moved to Disney+, Elemental is their next due for release in June 2023 with two more untitled films set for release in 2024. Normally Pixar announces the title for their next film a few months before the release of their next, so the 2023 film will be revealed in May 2023.
Lightyear is the 26th Pixar film and the first Pixar film to be given a theatrical release since 2020’s Onward which had a limited cinema release opening in March two weeks before the first lockdown, but still performed well when it returned to cinemas in July despite being released on Disney+.
After releasing Toy Story 4 in 2019 Pixar said it would be their last sequel for a while as over the previous decade, Pixar made 7 films all original and Pixar were seen as the most creative studio in Hollywood. Pixar was acquired by Disney in 2006, at the time Ratatouille, Wall-e and Up were in various stages of production so Toy Story 3 was probably the first wholly made by Disney.
Disney’s next animation film is Strange World opening in November it will be the first Disney animated film to feature an openly gay romance so will be banned in many Middle Eastern countries as Lightyear. As with Encanto it will likely have a 30-day theatrical window and be released on Disney+ on Christmas Day.
Other Cinema News
June 2022 BO was £95.7m #1 Top Gun Maverick taking 39% (£37.17m); #2 Jurassic World Dominion taking 30% (£28.6m) #3 Lightyear 8% (£7.6m) #4 Elvis 7.5% (£7.2m) #5 Doctor Strange 2 2.5% (£2.4m) #6 Black Phone 2.1% (£2m) #7 Everything Everywhere All At Once 1.4% (£1.4m #8 Downton Abbey 2 1% (£1m)
Despite the huge success of Top Gun Maverick and the strong performance o Sonic the Hedgehog 2, The Lost City and Scream Universal Pictures are #1 studio in the UK with 24%
2022 UK BO January-June was £492.8m I industry expects BO for the year will be about £1.05bn similar to 2009; 2021 was £597m and 2020 £323m. With BO returning to pre-COVID levels in 2023 which was expected when cinemas shut after the first lockdown.
UK Distributor share estimates
Universal £130m 24%; Paramount £118m 22%; Warner £79m 16%; Disney £58m 12%; Sony £52m 10.5%;
Future major releases
Disney – Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther 2, Strange World and Avatar will add £150m+ (£200m+)
Sony – Lyle Lyle Crocodile, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Bullet Train and Matilda will add £70m+ (£130m+)
Universal – Nope, Ticket To Paradise and Halloween Ends will add £50m+ (180m+)
Warner – DC Super-Pets, Don’t Worry Darling, Shazam 2, Salem’s Lot and Black Adam will add £70m+ (£160m+)
May BO took about £93m with top 10 films taking 96% with Doctor Strange 2 taking £38.6m and Top Gun Maverick £21.3m 64% with 11.3m admissions this would see an average £8.23
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £19,545,955 up 30.5% from last weekend’s £14,973,316
80th biggest top 10 of the last 20 years between 05 October 2018 #1 Venom £8,031,34 1,112,374 (41.08% of top 10) and 27 May 2022 #1 £15,931,497 82.6% of top 10) and 164th biggest inflation inflated between 01 January 2016 #1 £10,304,562 (53.48% of top 10) and 03 August 2001 £3,707,358 (£6,734,138 inflation inflated) (34.47% of top 10).
The weekend admissions were 2,599,196 up 30.5% from last week 1,991,132
Top 3 took £16,049,130 82.1% of the top 10; Minion: The Rise of Gru 53.3% (£10,424,758); Elvis 15.1% (£2,963,292); Top Gun: Maverick 13.6% (£2,661,080);
Up 226.7% from 2021 (£5,982,414); Freaky (£344,918); Another Round (£205,266); Trainspotting (Re: 2021) (£10,212); French Exit (£14,808); #1 Fast & Furious 9 £2,681,393 2nd week 56% drop 709 screens (44.82% of top 10)
Up 14,885% from 2020 (£130,433) No new releases was first weekend cinemas reopened after first lockdown ended #1 Onward £21,626 3rd week #1 split from 2 weeks in March 47 screens (16.58% of top 10)
Up 44.2% from 2019 (£13,549,874); Yesterday (£2,212,380); #1 Toy Story 4 2nd week £8,284,437 691 screens (61.14% of top 10)
Up 201.6% from 2018: (£6,480,095); Sicario 2: Soldado (£698,466); Tag (£475,373); Adrift (£405,240); Patrick (£299,862); The Bookshop (£65,558); Leave No Trace (£50,445); Zoo (£12,516); #1 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom £2,001,876 3rd week 4th week on release 633 screens 38% drop (30.9% of top 10)
Down 0.4% from 2017: (£19,630,337); Despicable Me 3 (£11,154,904); Baby Driver (£3,605,705); All Eyez on Me (£912,662); The House (£487,542); Alone in Berlin (£108,047); #1 Despicable Me 3 £11,154,904 1st week 608 screens (56.8% of top 10)
Up 27.2% 2016: (£15,368,987); Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (£4,042,959); Central Intelligence (£3,050,261); Notes on Blindness (£20,049); #1 The Secret Life Of Pets £4,739,295 2nd week 601 screens 51% drop (30.8% of the top 10)
Up 25.1% 2015; (£15,633,889); Terminator: Genisys (£3,793,617); Magic Mike XXL (£1,575,092); Amy (£523,192); Guillaume Tell – Royal Opera, London 2015 (£114,673); #1 Minions £6,238,498 2nd week 586 screens (39.9% of top 10)
Up 237.3% 2014: (£5,795,536); Tammy (£471,429); The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared (£102,570); Don Giovanni – Glyndebourne 2010 (£32,205); A Hard Day’s Night (Re: 2014) (£9,935); Vampire Academy (£111); #1 Mrs. Brown’s Boys d’Movie £2,188,761 2nd week 529 screens 49% drop (37.7% of top 10)
Down 11.1% from 2013 (£21,973,402); Despicable Me 2 (£14,822,427); This is the End (£1,390,323); Hummingbird (£206,731); The East (£65,523); Stand Up Guys (£44,845); #1 Despicable Me 2 £14,822,427 1st week 534 screens (67.4% of top 10)
Up 278.7% from 2012 (£5,161,480); Ice Age: Continental Drift – Scotland only (£853,226); Friends with Kids (£357,520); Killer Joe (£208,553); Storage 24 (£131,342); Your Sister’s Sister (£81,098); Joyful Noise (£32,205); #1 Ice Age: Continental Drift (Scotland only) £853,226 1st week 134 screens (16.5% of top 10)
Up 26.7% from 2011 (£15,422,378); Transformers: Dark of the Moon (£10,728,503); Larry Crowne (£346,486); A Separation (£55,511); The Conspirator (£39,217); #1 Transformers: Dark of the Moon £10,728,503 1st week 521 screens (69.5% of top 10)
Up 76.2% from 2010: (£11,090,024); Shrek Forever After (£8,955,554); Heartbreaker (£119,742); ); #1 Shrek Forever After £8,955,554 1st week 539 screens (80.7% of top 10)
Up 26% from 2009; (£15,513,026); Ice Age III (£7,639,884); Public Enemies (£2,228,291); #1 Ice Age III £7,639,884 1st week 526 screens (49.2% of top 10)
Up 74.9% from 2008; (£11,174,084); Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (£4,060,532); Wanted (£3,814,055); Female Agents (£68,412); A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (£12,772); #1 Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian £4,060,532 1st week 546 screens (36.3% of top 10)
Down 7.5% from 2007: (£21,135,733); Shrek the Third (£16,671,727); Hostel 2 (£681,426); The Flying Scotsman (£60,754);#1 Shrek the Third £16,671,727 1st week 536 screens (78.8% of top 10)
Up 207.2% from 2006; (£6,362,835); Over the Hedge (£3,589,038); Just My Luck (£579,306); Cave of the Yellow Dog (£12,623); #1 Over the Hedge £3,589,038 1st week 504 screens (56.4% of top 10)
Up 194.7% from 2005 (£6,632,112); The Descent (£570,850); #1 War of the Worlds £4,219,120 2nd week 506 screens 51% drop (63.6% of top 10)
Down 1.7% from 2004 (£19,891,077); Shrek 2 (£16,220,752); Godsend (£491,506); Highwaymen (£44,388); Club Dread (£32,265); #1 Shrek 2 £16,220,752 1st week 512 screens (81.5% of top 10)
Up 132.3% from 2003 (£8,411,961); Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (£3,273,078); Dark Blue (£70,049); #1 Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle £3,273,078 1st week 473 screens (38.9% of top 10)
Up 256.7% from 2002 (£5,480,099); Murder By Numbers (£729,164); Big Fat Liar (£406,105); Birthday Girl (£237,165); Rollerball (£136,243); What’s The Worst That Could Happen? (£69,194); #1 Spider-Man: The Movie £2,605,993 3rd week 507 screens 39% drop (47.5% of top 10)
Next weekend 2021 (£9,713,818); Black Widow (£6,889,187); The Truffle Hunters (£14,300); #1 Black Widow £6,889,187 1st week 644 screens (70.92% of the top 10).
US Box Office
- Minions: The Rise of Gru
Opened $109.50m ($125.1m from 4 days); received positive reviews (69% Rotten Tomatoes) and A CinemaScore (similar to Minions and Despicable Me 1 and 2, Despicable Me 3 A-
Had the 5th biggest opening of 2022 after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($187.4m), Jurassic World Dominion ($145m), The Batman ($134m) and Top Gun: Maverick ($126.7m).
It was claimed to have the biggest Independence Day opening ever but as Obi-Wan says to Luke “you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our point of view.”… “The truth is often what we make” as I all depend on how Independence Day holiday BO calculated as 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon took $115.88m while Spider-Man: Far From Home opened with $185m.
Took $10.75m from Thursday previews up from $6.2m for 2015’s Minions
$8.6m ($7.3m for the 3-day) came from 400 IMAX the 4th biggest IMAX animated opening weekend; EntTelligence had the highest average ticket price for an animated movie at $12.82; Lightyear ($12.45), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($11.76), The Bad Guys ($11.32) and Sing 2 ($10.69).
EntTelligence said 76% was before 8 pm and 24% after 8 pm was ahead of Sonic the Hedgehog 2‘s 23% and Lightyear‘s 20%.
The Office Minions was watched by over 14m on its first day
Analysts going into the weekend were comparing it to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 but Minions plays to a much wide demographic, so was always likely to also perform far stronger than Lightyear.
2015’s Minions opened $115.71m taking $336.04m and $1.15bn worldwide 71% $823.39m internationally; (55% Rotten Tomatoes) #2 Jurassic World $18.15m 5th w/e
2017’s Despicable Me 3 opened $72.43m taking $264.62m and $1.03bn worldwide 74% $770.17m internationally; (75% Rotten Tomatoes); #2 Baby Driver $20.55m
2013’s Despicable Me 2 opened $83.51m taking $368.06m and $970.76m worldwide 62% internationally $602.7m; (59% Rotten Tomatoes) #2 The Lone Ranger $29.21m
2010’s Despicable Me opened $56.39m taking $251.55m and $543.15m worldwide 53% internationally $291.6m; (81% Rotten Tomatoes); #1 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse $31.7m 2nd w/e
The 12 Illumination Entertainment films have taken $2.9bn in the US and over $7.25bn
Took $87.2m from 61 territories and $93.7m and $202.2m worldwide; UK $12.9m; Mexico $12.4m; Germany $4.8m; Spain $3.6m; Indonesia $3.4m.
Impossible to compare internationally opening with Minions as it was staggered opening in 44 territories June 18th with $12.5m and then expanded into 66 by July 11th while Minions: The Rise of Gru opened in Australia two weeks ago
- Elvis – Warner Bros
Down 41% in the second weekend $18.45m and $66.77m
1,108th biggest film between Coraline and Old School; 1,874th biggest inflation inflated between The Big Short and Runaway Jury; 13th biggest 2022 film between Scream and Morbius; 182nd biggest Warner Bros film between Any Given Sunday and Beetlejuice.
It is far healthier for cinema when 5 films share $175m+ rather than 1 film opening with $175m+ as will be the case this weekend with Thor: Love and Thunder as they target different demographics so their success is always likely to lead to more success over other films targetting multiple demographics.
As success breeds success but when a comic book opens with $180m+ it’s targeting only one demographic and its success predominantly only helps the next comic-book movie. There will then be 11 weeks before Black Adam opens and then Black Panther 2 opens two weeks later so there is room in the marketplace for many other films to find an audience this year.
Second weekend
1996’s Romeo + Juliet dropped 18.9% taking $9.02m ($19.8m inflation inflated) and $23.53m ($51.8m inflation inflated) taking $46.35m ($102m inflation inflated) and $147.54m worldwide ($325m inflation inflated)
2001’s Moulin Rouge dropped 44.2% $7.64m ($12.9m inflation inflated) 4th weekend (after two weeks on platform) and $27.56m ($46.57m inflation inflated) of $57.38m ($97m inflation inflated) and $179.21m worldwide ($303m inflation inflated)
2008’s Australia dropped 52.4% taking $7.05m ($9.5m inflation inflated) and $30.91m ($41.4m inflation inflated) of taking $49.55m ($67m inflation inflated) and $211.78m worldwide ($285m inflation inflated)
2013’s The Great Gatsby dropped 52.2% taking $23.93m and $90.68m of $144.85m and $353.65m worldwide 47
Took $15.7m (down 28%) taking $46.34m and $121.73m worldwide; Australia $11.3m; the UK $12.4m; France $3.7m; Germany $2.2m; 1,444th biggest film worldwide between Executive Decision and Poltergeist; 21st biggest2022 film worldwide between Death on the Nile and Downton Abbey: A New Era; 225th biggest Warner Bros film between Executive Decision and Lethal Weapon.
- Jurassic World Dominion
Down 39% in the fourth weekend taking $16.36m and $332.53m
97th biggest 4th between Despicable Me 2 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (close to Wreck-It Ralph, Shrek and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($16.2m); #21 Jurassic Park ($25.29m); #11 Jurassic World ($29.23m);
66th biggest film between Minions and Joker; 181st inflation inflated between Austin Powers in Goldmember and Joker; 4th biggest 2022 film between The Batman and Sonic the Hedgehog 2; 9th biggest Universal Pictures film between Minions and Meet the Fockers; #1 Jurassic World $652.3m; #3 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom $417.71m; #4 Jurassic Park $402.52m; #19 The Lost World: Jurassic Park $329.08m #30 Jurassic Park 3 $181.16m
As the 6 Jurassic Park films have taken $2.2bn in the US and $5.8bn worldwide while Jurassic World Dominion has been called the final Jurassic Park film it’s unlikely Universal Pictures won’t be making more films in the future Jurassic Universe?
Fourth weekends
2015’s Jurassic World dropped 46.4% $29.24m #2 taking $556.54m 85.2% of $653.4m; $1.018bn internationally $1.671bn WW; #1 Inside Out $29.77m 3rd w/e
2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom dropped 43.4% $16.2m #5 taking $363.98m 87.1% of $417.71m; $892.74m internationally and $1.31bn WW;# 1 Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation $44.07m
1993’s Jurassic Park dropped 31.5% $18.96m ($47m inflation inflated) #2 taking $205.73m ($495m inflation inflated) 57.6% of $357.06m ($860m inflation inflated) and $978.16m worldwide ($2.4bn inflation inflated); #1 The Firm $25,4m
1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park dropped 32.8% to $12.47m ($23m inflation inflated) #2 taking $190.69m ($351m inflation inflated) 83.2% of $229.08m ($422m inflation inflated) (third biggest film of 1997 behind Titanic $600.78m and Men in Black $250.69m); #1 Speed 2: Cruise Control $16.15m
2001’s Jurassic Park 3 dropped 38.7% to $7.52m ($13.7m inflation inflated) #6 taking $160.39m ($292m inflation inflated) 88.3% of $181.71m ($331m inflation inflated) (ninth biggest film of 2001) and $368.78m worldwide; #1 American Pie 2 $45.1m
Took $26.8m (down 38%) from 72 territories taking $495.5m and $831.25m worldwide; China $129.2m; Mexico $41.3m; UK $37.2m; Australia $21.8m; France $22m; 85th biggest film worldwide between Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2; 3rd biggest film worldwide between Doctor Strange 2 and The Batman; 10th biggest Universal Pictures film worldwide between The Secret Life of Pets and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; #6 Jurassic Park $1.04bn; #3 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom $1.3bn; #1 Jurassic World $1.66bn
- Lightyear – Disney
Down 65% in the third weekend taking $6.37m and $106.16m
10th biggest animated film between Chicken Run and The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part; 689th biggest film between Chicken Run and Indecent Proposal; 1,275th biggest inflation inflated between Freaky Friday and Pitch Perfect 3; 8th biggest 2022 film between Minions: The Rise of Gru and The Lost City; 124th biggest Disney film between The Princess Diaries and George Of The Jungle.
The 23 Pixar films have taken $6.15bn since 1995 and almost $8bn inflation inflated
Took $11.3m (down 58%) from 45 territories $82.2m total and $187.6m worldwide; Mexico $16.2m; the UK $10.5m; Argentina $5.6m; Australia $5.1m; 136th biggest animated film worldwide between The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part and Abominable; 917th biggest film worldwide between The X Files: Fight the Future and Rambo III; 142nd biggest Disney film between The Waterboy and The Horse Whisperer.
- Top Gun: Maverick – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 9% in the sixth weekend taking $25.57m and $572m
It’s the highest-grossing Jerry Bruckheimer film worldwide overtaking 2006’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest which did $1.06bn so surprising that ahead of the release of Top Gun Maverick it was announced Paramount Pictures weren’t going to extend his deal at the studio, likewise Skydance Productions who has been based at the studio for more than a decade didn’t extend their production deal and instead moved to Apple.
16% have seen the film more than once in the cinema and 4% have seen it more than 4 times or more
4th biggest 6h weekend between Frozen and Titanic; but as both American Sniper and Frozen had platform openings it had the second biggest 6th weekend after Avatar.
12th biggest film between Incredibles 2 and The Lion King; 33rd biggest inflation inflated between Saturday Night Fever and 29; 2nd biggest Paramount Pictures film in the US after Titanic. (Paramount will re-release Titanic next February for its 25th anniversary)
After Top Gun Maverick became the biggest film in the US the big question is what film could beat it this year, with Black Panther 2 and Avatar The Way of Water is the only two that could do so. Both have big question marks on them as the first Black Panther film become a must-see film for many non-comic-book fans, while 12 years is a long time for a sequel, over the years since it becomes more Dances With Smurfs than Avatar whilst 80% of its BO came from 3D and the sequel will need to attract 3D audiences, recently Doctor Strange 2 and Jurassic World Dominion were released in 3D but failed to make much impact
As in the UK Top Gun Maverick overtook the lifetime BO of Tom Cruise’s previous biggest film in the US 2005’s War of the Worlds $243.3m having overtaken 1986’s Top Gun BO $180.3m within 6 days, but of course, inflation inflated would be $600m+ and War of the Worlds $500m+.
Currently, Paramount have a 25.84% share of the US BO taking $1,009bn biggest BO since 2011($1.96bn) but this shows how far the studio has dropped over the last decade as in 2011 they had Marvell and Dreamworks which along with Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol helped celebrate their 100th anniversary in style; Universal have 19.73%; Warner Bros 14.12%; Disney 13.41% Thor: Love and Thunder will see Disney become #2 studio by the end of the month
Paramount’s 2023 slate is probably their strongest for more than a decade with Transformers: Rise of the Beats, Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1, Scream 6 and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie.
Tom Cruise’s 42 films have taken almost $5bn in the US and $11.76bn worldwide; after Top Gun Maverick took $1bn+ globally Tom Cruise tweeted on Monday “To all the films in release, to all the studios, and all the exhibitors: congratulations. To the audience: thank you for venturing out and allowing us to entertain you.” See you at the movies.
Took $37m (down 17%) taking $544.5m and $1,11bn from 65 territories; the UK $84.8m; Japan $57.6m; Australia $51.5m; France $42m; Germany $25.6m; Brazil $18.8m; Saudi Arabia $14.8m; 29th biggest film worldwide between LOTR: The Return of the King and Skyfall; 3rd biggest Paramount Pictures film between Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Transformers: Age of Extinction
Has taken $94m ($51m from the US and $43m internationally
Top Gun Maverick is the 50th film to take $1bn+ since Jurassic Park in 1993; its Paramount’s first $1bn+ film globally since 2014’s Transformers: Age of Extinction (inflated with China BO)
- The Black Phone – Universal Pictures
Down 48% in second weekend $12.23m and $47.39m
22nd biggest Blumhouse film between Ouija and Sinister; Blumhouse Productions took $2.65bn in the US and $4.97bn worldwide
Took $8.3m (down 28%) from 50 territories and $27.48m and $77.08m worldwide ahead of Don’t Breathe, Ouija, Old and Halloween Kills at the same point of release; Mexico $8.3m; the UK $3.3m; Blumhouse horrors don’t perform as strongly as they do in the US with Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us taking 70% of its $255m global BO in the US and his latest Nope opening next month is likely to do the same.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
It’s 8 weeks since Doctor Strange 2 opened and this has seen almost £200m taken at the box office shared over several films as a success for non-comic-book movies breeds success for the next. The industry believes comic-book movies are good for the industry as they open big but they don’t grow the marketplace as those who go to one comic-book movie will go to the next, but those who went to see Top Gun Maverick many went on to see Jurassic World Dominion and others.
Thor: Love and Thunder are the 29th MCU and the fourth Thor film and follows up to Thor: Ragnarok as other recent MCU films it features many other Avengers characters so feels more like a fifth Avengers film.
The 28 MCU films have taken over £950m in the UK since 2008 and another £40m+ for Thor: Love and Thunder will top £1bn when Black Panther 2 opens in November.
2017’s Thor:Ragnorok opened £12,375,804 (£5,141,794 previews) taking £30,936,228
2015’s Thor: The Dark World opened £8,668,172 (£3,098,193 previews) taking £19,711,938
2011’s Thor opened £5,449,300 (£2,335,701 previews) taking £13,854,712
But being an Avengers Lite film would normally expect it to open similar to Doctor Strange 2 at £19,765,71 (£4,847,458 previews) taking £45m but with Minions: The Rise of Gru, Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick all likely to hold well against Thor: Love and Thunder as they target different demographics.
Thor: Love and Thunder will open in over 700 cinemas but playing on multiple screens it will open on close to 3,000 screens including all IMAX, PLF and 4DX screens.
Premiere reaction was predictable with the normal, it’s the best MCU ever, but reviews have been more mixed saying that it doesn’t match up to Thor: Ragnarok with the LA Times calling it “A painless, pointless MCU sequel” … “These issues smack of run-of-the-mill Marvel fatigue”.
Phase 4 of the MCU has been mostly disappointing with Black Widow, Shang-Chi, Eternals, Doctor Strange 2 and now Thor: Love and Thunder, these films follow the same formula that targets the same audience who saw the last but don’t add anything new, all hype no sustenance. While many believe the TV shows have become far more superior, these are being used to launch characters that will feature in later MCU films which will make them less accessible to newbies as they would have to watch 60 hours of films to fully understand the plots.
This was a similar issue with Disney’s Star Wars films with Star Wars The Force Awakens as it was basically a remake of A New Hope it was accessible to the fans of the original films but as it also featured a young cast it also attracted younglings, the problem with the sequels were they were targeting the fanbase bit also tweaking elements which alienated many.
After the post-credit scene, it says Thor will return
Previous Thor films have been front-loaded with Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: The Dark World #1 for 1 week while the first film was #1 for 3 weeks in May 2011 but took a low share of the top 10 (44.41%, 20.26% and 17.98%) with other MCU films it’s closer to double the amount.
2015’s Minions dropped 46% in its second weekend taking £6,238,498 with Terminator: Genisys opening #2 with £3,793,617
2017’s Thor: Ragnarok opened with £12,375,804 including £5,141,794 from 3 days of previews over half-term) taking 64.29% with Jigsaw #2 £1,851,249
2013’s Thor: The Dark World opened in a more crowded marketplace similar to this weekend at £8,668,172 with 49.23% of BO with multiple films playing to multiple demographics Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (£2,074,667) Captain Phillips (£1,622,925) Philomena (£1,509,726) Turbo (£1,351,821)
Top 5 films played in 3,382 screens 74% of all UK screens (4,596) at the Vue Westfield 6 films played in 18 screens with another 3 films in the other two and with Thor: Love and Thunder having over 50 shows a day at Vue Westfield this will see this drop-down to 4 films sharing those films with Jurassic World Dominion and Lightyear sharing screens.
Temperatures are on the increase with the weather which will be used as an excuse if these films don’t match expectations but MCU fans will go and see the latest film no matter the weather.
Should see the top 10 weekends take over £25m the first weekend to do so since the weekend No Time To Die opened on October 1st (taking £28,089,047). If BO tops £25m it will be the 23rd weekend to do so since 2001.
Opening next week
- The Railway Children Return – Studiocanal UK
Family drama sequel to the 1970 film, The Railway Children based on the E. Nesbit novel, starring Jenny Agutter, Tom Courtenay and Sheridan Smith and directed by Morgan Matthews.
The original 19709 film has enchanted audiences since it was released in December 1970 and was s the 9th biggest film of 1971 in the UK receiving universal critical acclaim (100% Totten Tomatoes). T was voted 66th on the British Film Institute’s Top 100 British Films.
The film was marketed in 1970 as ‘A Film for Adults to Take Their Children, too!’ Lionel Jeffries said “it was positioned as a wholesome, nostalgic film for general audiences. But they also identified it as a palliative for a conservative majority dismayed by unprecedented levels of sex, violence, nudity, profanity and drug abuse in this new entertainment epoch.”…” I found the climate of the E. Nesbit story just right for me, a way in which to start entertaining people and help, not destroy, our industry. There are hardly any films being made for children and the middle-aged and older age groups.”
Ahead of release expectations for the film were not especially high. Merete Bates in the Guardian predicted that ‘the public will go – but whether it’s what they want is another question.
The original film was one of a few hits EMI had at the time, EMI in the 70s was a powerhouse of the British film industry producing over 70% of the films made in the UK in the 70s (taking over from Rank). EMI was looking to make crossover films with their music artists Cliff Richard/Elvis Presley to appeal to teenage audiences.
With The Railway Children Returns, we have gone full circle as Lionel Jeffries said “the film is replete with nostalgic inflections that subtly reinterpret it. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in the film’s opening scene, which utilises a subtle framing device similar to those employed in Hollywood family comedies… Jenny Agutter’s voice-over narration relates the story – enters an Edwardian-style nursery and begins rolling a Victorian praxinoscope. The camera slowly zooms towards the lens, appearing to enter the mechanism, preparing us for the fact that, as in those earlier productions, we are journeying back to the early years of the twentieth century.”
Ahead of the release of The Railway Children Returns Studiocanal re-released the original film on 324 screens on Sunday for matinee screenings taking £14,464.
Early reviews for The Railway Children returns have been positive but said it doesn’t come close to the original film
Studiocanal made remakes of classic children’s literature Swallows and Amazons received positive reviews (94% Rotten Tomatoes) (opened In August 2016 with £676,175 #8 from 452 screens taking £3,021,437 and 2020’s The Secret Garden opened October 23rd by Sky Cinema £154,087 #3 from 196 screens taking £710,860.
The Secret Garden was originally due to be released by Studiocanal in April 2020 but its release was pushed back to August 2020 due to COVID then was acquired by Sky Cinema for the UK and was released in August 2020 on Amazon in the US.
Surprisingly, Studiocanal is opening The Railway Children Returns in mid-July as British family films perform far better in August or April after the Easter holidays and then before the May half-term, especially as it was originally due to open in April. July 15th is a prime summer slot as it’s the weekend before the school holidays start. Studiocanal of course has had huge success with the adaption of another British children’s classic Paddington with two films and the third due to start filming soon.
The Railway Children Returns generated strong media coverage after having its world premiere last week in the UK with Jenny Agutter on the promo tour.