- Transformers One – £1,691,928 – NE
Took £79k from Monday £31k and £38k Thursday previews.
Took £337k 19.93% Friday; £746k 44.12% Saturday; £608k 35.96% Sunday; took £104k Mon/Tues
1,035th biggest opening between Flight Plan and Wild Hogs (close to Monster Trucks, G. I. Joe, Stuart Little and Happy Feet 2) and 1,606th biggest inflated opening between The Banshees Of Inisherin and Cruel Intentions (close to Pulp Fiction, Home Alone, Big and The Birdcage).
27th biggest 2024 opening between Civil War and Wicked Litle Letters (close to Argylle, Furiosa, Challengers and Speak No Evil).
147th biggest animated opening between Encanto and Aladdin (1993) (close to Rise of the Guardians, Hotel Transylvania, Antz and Rango) and 176th biggest inflated animated opening between ParaNorman and Monster House (close to Corpse Bride, Penguins of Madagascar, Looney Tunes: Back in Action and Treasure Planet).
Long before Micheal Bay turned Transformers into a soft porn movie with Meghan Fox it was an animated TV show and 1986 animated film famously being Orson Welles last role. The film flopped at the box office Hasbro lost $10m on Transformers and My Little Pony films.
Despite receiving positive reviews Transformers One had the worst opening of all Transformers films, as the live-action films were all 12A there was always the question of who the target audience was for Transformers One, it should have played similarly to Bumblebee also rated PG.
2007’s Transformers opened £8,718,561 taking £22,863,864/£36,084,158
2009’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opened £8,349,739 taking £26,539,878/£38,882,873
2009’s Transformers: Dark Of The Moon opened £10,728,503 taking £27,862,654/£36,644,448
2011’s Transformers: Age Of Extinction opened £11,751,427 taking £19,074,771/£20,516,319
2014’s Transformers: The Last Knight opened £4,635,570 taking £9,540,299/£10,151,693
2018’s Bumblebee opened £5,103,382 taking £12,760,693/£14,086,250
2023’s Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts opened £2,973,478 taking £8,114,370
Transformers One faces direct competition from The Wild Robot opening Friday and has also received positive reviews playing to a similar audience, both films have opened ahead of the lucrative half-term (Oct 28th– 1st November). Will play mostly over weekends until half-term.
- 2. Joker: Folie A Deux – £1,431,997 – £8,696,046
Down 74.8% in its second weekend
Took £418k 29.21% (-80.56% £2.15m); Friday; £636k 44.44% (-70.69% £2.17m) Saturday; £377k 26.35% (-73.82% £1.44m) Sunday; took £146k Monday (down 69%) #2 and £150k Tuesday (down 65%) #3
700th biggest second weekend between Burn After Reading and Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (close to Batman Returns, Back to the Future Part II, Basic Instinct and Batman) and 1,065th inflated second weekend between Central Intelligence and I Wanna Dance With Somebody (close to Edge of Tomorrow, Alien vs Predator, The LEGO Ninjago Movie and Ghostbusters (2016).
19th biggest 2024 second weekend between Mean Girls and Garfield (close to Bad Boys: Ride or Die, A Quiet Place: Day One, Longlegs and One Life).
80th biggest comic-book second weekend between Batman Returns and Batman (close to Birds of Prey, Fantastic Four (2005), Green Lantern and Daredevil) and 93rd inflated comic-book second weekend between Green Lantern and Superman IV (close to Dick Tracy, Kick-Ass, Ghost Rider and Hellboy (2004).
Took £7.39m Fri-Thurs (£5.67m 76.7% Fri-Sun; £1.63m (22.1%) Mon-Thurs; £467k Monday; £432k Tuesday; £415k Wednesday; £319k Thursday.
The teaser trailer was released in April featuring a cover of What the World Needs Now Is Love had 167 million views in its first 24 hours the most watched Warner Bros trailer.
2019’s Joker dropped 22% £9,766,609 #1 and £30,030,142 51.96% of £58.5m/£64.6m inflated
The biggest comic book second-weekend drops
2024’s Madame Web dropped 73% £602,018 #5 and £3,437,633 81.92% of £4,196,294
2023’s The Marvels dropped 63% £1,255,158 #2 and £5,713,712 80.52% of £7,095,634
2022’s Morbius dropped 77% £740,336 #4 and £5,084,271 78.99% of £6,436,994
2021’s Eternals dropped 47% £2,918,586 #2 and £10,571,176 71.09% of £14,870,100
2021’s Black Widow dropped 74% £1,801,017 #1 and £11,209,008 59.49% of £18,841,549
2019’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix dropped 72% £1,043,284 #5 and £5,930,679 88.14% of £6,728,850
2015’s Fantastic Four dropped 74% £701,406 #6 and £4,836,085 85.54% 2.10 of £5,653,567
2021’s Spider-Man No Way Home dropped 86% £4,619,518 #1 £51,107,711 52.74% of £96.9m/£102.1m; had the biggest ever comic-book drop due to 2-day Christmas weekend)
Previous Warner/DC’s biggest drops
2016’s Batman Vs Superman dropped 68% £4,661,959 #1 and £27,829,127 76.25% of £36,495,828
2004’s Catwoman dropped 70% £164,607 #10 and £1,158,075 total
Issues with the sequel started in 2019 after director Todd Phillips said “We have no plans for a sequel… the movie’s not set up to [have] a sequel. We always pitched it as one movie, and that’s it.” It was a comparable situation with 2009’s The Hangover but after it took $469m worldwide Warner was desperate for a sequel and after Joker took over $1bn worldwide Warner Bros were desperate for a sequel as they are for Barbie, but some films shouldn’t have a sequel no matter how much a film takes.
William Goldman famously wrote, “Nobody knows anything.” The sequel should be ‘Nobody Learns Anything’ as the industry keeps doing the same thing never learning from its mistakes. The first Joker film had a tight $55m budget while the sequel had $200m budget and Warner Bros gave Todd Philips the final cut. While calling the sequel Folie à Deux it was trying to be too clever for itself.. It’s a clever title once you know it means madness for two but seeing it cold it seems pretentious.
Warner Bros faced similar issues with Furiosa premiering at the Cannes Film Festival as they did in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road dropped 42% £2,639,888 #2 and £9,690,578 57.15% of £16,955,183 compared to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga dropped 51% £963,976 #4 and £4,526,161 70.71% of £6,400,577.
844th biggest between Birds of Prey and Rampage (close to The Perfect Storm, The Flash, Watchmen and Total Recall (1990) and 1,371st biggest inflated between Safe House and The Invention of Lying (close to The Running Man, Jingle All the Way, Clueless and The Color of Money).
23rd biggest 2024 film between Garfield and Longlegs (close to Bad Boys: Ride or Die, A Quiet Place: Day One, Furiosa and Civil War).
Warner Bros are currently the second biggest UK distributor for 2024 behind Disney taking about £135m but with only Juror No 2, Red One and Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim remaining for the year their rivals have far stronger films remaining. Disney now £150m with Moana 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King will take £200m+; Universal #3 £105m now have The Wild Robots and Wicked will add £70m+.
Sony has taken £70m Venom: The Last Dance is unlikely to take over £20m while Paramount currently £50m Gladiator 2 and Sonic The Hedgehog 3 will add £50m+ and Studiocanal £25m Paddington in Peru will add about £45m+. The positive is that unlike years before COVID Disney isn’t way ahead of its rivals as there’s a wide range of films that are finding audiences.
- 3. Terrifier 3 – £1,049,415 – NE
Took £395k 37.65% Friday; £360k 34.32% Saturday; £294k 28.03% Sunday; took £161k Monday #1 and £168k Tuesday #2
1,638th biggest opening between me, Tonya and Dredd (close to House on Haunted Hill, Cabin Fever, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D and Halloween: H20) and 2,274th inflated biggest opening between A Street Cat Named Bob and The Beverly Hillbillies (close to Sucker Punch, Happy Death Day, Ready Or Not and An American Werewolf in Paris).
35th biggest 2024 opening between The Bikeriders and The Beekeeper (close to Speak No Evil, Longlegs, Borderlands and Blink Twice)
Biggest ever opening for Signature Entertainment ahead of 2022’s Orphan: First Kill £434,601 #10 337 screens taking £2.3m. In the months after cinemas reopened in July 2020 after the first lockdown while other distributors delayed releasing new films they released several films including Honest Thief opened £254,267 #2 302 screens taking £730,522 and Dreambuilder £456,394: The Elfkins£239,787.
Signature Entertainment opened in 2011 acquiring mostly low budget straight to video/VOD action and horror.
Two weeks ago, Terrifier & Terrifier 2 – Double Bill opened £91,215 #19 268 screens.
- 4. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – £769,424 – £23,926,825
Down 32.1% in the sixth weekend
Took £144k 18.73% (-35.43% £223k) Friday; £381k 49.54% (-27.57% £526k) Saturday; £244k 31.73% (-36.29% £383k) Sunday; took £62k #4 Monday and £67k #5 Tuesday
137th biggest sixth weekend between Notting Hill and Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (close to The World Is Not Enough, Seven, The Hunger Games and Casper) and 289th biggest inflated sixth weekend between Kindergarten Cop and Crocodile Dundee II (close to Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Speed and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon).
5th biggest 2024 between Dune: Part 2 and Kung Fu Panda 4 (close to It Ends with Us, Migration, Bob Marley: One Love and Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes).
With fewer major films being released over the last few months and some surprise flops it has meant that films like Beetlejuice 2 have much longer legs than they might have done and have much smaller drops than they might have done.
Selected Tim Burton sixth weekends
Beetlejuice dropped 42.4% £118,858/£411,869 and £2,521,976 69.97% of £3,604,282/£12,411,267 inflated.
1989’s Batman dropped 39% £300,738/£1,028,705 and £10,938,194 90.89% of £12,034,291/£40,906,260 inflated
1997’s Mars Attacks dropped 32.4% £96,226/£188,433 and £6,703,616 94.94% of £7,061,157/£13,740,630 inflated
2000’s Sleepy Hollow dropped 71.4% £132,703/£248,857 and £9,665,159 96.21% of £10,046,249/£18,083,248 inflated.
2001’s Planet of the Apes dropped 39.5% £268,165/£516,250 and £16,611,754 98.58% of £17,027,825/£32,574,970 inflated
2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory dropped 40.8% £660,671/£1,117,951 and £35,046,490 92.76% of £37,781,940/£63,531,415 inflated
2008’s Sweeney Todd dropped 75.1% £31,735/£48,640 and £10,850,474 99.05% of £10,930,875/£16,648,563 inflated
2010’s Alice In Wonderland dropped 47.4% £676,516/£906,190 and £40,083,901 95.05% of £42,169,542/£56,131,558 inflated
2019’s Dumbo dropped 53.1% £477,257/£526,834 and £24,018,147 95.56% of £25,141,389
1991’s Edward Scissorhands took £4,299,657/£11,238,707 inflated.
214th biggest between Uncharted and Borat (close to The Sixth Sense, Hancock, Ghost and Doctor Strange) and 433rd biggest inflated between Interview with the Vampire and Thor: The Dark World (close to Sliding Doors, Sleeping With The Enemy, Snatch and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls).
- 5. Vettaiyan – £485,910 – NE
Took £194,339 from previews (without previews would have been #9)
The fourth-biggest opening for an Indian film this year after Devara Part 1 (£453k) and below Fighter (£596k), The Greatest Of All Time (£767k) and Kalki 2898 AD (£878k).
- Salem’s Lot – Warner Bros
£359,911 #6 from 454 screens
Took £115k 32.03% Friday; £145k 40.39% Saturday; £99k 27.58% Sunday.
Other recent Stephen King adaptions include 2023’s The Boogeyman (opened £491k), 2022’s Firestarter (opened £251k) and 2019’s Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep (opened £1.4m).
Salem’s Lot was due to be released two years ago delayed several times.
Warner Bros announced plans to make Salem’s Lot soon after they released 2019’s It Chapter Two. Gary Dauberman was attached to direct. Previously wrote scripts for The Conjuring Universe horror films 2014’s Annabelle; 2017’s Annabelle: Creation; 2018’s The Nun, Annabelle Comes Home along with the scripts for It and It Chapter Two.
Salem’s Lot was shot In 2021 and was originally set for release on 9th September 2022 the weekend Warner Bros have had previous success with horror films. There was concern Warner Bros would scrap the film as they have done with Coyote vs. Acme and Batgirl. Warner Bros announced it would be released on Max in the US in September 2024 but as they have done with several other films Warner Bros released on Max American Pickle and Superintelligence Salem’s Lot has a limited theatrical release in the UK.
Stephen King has published 54 novels including 7 under the name Richard Bachman, 6 non-fiction books and almost 200 short stories. Over 40 have been adapted into films taking over $1.69bn in the US and $2.16bn worldwide.
It’s the 30th anniversary of the US opening of Shawshank Redemption, the film struggled to find an audience in the US despite receiving critical acclaim opening wide the same weekend as Pulp Fiction also gazumping it at the Oscars, but over the year since has been heralded as the best film ever, topped IMDB’s top 250 list since 2008; opened 5 months later in the UK opened £270,688 from 77 screens taking £2,414,776/£5,495,697.
• Buffalo Kids – Warner Bros
Opened £345,410 #7 from 536 screens (includes £135,277 from Sat/Sun previews)
Spanish animated adventure film featuring voices of Alisha Weir, Gemma Arterton, Sean Bean and Stephen Graham; premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June.
Warner Bros acquired some international rights from producer 4 Cats as they previously did with Mummies last year opening £648,459 taking £2,736,767. Other 4 Cats animated films 2016’s Capture the Flag (opened £774,885 #7 taking £1,005,198); 2022’s TAD: The Lost Explorer opened £818,525 #2 taking £1,606,387 and 2018’s TAD: The Lost Explorer and The Secret of King Midas opened £302,312 #12.
As those animated films Buffalo Kids play to a younger audience than Transformers One and The Wild Robot and will have steady box office limited to mostly weekends for the next two weeks before the half-term holidays.
• Gladiator– Park Circus
Opened £96,349 #14 from 320 screens
Ahead of the release of Gladiator 2 in November; Gladiator opened in May 2000 £3,555,446/£6,667,507 inflated taking £31,257,293/£58,616,618 inflated; was #1 for 7 weeks, as Gladiator 2 opened the week after Paddington In Peru and a week before Wicked it won’t get to #1.
Also re-released Star Wars: The Force Awakens £35,280 #22 from 150 screens taking £123,325,310; Paddington £34,166 #23 from 383 screens taking £38,027,750; Paddington 2 £32,447 #25 from 317 screens and £42,661,628.
In Restless Dreams: The Music Of Paul Simon was released on Sunday celebrating his 81st birthday taking £35,702 #21 from 79 screens
UK box office in detail
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £6,892,905 down 21.3% from last weekend’s £8,762,909: 870,316 admissions down 21.3% from 1,106,428 admissions.
45th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 17 May 2024 #1 IF £2,435,054 (35.05%) and 03 November 2023 #1 Trolls Band Together £1,829,764 (26.74%)
142nd biggest since cinemas reopened out of 204 weeks between 17 May 2024 #1 IF £2,435,054 (35.05%) and 07 October 2022 #1 Smile £1,715,678 (24.91%)
959th biggest top 10 of the last 22 years (out of 1,175) between 21 September 2001 #1 A.I. £2,285,786 (33.16%) and 08 June 2007 #1 Ocean’s Thirteen £3,021,302 (43.85%) and 1,098th inflated between 17 May 2024 #1 IF £2,435,054 (35.05%) and 10 September 2021 #1 Shangi-Chi £3,583,848 (55.24%)
The top 3 took (£4,173,340) 60.5% of the top 10; Transformers One 24.55% (£1,691,928); Joker: Folie A Deux 20.77% (£1,431,997); Terrifier 3 15.22% (£1,049,415)
1,088th biggest admissions #1 (213,627) between 27 August 2021 #1 Free Guy (213,798) and 05 September 2014 #1 Sex Tape (212,955)
911th biggest percentage share #1 (24.55%) between 30 August 2019 #1 Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (24.55%) and 17 February 2017 #1 The LEGO Batman Movie (24.55%)
Down 48.2% from 2023; (£13,316,825); Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Concert) (£5,729,998); Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (£3,348,155); Sumotherhood (£746,714); The Miracle Club (£276,379); Friday The 13th (1980) (Re: 2023) (£102,978); #1 Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Concert) £5,729,998 1st week 656 screens (43.03% of top 10)
Down 27.1% 2022 (£9,458,247); Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (£2,783,562); Halloween Ends (£2,110,010); Prima Facie – NT Live 2022 (£282,166); Emily (£276,322); The Lost Boys (35th Anniversary 4k Restoration) (£20,718); #1 Lyle, Lyle Crocodile £2,783,562 1st week 652 screens (29.43% of top 10)
Down 64.1% 2021 (£19,158,551); Venom: Let There Be Carnage (£6,167,833); Halloween Kills (£1,598,062); Ron’s Gone Wrong (£868,053); The Last Duel (£325,523); #1 No Time To Die £8,404,165 3rd week 776 screens down 45% (43.9% of top 10)
Up 390.1% 2020; (£1,406,296); Saint Maud (£263,433); Akira (Re: 2020) (£201,124); Kajillionaire (£44,275); Hocus Pocus (Re: 2020) (£20,491); #1 Tenet £296,049 7th week 53% drop 355 screens.
Down 59% 2019; (£16,790,890); Abominable (£2,141,256); Gemini Man (£1,718,511); #1 Joker £9,766,608 2nd week 22% drop 673 screens (37.34% of top 10)
Down 60% 2018: (£17,103,615); First Man (£2,415,330); Smallfoot (£2,324,189); Cliff Richard Live: 60th Anniversary Tour (£1,123,885); Bad Times at the El Royale (£491,878); #1 A Star is Born £3,083,089 2nd week 1st #1 612 screens (18.1% of top 10)
Down 43% 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)
Down 53.8% 2016: (£14,897,205); Inferno (£2,970,027); Storks (£2,247,038); Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary Performance (£2,033,031); American Honey (£175,383); The Golden Age – Bolshoi 2016 (£86,854); #1 The Girl on the Train £3,412,472 2nd 630 screens 51% drop (22.9% of the top 10)
Down 24.7% 2015; (£9,148,818); Sicario (£1,596,734); The Walk (£795,115); Regression (£214,742); Giselle – Bolshoi 2015 (£128,875); #1 The Martian £3,854,809 2nd week 582 screens 41% drop (42.1% of top 10)
Down 34.7% 2014: (£11,071,974); The Maze Runner (£2,041,229); Annabelle (£1,939,963); One Direction: Where We Are – The Concert Film (£1,021,527); 71 (£205,116); Effie Gray (£67,339); Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (£20,689); The Calling (£8,112); #1 Gone Girl £3,064,545 2nd week 563 screens 25% drop (33% drop (27.7% of top 10)
Up 37.8% 2013: ((£5,001,792); The Fifth Estate (£502,495); Le Weekend (£324,488); Machete Kills (£165,586); Baggage Claim (£156,159); Romeo and Juliet (£137,448); #1 Prisoners £968,990 3rd week 449 screens 12% drop (19.3% of top 10)
Down 26.3% 2012: (£9,355,419); Hotel Transylvania (£1,734,231); Ruby Sparks (£299,382); On the Road (£218,738); #1 Taken 2 £3,743,046 2nd week 510 screens 49% drop (40.1%)
Down 31.5% 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 (30.53% of top 10)
Up 3.8% 2010: (£6,639,950); Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (£1,784,309); Life As We Know It (£985,558); The Death and Life of Charlie St Cloud (£643,368); Mr Nice (£239,844); #1 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps £1,784,309 1st week 444 screens (26.8% of top 10)
Up 41.3% 2009; (£11,750,437); Up (£6,411,836); Zombieland (£1,240,984); Love Happens (£559,724); Halloween II (£522,661); #1 Up £6,411,836 1st week 511 screens (54.5% of top 10)
Up 24.4% 2008; (£5,542,578); The House Bunny (£894,188); Mirrors (£834,092); City of Ember (£496,909); Nights in Rodanthe (£193,318); Gomorrah (£171,348); The Mutant Chronicles (£74,788); #1 The House Bunny £894,188 1st week 346 screens (16.1% of top 10)
Down 19.4% 2007: (£8,548,001); Ratatouille (£4,444,384); Resident Evil 3 (£931,991); Black Sheep (£246,135); The Invasion (£232,994); Mr. Brooks (£169,664); The Nanny Diaries (£101,794); #1 Ratatouille £4,444,384 1st week 503 screens (51.9% of top 10)
Down 25.9% 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)
Down 48.8% 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)
Down 45.1% 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)
Down 46.4% 2003 (£12,858,833); Cabin Fever (£1,056,338); Kill Bill (£162,857) (platform) (£152,793); #1 Finding Nemo £7,381,962 2nd week 1st #1 453 screens (57.4% of top 10)
Down 25.5% from 2002: (£9,258,248); Red Dragon (£3,180,493); Clockstoppers (£196,802); #1 Red Dragon £3,180,493 1st week 428 screens (34.3% of top 10)
Down 25.2% 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 1st week 420 screens (59.7% of top 10)
2023 Next week: (£11,761,134); Trolls Band Together (£3,051,810); Killers Of The Flower Moon (£2,531,393); Leo (£1,157,367); The Prince Of Egypt: The Musical (£113,687); Gravity (10th Anniversary) (£59,879); #1 Trolls Band Together £3,051,810 1st week 653 screens (25.95% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Terrifier 3 – Cineverse
Opened $18.89m #1; received positive reviews (77% Rotten Tomatoes) and B CinemaScore
Took $2.6m from Thursday previews; $8.2m Friday (including previews); $5.9m Saturday and $4.2m Sunday.
2022’s Terrifier 2 opened $805k taking $10.96m and $15.74m worldwide
2016’s Terrifier opened $123k taking $339k and $419k worldwide
Terrifier 3 budget was $5m.
It was the second biggest independent horror opening this year after Longlegs (opened $22.4m taking $74.04m and $108.88m worldwide), Longlegs buzz had been growing for weeks before opening but Terrifier 3 came out of nowhere for most people with the majority never likely heard of the previous two films.
Studios spend millions creating social media campaigns, but they don’t connect as well to their target audience as films like Terrifier 3 and Godzilla Minus One do, timing was also key as had Joker: Folie A Deux opened similar to Joker it is unlikely Terrifier 3 would have opened as strongly.
The question is will it be a one-week wonder with Smile 2 opening on Friday as horror audiences are normally fickle and quickly move on to the next one? While Terrifier 4 will open at the same time next year against tougher competition would it open as strongly?
- Joker: Folie à Deux – Warner Bros
Dropped 81% in its second weekend $7m #4 and $51.55m
Took $800k from IMAX and $6.2m total.
1,822nd biggest between Atomic Blonde and My Bloody Valentine; 3,118th biggest inflated between The Pink Panther 2 and Joe Dirt; 26th biggest 2024 between Transformers One and Challengers; 132nd biggest comic-book between Atomic Blonde and The Crow (1994); 299th biggest Warner Bros between Exit Wounds and A Cinderella Story.
Second weekend
2019’s Joker dropped 41.9% $55.86m #1 and $193.59m of $335.47m and $1.078bn worldwide.
2023’s The Flash dropped 72.5% $15.14m #3 and $87.52m of $108.13m and $271.43m worldwide
2023’s The Marvels dropped 78.1% $10.12n #4 and $64.94m of $84.5m and $206.13m worldwide
2022’s Morbius dropped 73.8% $10.2m #2 and $57.07m of $73.86m and $167.46m worldwide
2019’s Birds of Prey dropped 48% $17.17m #2 and $59.33m of $84.17m and $205.53m worldwide
2019’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix dropped 71.5% $9.35m #5 and $52.11m of $65.84m and $252.44m worldwide
As always when a tentpole underperforms there are articles about how much it will lose, and Variety said the $200m budget film could lose between $150m-$200m. It’s expected to take about $65m in the US and $215m worldwide, these films need to take at least $450m to break even, Warner Bros said it would break even taking $375m, In 2019 Joker was one of the most profitable comic-book films having a $65m budget taking $1,078bn worldwide.
Francis Ford Coppola posted on Instagram “Ever since the wonderful The Hangover, he’s always been one step ahead of the audience never doing what they expect. Congratulations to Joker: Folie à Deux.”
Joker: Folie à Deux Rotten Tomato score has been dropping off ahead of its opening was 63% a week ago and is now down to 33%.
While negativity surrounded films like The Flash and The Marvels ahead of their release for months, it was all positive for Joker: Folie à Deux right up to its Venice Film Festival. It was reported Warner Bros cut back on its marketing spend close to release, after holding a glitzy World premiere in Venice the London and LA premieres were less glitzy.
Took $22.7m from 76 territories $113.7m total and $165.3m worldwide; UK $11.8m; Germany $7.9m; Italy $7.6m; Mexico $7.4m; France $7.1m; Brazil $6.5m; Spain $4.8m; S. Korea $4.6m; Australia $4.4m.
Has taken $13.5m worldwide from IMAX including $7.3m internationally.
1,170th biggest worldwide between Six Days, Seven Nights and Bringing Down the House; 27th biggest 2024 worldwide between Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The Beekeeper; 122nd biggest comic book worldwide between Wonder Woman 1984 and Dick Tracy; 190th biggest Warner Bros between Deep Blue Sea and Pokemon: The First Movie.
In its second weekend Joker took $123.7m from 79 territories and $351.2m internationally and $543.9m worldwide; UK $36.9m; Mexico: $28.9m; Korea: $28.0m; Russia: $20.4m; Brazil: $18m; Italy: $16.7m; Japan: $15.4m; Australia: $14.9m; Spain: $13m; Indonesia: $11.3m; France: $10.3m; Germany: $9.3m.
- The Wild Robot – Universal Pictures
Dropped 26% in the third weekend $14m #2 and $84.28m
Universal Pictures showed The Wild Robot at CinemaCon and world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, which has $78m budget Universal Pictures has been very enthusiastic about the film positioning it for award season. The trailer has had more than 300m views globally.
368th biggest third weekend between The Heat and Tarzan (close to Tangled, Bee Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and The Greatest Showman).
It will be released on VOD next week in the US; after receiving positive reviews and holding strongly at the box office Dreamworks is already developing a sequel.
146th biggest animated film between Pinocchio and Atlantis: The Lost Empire; 1,009th biggest between Pinocchio and Annabelle; 2,029th biggest inflated between Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and Friday the 13th Part 2; 19th biggest 2024 between The Garfield Movie and Longlegs; 144th biggest Universal Pictures between Green Book and Good Boys.
Third weekends
Recent original Dreamworks Animations
2022’s The Bad Guys dropped 41% $9.57 #2 and $44.58m of $97.45m and $250.38m worldwide
2019’s Abominable dropped 49.1% $6.07m #4 and $47.87m of $60.71m and $188.62m worldwide
2017’s Captain Underpants dropped 41% $7.18m #8 and $57.79m of $73.92m and $125.42m WW
Dreamworks Animations have taken $6.45bn in the US and $17.3bn worldwide.
Took $13m from 36 territories $64.71m total and $148.45m worldwide; Mexico $10.8m; Australia $9.4m; China $7m; Germany $3.3m; France $3m; S. Korea $3m; Spain $2.3m; Italy $1.9m.
- Piece By Piece – Focus Features
Opened $6m; received positive reviews (80% Rotten Tomatoes) and A CinemaScore
Took $450k from previews.
Disappointing opening for the Pharrell Williams LEGO biopic, but it faced a similar issue Transformers One had is it for adults or is it for children?
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Warner Bros
Dropped 28% in the sixth weekend $7.32m #3 and $275.89m.
1988’s Beetlejuice dropped 33.1% $3.35m/$8.6m #2 and $51.22m/$134.34m of $74.66m/$195.83m inflated; had a $15m budget compared to $100m+ for the sequel.
140th biggest sixth weekend between Taken and Philadelphia (close to The Ring, Dune: Part Two, The Blair Witch Project and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3).
127th biggest between The Hangover and Gravity; 379th biggest inflated between American Pie 2 and Dinosaur; 5th biggest 2024 between Dune: Part Two and Twisters; 5th biggest comedy between The Hangover and The Hangover Part II; 24th biggest Warner Bros between The Hangover and Gravity.
Beetlejuice was the 10th biggest film in 1988; 1 Who Framed Roger Rabbit $156,45m; 2 Coming to America $128.15m; 3 Good Morning, Vietnam $122.23m; 4 Big $114.96m; 5 Crocodile Dundee II $109.3m; 6 Three Men and a Baby $90.52m; 7 Die Hard $83m; 8 Moonstruck $80.03m; 9 Cocktail $78,2m; 10 Beetlejuice $73.7m.
Tim Burton’s 20 films have taken $2.21bn in the US and $4.82bn worldwide.
Took $4.6m from 77 territories $144.7m total and $421.09m worldwide; UK $31.4m; Mexico $19m; France $14.2m; Australia $9.5m; Spain $8.8m; Germany $6.5m; Italy $5.8m; Brazil $4.1m; Poland -$3.2m.
336th biggest worldwide between Dances with Wolves and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; 7th biggest 2024 between Kung Fu Panda 4 and Bad Boys: Ride or Die; 15th biggest comedy between Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and Sex and the City; 64th biggest Warner Bros between The Matrix Revolutions and Sex and the City.
- Transformers One – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 30% in the fourth weekend $3.76m #6 and $52.96m.
189th biggest animated film between Corpse Bride and Hoodwinked; 1,763rd biggest between Blow and Forces of Nature; 3,046th biggest inflated between The Principal and With Honors; 25th biggest 2024 between The Beekeeper and Joker: Folie à Deux; 234th biggest Paramount Pictures between The Devil Inside and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
The seven live-action Transformers films have taken $1.7bn in the US and $5.3bn worldwide since 2007’s Transformers. Transformers One is the first animated film of the series since 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie (opened $1.77m taking $5.84m).
Fourth weekends
2007’s Transformers dropped 43.2% $11.64m #6 and $284.67m of $319.24m and $709.7m worldwide
2009’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen dropped 43.5% $13.69m #3 and $363.8m of $402.1m and $836.3m worldwide
2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon dropped 43.5% $12.05m #4 and $325.84m of $352.39m and $1.12bn worldwide
2014’s Transformers: Age of Extinction dropped 39.6% $9.84m #5 and $227m of $245.43m and $1.1bn worldwide
2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight dropped 55.4% $2.84m #9 and $124.95m of $130.16m and $605.42m worldwide
2018’s Bumblebee dropped 45.4% $7.2m #7 and $108.9m of $127.1m and $467.98m worldwide
2023’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts dropped 37.4% $7.35m #5 and $136.46m of $157.06m and $438.96m worldwide
Being rated PG Transformers One it was aimed at a much younger audience than the live-action films, but they haven’t seen any of the live-action Transformers films but were hoping audiences would come out to see it as they have done with the Spider-Man: Spider-Verse animated films.
Took $6.2m internationally from 70 territories and $58.44m and $111.41m worldwide; China $18m; Australia $4.4m; Mexico $3m; S Korea $2.2m; Japan $2m.
210th biggest animated film worldwide between The Boxtrolls and Free Birds; 1,677th biggest between Everything Everywhere All At Once and The 5th Wave; 30th biggest worldwide between The Wild Robot and Civil War; 192nd biggest Paramount Pictures between Pet Sematary and Terms of Endearment.
- Saturday Night – Sony Pictures
Up 1,155% in its third weekend $3.4m after expanding into 2,309 screens and $4.15m; received B+ CinemaScore.
Saturday Night is the latest film that performs strongly on platform opening $270,487 from 5 cinemas but then only a 0.2% increase two weeks ago adding 16 screens and then over the weekend adding 2,288 screens but only up 1,1555 showing there is limited mainstream interest for the film.
Saturday Night is directed by James Reitman who has had mixed success with the previous films he directed 2005’s Thank You for Smoking had a similar opening of $262,923 from 5 screens but then a much slower expansion of 54/126/299 screens over the next three weeks before playing at its widest 1,020 screens. Slower expansions allow films to build word of mouth. The first episode of the new series of Saturday Night Live had 5.3m viewers but the film would appeal to a small percentage of those who watch the show.
2007’s Juno and 2009’s Up in Air were both critical and box office hits but then 2011’s Young Adult had polarised reactions again strong platform opening $310,263 from 8 screens but then added 978 screens taking $3.4m #10 +996.9% in its second weekend taking $16.3m.2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife opened $44m taking $129.36m.
Sony Pictures had surely positioned Saturday Night as an award contender but it’s likely to be one of many films that will be forgotten about by nominations time, without nominations it’s unlikely to find an audience internationally. (opens in the UK in January).
- The Apprentice – Briarcliff
Opened $1.61m #10; received positive reviews (77% Rotten Tomatoes) and B- CinemaScore
The film has generated a lot of media coverage, but it was always likely to struggle to find an audience in cinemas as it’s a film people want to talk about on social media but not want to see it.
It had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival receiving positive reviews (79% Rotten Tomatoes). There was a struggle to sell US rights as Donald Trump’s legal team sent a cease-and-desist letter to the movie’s producers after it was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Saying “This ‘film’ is pure malicious defamation, should not see the light of day, and doesn’t even deserve a place in the straight-to-DVD section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closed discount movie store, it belongs in a dumpster fire.” The producers said, “The film is a fair and balanced portrait of the former president.”
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
The Wild Robot has been generating strong buzz for weeks and received critical acclaim; will open similar to Dreamworks Animation’s Bee Movie (£2,281,393); The Bad Guys (£2,279,074); Abominable (£2,141,256) and Puss in Boots (£1,975,758) it is an animated film adults will enjoy as much as the children.
Smile 2 will open similar to the original film; 2022’s Smile opened £1,860,452 #1 519 screens taking £11,096,080.
Transformers One will drop about 30% in its second weekend taking £1m-£1.2m. Terrifier 3 will drop about 60% in its second weekend due to the arrival of Smile 2 and horror films like Terrifier 3 are front-loaded taking £0.4m-£0.6m, Joker: Folie A Deux have a similar drop in its third weekend taking a similar box office. Could see both taking similar to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice seventh weekend.
With preview-heavy Vettaiyan and Buffalo Kids and one week of Salem’s Lot The Apprentice could open fifth with about £400k.
My Hero Academia: You’re Next; the previous film My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission opened in October 2021 £218,956 #12 261 screens.
Ahead of Paddington in Peru opening next month Sunday is Paddington Day with the first two films showing in cinemas as a double bill.
Opening in three weeks
- Paddington In Peru – Studiocanal
The third instalment of the Paddington film series featuring the voice of Ben Whishaw as Paddington and starring Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas and directed by Dougal Wilson (feature film director debut).
In June 2016 Studiocanal announced plans for a third Paddington film over a year before Paddington 2 had been released, at the time the director of the first two films Paul King was attached to direct the third film, but he dropped out to direct Wonka in 2018. Studiocanal have plans for a fourth film and many more as the first two were hugely successful. The fourth film is expected in 2027 and 2028 will see the launch of a new TV series when Paddington celebrates its 70th anniversary.
In October 2023 it was dated November 8th, 2024; the first trailer was released in June with a second released at the start of October.
The first two films were hugely popular in the UK, but they faced lesser competition over the weeks after opening so both had exceedingly long legs which saw them play through to January. It’s different for Paddington In Peru with Moana 2 opening three weeks later and then Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic The Hedgehog 3 over the Christmas holidays.
2014’s Paddington opened £5,125,519 518 screens #1; dropped 25% in the second weekend £3,837,885 #1 and £10,332,911 with Penguins of Madagascar opening #2 £1,575,949 and 24% in the third weekend £2,909,674 #2 staying in top 5 for 8 weeks (£943,320) and top 10 for 12 weeks (£208,857) (mid-February) taking £38,027,750
2017’s Paddington 2 opened £8,260,160 607 screens #1; dropped 20% in the second weekend £6,612,699 #3 and £16,893,580 with Justice League opening #1 £7,264,784 and 32% in the third weekend £4,545,218 #2; staying in top 5 for 8 weeks (£1,884,062) and top 10 for 10 weeks (£401,521) mid-January taking £42,661,628
Would expect Paddington in Peru to open £11m similar to Inside Out 2 having the second biggest opening of the year (to date) after Deadpool & Wolverine.
- Red One – Warner Bros
Action-adventure comedy starring Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Nick Kroll, Wesley Kimmel, and J. K. Simmons and directed by Jake Kasdan; developed as a potential Christmas franchise. Jake Kasdan previously directed Dwayne Johnson in two Jumanji films and also directed 2014’s Sex Tape, 2011’s Bad Teacher and 2007’s Walk Hard.
Red One opens a week earlier in the UK due to Gladiator 2 opening next week, being a Christmas film, it couldn’t open later due to Moana 2 opening in two weeks and has a 31-day theatrical window so it can be released on Amazon the week before Christmas.
The budget was increased to $250m due to production delays and Dwayne Johnson was paid $50m.
The footage was screened at CinemaCon, but they weren’t allowed to write about it.
Apart from a cameo in Fast X Dwayne Johnson hasn’t starred in a film since 2022’s Black Adam, Red One was due to be released in November 2023 but was delayed a year due to the strikes.
There is action films set at Christmas like Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Batman Returns and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and then action comedies with a Christmas plot including 2022’s Violent Night; 2000’s Reindeer Games; 1996’s The Long Kiss Goodnight.
- Piece By Piece
Animated biographical of Pharrell Williams featuring voices of Pharrell Williams, Morgan Neville, Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, and Snoop Dogg and directed by Morgan Neville. It’s the fifth LEGO-based film and the first released by Universal Pictures.
After the success of Happy and Get Lucky in 2013 Pharrell Williams started developing a film about his life but didn’t want to make a traditional biopic and telling the story in LEGO allowed it to be “genre-defying”.
The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, was also screened at the Toronto Film Festival and will close London Film Festival on October 20th. It received positive reviews (90% on Rotten Tomatoes).
The first trailer was released in June with the first single of the soundtrack Piece by Piece released in September.
Over the last decade, there have been many biopics of musicians including Straight Outta Compton, Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, Elvis, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Bob Marley: One Love and Back to Black, all of them performed strongly at the box office, UK audiences love their biopics as they love their musicals. Opening in December the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man directed by Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) also a different kind of biopic as it features Robbie Williams as a Monkey.