Top 5 Breakdown
- Murder on the Orient Express – £4,985,600
Having the seventh biggest non- sequel opening of the year after Sing, Dunkirk, It, The Boss Baby, La La Land and Assassin Creed; The Boss Baby and Assassin Creed opens were inflated with previews so had the fifth biggest Fri-Sun opening of the year and the 24th biggest opening of the year including the sequels and comic-book movies.
Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 Thor is still his biggest opening film in the UK with £5,449,300 but as it was inflated with £899,224 from previews Murder on The Orient Express is really his biggest opening film in the UK. Kenneth Branagh made his directorial debut in 1989 with Bafta-winning Henry V followed it up two years later with his Hollywood debut Dead Again which took £3,189,172 at the box office; Peter’s Friends, Much Ado About Nothing followed (taking £4,139,294 in 1993) and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein taking £5,723,059 in 1994) before he returned to Shakespeare with In the Bleak Midwinter, Hamlet, Love’s Labour’s Lost, As You Like It and The Magic Flute. Ten years ago he directed flop Sleuth £165,788 and then surprised everyone directing Thor in 2011. 2014’s Jack Ryan reboot Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit was a massive disappointment but then had huge success with Disney’s Cinderella reimagination opening with £3,803,799 in March 2015 taking £20,873,340 and is currently in pre-production in long in development Artemis Fowl set for release in August 2019 for Disney.
After helping Dunkirk open with more than £10m in July the grey pound could defeat Thor from #1 after only one week at the top showing the pen is mightier than the sword.
Comparisons with other films are hard as whilst Agatha Christie has sold more books than only God and Shakespeare, Murder on the Orient Express is the first film based on one of her novels for almost 30 years. TV adaptations have been very popular over the decades with Miss Marple (in 1980s Joan Hickson as Miss Marple in the many BBC adaptations and in the 00s was played by Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie)
and Poirot (David Suchet was Poirot from 1989 and 2013). Recent BBC adaptions And Then There Were None in 2015 watched by over 8 million and over 5 million watched Witness for the Prosecution last year (film adaptation currently in development at 20th Century Fox for Ben Affleck) and this Christmas Ordeal by Innocence will be shown.
In recent years October/November has seen many films targeting older audiences perform as strongly during the week as the weekday so Murder on the Orient Express is likely to have a strong Mon-Thurs box office following its strong opening weekend; The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel took almost 50% of its opening week box office from its Mon-Thurs box office if Murder on the Orient Express was to do similar it could top £12m+ by the end of this weekend with a £20m box office a possibility.
While rival studios have been targeting younger audiences 20th Century Fox slate for 2016 has been mostly targeting older audiences Logan, War for the Planet of the Apes, Alien: Covenant, Hidden Figures, Viceroy’s House, Goodbye Christopher Robin, My Cousin Rachel and Battle of the Sexes. 2018 has more of this with The Greatest Showman on Earth, Three Billboards Outside, The Shape of Water, Red Sparrow, The Predator and Bohemian Rhapsody.
In recent years early November has seen strong performances for films targeting older demographic with films including Philomena £1,509,726, The Imitation Game £2,742,725, Brooklyn £1,041,278 and The Lady in the Van opened with £2,256,121.
Opened bigger than The Great Gatsby (£4,095,325) +41% as well as Gone Girl £4,109,628 +34% and The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo (£4,325,594) +11%.
Despite being based on an 81-year-old Agatha Christie novel which had previously been adapted for film and TV four times was an embargo in place until 10pm after the world premiere last Thursday at the Royal Albert Hall as the Agatha Christie estate are very hands-on with adaptions so the film would be very close to the novel. Reviews were very mixed with many describing it as an unnecessary remake which is true about almost every remake reboot, reimagination, sequel and comic-book films made today as remove the jokes from Thor: Ragnarok it’s the same as the other sixteen Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
As recent adaptations have been for the small screen probably is the reason why Kenneth Branagh shot the film in 70mm and had an ensemble cast as he wanted to up the scale of the film to be more than a murder the confined space of a train which makes it more suited for TV.
Director Kenneth Branagh shot the film with the last 65mm cameras in the world filmed his previous films on 35mm Cinderella, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Thor and previously filmed his 1996 Hamlet adaptation also on 65mm (was just over 4 hours long Rank Film Distributors released it in the UK in 1997.
While Christopher Nolan could demand Warner Bros to release Interstellar and Dunkirk in 70mm as did Quentin Tarantino’s with The Hateful Eight, Murder on The Orient Express will be screened in 70mm in only a handful of cinemas in the world.
If 2017 does see admissions increase from recent years it won’t be because of the comic-book movies or Star Wars: The Last Jedi which wwasalways likely to perform as they did it’s because of films like Dunkirk and Murder on the Orient Express that has attracted a wider older audience back to cinemas.
With Paddington 2 opening this weekend are three films targeting three different audience demographics the big question is how will Murder on the Orient Express hold as despite the mixed reviews received still opened strongly.
- Thor: Ragnarok – £4,617,180 – £20,789,487
Down 62.69% in its second weekend; Thor: Ragnarok took £16.17m in its opening week (compares to £12.29m for Doctor Strange last year) the fifth biggest week of the year behind Beauty and the Beast, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, The Fate of the Furious and Dunkirk.
Thor: Ragnarok is the 16th biggest film of the year and Disney’s third biggest film of the year have only released five films this year Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge, Cars 3, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Beauty and the Beast and Star Wars: The Last Jedi opening next month.
While Murder on the Orient Express opened surprised most the second weekend of Thor: Ragnarok was a more predictable second weekend for a comic-book movie and a film that had a six-day opening weekend.
Thor: Ragnarok has already overtaken the final box office of seven Marvel Cinematic Universe films Thor £14.0m, Thor: The Dark World £20.1m Iron Man £17.4m, Ant-Man £16.3m, Captain America: The First Avenger £10.4m and Captain America: The Winter Soldier £19.3m. But being the third Thor film needs to be compared with Iron Man 3 had taken £24.56m and Captain America: Civil War had taken £27.37m.
With Justice League opening in two weeks’ time Thor: Ragnarok is likely to take about £32m which would see it overtake Spider-Man: Homecoming £30.38m but comes short from topping Iron Man 3, Captain America: Civil War and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.
- A Bad Moms Christmas – £1,781,738 – NE
After taking £509,089 from two days of previews compared to £253,739 from one day of previews last August helped A Bad Moms Christmas open 17.9% ahead of Bad Moms £1,510,744 going on to take £8.6m.
The first Bad Moms was helped to open a month after its US release having a talking screening program to build awareness the sequel received mixed reviews and is unlikely to hold its second weekend, as well as Bad Moms, did dropping only 21%.
While it might have opened bigger than Horrible Bosses 2 (£1,257,808), Bad Neighbours 2 (£1,099,710) and Office Christmas Party (£1,198,176) all of them were very front-loaded Horrible Bosses 2 took £3,628,652, Bad Neighbours 2 £6,216,894 and Office Christmas Party £2,984,346.
After opening a Christmas film at the beginning of November a distributor hopes the film will play through till to the Christmas holidays but A Bad Moms Christmas is likely to be played out before the end of the month. Daddy’s Home 2 opens in two weeks’ time
- Jigsaw – £752,137 – £3,680,161
Down 59.3% in its second weekend and will likely become the lowest grossing of the film series in the UK having the lowest second-weekend box office of the 13-year film franchise.
While its box office after 11 days is more than the first film in 2004 Saw had surprisingly strong legs for a horror film taking £11.2m. Jigsaw is also above 2009’s Saw VI after opening similarly £1.85m Vs £1.73m but Saw VI held far stronger 45.8% Vs 59.3% and went on to take £6.97m Jigsaw is more likely to take about £5m which will see the 8-film franchise taken over £30m at the box office over its 13-year history.
After Jigsaw has only taken $60m worldwide which is less than half the last film took in 2010 its unlikely Lionsgate will be looking to continue this franchise this comes after disappointing performances of Power Rangers and My Little Pony seen as two other franchises for Lionsgate which now are unlikely to happen.
Lionsgate has had a very mixed year at the box office started with massive highs with La La Land and The Hitman’s Bodyguard performing well but also had several disappointments including Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.
Remaining films of the year Only the Brave, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Stronger is unlikely to find much success but Stephen Chbosky’s Wonder starring Julia Roberts has been built strong buzz for months was originally set for April release but in February was delayed to November in the hope it will build up award momentum as La La Land did last year for Lionsgate
- The Death of Stalin – £520,275 – £3,599,835
Down 36% in its third weekend despite adding over 70 more screens in its third weekend showing that its two weeks of expansion failed to build on the at the box office which was more than double momentum and buzz the film received on its opening weekend.
While The Death of Stalin has held well in the last three weeks in the top five had it opened wider October 20th in its opening weekend it would have opened top over a quiet weekend of new releases instead of fifth with £995,458.
The Death of Stalin will this week become eOne’s biggest film of 2017 overtaking £3.62m of Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience highlighting how disappointing 2017 has been for the independent distributor as last year The BFG £30.64m, The Girl on the Train £23.65m and Arrival £9.14m all took much more taking £109.9m which was more than double £50.33m taken in 2015.
Remaining films of the year Thank You for Your Service, Suburbicon, Just Getting Started and Molly’s Game isn’t likely to add much more to their total for the year. eOne start 2018 with The Post directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks (seventh film for the director and eleventh including films produced by Spielberg most recently in 2015’s Bridge of Spies) and Meryl Streep. Its 22 years since Tom Hanks last won a Best Actor Oscar despite acting in many fantastic roles since and is likely again to miss out next year to Daniel Day-Lewis final acting performance in Phantom Thread.
As Studiocanal and Lionsgate don’t have any stand-out titles for 2018 as did with 2017 with La La Land and Paddington 2 (both contributing a large percentage of their total box office for the year) eOne are likely to return as the #1 biggest independent distributor in 2018.
Also released
Breathe – STX – After opening disappointingly with £535,675 from 463 screens last weekend it dropped 65% in its second weekend taking £169,937 and £1.28m despite strong reviews and opening the London Film Festival. Breathe is STX third film released in the UK Wind River and Home Again both performed similarly despite positive reviews.
These films have been squeezed the most in the marketplace and are so hard to find an audience theatrically so many independent distributors have tried and failed in recent years to release these mid-range type of films whose natural home now is sadly VoD via Netflix.
The UK marketplace is very competitive it’s very hard for a new independent distributor to find its legs 30+ years ago Guild Film Distributors would spend huge acquiring many high profile tentpole releases from Terminator 2 to Basic Instinct was then acquired by Pathe becoming a shell of the company they were as Guild. Entertainment Film Distributors launched almost 40 years ago as a video distributor becoming a film distributor in the mid-80s and thanks to output deal with New Line Cinema between 1990 and 2010 had many successes including the Lord of the Rings trilogy. More recently Electric Pictures were taken over by Momentum Pictures which was then taken over by eOne had huge success with Twilight Saga between 2008- 2012.
In the 90s Redbus Film Distributors launched acquired by Helkon Media in 2001 and then acquired by Lionsgate in 2005. Also in the 90s Polygram Films opened UK distribution after having a distribution deal for many years previously with Rank Film Distributors which was sold in 1997 while Polygram was absorbed into Universal International a few years later. Many other companies from Koch Media to Icon Films have tried and failed over the years. STX does have stronger foundations than many of them and losing their launch title The Irishman to Netflix earlier this year lost their identity along with losing the sequel to their biggest hit Bad Moms to Entertainment Film Distributors.
STX Entertainment acquired international rights apart from the UK for All the Money in the World is suffering from the fallout after Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual assault the film was planned to be released by Sony Pictures next month were rumors they might delay its release after its premiere was removed from AFI Fest.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £14,453,653 down 24.91% from last weekend £19,248,576
The weekend admissions 1,896,805 down 24.91% from last weekend 2,526,060 (average price £7.62 by UK Cinema Association/BFI for 2017).
Murder on the Orient Express took 34.5% of the top 10; 20 films opened at weekend taking £7,531,085; Murder on the Orient Express 66.2% (£4,985,600); A Bad Moms Christmas 23.6% (£1,781,738); remaining 18 films shared 10.1% (£763,747);
The weekend was up 26.45% from last year (£11,430,004): The Accountant £1,623,866, A Street Cat Named Bob £985,557, Nocturnal Animals £755,427, The Light Between Oceans £733,421
Down 19% from 2015: (£17,844,077): Brooklyn £1,041,278, Burnt £445,777, Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse £297,263, Kill Your Friends £102,221, He Named Me Malala £101,776
Next weekend in 2016: (£10,984,043) Arrival £2,924,059,
After 10 months 2017 is currently 3% ahead of 2016 with Paddington 2 £30m+, Justice League £30m+, Star Wars: The Last Jedi £115m+, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle £15m, Pitch Perfect 3 £15m+ and Ferdinand £10m+ still to come 2017 will be ahead of 2016 but the question is how will it compare with 2015.
After the first quarter was 18% ahead of 2016 and 12% after the first 6 months whatever 2017 does end up becoming it must be seen for what it will be a disappointment. This is after Phil Clapp admitted that 2017 had a strong slate of films so if the problem wasn’t the films why didn’t box office and admissions keep growing as it did for the first six months. Many were predicting admissions would final grow for the first time since 2002 instead the best that is likely is the highest admissions since 2012.
UK Box Office Top 10
US Box Office Top 10
US Box office
Disney – Thor: Ragnarok – opened $121m; after receiving very positive reviews 92% Rotten Tomatoes score received A CinemaScore.
Having the seventh biggest opening of the Marvel Cinematic Universe opening ahead of last summer’s Spider-Man: Homecoming $117m
Opened 84% bigger than 2011’s Thor $65.72m which took $181.03m and 41.1% bigger than 2013’s Thor: The Dark World $85.73m which took $206.36m
This compares to 2016’s Captain America: Civil War ($179.1m) opening 88% bigger than 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier $95.02m and 175% more than 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger ($65.05m).
2013’s Iron Man 3 ($174.1m) opening 76.5% bigger than 2008’s Iron Man ($98.6m) and 36.8% bigger than 2010’s Iron Man 2 ($128.12m).
While Thor was always seen inferior to both Iron Man and Captain America as comic-book characters the additional of other Avengers in Thor: Ragnarok Hulk and Doctor Strange didn’t see the same increase with Thor: Ragnarok as Spider-Man Homecoming as it did with Captain America: Civil War.
As these films are a continuation of the story started in Captain America: Civil War would have expected box office to be closer especially as Thor films have previously been very front-loaded. With Justice League opening in two weeks Thor: Ragnarok is likely to perform close to Iron Man 2 dropping 60% in its second weekend and similar against Justice League to take about $295m which will be the tenth biggest Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Thor: Ragnarok took $151.4m internationally over the weekend with a total of $306m and global box office of $427m and will shortly overtaking the global box office of 2008’s Thor $449m and will also overtake 2013’s Thor: The Dark World $644m; it is the 17th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe taking over $13 billion globally and over $5 billion in the US.
Marvel will release three Marvel Cinematic Universe films next year Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp.
STX – A Bad Moms Christmas – opened $17.03m and $21.55m after 5 days; received B CinemaScore and only 31% Rotten Tomatoes score compared with 58% for the original film which opened last July opened with $23.81m taking $113.25m.
The first film opened strongly and held well on the following weekends as wasn’t any direct competition. But with Daddy’s Home 2 opening this weekend is direct competition next weekend is likely to be close to A Bad Moms Christmas an unwanted unnecessary sequel.
Lionsgate – Jigsaw -dropped 59.7% in its second weekend taking $6.7m and $28.83m;
Jigsaw has overtaken the total box office of Saw VI $28.83m but is unlikely to overtake the other six films total box office.
The second weekend box office of Saw films
In 2010 Saw 3D took $7.31m taking $38.33m total $45.71m
In 2009 Saw VI took $5.27m taking $22.53m total $28.83m
In 2008 Saw V took $9.74m taking $45.46m taking $56.74m
In 2007 Saw IV took $10.34m taking $50.39m taking $63.3m
In 2006 Saw III took $15.8m taking $59.38m taking $80.23m
In 2005 Saw II took $16.85m taking $60.12m taking $87.03m
In 2004 Saw took $11.09m taking $35.93m taking $55.18m
Lionsgate – Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween – drops 53.7% taking $4.65m taking $42.95m
Last year Boo! A Madea Halloween dropped 55.1% in its third weekend taking $7.73m and $64.92m 88.93% of its final box office of $73m; if Boo 2! A Madea Halloween performs similarly it will take about $49m.
Paramount Pictures have announced an untitled comedy will be released in April 2019 with the next Tyler Perry film released in August 2018 Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral.
Universal Pictures – Happy Death Day – drops 46.8% taking $2.69m in its fourth weekend taking $52.85m.
Warner Bros – Blade Runner 2049 – drops 43.3% taking $2.33m in its fifth weekend taking $88.55m;
Internationally Blade Runner 2049 had taken $155m and $240.58m total after disappointing in both China and Japan it will now unlikely take more than $300m worldwide which will see it loose more than $100m.
On limited release
A24 – The Florida Project – took $633,735 up 21.3% adding 44 screens taking $2.99m;
Focus Features – Lady Bird – opens $364,437 from 4 screens; since having its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival it has received critical acclaim currently with 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Opened November 10th
Opening UK
- Paddington 2 – Studiocanal
Live-action/CGI animated adventure comedy featuring Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington and Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Brendan Gleeson, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi and Hugh Grant and directed by Paul King; it is the sequel to the 2014 film Paddington; Paddington 2 has currently 100% Rotten Tomatoes score this compares close to 98% for the original film. While is often a Brit bias on British films from critics US reaction has equally been as positive.
Unlike most children’s films the original Paddington film and its sequel opening weekends aren’t inflated with previews; Paddington opened 28th November 2014 with £5,125,519 dropping only 25% in its second weekend taking £3,837,885 and £10,332,911 after 10 days which killed of Dreamworks animation’s Penguins of Madagascar opening with only £1,575,949 despite John Lewis Christmas advert featuring Monty the Penguin.
This year Marks and Spencer’s Christmas advert features Paddington Bear the advert will be shown before the film and M&S will be selling various Paddington merchandise. In December M&S staff will be handing out Paddington-themed random acts of kindness from giving customers marmalade sandwiches to giving chocolates.
M&S advert has already been seen almost 600,000 in its first 254 hours
Paddington stayed in the top 10 for 12 weeks taking £36,110,763 of its £37,842,948
First Paddington film was 96 mins long but the sequel is 10 minutes longer as the film is targeting younger children these extra 9 minutes could affect the enjoyment of the film by many as after about 90 minutes younger children get restless.
An intermission would be a benefit for some young children friendly screenings having been to the cinema three times this year with my niece and nephew they happily watched Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience was 72mins long. While with both The Boss Baby and Captain Underpants got restless after about the same time into the films and had to leave if there was a short intermission after about an hour this could make the cinema experience more bearable for children as well as parents.
Paddington opened with £5,125,519 three years ago since then become a family favourite with reviews for the sequel as positive as original film; ticket inflation since Paddington in 2014 is about 15% £700k+; comparing Paddington with the first two Harry Potter films Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets opened 15% bigger than Harry Potter/Philosopher’s Stone would see Paddington 2 open with £6-6.5m.
- Only the Brave – Lionsgate
Biographical drama featuring ensemble cast Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, Taylor Kitsch, James Badge Dale, Jennifer Connelly and Ben Hardy and directed by Joseph Kosinski.
The film is based on a GQ article “No Exit” telling the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite crew of firefighters who fought the Yarnell Hill Fire in June 2013. Originally called Granite Mountain the title was changed in July to the generic Only the Brave; the film received positive reviews but opened disappointingly in the US against Boo 2! A Madea Halloween, The Snowman, and Geostorm was one of many adult demographic films failed to find an audience in the Fall.
Was called the best firefighter film since 1991’s Backdraft but is unlikely to find an audience in the UK.
- Professor Marston and The Wonder Women – Sony Pictures
Biographical drama starring Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, Bella Heathcote, Oliver Platt and Connie Britton written and directed by Angela Robinson; premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival receiving positive reviews from critics; had its UK premiere last month at the London Film Festival.
Annapurna Pictures strangely opened the film on a wide release October 13th and the film flopped as so many other adult dramas have done this autumn. It is unlikely to find an audience in the UK but might find some interest opening the week before Justice League as the film is about American psychologist William Moulton Marston, who created the Wonder Woman.
- The Florida Project – Altitude
Drama starring Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Kimberly Prince, Bria Vinaite, Valeria Cotto, Christopher Rivera and Caleb Landry Jones and directed by Sean Baker; premiered at Cannes Film Festival receiving critical acclaim; has slowly expanded from a platform release in the US from October 6th as A24 repeat their similar slow platform expansion release they did last year so successfully with Moonlight.
So many films this autumn in the US have had a decent opening on a limited release and then the following weekend expand far too wide and then fail to find an audience but these films need a much slower expansion as cinemagoers need much more time to find these films in such a crowded marketplace.
Deon Cinemas screened The Florida Project last month as part of their Screen Unseen reaction was mixed as from the clues many believed it to be Battle of the Sexes; This year’s Screen Unseen films included The Death of Stalin, Hidden Figures, Moonlight, The Big Sick, Baby Driver, Mindhorn and Manchester By The Sea.
While The Florida Project received very positive reviews with 95% Rotten Tomatoes score it’s going to be much harder sell than Altitude’s Oscar-winning Moonlight. After Moonlight release was very successful surprising Altitude are releasing the film this year rather than repeating Moonlight’s successful release as A24 has done with its US release.
Opening in the US
- Daddy’s Home 2 – Paramount
Comedy film starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini, John Cena, John Lithgow and Mel Gibson and directed by Sean Anders. After the first film was a success Paramount soon announced Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg would return.
In January 2017 it was announced Mel Gibson would join the cast received much disgust from many that Hollywood has seemingly welcomed back the convicted wife beater, racist, and anti-Semite after Hacksaw Ridge received several Oscar nominations this year. After the recent Harvey Weinstein scandal, this shows that Hollywood never changes while there were similar shock and disgust after the many shocking sexual assaults by actresses by Weinstein. The more shocking element was many in Hollywood knew of this for decades and kept it quiet because it was Harvey the fact that they are seemingly welcoming back Mel Gibson in a family company shows nothing ever changes.
The first film was a surprise hit in 2015 opening with $38.74m taking $150.31m and is Paramount Pictures 48th biggest film ever and 25th biggest original film and only 2016’s Star Trek Beyond has taken more since $158m) highlighting how disappointing Paramount Pictures films have performed in recent years.
Paramount’s 2017 films have taken only $411.7m to date are stuck as the seventh biggest studio of the year after all their slate underperformed this year; biggest Transformers: The Last Knight $130.1m. Paramount will need to take over $200m from Daddy’s Home 2 and Downsizing to avoid having their worst year since 2004 (Mean Girls was their biggest film of the year with $86m while the biggest film of the year was Shrek 2 taking $441m) and worst for 17 years as comedies often take about 30% less than originals this is unlikely.
After A Bad Moms Christmas opened 28% less than original Daddy’s Home 2 will likely open about 35% less from the first film with about $25m while the original film held well against Star Wars: The Force Awakens over the lucrative Christmas holidays Daddy’s Home 2 and A Bad Moms Christmas are both likely to be played out before Thanksgiving.
Surprising Paramount decided to open Daddy’s Home 2 so close to its only competition for the Christmas season as early December is very quiet for new releases as rival studios keep their distance from Star Wars: The Last Jedi which is likely to open lower than The Force Awakens about $215m and take about $800m. While fans have already advanced booked being the second part and the third Star Wars in three years is getting a bit too much for non-fans who will prefer films like Pitch Perfect 3 (saying that after the second the third film feels one film too far) while Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is an unknown is it a sequel or is it a reboot and can either match up to the Robin Williams original.
- Murder on the Orient Express – 20th Century Fox
Thriller starring Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr, Michelle Pfeiffer and Daisy Ridley and directed by Kenneth Branagh; it’s the fifth adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel;
After having a very strong opening in the UK older audiences could similarly come out to see Murder on the Orient Express in the US as while there have been many films targeting older audiences none have generated much interest at the box office; an opening of $25m+ could be likely which could see it open ahead of Daddy’s Home 2.
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Fox Searchlight
Dark comedy starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, John Hawkes, and Peter Dinklage written and directed by Martin McDonagh; had world premiere at Venice International Film Festival also screening Toronto International Film Festival winning top prize, the People’s Choice Award and closed London Film Festival last month; received 98% Rotten Tomatoes score from 48 reviews.
British director Martin McDonagh previous films include 2012’s Seven Psychopaths opened with $4.17m taking $15.02m and 2008’s In Bruges opened on limited release $459,575 taking $7,786,213 never expanded beyond 232 screens.
Opening on limited release before a slow expansion over the coming weeks.