- Jurassic World: Rebirth £12,493,782 – NE
Took £3.29m 26.35% from previews (Weds £1.99m/Thurs £1.28m)
Took £2.15m 17.21% Friday; £3.810 30.50% Saturday; £3.263m 26.12% Sunday.
68th biggest opening between The Inbetweeners Movie 2 and Thor: Ragnarok (close to Deadpool 2, Fast & Furious 7, Fantastic Beasts 2 and Indiana Jones: The Crystal Skull) and 119th inflated opening between Night at the Museum and Jurassic World Dominion (close to Man of Steel, The Day After Tomorrow, The World Is Not Enough and King Kong)
3rd biggest opening over the last 52 weeks between Wicked and Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (close to Moana 2, Sonic The Hedgehog 3, Paddington In Peru and Lilo & Stitch) and 2nd biggest 2025 between A Minecraft Movie and Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy.
Universal Pictures’ 5th #1 opening in 2025 after Nosferatu, Dog Man, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, and How To Train Your Dragon. Universal Pictures releases more films than any other studio and a wider mix of films, from massive tentpoles like Jurassic World: Rebirth to tiny budgeted The Ballad Of Wallis Island.
Opened in 683 cinemas (1,500+ screens), 269th widest opening, similar to Wicked Little Lies, Empire Of Light, House of Gucci and 1917;263rd 600+ cinema opening since 2015’s Jurassic World
UK Vs US 5-day was 13.58% and UK Vs US 3-day was 10% taking £9,201,467 Fri-Sun
13.58% was similar to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, King Kong, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning; while 10% was similar to The Batman, Starship Troopers, Mission: Impossible III and 2012; 10% is the guide percentage of UK to US opening but it’s the first time it was exactly 10%.
The Franchise’s Diminishing Returns Are Undeniable
The stark reality: this franchise peaked with the original Jurassic Park in 1993. That film opened with £4.87 million but achieved a remarkable 9.82x multiplier to reach £47.89 million total. Compare that to Jurassic World’s 3.29x multiplier, and now Rebirth’s projected similar performance of around £35 million total.
Each sequel has followed the same tired formula: something survived, people return to the island, chaos ensues. The franchise has become exactly what Dr. Ian Malcolm warned against in the original—executives “so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
Why This Reboot Feels Premature
It’s been only three years since Jurassic World Dominion, which was supposed to be the series finale. That film was the worst-reviewed entry in the franchise, making even Jurassic Park III look respectable in comparison. The timing feels purely financial rather than creative.
Director Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Rogue One) brings competent craftsmanship, but the script by David Koepp—who also wrote the original—retreads familiar ground. The plot involving stealing an egg for a disease cure directly echoes Deep Blue Sea and Jurassic Park III’s stolen T-Rex eggs subplot.
Critical Reception Reveals the Problem
While some critics praised it as a “love letter” to the original, most reviews were mixed. The franchise’s fundamental issue remains that none of the sequels capture the original’s sense of wonder or memorable dialogue. Steven Spielberg’s restraint—showing dinosaurs for only 15 minutes in a 2-hour film—has been abandoned for spectacle over substance.
The Box Office Reality Check
Jurassic World: Rebirth’s inflation-inflated opening was remarkably similar to both Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park: The Lost World, but impossible to compare as they had far more admissions.
1993’s Jurassic Park opened £4,875,137/£12,104,312, taking £47,886,423/£118,895,574
1997’s Jurassic Park: The Lost World opened £5,970,014/£11,690,666, taking £25,799,961/£50,522,282
2001’s Jurassic Park 3 opened £4,762,155/£9,167,724, taking £18,307,718/£35,244,568
2015’s Jurassic World opened £19,350,727/£21,390,471 (£2,514,284 previews) Friday £3.95m taking £63,674,773/£70,386,677
2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom opened £14,334,894 (£3,650,000 previews) Friday £2.63m, taking £41,573,492/£45,892,068
2022’s Jurassic World Dominion opened £12,121,728, £3.3m from Fri; £4.5m Sat and £4.7m Sun; taking £36,379,686Jurassic World: Rebirth opened with £372,054, more than 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion, but had 5 5-day opening compared to 3 3-day openings for Dominion, and Dominion took £850k from IMAX. Jurassic World Dominion also took £1,322,248 (19.9%) from 282 3D cinemas.
With Superman opening Friday and taking premium screens, Rebirth faces a 60%+ drop next weekend. The third heatwave of the year with 30°C+ temperatures may help cinema attendance, but the film’s trajectory appears set for a respectable but uninspiring run.
Universal’s strategy of casting Scarlett Johansson to attract her fanbase represents the franchise’s current state: relying on star power rather than storytelling innovation. The dinosaurs may still roar, but the magic died long ago.
In Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Claire asks, “Do you remember the first time you saw a dinosaur? First time you see them, it’s like… a miracle. You read about them in books, you see the bones in museums, but you don’t really believe it. They’re like myths. And then you see… the first one alive.” This was how cinema audiences responded to 1993’s Jurassic Park.
It feels too soon for a reboot, as it’s only three years since the release of Jurassic World Dominion, which was planned to be the final film of the series. Especially as Jurassic World Dominion was the worst-reviewed film of the series, receiving even worse reviews than Jurassic Park 3, now doesn’t seem that bad 24 years later, when compared to Jurassic World films. Of course, with the casting of Scarlett Johansson, Universal Pictures will be hoping her fan base will come out.
The plot of going back to the park to get an egg that could be the cure for a disease has a similar plot to Deep Blue Sea, with a similar outcome as was the case in Jurassic Park 3 when Billy stole the T Rex’s eggs.
Development started soon after the release of Jurassic World Dominion. Gareth Edwards signed to direct in February 2024; previously directed 2014’s Godzilla (opened £6,385,483, taking £17,074,621); 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (opened £17,305,011, taking £66,013,076/£71,001,918); 2023’s The Creator (opened £2,255,034, taking £7,084,748). Scarlett Johansson called Jurassic World Rebirth a ‘Love Letter’ to the original film, saying, “Fans of the Jurassic universe can expect to really feel the DNA of the original ‘Jurassic Park’ in this film.”
Some critics have responded similarly and given it very positive reviews, including the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian, but most others have been more mixed, with Indiewire paraphrasing Dr. Ian Malcolm quote from the first film “Your executives were so unpreoccupied with whether or not they should, they didn’t stop to think if they could.”
The problem with Jurassic Park is that all the sequels are repeating the events of the original film, with something else having survived. According to Jurassic Park Wiki, John Hammond leased seven islands from Costa Rica for 99 years. The script was written by David Koepp, who also adapted Michael Crichton’s book for the first film.
While there are so many memorable quotes in the original, as with all the other sequels, they are lacking in Jurassic World: Rebirth. “The problem with the scientific power that you’re using here is that it didn’t require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done, and you took the next step. You didn’t earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don’t take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox.” It could be compared to what Hollywood has done over the last decade and more, the one positive being that if The Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don’t eat the tourists.
With Superman opening on Friday and losing PLF screens, Jurassic World: Rebirth will drop 60%+ – this could be higher with the third heatwave of the year and 30°C+ temperatures expected over the weekend and into next week. That said, cinema is always a great escape from hot weather for me.
- 2. F1 £3,074,421 – £12,901,088
Down 56.5% in its second weekend (39% without previews)
£802k 26.1% (-44.7% £1.45m) Friday; £1.29m 42% (-34.8% £1.98m) Sat £982k 31.95% (-35% £1.51m) Sun.
242nd biggest second weekend between X-Men: The Last Stand and Aladdin (close to Justice League, Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, Avatar and The Martian) and 295th biggest inflated opening between Sing 2 and Superman Returns (close to Rocky IV, Tomorrow Never Dies, Back to the Future Part II and Batman (1989).
13th biggest second weekend over the last 52 weeks, between Mission Impossible 8 and Captain America: Brave New World (close to It Ends with Us, How To Train Your Dragon, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Sinners); 5th biggest 2025 opening between Mission: Impossible 8 and Captain America: Brave New World.
F1 continues to hold similar to 2023’s Indiana Jones And The Dial of Destiny despite being two vastly different films; Dial of Destiny dropped 57% £3,046,227 #2 £13,162,996 64.81% of £20,311,195; Elemental #1 £3,049,002; third week dropped 42% £1,765,710 #3 £16,347,999; Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One £10,391,016 #1.
F1 has been described as Top Gun Maverick on land, and Tom Cruise starred in 1990’s Days of Thunder was also called Top Gun on Land and seen as a secret Top Gun sequel, and since Top Gun: Maverick opened, Tom Cruise has been talking about a Days of Thunder 2.
Car racing films have had mixed success at the box office, including.
2019’s Le Mans ’66 dropped 41.3% £1,174,553 and £4,234,327 71.5% of £5,919,482/£6,493,393
2023’s Ferrari dropped 69.7% £599,427 and £3,278,831 85.1% of £3,850,021
2013’s Rush dropped 36.3% £1,336,449/£1,620,930 and £4,673,315 46.5% of £10,052,403/£12,192,195
1990’s Days of Thunder dropped 18.9% £479,075/£1,350,275 and £1,694,687 49.4% of £3,430,086/£9,667,716
Brad Pitt is coming off recent successes. 2022’s Bullet Train dropped 68.2% £909,264 and £5,062,175, 47% of £10,766,199 and 2019’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood dropped 72.1% £2,109,591 and £12,736,799, 61.1% of £20,851,025.
While Tom Cruise is the “Last Action Hero”, Brad Pitt is the “Last Charismatic Movie Star” of the 90s and 00s ahead of George Clooney, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp. Brad Pitt has been smouldering on the cinema screen ever since 1991’s Thelma & Louise. Away from the Ocean’s Trilogy, starred in a much wider mix of mostly original films in many iconic roles, including True Romance, Interview with the Vampire, Legends of the Fall, Se7en, 12 Monkeys, Meet Joe Black, and Fight Club in the 90s. Snatch, Troy, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Burn After Reading and Inglourious Basterds in the noughties.
Joseph Kosinski developed the smallest movable 6k IMAX camera ever designed to take the viewer into the cockpit, as he did with Top Gun: Maverick; it had never been used before in a film.
2022’s Top Gun: Maverick dropped 35.2% £10,325,500 and £38,471,380 46.1% of £83,575,590
2013’s Oblivion dropped 66.6% £1,656,895/£2,009,588 and £8,058,971 76.8% of £10,486,465/£12,718,653
2010’s Tron Legacy dropped 75.3% £486,065/£646,997 and £4,086,744 40.6% of £10,069,754/£13,403,773
555th biggest between Alien: Covenant and Lilo & Stitch (2002) (close to Baby Driver, Ocean’s Thirteen, Ransom and The Departed) and 929th biggest inflated between District 9 and Mona Lisa (close to 12 Monkeys, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Superman IV and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult).
- 3. How To Train Your Dragon £1,489,573 – £18,197,343
Down 25.4% in its third weekend
£241k 16.19% (-39.6% £399k) Fri; £634k 42.58% (-25.67% £853k) Sat; £614k 41.24% (-45.23% £740k) Sun
256th biggest third weekend between The Girl on the Train and Transformers: Dark Of The Moon (close to Dolittle, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Trolls, and Night At The Museum) and 457th biggest inflated third weekend between Taken 3 and Sex and the City 2 (close to Waterworld, Ghostbusters 2, Arachnophobia and Dumb and Dumber)
It’s the 5th biggest 2025 film between
It’s 15 years since the first Dreamworks Animation film opened, which means it doesn’t have the same nostalgic element as Disney’s reimaginations have done those preteens who saw the first film are now in their early 20s and their children if they have any will be far too young to go to the cinema to watch it and likely prefer the animated film.
Fourth weekends
2010’s How to Train Your Dragon dropped 35.9% £821,638/£1,100,581 and 14,256,991 83% of £17,168,517/£22,997,156
2014’s How to Train Your Dragon 2 up 10.7% £1,096,888/£1,179,784 and £17,634,729 71.4% of £24,690,123/£26,556,043
2019’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World dropped up 0.9% £1,665,724 and £15,877,875 80.5% of £19,714,201/£21,762,075
There is a Lilo & Stitch connection with HTTYD as directors, Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders also made the original 2002 animated film. Both films also had the same actors repeating their roles, Chris Sanders voices Stitch again, and Gerard Butler voices Stoick the Vast. Studios will keep remaking these films as audiences keep going to see them. Universal Pictures has already dated HTTYD2.
354th biggest between American Pie 2 and Terminator 2: Judgement Day (close to 22 Jump Street, Jurassic Park 3, Moulin Rouge and Elemental) and 631st biggest inflated between the Daddy’s Home and Oz: The Great and Powerful (close to Puss in Boots, Final Destination, School of Rock and Sleepy Hollow).
- 4. 28 Years Later £1,409,291 – £12,450,170
Dropped 40.8% in its third weekend.
£392k 27.8% (-47.45% £746k) Fri; £581k 41.23% (-38.45% £944k) Sat; £436k 30.94% (-68.99% £690k) Sun
423rd biggest third weekend between The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Men In Black 2 (close to Smile, Stardust, It: Chapter Two and Batman Forever) and 695th biggest inflated third weekend between Alien3 and Look Who’s Talking Too (close to 28 Days Later, The Grudge, Scary Movie 3 and Fantastic Four (2005).
It’s the second biggest horror in 2025 after Nosferatu (£12.9m)
The film has a lot of similarities to 2006’s Children of Men (taking £4,858,150/£7,900,729); instead of a virus, it’s a pandemic caused by pollution that sees an infertility crisis with no children being born for 25 years, and the last hope of humanity comes from a pregnant immigrant. In 28 Years Later, not a spoiler as it’s in the trailer, a baby is born to a woman who is infected. The baby doesn’t seem to be infected. As the baby isn’t infected, is she immune, as in films like I Am Legend and TV series The Last of Us?
Alex Garland talked about the deceptive power of nostalgia: “The thing about looking back is how selective memory is” .. “It cherry picks and it has amnesia, and crucially, it also misremembers. We are living in a time right now which is absolutely dominated by a misremembered past.”
1996’s Trainspotting dropped 6.1% £750,525/£1,469,701 and £6,115,347 49.2% of £12,431,663/£24,344,067
2017’s T2 Trainspotting dropped 51.6% £1,420,910/£1,511,970 and £13,515,865 79.7% of £16,956,434/£18,043,095
2002’s 28 Days Later dropped 28.4% £768,687/£1,428,074 and £4,678,281 75% of £6,238,016/£11,589,041
2007’s 28 Weeks Later dropped 38% £543,151/£857,211 and £4,298,552 81% of £5,309,160/£8,379,011
569th biggest between Jungle Cruise and The Departed (close to Lilo & Stitch (2002), The Final Destination, Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction) and 958th biggest inflated between The Grand Budapest Hotel and National Treasure (close to Superman IV, Groundhog Day, Beetlejuice and Misery).
When 28 Days Later was released, it was given an 18, ahead of the release of 28 Years Later. It was reclassified as 15 as 28 Years Later, but how did it get a 15 with extreme gore and nudity? Danny Boyle spoke in an interview with Variety, talking about the brutal aspects of the horror, stretching it as far as you can go, but surely it’s like 50 Shades of Grey getting a 15, 28 Years Later as Trainspotting 2 needed to be an 18. The 18 wouldn’t have had any impact on the film’s BO as the majority of its audience was much older.
28 Years Later is the 4th biggest Danny Boyle film, ahead of 127 Hours (£7.7m) and 28 Days Later (£6.3m).
Danny Boyle has directed 15 films and famously dropped out of directing Alien: Resurrection in 1997 and Bond 25 in 2018 due to “creative differences”, opting to direct Yesterday instead. In interviews for 28 Years Later id his one regret of walking away from directing the film was that it had a great script.
Danny Boyle also directed.
1995’s Shallow Grave took £5,075,847/£11,551,928; 1997’s A Life Less Ordinary £3,376,442/£6,570,374
2000’s The Beach dropped 25.2% £1,470,048/£2,756,772 and £8,757,771 65.7% of £13,332,236/£25,505,147
2005’s Millions took £1,453,171/£2,443,549
2007’s Sunshine dropped 46.6% £236,706/£373,574 and £2,786,833 87.8% of £3,163,317/£4,961,083
2009’s Slumdog Millionaire up 6.7% £2,806,996/£4,112,456 and £10,239,371 32.3% of £31,660,043/£46,093,298
2011’s 127 Hours dropped 40% £805,418/ £1,059,271 and £5,801,164 74.6% of £7,705,020/£10,069,927
2013’s Trance took £4,374,590/£5,305,781 and 2015’s Steve Jobs took £2,282,033/£2,506,755
2019’s Yesterday dropped 33.4% £1,084,847 and £8,137,797 60.1% of £13,813,168
Danny Boyle also directed the 30-minute short Alien Love Triangle in 1999. It was meant to be one of a set of three short films that were going to be released one film, but the other two films were made as separate films (Mimic and Imposter), and Alien Love Triangle was left unreleased.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opens in January, while it might open between two horrors, SOULM8TE and Return To Silent Hill, it’s the most high-profile film opening in January. This was the problem opening 28 Year Later in June, Sony Pictures might have promoted it as the most anticipated film of the year, but the massive hype and positive reviews it wasn’t strong enough to open in June. It should have opened in Sept/Oct. This was also the issue with M3GAN 2.0 last weekend. The first 28 Days Later opened in November and performed well, so why didn’t the sequel open at the same time as Sony did with Trainspotting 2 in February 2017?
While the big question is Sony will finance 28 Years Later 3; 28 Years Later will take about $150m worldwide with a $65m budget, twice as much as 2007’s 28 Weeks Later took $72.3m worldwide and $75m 28 Days Later but with much lower budgets and marketing costs.
- 5. Elio £691,062 – £3,042,685
Down 9.7% in its third weekend
£93k 13.46% (-25% £124k) Friday; £290k 41.97% (-14.7% £381k) Sat; £308k 44.57% (-19.37% £300k) Sun
952nd biggest third weekend between Phone Booth and Jack Reacher (close to Lady Bird, About Time, 12 Monkeys and The Polar Express) and 1,294th biggest inflated third weekend between About Schmidt and Nim’s Island (close to Fisherman’s Friends, Predator, 13 Going On 30 and Step Up 3).
134th biggest animated third weekend between The Paw Patrol Movie and Sherlock Gnomes (close to Abominable, The Garfield Movie, Spies In Disguise, and Pixels) and 154th biggest inflated third weekend animated between The Book Of Life and Encanto (close to Corpse Bride, Megamind, Coraline and Storks).
Elio’s third weekend was again Pixar’s lowest in the UK, below Cars 3’s (£1,013,547) and Lightyear’s (£864,035)
As with other Pixar films, Elio had a strong third weekend hold. The problem, of course, was that it started so low with its opening and with no other children’s releases until Smurfs in two weeks should hold well over those week, but it will still be the lowest Pixar film in the UK; 2020’s Onward is Pixar’s current lowest film taking £7,308,920 (COVID affected).
2,048th biggest between The Nightmare Before Christmas and Legend of the Guardians (close to Missing Link, Swallows and Amazons, Muppet Treasure Island and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) and 2,570th biggest inflated between The Holdovers and Deck the Halls (close to Kubo and the Two Strings, Beauty and the Beast 2012 3D, The Big Lebowski and Harold And The Purple Crayon).
Recent original Pixar third weekends
2023’s Elemental dropped 28.7% £1,651,929/£1,823,528 and £10,221,949 56.7% of £18,151,466
2018’s Coco dropped 42.3% £1,430,063 and £8,960,702 48.4% of £18,013,336
Elio is the 28th Pixar film since Toy Story was released 30 years ago in the US (opened in the UK in March 1996), it’s the 18th original Pixar animated film and the first original film since Elemental was released 2 years ago. Over the last 10 years, Pixar has released 15 films, and 8 were original (Soul, Luca and Turning Red had limited cinema releases after premiering on Disney+).
The 25 Pixar films that have had cinema release have taken £485m and almost £1.1bn inflation-adjusted.
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The weekend’s top 10 box office took £20,218,867, up 43.7% from last weekend’s £14,072,301: 2,612,257 admissions, up 43.7% from 1,818,127 admissions.
The 7th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks was between 23 May 2025 #1 Lilo & Stitch £9,568,923 (43.63%) and 15 November 2024 #1 Gladiator II £9,155,050 (46.53%)
14th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 242 weeks between 07 April 2023 #1 Super Mario Bros £15,691,810 (74.07%) and 08 July 2022 #1 Thor: Love And Thunder £12,283,719 (60.92%)
76th biggest top 10 of the last 24 years (out of 1,213) between 20 November 2009 #1 The Twilight Saga: New Moon £11,683,158 (57.45%) and 08 July 2022 #1 Thor: Love And Thunder £12,283,719 (60.92%) and 194th inflated between 09 January 2004 #1 LOTR: The Return of the King £3,713,999 (32.37%) and 27 November 2009 #1 The Twilight Saga: New Moon £4,303,257 (28.38%)
The top 3 took £17,057,776 (84.4%) of the top 10; Jurassic World: Rebirth 67.8x% (£12,493,782); F1 15.2% (£3,074,421); How To Train Your Dragon 7.36% (£1,489,573)
137th biggest percentage share #1 (61.77%) between 25 November 2005 #1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire £9,275,599 (61.78%) and 27 December 2002 #1 Jurassic World: Rebirth £12,493,782 (61.77%)
121st biggest admissions #1 (1,614,184) between 24 October 2008 #1 High School Musical 3 £8,409,375 (1,617,188) and 26 December 2003 #1 LOTR: The Return of the King £7,149,427 (1,610,231)
Up 130.94% from 2024; (£8,755,143); MaXXXine (£388,043); Blue Lock The Movie – Episode Nagi (£118,565); The Mummy (25th Anniversary 4K Restoration) (£101,404); Kill (£74,884); The Conversation (50th Anniversary 4K Restoration) (£24,498); #1 Inside Out 2 £5,127,182 4th week 15% drop 728 screens (58.56% of top 10)
Up 76.40% from 2023; (£11,461,680); Elemental (£3,049,002); Insidious: The Red Door (£2,279,084); #1 Elemental £3,049,002 1st week 623 screens (26.6%)
Up 0.27% from 2022 (£20,163,540); Thor: Love And Thunder (£12,283,719); Brian & Charles (£71,890); Dr. Who: Classic Movie Double Bill (£64,730); #1 Thor: Love And Thunder £12,283,719 1st week 692 screens (60.9% of top 10)
Up 237.97% from 2022 (£5,982,414); Freaky (£344,918); Another Round (£205,266); French Exit (£14,808) #1 Fast & Furious 9 £2,681,393 2nd week 56% drop 609 screens (44.82% of top 10)
Up 15,401.34% 2020: (£130,433); #1 Onward £21,626 47 screens (16.58%) no new releases 1st week reopening after lockdown 1.
Down 18.14% from 2019; (£24,700,057); Spider-Man: Far From Home (£14,148,624); Westlife – The Twenty Tour Live (£899,488); Midsommar (£812,052); The Queen’s Corgi (£520,540); Anna (£198,391); Don’t Look Now (4K Restoration) (£13,977); #1 Spider-Man: Far From Home £14,148,624 1st week 635 screens (57.3% of top 10)
Up 262.98% from 2018: (£5,570,742); The First Purge (£1,778,157); The Beatles Yellow Submarine (50th Anniversary) (£163,155); Uncle Drew (£151,337); Whitney (£142,936); #1 The First Purge £1,778,157 1st week 481 screens (31.92% of top 10)
Up 14.80% from 2017: (£17,613,020); Spider-Man: Homecoming (£9,369,846); It Comes at Night (£226,688); Paw Patrol: Mission Big Screen (£42,460); #1 Spider-Man: Homecoming £9,369,846 1sr week 616 screens (53.2% of top 10)
Up 24.20% from 2016: (£16,278,631); The Legend of Tarzan (£3,570,350); Now You See Me 2 (£2,964,641); The Neon Demon (£126,996); Maggie’s Plan (£102,534); #1 The Secret Life of Pets £3,624,751 3rd week 612 screens 24% drop (22.3% of the top 10)
Up 29.33% from 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 248.87% from 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)
Up 90.51% from 2013: (£10,613,251); Now You See Me (£2,898,997); The Internship (£1,248,431); The Bling Ring (£141,425); A Field in England (£21,399); Chasing Mavericks (£21,985); #1 Despicable Me 2 £3,996,837 2nd 539 screens (37.6% of top 10)
Up 43.41% from 2012 (£14,098,577); The Amazing Spider-Man (£11,091,972); Katy Perry: Part of Me (£449,491); #1 The Amazing Spider-Man £11,091,972 1st week 552 screens (78.6% of top 10)
Up 95.94% from 2011; (£10,318,687); The Guard (£473,878); The Tree of Life (£406,062); #1 Transformers: Dark of the Moon £4,750,519 2nd week 56% drop 522 screens (46.1% of top 10)
Down 6.77% from 2010: (£21,686,365); The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (£13,756,653); Predators (£2,203,193); Leaving (£35,532); #1 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse £13,756,653 1st week 523 screens (63.4% of top 10
Up 30.33% 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 0.32% from 2008; (£20,154,893); Hancock (£9,589,095); Kung Fu Panda (£6,069,679); The Mist (£157,394); £11,174,084); #1 Hancock £9,589,095 1st week 450 screens (47.58%)
Up 65.63% from 2007: (£12,207,040); Die Hard 4.0 (£5,004,916); Dead Silence (£22,580); #1 Shrek the Third £5,084,641 2nd week 70% drop 538 screens (41.6% of top 10)
Up 15.20% from 2006; (£17,550,776); Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest (£13,740,784); District 13 (£98,747); #1 Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest £13,740,784 1st week 514 screens (78.3% of top 10)
Up 204.86% 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)
Up 1.65% 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 140.36% from 2003 (£8,411,961); Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (£3,273,078); Dark Blue (£70,049); #1 Charlie’s Angels: Full £3,273,078 1st week 473 screens (38.9% of top 10)
Up 151.65% from 2002 (£8,034,538); The Minority Report (£4,506,315); Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron (£719,681); #1 The Minority Report £4,506,315 1st week 426 screens (56.1% of top 10)
2024 Next week: (£14,900,553); Despicable Me 4 (£8,856,183); Longlegs (£1,371,352); Fly Me To The Moon (£862,358); Indian 2 (£213,245); In A Violent Nature (£101,730); The Commandant’s Shadow (£18,798); #1 Despicable Me 4 £8,856,183 1st week (59.44% of top 10)
UK BO Update
June 2025 was up 7% from last June, taking £76.7m, up from £71.8m; BO for the first 6 months is up 18% from 2024 to £532.2m; 2024 was £451.6m and 2023 £486.6m; if average ticket price is still around £7.72 admissions for the first 6 months will be the highest since 2022.
Impossible to make a direct comparison with June BO, as away from Inside Out 2 and Bad Boys: Ride or Die, it was a very soft lineup of films due to the Euro Championships and film release delays due to strikes; How will next years USA World Cup affect the BO as its over 6 weeks 11 June 2026 – 19 July as it will likely affect BO much more than the last USA World Cup in 1994.
This saw Inside Out 2 hold #1 for 4 weeks, taking £34.83m of the £61.83m the top 10 films took in June. This year, the BO was more evenly shared, but expected more from How to Train Your Dragon and 28 Years Later, the May holdovers (Lilo & Stitch and MI: The Final Reckoning), while both Elio and Karate Kid: Legends underperformed.
The key month is July, how will F1 The Movie, Jurassic World: Rebirth, Superman and The Fantastic Four: The First Steps do compared to last year’s Deadpool and Wolverine, Despicable Me 4 and Twisters?
US Box Office
- Jurassic World: Rebirth
Opened $92.01; received mixed reviews (51%) and a B CinemaScore
CinemaScore The Lost World: Jurassic Park received B+; Jurassic Park III B-, while Jurassic Park and Jurassic World both received A+, and Jurassic World Dominion A-
Rotten Tomatoes scores Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, 47%; Jurassic Park, 92%; and The Lost World: Jurassic Park, 53%. Jurassic Park 3 49%, Jurassic World 71% and Jurassic World Dominion 33%.
95th biggest opening between Spider-Man: Far from Home and The Matrix Reloaded (close to Fast & Furious 6, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Jurassic World: Dominion #36; Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom #31; Jurassic World #7; The Lost World: Jurassic Park #152; Jurassic Park III #299; Jurassic Park #339.
167 Dolby Cinemas took $4.5m 3-day and nearly $8m 5-day, Dolby’s biggest 4th of July weekend and 6% of its opening BO; Dolby Cinema’s per-screen-average was $27k (3-day); 29% PLF and 18% 3D compared to Dominion’s 35% IMAX/PLF of its 3-day opening.
50% watched before 5 pm, according to EntTelligence; average ticket price was $14.84 and PLF average $17.89. Three years ago, Dominion’s general price $13.21.
Ahead of opening, it was tracking to open between $100m-$125m over 5 days in the US and $260 worldwide, but that was done to make the opening more impressive, as Hollywood Reporter said no one expected it to open as big, as they also said about A Minecraft Movie, which is amazing given the data that’s available.
The trailers attached were Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and Wicked: For the Good.
2015’s Jurassic World opened $208.8m/$285.1m taking $653.4m/$892.2m; $1.018bn/$1.39bn internationally $1.671bn/$2.28bn WW
Jurassic World had the biggest ever US opening in 2015 at $208.8m (6 months later was overtaken by Star Wars: The Force Awakens at $247.96m)
2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom opened $148.02m/$187.1m taking $417.71m/$527.8m; $892.74m/$1.13bn internationally and $1.31bn/$1.65bn WW.
2022’s Jurassic World Dominion opened $145.07m/$158.6m taking $376.8m/$411.9m; $625.1m/$683.3m internationally and $1.01bn/$1.1bn worldwide
1993’s Jurassic Park opened $47.03m/$130.74m taking $407.18m/$1.13bn; $697.1m/$1.93bn and $1.1bn/$3.1bn WW
Jurassic Park in 1993 had the biggest opening of the year (almost double The Firm in second at $25.4m), taking $357.06m
1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park opened $72.13m/$180.9m taking $229.1m/$574.5m; $389.5m/$976.9m internationally and $618.6m/$1.55bn WW
The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997 had the biggest opening of the year (almost 25% more than Men in Black $51.06m), taking $229.08m. It was the third biggest film of 1997 behind Titanic $600.78m, and Men in Black $250.69m.
2001’s Jurassic Park 3 opened $50.77m/$103.3m taking $181.17m/$368.4m; $187.6m/$381.5m internationally and $368.78m/$750m WW
Jurassic Park 3 in 2001 had the eighth biggest opening of the year (behind Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Planet of the Apes, The Mummy Returns, Rush Hour 2, Monsters, Inc, Pearl Harbor and Hannibal) taking $181.71m (ninth biggest film of 2001 behind Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Shrek, The Mummy Returns, Rush Hour 2, Monsters, Inc, Pearl Harbor and Ocean’s Eleven).
US BO is 14% ahead of 2024 but still 25% down from 2019; May 2 through July 6 at $2.08bn up 15% from 2024; summer is expected to take $4.4bn +15% from last summer, still 25% down pre-Covid summer 2019 $5.9bn, how admissions differ from 2019 would be more interesting as ticket prices are up 25% from 2019.
With Superman opening and losing PLF/Dolby screens, it could drop 60% in its second weekend; Jurassic World Dominion 59.2%; Jurassic World 49%; Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 58.8%; Jurassic Park 18.2%; The Lost World: Jurassic Park 52.7%; Jurassic Park 3 55.6%.
Opened $171m from 82 territories and $318.3m worldwide; China $41.5m; UK $16.6m; Mexico $13.9m; Germany $7.5m; S. Korea $7.4m; Spain $6.5m; Australia $5.9m; India $5.5m; France $5.3m; Italy $4.7m; Thailand $4.2m.
It’s the second biggest worldwide opening in 2025 after A Minecraft Movie, and like the Minecraft Movie opening, no one expected it.
2022’s Jurassic World: Dominion opened $176.6m from 72 territories (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom opened with $151.1m from 48 territories and compared to $158.6m for Jurassic World in 2015) taking $245.8m and $389.1m worldwide; $52.5m from China having the biggest opening in China for a US film since F9 in May 2021 ($136m) this was half of the opening of 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($111.6m) and 2015’s Jurassic World ($99.15m).
- F1 – Warner Bros
Dropped 55% in the second weekend $25.78m and $109.28m
313th biggest second weekend between San Andreas and Little Fockers (Dunkirk, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Hobbs & Shaw and Mad Max: Fury Road)
Took $60m from IMAX worldwide; $27.4m US from 414 IMAX cinemas and $32.6m internationally.
727th biggest between Crocodile Dundee 2 and Couples Retreat; 10th biggest 2025 biggest between Final Destination: Bloodlines and Dog Man; 117th biggest Warner Bros film between Creed and A Time to Kill.
2013’s Rush dropped 55.3% $4.47m and $18.16m of $26.94m and $95.22m worldwide; so in the US, Brad Pitt and selling it as Top Gun on Earth, this was similar to how 1990’s Days of Thunder was sold as many believed it was a Top Gun sequel having many similar plot elements and also directed by Tony Scott.
Brad Pitt has had a long and successful career to date, starring in over 50 films since starring in 1991’s Thelma & Louise. Starring in a wide mix of films, taking $3.55bn in the US and $9bn worldwide. 15 films to date, taking $100m+ in the US. These films include his cameo in Deadpool 2.
Brad Pitt most recently starred in
2022’s Bullet Train dropped 55.4% $13.4m and $54.48m, taking $103.36m and $239.26m worldwide
2019’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood dropped 51.3% $20.01m, taking $78.82m of $142.5m and $392.1m worldwide
2013’s World War Z dropped 55.2% $29.77m, taking $123.69m of $202.8m and $540.45m worldwide
F1 is the first film directed by Joseph Kosinski since 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick; Apple Studios acquired the film in June 2022, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Joseph Kosinski previously directed.
2010’s TRON: Legacy dropped 56.5% $19.15m, taking $87.37m of $172.06m and $400.07m worldwide
Oblivion dropped 52% $17.8m, taking $65.09m of $89.1m and $286.16m worldwide.
2017’s Only the Brave dropped 41.7% $3.5m, taking $11.99m of $18.34m and $26.35m worldwide
2022’s Top Gun Maverick dropped 28.9% $90.03m, taking $295.64m of $718.73m and $1.495bn worldwide
Also directed 2022’s Spiderhead, released on Netflix
F1 has become Apple Studios’ highest-grossing film worldwide, overtaking Killers of the Flower Moon ($158m; Napoleon $221m; Fly Me to the Moon $42m; Argylle $96m.
Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt were attached to star in Ford v. Ferrari, then called Go To Hell, it was going to be The Right Stuff on the racetrack, with Joseph Kosinski attached to direct in 2011, but they dropped out, and after several more years of development, Matt Damon and Christian Bale took the leads with James Mangold directing
2019’s Ford v. Ferrari dropped 50% %15.73m, taking $57.72m of $117.62m and $226.29m worldwide
F1 has a lot of similarities in plot to Tom Cruise’s 1990s Day of Thunder dropped 30.9% $10.7m/$29.2m taking $40.52m/$110.53m of $82.67m/$225.5m and $157.92m/$430.8m worldwide; during interviews for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Tom Cruise has talked again about wanting to do Top Gun 3 and Days of Thunder 2 (the original was also directed by Tony Scott).
Will the strong opening for F1 see Apple try again to make high-profile films? They currently don’t have any schedule for this year and next, but have announced plans for F1 sequel, another film from director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and Mayday starring Ryan Reynolds.
Took $56.3m from 78 territories and $184.1m and $293.38m worldwide; China $22m; UK $17.3m; Mexico $12.3m; France $11.5m; Australia $9.8m; S. Korea $7.8m; India $7m; Germany $6.5m; Japan $6.5m; U.A.E. $5.8m; Taiwan $5.7m; Spain $4.8m.
604th biggest worldwide between Doctor Dolittle and The Boy and the Heron; 11th biggest in 2025 between Jurassic World Rebirth and Final Destination: Bloodlines; 106th biggest Warner Bros worldwide between Sex and the City 2 and The Green Mile.
- How To Train Your Dragon – Universal Pictures
Dropped 44% in its fourth weekend $11.24m #3 and $224.24m
255th biggest fourth weekend between Up in the Air and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (close to Look Who’s Talking, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Stuart Little and A Bug’s Life).
194th biggest between Shang-Chi and WALL-E;4th biggest 2025 film between Sinners and Captain America: Brave New World; 90th biggest adventure film between Raiders of the Lost Ark and WALL-E; 28th biggest Universal Pictures film between The Fate of the Furious and Ted.
Fourth weekends
2010’s How to Train Your Dragon dropped 21% $19.63m/$28.64m and $158.21m/$230.9m of $217.6m/$317.4m and $494.87m/$722m worldwide
2014’s How to Train Your Dragon 2 dropped 32.3% $8.96m/$12.62m and $140.21m/$197.5m of $217.6m/$317.4m and $621.53m/$906.7m worldwide
2019’s How to Train Your Dragon 3 dropped 36.8% $9.27m/$11.63m and $135.57m/$170m of $177m/$317.4m and $539.98m/$760.74m worldwide
The animated films have taken $1.6bn worldwide since 2010, and Universal Pictures has already dated How to Train Your Dragon 2 for 2027, which will surely be a reimagination of the second animated film; and then surely a third and fourth will follow. Cressida Cowell has written 12 novels so far this franchise will run for decades to come.
PG-rated films, including A Minecraft Movie and Lilo & Stitch, have taken $1.53bn at the US BO, 41% of 2025 BO to date, with Smurfs and Bad Guys 2 still to be released this summer.
Took $21m from 81 territories $292.2m total, and $519.16m worldwide; China $35.5m; Mexico $33.4m; UK $24.6m; Brazil $17.2m; France $14.2m; Australia $13.6m; Spain $13.2m; S. Korea $12.4m; Germany $10.7m; Italy $9m.
241st biggest film worldwide between Kung Fu Panda 3 and Ant-Man; 5th biggest worldwide between Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning and Captain America: Brave New World; 113th biggest adventure film between Kung Fu Panda 3 and Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch; 31st biggest Universal Pictures film between How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and Meet the Fockers.
- 28 Years Later – Sony Pictures
Dropped 53% in its third weekend $4.56m and $60.2m
Third weekend
2002’s 28 Days Later dropped 29.3% $4.24m/$8.5m and $28.44m/$56.4m of $45.06m/$89.3m and $72.6m/$143.9m worldwide
2007’s 28 Weeks Later dropped 53.4% $2.54m/$4.3m and $23.66m/$39.6m of $28.63/$47.91m and $65.04m/$108.9m worldwide
Took $7m internationally from 59 territories $65.6m total, and $125.8m worldwide; UK $6.4m; Mexico $2.7m; Australia $1.7m; S. Korea $1.5m; France $1.3m; Germany $1.3m; Spain $1.2m
- £lio – Disney
Dropped 45% in its third weekend $5.78m and $55.16m
2023’s Elemental dropped 34.2% $12.12m and $89.6m of $154.42m and $496.44m worldwide
2022’s Lightyear dropped 64.5% $6.45m and $105.24m of $118.3m and $226.42m worldwide
2020’s Onward took $61.55m and $141.88m worldwide (COVID lockdown only had two weeks of release)
191st biggest animated film between Legend of the Guardians and Raya and the Last Dragon; 1,720th biggest between I am Number Four and Halloween: H2O; 254th biggest Disney film between I am Number Four and The Guardian.
Over the last decade, Pixar has released 14 films, 6 sequels, and 8 original films. Soul, Luca and Turning Red were released straight to Disney+. Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur, Coco, Onward, Elemental and Elio had theatrical release.
The last three original Pixar films underwhelmed at the box office despite receiving positive reviews and high audience scores. 2018’s Coco was the last successful original Pixar film, dropping 33% $18.45m and $135.65m of $210.46m and $814.64m worldwide, and 2015’s Inside Out dropped 43.1% $29.77m and $245.89m of $356.46m and $859.07m worldwide.
So, no wonder that three of Pixar’s next five are sequels: Toy Story 5 in 2026, Incredibles 3 in 2028 and Coco in 2029, with original films, Hoppers in 2026 and $Gatto in 2027.
Took $6.7m internationally from 48 territories $47.1m total, and $96.8m worldwide; France $4.7m; UK $4.1m; Korea $3.6m; China $3.5m; Mexico $2.8m.
- M£GAN 2.0 – Universal Pictures
The sequel experienced a steep 61% drop in its second weekend, earning $3.95 million for a #6 position and bringing its total to $18.7 million domestically. This performance pales in comparison to the original 2022 M3GAN, which dropped only 39.8% in its second weekend with $18.3 million, ultimately reaching $56.83 million domestic and $95.15 million of its $180.08 million worldwide total.
The disappointing performance reflects a broader trend for 2025 Blumhouse productions at the box office. Wolf Man plummeted 70.2% to $3.24 million in its second weekend, totalling $17.65 million domestic against $20.7 million production costs and $34.15 million worldwide. The Woman in the Yard declined 51.9% to $4.51 million, reaching $16.85 million domestic $22.4 million total and $23.31 million worldwide. Drop fell 55.4% to $3.29 million, accumulating $13.42 million domestic against $16.6 million costs and $28.61 million globally.
Blumhouse still has significant releases planned: Black Phone 2 in October and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 in December, plus the M3GAN spinoff SOULM8TE scheduled for January 2026. However, M3GAN 2.0’s poor performance raises questions about the franchise’s future. A better release date might have sustained the series for multiple sequels and spinoffs, but now SOULM8TE’s theatrical prospects appear uncertain.
The release date strategy appears to have backfired. Universal originally scheduled M3GAN 2 for January 2025 back in January 2023, then moved it from May 2024 to June 2025. The studio’s reasoning was likely financial optimism: if the original M3GAN could open with $30 million in January’s typically weaker market, they anticipated M3GAN 2 would perform even better in June’s more competitive summer season.
Internationally, the film earned $2.4 million from 80 territories, contributing to worldwide totals of $12.1 million and $30.7 million, respectively.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Superman is the first film of the DC Universe (DCU), a reboot of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) that featured 15 films starting with 2013’s Man of Steel and ending with 2023’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Development of a Superman sequel started after 2013’s Man of Steel, but after the disappointing performance of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, James Gunn took over control of DC Studios and started developing a new Superman film originally titled Superman: Legacy. Superman will be the first film of the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. It will be followed by Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and Clayface, set for release next year.
It is the third reboot of Superman over the last 20 years; it’s the summer of reboots, with Jurassic World: Rebirth the second reboot of the Jurassic Park franchise and Fantastic Four: The First Steps the fourth Fantastic Four film over the last 20 years. Adding Lilo & Stitch and How To Train Your Dragon reimaginations, along with The Naked Gun, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Freakier Friday, feels completely lacking in imagination. These are films built on nostalgia for the original films; they are hype-driven and front-loaded.
All of these franchises have passed their peak, and it’s hard to get excited about them as we did in previous incarnations, as you know, they won’t live up to their hype and will disappoint. That said, as with all of Disney’s reimaginations, this Superman reboot isn’t for those who grew up with the 70s Superman films.
Back in the 70s, when the first Superman film opened, audiences believed a man could fly. It was similar to when they first saw the dinosaurs in the first Jurassic Park or Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in Star Wars. Now it doesn’t excite audiences as much as they can create similar effects on their phones with AI apps. Meanwhile, these films now get hyperbolic social media comments written immediately after watching them at premieres.
2006’s Superman Returns opened £4,337,637/£7,098,761, taking £15,727,425/£25,738,722
2013’s Man Of Steel opened £11,198,786/£13,668,350, taking £29,764,997/£36,328,794
2016’s Batman V Superman opened £14,621,007/£15,725,968, taking £36,495,828/£39,253,947
1987’s Superman IV opened £508,468/£2,342,795, taking £3,457,959/£12,818,574
1983’s Superman III opened £1,103,312/£4,623,403, taking £6,710,000/£28,118,095
1980s Superman II took £10,752,997/£54,244,418; 1978’s Superman took £10,046,159/£86,484,325.
As with all recent DC films, there have been many rumours of poor test screenings, Warner Bros. having concerns, and reshoots. The running time has been reduced by about 25 minutes from the previous cuts. After the cuts and reshoots, Warner has more confidence in the film, which is expected to open in the US with $160m+ and £15m+ in the UK.
Monday was the world premiere, which received positive reactions, but initial premiere reactions consistently prove unreliable as critical indicators. Critics, often swept up in event hype, tend toward hyperbolic praise that functions primarily as clickbait. Crucially, embargo expiration consistently reveals a stark contrast: comprehensive reviews published 24 hours later present a significantly more measured and nuanced assessment.
The persistent issue is that many fans encounter only these premature, inflated social media reactions, forming lasting impressions based on fundamentally incomplete information. This was evident hours later when the embargo ended and reactions were much more mixed.
Superman is expected to open with about £10m over its 3-day opening weekend. Jurassic World: Rebirth will drop 60% in its second weekend, losing lucrative PLF screens and taking £3.8m-£4.6m, while F1 will drop similarly, losing IMAX screens to Superman and taking £1.2m-£1.6m.
While 28 Years Later will drop 50%+ in its fourth weekend, family films How To Train Your Dragon, Elio, and Lilo & Stitch will again have the lowest drops of the weekend.
Opening in three weeks
- The Naked Gun – Paramount Pictures
An action-comedy legacy sequel to 1994’s Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult starring Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Kevin Durand and Danny Huston, directed by Akiva Schaffer.
It’s the fourth film in the Naked Gun film series; Paramount Pictures announced plans to reboot The Naked Gun in 2013, with Ed Helms cast, with the working title ‘The Naked Gun: Episode IV: A New Hope’.
In 2015, David Zucker was offered a producing role, but he rejected it as he felt it would be inferior to the original films. As he said, the original film is one of the all-time greatest comedies: how do you replicate that without anyone who was involved in the original film? As Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones and Han Solo, Leslie Nielsen is Frank Drebin.
In 2021, Seth MacFarlane came on board as producer and cast Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr. David Zucker watched the trailer in April and instantly regretted it, saying, “I never saw ‘Airplane 2’ because you can’t unsee that stuff. I’m not planning on seeing the ‘Naked Gun’ remake either. I regret having seen the trailer for it. It’s like watching ‘2 Girls 1 Cup.’ I can’t unsee it.”
From the trailers, it appears that Liam Neeson is drawing inspiration from his Bad Cop/Good Cop character from The Lego Movie.
1989’s The Naked Gun opened £1,061,570/£3,631,207, taking £7,740,553/£26,477,342
1991’s The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell Of Fear opened £1,594,006/£4,192,814 taking £7,962,029/20,943,027
1994’s The Naked Gun 33 1/3 The Final Insult opened £1,341,696/£3,290,251 taking £5,264,981/£12,911,353
Legacy comedy sequels have generally struggled to find similar success, as seen with films like Bill & Ted Face the Music, Vacation, Men In Black International, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Zoolander 2, Dumb and Dumber To, The Pink Panther, Blues Brothers 2000, Coming 2 America, and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.
It would be like making a modern sequel to Blazing Saddles, Police Academy, Airplane!, or Hot Shots. It will be interesting to see what Mel Brooks does with Spaceballs 2, as Rick Moranis and Bill Pullman will return. It will be 32 years since Mel Brooks directed his last film, Dracula: Dead and Loving It. It’s been 20 years since The Producers film remake flopped at the box office, despite audiences loving the stage show and the original film.
- Bring Her Back – Sony Pictures
Supernatural horror starring Billy Barratt, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips and Sally Hawkins, and directed by Danny and Michael Philippou (Talk to Me)
Sony Pictures acquired international rights in February 2025, and it was released by A24 in the US, receiving positive reviews.
Previews from Saturday, July 26th