1. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t £2,384,018 – NE

Took £356,709 from previews Weds/Thurs

Took Friday £568k 23.83%; Saturday £839k 35.19%; Sunday £622k 26.09%.

Only £749 separates Now You See Me 3 and The Running Man; it’s Lionsgate’s first #1 in the UK since 2023’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes

753^rd biggest opening between Mirror Mirror and The Running Man (2025) (close to RoboCop (2014), Knight & Day, M3gan and Interview with the Vampire) and 1,165^th biggest inflated opening between Rocknrolla and The Running Man (2025) (close to Rain-Man, Licence to Kill, Thunderbirds and John Wick: Chapter Two).

26^th biggest 2025 opening between Sinners and The Running Man (close to A Complete Unknown, One Battle After Another, Predator: Badlands and Mickey 17).

Opened in 564 cinemas the 403^rd widest opening similar to Bugonia, Blink Twice and King Arthur; 749^th 500+ cinema opening since 2002’s Monsters, Inc.

2013’s Now You See Me opened £2,898,997/£3,516,088, taking £10,763,980/£13,055,241

2016’s Now You See Me 2 opened £2,964,641/£3,168,685, taking £6,062,072/£6,479,300

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t pulled a rabbit out of its hat and slid into the #1 spot with £2,384,018, but the real magic trick happened in the margins. Strip away the previews and this is less Houdini, more Poundland Penn & Teller. The only thing keeping it ahead was a narrow £749 lead over The Running Man, another film whose weekend figure is built more on previews and premium-ticket inflation than actual bodies in seats.

Ahead of the weekend, the media buzz and coverage were centred on The Running Man, so it was surprising that the third Now You See Me film opened #1 ahead of The Running Man

Ruben Fleischer directed the third film, taking over from Louis Leterrier and Jon M. Chu; Ruben Fleischer previously directed 2022’s Uncharted, 2019’s Zombieland: Double Tap, 2018’s Venom and 2009’s Zombieland.

After taking 15% from previews Now You See Me: Now You Don’t will drop 60%+ in its second weekend.

• 2. The Running Man £2,383,269 – NE

Includes £704,083 previews Weds/Thurs 

Took Friday £484k 20.31%; Saturday £710k 29.79%; Sunday £555k 23.29%.

754^th biggest opening between The Running Man and The Wolfman (close to Red One, The Predator, Speed and The Italian Job) and 1,166th biggest inflated opening between Now You See Me: Now You Don’t and Traffic (close to John Carter, The Devil’s Advocate, The Invisible Man, and Get Smart).

26th biggest 2025 opening between Now You See Me: Now You Don’t and Predator: Badlands; Paramount Pictures 2^nd biggest 2025 opening after Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

Opened in 647 cinemas 152nd widest opening in the UK similar to Fly Me To The Moon, Magic Mike’s Last Dance and Spider-Man: Far From Home; 285^th 600+ cinema opening since 2015’s Jurassic World.

As with most of their films released over the last 18 months, Paramount Pictures held exclusive CC previews of The Running Man on Tuesday, a day before regular screenings and shared IMAX screens with Predator: Badlands until Thursday.

The Running Man opened only £749 less than Now You See Me 3 but probably about half came from IMAX/PLF and other premium tickets — the cinematic equivalent of wearing platform shoes to look taller in photos. It looks impressive until you realise most audiences opted for the expensive seats, not the film itself. Still, the razor-thin gap gives the illusion of heat, and illusion was the theme of the weekend.

The Running Man, based on the 1982 novel by Stephen King (under his pseudonym Richard Bachman), is the second adaptation of the novel after the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. As the 1982 novel and the 1987 original film, the reboot is also set in 2025, but the novel and original film predicted the future, whereas the reboot audiences are experiencing it. Reminds me of when Josh Baskin is watching a cop TV show in the film Big and turns it off only to hear the scene being played out in real life. People go to the cinema for escapism.

In 2017, Edgar Wright was asked on Twitter what film he would like to remake, and he said The Running Man. In 2021, Paramount announced they were developing a “much more faithful” adaptation of the novel with Edgar Wright attached to direct.

A few weeks ago, Stephen King wrote on Twitter, “I’ve seen it and it’s fantastic, DIE HARD for our time. A bipartisan thrill ride.”

Predictably, with Edgar Wright directing, UK reviews have been far more positive for The Running Man than in the US and should have had the Brit Boost that most British or made in Britain American films like The Roses have done.

The Running Man opening including previews was 14.45% of its US opening compared to 5.94% for Predator: Badlands last week showing it opened far stronger in the UK.

Glenn Powell recently starred in Twisters, Anyone But You, Hot Man (Netflix) and Top Gun: Maverick. The Running Man is his first leading action film. He stars next in How to Make A Killing, Barry Jenkins’s The Natural Order, J.J Abram’s Ghostwriter and an untitled firefighter film directed by Ron Howard (this is different to the Backdraft reboot that is also in development).

Paramount Pictures signing Glenn Powell to star in a big budget action film despite starring in very different films before is very similar to what studios have done over the years with actors like Nicolas Cage, Bruce Willis, Kurt Rusell, Matt Damon, Chris Pratt and Jake Gyllenhaal.

As always after a film underserves the star will quickly move on to the next film but the director will take the blame and will struggle to make tier next film as seen with Kevin Reynolds; didn’t direct another major film for many years after Waterworld. Martin Brest hasn’t directed another film since 2003’s Gigli despite previously directing Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run, and Scent of a Woman.

Rob Reiner directed Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, Misery, and A Few Good Men in the 80s and 90s, but then directed North In 1994 and his films since have struggled at te box office including the recent Spinal Tap 2. Michael Lehmann directed the cult classic Heathers and then directed the flop Hudson Hawk and since hasn’t directed anything major since.

1988’s The Running Man opened £577,953/£1,990,169 297 screens taking £2,530,062/£8,712,213

Edgar Wright previously directed.

2004’s Shaun of the Dead opened £1,603,410/£2,828,287, taking £6,764,667/£11,932,330

2007’s Hot Fuzz opened £5,918,149/£9,281,533, taking £21,195,951/£33,241,967

2013’s The World’s End opened £2,123,576/£2,575,608, taking £8,731,367/£10,589,958

2017’s Baby Driver opened £3,605,705/£3,812,708, taking £13,024,392/£13,772,121

2021’s Last Night in Soho opened £731,950, taking £2,255,648

As with Predator: Badlands the reboot of The Running Man is an 12A while the original film was an 18; it opens two months after Stephen King’s last film adaption The Long Walk Home opened £1,156,220 taking £4,662,143 The Life of Chuck was released in August, The Monkey in February and currently on Sky Atlantic It: Welcome to Derry, a prequel to the It films, as Stephen King novels are more relevant today as they predicted our digital hellscape in the analogue soil of small-town America.

King (as Richard Bachman) imagined a game show where the poor are hunted for the entertainment of the masses. The 1987 film gave us a game show host as the villain.

Our Reality: We now have platform barons who own the digital colosseum. Elon Musk’s X is the arena where algorithmic mobs hunt the “woke” or the “heretic” for engagement. A future where a Trump-aligned Skydance owns Paramount isn’t about making movies; it’s about controlling the narrative itself. The fusion of media, politics, and live-streamed outrage is complete. The host is no longer a smarmy TV personality; he is a sovereign individual who owns the infrastructure of truth.

With The Running Man taking 26% of its opening from previews and losing all premium screens to Wicked: For Good, it will drop about 70% in its second weekend, as will Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.

• 3. Predator: Badlands £919,261 – £4,259,696

Down 61.3% in its second weekend

Took Fri £227k 24.7% (-70.2% £761k); Sat £412k 44.8% (-57.7% £973k); Sun £280k 30.47% (-56.4% £642k)

1,228^th biggest second weekend between Cliffhanger and Beverly Hills Chihuahua (close to The Naked Gun (1989), Demolition Man, 12 Monkeys, and Olympus Has Fallen) and 1,795^th biggest inflated second weekend between Identity and Toy Story 2 (Digital 3-D) (close to The Crow (1994), The Fly (1987), Sphere and Jupiter Ascending).

32^nd biggest 2025 second weekend between M3GAN 2.0 and Freakier Friday (close to Mickey 17, The Naked Gun, Regretting You and The Amateur). Disney’s 8^th biggest 2025 second weekend between The Roses and Freakier Friday.

Ever since COVID, there has been a new normal in what the industry calls a hit film that would previously have been called a flop, is seen as having a successful opening, as seen with last weekend’s opening of Predator: Badlands and its then predictable big second weekend drop.

Predator: Badlands is the seventh instalment in the Predator franchise.

1988’s Predator dropped 36% £383,068/£1,327,414 and £1,721,073 64.6% of £2,664,237/£9,232,160

1990s Predator 2 dropped 49.8% £469,797/£1,227,984 and £1,405,854 69.9% of £2,010,600/£5,255,430.

2010’s Predators dropped 59.4% £893,439/£1,196,758 and £4,460,873 77.3% of £5,767,854/£7,726,016

2018’s The Predator dropped 71.7% £677,078/£742,723 and £3,886,572 of £4,569,791/£5,012,846

2022’s Prey and 2025’s Predator: Killer of Killers were both released straight to Disney+

There were also two Alien Vs Predator films.

Dan Trachtenberg previously directed 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane dropped 51.8% £771,215/£851,327 and £3,326,797 66.1% of £5,029,725.

The first two Predator films were given 18 certificates for their cinema release; they were reclassified years after as 15s, but Predator: Badlands is a 12A (PG-13) certificate, which will surely frustrate fans as it’s not what they expect from the Predator film series.

• 4. Nuremberg £898,313 – NE

Includes £41,718 from previews.

Took Friday £248k 27.62%, Saturday £335k 37.31%; Sunday £315k 35.08%.

1,922^nd biggest opening between Abduction and Cruel Intentions (close to Fatal Attraction, Behind Enemy Lines, The Northman and Operation Mincemeat) and 2,546^th biggest inflated opening between Showtime and Monster’s Ball 9close to Bugsy, Their Finest, The Frighteners, and To Die For).

53^rd biggest 2025 opening between The Accountant 2 and Flight Risk (close to Bugonia, Black Bag, The Brutalist and Warfare).

Opened in 528 cinemas the 562^nd widest opening in the UK similar to The Northman, Storks and Turbo; 749^th 500+ cinema opening since 2002’s Monsters, Inc.

Nuremberg opened with 23.13% of its US opening.

Had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, receiving a four-minute standing ovation, but received mixed reviews (62% Rotten Tomatoes); Deadline review said it was “fascinating and an urgently important story that has not been told on film before”, and “It also turns out to be incredibly relevant for now, as parts of the globe (including America) are once again embracing Nazism, despicable war crimes are still being perpetrated, and the lessons of World War II fade increasingly into the background and history books despite warnings that it has all happened before — and it may be happening again. I can think of a few world leaders who should screen this movie as soon as possible.”

The film opened exactly 80 years after the Nuremberg trial in November 1945.

James Vanderbilt previously directed 2015’s Truth and has written screenplays for numerous films, including Nuremberg, Zodiac, Truth, Ready or Not, and The Amazing Spider-Man.

The film was acquired by Sky Cinema for the UK, but as with Ferrari and A Working Man will have a limited theatrical window before being shown on Sky Cinema in about four weeks.

• 5. JUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution £837,562 – NE

Took Friday £320k 38.23%; Saturday £301k 35.96%; Sunday £216k 25.81%.

2,024^th biggest opening between Arachnophobia and Gosford Park (close to Kubo and the Two Strings, The Siege, The Shaggy Dog and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas) and 2,639^th biggest inflated opening between Searching and Unleashed (close to Mighty Joe Young, Three Fugitives, Baby’s Day Out and 10 Things I Hate About You).

54^th biggest 2025 opening between The Accountant 2 and Nuremberg

Opened in 360 cinemas 1,855^th widest UK opening similar to The Debt, Fracture, Miss Congeniality, Starship Troopers and True Lies; 2,313^th 300+ cinema opening since 1986’s Police Academy 3.

2022’s Jujutsu Kaisen opened £825,529 #2 332 screens taking £1,363,202

But then the most recent Jujutsu Kaisen: Hidden Inventory/Premature Death – The Movie opened in July with £74,539 #15 from only 10 screens.

Four weeks ago, Chainsaw Man – The Movie opened at £1,110,944 #5, taking £2,538,870.

And in September, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle opened with £3,464,393 in September, taking £6,587,852, far bigger than previous films. 2024’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To The Hashira Training opened £641,878, and 2021’s Demon Slayer: Mugen Train opened £693,081.

Anime is still front-loaded with Chainsaw Man – The Movie and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle dropping heavily in its second weekend, as JUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution will also do in its second weekend.

The next anime is Scarlet, opening in February; it opens in Japan on Friday.

Also opened

• Christmas Karma – True Brit

Opened £487,528 #7 from 434 screens; the second release from True Brit after Marching Powder opened in March with £1,079,492 taking £2,106,354.

The Christmas film received poor reviews but still managed to open bigger than many expected, as there is an audience for these British Christmas films that feature actors from popular tv shows.

With the lack of new releases over the coming weeks due to the release of Wicked: For Good and Zootopia 2, Christmas Karma could stay in the top 10 for the next few weeks despite dropping heavily over the next few weeks.

•             Keeper – Black Bear

Opened £176,755 #11 from 358 screens

Osgood Perkins previously directed.

2024’a Longlegs opened £1,371,352 taking £7,838,045

2025’s The Monkey opened £1,070,404, taking £2,959,723

Keeper didn’t screen to critics till days before opening as the studio says it’s to “preserve the mystery.” Despite showing 30 mins of footage at a film festival recently, it is under embargo until the day before opening.

It was surprisingly Black Bear opted to open Keeper over such a busy weekend; Keeper was another film critics liked far more than audiences.

———-

Year-to-date, 2025 is 6% ahead of 2024.

The weekend’s top 10 box office took £9,411,562, up 47.4% from last weekend’s £6,382,320: 1,215,964 admissions, up 47.4% from 824,589 admissions.

The 32^nd biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 08 August 2025 #1 Weapons £2,818,535 (28.39%) and 03 October 2025 #1 Taylor Swift: Party Of A Showgirl £3,471,544 (38.14%)

126^th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 261 weeks between 27 January 2023 #1 Avatar: The Way of Water £2,116,615 (22.46%) and 25 November 2022 #1 Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical £4,135,418 (44.07%)

721^st biggest top 10 of the last 24 years (out of 1,232) between 23 February 2007 #1 Hot Fuzz £3,297,539 (35.02%) and 26 February 2016 #1 Deadpool £5,694,280 (60.63%) and 1,000^th biggest inflated between 22 June 2007 #1 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer £2,254,179 (37.53%) and 16 June 2006 #1 The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift £1,813,359 (31.37%)

The top 3 took £5,686,548 (60.4%) of the top 10; Now You See Me: Now You Don’t 25.33% (£2,384,018); The Running Man 25.32% (£2,383,269); Predator: Badlands 9.77% (£919,261)

922^nd biggest percentage share #1 (25.33%) between 27 August 2004 #1 Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story £2,200,271 (25.34%) and 30 January 2009 #1 Slumdog Millionaire £2,359,854 (25.26%)

1,018^th biggest admissions (308,013) between 23 February 2024 #1 Bob Marley: One Love £2,387,019 (308,400) and 09 March 2012 #1 John Carter £1,960,414 (307,757)

Down 52.17% from 2024; (£19,676,839); Gladiator II (£9,155,050); Kiss Me, Kate: The Musical (£258,966); Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration (£179,352); One Direction: This Is Us RE (£102,782); #1 Gladiator II £9,155,050 1st week 720 screens (46.53% of top 10).

Down 14.42% from 2023; (£10,997,223); The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes (£5,420,681); Tiger 3 (£1,184,001); Saltburn (£841,064); Thanksgiving (£486,198); Kevin Bridges – The Overdue Catch-Up (£332,166); May December (£158,428); The Nightmare Before Christmas (30th Anniversary) (£95,418); THG: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes £5,420,681 1st week 658 screens (49.29% of top 10).

Down 1.05% 2022 (£9,511,327): The Menu (£932,029); Aftersun (£230,334); Armageddon Time (£67,043); Confess, Fletch (£56,000); #1 Black Panther Wakanda Forever £6,190,594 2nd weekend dropped 49% 702 screens (65.1% of top 10)

Up 4.88% 2021 (£8,973,238); Ghostbusters: Afterlife (£4,314,263); King Richard (£570,316); Petite Maman (£97,321); Rocky IV: Rocky Vs. Drago (Director’s Cut) (£31,779); #1 Ghostbusters: Afterlife £4,314,263 1st week 658 screens (48.1% of top 10)

2020; COVID-19 Second Lockdown England

Up 5.91% 2019; (£8,886,417); Last Christmas (£2,654,354); Le Mans ’66 (£2,000,000); #1 Last Christmas £2,654,354 1st week 512 screens (29.9% of top 10)

Down 58.49% 2018: (£22,674,299); Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (£12,318,966); Burn the Stage: The Movie (£644,308); Suspiria (£166,257); Hell Fest (£78,116); 9 To 5 (Re: 2018) (£7,514); #1 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald £12,318,966 1st week 674 screens (54.3% of top 10)

Down 49.78% 2017: (£18,740,071); Justice League (£7,264,784); Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (£236,317); The Exterminating Angel – Met Opera 2017 (£98,593); Ingrid Goes West (£65,750); #1 Justice League £7,264,784 1st week 578 screens (38.7% of the top 10)

Down 56.54% 2016: (£21,643,947); Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (£15,333,146); Andre Rieu: Christmas with Andre 2016 (£1,180,208); #1 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them £15,333,146 1st week 666 screens (70.8% of the top 10)

Down 36.21% 2015; (£14,812,116); The Lady in the Van (£2,256,121); Steve Jobs (£903,214); The Hallow (£51,742); Fathers and Daughters (£25,199); #1 SPECTRE £7,833,891 3rd week 617 screens 40% drop (52.8% of top 10)

Down 19.58% 2014: (£11,703,689); The Imitation Game (£2,742,725); Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey? (£1,800,419); The Drop (£637,867); Third Person (£2,294); #1 Interstellar £3,777,804 2nd week 576 screens 30% drop (32.3% of top 10)

Down 20.37% 2013: (£11,818,983); The Counsellor (£815,051); The Butler (£794,044); Don Jon (£343,535); Dom Hemingway (£98,232); In Fear (£41,335); Battle of the Year (£34,821); #1 Gravity £4,838,152 2nd week 571 screens 22% drop (40.9% of top 10)

Down 62.62% 2012: (£25,176,278); The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (£15,850,825); Amour (£115,700); Mental (£12,849); #1 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 £15,850,825 1st week 558 screens (63% of top 10)

Down 52.89% 2011; (£19,978,237); The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (£13,910,877); Justice (£276,483); #1 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 £13,910,877 1st week 543 screens (69.6% of top 10)

Down 57.16% 2010: (£21,967,470); Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1 (£18,319,721); Peeping Tom: 50th Anniversary (Re) (£4,729); #1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1 £18,319,721 1st week 579 screens (83.4% of top 10)

Down 32.84% 2009; (£14,013,567); 2012 (£6,489,809); Harry Brown (£1,271,814); The White Ribbon (£72,226); Amelia (£49,224); Taking Woodstock (£41,348); #1 2012 £6,489,809 1st week 480 screens (46.3% of top 10)

Down 3.92% 2008; (£9,795,141); Max Payne (£1,004,995); Zack and Miri Make a Porno (£798,205); The Baader-Meinhof Complex (£108,791); #1 Quantum of Solace £5,164,182 3rd week 549 screens 44% drop (52.7% of top 10)

Up 5.75% 2007: (£8,899,926); American Gangster (£2,564,853); Beowulf (£2,199,848); Brick Lane (£194,745); The Jane Austen Book Club (£50,052); Earth (£24,286); #1 American Gangster £2,564,853 1st week 410 screens (28.8% of top 10)

Down 48.40% 2006; (£18,237,708); Casino Royale (£13,370,969); #1 Casino Royale £13,370,969 1st week 505 screens (73.3% of top 10)

Down 49.92% 2005: (£18,792,982); Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (£14,933,901); The Libertine (£278,482); Separate Lies (£14,568); #1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire £14,933,901 1st week 535 screens (79.4% of top 10)

Down 38.49% 2004; (£15,300,361); Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (£10,435,193); Ladies in Lavender (£423,313); Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (£194,597); #1 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason £10,435,193 1st week 504 screens (68.2% of top 10)

Up 41.87% 2003 (£6,633,990); The Medallion (£106,797); The Mother (£59,077); Octane (£9,910); #1 The Matrix Revolutions £2,575,595 2nd week 466 screens 70% drop (38,8% of top 10)

Down 57.76% from 2002: (£22,279,336); Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets (£18,871,829); Super Troopers (£269,696); Bowling for Columbine (£157,898); #1 Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets £18,871,829 1st week 524 screens (84.7% of top 10)

Down 52.09% from 2001 (£19,644,298); Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (£16,335,627); Ghost World (£133,188); #1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone £16,335,627 1st week 507 screens (83.1% of top 10).

2024 Next week: (£24,448,831); Wicked (£13,696,057); Tosca – Met Opera 2024 (£129,206); The Magic Reindeer: Saving Santa’s Sleigh (£102,215); Girl From The North Country (£54,366); #1 Wicked £13,696,057 1^st week 696 screens (56.02% of top 10).

October UK BO

October admissions 7,924,778, down 4.2% from last year; 44.2% down from average and 51.5% from 2019; 2025 admissions 101,489,820, up 4% from 2024, but 30.2% down from 2019 and 26.1% down from average.

Biggest October films and BO taken in October.

1. One Battle After Another £7,766,228
2. Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie £4,799,226
3. I Swear £4,630,933
4. Tron: Ares £4,614,095
5. Downton Abbey The Grand Finale £4,058,031
6. Taylor Swift: Party of a Showgirl £3,471,514
7. Regretting You £3,184,711
8. The Black Phone 2 £3,007,832
9. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere £2,439,079
10. The Smashing Machine £1,963,548

Of the October releases, only I Swear performed close to expectations; all others came short, with a lack of competition. One Battle After Another should have held far stronger in October, as should have Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, with no other children’s film released for half-term. Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie should have performed far stronger.

November started slowly over the first two weeks, which means Wicked: For Good and Zootopia 2 over the last two weeks of November need to take more than double last year’s Moana 2 (£12,021,342) and Wicked (£28,530,258) took as Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, The Running Man and Predator: Badlands have taken much less than Gladiator II (£23,596,835), Paddington In Peru (£27,320,210), Red One (£6,627,450).

After 10 months, admissions are up from last year’s 97,592,552 but down 3.3m from 2023 and 44m from 2019.

BO for 2025 after 10 months is about £785m about £30m higher than 2024 and similar to 2022 £780m; Wicked:: For Good, Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fore and Ah need to take £160m+ between them for 2025 to beat 2024 admissions, but admissions should be increasing by much more than 6.9% since 2022 as this will still be about 50m less than 2019. Especially as the UKCA was talking about UK admissions to finally to 200m within a decade.

Of course as always exhibitors say next year will be better, but next year never comes as they always push it back another year, while there are some big tentpoles next year they don’t mean the marketplace will grow as the problem over the last 10+ years is audiences are being much more selective in the films they see in the cinema if they don’t have subscription cinema, as seen over the last few months they haven’t been that often but they will be back this weekend to see Wicked: For Good and four weeks later for Avatar: Fire and Ash.

US Box Office

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• Now You See Me: Now You Don’t – Lionsgate

Opened $21.01m; received mixed reviews (59% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore (first two A-)

Took $2.1m from Thursday previews: Now You See Me $1.5m; Now You See Me 2 $1.75m

Took 20% from PLF screens.

Ahead of opening, Now You See Me 3 was expected to open in the high teens, and despite mixed reviews, it opened far stronger than expected, attracting the female audience. Unlike The Running Man, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is just a silly, dumb popcorn film, exactly what cinemagoers enjoy going to the cinema.

2013’s Now You See Me opened $29.35m, taking $117.72m and $351.72m worldwide

2016’s Now You See Me 2 opened $22.38m, taking $65.07m and $334.89m worldwide

Social media for the third film for TikTok, YouTube, X, Instagram and Facebook is about 300m compared to 126.5m for the second film in 2016.

As with other Lionsgate films, about 65% of its budget covers about 65% of the film $120m budget; the budget was similar to the second film, the first film had $75m budget.

Lionsgate has struggled over recent years to stay competitive with the other studios, and they have gone back to making the third Now You See Me 12 years after the first film opened, expanding the Hunger Games franchise and tried to do similar with John Wick this year with Ballerina. But do have the adaptation of Freida McFadden’s best-selling novel The Housemaid opening in December and the Michael Jackson Biopic Michael set for April 2026 (originally set to be released in October)

Opened $54.2m from 64 territories; China $21.7m; Russia $6.4m; Latin America $5.5m; S. Korea $3.9m; France $3.5 m; UK $3.2m.

• The Running Man – Paramount Pictures

Opened $16.5m; received mixed reviews (64% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore (same as 1987 film)

Took $1.9m from Thursday previews; similar to The Monkey $1.9m.

IMAX/PLF took 46%; audience was 63% male; 70% between 18 and 44 compared to Now You See Me: Now You Don’t 54% female and 65% 25+: the expectation was Glen Powell would attract the female audience to The Running Man, but they preferred Now You See Me 3 and next week will of course prefer Wicked: For Good.

Ahead of opening, The Running Man was expected to open with $20m, but its weekend expectations dropped off closer to its opening. Opening the weekend after Predator: Badlands and both action films being PG-13, they were likely to cannibalise each other.

1987’s The Running Man opened $8.11m/$22.73m taking $38.12m/$106.76m

The original film opened the same weekend 38 years ago and was the 30^th biggest film of 1987; the biggest films of the year were Beverly Hills Cop ($153.6m), Platoon ($136.7m) and Fatal Attraction ($125.9m).

Except for Baby Driver, Edgar Wright’s films have struggled to connect with US audiences as they have been too British. Baby Driver was a vastly different film from his previous, very British films, but despite talking about a sequel after the film was released 8 years later, it is still not in development.

The Running Man had a $110m budget, but as it was shot in the UK received 25.5% tax relief.

2017’s Baby Driver opened $20.55m, taking $107.82m and $226.o94m worldwide

2004’s Shaun of the Dead opened $3.3m taking $14.46m and $31.77m worldwide

2007’s Hot Fuzz opened $5.83m, taking $23.63m and $80.58m worldwide

2013’s The World’s End opened $8.81m, taking $26m and $46.09m worldwide

2021’s Last Night in Soho opened $4.17m, taking $10.12m and $22.95m worldwide

The Running Man and Predator: Badlands took less together than Red One that opened the same weekend last year $32.1m to poor reviews, why has the male audience disappeared since September when The Conjuring: Last Rites took $162.66m and         Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie – Infinity Castle $119.79m and not likely to return until Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash next month?

Opened $11.2m from 58 territories and $28.2m worldwide; UK $3.3m; Germany $1.1m; Australia $1m; Mexico $659k; UAE $391k.

• Predator: Badlands – 20^th Century Studios/Disney

Dropped 68% $16.49m in its second weekend and $66.02m

Despite receiving a strong CinemaScore last week, Predator: Badlands dropped heavily in its second weekend, due to the loss of IMAX/PLF screens after taking 53% from IMAX/PLF: 17% 3D; 15% IMAX last weekend.

654^th biggest second weekend between The Butler and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (close to Independence Day: Resurgence, Edge of Tomorrow, Terminator Salvation and Alien: Romulus).

The trailer had 67m views in its first 24-hours, more than first day traffic of Jurassic World Dominion (65m), Alien: Romulus (49m), and Predator prequel Prey (26m); Jurassic World Dominion opened $145.07m; Alien: Romulus opened $42m; Prey was the most watched film on Hulu ever in the US over its first three days and it was watched over a billion minutes after its first weeks on release, While Predator: Badlands was probably seen by less than 2.5m in US cinemas over opening weekend.

1987’s Predator dropped 31.6% $8.22m/$24.21m and $25.73m/$75.76m of $59.73m/$167.3m and $98.3m/$275.2m worldwide

1990’s Predator 2 dropped 52.8% $4.14m/$11.31m and $19.72m/$53.78m of $30.66m/$83.9m

2004’s AVP: Alien Vs. Predator dropped 67.6% $12.4m/$23m and $62.96m/$116.7m of $80.3m/$149m and $177.4m/$329m WW

2007’s Aliens vs. Predator – Requiem dropped 55.4% $4.48m/$7.5m and $37.5m/$61.99m of $41.8m/$67m and $130.3m/$208.9m WW

2010’s Predators dropped 71.7% $7.01m and $40.3m of $52m/$75.9m and $127.23m/$185.6m worldwide

2018’s The Predator dropped 62.7% $9.17m and $40.91m of $51.02m/$64.5m and $160.5m/$202.9m WW

2022’s Prey and 2025’s Predator: Killer of Killers were released straight to Disney+.

Badlands has a social media universe of 244m across TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X Badlands is similar to 2024’s Alien: Romulus, 246m; Elle Fanning has 6.7m fans.

Took $16.4m and $70m total and $136.3m worldwide; China $12.7m; UK $5.6m; Mexico $4m; France $3.7m; Japan $3.3m.

• Keeper – Neon

$2.52m; received mixed reviews (49% Rotten Tomatoes) and D+ CinemaScore

Its Oz Perkins third film

2024’s Longlegs opened $22.4m, taking $74.34m and $127.96m worldwide

2025’s The Monkey opened $14.01m, taking $39.72m and $68.87m worldwide

Keeper budget was $6m, acquired worldwide by Neon for $4m; Neon opted not to screen the film to press until the day before opening, lessening the buzz for the film, and it was another film that critics liked much more than audiences after Christy and De My Love.

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Other Box Office News

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another has taken over $200m worldwide; taking $70.13m IS and $130.1m internationally, while its taken more than 2023’s Killers of the Flower Moon $158.77m worldwide, One Battle After Another had a budget of $140m+ so is still a long way from being profitable, but for Warner Bros after films like Sinners and Weapons it’s a sign that the studio wants to make original films.

UK Box Office Top 10

Box Office Preview

After the last 6 weeks, now enter the last 6 weeks of 2025 with high expectations for Wicked: For Good, Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash to get audiences running back to the cinema.

Wicked: For Good opens exactly a year after the first film with even more hype and expectations as all films that have been previously split in two parts, this will surely Wicked: For Good opening bigger than Wicked especially as exhibitors have increased prices for the sequel, while despite it being based on musical opening 19 years ago and the book released 30 years ago fans will be desperate to see it before spoilers are revealed.

The popularity of the stage show Wicked in the UK is similar to Mamma Mia! In April 2024, the stage musical became the 10th-longest-running stage show in London’s West End, seen by over 13 million people, having over 7,407 shows and generating over £115m in ticket sales since its premiere in 2006; the Broadway show has taken over $1bn.

2008’s Mamma Mia! Opened £6,594,058/£10,106,662 taking £68,116,092/£104,401,010.

2018’s Mamma Mia 2 opened £9,735,930/£10,747,280, taking £65,515,994/£72,321,672

Would surely expect a similar 20%+ increase on opening as Mamma Mia and Mamma Mia 2, but as with Mamma Mia 2, would expect Wicked: For Good not to have as strong legs.

Had its world premiere in Brazil on November 4 and then had premieres across the world: Paris, London, Singapore and New York on November 17^th with review embargo ending November 18^th.

The first trailer was released in February, and the second trailer in June after screening at CinemaCon in April. The second trailer was seen 113m times in its first 24 hours compared to 75m in the first q24 hours for the first film’s trailer.

It’s interesting ahead of the critic’s embargo ending on Tuesday, Rotten Tomatoes reported audience reactions from Amazon previews, as the audience was fans, it’s no surprise that the reaction was positive. Reviews have been much more mixed the first film, some say its better than the first film but others say its far worse, but reviews won’t have any impact on the film apart from potential award nominations and wins.

2024’s Wicked Part 1 opened £13,696,056; £3.84m (28.04%) Friday; £5.17m (37.75%) Sat; £4.68m (34.21%) Sun and then Monday £1.59m; £1.58m Tues.

Wicked had the biggest opening for a musical in the UK topping Wicked will have the biggest musical opening in the UK, topping Mamma Mia 2 (£9,735,930); Bohemian Rhapsody (£9,530,463), Wonka (£8,904,750); High School Musical 3 (£8,409,375/£12,888,984); Les Misérables (£8,127,991/£9,920,381); La La Land (£6,596,256) and Mamma Mia! (£6,594,058/£10,106,662).

Would have expected the second film to open bigger and similar to Frozen 2 (£15,088,012); Fantastic Beasts (£15,333,146); The Lion King (£16,671,764); Barbie (£18,509,236), and Beauty and the Beast (£19,700,000).

Last year, Wicked opened with two strong holdovers: Gladiator II £4,736,971 and Paddington In Peru £4,218,383, while Wicked: For Good has only male-targeted holdovers Predator: Badlands and The Running Man, which won’t have any impact and will mean Wicked 2 should open much bigger. (£15m+)

This also means Wicked: For Good has much more shows in cinemas than Wicked with many Vue cinemas having almost 50 shows a day.

Advance bookings opened on October 31st in the UK, three weeks after they went on sale in the US (October 8th), becoming Fandango’s Biggest first-day ticket pre-seller of 2025 and among Fandango’s top 10 best all-time first-day ticket pre-sellers.

A week before opening Vue Cinemas said Wicked: For Good had taken double the presales of Wicked and the highest presales since 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, but Vue prices have increased by several pounds since 2021. Vue said on Wednesday “Pre-sales have been nothing short of spectacular – currently tracking over 50% above the pre-sales for the last film, but that was always expected as there are more fans for the sequel who want to see it over opening weekend and are caught up in the hype of lack of availability.

In October 2024, Wicked was estimated to open with $80m+, three weeks later opened with $112.5m, taking $473.23m and $756.44m worldwide; Wicked: For Good is currently tracking to open with $115m opening, so it will open with about $140m+ similar to Lilo & Stitch $146m.

The sequel is 20 mins shorter than the first film (2h 18 mins); the stage musical is 2hr 30 mins, but the film adaptation will be twice as long, over two films.

Wicked Part 1 dropped 39% in its second weekend, £8,371,251 and £28,530,258; £2.2m 26.4% (-42.7 £3.84m) Friday; £3.3m 40% (-36% £5.17m) Saturday; £2.79m 33.5% (-40.4% £4.68m) Sunday; £924k Monday. Moana 2 opened #1 £12,021,342; £2.8m 23.4% Friday: £4.93m 41.2% Saturday; £4.21m 35.2% Sunday; £748k Monday; Wicked 2 could hold #1 against Zootopia 2.

After both Now You See Me: Now You Don’t and The Running Man openings were inflated with previews would expect both to drop about 70% in their second weekends, taking about £650k-£750k each. With Predator: Badlands dropped 50% in its third weekend.

With Nuremberg and JUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution losing many screens in their second weekend, it could see The Choral, Christmas Karma and A Paw Patrol Christmas climb up the charts despite taking less than last weekend.

Sisu: Road To Revenge is unlikely to find much of an audience as 2023’s Sisu opened £144,567 #6 from 282 screens, which was counter-programming for The Little Mermaid.

Coming Soon

• Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 – Universal Pictures

Supernatural horror sequel of 2023’s Five Nights at Freddy’s based on the video game starring Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich, Wayne Knight, McKenna Grace, and Teo Briones and directed by Emma Tammi.

The 2023 film was a surprise hit, but can the sequel match its success as Blumhouse Pictures’ previous sequels this year, M3GAN 2.0 and The Black Phone 2, were both far from the critical and box office success of their original films.

2023’s Five Nights at Freddy’s opened £5,379,587, taking £10,472,999

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is counter-programming to Wicked: For Good and Zootopia 2, targeting female audiences and opening over a normal quiet time of the box office, the calm before the Christmas storm, starting two weeks later.

In the US, it’s expected to currently open with about 40% less than the original film, which was very front-loaded and opened the weekend before Halloween. Horrors have strongly performed this year, but the last one to do so was The Conjuring: Last Rites in September.

• Eternity – A24

Fantasy romantic comedy starring Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner, John Early, Olga Merediz, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph and directed by David Freyne.

Premiered at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival, receiving positive reviews (84% Rotten Tomatoes).

The script was on the 2022 Blacklist, with production starting in 2024. Always question if a script was on the blacklist, as one of the most liked scripts did it take another two years for the film to start production, as surely the script had been read by all studios in 2022 and rejected?

Similar films include Her, All of Us Strangers, What Dreams May Come, Defending Your Life, Past Lives, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and A Ghost Story

• Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair – Lionsgate

Quentin Tarantino combined the two films into one 4-hour and 41-minute film with an intermission; the cliffhanger ending has been removed from Vol. 1 and the recap from Vol. 2.

2003’s Kill Bill Volume 1 opened £2,693,742/£4,835,388, taking £11,453,044/£20,558,730

2004’s Kill Bill Volume 2 opened £2,768,832/£4,914,831, taking £9,068,461/£16,097,023

With a screen time of about 5 hours, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is only likely to have a limited release with one show a day.

• Andre Rieu’s 2025 Christmas Concert: Merry Christmas – Piece Of Magic

The third Andre Rieu concert released in 2025 and the Christmas Concert has released regularly in cinemas since 2016, but the opening box office has dropped since COVID, before they would regularly open with about £1m now its closer to half despite opening in more cinemas and higher ticket prices, as chances are the fans of Andre Rieu have realised that these concerts are often shown on Sky Arts a few weeks later and they probably aren’t very different with the same music played year after year.

The last released in August, Andre Rieu’s 2025 Maastricht Concert: Waltz The Night Away! Opened £566,325 #7 547 screens similar to his concert in April, Andre Rieu’s 75th Birthday Celebration: The Dream Continues, £596,897; and his Christmas concert will open similarly.