- Alien: Romulus – £3,741,287 – NE
Took £1.46m 39.1% Friday; £1.24m 33.09% Saturday; £1.03m 27.81% Sunday; took £625k Mon and £638k Tues #2
432nd biggest opening between About A Boy and Valentine’s Day (close to X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Battleship, Lightyear and The Meg) and 655th inflated opening between Onward and The Departed (close to Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Elysium, Waterworld and Judge Dredd).
Took 38% from IMAX/PLF
13th biggest 2024 opening between Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes and The Fall Guy 9close to Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Migration and A Quiet Place: Day One).
73rd widest opening (672 screens) close to Twisters, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (re-release), The Fabelmans, Military Wives and Frozen 2; 226th 600+ release since 2015’s Jurassic World.
The opening was 8.91% of the US opening of $42m, Alien films have previously performed stronger in the UK, but Romulus has opened remarkably similar.
Alien: Romulus is the seventh Alien film and the first since 2017’s Alien: Covenant set between the events of 1979’s Alien and 1986’s Aliens. After Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019 it was announced at CinemaCon that more Alien films were in development. In 2022 Fede Álvarez was signed to direct and was originally due for streaming on Hulu but was switched to theatrical release before filming started.
As with many Disney sequels Alien: Romulus includes many nostalgic scenes from previous Alien films with Cailee Spaeny giving her best Ripley impression, she said she watched Sigourney Weaver on repeat “for months”.
Fede Álvarez previously directed 2013’s Evil Dead (opened £1,375,842 taking £3,355,676), 2016’s Don’t Breathe (opened £1,028,938 taking £3,719,221)
1979’s Alien was the 5th biggest film of the year after Moonraker, Superman 2, Jaws and Every Which Way But Loose; Alien and Aliens had a long-exclusive run at the Odeon Leicester Square all others opened wide.
1986’s Aliens opened £345,754/£1,456,581 158 screens taking £4,298,142/£18,107,066 inflated
1992’s Alien3 opened £1,622,917/£4,004,206 313 screens taking £6,522,262/£16,092,310 inflated
1997’s Alien Resurrection opened £2,829,825/£5,506,686 376 screens taking £7,232,926/£14.074m
2012’s Prometheus opened £6,236,580/£7,754,115; (Friday £2.21m; Saturday £2.02m; Sunday 2.1m) 514 screens taking £24,628,830/£30,621,716
2017’s Alien: Covenant opened £5,178,531/5,475,830 inflated (Thurs previews £314k; Friday £1.66m; Saturday £1.84m; Sunday £1.22m
In 2012 Prometheus broke box office records at the BFI IMAX selling over 30,000 tickets in advance (£470,977); During the first 24 hours tickets were available sold £137,000 in presales and in its first week the first week £293,312; the highest grossing week of pre-sale tickets ever. Alien: Romulus presales at the BFI IMAX are far fewer, as it was for Deadpool and Wolverine.
20th Century Fox planned three sequels to 2012’s Prometheus but only one 2017’s Alien: Covenant was made, and sequel plans ended when Disney acquired the studio in 2019.
- 2. It Ends With Us – £2,834,201 – £11,384,454
Down 37.3% in its second weekend
Took £1m 35.29% (-45.95% £1.85m) Friday; £961k 33.91% (-26.64% £1.31m) Saturday; £851k 30.03% (-20.47% £1.07m) Sunday; took £641k Mon and £682k Tues #1
266th biggest second weekend between Kung Fu Panda 4 and Monsters vs. Aliens (close to Notting Hill, The Hunger Games, American Pie 2 and Fifty Shades Freed) and 490th biggest inflated second weekend between Kung Fu Panda 4 and Bedtime Stories (close to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Erin Brockovich and Hannah And Her Sisters).
After opening with £1.85m last Friday was expected It Ends With Us would drop off Sat/Sun as normally Young Adult adaptions are front-loaded as 2014’s The Fault in Our Stars £961,640 #2 dropped 43% and £8,605,638 of £11,006,752. But It Ends With Us held well on Sat/Sun and then also held well Mon-Thurs before having a lower-than-expected second-weekend drop.
The trailer was viewed 128.1m in the first 24 Hours becoming the biggest recent it’s for female-led films Wicked 112.9m views; Barbie 101.6m; Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour 96.2m; Mean Girls 79.3m; Challengers 75m; The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 61.6m and its had many more views playing with many summer films.
The first trailer for Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy was released exclusively in cinemas with It Ends With Us.
Colleen Hoover’s book became a “BookTok” cultural phenomenon with more than 3.8bn views on her TikTok hashtag, Selling over 20m books and writing five of the top 10 bestselling print books of any genre in 2022. The book was published in 43 foreign languages, It Ends With Us was the top-selling print book of 2022 and was on the New York Times Best Seller List for more than 90 weeks.
As with 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling there were claims of tensions between the director Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively during postproduction with two cuts of the film the director’s cut and a second cut Blake Lively requested which became the released version, despite the original version testing better. It was reported Ryan Reynolds wrote a key rooftop scene at the start of the film. Blake Lively said “We help each other. He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does. So, his wins, his celebrations are mine and mine are his.”
As there are many different cuts made on most Baldoni was missing from the premiere press events and there was a lack of photos of Lively and Baldoni together similar happened with cast members of Don’t Worry Darling who hated each other. What it did do was generate a lot of free media coverage which is always good.
Colleen Hoover has written a sequel to It Ends With Us and Sony Pictures will be eager to get Blake Lively to return in It Starts with Us.
Films about abusive relationships include.
2013’s Safe Haven dropped 49.8% £407,293 and £1,689,566 81.37% of £2,076,306/£2,518,276 inflated
1992’s Fried Green Tomatoes up 38.2% £214,067/£528,165 inflated and £539,025 26.65% of £2,022,981/£4,991,280 inflated
1991’s Sleeping With the Enemy dropped 20.2% £1,039,940/£2,718,259 and £3,326,770 36% of £9,230,825/£24,128,097 inflated.
Blake Lively recent films include.
2015’s The Age of Adaline dropped 66% £193,494 of £1,084,834
2018’s A Simple Favor dropped 38.2% £1,001,620 and £3,407,225 69.11% of £4,930,383; a sequel has been made and will be released by Amazon/Lionsgate next year.
Other comparisons include.
2022’s Where The Crawdads Sing dropped 38.7% £855,842 and £3,767,061 46.42% of £8,115,231.
Due to the rumoured behind-the-scenes production issues that generated strong media coverage 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling dropped 33.8% £1,835,165 and £6,194,764 61.97% of £9,995,806
- 3 Deadpool & Wolverine – £2,393,213 – £48,418,795
Down 41.4% in its fourth weekend
Took £700k 29.25% (-44.44% £1.26m) Friday; £935k 39.07% (-35.52% £1.45m) Saturday; £747k 31.22% (-24.39% £988k) Sunday.
71st biggest fourth weekend between Men In Black and Incredibles 2 (close to Jurassic World, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Mrs Doubtfire and Slumdog Millionaire) and the 155th inflated fourth weekend between Batman and Crocodile Dundee II (close to Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, The Fugitive, What Women Want and The Silence of the Lambs).
5th biggest comic-book fourth weekend between Men In Black and The Dark Knight (close to Black Panther, Avengers Assemble, The Dark Knight and Avengers: Endgame) and 10th inflated MCU fourth weekend between Batman and Avengers Infinity War (close to The Dark Knight Rises, The Mask, Aquaman and Batman Forever)
4th biggest MCU fourth weekend between Avengers Assemble and Avengers: Endgame (close to Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Thor: Love and Thunder and Captain Marvel).
Fourth weekends
2016’s Deadpool dropped 50% £1,487,073 #3 523 screens and £34,065,741 90.56% £37,616,432 (£40.45m inflation inflated); took 2.74x opening; #1 London Has Fallen £3,229,675
2018’s Deadpool 2 dropped 53% £1,182,010 #3 565 screens and £29,042,739 89.36% of £32,501,893/£35.87m inflated; took 2.51x opening; #1 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom £14,334,894
2016’s Suicide Squad dropped 50% £1,272,331 #3 510 screens and £30,642,664 83.36% of £33,191,023/£35.47m; took 2.95x of opening; #1 Finding Dory £1,510,744
2019’s Joker down 37% £3,464,683 #1 657 screens and £46,738,368 79.89% of £57.8m took 4.6x opening.
2012’s The Dark Knight Rises dropped 49% £2,196,449/£2,748,147 #2 548 screens and £46,259,177 82.26% of £56,424,320 (£70,153,943 inflated) 3.93x opening; #1 Ted £3,174,766 and the middle weekend of the London Olympics.
2008’s The Dark Knight dropped 44% £2,302,866/£3,529,585 inflated #1 499 screens and £45,205,845 92.48% of £49,309,894 (£75,102,762 inflated) 4.41x opening.
2022’s The Batman dropped 50% £1,664,503 #1 683 screens and £35,636,413 87.38% of £40,811,982 (£42,032,626 inflated) 3.02x opening
2002’s Spider-Man dropped 44% £1,452,348/£2,032,775 #2 490 screens and £23,812,703 91.16% of £33,458,286/£52,804,463 inflated: #1 The Minority Report £4,506,315
Had similarly inflated fourth weekends to
2004’s Spider-Man 3 dropped 49% £1,288,019/£2,032,775 #2 460 screens and £30,501,556 91.16% of £33,458,286/ £52,804,463 inflated
Disney’s first MCU 2013’s Iron Man 3 dropped 56% £1,400,462/£1,709,293 inflated 457 screens and £33,791,344 91.68% of £36,858,807/£44,986,936 inflated: #1 Fast & Furious 6 £8,717,534
Deadpool & Wolverine couldn’t be compared to the first two films as it has received far more hype and media coverage than those films received and needed to be compared to other MCU films similar to MCUs.
2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse dropped 54% £1,371,319 #2 661 screens and £37,764,834 89.78% of £42,082,090; took 2.13x opening; #1 Top Gun: Maverick £15,931,497
2016’s Captain America Civil War dropped 52% £1,334,385/£1,435,229 inflated #4 519 screens and £34,467,090 93.73% of £36,771,782; 2.54x opening; #1 X-Men: Apocalypse £7,354,293
2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron dropped 53% £1,661,968/£1,837,155 #3 521 screens and £43,250,662 89.68% of £48,227,409; 2.68x opening; #1 Pitch Perfect 2 £5,005,394
2012’s Avengers Assemble dropped 32% £2,814,216/£3,521,083 #2 496 screens and £44,983,702 86.66% of £51,614,076/£64,173,231 inflated; 3.27x opening; #1 The Dictator £4,963,745
The problem is many get caught up in the hype of seemingly bigger box office than previous films but if you make direct comparisons with similar films and compare inflated BO it’s a very different story as it shows again what I’ve said for ages MCU films have been flat since Civil War removing out Affinity Wars/Endgame/No Way Home. While they might both feature Blake Lively they play to vastly different audiences so It Ends With Us can’t be used as an excuse for Deadpool 3 dropping off much quicker than expected.
The 34 MCUs have taken £1.12bn since 2008 and £1.3bn inflated.
54th biggest between Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Avengers Age of Ultron (close to Quantum of Solace, The Greatest Showman, Bridget Jones’s Baby and Jurassic Park) and 134th biggest inflated between Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Minions The Rise of Grue Out (close to King Kong, The Flintstones, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Inception).
9th biggest comic book between The Dark Knight and Avengers Age of Ultron (close to The Dark Knight Rises, Marvel Avengers Assemble, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and The Batman) and the 14th biggest inflated between Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 (close to Batman Forever, iron Man 3, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2).
The upcoming MCU includes a new Daredevil TV series, 20th Century Fox made the 2003 film, it was then remade for Netflix as a TV series and Marvel is bringing it back as a TV series titled Born Again. Footage received rave reactions for Captain America: Brave New World at D23 but the film has had extensive reshoots and has been delayed from May 2024 to February 2025.
Thunderbolts is the only new Marvel film on their slate, but it’s another group of anti-heroes seen before many times Guardians of the Galaxy and Suicide Squad. The Fantastic Four: The First Steps, the third version of The Fantastic Four in 20 years. Another reboot Blade starring Mahershala Ali has seen several directors leave the film. Wesley Snipes returned to play Blade in Deadpool and Wolverine saying, “There will only ever be one Blade” Then there are the next Avengers films titled Doomsday in 2026 and The Secret Wars in 2027, with the thousands of characters in Marvel comics they are again going the easiest route with their upcoming slate.
The end credits feature a dedication to the 20th Century Fox X-Men films including Daredevil, Elektra and The Fantastic Four but also includes Blade never part of the X-Men films as it was made by New Line/Warner Bros and rights reverted to Marvel in 2012. In Deadpool and Wolverine, kill off Channing Tatum’s Gambit. 20th Century Fox had been developing a Gambit spinoff with Rupert Wyatt attached to direct since 2014 and Channing Tatum attached, its production start date kept being delayed and it was finally cancelled after Disney acquired Fox in 2020.
Ryan Reynold appeared alongside Hugh Jackman as Deadpool and Wolverine in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine and they fought each other with Wolverine killing Deadpool. After Wolverine changed the timeline in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past everything after the 70s was wiped. The events in X-Men Origins: Wolverine never happened shouldn’t be the hostility between Deadpool and Wolverine. As in Batman Vs Superman and Captain America: Civil War when Deadpool and Wolverine fight it feels tiresome as both have super healing powers.
- 4 Coraline £1,260,124 – NE
Took £513,751 40.8% from Thursday previews.
Took £138k 10.9% Friday; £345k 27.4% Saturday; £259k 20.5% Sunday.
1,394th biggest opening between Silver Linings Playbook and Horrible Bosses 2 (close to Lion, What Happens in Vegas, Anyone But You and Matilda) and the 2,029th biggest Inflated opening between Masters of the Universe and Wedding Daze (close to Free Birds, Beethoven’s 2nd, The Boss Baby 2 and Avatar (re-release)
Many re-releases have occurred this year, but few would have expected Coraline to have the biggest opening.
It was the first of four Laika stop-motion animated films released by Universal Pictures. All films opened away from school holidays and were mostly limited to weekend box office. Being original stop-motion aminated films they can’t be compared to other branded animated films that play to a much wider demographic.
2009’s Coraline opened £2,427,244 #2 from 392 screens taking £7,244,992: 6 weeks in the top 10 and 8 weeks in the top 15.
2012’s ParaNorman opened £1,393,123 #2 480 screens taking £5,755,248: 5 weeks in the top 5
2014’s The Boxtrolls opened £2,000,597 #1 510 screens taking £8,376,84: 6 weeks top 10 and 8 weeks top 15.
2016’s Kubo and the Two Strings opened £844,027 #5 520 screens taking £2,887,889; 5 weeks top 10 was a much busy time for family films with summer films Finding Dory and The Secret Life of Pets holding well and Storks and Trolls opening in October so didn’t have the legs of other films.
Laika made Missing Link in 2019 for Annapurna Pictures and was their lowest-performing at the box office; Missing Link opened £644,649 #7 in a much more crowded Easter market with Dumbo, Peppa Pig: Festival of Fun and Wonder Park.
Coraline took $20m worldwide since Thursday including $12.5m from the US which was close to $16.8m it opened 15 years ago in the US taking $75.3m and $127m worldwide.
Down 21.8% in the sixth weekend
Took £393k 32.89% (-26.13% £532k) Friday; £416k 34.81% (-20.31% £532k) Saturday; £378k 31.63% (+6.78% £354k) Sunday.
57th biggest sixth weekend between Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 and Despicable Me 3 (close to Spectre, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets and Jurassic World) and
14th biggest animated sixth weekend between Inside Out and Despicable Me 3 (close to Frozen, Incredibles, Sing 2 and Wish) and the 25th inflated animated sixth weekend between Ralph Breaks the Internet and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (close to Up, A Bug’s Life, Shrek 2 and Ice Age)
Sixth weekends
2022’s Minions: The Rise of Gru dropped 44% £1,110,963 #3 and £36,707,089 80.21% of £45,764,546; #1 Bullet Train £2,858,197
2017’s Despicable Me 3 dropped 47% £1,189,440 82.71% of £47,562,575 #4 and £39,340,831; #1 Dunkirk £4,624,570
2015’s Minions dropped 56% £1,007,186/£1,113,353 inflated #5 and £40,042,323 85.03% of £47,645,626; #1 Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation £5,351,344
2013’s Despicable Me 2 dropped 38% £1,289,450/£1,573,800 inflated #6 and £38,451,837 81.21% of £47,436,199; #1 The Smurfs 2 £3,220,911 £18,319,721
2010’s Despicable Me dropped 40.5% £648,479/£868,635 inflated and £19,066,830 96.54% of £19,670,786/£26,455,718 inflated; #1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1
The 14 Illumination Entertainment films have taken £480m (almost £525 inflated) since the first Despicable Me opened in 2010; upcoming Super Mario Bros 2 April 2026, Minions 3 June 2027 and Despicable Me 5 in July 2028.
The 17th biggest animated film between Inside Out and The Simpsons (close to Finding Dory, Frozen, Shrek The Third and Finding Nemo) and the 33rd biggest inflated animated between The Secret Life of Pets and The Lego Movie (close to Shrek Forever After, Shark Tale, Ratatouille and Aladdin).
90th biggest between Inside Out and Fifty Shades of Grey (close to Captain Marvel, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Paddington and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and 208th biggest inflated between Borat and The Lego Movie (close to Forrest Gump, Tomorrow Never Dies, Aladdin (1993) and A View to A Kill).
Also released.
- Spider-Man 3 (2007 Re-issue) – Sony Pictures
Following on from Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man being re-released over the last two weeks Spider-Man 3 opened the lowest of the films to date £156,781 #11 and £33,631,335 total.
BO will drop off over the next two weeks with the two Amazing Spider-Man films before the MCU Spider-Man films.
UK box office in detail
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £13,276,771 down 5.1% from last weekend’s £: x admissions down 5.1% from 1,676,360 admissions.
12th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 13 October 2023 #1 Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Concert) £5,729,998 (43.03%) and 05 January 2024 #1 Wonka £3,779,636 (28.5%)
41st biggest since cinemas reopened out of 196 weeks between 30 June 2023 #1 Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny £7,144,441 (53.69%) and 05 January 2024 #1 Wonka £3,779,636 (28.5%)
346th biggest top 10 of the last 22 years (out of 1,167) between 11 May 2018 #1 Avengers: Infinity War (£5,706,170) and 05 January 2024 #1 Wonka (£3,779,636) and 631st inflated between 22 August 2014 #1 Lucy (£3,076,997) and 21 September 2001 #1 A.I. (£2,285,786)
The top 3 took (£8,968,701) 67.6% of the top 10; Alien: Romulus 28.18% (£3,741,287); It Ends With Us 32.29% (£2,834,201); Deadpool and Wolverine 18.03% (£2,393,213).
780th highest #1 percentage (28.18%) between 12 April 2002 #1 Bend It Like Beckham (28.2%) and 02 May 2014 #1 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (28.16%)
715th biggest admissions #1 (472,385) between 19 February 2010 #1 Avatar (473,447) and 23 January 2009 #1 Slumdog Millionaire (471,764)
Up 36.8% from 2023; (£9,706,381); Blue Beetle (£1,189,812); Strays (£598,619); Metallica: M72 World Tour Live From TX #1 (£201,115); Serpico (50th Anniversary (£21,060); #1 Barbie £2,697,820 5th week 39% drop 778 screens (27.79%)
Up 124.3% 2022 (£5,920,000); Dragon Ball Super: SUPERHERO (£663,290); Fisherman’s Friends: One and All (£656,293); Orphan: First Kill (£434,601); Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Director’s Edition 4K) (£58,858); The World Is Not Enough (Re: 2022) (£6,933); #1 Nope £1,147,638 2nd week 38% drop 685 screens (19.4% of top 10)
Up 77.3% 2021 (£7,486,527); People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan (£896,992); Snake Eyes (£542,265); The Night House (£315,610); Reminiscence (£260,272); Around the World In 80 Days (£120,726); Pig (£47,976); #1 Free Guy £2,267,660 2nd week 11% drop 652 screens (30.3% of top 10)
Up 1,099.2% 2020: (£1,107,153); The Karate Kid (Re: 2020) (£32,117); Get Out (Re: 2020) (£3,392); #1 Unhinged £178,821 3rd week split over 4 weeks 380 screens up 32% (16.1% of top 10)
Down 17.4% from 2019; (£16,071,094); Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (£7,544,445); Dora & The Lost City of Gold (£1,165,865); Good Boys (£844,169); Uglydolls (£266,074); #1 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood £7,544,445 1st week 663 screens (46.7% of top 10)
Down 12.3% from 2018: (£15,143,203); Disney’s Christopher Robin (£2,553,810); The Equalizer 2 (£1,980,754); The Festival (£1,423,410); #1 Disney’s Christopher Robin £2,553,810 1st week 649 screen 16.9% of top 10)
Up 38.3% from 2017: (£9,602,351); The Hitman’s Bodyguard (£1,982,951); The Dark Tower (£910,529); Everything, Everything (£453,401); An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (£201,130); #1 The Hitman’s Bodyguard £1,982,951 1st week 467 screens (20.6% of the top 10)
Up 2.1% from 2016: (£13,012,003); David Brent: Life on the Road (£1,460,290); Lights Out (£1,126,543); Swallows and Amazons (£676,175); Nine Lives (£636,804); Tickled (£25,602); #1 Finding Dory £2,868,459 4th week (2nd #1) 627 screens up 12% (22.1% of the top 10)
Up 41.4% from 2015; (£9,389,554); Paper Towns (£2,072,789); Sinister 2 (£1,069,261); Vacation (£608,748); The Bad Education Movie (£594,861); Strange Magic (£56,127); Good People (£25,454); #1 Paper Towns £2,072,789 1st week 472 screens (22.1% of top 10)
Up 14.1% from 2014: (£11,641,259); The Expendables 3 (£1,689,927); Hector and the Search for Happiness (£240,222); The Rover (£73,696); Blood Ties (£20,258); #1 The Inbetweeners 2 £4,309,832 2nd week 509 screens 66% drop (37.1% of top 10)
Up 11.4% from 2013: (£11,919,587); Kick-Ass 2 (£2,482,187); Planes (£1,735,940); 2 Guns (£1,423,738); Bachelorette (£19,396); #1 Kick-Ass 2 £2,482,187 1st week 483 screens (20.8% of top 10)
Down 24.1% from 2012 (£17,483,535); Brave (UK expansion) (£5,269,402); The Bourne Legacy (£4,620,289); The Expendables 2 (£1,985,082); The Wedding Video (£333,079); Take this Waltz (£70,358); #1 Brave £5,269,402 3rd week (1st #1) 553 screens 818% increase (30.1% of top 10)
Down 39.8% from 2011; (£22,058,353); The Inbetweeners Movie (£13,216,736); Cowboys & Aliens (£1,777,320); Spy Kids: All the Time in the World 4D (£703,078); Glee: The 3D Concert Movie (£356,271); The Guard (UK release) (£163,751); #1 The Inbetweeners Movie £13,216,736 1st week 453 (59.9% of top 10)
Up 5.8% from 2010: (£12,550,727); The Last Airbender (£1,653,776); The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (£1,140,532); Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (£288,544); The Secret in Their Eyes (£85,467); Black Dynamite (£6,400); #1 Toy Story 3 £4,666,021 4th week 569 screens 32% drop (25.2% of top 10)
Up 61% from 2009; (£8,247,544); The Time Traveller’s Wife (£1,410,333); Aliens in the Attic (£1,323,575); Bandslam (£628,957); A Perfect Getaway (£418,703); Imagine That (£109,722); #1 The Time Traveller’s Wife £1,410,333 1st week 425 screens (17.1% of top 10)
Up 21.2% from 2008; (£10,950,396); You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (£1,520,637); Wild Child (£1,177,472); Star Wars: The Clone Wars (£895,300); Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (£90,878); #1 The Dark Knight £2,302,866 4th week 499 screens (3rd week #1) 44% drop (21.1% of top 10)
Down 8.6% from 2007: (£14,527,913); The Bourne Ultimatum (£6,553,704); Bratz: The Movie (£1,247,588); Eagle vs. Shark (£47,845); #1 The Bourne Ultimatum £6,553,704 1st week 458 screens (45.11%)
Up 97.4% from 2006; (£6,725,494); Snakes on a Plane (£1,069,608); John Tucker Must Die (£845,633); Harsh Times (£281,609); A Scanner Darkly (£242,990); #1 Snakes on a Plane £1,069,608 1st week 354 screens (15.9% of top 10)
Up 101.5% from 2005: (£6,589,529); Bewitched (£1,053,432); Unleashed (£498,058); The Perfect Man (£186,460); #1 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory £1,691,431 4th week 516 screens 41% drop (25.6% of top 10)
Up 55.4% from 2004; (£8,540,203); The Village (£2,945,763); A Cinderella Story (£611,209); #1 The Village £2,945,763 1st week 433 screens (34.5% of top 10)
Up 58.2% from 2003 (£8,393,708); Tomb Raider 2 (£1,524,676); Confidence (£325,685); The Man Who Sued God (£195,418); Swimming Pool (£119,092); #1 American Pie: The Wedding £2,180,783 2nd week 425 screens 47% drop (26% of top 10)
Up 106.7% from 2002 (£6,423,296); The Sum of All Fears (£1,144,501); Spy Kids 2 (£1,069,090); #1 Men in Black 2 £3,106,105 3rd week 489 screens 55% drop (21.8% of top 10)
Up 19.8% from 2001 (£11,086,365); Planet of the Apes (£5,445,983); #1 Planet of the Apes £5,445,983 1st week 446 screens (49.1% of top 10)
2023 Next week: (£7,775,273); Andre Rieu’s 2023 Maastricht Concert: Love Is All Around (£710,326); The Blackening (£367,486); Scrapper (£197,658); Theatre Camp (£141,872); #1 Barbie £1,944,777 6 weeks 753 screens (25.01%)
US Box Office
- Alien: Romulus – Disney
Opened $42m; received positive reviews (82% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore.
(Aliens A; Alien3 C; Alien Resurrection B-; Prometheus B; Alien: Covenant B
Took $6.5m from Thursday midnights; A Quiet Place: Day One $6.7m; Nope $6.4m; Alien: Covenant $4.2m.
Took $16.8m worldwide from IMAX; US $7.3m; International $4.5m; China $5m.
379th biggest opening between High School Musical 3: Senior Year and The Conjuring (close to Terminator Salvation, Scary Movie, Ready Player One and Independence Day: Resurgence)
EntTelligence reported Alien: Romulus had 2.7m admissions average price $15.40; with IMAX/PLF taking 52% of the opening; 70% male, 25-34 33% and 60% 18-34.
The first trailer released in March was seen over 50m times in its first 24 hours.
2017’s Alien: Covenant opened $36.16m taking $74.26m and $240.89m worldwide; took 69.2% internationally
2012’s Prometheus opened $51.05m/$69.2m inflated taking $126.47m/$171.3m inflated and $403.35m worldwide; 68.6% internationally
1997’s Alien Resurrection opened $16.47m/$38.7m inflated taking $47.79m/$112.2m inflated and $161.37m worldwide; 70.4% internationally
1992’s Alien³ opened $19.44m/$50.5m inflated taking $55.47m/$144.1m inflated and $159.81m worldwide; 65.3|% internationally
1986’s Aliens opened $10.05m /$29.2m inflated taking $85.16m/$248m inflated and $131.06m internationally; 35% internationally
1979’s Alien opened $3.52m taking $84.2m and $108.59m worldwide; 22.5% internationally
The unreleased films made by 20th Century Fox released by Disney apart from Avatar: The Way of Water and Free Guy predictably underwhelmed at the box office, The Call of the Wild, The New Mutants, The Last Duel and The King’s Man as they were films Disney had no interest. Over the last 5 years 20th Century Studios has made mostly low-budget horrors, remakes and sequels apart from those made by Regency (The Creator and Amsterdam). T
This year 20th Century Studios has released The First Omen, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Deadpool & Wolverine and Alien: Romulus all properties 20th Century Fox had success with originally. Upcoming films The Amateur (delayed 6 months from November 2024 to April 2025) and three more Avatar sequels. It’s easy to make a success from existing properties as Disney has done for the last decade, but 20th Century Fox also had huge success from original films including Bohemian Rhapsody, The Greatest Showman and The Fault in Our Stars but Disney has no interest in making this kind of films despite there being an audience who wants to see them.
RelishMix said Alien: Romulus had 246.8m followers across TikTok, Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram for Alien: Romulus less than Alien: Covenant’s 352m followers.
Opened $66.7m from x territories and $108.2m worldwide: China $25.7m; S. Korea $5.4m; UK $4.8m; France $3.8m; Mexico $2.8m; Australia $2.3m; Spain $2.2m; Germany $2.1m; Italy $1.3m; Hong Kong $1.2m.
- Deadpool and Wolverine – Disney
Down 44% in its fourth weekend $30m and $546.81m
13th biggest fourth weekend between Inside Out 2 and Avengers: Endgame (close to Barbie, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Avengers: Infinity War and Jurassic World)
17th biggest between The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Lion King; 71st biggest inflated between The Hunger Games and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; 2nd biggest 2024 between Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 4; 6th biggest comic-book between The Avengers and The Dark Knight; 9th biggest Disney between Incredibles 2 and The Lion King.
Took $78m worldwide from IMAX; $41.3m US; internationally $36.7m
EntTelligence ticket pricing standard $15.06; Premium average $18.38
Third weekends
2018’s Deadpool 2 dropped 39% $14.14m #3 and $279.16n of $324.59m/$384.1m inflated and $785.89m/$929.96m worldwide inflated
2016’s Deadpool dropped 46.2% $16.72m #3 and $311.48m of $363.07m/$452.5m inflated and $782.83m/$975.6m worldwide inflated
The 34 MCU films have taken over $30bn over the last 15 years, becoming the biggest franchise in history ahead of Spider-Man’s $10.6bn over 10 films; Star Wars’s $10.3bn over 11 films; Harry Potter’s $9.6bn over 11 films; and James Bond $7.8bn over 25 films. Of course, it’s impossible to make direct comparisons with these other franchises as inflation inflated many have taken more than MCU.
The 34 films have taken $12.34bn in the US and $30.85bn worldwide.
Deadpool & Wolverine has 1.21 billion posts across TikTok, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram combined compared to Spider-Man: No Way Home (1.2bn), Thor: Love & Thunder (963m) and Black Panther (900m). Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War 2.47bn.
Took $32.9m from 55 territories $596.8m total and $1.143bn worldwide; UK $61.8m; China $57.9m; Mexico $41.1m; Australia $35.9m; Germany $29.9m; France $28.5m; Brazil $24.3m; Spain $21.5m; India $18.6m; Italy $17.3m.
29th biggest worldwide between Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Far From Home; 9th biggest comic book between Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Far From Home; 16th biggest Disney between Captain America: Civil War and Captain Marvel.
- It Ends With Us – Sony Pictures
Dropped 55% in the second weekend $23.8m #3 and $97.59m
351st biggest second weekend between Kung Fu Panda 2 and No Time to Die (close to Forrest Gump, The Great Gatsby, Saving Private Ryan and X-Men)
821st biggest between Jumanji (1995) and Fifty Shades Freed; 1,708th biggest inflated between The Family Stone and Just Married; 13th biggest 2024 between IF and Bob Marley: One Love;104th biggest Sony Pictures between Jumanji and Bad Treacher.
After opening with $50m the big question was how it would hold as Young Adult adaptions are often front-loaded as 2014’s The Fault in Our Stars dropped 69.2% in its second weekend taking $14.79m and $80.76m of $124.87m and $307.16m worldwide.
Films about abusive relationships include.
2013’s Safe Haven dropped 51.1% $10.45m and $47.91m of $71.34m and $97.59m worldwide
2002’s Enough dropped 51.4% $6.8m and $27.14m of $40m and $51.8m worldwide
1992’s Fried Green Tomatoes dropped 7.8% $6.15m and $25.34m of $82.41m/$214.1m inflated
1991’s Sleeping With the Enemy dropped 6.9% $12.82m and $31.13m of $101.6m/$260.2m inflated and $175m/$450m worldwide inflated
Blake Lively recent films include.
2015’s The Age of Adaline dropped 53% $6.2m and $23.37m of $42.62m and $65.66m worldwide
2016’s The Shallows dropped 47.8% $8.77m and $35.02m of $55.12m and $119.1m worldwide
2018’s A Simple Favor dropped 36% $10.25m and $32.41m of $53.54m and $97.64m worldwide; a sequel has been made and will be released by Amazon/Lionsgate next year.
While
2022’s Where the Crawdads Sing dropped 40% $10.35m and $38.35m of $90.23m and $144.35m worldwide
Took $33.1m from 52 territories internationally $82.2m total and $182.6m worldwide; UK $14.6m; Australia $9.3m; Mexico $7.6m; Brazil $6.5m; Germany $4.5m; France $2.1m; Saudi Arabia $2.1.
- Twisters – Universal Pictures
Dropped 33% in the fifth weekend taking $10m #4 and $238.63m.
Despite being released on PVOD Twisters had a small drop, showing again if it’s a film people want to see in the cinema they will see it in the cinema no matter if they can watch it at home.
136th biggest fifth weekend between The Blind Side and A Bug’s Life (close to Aquaman, Despicable Me 2, Suicide Squad and Knives Out).
163rd biggest between Fast and Furious 6 and Brave; 494th biggest inflated between The Ring and 2012; 5th biggest 2024 between Dune: Part Two and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire; 23rd biggest Universal Pictures between Fast and Furious 6 and The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Fifth weekends
1996’s Twister dropped 30.4% $11.91m #3 and $187.28m of $241.83m/$590m inflated and $494.58m/$1.2bn inflated
2004’s The Day After Tomorrow dropped 41.3% $4.75m #11 and $175.62m of $186.74m /$324.16m inflated and $552.63m/$959.33m worldwide inflated
2009’s 2012 dropped 35.7% $4.35m #8 and $155.28m of $166.12m/$238.75m inflated and $791.21m/ $1.14bn inflated worldwide
2000’s The Perfect Storm dropped 22.3% $7.51m #5 and $158.05m of $182.61m/$365.23m inflated and $328.71m/$657.43m inflated worldwide
1998’s Armageddon dropped 32.2% $7.56m #8 and $163.13m of $201.6m/$463.32m inflated and 553.71m/$1.27m inflated worldwide.
More recent tornado films include.
2014’s Into The Storm dropped 42.4% $1.46m #13 and $42.69m of $47.61m taking $161.51m worldwide
2017’s Geostorm dropped 75% $410,166 #13 and $32.66m of $33.7m taking $221.9m worldwide
Took $4.7m from 71 territories $95m total internationally and $333.4m worldwide; UK $13.1m; Mexico $11m; Australia $7.2m; France $4.6m; Germany $3m.
488th biggest worldwide between The Good Dinosaur and Fantastic Four (2005); 11th biggest 2024 worldwide between Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and A Quiet Place: Day One.
- Despicable Me 4 – Universal Pictures
Dropped 22% in its seventh weekend taking $6.25m #6 and $340.66m
113th biggest seventh weekend between Meet the Parents and Wedding Crashers (close to The Polar Express, Moana, Sister Act and Who Framed Roger Rabbit).
18th biggest animated film between Zootopia and Minions; 74th biggest between Zootopia and Spider-Man 3; 253rd biggest inflated between National Treasure: Book of Secrets and The Lego Movie; 11th biggest Universal Pictures between Furious 7 and Minions.
Seventh weekends
2022’s Minions: The Rise of Gru dropped 29.6% $5m and #6 and $343.81m of $370.28m and $940.2m worldwide; 60.6% internationally $569.93m; #1 Bullet Train $13.4m
2015’s Minions dropped 25.6% $3.82m #9 and $320.8m of $336.04m and $1.15bn worldwide 71% $823.39m internationally; #1 Straight Outta Compton $26.34m
2017’s Despicable Me 3 dropped 42.4% $3.12m #12 and $247.73m of $264.62m and $1.03bn worldwide 74% $770.17m internationally; #1 Annabelle: Creation $35m
2013’s Despicable Me 2 dropped 33.95 $3.9m #11 and $346.11m of $368.06m and $970.76m worldwide 62% internationally $602.7m; #1 The Butler $24.63m
2010’s Despicable Me dropped 33.1% $4.66m #6 and $231.05m of $251.55m and $543.15m worldwide 53% internationally $291.6m; #1 The Expendables $12.2m
Took $14.7m from 78 territories $507m total and $848.31m worldwide; China $53.1m; UK $49.3m; Mexico $43.6m; Germany $33.2m; France $29.1m; Australia $28.1m; Brazil $25.8m; Japan $24.5m; Spain $19.7m.
21st biggest animated worldwide between Inside Out and Shrek the Third; 92nd biggest between Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3; 11th biggest Universal Pictures between Furious 7 and Minions.
- Inside Out 2 – Disney
Down 28% in the tenth weekend taking $3.47m #8 and $642.46m.
75th biggest tenth weekend between The Silence of the Lambs and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (close to Finding Nemo, Wonka, The Greatest Showman and Zootopia
The biggest animated film ahead of Incredibles 2 ($608.58m); 11th biggest between Jurassic World and Barbie ($636.23m); 41st biggest inflated between The Passion of the Christ and The Lion King; 5th biggest Disney between Avengers: Infinity War and The Avengers.
Inside Out 2 has a 100-day window so will be available on Disney+ at the end of September.
The recent Pixar sequel’s tenth weekends
2019’s Toy Story 4 dropped 42.8% $1.23m #17 and $426.73m of $434.03m and $1.073bn worldwide; #1 Angel Has Fallen $21.38m
2013’s Monsters University dropped 15.2% $391,041 #24 and $261.81m of $268.49m and $743.55m WW
2016’s Finding Dory dropped 30.9% $907,012 #17 and $478.43m of $486.29m and $1.029bn WW
2018’s Incredibles 2 dropped 32.9% $2.3m #14 and $594.1m of $608.58m and $1.243bn WW
2015’s Inside Out dropped 22.1% $1.59m #15 and $342.35m of $356.92m and $858.85m WW
Took $12.6m in 47 territories $983.8m total and $1.627bn worldwide; Mexico $102m; Brazil $79.8m; UK $70.8m; France $61.2m; S. Korea $60.6m; Germany $50.4m; Italy $49m; Spain $47.4m; China $47m; Australia $36.3m.
Biggest animated worldwide ahead of Frozen II ($1.555n); 10th biggest worldwide between The Lion King (2019) and The Avengers; Biggest 2024 worldwide ahead of Dune: Part Two $711.2m; 5th biggest Disney between The Lion King (2029) and The Avengers.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Last weekend’s top three will remain the top three this weekend with Alien: Romulus likely to drop 50% taking £1.7m-£2.2m; 2017’s Alien: Covenant dropped 59% £2,127,347 and £10,003,742 77.5% of £12,913,468.
It Ends With Us and Deadpool and Wolverine will drop 40%-45% taking £1.2m-£1.6m and Despicable Me 4 down about 25% to £900k=.
The new release Blink Twice will open similar to 2022’s The Menu £932,029 (taking £3,611,105). Has received positive reviews, but it would have received far more media coverage had it kept its original title Pussy Island. Had a UK premiere on Monday with Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum in attendance.
The Crow reboot has generated negative media coverage for many months after being delayed many times. Cliff Dorfman wrote several drafts to the film and saw the film posting on Twitter “If hypothetically, one happened to see a screening of @TheCrow_Movie which @Lionsgate is releasing in August, one might say, it’s horrible, it’s unwatchable, don’t waste your money, or can’t believe it’s so much worse than the original. It is. And don’t”. the tweet was later deleted but not before many had seen it. Alex Proyas the director of the original said the reboot should have never been made.
It will open similar to the 1994’s The Crow £590,346/£1,438,628 inflated; 155 screens taking £2,886,860/£7,035,056 inflated.
Next Saturday is National Cinema Day but as with last year some exhibitors won’t be a part of it and the latest Andre Rieu concert won’t be included.
Opening in two weeks
- Speak No Evil – Universal Pictures
Psychological thriller starring James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough, and Scoot McNairy, directed by James Watkins. A remake of the 2022 Danish film Gæsterne, made by Blumhouse Productions. It’s the third Blumhouse Productions film to star James McAvoy after Split and Glass.
Has a similar plot to Blink Twice in Speak No Evil a family is invited for a weekend at an idyllic country house that becomes a psychological nightmare.
James Watkins previously directed 2012’s The Woman in Black the biggest British horror film in the UK. The Woman in Black opened £3,153,020 taking £21,237,668; Was Daniel Radcliffe’s first fil since Harry Potter ended and received 12A, which was later increased to 15.
In January it was delayed a month from August 9th to September 13th
- The Critic – Lionsgate
Thriller film starring Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong and Lesley Manville and directed by Anand Tucker based on the 2015 novel Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn. Screenplay by Patrick Marber he previously adapted 2004’s Closer and 2006’s Notes on a Scandal.
Premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival receiving average reviews,
Ian McKellen’s last major film role was in 2019’s The Good Liar opened £960,536 545 screens taking £3,844,314.
Anand Tucker previously directed 1999’s Hilary and Jackie, 2006’s Shopgirl, and 2007’s When Did You Last See Your Father? Opened £133,347 #13 from 153 screens taking £447,655.
The Critic was acquired in June by Lionsgate from True Brit Entertainment run by former Lionsgate boss Zygi Kamasa. True Brit Entertainment ae launching its own UK distribution so why did they opt to release the film through Lionsgate and not release it themselves?
- Lee – Studiocanal UK
Biographical drama starring Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Andrea Riseborough, Andy Samberg, Josh O’Connor, and Alexander Skarsgård and directed by Ellen Kuras adapted from the 1985 biography The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose.
The film took 8 years to make Kate Winslet who produced paid the cast and crew salaries for two weeks. The film started development in 2015 with Kate Winslet and Ellen Kuras attached.
The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year receiving positive reviews and UK rights were acquired by Sky Cinema in 2023.
The film generated media coverage in a Vogue interview with Kate Winslet saying “The men who think you want and need their help are unbelievably outraging. I’ve even had a director say to me: ‘Listen, you do my film, and I’ll get your little Lee funded…’ Little! Or we’d have potential male investors saying things like Tell me, why am I supposed to like this woman?
The film will be released by Studiocanal and then be shown on Sky Cinema a few weeks later.