- Michael £11,574,192 – NE
Took £3,082,250 from Wednesday/Thursday previews.
Took £2.49m 21.51% Friday; £3.27m 28.25% Saturday; £2.504m 21.63% Sunday.
88th biggest opening between Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Minions (close to Jurassic World Dominion, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Inside Out 2 and Oppenheimer) and 143rd biggest inflated opening between Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Men In Black 2 (close to Love Actually, The World Is Not Enough, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Bridget Jones’s Diary).
4th biggest opening over the last 52 weeks between Jurassic World Rebirth and Lilo & Stitch (close to Avatar: Fire And Ash, Mission Impossible 8, How To Train Your Dragon and The Fantastic Four). Op
Opened in 704 cinemas (about 1,500 screens), 42nd widest opening in the UK, similar to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Belfast; 49th 700+ cinema opening since 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
It’s likely that, as in the US, it took about 12% of its opening from IMAX and 30%+ from PLF/ScreenX/4DX/Dolby.
Michael has a direct comparison with Bohemian Rhapsody, receiving similar reviews saying the biopic was sanitised. The difference with Michael Jackson is that since his death, there have been court cases, conspiracies and controversies that have kept him being talked about for the last 17 years far more than Queen.
While Michael Jackson fans are far more obsessive with a siege mentality and the film focuses on the Michael Jackson they believe he is, as they don’t believe the allegations that surrounded him and just want to see him again as they did 30 years ago and as they hoped they would have seen him at the 02 concerts in 2009.
Reviews were similarly predictably poor as Bohemian Rhapsody, complaining it was a too sanitised version of his story, but as with any of these biopics that have been made with the band or family’s agreement, they have all been sanitised versions, as with Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman. Producers need the band’s approval so the films can feature the artists’ songs, as what’s a musician’s biopic without the songs that made them famous?
Development started in 2019 after producer Graham King had acquired rights to make a film about Michael Jackson a year after he had huge success producing the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody for 20th Century Fox. Lionsgate announced the film in 2022 with Antoine Fuqua attached to direct in 2023. Originally, Lionsgate were going to release worldwide, but as the scale of the film increased, it brought in Universal Pictures to release the film internationally, paying $75m for rights for the $200m+ budget film.
The last Michael Jackson film was 2009’s Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which is still the biggest concert film globally, taking $267.9m ahead of 2023’s Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour ($261.65m).
Showing how hugely popular in the UK Michael Jackson is despite the massive controversy surrounding his life, 2009’s Michael Jackson’s This Is It opened £4,877,255/£7,181,399 taking £9,732,593/£14,330,528.
This Is It was a documentary about his preparation for his This Is It 50 concerts at O2 Arena from July 2009 to March 2010, 10 were planned but another 40 added due to tickets selling out so quickly with over 1 million tickets sold (11 per second in 4 hours 750,000 tickets were sold), but none of the concerts happened due to his death in June 2009 two weeks before his first concert was to happen. Ahead of his death, over $85m was sold in ticket sales (£50m+). Michael Jackson hadn’t toured since 1997.
The Michael Jackson biopic comes 17 years later, after the huge success of Bohemian Rhapsody.
And Michael Jackson’s 1988 Moonwalker opened £660,625/£2,300,698 taking £3,401,538/£11,846,226.
In February 2025, it was said the film had a 4-hour tuning time and could be released as two films; the final version is just over 2 hours. The film had extensive reshoots last June that included having to reshoot the third act due to legal issues. The film’s soundtrack includes 13 songs sung by Michael Jackson.
It was originally set to be released in October 2025, but was delayed due to the original running time and reshoots. Footage was first screened a year ago at CinemaCon with positive reactions. The first teaser trailer was released in November, including a montage of Jackson songs. It was seen 30m times in its first six hours and 116.2m times in 24 hours, more than Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, 96.1m.
Michael is the latest Biographical musician drama after Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen), Walk the Line (Johnny Cash), Ray (Ray Charles), Elvis, Straight Outta Compton (N.W.A), A Complete Unknown (Bob Dylan), Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere and Rocketman (Elton John); Upcoming musician biopics include Sam Mendes’s four Beatles films, and Ridley Scott directed Bee Gees biopic.
Over recent years, musician biopics have had mixed success, most recently Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere underwhelmed, opening £1,306,626, taking £3,632,978.
2025’s A Complete Unknown opened £2,616,302; Fri £775k 29.6%; Sat £1.02m 38.9%; Sun £771k 29.5% taking £11,887,982
2006’s Walk The Line opened £1,111,142/£1,807,032 198 screens taking £9,737,493/£15,835,923.
2022’s Elvis opened #1 740 screens £4,023,572; £1.25m (31.1%) Friday; £1.45m (36%) Sat £1.29m (36%) Sun; taking £27,492,430; had long legs staying in top 5 for 7 weeks and top 10 for 11 weeks.
2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody opened £9,530,463 #1 (£3,054,530 previews) taking £54,948,727 (opened the same weekend 7 years ago)
2019’s Rocketman opened £5,381,904 #2 705 screens (including £1,360,606 from three days of previews), taking £23,502,881: top 5 for 5 weeks and top 10 for 7 weeks
2024’s Back To Black opened £2,772,698, taking £12,291,912
2024’s Bob Marley: One Love opened £6,950,773 (including £1.82m on Valentine’s Day (Wednesday) taking £17,183,582
2023’s Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody £3,325,458 #2 687 screens taking £11,383,690
2015’s Straight Outta Compton £2,498,231 #1 429 screens taking £8,043,283
With Michael opening on Wednesday, they will surely be looking to repeat the opening of Bohemian Rhapsody, which opened £9,530,463 (£3,054,530 previews).
Demographically, DCM data shows the audience skews older: 49% aged 45+, with 15% 16-24 and 20% 25-34. This is a Bohemian Rhapsody audience.
When I think of Michael Jackson, it always reminds me of the amazing 3D short film Captain Eo that played in Epcot in the late 80s and 90s. It was the most expensive film ever per minute ($1.76m), costing about $30m for the 17-minute film in 1986, shot in 70mm 3D. At that time, those 3D effects were state-of-the-art, as was the 3D cinema experience, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and executive produced by George Lucas. It returned to Epcot in 2010 as a tribute to Michea Jackson with its last show in 2015.
- 2. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie £1,099,044 – £34,464,302
Down 56.9% in its fourth weekend
£129k 11.7% (-76.5% £548k) Fri; £514k 46.8% (-55.7% £1.16m) Sat; £456k 41.5% (-76.1% £844k) Sun
307th biggest fourth weekend between Ice Age II and How To Train Your Dragon 2 (close to Moana, Hotel Transylvania 2, Night at the Museum 2 and Cinderella) and 543rd biggest inflated fourth weekend between Aliens and Demolition Man (close to Charlotte’s Web, How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Turner & Hooch and Starsky & Hutch).
Fourth weekends
2023’s Super Mario Bros dropped 28.2% £3,067,431 and £45,780,596, 83.9% of £54,578,335
2025’s A Minecraft Movie dropped 53% £2,492,087 and £51,674,822 91.5% of £55,508,185; took £576k 23.1% (-75.9% £2.39m) Fri; £1.13m 45.3% (-41.4% £1.93m) Sat; £786k 31.5% (-17.3% £951k) Sun.
The fourth week targeted a similar audience.
2014’s The Lego Movie dropped 50% £1,633,265 and £28,801,707, 87.6% of £32,887,286/£38,760,016
2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle dropped 37.5% £2,435,626 and £29,912,422, 78.9% of £36,968,605
2022’s Uncharted dropped 56.7% £1,335,675 and £20,287,936 84.2% of £24,091,881
Despite the Super Mario Galaxy Movie being similar to Super Mario Bros and A Minecraft Movie dropping off much more heavily. Ahead of opening, it was expected to take £50m, but now it won’t top £40m. This is the problem with these films, while after it opened with £15m built on hype and FOMO, but once word of mouth hits, they drop off far more heavily.
130th biggest between Ice Age III and Black Panther Wakanda Forever (close to Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Jurassic World Dominion, Fantastic Beasts 2 and Spider-Man 3) and 271st biggest inflated between Mr Bean’s Holiday and Three Men and a Little Lady (close to High School Musical 3, Johnny English, Home Alone and Pretty Woman).
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will drop about 50% in its fifth weekend, similar to last year’s A Minecraft Movie dropping 49.1% £1,267,360 and £53,303,536 94.4% of £55,508,185, and more than 2023’s Super Mario Bros dropped 57.3% £1,309,546 and £49,062,732 89.9% of £54,578,335.
- 3. Project Hail Mary £838,093 – £31,927,033
Down 50% in its sixth weekend.
£218k 26% (-56.1% £496k) Fri; £352k 42% (-50.9% £717k) Sat; £268k 31.98% (-75.8% £463k) Sun
123rd biggest sixth weekend between Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug and The Little Mermaid (2023) (close to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Crocodile Dundee, The Mask and Big Hero 6) and 263rd biggest inflated sixth weekend between Coco and Signs (close to The Matrix, Saving Private Ryan, Lethal Weapon 3, and Batman Forever).
Over the last six weeks, similar to The Martian in 2015, Project Hail Mary has become something rare: a film that transcends its genre and its marketing. It has become part of the story of human exploration, opening two weeks before Artemis II launched, it reached parts of the cultural conversation that other films cannot reach. It’s being discussed on science channels, news programmes, and social media feeds that would never normally talk about a Hollywood blockbuster. It has become part of the story of human exploration. It has become a symbol of what humanity can achieve when it works together, at a time when the headlines are dominated by division, conflict, and chaos.
This is not something that can be manufactured. It’s not something that marketing can buy. It’s a rare and precious alchemy of art, timing, and collective need. It’s similar to why Barbenheimer worked so well, as it was organically created by fans of the two films; trying to create something similar wouldn’t work, as many fans are trying to do with Dunesday in December when Dune Part 3 and Avengers: Doomsday open the same weekend.
Ryan Gosling’s last film, 2024’s The Fall Guy, took £12,126,013; next year, he returns to space in Star Wars: Starfighter. Ryan Gosling’s previous sci-fi films include 2018’s First Man, which took £7,360,906, and 2017’s Blade Runner 2049 taking £18,918,361.
Sixth weekends
2024’s Dune Part 2 dropped 32.4% £1,127,052 and £36,814,712 of £39,466,555
Took £342k £650k) Friday; £402k Saturday; £383k Sunday.
2021’s Dune dropped 35% £413,585 #6 448 screens £20,954,264 95.5% of £21,947,056; Dune took 3.73x
2010’s Inception dropped 36% £1,076,106 #6 and £31,575,347 90% of £34,976,999/ (£46,851,543 5.92xO
2013’s Gravity dropped 46% £592,321 #4 and £25,763,353 78.6% of £32,756,514; 5.24x opening
2014’s Interstellar dropped 65% £213,953 #10 and £19,727,100 93.2% of £21,173,601; 3.73x opening
2015’s The Martian dropped 26% £437,450 #6 and £22,593,037 95.8% of £23,589,854; 3.61x opening
2017’s Blade Runner 2049 dropped 39% £213,054 #9 and £18,640,036 98.5% of £18,918,361; 3.1x opening
2017’s Logan dropped 48% £234,304 #10 and £23,329,028 98.6% of £23,655,614; 2.5x opening
2023’s Oppenheimer dropped 20% £1,638,665 and £53,173,902 89.3% of £59,550,750; took 5.37x opening.
2007’s I Am Legend dropped 63% £240,122 #11 and £25,348,532 (£39,754,529 inflated); 2.3x opening
2005’s War of the Worlds dropped 43% £572,379 #6 and £28,924,152 95.2% of £30,367,791 (£51,386,687 inflated); 3.43x opening
2017’s Dunkirk dropped 49% £998,531 #2 and £51,679,746 91% of £56,797,955; 5.65x opening
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller previously directed.
2012’s 21 Jump Street taking £9,863,555/£12,402,995; 2014’s 22 Jump Street £18,322,998/£21,840,359. also directed 2009’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
2014’s The Lego Movie dropped 18.3% £815,020/£881,014 and £31,128,785 94.6% of £32,887,286/£39,200,470
8th biggest film over the last 52 weeks between The Housemaid and Superman (close to Mission Impossible 8, Wuthering Heights, The Fantastic Four and How To Train Your Dragon).
149th biggest between WOG: The Curse of the WereRabbit and Incredibles (close to Gravity, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Housemaid and Gladiator II) and 309th biggest inflated between The Matrix Revolutions and There’s Something About Mary (close to X-Men: Days of Future Past, Star Wars Special Edition, Mission: Impossible II and A Fish Called Wanda).
- 4. The Drama £504,925 – £9,204,414
Down 58.1% in its fourth weekend
£159k 31.5% (-61.7% £415k) Fri; £192k 38% (-60.2% £482k) Sat; £154k 30.5% (-81.97% £308k) Sun
814th biggest fourth weekend between American Gangster and Collateral (close to Closer, The Interpreter, Forever Young and Bad Moms) and 1,105th biggest inflated fourth weekend between Born on the Fourth of July and Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (close to Unfaithful, The Client, Layer Cake and Victoria and Abdul).
What was interesting to see with The Drama after the twist was revealed was how audiences would respond, would men and women react differently to someone having a thought and someone who still chooses to go through with their actions. But was it more about their feelings towards Zendaya and Robert Pattinson? If the roles were reversed, would the reactions be different or played by different actors?
Thinking about doing something as seen in the film Minority Report doesn’t mean that it is their future, as Doc Brown says to Jennifer in Back to the Future 3, after the note she brought back from the future was erased, “It means your future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has. Your future is whatever you make it”.
Minority Report’s key line is when Anderton is confronted by his former mentor, Lamar Burgess. Anderton says, “You know your own future, which means you can change it if you want to. You still have a choice, Lamar. Like I did.”
That’s the philosophy of both films. Knowing the future means you can change it. Planning something doesn’t mean you have to do it. Walking away is always an option.
Emma walked away. Anderton walked away. The moral of both stories is the same: what defines you is not your darkest thought or your most detailed plan, but the choice you make in the moment of truth. The choice to stop. The choice to be better. The choice to walk away.
Comparisons to The Drama have been made to films including Closer, The Lobster, Triangle of Sadness and Marriage Story; they all explore the dark underbelly of relationships, but approach the gap between thought and action in very different ways.
850th biggest between Cliffhanger and Vanilla Sky (close to He’s Just Not That Into You, Sleeping With The Enemy, Mean Girls, 92024) and The Other Woman) and 1,362nd biggest inflated between Rocky V and Thunderbirds (close to Edge of Tomorrow, Dangerous Liaisons, Father of the Bride 2 and 13 Going On 30).
Its films like The Drama, The Magic Faraway Tree and Mother’s Pride that are far more important than the predictable box office successes of Michael, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Project Hail Mary and The Devil Wears Prada 2 as their success was predictable, few would have expected The Drama, The Magic Faraway Tree and Mother’s Pride to take half of the £25m+ they have so far taken between them.
37th biggest Entertainment Film between He’s Just Not That Into You and Blade 2 (close to The Wedding Singer, Brokeback Mountain, Blade 2 and Final Destination 3) and 59th biggest Entertainment Film between Final Destination 2 and My Sister’s Keeper (close to St. Trinian’s 2, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Million Dollar Baby and Boogie Nights).
Entertainment Film’s The biggest film since 2020’s The Gentlemen £11,057,892. With The Drama, The Magic Faraway Tree and Mother’s Pride, it’s their best year since 2014 with The Inbetweeners Movie 2. These successes will allow them to acquire more high-profile films in the future as they celebrate their 50th anniversary next year.
- 5. Lee Cronin’s The Mummy £358,678 – £1,792,415
Down 63% in its second weekend
2,439th biggest second weekend between Shadowlands and The Little Rascals (close to Psycho (1999), Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, Attack the Block and The Smashing Machine) and 2,980th biggest inflated second weekend between Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction and The Spirit (close to Iron Lung, Nightmare on Elm Street 5, Color of Night and The Babadook).
Lee Cronin’s 2023’s Evil Dead Rise dropped 28.3% £1,059,777 and £3,356,627, 63.5% of £5,288,972, while The Mummy dropped heavily in its second weekend, similar to most horrors have done over the last 6 months.
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy only held in the top five as all other new releases failed to find a wide audience, while Rose of Nevada performed well on limited release, others like Exit 8, Fight Club (4K Restoration), Mother Mary and Primavera struggled to find their audience.
Also opened
- Mother Mary- A24
Opened £64,227 #13 from 177 screens.
While Anne Hathaway was in the UK last week, she spoke about how proud she was of making Proud Mary, but despite receiving strong media coverage on the back of The Devil Wears Prada 2 it struggled to find an audience. This highlights the reason why Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep finally agreed to make The Devil Wears Prada 2, as both actresses have made many films since the first film opened in 2006, but most have struggled to find a wide audience. Anne Hathaway’s last major film success was 2015’s The Intern, despite having won Best Actress three years earlier winning Best Actress for Les Misérables and starring in Modern Love and WeCrashed for streaming services.
Anne Hathaway stars in three more films this year, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, thrillers The End of Oak Street and Verity, and then is expected to star in another legacy sequel for Disney, The Princess Diaries 3.
• Fight Club (4K Restoration) – Walt Disney
Opened £98,468 #9 from 422 screens.
Fight Club is re-released in cinemas before being released on 4K Ultra HD in May.
When 20th Century Fox first saw the film, their reaction wasn’t positive. Producer Art Linson described “ashen-faced executives imagining their higher-ups flopping around like acid-crazed carp, wondering how such a thing could even have happened”.
The film was originally set for release in July 1999, but was delayed. The shadow of the Columbine High School massacre, which had occurred just months earlier, made the studio nervous about releasing a film about bare-knuckle fighting, anti-social vandalism, and revolutionary terrorism.
20th Century Fox wanted David Fincher to remove the narrator’s line: “Well, I gotta tell you: I’d be very, very careful who you talk to about that, because the person who wrote that… is dangerous. And this button-down, Oxford-cloth psycho might just snap, and then stalk from office to office with an Armalite AR-10 carbine gas-powered semi-automatic weapon, pumping round after round into colleagues and co-workers. This might be someone you’ve known for years. Someone very, very close to you.”
Fincher refused, arguing the scene was “pivotal to the story” because it leads directly to Marla’s “My tit’s gonna rot off” phone call, a moment of dark comedy that undercuts the violence and reframes the entire scene. The scene stayed.
Fight Club was given an 18 by the BBFC after two scenes were cut. The BBFC judged that in both scenes “there was an indulgence in the excitement of beating a defenceless man’s face into a pulp” and required cuts. Both scenes were restored for the DVD release.
In 1999, the BBFC said, “The film as a whole is, quite clearly, sharply parodic of the amateur fascism which in part it portrays. Its central theme of male machismo, and the anti-social behaviour that flows from it, is emphatically rejected by the central character in the concluding reels”.
The film received polarised reactions from critics. Some called it “one of the most exciting, original and thought-provoking films of the year.” Others compared it to A Clockwork Orange, fearing it could incite copycat violence, the very reason Kubrick had withdrawn that film from UK cinemas for almost 30 years. Rex Reed called it “a film without a single redeeming quality, which may have to find its audience in hell”. Rosie O’Donnell implored viewers not to see it and, for good measure, gave away the twist on her talk show.
If social media and TikTok had existed in 1999, the backlash would have been seismic.
It feels strange to see Fight Club released by Walt Disney Studios; the Walt Disney brand was synonymous with U and PG films until 2003, a guarantee for children’s viewing. This highlights the contradiction of the Disney+ era. Especially the cinema scene when the narrator puts a couple of frames of a porno film spliced in the middle of a family animated film, the audience sees it subliminally, unsure what it’s seen.
Fight Club opened lower than expected in the US, taking just $37 million domestically against a $60+ million budget. It received a B- CinemaScore—audiences were as polarised as critics. The film performed better internationally, taking $101.3 million worldwide. In the UK, it opened to £1,177,219 from 322 screens, taking £5,018,967.
The film was last re-released in cinemas by Park Circus in 2024 for its 25th anniversary. By then, the BBFC had reduced its certificate from 18 to 15. It opened to £82,580 from 243 screens.
——————–
BO is currently up 8% from 2025.
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £15,212,731, up 69.9% from last weekend’s £8,952,048: 1,899,217 admissions, up 74.6% from 1,087,685 admissions.
11th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 13 February 2026 #1 Wuthering Heights £7,665,295 (49.73%) and 09 January 2026 #1 The Housemaid £3,523,229 (23.62%)
40th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 284 weeks between 13 February 2026 #1 Wuthering Heights £7,665,295 (49.73%) and 21 February 2025 #1 Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy £6,893,703 (45.55%)
237th biggest top 10 of the last 25 years (out of 1,255) between 29 December 2006 #1 Night at the Museum £7,690,312 (50.49%) and 09 November 2012 #1 Skyfall £10,447,385 (68.80%) and 492nd biggest inflated between 07 October 2011 #1 Johnny English Reborn £4,965,000 (43.11%) and 07 January 2005 #1 White Noise £1,787,478 (20.01%)
The top 3 took £13,511,329 (88.8%) of the top 10; Micheal 76.08% (£11,574,192); The Super Mario Galaxy Movie 7.22% (£1,099,044); Project Hail Mary 5.51% (£838,093)
47th biggest percentage share #1 76.08%) between 21 December 2001 #1 LOTR: Fellowship of the Rings £11,058,045 (76.09%) and 26 October 2012 #1 Skyfall £20,180,369 (75.89%)
151st biggest admissions (1,444,968) between 02 January 2004 #1 LOTR: The Return of the King £6,496,723 (1,446,932) and 02 August 2002 #1 Men In Black 2 £6,191,428 (1,443,223)
Up 50.75% from 2025; (£10,091,278); Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith (Re: 2025) (£1,762,623); The Accountant 2 (£907,034); Pink Floyd At Pompeii – MCMLXXII (£682,672); Until Dawn (£566,028); Pride & Prejudice (20th Anniversary) (£164,493); Le Nozze Di Figaro – Met Opera 2025 (£102,518); Miss Congeniality (25th Anniversary) (£11,577); #1 A Minecraft Movie £2,492,087 4th weekend down 53% 969 screens 24.70% of top 10)
Up 127.11% from 2024; (£6,698,311); Challengers (£1,607,094); There’s Still Tomorrow (£93,553); Boy Kills World (£81,797); Ordinary Angels (£51,719); #1 Challengers £1,607,094 1st week 699 screens (23.99% of top 10)
Up 94.15% from 2023; (£7,835,588); The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry (£784,698); Star Wars: Episode VI – Return Of The Jedi (40th Anniversary) (£446,291); Polite Society (£220,278); Big George Foreman (£204,220); #1 Super Mario Bros £3,067,431 4th week down 28% 713 screens (39.15%)
Up 65.84% from 2022 (£9,173,308); Downton Abbey: A New Era (£3,072,762); #1 Downton Abbey: A New Era £3,072,762 1st week 739 screens (33.5% of top 10)
2021 Lockdown
2020 Lockdown
Down 67.45% from 2019: (£46,742,473); Avengers: Endgame 92.8% (£43,400,000); Eighth Grade (£144,923); #1 Avengers: Endgame £43,400,000 1st week 679 screens (92.8% of top 10)
Down 54.96% from 2018: (£33,778,278); Avengers: Infinity War (£29,379,496); Cendrillon Met Opera 2018 (£212,367); Beast (£166,295); Bing at the Cinema (£65,535); #1 Avengers: Infinity War £29,379,496 1st week 650 screens (86.9% of top 10)
Down 18.20% from 2017: (£18,771,674); Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (£13,092,657); The Promise (£178,388); Lady Macbeth (£174,989); Mad Max: Fury Road Black & Chrome Edition (£39,399); Lowriders (£6,543); #1 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 £13,092,657 1st week 632 screens (69.7% of top 10)
Down 50.84% from 2016: (£30,944,745): Captain America: Civil War (£14,466,681); Demolition (£264,512); Son of Saul (£178,617); Elektra – Met Opera 2016 (£174,559); Ratchet and Clank (£147,848); #1 Captain America: Civil War £14,466,681 605 screens (63.9% of top 10)
Down 32.28% from 2015; (£22,462,873); Avengers: Age Of Ultron (£18,015,774); Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci – Met Opera 2015 (£337,698); #1 Avengers: Age Of Ultron £18,015,774 1st week 583 screens (80.2%)
Up 45.05% from 2014 (£10,488,280; The Other Woman (£2,662,870); Transcendence (£1,181,347); Tracks (£111,337); #1 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 £3,366,372 2nd week 63% drop 546 screens (32.1% of top 10)
Down 12.79% from 2013: (£17,443,495); Iron Man 3 (£13,711,048); The Look of Love (£208,557); Bernie (£32,935); #1 Iron Man 3 £13,711,048 1st week 555 screens (78.6% of top 10)
Down 25.84% from 2012 (£20,513,565); Marvel Avengers Assemble (£15,778,074); Albert Nobbs (£106,552); Damsels in Distress (£44,765); African Cats (£41,392); #1 Marvel Avengers Assemble £15,778,074 1st week 521 screens (76.9% of top 10)
Up 23.97% from 2011; (£12,271,421); Thor (£5,449,300); Insidious (£1,441,292); Cedar Rapids (£146,062); #1 Thor £5,449,300 1st week 500 screens (44.4% of top 10)
Up 18.46% from 2010: (£12,841,846); Iron Man 2 (£7,664,732); The Last Song (£679,698); The Disappearance of Alice Creed (£142,324); Gentlemen Broncos (£1,125); #1 Iron Man 2 £7,664,732 1st week 521 screens (69.6% of top 10)
Up 120.55% from 2009; (£6,897,702); State of Play (£1,513,951); The Uninvited (£343,378); Observe and Report (£326,749); #1 State of Play (£1,513,951) 1st week 398 screens (21.95%)
Up 174.47% from 2008; (£5,542,493); Forgetting Sarah Marshall (£2,144,038); The Eye (£704,655); Deception (£255,958); Persepolis (£158,867); Stop-Loss (£8,201); #1 Forgetting Sarah Marshall £2,144,038 1st week 393 screens (38.6% of top 10)
Up 251.17% from 2007: (£4,332,041); Next (£795,012); The Painted Veil (£261,130); This Is England (£207,676); Reno 911! Miami (£137,648); #1 Next £795,012) 1st week 357 screens (18.3% of top 10)
Up 194.91% from 2006; (£5,158,448); 16 Blocks (£778,839); Slither (£488,446); #1 Ice Age II £1,100,736 4th week 42% drop 485 screens (21.3% of top 10)
Up 104.35% from 2005: (£7,444,415); The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (3,298,262); XXX2: The Next Level (£920,506); #1 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy £3,298,262 1st week 465 screens (44.3% of top 10)
Up 149.78% from 2004 (£6,090,459); Kill Bill – Volume 2 (£2,768,832); Taking Lives (£317,740); Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (£211,020); Wondrous Oblivion (£54,624); #1 Kill Bill – Volume 2 £2,768,832 1st week 411 screens (45.4% of top 10)
Up 92.89% from 2003: (£7,886,578); Dreamcatcher (£729,525); Welcome to Collinwood (£688,465): The 25th Hour (£198,341); #1 Johnny English £2,279,100 3rd week 447 screens 10% drop (28.9% of top 10)
Up 73.88% from 2002 (£8,748,862); About A Boy (£3,747,966); Roadkill (£784,853); John Q (£306,517); #1 About A Boy £3,747,966 1st week 446 screens (42.8% of top 10)
2025 Next week: (£10,759,008); Thunderbolts*(£5,979,242); Bluey At The Cinema: Let’s Play Chef (£179,176); Bonnie & Clyde The Musical (£71,163); Monty Python And The Holy Grail (50th Anniversary) (£49,362); #1 Thunderbolts* £5,979,242 1st week 669 screens (55.57% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Michael – Lionsgate
Opened $97.2m; received poor reviews (38%) and A- CinemaScore
Took 12.6m from Thursday previews (included $3.8m from IMAX/PLF fan screenings on Wednesday); Dune: Part Two $12m; Toy Story 4 $12m; Project Hail Mary $12m; A Minecraft Movie $10.5m; Oppenheimer $10.5m; Straight Outta Compton $4.96m; Lionsgate biggest Thursday previews since 2015’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 $16m.
EntTelligence said 6.3m watched Michael; the general price of $15.01 and average PLF price of $18.56; more than Project Hail Mary’s opening weekend 4.9m. EntTelligence also told WSJ this week 17% of tickets sold in 2025 were for IMAX/PLF compared with 13% in 2021; the average of $18 and $30 in New York and Los Angeles.
91st biggest opening between Fast & Furious 6 and Joker (close to Zootopia 2, Iron Man, The Little Mermaid (2023) and Justice League).
48% from IMAX/PLF; 14% from 427 IMAX cinemas ($13.8m) and 32% PLF
Comparisons are with 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, which opened $51.06m (similarly received poor reviews (60% Rotten Tomatoes) but a far more positive audience reaction A CinemaScore), taking $216.66m and $910.81m worldwide.
2015’s Straight Outta Compton $60.2m, taking $161.19m and $201.6m worldwide
Tickets went on sale in March, the embargo was late, but Liongate knew critical reaction would be poor but it didn’t matter with film like Micheal as with Bohemian Rhapsody it was for Micheal Jackson’s fans who just wanted to see him as they still do as he was in 1996 they don’t believe the allegations or controversy that has surrounded him ever since, they just love hm for his music and how it made them feel 30 years ago which is how it make them feel today.
This is something Disney has failed to understand with The Devil Wears Prada 2. The fans loved the original film and will come out to see the sequel as they want to see the characters again; it’s terrible, but they don’t care. As Disney aren’t thinking about the film, they are thinking about how it might affect the massive promotional campaign that surrounds their property.
Michael trailer in November was the most viewed ever in Lionsgate history with 116.2m views in its first 24 hours.
2009’s Micheal Jackson: This Is It opened $23.23m taking $72.09m and $267.98m worldwide; the documentary was the biggest musician film in the US until 2023’s Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour opened $93.22m taking $180.75m and $261.65m worldwide; This Is It was a documentary about the This Is It concerts that never happened after Micheal Jackson died two weeks before his first London concert was due to happen in June 2009. While Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour was her full summer concert.
As with Bohemian Rhapsody, critics were probably expecting/hoping a biopic more like Oliver Stone’s The Doors, but as that received mixed reviews and was received poorly by fans and surviving members of The Doors, With Micheal Jackson’s estate producing the film, it was always going to be a sanitised version of Michael Jackson’s life without any of the controversial issues.
Queen, as the most important thing for them was not to harm the legacy of the band or Freddie Mercury.
Ahead of opening Micheal was tracking to open between $50m-$60m. Closer to opening, it increased to $65mm-$70m; it opens in 1,600 IMAX/PLF screens in the US; it was also expected to open with $75m-$80m internationally.
Social media 417.9m Michael followers across TikTok, YouTube, X, Facebook, and Instagram; Elvis 278.6m; Bohemian Rhapsody 242.1m; Rocketman 113.5m; House of Gucci 407m; Jaafar Jackson 500k; Nia Long at 10m; Laura Harrier 1.5m; Coleman Domingo 1.5m; Juliano Krue Valdi 1.4m.
Michael was originally due to be released a year ago, but it was moved to October after they had to reshoot the ending, as Michael Jackson’s estate didn’t have legal clearance to feature the person, so there were reshoots. The early cut of the film was almost four hours, leading to speculation that the film would be split into two films. The film was cut down to 3 hours for test screenings, and then its final cut was 2h 10 mins.
Took $24.4m worldwide from IMAX; $13.8m US and $10.8m internationally.
Opened $120.4m from 82 territories and $217.4m worldwide; UK $15.6m; France $10.2m; Mexico $9.7m; Brazil $8.2m; Italy $8.1m; Germany $7.2m; Spain $6.8m; Australia $6.6m; China $4.8m.
- The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – Universal Pictures
Dropped 44% in its fourth weekend, $20.58m and $385.87m.
60th biggest fourth weekend between Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and The Batman (close to Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, The Lego Movie, The Lion King (2019) and How to Train Your Dragon (2010). A Minecraft Movie #39 $22.7m; The Super Mario Bros. Movie #6 $40.83m
59th biggest between The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (close to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Finding Nemo and Minions: The Rise of Gru); A Minecraft Movie #39 $424.1m and The Super Mario Bros. Movie #17 $574.93m
Took $37.3m IMAX worldwide.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie took almost 40% less than The Super Mario Bros. Movie in its third weekend and almost 20% less than its total after three weekends, despite having a similar opening weekend. This will see The Super Mario Galaxy Movie taking less than $450m.
Rumours are that The Super Mario Bros. Movie 3 will be released in Easter 2029, adding more characters.
Third weekends
2023’s Super Mario Bros dropped 31.9% $40.83m, and $490.85m of $574.93m and $1.36bn worldwide
2025’s A Minecraft Movie dropped 44% $22.7m #4 and $379.95m of $424.08m and $960.38m worldwide
2014’s The Lego Movie dropped 33.5% $20.82m, and $209.13m of $257.96m and $470.75m worldwide
2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle dropped 24.5% $28.1m, and $284.23m of $404.54m and $962.54m WW
2023’s Barbie dropped 36.2% $33.83m and $526.44m of $636.23m and $1.447bn WW
Fourth weekends
2025’s A Minecraft Movie took $37.8m from 76 territories, $436.6m total, and $816.6m worldwide. UK $67.1m; Germany $33.7m; Australia $31.8m; Mexico $28.4m; took $9.6m from IMAX internationally and $26.6m worldwide.
136th biggest worldwide between Shrek Forever After and Suicide Squad (close to Guardians of the Galaxy, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Monsters University); A Minecraft Movie #70 $960.38m and The Super Mario Bros. Movie #20 $1.36bn
Took $26.7m from 82 territories and $444.9m and $831.5m worldwide; Mexico $59.8m; UK $46m; France $42m; Germany $37.8m; Australia $25.6m; Spain $21m; China $18.5m; Italy $15.8m; Brazil $15.7m.
- Project Hail Mary – MGM/Amazon
Dropped 37% in its sixth weekend, $12.84m and $305.06m.
31st biggest sixth weekend between E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Inside Out 2 (close to Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Incredibles 2 and Jurassic World)
EntTelligence average ticket prices $15.53 (standard) and $18.89 (PLF/IMAX).
113th biggest between Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Skyfall (close to Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Independence Day, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and The Sixth Sense).
Available in selected cinemas is an audio commentary from the directors that can be played by an app while you watch the film. Directors’ commentaries were a common addition on DVDs, but now that the home entertainment sector is a fraction of what it used to be, these are a rarity.
Sixth weekend
2025’s Sinners dropped 43.2% $8.63m and $256.43m of $279.98m and $369.88m worldwide
2021’s Dune dropped 34.5% $2.08m and $102.15m of $108.89m and $433.79m worldwide
2010’s Inception dropped 30.5% $7.83m and $262.03m of $292.58m and $839.03m worldwide
2023’s Oppenheimer dropped 23.4% $8.22m and $299.45m of $329.01m and $957.59m worldwide
2013’s Gravity dropped 33.4% $8.53m and $231.24m of $274.09m and $773.03m worldwide
2014’s Interstellar dropped 30% $5.45m and $166.75m of $188.02m and $731.07m worldwide
2015’s The Martian dropped 22.5% $9.07m and $196.84m of $228.43m and $630.62m worldwide
2016’s Arrival dropped 46.8% $2.97m and $86.66m of $100.54m and $203.38m worldwide
2017’s Blade Runner 2049 dropped 37.1% $1.46m and $88.05m of $92.07m and $267.68m WW
2009’s Avatar dropped 18.3% $34.94m and $551.74m of $749.76m and $2.743bn worldwide
Took $92.4m from IMAX worldwide: Dune Part 2 took $58.3m from IMAX in the US and $50.7m internationally, with an additional $15m from China from 1,600 IMAX cinemas.
Internationally Dune Part 2 sixth weekend took $11.2m from 73 territories $400.1m total and $665.19m worldwide; China $47.7m; UK $46.3m; Germany $37.6m; France $36.4m; Australia $21.1m; S. Korea $17.1m; Spain $14.1m; Mexico $11.4m; Italy $10.9m; Poland $10.2m; Holland $10m; Switzerland $7.6m; took $64.3m from IMAX in the US $75.1m internationally and $139.4m worldwide.
201st biggest worldwide between The Wandering Earth II and The Passion of the Christ (close to The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Casino Royale, War of the Worlds, and I Am Legend); Ready Player One #203 $607.87m; The Martian #188 $630.62m; F1: The Movie #185 $634m; Dune: Part Two #152 $74.84m
Took $12.2m internationally and $308m from 71 territories and $613.06m worldwide; UK $42.4m; China $38.8m; Australia $24.5m; Germany $19.5m; S. Korea $18.8m; Mexico $14.7m; France $10.2m; Japan $9.7m; Spain $9.5m; Brazil $9m; India $8.6m.
- The Drama – A24
Dropped 46% in its fourth weekend, $2.64m and $44.8m
2024’s Challengers dropped 42.3% $4.37m and $37.76m of $50.11m and $96.11m worldwide
It’s the first of three films starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson this year, starring in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey in July and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune Part 3 in December. Zendaya also stars in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, also opening in July.
The Drama has taken over $100m worldwide, A24’s fifth film to do so over its 13-year history. It has taken $40m in the US and $60m internationally.
A24’s other $100m+ films worldwide 2025’s Marty Supreme $181m; 2022’s Everything Everywhere All at Once $148m, 2024’s Civil War $127m; 2025’s The Materialists $108m. While $100m worldwide for a film like The Drama is a huge success, it does show the problem when all films are priced the same, as how you can compare The Drama with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, but in a multiplex, they are priced the same in neighbouring screens.
A24 sold international rights to The Drama at Cannes last year.
The Drama has taken $10.6m in the UK; France, $5.4m in France, $5.2m in Italy, $3.9m in Australia, $3.4m
A24 have just started production on their highest budgeted film to date, Elden Ring, over $100m, a fantasy film based on a video game that has sold over 30m copies, it’s directed by Alex Garland and is being filmed in IMAX and due for release in 2028.
- Mother Mary – A24
Up 646% in its second weekend, $1.25m and $1.48m; received positive reviews (68% Rotten Tomatoes)
Anne Hathaway was promoting the film as she was promoting The Devil Wears Prada 2, saying how proud she was of the film, but its soft opening highlights why she and Meryl Streep finally agreed to make a sequel. Both actresses have starred in many films over the last 20 years, but few have found a wide audience. Despite winning the Best Actress Oscar for Les Misérables in 2012, only the sorta sequel to Devil Wears Prada 2, The Intern was a mainstream hit. Both Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep have had strong success with TV shows over the last decade.
UK Box Office Top 10
Box Office Preview
20 years ago, 20th Century Fox released The Devil Wears Prada in the US as counterprogramming to the testosterone-driven summer tentpoles, including Superman Returns, X-Men: The Last Stand, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, and it was allowed to find its audience. It found a bigger audience in the UK, opening three months later, allowing the buzz and word of mouth to build even more.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a very different film, after Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep had many attempts by rejected 20th Century Fox to make a sequel based on Lauren Weisberger’s 2013 sequel Revenge Wears Prada. Anne Hathaway said that she would love to work with the cast and director again, while Meryl Streep doesn’t do sequels, she is like Ryan Gosling, “one and done”.
While The Devil Wears Prada felt like a passion project developed over three years by Elizabeth Gabler, President of Fox 2000, with Wendy Finerman producing and Aline Brosh McKenna writing the screenplay based on Lauren Weisberger’s book. Fox 2000 acquired the rights based on a 10-page outline and the first 100 pages. Lauren Weisberger was hired as Anna Wintour’s assistant in 1999 and was very similar to Andy in the book, wanting to be a journalist. In 2002, The Devil Wears Prada was sold to Doubleday. When Anna learned about the book, she said, “I cannot remember who that girl is.” (very similar to what Mirana Prestley would say).
Meryl Streep said she didn’t base Miranda Priestley on Anna Wintour but based her on her experiences with directors Clint Eastwood and Mike Nichols. “He’s someone that guys really respect, and he never raises his voice, ever; the one time that he did, it so terrified people for two weeks, they were traumatised.”
Despite the director saying it wasn’t based on Anna Wintour, the fashion industry was scared of crossing her, so they couldn’t get clothes or film in the Metropolitan Museum of Art or Bryant Park, as they were terrified of offending Anna Wintour. It’s very different from the sequel that everyone wanted to be involved in the sequel.
In 2024, Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep agreed to star in the sequel, and filming started in June 2025. The fashion industry gave the filmmakers anything they wanted: the clothes, the locations and access to Fashion Week. Disney turned the film into a product. Before a single critic has seen the film, Disney has already partnered with Starbucks (character-inspired drinks), Samsung (Galaxy S26 Ultra product placement), and Target (fast fashion merch). The film is a two-hour advert for the promotions.
2006’s The Devil Wears Prada opened £3,267,580/£5,374,397 taking £13,681,185/£22,502,319
As with all legacy sequels, The Devil Wears Prada 2 will open much bigger than the original and open closer to Wicked (£13,696,056); Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (£12,298,966).
Early in the year, Wuthering Heights opened £7,665,295.
While 2008’s Sex and the City opened £8,767,265/£13,504,960 taking £26,232,557/£40,408,227
2010’s Sex and the City 2 opened £6,142,718/£8,269,441 taking £21,606,766/£29,087,428
As with Michael’s opening, The Devil Wears Prada 2 opening will be seen as a surprise despite the industry building it up for months, saying that it was going to be huge. The only question, as is the case with all legacy sequels, is how it will hold as Disney has carefully handled the sequel with influencers only at the US and UK premieres, told they can only post positive reactions on social media, while the critics embargo ended on Wednesday, 29th April the same day it opens in many countries ahead of its UK and US opening on May 1st.
The Playlist posted a positive review (B) on Tuesday but was removed within an hour, and Saga Magazine posted another positive (4-star reviews) on Wednesday morning, but that was also removed very quickly.
Articles on Showbiz 411 and Filmofilia have posted tweets from critics who have given a far less positive reactions to press who saw it over the last few days, but surely Disney can see far better than me how strongly the presales are doing for the film so why are they so desperate to control the narrative as Deadline says its going to have a huge global opening of about $200m, they are lowballing the US opening of $73m-$80m but it will be $90m+ and then another $100m+ internationally.
A key part of the marketing for the film has been Miranda Priestly meeting Anna Wintour in the film, but there are reports that the cameo has been a similar cameo featuring Sydney Sweeney in the opening credits, being styled by Emily. It feels like Star Wars all over again when Disney films scenes that only make the trailers that won’t appear in the final film.
While Michael retains IMAX screens, Devil Wears Prada 2 will have 1,000+ PLF, all Dolby screens, 100 ScreenX, and 200+ $DX screens in the US and more internationally. As always with Disney, these are lowball estimates. If they say $180m worldwide, they mean $200m+, and $73m-$80m means $90m. Disney do this all the time with estimates to make it feel like films are opening bigger than expected. While Universal Pictures estimated the global opening of Michael on Saturday and final BO was very close to estimates.
The other big question for the weekend is, after Michael’s big 5-day opening last weekend, how it will hold in its second weekend, after taking almost 30% from previews. Weds/Thurs will have a much bigger drop than 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, dropping 40% (11% without previews), taking £5,750,26 and £20,427,866, 37.18% of £54,948,727/£60,961,122. Down 55%-60% in its second weekend, £4.5m-£5.2m.
Micheal holds on to IMAX screens but loses most other premium format and also main screens in cinemas, but the audience is split enough for the two films to both perform strongly, tis will of course mean the top two films will take about 85%-90% of the weekend BO with similar 55%-60% drops for the holdovers The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Project Hail Mary, The Drama, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy and The Magic Faraway Tree along with all having their screen and show numbers severely reduced.
The Sheep Detectives holds weekend previews (Sat/Sun/Mon) ahead of its opening next weekend. It has received excellent reviews (one of Hugh Jackman’s best-reviewed films).
The Sheep Detective will play to younger audiences and families as there is a hint of Babe in the premise and tone, which was 1995’s great surprise success story, opening to £1.36m, taking £19.36m in the UK after excellent word of mouth that saw it playing in cinemas for months. £44.56m today, similar to Paddington films.
The Sheep Detectives has shades of Babe, the ensemble wit of Chicken Run, and the quiet family-word-of-mouth potential of Paddington if it lands with audiences. But more likely similar to films like Shaun the Sheep Movie and The Bad Guys, it feels like The Thursday Murder Club with sheep and could be the feel-good counterprogramming to louder FOMO tentpoles. Think The Thursday Murder Club… only woollier.
The Sheep Detectives has the kind of quirky title and warm, gently offbeat trailer that could appeal to families looking for an alternative to louder tentpole fare. If audiences take to it, and if exhibitors give it room to breathe, this could be the sort of sleeper hit that grazes steadily through to half-term three weeks later.
Coming Soon
- Top Gun (40th Anniversary) – Paramount Pictures (Wednesday)
The 40th anniversary of the original Top Gun film was released in US cinemas (it opened in UK cinemas in October 1986).
Seeing the two films’ trailers next to each other, you see how the sequel is so similar in look and tone to the original, and the reason why Top Gun: Maverick was such a huge success.
- Obsession – Universal Pictures
Supernatural horror starring Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette and Cooper Tomlinson, written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker. It had a $1m budget.
The film premiered at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival, receiving positive reviews, soon afterwards Universal Pictures acquired rights for $14m. The director said he was inspired to make the film “after watching an episode of The Simpsons where Bart gets a monkey paw and causes a bunch of chaos.”
on September 5, 2025, as part of its Midnight Madness block. It is scheduled for a theatrical release in the United States on May 15, 2026, by Focus Features. The film received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes said Taking an icky conceit and twisting it to deviously crowd-pleasing ends, Obsession is dauntingly disturbing while also skilfully amusing and thrilling.”
Despite reviewing positive reviews, recent low-budget horrors have struggled to find an audience and opening in the middle of the weekend, it’s unlikely to find a wide audience and be another Universal Pictures film. Ask why they announced a blanket 6-week theatrical window for all of their films, as Obsession is unlikely to last more than a week.