- Avatar: The Way of Water – £2,789,760 – £67,845,973
Down 33.1% in 6th weekend; 19% Friday £529k (-36%); 48.1% Saturday £1.34m (-33%); 24% Sunday £921k (-31.3%).
Avatar 2 is only the 10th film in 29 years to be #1 for 6 weeks and the first film since Spider-Man No Way Home £2,335,488 #1 for 6 weeks; Tenet #1 for 8 weeks in 2020 (£628,247) (6 of those due to a lack of new releases); 2019’s Joker (£1,668,466) 2009’s Avatar (£4,338,774); 2000’s Gladiator (£613,491) #1 for 7 weeks 1998’s Titanic (£3,403,199) #1 for 13 weeks, 1997’s The Full Monty (£2,112,163) #1 for 13 weeks, 1996’s Independence Day (£968,780) #1 for 7 weeks, and 1994’s Four Weddings and a Funeral (£941,817) #1 for 7 weeks and 1993’s Jurassic Park (£1,581,161) #1 for 8 weeks
While Avatar 2, Spider-Man No Way Home and Tenet were all expected to be #1 as long the others weren’t. Prior to 1993 films stayed #1 for longer having much longer legs as they didn’t open as big.
As with the last two weeks, Avatar 2 BO doubled BO from Friday to Saturday and then dropped by 100% from Sunday to Monday due to its lengthy running time.
On Tuesday it received 5 Oscar nominations including Best Film while Avatar received 9 Oscar nominations including Best Film and Best Director winning Best Cinematography, Art Direction and Visual Effects. Avatar: The Way of Water was also nominated for two BAFTA awards while Avatar was nominated for 8 BAFTAs winning two Best Production Design and Special Visual Effects.
Over the first 4 weeks of Avatar: The Way of Water had all IMAX and Premium screens, lost a few PLF screens to M3gan two weeks ago, some IMAX shows to Babylon last weekend and this week will lose more to Bollywood’s Pathaan. Will lose all to Puss In Boots: The Last Wish and Knock at the Cabin in two weeks. As with Avatar in 2010 a large percentage of Avatar 2 BO has come from IMAX/PLF/3D, so losing these screens will impact heavily its box office.
Last 5-week BO split weekend to weekday
£20.60m 1st week taking £11.18m 55.8% Fri-Sun and 44.2% (£8.87m) Mon-Thurs
£17.43m 2nd week £4.97m 28.5% Fri-Sun and 71.5% (£12.46m) Mon-Thurs
£14.09m 3rd week with 54.2% (£7.64m) Fri-Sun and 45.8% (£6.44m) Mon-Thurs taking 43.4% (£2.8m) from Bank Holiday Monday and £3.64m Tues-Thurs.
£8.14m 4th week 72.1% (£5.86m) Fri-Sun (41.1% Sat/Sun £3.34m) and 27.9% (£2.27m) Mon-Thurs
£5.49m 5th week 76% (£4.17m) Fri-Sun (41.2% Sat/Sun £2.3m) and 24% (£1.32m) Mon-Thurs
4th biggest sixth weekend between Paddington (£2,834,003) and Top Gun: Maverick (£2,661,080); took £2,366,084 less than Avatar (£5,155,844) and the 17th biggest inflated 6th weekend between LOTR: Return of the King (£2,825,658) and Bridget Jones’s Diary (£2,734,822) close to Die Another Day, Skyfall, Star Wars: Phantom Menace and The Bodyguard) Avatar is the biggest inflated £7,657,945
17th biggest film in the UK (24th to take £60m+ since Titanic in 1998) between Mamma Mia and Toy Story 4 (close to Beauty and the Beast, Avengers: Infinity War, Star Wars: Rogue One and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) and 64th biggest inflated between Finding Nemo and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (close to Die Another Day, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually and You Only Live Twice).
In 2009 Avatar took 85%+ from 3D with IMAX (9 screens) and 2D (300) taking about 7% each but 2D has taken far more of the BO for Avatar 2 (41%) with 47% 3D and 12% IMAX.
In 2009 Avatar had much more competition in its sixth weekend dropping 7% taking £5,155,844 (428 screens £12,046 average) and £57,441,123; holdovers Sherlock Holmes #2 £1,632,172; Alvin And The Chipmunks II #3 £1,454,278; Up in the Air #4 £1,205,881; It’s Complicated #5 £1,140,684; The Book of Eli #7 £825,508 and new release Toy Story 2 (3D) #6 £909,093.
It was always expected Avatar 2 would be #1 for 7 weeks as Avatar was in 2010, and it’s performing exactly as expected (holding slightly less than Avatar but not having the legs as Avatar, but as prices are 80% more 13 years later playing in 1,200 more IMAX screens worldwide looks like its performing similar) as rival studios have kept their distance from the film and it has held on to all IMAX/PLF and 3D screens.
The length of Avatar 2 means that for the last three weeks, it’s taking 70% of its BO Fri-Sun with 55%+ Sat/Sun as BO has increased 100%+ from Fri to Sat for the last three weeks but then drops 75% from Sunday to Monday (last Sun £1.34m and Mon £0.33m.
Avatar dropped #2 in its 9th weekend against Valentine’s Day and returned to #1 the weekend after for two weeks,
As with Avatar (Alice in Wonderland opened at its 12th weekend and lost IMAX/PLF and 3D screens) with Knock in the Cabin opening in two weeks (and also Puss in Boots 2 in the UK) will drop much heavier and will be out of the top 10 by the end of February a month quicker than Avatar.
The 7 James Cameron-directed films have taken £300m at the UK BO (don’t have data for Terminator) but the age of many of them sees the inflation inflated total of £500m+.
- 2. M3gan – £1,354,537 – £4,667,263
Friday £384k 28.4% (-52%); Saturday £628k 46.4% (-35%); Sunday £342k 25.2% (-41.4%)
Down 42% in the second weekend.
709th biggest second weekend between Michael Jackson’s This Is It and Alice Through the Looking Glass (close to Stargate, Get Out, Ghost and Jerry Maguire) and 1,219th biggest inflated between Tango & Cash and The Color of Money (close to Dead Poets Society, Beverly Hills Cop III, The Mask Of Zorro and Malice).
31st biggest horror second weekend between Get Out and Insidious (close to Final Destination 3, White Noise, Scream (2022) and Scream 2) and 66th biggest inflated between 30 Days of Night and Insidious 2 (close to Nightmare on Elm Steet III, Freddy’s Dead The Final Nightmare, Species and Poltergeist 2).
7th biggest Blumhouse Productions second weekend between Get Out and Sinister (close to Halloween, The Invisible Man, Insidious 2 and Mama).
Universal Pictures has already dated the sequel for January 2025 but coming sooner there was a trailer for M3gan 2.0 on last week’s Saturday Night Live.
Blumhouse horrors have taken £150m+ over the last 10 years but the films come short of their US performance.
M3gan has been compared to Chucky film.
1989’s Child’s Play opened £165,971 #3 from 160 screens (taking £100,954 and £372,968 in second weekend) taking £493,521
1991’s Child’s Play 2 opened £212,383 #5 from 141 screens taking £391,549
And also 2013’s Mama took £5,321,101 and in 2015’s Ex Machina took £2,502,929).
- 3. Babylon – £1,323,683 – NE
Friday £421k (31.8%); Saturday £580k (43.8%); Sunday £322k (24.3%)
1,251st biggest opening between Blue Story and Aliens in the Attic (close to Schindler’s List, Dreamgirls, Braveheart and Road to Perdition) and 1,851st biggest inflated between Delivery Man and The Butterfly Effect (close to The Untouchables, Far and Away, High Spirits and Romeo and Juliet).
Paramount acquired rights in November 2019, it was a surprising film for the studio to acquire as they are one of the most risk-averse studios, but the smallest slates of the majors over the last decade have been more aggressive in acquiring projects over the last few years.
Paramount released 7 films in the UK last year (taking £150m) and currently only has 6 set for release this year. As with last year, Tom Cruise is central to the studio’s success this year with Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One opening in July
After Babylon underperformed in the US analysts believed it could perform stronger internationally as Damien Chazelle’s other films have done, but poor dating hurt Babylon as it did with 2018’s First Man. Babylon was meant to be seen as an alternative to Avatar: The Way of Water but also being over 3 hours long was never going to be that.
First Man had received critical acclaim after premiering at the Toronto Film Festival but opened a week after A Star Is Born which was always likely to affect it as was the case in 2015 when Robert Zemeckis’s The Walk opened the week after Ridley Scott’s The Martian. What I find crazy is studios now have more data than they ever had to select the right release dates for films, but dating has gotten worse over the last decade, maybe it’s because all studios are using the same data and coming up with the same results?
While films like Babylon do often perform stronger internationally the damage was done with mixed reviews and soft opening lowering studio marketing spending internationally and exhibitors’ interest in the film.
La La Land opened January 2017 with £6,596,256 #1 from 606 screens (coincidentally 5th weekend of Rogue One £1,764,104) held strongly in second weekend down 34% £4,373,249 taking £14,907,148 50% of £29,816,588 total (taking 4.52x opening)
In comparison 2018’s First Man opened #4 at £2,415,330 behind second weekends of A Star is Born at £3,083,089; Venom £3,002,032; Johnny English Strikes Again at £2,900,426 despite having most of the IMAX screens. Dropped to #7 in the second weekend £1,324,867 down 45% £5,115,235 (while A Star Is Born remained at #1 down only 7% £2,883,000) 69.5% of £7,360,906 (3.05x opening). It always surprised me First Man wasn’t released in the summer of 2019 as that was the 50th anniversary of the space landing and Universal Pictures had huge success with Apollo 13 also a summer release.
2016’s Whiplash opened £573,546 #7 from 249 screens, down 34% in the second weekend £376,485 #10 and £1,280,311 of £1,622,987.
Comparisons were made that Cats opened far stronger in the UK (£3,207,471) and held far stronger taking (£11,907,188) opened at the sweet spot of UK BO at the start of the lucrative two weeks of Christmas when even Monster Trucks can find an audience, it’s a very different story in the middle of January.
It was reported in Deadline that Babylon with an $80m budget will need to take $250m worldwide to be profitable which is surely yet another death nail in original adult dramas as Babylon is just the latest adult prestigious film that has struggled to a wide audience in cinemas.
As with Empire of Light this weekend (had a 74% second-weekend drop), Babylon will likely drop 50% next weekend with Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans opening, but as Empire of Light and Babylon, it will struggle to find a mainstream audience next weekend despite receiving widespread critical acclaim.
- 4. Whitney: I Wanna Dance with Somebody – £766,245 – £9,600,212
Down 30.7% in the fourth weekend
Friday £221k 28.9% (30.5% drop); Saturday £342k 44.6% (29.8% drop); Sunday £203k 26.5% (31.9% drop)
While the Whitney Huston biopic had a soft opening in the US and received mixed reviews it was always likely to perform far stronger in the UK as British audiences love music biopics.
Other musician’s third weekends include
2019’s Rocketman dropped 24.6% taking £1,633,127 and £19,255,598 81.9% of £23,502,881
2018’s A Star Is Born dropped 25% taking £2,150,987 and £19,238,711 65.6% of £29,299,129.
2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody dropped 34% taking £3,021,648 and £34,854,038 63.4% £54,947,598;
1993’s Tina, What’s Love Got To Do With It took £3,703,961 (£9,323,366 inflated)
2015’s Straight Outta Compton took £5,807,566 of £8,043,283.
2006’s Walk the Line took £9,737,493 (£16,155,841 inflated)
2007’s Dreamgirls took £3,475,271 (£5,560,434 inflated)
2003’s 8 Mile took £13,254,812 (£22,449,591 inflated)
1992’s The Bodyguard took £17,001,069 (7.24x opening) £42,793,968 inflated.
709th biggest film between Yes Man and Me Before You (close to Walk the Line, Rain-Man, Brokeback Mountain and The Wedding Singer) and 1,208th biggest inflated between Quartet and The Princess Diaries (close to A Room with A View, Oliver & Company, The Untouchables and Nuns on the Run).
- 5. Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical- £661,449 – £25,804,997
Down 23.1% in the ninth weekend; took £342k Saturday (24.2% drop)
As with Avatar, The Way of Water Matilda has seen its Saturday BO increase from Friday as both films for the last three weeks have taken a large percentage of their BO from Sat/Sun, with Matilda it was always expected.
Had a similar 9th weekend as Paddington (£748,628); Four Weddings and a Funeral (£672,015); Spider-Man: No Way Home (£669,299); Jurassic Park (£639,414); Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets (£624,450); Incredibles 2 (£608,434); The Pirates of the Caribbean (£598,145); Toy Story 3 (£583,013); Minions: The Rise of Gru (£573,512)
Taken 6.24x opening similar to Masters of the Universe, 10 Things I Hate About You, Nanny McPhee, My Girl, Police Academy 3, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Cats and Dogs, Jumanji, Bird on a Wire, Dumb and Dumber and Antz.
The first four weeks of Matilda BO were limited mostly to weekend BO taking £12,763,080 and has taken as much in its last four weeks, has two more weekends before Puss in Boots 2 opens so could take upwards of £28m and then half-term two weeks later. Will see the seven Ronald Dahl film adaptations (The Witches, Matilda, James And The Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG and Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical taking £100m at the UK BO).
Ahead of release Matilda the Musical expected to take upwards of £30m given the huge popularity of Roald Dahl’s film adaptations, the huge popularity of the musical and it being the perfect Christmas family film and an alternative to going back to Pandora.
Netflix acquired Roald Dahl Story Company for $1bn in 2021 with plans to adapt all of his books into film and TV shows. Next up is a prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wonka opening in December and directed by Paul King (Paddington) starring Timothée Chalamet, Olivia Colman, Sally Hawkins and Rowan Atkinson.
Ninth weekends
1996’s Matilda dropped 1% £372,578 #3 (£813,630 inflated) and £8,506,477 (£18,576,307) 83.2% of £10,227,163 (£22,333,913 inflated)
2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory dropped 26% £255,866 (£438,938 inflated) #7 and £36,774,439 (£63,086,511 inflated) 98.4% of £37,354,584 (£64,081,749 inflated)
2009’s Fantastic Mr Fox dropped 45% £23,915.00 #16 and £8,810,298 95.1% of £9,260,892 (£13,755,148)
2016’s The BFG down 26% £247,682 #12 and £29,512,211 96.1% of £30,694,086
177th biggest film between The Golden Compass and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (close to Elvis, Sex and the City, Sherlock Holmes and Dumbo) and 392nd biggest inflated between The Beach and The Rugrats Movie (close to Rocketman, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Gremlins 2: The New Batch and The Girl on the Train).
16th biggest family/musical film between A Star Is Born and Dumbo (close to Aladdin (2019), The BFG, High School Musical 3 and E.T) and 44th biggest inflated between Rocketman and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (close to Evita, Enchanted, Matilda and The Commitments).
Also opened
• Alice, Darling – Lionsgate
Opened £4,479 #46 from 10 screens
Had a world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival receiving positive reviews (82% Rotten Tomatoes). Anna Kendrick’s first major film role since 2018’s A Simple Favour after receiving starring in TV shows Love Life and Dummy and vocally in Trolls 2.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £8,455,983 down 32.2% from last weekend’s £12,465,200: 1,046,533 admissions down 32.2% from 1,542,723
746th biggest top 10 of the last 21 years (out of 1,086) between 06 August 2021 #1 The Suicide Squad £2,267,135 (26.8% of top 10) and 08 August 2003 #1 The Pirates of the Caribbean £3,765,450 44.6% of top 10) and 974th biggest inflation inflated between 02 May 2014 #1 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 £1,984,667 (28.2% of top 10) and 18 March 2016 #1 Kung Fu Panda 3 £1,740,695 (22.5% of top 10).
The top 3 took £5,467,980 64.7% of the top 10; Avatar: The Way of Water 33% (£2,789,760); M3gan 16% (£1,354,537); Babylon 15.7% (£1,323,683);
Taking 32.99% of the top 10 it’s the 560th highest percentage #1 between 07 February 2014 Mr.
849th biggest admissions #1 (345,267) between 29 May 2009 Night at the Museum 2 £2,054,769 (345,339) and 14 October 2022 Lyle, Lyle Crocodile £2,783,562 (344,500).
Up 4.5% 2022 (£8,091,793); Belfast (£2,322,572); Nightmare Alley (£550,868); A Journal For Jordan (£50,511); Jewels – Bolshoi Ballet 2022 (£48,195); #1 Spider-Man No Way Home £2,335,488 6th week 27% drop 655 screens (28.9% of top 10)
2021; Lockdown
Down 50.1% from 2020 (£16,951,901); Bad Boys For Life (£3,781,233); Bombshell (£742,085); Just Mercy (£529,435); A Hidden Life (£63,375); Waves (£62,943); #1 1917 £6,190,049 2nd week 714 screens 17% drop (36.5% of top 10)
Down 36.5% from 2019; (£13,317,271); Glass (£3,423,380); Mary, Queen of Scots (£2,082,160); Beautiful Boy (£361,382); La Bayadere – Bolshoi Ballet 2019 (£136,621t); Hey Duggee at the Cinema (£67,672); #1 Glass £3,423,380 1st weeks 559 screens (25.7% of top 10)
Down 57.9% from 2018:(£20,087,765); Coco (£5,209,214); The Post (£2,152,977); The Commuter (£1,602,680); Romeo and Juliet – Bolshoi 2018 (£181,834): #1 Coco £5,209,214 1st week 575 (25.9% of the top 10)
Up 34.8% from 2017:(£12,971,749); Split (£2,548,516); xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (£1,620,811); Lion (£1,265,282); Jackie (£662,900); Romeo et Juliette – Met Opera 2017 (£228,384); The Sleeping Beauty – Bolshoi 2017 (£218,668); Goodfellas (Re: 2017) (£27,226); #1 La La Land £4,373,249 2nd week 674 screens 43% drop (33.7% of top 10)
Down 38% from 2016: (£13,620,775); Ride Along 2 (£2,141,341); The Big Short (£1,302,205); The 5th Wave (£497,568); The Taming of the Shrew – Bolshoi 2016 (£160,323); The Assassin (£76,542); Our Brand Is Crisis (£27,723); Dark Places (£625); #1 The Revenant £3,856,489 2nd week 623 screens 26% drop (28.3% of top 10)
Down 39% from 2015; (£13,848,440); American Sniper (£2,530,473); Whiplash (£573,546); Wild (£524,941); The Merry Widow – Met Opera 2015 (£463,195); Testament of Youth (£417,486); #1 Taken 3 £3,295,309 2nd week 500 screens 51% drop (23.8% of top 10)
Down 43.8% from 2014: (£15,034,724); The Wolf of Wall Street (£4,655,984); Devil’s Due (£1,002,627); The Night of the Hunter (Re: 2014) (£15,270); #1 The Wolf of Wall Street £4,655,984 1st week 500 screens (30.9% of top 10)
Down 32.4% from 2013 (£12,516,225); Django Unchained (£2,801,312); Monsters, Inc. 3D (£681,247); The Sessions (£84,899); #1 Les Miserables £4,406,828 2nd week 599 screens 46% drop (35.2% of top 10)
Down 23.5% from 2012 (£11,054,100); Haywire (£1,197,866); Underworld: Awakening (£1,114,327); The Sitter (£910,382); J. Edgar (£413,210); W.E. (£182,914); Coriolanus (£169,308); #1 War Horse £3,202,493 2nd week 513 screens 19% drop (29% of top 10)
Down 34.5% from 2011 (£12,916,152); Black Swan (£2,762,429); The Dilemma (£1,102,798); Morning Glory (£524,356); N.E.D.S. (£283,210); Breakfast at Tiffany’s (50th Anniversary) (£10,498); Get Low (£4,608); #1 The King’s Speech £4,226,074 3rd week 502 screens 4% drop (32.7% of top 10)
Down 37% from 2010: (£13,422,186); Toy Story 2 (Digital 3-D) (£909,093); Brothers (£366,290); A Prophet (£312,237); Ninja Assassin (£187,285); The Boys Are Back (£64,465); Armoured (£64,931); #1 Avatar £5,155,844 6th week 428 screens 7% drop (38.4% of top 10)
Down 28% from 2009; (£11,743,640); Valkyrie (£1,854,195); Underworld 3 (£990,285); Frost/Nixon (£591,411); Milk (£336,027); Rachel Getting Married (£84,652); #1 Slumdog Millionaire £2,806,996 3rd week 2nd #1 379 screens 7% increase (23.9% of top 10)
Down 9.6% from 2008; (£9,348,113); Alien vs. Predator 2 (£1,970,363); No Country for Old Men (£1,257,183); Walk Hard (£240,833); The Good Night (£25,985); #1 Alien vs. Predator 2 £1,970,363 1st week 399 screens (21.1% of top 10)
Down 21.2% from 2007: (£10,737,948); Rocky Balboa (£3,639,339); The Return (£277,457); #1 Rocky Balboa £3,639,339 1st week 405 screens (33.9% of top 10)
Down 12.6% from 2006; (£9,668,855); Fun with Dick and Jane (£1,957,060); Underworld: Evolution (£1,146,779); Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (£803,489); A Cock and Bull Story (£332,582); #1 Fun with Dick and Jane £1,957,060 1st week 422 screens (20.2% of top 10)
Up 6.3% from 2005 (£7,950,505); Elektra (£791,914); Ray (£485,005); A Very Long Engagement (£312,042); Dear Frankie (£57,214); #1 Closer £1,587,136 2nd week £1,568,526 332 screens 1% increase (19.9% of top 10)
Down 13.1% from 2004 (£9,729,138); Paycheck (£927,212); Runaway Jury (£583,367); Girl with a Pearl Earring (£384,498); A Mighty Wind (£62,657); #1 Lord of the Rings: Return of the King £2,377,268 5th week #1 483 screens 36% drop (24.4% of top 10)
Down 36.1% from 2003 (£13,216,953); 8 Mile (£4,440,334); Chicago (expansion) (£1,983,505); The Transporter (£338,420); The Master Of Disguise (£60,077); #1 8 Mile £4,440,334 1st week 423 screens (33.6% of top 10)
Down 4.8% from 2002 (£8,882,363); Black Hawk Down (£1,772,920); Long Time Dead (£580,487); Iris (£378,749); #1 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring £3,276,912 5th week #1 489 screens 25% drop (36.9% of top 10)
Next weekend 2022 (£12,668,620); Sing 2 (£6,867,533); Parallel Mothers (£301,877); Rigoletto – Met Opera 2022 (£86,823); Friday The 13th (1980) (Re: 2022) (£8,256); #1 Sing 2 £6,867,533 1st week 632 screens (54.2% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Avatar: The Way of Water – Disney
Down 40% in its sixth weekend taking $20.13m and $598.4m
IMAX took 14.3% of the fifth weekend ($5.5m and $75.2m total); PLF 19% and 3D 62%
With Avatar 2 holding #1 for its 6th weekend means it will likely hold #1 until Knock at the Cabin in two weeks.
As with Avatar, The Way of Water was always likely to stay #1 for 7 weeks but then it will drop out of the top 10 quicker than Avatar which took 8 more weeks to stay in the top 10 until mid-March.
4th biggest sixth weekend between Titanic ($25.23m) and Black Panther ($17.09m); Top Gun: Maverick #2 ($25.88m).
As the average ticket price for a 3D/PLF is $18.28 compared to $12.53 for 2D according to EntTelligence research Avatar 2 5th weekend can’t be compared with any of those films as only Avatar took a similar percentage of BO from IMAX/3D/PLF but 13 years later ticket prices are far more now than they were in 2010, an inflation inflated BO for Avatar would $4bn+ worldwide.
13th biggest film between Incredibles 2 and The Lion King (2019); 31st biggest inflated between Incredibles 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest; 5th biggest sci-fi between Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Avatar 2 dropped 32% in comparison with Avatar dropped 18.3% in the sixth weekend taking $34.94m; The Force Awakens 46.6% $14.07m; Rogue One 46.5% $7.21m; The Last Jedi 44.7% $6.55m; The Rise of Skywalker 32.8% $5.57m; but can’t make a direct comparison with any of these films apart from Avatar due to 3D.
As with Avengers Endgame (after taking $1.2bn in 5 days) Avatar 2 should be looking at $3bn+ 13 years on from Avatar with ticket prices up to 100% more than they were in 2009.
In 2010 Avatar dropped 14.5% taking $42.78m and $493.25m 65.8% of $749.76m; The Book of Eli #2 $32.78m; The Lovely Bones #3 $17m; Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel #4 $11.61m; Sherlock Holmes #5 at $9.88m;
Took 45 days for Avatar to overtake Titanic to become the biggest film globally $2.039bn and went on to take $749.76m in the US (held #1 for 7 weeks; Titanic was #1 for 15 weeks), $1.99bn internationally and $2.743bn worldwide. It remained the biggest film globally until Avengers Endgame overtook it after 91 days of release, but after Avengers Endgame opened globally with $1.2bn over its opening weekend many expected it to overtake Avatar many weeks earlier and take over $3bn. Avatar retained its #1 global status after it was re-released in China in March 2021. (Avatar took $262m in China).
Took $53.3m (38% drop) from 52 territories $1.426bn total and $2.024bn worldwide; China $229.7m; France $129.8m; Germany $117m; Korea $96.9m; UK $81.9m; India $57.9m; Australia $55.1m; Mexico $51.4m; Spain $47m; Italy $45.3m.
Europe $667m (72% 3D/PLF); Asia-Pacific $598m (75% 3D/PLF); Latin America $161m (54% 3D/PLF).
IMAX has taken $227m (11.3% from 1,453 screens) taking $138.8m internationally (7.3%)
2009’s Avatar took $100m+ from IMAX worldwide from 261 screens, The Dark Knight from 109 screens and then Gravity from 330 screens. Avatar 2 opened on 1,543 IMAX screens worldwide with an average price of $20.
Avatar took $107m in its sixth weekend internationally from 52 territories $1.29bn total ($134m from IMAX worldwide and $491.8m US) 70.1% of $1.841bn worldwide (overtaking Titanic’s $1.84bn)
Spider-Man No Way Home took $27.7m internationally ($2.7m from IMAX) from 63 territories in its sixth weekend $970.1m total and $1.69bn worldwide 88.5% of $1.91bn total;
6th biggest worldwide between Avengers: Infinity War and Spider-Man: No Way Home; 3rd biggest sci-fi worldwide between Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Jurassic World.
- M3gan – Universal Pictures
Dropped 47% in the third weekend taking $9.7m and $73.19m
The 695th biggest third weekend between The Equalizer and Get Shorty (close to The Nun, Edge of Tomorrow, The Italian Job and Lucy).
1,421st biggest between Cinderella Man and Chariots of Fire; 2,289th biggest inflated between Letters to Juliet and The House Bunny; 75th biggest horror between Alien and Flatliners (1990); 199th biggest Universal Pictures between Cinderella Man and Friday Night Lights.
M3gan had an extraordinarily strong marketing campaign which was very social media friendly that started with the M3gan dance at the film’s premiere in early December, this was like Paramount’s Smile. #MeganDanceChallenage generated 1.3bn views on TikTok using hashtags #M3GAN, #M3GANMovie, and #M3GANDance.
M3gan had an average price of $11.54 compared to Avatar 2‘s $14.60 as it didn’t have any premium formats IMAX or PLF screens.
M3gan will be available on PVOD after 17 days as all films that open with less than $50m, but often these films continue to attract audiences in cinemas after being released on PVOD.
Took $10.9m from 64 territories $51.53m total and $124.6m worldwide; Mexico $7.7m; UK $5.7m; France $3.5m; Spain $2.9m; Australia $2.86m.
1,564th biggest worldwide between The Gentlemen and Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore; 88th biggest horror worldwide between Species and Final Destination 3; 200th biggest Universal Pictures worldwide between Changeling and The Purge: Anarchy.
- Missing – Sony Pictures
Opened with $9.15m; received positive reviews (81% Rotten Tomatoes) and B CinemaScore
Took $760k from Thursday midnights
Sequel to 2018’s Searching (opened $6.06m taking $26.02m and $75.46m WW)
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – Universal Pictures
Down 18% in the fifth weekend $11.8m and $126.76m
The 72nd biggest fifth weekend between Wedding Crashers and The Martian (close to The Lion King (2019), Toy Story 3, The Secret Life of Pets and Finding Dory).
100th biggest animated film between Bolt and The Little Mermaid; 641st biggest film between The Bourne Legacy and The Pacifier; 1,196th biggest inflated between 102 Dalmatians and U.S. Marshals; 94th biggest Universal Pictures film between The Bourne Legacy and It’s Complicated.
2011’s Puss In Boots dropped 30.5% in the fifth weekend $7.51m and $135.43m taking $149.26m and $554.98m worldwide. It was a spin-off to Shrek. The five Shrek extended universe films took $1.48bn in the US and $3.65bn worldwide and the 41 Dreamworks Animation films have taken $6bn in the US and $16bn worldwide since 1998’s Antz.
2001’s Shrek dropped 20.2% by $13.18m and $197.52m of $268.16m and $488.35m WW
2004’s Shrek 2 dropped 40.2% by $13.94m and $378.62m of $441.22m and $928.76m WW
2007’s Shrek the Third dropped 41.2% by $9m and $297.24m of $322.71m and $813.36m WW
2010’s Shrek Forever After dropped 64.4% by $5.62m and $223.07m of $238.73m and $752.6m WW
Took $17.8m from 78 territories and $170.94m total and $297.7m worldwide; 99th biggest animated worldwide between Horton Hears a Who and Ferdinand; 533rd biggest worldwide between Ocean’s 8 and Look Who’s Talking; 67th biggest Universal Pictures between Van Helsing and Pacific Rim: Uprising.
- A Man Called Otto – Sony Pictures
Down 31% in the fourth weekend taking $8.8m and $35.14m
404th biggest fourth weekend between Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and About Schmidt (close to City Slickers, Free Guy, Saving Mr Banks and The Upside).
2,535th biggest between Last Christmas and Ouija: Origin of Evil; 4,279th biggest inflated between The New Mutants and As Above, So Below; 344th biggest Sony Pictures film between Honeymoon in Vegas and Courageous.
A Man From Otto shows Tom Hanks’s star power is still strong and mighty acorns can still grow from little acorns, but the question is will it take similar to 2019’s A Beautiful Day In the Neighbourhood ($61.69m)?
Tom Hanks has starred in 48 films, taking $4.52bn in the US and $9.2bn worldwide ($3bn from Toy Story films). Almost half of his films (22) have taken $100m+ half when $100m+ meant the film was successful (pre-2000).
Sony Pictures are filling the gap of original films since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox with Where the Crawdads Sing (opened $17.2m taking $90.2m), The Woman King ($19m taking $67m) and Little Women ($16.7m taking $108m).
Took $3.5m from 31 territories $20m total and $55.35m worldwide
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Avatar: The Way of Water will hold #1 for a seventh weekend down 30%-35% taking £1.7m-£1.9m. Avatar in 2010 was #1 for 9 weeks split over 11 weeks but next weekend will be Avatar 2’s final weekend at #1. Avatar 2 is likely to drop #2 on Friday with Event Cinema’s Billie Eilish: Live At The O2 playing in cinemas for one day, bookings look very strong, but Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans should open #2 opening similar to 2021’s West Side Story £1.2m. The film had its UK premiere on Wednesday 18th January and opened in 6 cinemas on January 20th despite its official release date of January 27th.
Films would regularly have a platform opening for a week or more in Leicester Square, before going wide, but the BO would be reported for its platform. Platform openings for award contenders were the norm 20 years ago, films like Evita and Chicago had exclusive openings in Leicester Square for several weeks but have been very few since The Artist in 2011. This is despite platform openings still being the norm for these films in the US. (The Banshees of Inisherin opened in 4 screens in the US but 546 screens in the UK).
The Favourite in 2018 had a similar release it opened on Boxing Day in London (taking £336,655) before opening wide on January 1st and the film had a 12-day opening weekend including 9 days of previews taking £1,775,372. Maybe it’s because exhibitors are so quick to reduce showtimes in a film’s second weekend if the film doesn’t immediately find an audience (as seen recently with Till, Tar, Empire of Light and Babylon all film audiences don’t rush out to see) by having a hidden weekend gives the film a week to build up word of mouth. But it does confuse as critics reviewed it last weekend being overshadowed by Babylon whereas this weekend it’s the major release,
Also opening horror Unwelcome, Gerald Butler’s action film Plane and Bollywood’s Pathaan all three along with The Fabelmans and Billie Eilish: Live At The O2 are targetting different demographics should mean all will have good openings. But horror Unwelcome will see M3gan have a 50% third weekend and other holdovers will likely have 40%+ drops but the one film that won’t again be affected will be Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical likely to have the smallest drop in the top 10.
Opening in two weeks
- Magic Mike’s Last Dance – Warner Bros
Comedy-drama sequel to 2015’s Magic Mike XXL sequel to 2012’s Magic Mike starring Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek Pinault and directed by Steven Soderbergh. Was originally announced d in 2021 as a film to be released on HBO Max, (likely had a UK release as An American Pickle and Superintelligence).
Magic Mike Live arrived in London in November 2018 and has been popular ever since.
2012’s Magic Mike opened £2,651,015 (including £1,004,114 previews) taking £8,111,970
2015’s Magic Mike XXL opened £1,575,092 taking £6,697,739
Magic Mike’s Last Dance will be targeting the same female audience as Titanic.
- Epic Tails – Studiocanal
English version of animated family adventure film Argonuts with voices including Rob Beckett, Giovanna Fletcher and Josh Widdicombe.
Directed by David Alaux, previously directed 2017’s The Jungle Bunch opened in September with £374,982 #6 from 507 screens taking £1,201,913. Epic Tails opening the week before half-term should perform far better playing to a younger audience than Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
- Titanic (25th Anniversary) – Disney
Re-released in cinemas for the film’s 25th Anniversary in 3D 4K HDR.
Titanic was last re-released in 3D in April 2012 and opened with £2,856,540 taking £10,964,978 (£13,908,481 inflated).
Titanic was originally released in January 1998 opened £4,805,270 (£9,634,387 inflated) taking £79,908,425 (£160,213,418 inflated); took 16.6x opening.
- Women Talking – Universal Pictures
A drama based on the novel by Miriam Toews starring Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw, and Frances McDormand and directed by Sarah Polley.
Had a world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival receiving critical acclaim and opened on limited release in the US in December ($40,530 from 8 screens)
Sarah Polley previously directed 2011’s Take This Waltz (opened £70.3k #12 from 30 screens) and 2006’s Away From Her (opened £21.1k)