- Moana 2 £3,613,290 – £26,452,825
Down 47.7% in its third weekend
Took £544k 15.1% (-44% £971k) Friday: £1.67m 46.2% (-45.8% £3.08m) Saturday; £1.4m 38.7% (-66.8% £2.85m) Sunday.
77th third biggest weekend between The Secret Life of Pets and WOG The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (close to The Inbetweeners Movie, Jumanji: The Next Level, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Die Another Day) and the 146th-inflated third weekend between The Grinch and The Golden Compass (close to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Babe, Three Men and a Little Lady and Batman).
The 17th biggest animation third weekend between The Secret Life of Pets and WOG The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (close to Finding Nemo, Despicable Me 3, Ratatouille and Shrek 2) and the 31st inflated animation between The Grinch and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (close to Incredibles, Toy Story, Pocahontas and Beauty and the Beast (1992).
2016’s Moana dropped 26% in third weekend £1,424,527 and £6,835,836 34.1% of total; dropped 22% fourth weekend £1,105,469 #3 and £9,833,507 49.1% of total; up 45% in fifth weekend (Christmas) £1,620,268 #5; dropped 28% in sixth weekend £1,179,760 #6; dropped 11% in seventh weekend £1,050,979 #3; playing strongly to February taking £20,041,031.
Moana became a massive hit on home entertainment in 2017 (the fourth biggest of the year between Fantastic Beasts and Bridget Jones’s Baby) and was on Netflix for the next two years before moving to Disney+ in 2020.
Moana is one of Disney’s most loved recent animated films Kate Winslet said, “From a young age now, and all the mums remember this as well, you have to say to your daughters – ‘I am proud of myself, I feel good about how I look, you look amazing!’ Because guess what? With social media, they may never hear it from anyone else. You have to tell them. And that’s why that film (Moana) is so special to me. Because there’s that beautiful girl, she’s strong, she’s resilient, she’s powerful. She’s going out into the world by herself and has this gorgeous, soft, normal shape! I just love it.”
The last two Disney animated sequels 2018’s Ralph Breaks The Internet dropped 42.7% by £1,402,006 and £9,324,458 of £17,299,915 and 2019’s Frozen 2 dropped 6.9% by £3,919,280 and £16,153,236 of £53,549,035.
The 34 Disney animated films have taken £500m and £750m inflated since 1989’s Oliver & Company.
188th biggest between Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Spider-Man 2 (close to Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Little Mermaid (2023), Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and The Golden Compass) and 385th biggest inflated between Tangled and Darkest Hour (close to Van Helsing, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Naked Gun and The Addams Family Matilda (1991).
Much has been made about how the UK cinema market could support four huge films, the reason is they play to different demographics and also crossover demographics, have seen this happen a lot over the years but not to this extreme as they weren’t all massive titles all having huge fanbases. They all play strongly to female audiences even Gladiator 2 due to Paul Mescal.
Success breeds success. You see this a lot during Chinese New Year when more than half a dozen films open and they share $1bn+. The problem is most tentpoles target the standard male 15-34 audience, these films open bigger but rarely crossover into other demographics and this will be the case with most of them next year apart from Bridget Jones 4 vs Captain America 4 in February and Wicked 2 and Zootopia 2 in November.
This is also why Tenet was never going to be the cinema industry believed it was going to be in August 2020. It needed other films to open alongside, as was the case in 2010 with Inception and Toy Story 4 opening over consecutive weeks and of course Oppenheimer and Barbie.
- Wicked Part 1 £3,455,827 – £43,634,853
Dropped 35% in its fourth weekend; only £157k separated Wicked with Moana 2)
Took £783k 22.6% (-35.8% £1.2m) Friday; £1.4m 40.5% (-35.2% £2.16m) Saturday; £1.27m 36.8% (-54.4% £1.94m) Sunday.
The 29th biggest third weekend between Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug and Casino Royale (close to Top Gun: Maverick, Toy Story 4, The Lion King (2019) and Bridget Jones’s Baby) and the 63rd inflated third weekend between Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Avengers Assemble (close to Gladiator, Shrek, Bohemian Rhapsody and Les Miserables).
The difference is Wicked isn’t like all other musicals as it’s a spinoff of L. Frank Baum’s 14-book Oz series and there were another 26 spinoff books written between 1921 and 1951. The 1939 film The Wizard of Oz was based on his first book, the film was a flop when it was first released and didn’t make a profit for MGM until being re-released in 1949.
Fourth weekends
Wonka last year down 7.5% £6,672,464 #1 and £43,822,435 69.2% of £63,277,138
2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory dropped 41% £1,691,431 (£3,246,262) #1 and £30,091,611 (£57,753,021) 80.5% of £37,354,584 (£64,081,749 inflated)
2022’s Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical dropped 2.9% £676,174 (£1,476,618 inflated) and £5,272,384 (£11,513,747) 51.5% of £10,227,163 (£22,333,913 inflated)
2018’s Mary Poppins Returns dropped 49% £2,256,418 #3 and £38,242,693 86% of £44,541,719
2013’s Les Miserables dropped 30.7% £2,785,143/£3,399,325 and £30,137,493 73.8% of £40,818,299/£49,819,578
2008’s Mamma Mia! Dropped 31.9% £3,167,377/£4,854,614 and £32,109,923 47.1% of £68,116,092/£104,401,010.
2018’s A Star Is Born dropped 25.4% £2,150,987 and £19,238,711 65.7% of £29,299,129/£32,342,667
2001’s Moulin Rouge dropped 12.8% £1,337,411/£2,574,678 and £10,636,791 59.1% of £17,934,410/£34,525,905
1997’s Evita dropped 20.7% £1,119,052/£2,191,362 and £9,858,113 69.2% of £14,237,881/£27,881,059
2017’s The Greatest Showman dropped 1.8% £2,103,605/£2,238,415 and £16,865,309 34.1% of £49,523,728/£52,697,478
The popularity of the stage show Wicked in the UK is similar to Mamma Mia! In April 2024, the stage musical became the 10th longest-running stage show in London’s West End, seen by over 12 million people, having over 6,500 shows and generating over £2bn in ticket sales since its premiere in 2006.
Cynthia Erivo starred in the 2013 revival of The Color Purple in London, which was moved to Broadway in 2015, starring alongside Jennifer Hudson. Ariana Grande has sold over 90 million albums worldwide and has a huge fanbase in the UK, selling over 31 million units, having 7 UK number 1s, and hosting the One Love Manchester Concert in June 2017 after the terrorist attack at her Manchester Arena concert.
97th biggest between Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Deadpool (close to The Simpsons, Paddington, Aladdin (2019) and Love Actually) and 220th biggest inflated between Aladdin (1993) and A View to A Kill (close to Last Tango in Paris, Ratatouille, Fantastic Beasts 2 and Calendar Girls).
The soundtrack album is at #1 on the compilations chart, album downloads chart and soundtrack albums chart and three songs are in the singles chart Defying Gravity #27; Popular #44; What Is This Feeling #39.
- Gladiator II £918,256 – £28,476,433
Down 43.6% in its fifth weekend
£265k 28.9% (-35.5% 411k) Friday; £382k 41.6% (-48.2% £738k) Sat; £271k 29.5% -63.2% £480k) Sunday
151st biggest fourth weekend between Rocketman and Lilo & Stitch (close to The Martian, Darkest Hour, Incredibles and The Wolf of Wall Street) and 307th inflated between Four Christmases and St. Trinian’s (close to The English Patient, Mission: Impossible II, Gremlins 2: The New Batch and X-Men 2)
Fifth weekends
2000’s Gladiator dropped 32.4% £1,401,766/£2,628,724 and £19,241,773 61.5% of £31,257,293/£58,616,618 inflated; #1 for 7 weeks.
2024’s Dune Part 2 dropped 36.5% £1,667,551 #4 and £34,071,957 of £39,466,555
2021’s Dune dropped 45% £634,843 #4 556 screens and £20,185,469 92% of £21,947,056; Dune took 3.73x opening if Dune part 2 did similar it will take £34m+
2010’s Inception dropped 25% £1,681,130 #2 472 screens and £29,204,120 83.5% of £34,976,999 (£46,851,543 inflated); took 5.92x opening
2013’s Gravity dropped 37% £1,092,998 #3 428 screens and £24,557,256 75% of £32,756,514; 5.24x opening
2014’s Interstellar dropped 47% £610,289 #6 348 screens and £19,150,662 90.4% of £21,173,601; 3.73x opening
2015’s The Martian dropped 65% £590,743 #6 448 screens and £21,797,926 92.4% of £23,589,854; 3.61x opening
2023’s Oppenheimer dropped 35% £2,045,953 #2 740 screens and £50,054,877 84.1% of £59,550,750; took 5.37x opening
2005’s War of the Worlds dropped 42% £1,012,442/£1,713,198 #5 325 screens and £27,637,440 91% of £30,367,791 (£51,386,687 inflated); 3.43x opening
2017’s Dunkirk down 26% £1,938,125 #2 647 screens and £49,101,623 86.4% of £56,797,955; 5.65x opening
171st biggest between Meet the Fockers and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 (close to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, Life of Pi, The World Is Not Enough and Downton Abbey) and 343rd biggest inflated between Bram Stoker Dracula and Elvis (close to Jumanji, Batman and Robin, Evita and Dances with Wolves).
7th biggest 2024 film between Paddington In Peru and Moana 2 (close to Beetlejuice 2, Kung Fu Panda 4, It Ends with Us and Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes).
- Paddington In Peru £821,657 – £30,212,570
Dropped 32.3% in the sixth weekend.
£176k 15.3% (-6% £204k) Friday; £360k 43.8% (-36.7% £569k) Sat; £335k 40.8% (-51.3% £510k) Sunday
The 123rd biggest sixth weekend between Mrs Doubtfire and Shakespeare In Love (close to The Little Mermaid (2023), Peter Rabbit 2, Big Hero 6 and The Lego Movie) and the 260th biggest inflated sixth weekend between Lethal Weapon 3 and Batman Forever (close to My Girl, Coco, American Pie 2 and Beauty and the Beast (1992).
Paddington in Peru took 71% less than Paddington (£2,834,003) and 39.5% less than Paddington 2 (1,357,273) in its sixth weekend and has taken similar to Paddington 2 after 6 weeks. Was always surprised by the lack of family films over the October half-term and with Wicked and Moana opening in November Paddington In Peru didn’t open the last week of October.
6th biggest 2024 film between Dune: Part 2 and Gladiator II (close to Beetlejuice 2, Kung Fu Panda 4 and It Ends with Us)
The first two films were hugely popular in the UK, but they faced lesser competition over the weeks after opening having long legs which saw them play through to January, Paddington In Peru doesn’t have similar legs.
2014’s Paddington up 10.8% £2,834,003/£3,048,179 and £30,818,050 81.5% of £38,027,750; stayed in top 5 for 8 weeks (£943,320) and top 10 for 12 weeks (£208,857) (mid-February)
2017’s Paddington 2 dropped 19.7% £1,357,273 and £31,365,641 73.5% of £42,661,628; stayed in the top 5 for 8 weeks (£1,884,062) and top 10 for 10 weeks (£401,521) in mid-January.
150th biggest between Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse and Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (close to Gladiator, The BFG, Ice Age II and Chicken Run) and 315th biggest inflated between About A Boy and The Living Daylights (close to A Fish Called Wanda, Monsters vs. Aliens, Pulp Fiction and Chicago).
- Kraven The Hunter £686,806 – NE
Took £242k 35.3% Friday; £254k 37.1% Saturday; £190k 27.7% Sunday.
57th biggest 2024 opening between The Holdovers and Imaginary (close to Borderlands, Blink Twice, The Substance and Night Swim).
Opened in 506 screens 528th widest opening similar to Baywatch, Bad Neighbours, Philomena, Taken 2 and Angels and Demons; 587th 500+ screen opening since 2002’s LOTR: The Two Towers.
Kaven was planned to appear in the fourth Spider-Man film which was cancelled, and Sony Pictures instead rebooted the series with 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man. Director Ryan Coogler had hoped to include Kaven in 2018’s Black Panther because of a fight between them in comics.
It was originally due to be released on January 13, 2023, October 6, 2023, and August 30, 2024, after the SAG strike.
The first trailer was shown at CinemaCon in April 2023, leaked online on June 19th, 2023, and released the day after receiving mixed reactions.
Kraven The Hunter is the sixth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. While Spider-Man films have been hugely successful since 2002 the extended universe films have been underwhelming both critically and at the box office.
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe
2018’s Venom opened £8,031,342 #1 taking £20,123,186
2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage opened £6,167,833 #2 597 screens taking £18,027,072.
2022’s Morbius opened £3,254,830 #2 638 screens taking £6,417,947
2024’s Madame Web opened £2,273,544 #3 575 screens taking £4,196,294
2024’s Venom: The Last Dance opened £4,299,477 #1 taking £12,297,704
Also Opened
- The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim £483,583 #7
Took £167k 34.6% Friday; £169k 35% Saturday; £147k 30.4% Friday.
66th biggest 2024 opening between Tarot and The Strangers: Chapter 1 (close to Abigail, The First Omen, The Crow and The Watchers).
Unfinished footage was shown at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2023 receiving positive reactions saying fans who liked Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films would enjoy the film.
The first trailer was released in August receiving positive reactions; it was originally due to be released in April 2024 but delayed to December after the SAG Strike.
It’s 10 years since the last Hobbit film was released and 21 years since the last Lord of the Rings film was released. Warner Bros have announced plans for a new Lord of the Rings film to be released in 2026 The Hunt for Gollum directed by Andy Serkis.
It was announced in 2021 to stop New Line from losing rights to the J. R. R. Tolkien novels and is based on the appendices of The Lord of the Rings.
2001’s LOTR: Fellowship of the Rings opened £11.058m/£21.3m taking £62,759,288/£120.81m
2002’s LOTR: Two Towers opened £13.063m/£24.26m taking £55,889,009/£103.83m
2003’s LOTR: Return of the King opened £15,021,761/£26.96m taking £60,666,284/£108.89m
2012’s Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opened £116m/£14.51m taking £52,329,481/£65.47m
2013’s Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug opened £9.32m/£11.38m taking £42.91m/£52.38m
2014’s Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies opened £9.75m/£10.49m taking £40.9m/£44m
Christmas re-issues
As has been the case for many recent years many classic Christmas films were re-released this year.
Home Alone #12 £150,679 371 screens
The Polar Express £136,235 #13 251 screens
Elf £81,219 #14 366 screens
Love Actually #16 £62,306 216 screens
UK box office in detail
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £11,294,181 down 39.3% from last weekend’s £18,597,949: 1,426,033 admissions down 37.6% from 2,283,874 admissions.
21st biggest weekend between of the last 52 weeks between £11,405,575 #1 Beetlejuice 2 £7,352,760 (64.5%) and 21 June 2024 £11,256,622 #1 Inside Out 2 £7,762,903 (69%)
17th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 21 3 weeks between 10 June 2022 £18,965,681 #1 Jurassic World: Dominion £12,121,728 (63.9%) and 08 October 2021 £18,399,057 #1 No Time To Die £15,235,947 (82.8%)
499th biggest top 10 of the last 22 years (out of 1,185) between 02 October 2015 £11,298,772 #1 The Martian £6,531,734 (57.8%) and 29 March 2019 £11,266,298 #1 Dumbo £6,076,779 (53.9%) and 808th inflated between 24 June 2005 £6,688,816 #1 Batman Begins £2,926,042 (43.7%) and 16 September 2011 £8,582,687 #1 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy £2,814,860 4 (32.8%)
The top 3 took (£7,987,373) 70.7% of the top 10; Moana 2 31.9% (£3,613,290); Wicked Part 1 30.6% (£3,455,827); Gladiator II 8.1% (£918,256)
742nd biggest admissions #1 (456,223) between 16 January 2015 #1 Taken 3 (457,047) and 10 October 2014 #1 Gone Girl (456,033)
26 April 2002 #1 About A Boy (873,652) and 23 September 2016 #1 Bridget Jones’s Baby (870,958)
653rd biggest percentage share #1 (37.13%) between 07 May 2010 #1 Iron Man 2 (32%) and 06 October 2006 #1 The Devil Wears Prada (31.9%)
Up 14.1% from 2023; (£9,899,366); Godzilla Minus One (£816,891); The Nutcracker – ROH, London 2023 (£180,826); Seventeen Tour ‘Follow’ To Japan: Live Viewing (£80,609); #1 Wonka £6,362,787 2nd week 29% drop 741 screens (64.27% of top 10).
Down 18.9% 2022 (£13,929,358); Avatar: The Way Of Water (£11,187,562); The Muppet Christmas Carol (30th Anniversary) (£93,615); It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) (75th Anniversary) (£93,832); Die Hard (30th Anniversary) (£32,429); Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (Re: 2018) (£30,790); (The Amazing Maurice (£30,316); Eyes Wide Shut (20th Anniversary) (£3,468); #1 Avatar: The Way Of Water £11,187,562 1st week 721 screens (80.32% of top 10);
Down 67.2% 2021 (£34,452,923); Spider-Man No Way Home (£31,899,232); The Nutcracker – Bolshoi Ballet 2021 (£85,417); #1 Spider-Man No Way Home £31,899,232 1st week 679 screens (92.6% of top 10)
Up 896.8% 2020; (£1,133,072); Wonder Woman 1984 (£846,435); Come Away (£42,834); The Nutcracker Bolshoi Ballet 2020 (£13,821); #1 Wonder Woman 1984 1st week £846,435 214 screens (74.7% of top 10)
Down 30.4% 2019; (£16,232,465); Jumanji: The Next Level (£9,464,661); Black Christmas (£283,507); The Nutcracker – Bolshoi Ballet 2019 (£187,697); #1 Jumanji: The Next Level 1st week £9,464,661 637 screens (58.3% of top 10)
Down 22.5% 2018: (£14,579,804); Aquaman (£5,230,285); Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (£2,279,995); Mortal Engines (£1,269,441); Free Solo (£387,402); La Traviata – Met Opera 2018 (£274,847); CBeebies Christmas Show: Thumbelina (£195,580); It’s a Wonderful Life (4K Restoration) (£114,865); #1 Aquaman £5,230,285 1st week 604 screens (35.8% of top 10)
Down 64.4% 2017: (£31,690,287); Star Wars: The Last Jedi (£28,010,841); It’s a Wonderful Life (Re: 2017) (£61,102); #1 Star Wars: The Last Jedi £28,010,841 1st week 723 screens (88.4% of top 10)
Down 48.5% 2016: (£21,944,702); Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (£17,305,011); The Nutcracker – Bolshoi 2016 (£135,026); The Eagle Huntress (£16,513); #1 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story £17,305,011 1st week 698 screens (78.9% of the top 10)
Up 91.2% 2015; (£5,906,053); Grandma (£35,916); By the Sea (£24,770); When Harry Met Sally (Re: 2015) (£4,975); #1 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 £1,286,244 4th week 513 screens 43% drop (21.7% of top 10)
Down 33.9% 2014: (£17,095,720); The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (£9,753,642); Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast (£395,454); Merchants of Doubt (£323); #1 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies £9,753,642 1st week 594 screens (57.1% of top 10)
Down 32.5% 2013: (£16,740,270); The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (£9,325,626); Cinema Paradiso (Re: 2013) (£12,374); #1 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug £9,325,626 1st week 580 screens (55.7% of top 10)
Down 31.7% 2012: (£16,530,942); The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (£11,601,538); Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings 3D (£528,820); Smashed (£1,991); Home Alone (Re: 2012) (£1,716); Neil Young Journeys (£423); Code Name: Geronimo (£388); #1 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey £11,601,538 1st week 1st #1 598 screens (70.2% of top 10)
Up 3.3% 2011; (£10,935,855); Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (£3,827,697); Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (£2,361,867); It’s a Wonderful Life (Re) (£46,785); #1 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows £3,827,697 1st week 540 screens (35% of top 10)
Up 71.1% 2010: (£6,599,055); Tron Legacy (£1,970,692); Burlesque (£425,931); Animals United (£307,409); Fred: The Movie (£257,133); It’s a Wonderful Life (Re) (£44,422); Catfish (£28,056); #1 Tron Legacy £1,970,692 1st week 454 screens (29.9% of top 10)
Up 65.4% 2009; (£6,826,766); Where The Wild Things Are (£883,990); Carriers (£69,224); The Stepfather (£40,056); The Red Shoes (re) (£13,336); #1 A Christmas Carol £1,544,226 6th week 2nd #1 week 1 and week 5 7% drop 434 screens (22.6% of top 10)
Up 29.2% 2008; (£8,742,920); The Day the Earth Stood Still (£2,752,132); Inkheart (£700,146); Dean Spanley (£42,898); White Christmas (re) (£7,518); #1 The Day the Earth Stood Still £2,752,132 1st week 465 screens (31.5% of top 10)
Up 11.5% 2007: (£10,130,524); Enchanted (£2,547,975); Bee Movie (£2,281,393); Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (£459,734); We Own the Night (£441,416); It’s a Wonderful Life (RE) (£15,025); Youth Without Youth (£8,174); #1 The Golden Compass £3,002,951 2nd week 59% drop 509 screens (29.6% of top 10)
Up 17.5% 2006; (£9,614,556); Eragon (£1,317,687); Déjà Vu (£1,098,295); Black Christmas (£367,743); Grounded (£240,378); The Wizard of Oz (re) (£22,973); #1 Happy Feet £2,034,916 2nd week 466 screens 45% drop (21.6% of top 10)
Down 18.1% 2005: (£13,786,105); King Kong (£6,944,740); The Family Stone (£247,515); Lassie (£132,926); #1 King Kong £6,944,740 1st week 481 screens (50.4% of top 10)
Up 37.6% 2004; (£8,205,320); Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (£2,210,979); Ella Enchanted (£107,730); #1 Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events £2,210,979 1st week 452 screens (27% of top 10)
Up 55% 2003 (£7,288,995); The Fighting Temptations (£151,994); Touching the Void (£115,332); Dead End (£52,130); Lord of the Rings: The 2 Towers (Sp. Ed) (£42,378); #1 Love Actually £2,273,706 4th week 486 screens 29% drop (31.2% of top 10)
Up 80% from 2002: (£6,276,464); Like Mike £246,169; Dirty Pretty Things £141,865; #1 Die Another Day £2,220,351 4th week 463 screens 35% drop (35.38% of top 10)
Up 115.1% from 2001 (£5,249,630); The Deep End £68,988; #1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone £2,391,251 5th weekend 29% drop 537 screens (45.55% of top 10)
2023 Next week: (£12,979,322); Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom (£2,484,442); Dunki (£707,495); Salaar (£394,578); #1 Wonka £7,214,019 3rd week (55.58% of top 10)
UK Box office
November BO was £145.4m up 95% from last year due to Moana 2 (£14,589,306); Wicked (£32,367,292); Gladiator II (£24,809,828) and Paddington In Peru (£27,763,421) took £100m combined. Admissions for November could top July 2023 when Barbie and Oppenheimer opened depending on what industry average price is this year.
2024 total BO was £944m at the end of November and topped £1bn this week it is still 2% down from 2023 with Mufasa: The Lion King, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Better Man still to open.
US Box Office
- Moana 2 – Disney
Dropped 48% in its third weekend $26.49m and $337.39m
94th biggest third weekend between The Incredibles and Iron Man 2 (close to How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Shrek Forever After and Despicable Me 2)
19th biggest animated film between Zootopia and Minions; 77th biggest between Spider-Man 3 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1; 256th inflation inflated between The Lego Movie and Alvin and the Chipmunks; 5th biggest 2024 between Wicked and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice; 35th biggest Disney between Zootopia and Alice in Wonderland (2010).
2016’s Moana dropped 34.4% $18.53m and $144.7m of $248.75m and $643.33m worldwide
The 36 Disney animation films since 1988’s Oliver & Company have taken over $5.6bn and $9.6m inflated in the US.
Took $57.2m (down 44%) $379.5m total and $717m worldwide; France $40.5m; UK $33.5m; Germany $24.8m; Mexico $23.5m; Brazil $21.1m; Australia $18.7m; S. Korea $17.9m; Italy $17.5m; Spain $13.7m; China $13.2m; Japan $12.3m; $15m worldwide from IMAX.
29th biggest animated film between Up and Moana; 136th biggest worldwide between F9: The Fast Saga and Fast X; 4th biggest 2024 worldwide between Despicable Me 4 and Dune: Part Two; 46th biggest Disney between The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
- Wicked Part 1 – Universal Pictures
Dropped 38% in its fourth weekend $22.64m and $359.16m
38th biggest fourth weekend between Shrek 2 and Frozen (close to The Lion King (1994), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Elf and Toy Story 3)
66th biggest between Despicable Me 4 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3; 226th biggest inflated between What Women Want and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3; 4th biggest 2024 between Despicable Me 4 and Moana 2; Biggest musical ahead of Grease and Chicago; 11th biggest Universal Pictures between Despicable Me 4 and Furious 7.
Wicked is a one-off due to the massive fanbase the musical is the second highest-grossing musical on Broadway after The Lion King took $1.25bn and $5bn worldwide, over 65 million have seen the stage show. Add in the massive global fanbase of Ariana Grande, and you’re talking Taylor Swift numbers.
Wicked has more in common with 2023’s Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour opening $93.22m taking $180.75m and $261.65m worldwide as it had a similar sized existing fanbase for the stage show and also the massive popularity of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
Fourth weekends
2014’s Into the Woods dropped 29.1% $6.77m and $114.52m of $128m and $212.9m WW
2012’s Les Miserables dropped 22.3% $7.49m and $130.05m of $149.26m and $442.75m WW.
Comparison films include.
2013’s Oz the Great and Powerful dropped 45.7% $11.7m and $198.37m of $234.91m/$311.48m and $493.31m/$654.1m WW
2017’s Beauty and the Beast dropped 47.9% $23.65m and $430.94m of $504.01m and $1.263bn worldwide
2014’s Maleficent dropped 30.2% $12.91m and $185.87m of $241.41m/$318.53m and $758.41m/$1bn
2023’s Barbie dropped 36.2% $33.83m and $526.44m of $636.23m and $1.446bn worldwide
Jon Chu previously directed.
2018’s Crazy Rich Asians dropped 40.1% $13.14m and $135.77m of $174.83m and $239.34m worldwide
Also directed 2016’s Now You See Me 2; 2015’s Jem and the Holograms; 2013’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation; 2010’s Step Up 3D and 2008’s Step Up 2: The Streets; 2021’s In the Heights taking $29.97m and $45.17m worldwide.
Took $21.5m (39% drop) from 81 territories $166m total and $525.3m worldwide; UK $55.2m; Australia $20.1m; S. Korea $12m; Mexico $9m; Spain $5.2m; Germany $4.9m; Brazil $4m; Italy $3.5m; Holland $3.4m; France $3.1m; Global IMAX $19.4m.
236th biggest worldwide between The Simpsons Movie and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World; 8th biggest 2024 between Kung Fu Panda 4 and Venom: The Last Dance; 9th biggest musical between The Little Mermaid and La La Land; 29th biggest Universal Pictures between Despicable Me and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.
- Kraven the Hunter – Sony Pictures
Opened $11m; received poor reviews (15% Rotten Tomatoes) and C CinemaScore
Took $2m Thursday midnight; The Incredible Hulk $2m; Fantastic Four (2015) $2.7m; Rampage $2.4m; Free Guy $2.2m.
Despite Kraven The Hunter having one of the lowest openings for Marvel Sony Pictures won’t stop making films from the secondary Spider-Man characters audiences have had no interest in seeing. Sony Pictures will be shooting the fourth Spider-Man film next year for release in 2026.
Sony Pictures could have acquired the majority of the rights to Marvel characters (X-Men 20th Century Fox acquired, and The Incredible Hulk acquired by Universal Pictures) for $25m in 1998 but only acquired Spider-Man rights for $7m as at that time comic-book films had mixed success at the box office. At the time Sony Pictures said, “Nobody gives a damn about the other Marvel characters”.
Kraven The Hunter is the sixth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. While Spider-Man films have been hugely successful since 2002, the extended universe films have been underwhelming both critically and at the box office. Due to strike delays, the budget of $110 m was increased from $90 m.
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe
2018’s Venom opened $80.25m taking $213.51m and $856.08m worldwide; received 30% Rotten Tomatoes and B+ CinemaScore.
2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage opened $90.03m taking $213.55m and $506.81m worldwide; 65% of Fridays BO came from IMAX/PLF; received 59% Rotten Tomatoes and B+.
2022’s Morbius opened $39m taking $73.86m and $167.46m worldwide
2024’s Madame Web opened $15.33m taking $43.81m and $100.49m worldwide
2024’s Venom: The Last Dance opened $51.01m taking $139.32m and $473.06m worldwide
Took $15m from 60 territories.
- The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim – Warner Bros
Opened $4.55m #5; received poor reviews (52% Rotten Tomatoes) and B CinemaScore
Took $625k Thursday midnights; Morbius $5.7m; Dark Phoenix $5m; The Wolverine $4m; Green Lantern $3.35m; Fantastic Four (2015) $2.7m.
The War of the Rohirrim opened almost 10 years to the date the third Hobbit film opened The Battle of the Five Armies $54.72m taking $255.13m and $962.25m worldwide; The Desolation of Smaug opened in 2013 $73.64m taking $258.38m and $959.07m and An Unexpected Journey opened in 2012 with $84.61m taking $303.03m and $1.017bn worldwide.
It’s 23 years since The Lord of the Rings trilogy opened; 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring opened $47.21m taking $319.37m and $888.19m worldwide; 2002’s The Two Towers opened $62m taking $345.51m and $938.24m worldwide and The Return of the King opened in 2003 $72.62m taking $381.87m and $1.138bn worldwide.
Warner Bros announced earlier this year that a new series of The Lord of the Rings films will be released from 2026 the first will be directed by Andy Serkis.
Took $4m internationally from 73 territories.
- Gladiator II – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 39% in the fourth weekend $7.56m #4 and $145.78m
581st biggest fourth weekend between The Nutty Professor and Superbad (close to Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, The Aviator, Tomorrow Never Dies and Jumanji).
Had a budget of about $310m and $100m+ marketing.
447th biggest between Sonic The Hedgehog and Lilo & Stitch; 1,068th inflated between Inside Man and
Natural Born Killers and Angels in the Outfield; 17th biggest 2024 between A Quiet Place: Day One and Outrageous Fortune; 31st biggest historical film between Les Misérables and The Great Gatsby; 60th biggest Paramount Pictures between Sonic The Hedgehog and Deep Impact.
Fourth weekends
2000’s Gladiator dropped 32% $13.43m/$26m and $123.36m/$248m of $187.7m/$375.41m and $465.51m/$931,03m WW
Similar films include.
2023’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny dropped 45.6% $6.67m and $158.99m of $174.48m and $383.96m WW
2022’s Top Gun: Maverick dropped 13.9% $44.65m and $466.82m of $718.73m and $1.495bn worldwide
2024’s Dune: Part Two dropped 38.2% $17.6m and $233.36m of $282.14m and $714.44m worldwide
2023’s Oppenheimer dropped 35.4$% $18.81m and $264.28m of $329.86m and $975.59m WW
2017’s Dunkirk dropped 36.5% $10.88m and $153.19m of $189.7m/$228.1m and $526.1m/$632.2m WW
2004’s Troy dropped 50% $5.97m and $119.29m of $133.37m/$231.53m and $497.4m/$863.45m WW
2015’s The Martian dropped 26.1% $15.73m and $166.18m of $228.43m and $630.62m worldwide
2001’s Hannibal dropped 36.3% $10.05m and $142.78m of $165.1m/$314.43m and $351.69m/$669.83m WW
2012’s Prometheus dropped 50.3% $4.92m and $118.25m of $126.47m/$171.28m and $403.35m/$546.25m WW
Ridley Scott’s 29 films have taken $2bn in the US and $5bn worldwide.
Took $17m (39% drop) and $252.5m from 65 territories and $398.3m worldwide; UK $34m; France $25.1m; Spain $17.8m; Mexico $14.8m; Australia $13.2m.
370th biggest worldwide between Mission: Impossible III and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; 15th biggest 2024 between Bad Boys: Ride or Die and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; 25th biggest historical film between The Mummy (2017) and Grease; 39th biggest Paramount Pictures between Mission: Impossible III and Grease.
- September 5 – Paramount Pictures
Opened $80,802 from 7 screens.
The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and received critical acclaim (91% Rotten Tomatoes); ahead of the film festival, Paramount Pictures acquired most global rights. September 6th was seen as the leading Best Picture Oscar contender but as seen many times the early front-runner is often gazumped by others closer to the award ceremony.
Paramount Pictures will expand its release on January 17th.
In 2005 Steven Spielberg’s Munich opened $4.15m from 532 screens expanding wide after 3 weeks taking $47.4m and $130.98m worldwide
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Mufasa: The Lion King sequel to 2019’s The Lion King photo-realistic animation reimagination of the 1994 animated film
2019’s The Lion King opened £16,671,765/£18,403,595 #1 713 screens taking £75,938,299/£83,826,626; 2nd biggest film of 2019 behind Avengers: Endgame £88,688,477
The Lion King opened with £5.2m; this was the biggest opening day for a Disney live-action film (2017’s Beauty and the Beast £4.9m)
1994’s The Lion King opened £2,461,009/£6,035,151 taking £22,525,524/£55,239,516; 2nd biggest film of 1994 behind Four Weddings and a Funeral £26,851,834/£65,848,959
Buzz has been soft for Mufasa highlighted by the limited media coverage last week for the UK premiere compared with the huge media coverage 2019’s The Lion King premiere received ahead of its opening. In 2019 the premiere had huge star power in attendance including Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Beyonce and Elton John. Mufasa premiere had Blue Ivy Carter (Beyonce’s daughter) generating the most media coverage as many questioned her wearing such an adult dress as 12 year old.
The early reaction to Mufasa was incredibly positive but reviews have been mixed, The Times gave it 5 stars, but other reviews were 2/3 stars.
The majority of Disney’s recent reimaginations have opened strongly, but the sequels have failed to match their success. 1996’s 101 Dalmatians opened at £2,360,762/£5,053,307, while 2000’s sequel 102 Dalmatians opened £1,154,618/£2,078,312. More recently 2013’s Maleficent opened £6,590,071, while sequel 2019’s Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil opened £3,300,000 and 2010’s Alice in Wonderland opened £10,555,220/£14,138,673, while 2016’s Alice Through The Looking Glass opened £2,229,399.
The first reimagination was a photorealistic almost scene-by-scene remake of the hugely popular original animated film, while the sequel was similar to Disney’s straight-to-video sequels they made in the 90s, Disney made 1998’s The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, it sold over 15m copies, in 2005 was one of the top-selling direct-to-video releases of all time taking $464.5m worldwide.
The problem with many prequels is they undermine a lot of what made the original film so great, Mufasa, in the original animated film it was Simba’s birthright to be king after Simba’s death due to ancestry but in Mufasa, he only became king by popularity.
The majority of prequels are unnecessary telling stories few want to know about, they are just cynical money grabs despite most of them coming far short of the film it leads into.
Disney expected Mufasa: The Lion King to take about £50m buzz at the moment is extremely low, presales look very soft, but they also did for Mona 2 ahead of the opening, but audiences had mixed opinions about the 2019 animated film, Interestingly Mufasa Rotten Tomatoes score is 60% higher than 2019’s The Lion King 51%.
The first teaser trailer was released in April receiving mixed reactions calling it “unnecessary” and a “soulless prequel to a soulless remake” Barry Jenkins responded by saying “There is nothing soulless about The Lion King … For decades children have sat in theatres all over the world experiencing collective grief for the first time, engaging Shakespeare for the first time, across aisles in myriad languages. A most potent vessel for communal empathy.” The trailer was released in August and a final trailer in November.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 starts 7 days of previews despite all the advertising saying the film opens December 21st so will have a 10-day opening; like other Paramount films, it has exclusive captioned screenings on Friday, December 20th. Sonic 3 previews will surely impact Mufasa’s opening.
After Moana 2 and Wicked were separated by only £157,463 Wicked with Mufasa and Sonic 3 Wicked will hold stronger than Moana 2. Moana 2 will drop 50%+ taking £1.5m-£1.8m and Wicked dropping about 45% taking £1.6m-£1.9m.
Opening in three weeks
- A Real Pain (Wednesday) – Disney
The comedy-drama starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe and Jennifer Grey and written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg.
Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January receiving critical acclaim; named one of the top ten films of 2024 by the National Board of Review and the AFI. Opened in the US in November as so many films had a strong two weeks on a platform but then struggled to find a wider audience after expansion taking $6.65m.
Similar films include 2006’s Little Miss Sunshine; 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums; 2007’s Dan in Real Life; 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited; 2014’s This Is Where I Leave You; 2016’s Captain Fantastic; 2011’s The Descendants and 1987’s Planes, Trains and Automobiles
- Babygirl – Entertainment Films
Thriller starring Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Sophie Wilde, and Antonio Banderas, written and directed by Halina Reijn.
Premiered at the Venice Film Festival Nicole Kidman won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress and was named one of the top ten films of 2024 by the National Board of Review: receiving positive reviews (90% Rotten Tomatoes).
Director Halina Reijn said her inspiration for Babygirl was the erotic thrillers of the 1980s and 1990s including Indecent Proposal and Basic Instinct.
Erotic thrillers, apart from the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy, have struggled to find a wide audience over recent years, but that was due to the huge popularity of the books and the strong female audience.
Over recent years Nicole Kidman has starred in many TV shows including Nine Perfect Strangers, Lioness, The Undoing and Faraway Downs, Babygirl is her first leading role since starring in 2020’s Bombshell.
- Maria – Studiocanal
Biographical psychological drama about opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Angelina Papadopoulou and directed by Pablo Larraín.
It is the third film in a trilogy of 20th-century women directed by Pablo Larraín after 2017’s Jackie (opened £662,900 197 screens taking £3,032,732) and 2021’s Spencer (opened £698,065 183 screens taking £2,825,527)
Premiered at the Venice Film Festival receiving positive reviews; it had a limited release in the US in November before being released on Netflix in December.