- Jurassic World Dominion – £5,717,881 – £21,759,279
Down 53% in the second weekend; took £1m on Friday (down 70% from opening Friday £3.3m);
Friday had the hottest temperatures of the year and will be used as the excuse for why BO was so soft on Friday but while mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun, most people would surely be looking for shelter from those temperatures and cinema is the ideal location. While always believe if it’s a film people want to see they will see it no matter the weather, If people don’t go to the cinema when it’s hot why do studios open their biggest films of the year between May and September?
59th biggest second weekend between Bohemian Rhapsody and The Inbetweeners Movie (close to Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Spider-Man 3 and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) and 121st biggest inflation-inflated opening between Star Wars: Rogue One and Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness (close to Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Sixth Sense, Fast & Furious 7 and I am Legend).
228th biggest film in the UK between The Revenant and Men in Black 3 (close to Wonder Woman, Dune, E.T and The Hangover) and 438th biggest inflation inflated between Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and How to Train your Dragon (close to Cool Runnings, Lethal Weapon 2, Sleepless in Seattle, and Cliffhanger).
7th biggest film of 2022 between Uncharted and Fantastic Beasts 3; 28th biggest Universal Pictures film between Mr. Beans Holiday and The Theory of Everything (close to Jason Bourne, Bridesmaids, Hot Fuzz and Hobbs & Shaw) and 36th biggest inflation inflated between Bruno and Nanny McPhee & the Big Bang.
Took £700,846 more (6.1%+) than Jurassic Park inflation inflated the opening by £11,420,882 (£4,875,137) the opening included one preview screening on Thursday but of course, didn’t have any surcharges despite exhibitors’ needing to install DTS in cinemas to be able to book the film in 1993.
Jurassic World Dominion took £16.03m over the opening 7 days (55th biggest 7-day opening between The Dark Knight and The Twilight Saga: New Moon (close to Fantastic Beasts 2, Finding Dory, Mary Poppins Returns and Black Panther) and 79th biggest week between Thor: Ragnarok and The Twilight Saga: New Moon. (7-day BO includes BO inflated with previews)
Took 76% Fri-Sun (£12.12m) and 24% (£3.9m) Mon-Thurs compared to Top Gun Maverick taking 53% (£11.95m) Mon-Thurs of its opening week (not including previews) with 47% Fri-Sun (£10.5m).
29 years on Jurassic Park is still one of the top 50 biggest films in the UK while Jurassic World overtook it taking £64.3m in 2015 neither did Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom (£41.57m or Jurassic it World Dominion will match it, while inflation inflated Jurassic Park has taken £112m #7 biggest between LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring and LOTR: The Return of the King; Looking further back Jurassic Park took similar BO to Grease, Thunderball and Goldfinger inflation inflated.
It shouldn’t come up as much of a surprise that Jurassic World Dominion held #1 against Lightyear, the more surprising thing was why after Universal Pictures delayed it a year kept it opening a week after. Only need to look at the second weekend of the previous two films to know that it was going to end badly and that was long before the mixed reviews and hot weather.
The problem was Disney believed their hype in opening Lightyear the weekend after as they believed people would still be drawn to the nostalgia of Lightyear as they normally are, but with the double of Jurassic World Dominion and Top Gun Maverick, they were much stronger and worked together in breaking the pixie dust spell.
In 2018 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom dropped 50% (32% not including previews taking £7,220,952 from 667 screens and £25,571,845 despite mixed reviews and European Championships starting a few days before. #2 Hereditary opened £1,863,913.
It dropped #2 in its second weekend taking £3,249,227 down 55% and £31,205,563 only due to Ocean’s Eight having extended previews £2,042,638 of its £4,347,070 opening and with a lack of major new releases due to the Euro’s returned to #1 in the third weekend taking £2,001,876 down 38% and £34,498,111.
In 2015 Jurassic World dropped 34% (22% without previews) taking £11,133,912 from 614 screens and £38,522,331 with Take That Live 2015 opening #2 with £965,000 and Mr Holmes #4 £741,080 with Entourage #5 £632,754. Jurassic World dropped 48% in third weekend £5,776,475 #2 and £48,901,995 with Minions #1 £11,558,946. It dropped 55% in its third weekend taking £2,610,612 #3 behind Minions #1 Minions £6,238,498 (down 46%) and Terminator: Genisys #2 £3,793,617. Jurassic World Dominion is likely to drop a similar amount in its third weekend which could see Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis open #1 before Minions: Rise of Gru opens.
Despite Jurassic World Dominion opening with less hype than the other Jurassic Park film as they had seen the trailers with Top Gun Maverick that was needed to get them to see it, you can trace back the success of Top Gun Maverick to having trailers with No Time To Die as success breeds success.
The first two Jurassic Park films had their biggest openings in 1993 and 1997 and Jurassic Park films have a much bigger appeal and wider audience than comic-book movies as they play to all generations those children who saw the original with their parents in 1993 and now their children.
Jurassic Park took 9.82x opening compared with 3.29x for Jurassic World; 2.9x for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom; 4.53x for The Lost World: Jurassic Park and 3.84x for Jurassic Park 3: depending on how it holds Dominion will take between £35m-£40m.
Steven Spielberg demanded exhibitors install DTS in all the cinemas that played Jurassic Park, but unlike now with 3D, IMAX, 4DX, PLF and Dolby Cinema exhibitors didn’t pass on those costs to customers.
The 6 Jurassic Park films have taken over £210m to date and almost £320m inflation inflated
Dr Alan Grant said in “Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?”
9 years ago, the first Jurassic Park film opened 6 weeks after the US was when distributors dated films to give them the best date for their country rather than now with most opening days and dates with the US, so the release date isn’t always the optimal date for the film. Jurassic Park opened on July 16th at the start of the summer holidays as the two sequels, but the Jurassic World trilogy opened in June. (Fallen Kingdom opened two weeks earlier in Europe due to the World Cup).
Jurassic Park opened on 16th July 1993 with £4.9m having small drops in its following weeks as it played in cinemas for almost a year taking £47,790,337. In 1993 average ticket price was £4.12; the inflation-inflated box office today would be £112m.
In 1997 The Lost World: Jurassic Park opened with £5.7m (£10.74m 2018 BO) taking £25.79m (£48.62m 2018 BO).
In 2001 Jurassic Park 3 opened with £4.76m (£8.82m 2018 BO) taking £18.1m (£33.54m 2018 BO) as probably with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Disney’s upcoming Indiana Jones 5 it is ignored in Jurassic World as the events feature after The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
What Ian Malcolm says in Jurassic Park “the problem with the scientific power that you’re using here, it didn’t require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn’t earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don’t take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox.” Could be compared to what Hollywood has done over the last decade and more, the one positive being if The Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don’t eat the tourists.
- 2. Top Gun Maverick – £4,246,100 – £57,375,312
Down 24% in the fourth weekend; taking a similar percentage of BO in its third and fourth weekends 29.4%; took £800k on the fourth Friday (down 47%); on Monday it returned to #1 setting up a remarkably interesting three-way battle for #1 this weekend.
8th biggest third weekend (8th to take £4m+) between The Lion King and Titanic (£3.84m but with 87% ticket inflation since 1998 its £7.2m inflation inflated).
Avenger Infinity War and Toy Story 4 (close to Jurassic World, The Jungle Book, Casino Royale, and Quantum of Solace).
25th biggest film in the UK (43rd film to take over £50m since The Full Monty in 1997) between Joker and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (close to Jurassic World, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and Dunkirk) and 74th biggest inflation inflated between Joker and The Simpsons (close to Ghost, You Only Live Twice, Fantastic Beasts and Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves).
Going back further it’s the 67th biggest ever inflation inflated between Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Biggest Paramount Pictures film in the UK ahead of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Shrek The Third and 4th biggest Paramount Pictures film between Shrek Forever After and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)
Top Gun Maverick is holding similar to 2019’s The Lion King (taking £2,537,885 more than £59,913,197 Vs £57,375,312. You could compare the two films like Top Gun Maverick while being a sequel is very much a remake of the original film with added nostalgia and more advanced aeroplane sequences while The Lion King was also a remake of the original film but with photorealistic computer animation with all the nostalgia from the beloved original film.
The more I see the original Top Gun on Sky Cinema over the last few weeks the more I realise how similar they are, while the air sequences are of course far superior everything else is the same just twisting the characters over like it’s Maverick who gets all emotional in the bar when the recruits sing Great Balls of Fire singing the same song he sang in the bar with Goose and his wife and child, then the next day he does the similar walk Charlie (Kelly Mcgillis) takes as she’s introduced as the flight instructor. There are many similar moments like that that feel they are taken from the original, this is probably why audiences embraced it as they did Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Lion King.
The code word for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was Perfect Timing and Top Gun Maverick came at the perfect time as had it opened two years ago or last November it probably wouldn’t have been anywhere nearly as successful but No Time To Die, Spider-Man No Way Home and The Batman helped it along with the trailers that played with them. As they helped make the film become a must-see cinema movie which is what Christopher Nolan expected Tenet was going to be. While it’s also good for the industry that the success is more evenly spread out so far this year as over recent years it’s become a two-way battle Disney Vs Universal, that said the rest of the year will be.
Top Gun Maverick is as critics have said non-stop action and it starts exactly like the original film with the same music starting full of nostalgia to the original film and that continues throughout the film, so its understand that when exhibitors and critics saw the film in crowded cinemas full of fans of the original the reactions would be as they were. The film gets a bit silly when Maverick steals an aeroplane from the airfield they bombed and was immediately able to fly it making it feel like the Clint Eastwood film Firefox.
Paramount Pictures would surely like the year to end now after having their best year probably since 2011 with Scream, Jackass Forever, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, The Lost City and now Top Gun Maverick taking over £90m. This will likely see the studio have its first £100m+ year since 2011 when they took £160m and were the UK #1. But Paramount only have two small releases for the rest of the year Tadeo Jones 3 and Smile.
Took 91% from 2D (£3,382,214); 7% 3D (£259,477 from 174 screens) 2% IMAX (£62,936 from 46 screens) on IMAX screens it had one afternoon show a day with Jurassic World Dominion having other shows.
403rd biggest opening in the UK between Catch Me If You Can and Oz: The Great and Powerful (close to The Pirates of the Caribbean, Battleship, Despicable Me and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) and 592nd biggest inflation inflated between The Woman in Black and Dead Again (close to A Peanuts Movie, Enchanted, The Smurfs 2 and Ferdinand).
17th biggest opening for Pixar film in the UK between A Bug’s Life and Cars 2; took £254,085 more than 2013’s Monsters University (£3,463,917) also affected by hot sunny weather but due to positive reviews, strong word of mouth and opening at the start of the summer holidays played strongly until, throughout the holidays taking £29,768,407, Lightyear won’t get that opportunity with Minions: The Rise of Gru opening in two weeks and Lightyear likely to be released on Disney+ in July.
20th biggest opening since cinemas reopened between Ghostbusters: Afterlife and A Quiet Place 2 and 9th biggest 2022 opening between Uncharted and Morbius.
73rd biggest Disney opening between The Pirates of the Caribbean and Oz: The Great and Powerful (close to Ralph Breaks The Internet, Cinderella, The Rock and Scary Movie 3) and 102nd biggest inflation inflated between Enchanted and Sister Act 2 Back In The Habit (close to The Others, Face/Off, Leon and National Treasure 2).
Lightyear opened with a disappointing £600k on Friday (16.1%) behind Jurassic World Dominion and Top Gun Maverick but with cooler temperatures, Sat/Sun was always going to improve but still nowhere nearly as strong as you would expect from a Pixar film. Showing that the hot weather wasn’t responsible for the soft opening Lightyear 16.1% taken from Friday (when temperatures were the hottest) was lower than Friday percentages of Frozen 2 (20.55%); Despicable Me 3 (20.98%); Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (22.06%); Toy Story 4 (23.31%) and Beauty and the Beast (24.87%) with 84% of its opening weekend from Sat/Sun when temperatures were cooler.
The UK industry uses 10% of US as a guide to opening (films rarely take 10% its normally 8-9% or 11-12%) but with Lightyear it was a very low 7.35% similar to The Secret Life of Pets 2, The Good Dinosaur, The Boss Baby 2 and Enchanted.
The 23 Pixar films have taken almost £700m since 1996 and almost £930m inflation inflated (Soul, Luca and Turning Red were all originally due for cinema release but moved to Disney+, Elemental is their next due for release in June 2023 with two more untitled films set for release in 2024. Normally Pixar announces the title for their next film a few months before the release of their next, so the 2023 film will be revealed in May 2023.
After Lightyear opened lower than expected the industry asks why but as with Fantastic Beasts 3 in April much of the issues with Lightyear happened long before the film opened. Pete Docter’s comments when announcing Lightyear in December 2020 at Disney’s Investor’s Day highlights the problem with the film after saying ‘At first glance, you might think, ‘this is a Toy Story film.’ Well, not so fast!’ See, back when we created the first Toy Story, we designed Buzz Lightyear with the idea that he was a toy based on some cool character from an epic blockbuster film. Well, all these years later we decided it’s time to make that film.’
Surely Lightyear shows Disney hadn’t learnt anything from making Solo: A Star Wars Film as both origin films that sounded more exciting when Han Solo and Buzz Lightyear talked about them in the original films than they were in reality. While replacing Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear with Chris Evans was similar to replacing Harrison Ford as Han Solo with Alden Ehrenreich. This is similar to when Disney would replace voice actors on straight-to-video sequels in the 90s. This made Lightyear feel like it belonged to Disney+ rather than cinema, this is also the problem when Disney has pushed Disney+ so hard and then released the last three Pixar films straight to Disney+ subscribers think why pay £15 to see them in the cinema when it will be only Disney+ in a few weeks.
While Lightyear feels like what happens when a film tries to be for everyone old heavy o nostalgia being the film Andy watches in the first Toy Story film that makes him want a Buzz Lightyear toy for his birthday, but also robot cat Sox.
But despite all of that I still believed ahead of opening and before reviews were published Lightyear will open similar to Finding Dory and The Incredibles 2 as nostalgia has worked so well for Disney over the last decade and Toy Story 4 was a huge success in 2019 despite everyone believing Toy Story 3 ended the film series so well in 2010. So maybe part of it was a backlash to Toy Story 4 ruining the perfect end to the trilogy.
Lightyear is the 26th Pixar film and the first Pixar film to be given a theatrical release since 2020’s Onward which had a limited cinema release opening in March two weeks before the first lockdown, but still performed well when it returned to cinemas in July despite being released on Disney+.
The last three Pixar films Soul, Luca and Turning Red were all originally meant to have theatrical releases but were moved to Disney+.
After releasing Toy Story 4 in 2019 Pixar said it would be their last sequel for a while as over the previous decade, Pixar made 7 films all original and Pixar were seen as the most creative studio in Hollywood. Pixar was acquired by Disney in 2006, at the time Ratatouille, Wall-e and Up were in various stages of production so Toy Story 3 was probably the first wholly made by Disney.
The 23 Pixar films that had theatrical release have taken almost £700m since 1996 and almost £930m inflation inflated; $6.07bn in the US and $14.7bn worldwide.
Disney dates their Pixar films for the middle weekend of June in the US due to Father’s Day but they used to be held back n the UK until the start of the summer holidays but with Universal Pictures over recent years dating their Illumination Entertainment film early in July, they have had to go day and date in the UK. This year Minions: The Rise of Gru opens only two weeks after Lightyear. The two animated studios have opened films near each other before but this is the first time they are both parts of existing franchises.
1996’s Toy Story opened £3,387,000 (£6,883,849 inflation inflated) taking £22,297,733 (£45,318,636 inflation inflated)
2000’s Toy Story 2 opened £7,758,936 (£13,260,727 inflation inflated) taking £44,306,070 (£75,723,101 inflation inflated)
2010’s Toy Story 3 opened £21,187,264 including £9,693,440 previews Fri-Sun £11,493,824; inflation inflated £26,777,853 taking £73,405,113 (£92,774,193 inflation inflated)
2019’s Toy Story 4 opened £13,300,000 taking £66,030,065
Other Pixar sequels 2013’s Monsters University opened £3,463,917 (suffered from a hot sunny opening weekend) taking £29,768,407
2016’s Finding Dory opened £8,122,075 taking £42,604,905
2018’s The Incredibles 2 opened £9,650,000 taking £55,764,462
Lightyear will probably be released on Disney+ at the beginning of August having a similar 45-day theatrical window as Doctor Strange 2 but it does highlight again that the theatrical window should be decided after a film opens, so the window for Lightyear could be cut to 31 days while the window for Top Gun Maverick and Jurassic World Dominion could be extended longer than their 45 windows that will likely see them released on Paramount+ in August and Jurassic World Dominion on July 25th.
Google Lightyear BO and get headlines Lightyear is a flop, the problem is the industry is very quick to call out a hit and a flop and Lightyear is neither but with Pixar and Disney brands attached to it and being part of the Toy Story universe and all the success both Pixar and Disney have had the weight of expectation made it look like it was.
Over the last few years there are always fins that are singled out as everything bad about Hollywood, in 2016 it was Ghostbusters, a year later Solo: A Star Wars Story and then X-Men: Dark Phoenix and Lightyear joins Morbius and Fantastic Beasts 3 this year.
Lightyear doesn’t deserve to be mentioned with those films but it’s there as audiences expect much more from Pixar, it’s like when Harry Stamper asks Truman about NASA’s backup plan in Armageddon “And this is the best that you c – that the government, the *U.S. government* could come up with? I mean, you’re NASA for crying out loud, you put a man on the moon, you’re geniuses! You’re the guys that are thinking sh*t up! I’m sure you got a team of men sitting around somewhere right now just thinking sh*t up and somebody backing them up! You’re telling me you don’t have a backup plan, that these eight boy scouts right here, that is the world’s hope, that’s what you’re telling me?”
Took £49,043 from previews
Opened as an alternative to the summer blockbusters targetting older female audiences the film played well in independent cinema like Everyman but as with so many similar films struggled to find a wide audience. Despite the positivity surrounding the top three films taking £3m+ each for the first time since January 1st, 2020, the problem is these smaller feel-good British comedies which have been a mainstay of UK cinemas for decades struggle to find an audience now.
This is why distributors have to gamble on how wide they open these films do they open as wide as possible as The Phantom of the Open in March opening on 626 screens #5 with £456,829 or do they go limited wide as Good Luck To You, Leo Grande opening in 171 screens in the hope it will expand over the flowing weeks. Normally Mid-June would be a good time to open a film like Good Luck To You, Leo Grande as the World Cup would normally be on (instead it’s moved to November likely to cause other issues then).
But with Elvis opening next week followed by Minions: The Rise of Gru and Thor: Love and Thunder and with Jurassic World Dominion, Top Gun Maverick and Lightyear there will be a squeeze on screens which will see exhibitors cut showtimes of Good Luck To You, Leo Grande by Friday. As was the case with The Phantom of the Open in March despite the target demographic for these films not rushing out to see them over opening weekend.
Many films get labelled this as the film we need now but surely after all the horrific events in Ukraine over the last few months, a feel-good film is a perfect tonic. Always believe The Full Monty became a huge hit partly to do with its opening the weekend Princess Diana died and it became the people’s film.
Feel-good comedies used to be the life-blood of UK cinema but the audience for these films didn’t rush out to see them over the opening weekend they took time to find their audience, but films aren’t now allowed to do so anymore and with a new batch of films opening this weekend Good Luck To You, Leo Grande Phantom of the Open will struggle to hold onto screens for another week.
While exhibitors increase prices for tentpoles. surely should go the opposite way for smaller British films to try to get audiences into cinemas as Lionsgate’s Zygi Kamasa said in 2014 “Something drastic was needed” but nothing, of course, has been done since. The industry celebrates success when films like No Time To Die and Spider-Man No Way Home take £95m+ but audiences will always come out to see these films, it’s the smaller films that have been squeezed over the last 20 years.
This is seen by last month BO taking £93m with 65% from two films and 96% from the top 10 films, the industry talks a lot about cinema not being just about tentpoles but need to get audiences to see some of the other 800+ films that are also released each year.
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- 5. Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness – £169,578 – £41,878,091
Down 57.4% in its seventh weekend; close to 7th weekends of Shang-Chi and Black Widow
Took £35,679 less than Doctor Strange’s 7th weekend (£169,578) #14 was the 4th weekend of Fantastic Beasts #1 (£2,734,960).
It’s the 7th biggest MCU film between Avengers: Age of Ultron (£48,227,409) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (£40,839,462) close to Avengers Assemble, Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home).
68th biggest film in the UK between Alice In Wonderland and Bridget Jones’s Diary (close to Finding Dory, Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Batman) and 148th biggest inflation inflated between Austin Powers in Goldmember and Cats and Dogs (close to Batman Forever, The Silence of the Lambs, The World Is Not Enough and 101 Dalmatians).
10th biggest comic-book movie between Avengers Age of Ultron and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (close to Black Panther, The Dark Knight, Captain Marvel and Deadpool) and 16th biggest inflation inflated between iron Man 3 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (close to Spider-Man 2, Batman Forever, The Mask and Men In Black 2).
4th biggest film since cinemas reopened between The Batman and Top Gun Maverick.
The 28 MCU films have taken over £950m and £1bn inflation inflated; Thor: Love and Thunder opening in July will see the 29 MCU films taking over £1bn at the UK BO since 2008.
Thor: Love and Thunder opens in a month and will perform similar to Doctor Strange 2 and then Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens in November
Other Cinema News
The industry is at CineEurope self-congratulating themselves for the box office performance of films like Doctor Strange 2, Top Gun Maverick and Jurassic World Dominion despite moaning about the same studio’s decisions to delay the films. Find it embarrassing ComScore has an award for Courage at CineEurope recognizing the courage and resilience of European exhibitors and it’s being accepted by Phil Clapp? What courageous things did the UK cinema industry do? As of March 6th, 2020, UKCA said COVID had ‘No discernible impact’ on cinema despite Pixar having their worst opening in the UK that weekend with Onward.
UNIC spoke of losing up to $20bn due to COVID but much of this wasn’t lost box office but delayed, while a lot it could have come sooner had exhibitors not rushed to reopen cinemas in July 2020 without any plan or strategy and just believing all they needed to do was reopen and people would come, while cinephiles immediately rushed back it was predictably over a year until everyone else. There were marketing campaigns like Love Cinema launched in August 2020 but that just targeted cinephiles who already returned. Not saying this in hindsight two years later, I said the same over 2 years ago as it was obvious to everyone that it would take time to get the majority to return and the industry needed to focus on the many, not the few when they reopened cinemas, but the short-sighted nature of the industry made it also obvious that they wouldn’t do so.
They were waiting on government guidance before doing anything, at that time UK government was even more incompetent than they are now as at least a few weeks later Matt Hancock watched 9-year-old Contagion and changed his vaccine plans. Surely after seeing China had closed their cinemas in January days before the most lucrative week of the year international exhibitors must have realized what was coming especially having surely seen films like Contagion and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes which showed how viruses spread globally and having lived through Spanish Flu a century ago.
Instead, it was denial and then moaning about studios wanting to delay films when they believed people would return to the cinema and these studios have been proved right delaying these films as had they listened to exhibitors as Christopher Nolan had done then many of these films would have performed similarly to Tenet. UK exhibitors reopened cinemas far too soon in July 2020 without having any plans or strategy, they were given a library of 450+ films but most cinemas reopening on July 4th had schedules that look like they were frozen in time since March.
In April 2020 was an in-depth article in Deadline suggesting what was needed to be done to get people to feel comfortable returning to the cinema it said that older audiences would be the slowest to return and that was the case up to the release of No Time To Die in September 2021 and then the 45% of them didn’t return to the cinema until May 2022.
Rather than accepting awards, they should be apologising for failing the industry as I did joke back in March 2020 as soon as cinemas closed that exhibitors and studios should have been locked in a room together and not allowed out until they had a reopening plan and strategy that was focused on getting the many returning not the few, but the problem was predicably industry only focused the few which made the majority not return for over a year.
While exhibitors believed Christopher Nolan’s delusions of grandeur Tenet was never going to be the savior of cinema and when Mulan was also delayed weeks before cinemas were due to reopen in July 2020 that should have made exhibitors delay reopening. What was always needed was a slate of films opening close together as was the case with the Chinese New Year in February 2021 taking $1.bn in a week. This was finally done in the UK in May 2021 when the savior of the cinema became Peter Rabbit 2 for several months until No Time To Die and Spider-Man No Way Home.
2022 UK BO January-May was £397.1m which is about 78% of 2019 levels Industry expects BO for the year will be about £1.05bn similar to 2009; 2021 was £597m and 2020 £323m. With BO returning to pre-COVID levels in 2023 which was expected when cinemas shut after the first lockdown.
May BO took about £93m with top 10 films taking 96% with Doctor Strange 2 taking £38.6m and Top Gun Maverick £21.3m 64% with 11.3m admissions this would see an average £8.23
The May Top 10 films #1 Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness £38.6m; #2 Top Gun: Maverick took £21.3m; #3 Downton Abbey: A New Era £11.6m; #4 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 £4.2m; #5 The Lost City £3.3m; #6 Everything Everywhere All at Once £3.1m; #7 Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore £2.9m; #8 The Bad Guys £2.5m; #9 Operation Mincemeat £1.5m; #10 Northman £1.4m.
May was the third strongest month since cinemas reopened after October 2021 (No Time To Die) and December 2021 (Spider-Man No Way Home).
The first 6 months of 2022 have been very strong the question is away from Minions 2 and Thor 4 the last 6 months look much weaker than in recent years. While there are massive questions if Black Panther 2 can match the success of the original without Chadwick Boseman and it feels an awfully long time ago since Avatar wowed audiences in 2009. For the sequel to be as successful cinemagoers need to embrace 3D again but soft 3D BO for Doctor Strange 2 and Lightyear don’t give much hope they will.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £14,423,031 down 23.9% from last weekend’s £18,965,681
253rd biggest top 10 of the last 20 years between 22 September 2017 #1 Kingsman: The Golden Circle £8,525,664 (59.1% of top 10) and 02 November 2018 #1 Bohemian Rhapsody £5,750,267 (39.95% of top 10) and 442nd biggest inflation inflated between 25 October 2013 #1 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 £3,658,618 (29.2% of top 10) and 05 April 2019 #1 Shazam! £4,067,068 (29.84% of top 10).
The weekend admissions were1,917,956 down 23.9% from last week 2,522,032
Top 3 took £13,681,983 95% of the top 10; Jurassic World Dominion 39.6% (£12,121,728); Top Gun: Maverick 29.4% (£4,246,100); Lightyear 25.8% (£3,718,002);
Up 110.8% from 2021 (£6,842,018) The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (£1,636,128); In the Heights (£1,073,68); Monster Hunter (£150,078); In The Earth (£58,538); #1 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard £1,636,128 p1st week 522 screens (23.91% of top 10)
2020 n/a cinemas closed
Up 25% from 2019 (£11,536,988); Aladdin 24.9% (£2,881,535); Men in Black International 24.5% (£2,823,117); Rocketman 14.1% (£1,633,127); #1 Aladdin £2,881,535 26.6% drop fourth weekend (#1 for 4 weeks)
Up 8.1% from 2018: (£13,335,853); Hereditary (£1,863,913); The Happy Prince (£107,178); Super Troopers 2 (£101,881); Swan Lake – ROH, London 2017/18 (£71,257); #1 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 2nd week £7,220,952 50% drop 667 screens (54.1% of top 10)
Up 151% from 2017: (£5,745,646); Churchill (£392,732); Gifted (£305,323); Whitney “Can I Be Me” (£93,867); Rock Dog (£13,351); #1 Wonder Woman £1,868,607 3rd week 613 screens 46% drop (32.5% of top 10)
Up 67.5% from 2016: (£8,610,329); The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Case (£4,637,862); Gods of Egypt (£484,467); Barbershop: A Fresh Cut (£91,502); The Keeping Room (£26,199); #1 The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Case £4,637,862 1st week 504 screens (53.8% of the top 10)
Down 10.1% from 2015; (£16,046,393); Take That Live 2015 (£965,000); Mr. Holmes (£741,080); Entourage (£632,754); The Longest Ride (£419,047); #1 Jurassic World £11,133,912 614 screens 2nd week 34% drop (69.4% of top 10)
Up 75.1% from 2014: (£8,284,805); The Fault in Our Stars (£3,434,334); Jersey Boys (£415,608); 3 Days to Kill (£324,560); Chinese Puzzle (£22,617); The Art of the Steal (£7,867); #1 The Fault in Our Stars £3,434,334 1st week 511 screens (41.4% of top 10)
Up 22.1% from 2013: (£11,810,188); World War Z (£4,535,899); Snitch (£268,229); Before Midnight (£244,231); A Haunted House (£153,805); Spike Island (£55,961); #1 Man Of Steel £5,073,356 2nd week 575 screens 55% drop (42.9% of top 10)
Up 80.6% from 2012 (£7,983,254); Rock of Ages (£1,003,107); Red Lights (£445,109); Fast Girls (£335,700); Jaws (Re: 2012) (£187,197); Cosmopolis (£116,519); A Royal Affair (£75,960); #1 Prometheus £2,009,955 3rd week 522 screens 36% drop (25.2% of top 10)
Up 27.3% from 2011 (£11,331,755) Green Lantern (£2,472,969); Bad Teacher (£1,958,656); The Beaver (£55,185); #1 Green Lantern £2,472,969 1st week 478 screens (21.8% of top 10)
Up 244.7% from 2010: (£4,184,382); Killers (£1,053,074); Wild Target (£282,498); Our Family Wedding (£96,385); Please Give (£49,940); MacGruber (£34,367); #1 Killers £1,053,074 1st week 446 screens (25.1% of top 10)
Up 5.6% from 2009; (£13,653,796); Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen £8,349,739; #1 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen £8,349,739 1st week 516 screens (61.1% of top 10)
Up 84.5% from 2008; (£7,818,976); Adulthood (£1,203,319); Teeth (£235,658); The Edge of Love (£180,837); The Ruins (£123,507); The Escapist (£79,579); #1 The Incredible Hulk £1,870,800 2nd week 483 screens 43% drop (23.9% of top 10)
Up 140.1% from 2007:( £6,006,969); Captivity (£329,193); La Vie En Rose (£205,659); Lucky You (£56,346); #1 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer £2,254,179 2nd week 481 screens 46% drop (37.5% of top 10)
Up 254.4% from 2006; (£5,781,153); The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (£1,813,359); Hard Candy (£527,910); Thank You for Smoking (£188,676); Imagine Me and You (£39,950); #1 The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift £1,813,359 1st week 415 screens (31.3% of top 10)
Up 149.5% from 2005 (£7,664,880); Batman Begins (£4,427,802); Bombon – El Perro (£33,768); We Don’t Live Here Anymore (£28,954); #1 Batman Begins £4,427,802 1st week 514 screens (57.7% of top 10)
Up 87.8% from 2004 (£7,678,849); Mean Girls (£1,393,494); Jersey Girl (£226,970); The Whole Ten Yards (£61,405); #1 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban £3,374,330 3rd week 534 screens 23% drop (43.9% of top 10)
Up 170.8% from 2003 (£5,325,585); 2 Fast 2 Furious (£2,747,875); Basic (£248,088); I’ll Be There (£14,829); #1 2 Fast 2 Furious £2,747,875 1st week 424 screens (51.6% of top 10)
Up 109.4% from 2002 (£6,888,015); The Musketeer (£131,338); Kissing Jessica Stein (£102,234); Hardball (£79,864); Before You Go (£58,387); o #1 Spider-Man: The Movie £4,255,920 2nd week 509 screens 55% drop (61.8% of top 10)
Next weekend 2020 Cinemas Closed First Lockdown
Next weekend 2021 (£9,931,625); Fast & Furious 9 (£6,014,132); Supernova (£245,715); Dogtanian And The Three Muskehounds (£212,334); #1 Fast & Furious 9 £6,014,132 1st week 594 screens (60.56% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Jurassic World Dominion
Down 59% in the second weekend taking $59.15m and $250.28m
39th biggest second between Toy Story 3 and The Hunger Games; #34 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($60.91m); #5 Jurassic World ($106.58m);
EnTelligence average ticket price is $13.21 average (Top Gun 2 at $12.96 and The Batman‘s at $12.88);
135th biggest film between Men in Black and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban; 33rd inflation inflated between Sherlock Holmes and Big Hero 6; 4th biggest 2022 film between The Batman and Sonic the Hedgehog 2; 16th biggest Universal Pictures film between Despicable Me and Bruce Almighty.
Second weekends
2015’s Jurassic World dropped 49% $106.58m #1 taking $402.8m 61.6% of $653.4m; $1.018bn internationally $1.671bn WW; #2 Inside Out 90.44m NE
2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom dropped 58,8% $60.91m #1 taking $265.69m 63.6% of $417.71m; $892.74m internationally and $1.31bn WW.
1993’s Jurassic Park dropped 18.2% $38.45m ($90m inflation inflated) #1 taking $120.17m ($280m inflation inflated) 33.6% of $357.06m ($830m inflation inflated) and $978.16m worldwide ($2.3bn inflation inflated)
1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park dropped 52.7% to $34.11m #1 taking $154.14m 67.3% of $229.08m (third biggest film of 1997 behind Titanic $600.78m and Men in Black $250.69m)
2001’s Jurassic Park 3 dropped 55.6% to $22.54m #2 taking $124.82m 69% of $181.71m (ninth biggest film of 2001 behind Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Shrek, The Mummy Returns, Rush Hour 2, Monsters, Inc, Pearl Harbor and Ocean’s Eleven) and $368.78m worldwide
Took $76.1m from 72 territories (down 60%) taking $375.14m and $624.94m worldwide; Mexico $36.1m; UK $26.2m; Korea $22.8m; Australia $15.4m; France $14.6m; Germany $12.6m; 159th biggest film worldwide between Ratatouille and Hancock; 4th biggest film worldwide between The Batman and Lake Changjin 2; 16th biggest Universal Pictures film worldwide between Fast Five and The Lost World: Jurassic Park ($618.63m)
Over the last decade, China gave US films an artificial bump at the BO and turned $800m+ films into $1bn+ but global ticket price increases post-pandemic + increase in BO from IMAX/PLF (adding $250m+ to The Batman, Doctor Strange and Top Gun 2) has made studios not miss China BO and China BO will return to being the cherry on top. US studios get about 25% of BO from China compared with closer to 60% in the US so most films that open in China don’t boost their profits as much as they seem.
The question is will Saudi Arabis become the new China with BO increasing 95% last year and with massive growth expected over the next few years with hundreds of new multiplexes due to open and BO expected to quadruple. But as with China, it comes with a caveat that many films will either be censored or banned as has been recently the case with Lightyear.
- Lightyear – Disney
Opened $50.57m; received mixed reviews (78% Rotten Tomatoes) and A- CinemaScore
Took $5.2m from Weds/Thurs previews 17.5% less than Sonic the Hedgehog 2 $6.3m but how can you possibly compare a Pixar film and part of the Toy Story universe Lightyear to Sonic the Hedgehog 2; 1999’s Toy Story 2 took $13.24m; 2010’s Toy Story 3 $13.05m; 2019’s Toy Story 4 $11.4m; while Pixar’s 2016’s Finding Dory $17.4m; 2018’s The Incredibles 2 $16.3m; 2005’s The Incredibles $11m.
254th biggest opening between The Village and Dunkirk (close to The Lego Batman Movie #236, Coco #251, The Boss Baby #262, Wreck-It-Ralph #269).
18th biggest Pixar opening between Coco and Ratatouille (close to Cars, Cars 3, The Good Dinosaur and Onward) 21st inflation inflated ahead of only The Good Dinosaur and Onward.
25% of BO came from IMAX/PLF less than previous tentpoles (Doctor Strange 2, Top Gun Maverick and Jurassic World Dominion which was closer to 40%)
As with Jurassic World Dominion, early tracking for Lightyear was very strong with an opening expected of $90m+ but estimates dropped on Friday to $70m-$85m. This should have sent out warning signs as awareness and marketing campaigns go into the final stages box office estimates should be going up. Even after Lightyear took $5.3m from previews there was still a belief it would open #1 with upwards of $70m as should have seen a Father’s Day boost, Disney has regularly released a Pixar film at the weekend.
Disney often lowballs their tracking estimates by about $20m so films look like they have opened far stronger than they were expected and that was what it looked like they were doing o Friday but then Thursday midnights came in and Friday BO ($20.7m) having #200 biggest Friday between Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Wolverine which was close to 2004’s The Incredibles #5 ($20.5m) and 2003’s Finding Nemo #212 ($20.2m).
While there are many questions to ask about the film and how Disney marketed the film heavily focussed o the robot cat Sox but then critics said it was heavy o nostalgia which younger audiences wouldn’t connect with as well to.
The real question is why Disney kept its June 17th release date after Universal Pictures delayed Jurassic World Dominion a year, as in 2015 Inside Out opened a week after Jurassic World #2 at $90.44m Vs $106.58m, Inside Out target audience was young females so the two films didn’t cannibalize each other. In 2018 Incredibles 2 opened the week before Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom holding its own in its second weekend at $80.34m Vs $148.02m and probably contributed to Fallen Kingdom opening lower than expected. Of course, the problem for Disney is once Universal had dated Jurassic World 3 for June 10th and had already dated Minions: The Rise of Gru July 1st there wasn’t anywhere they could move Lightyear to.
After the huge success of Pixar and Toy Story films over the last 27 years, Lightyear can only be compared to those films as they play to old and young audiences parents take their children and both find elements of the film to enjoy. That’s not the case with films like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 so Lightyear opening can’t be compared.
All but one of Pixar’s biggest openings since 2010 have been sequels, Inside Out $90.44m #5 and then opening slightly less than Lightyear have Incredibles, Finding Nemo and Up. Normally Pixar films have long legs in the cinema but with Minions: The Rise of Gru opening in two weeks and Lightyear likely to be released on Disney+ in July won’t have similar legs but saying that it was never likely to. The sad thing is Disney released Soul, Luca and Turning Red all straight to Disney+ all of which are vastly superior, while Lightyear feels more deserving of that fate being a spinoff of a straight-to DVD film.
The 23 Pixar films have taken $6.11bn since 1995 and an $8bn inflation inflated
Opened with $34m from 43 territories and $85.17m worldwide; Mexico $8.1m; UK $4m; Argentina $2.6m; Brazil $2.5m; Australia $2.1m.
- Top Gun: Maverick – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 14% in the fourth weekend taking $44.65m and $466.82m
2nd biggest 4th weekend between Avatar and Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens; (but Avatar inflation inflated would be about $90m)
20th biggest film between Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace and Star Wars Ep: A New Hope; 66th biggest inflation inflated between The Hunger Games and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; 2nd biggest Paramount Pictures film in the US after Titanic.
It’s impossible really to compare Top Gun Maverick with any other film as while it might have a similar 4th weekend as Avatar it is a quite different film, while others it could be compared with as No Time To Die, Black Panther and Spider-Man No Way Home as they became must-see cinema films for all audiences. Had Top Gun Maverick opened two years ago it would have been anywhere nearly as successful, probably not as the two-year delay made it into a far bigger film and event than it would have been. This again shows up Christopher Nolan’s delusions of grandeur over his demands that Tenet had to open in the summer of 2020.
After Top Gun Maverick became the biggest film in the US on Tuesday the big question is what film could beat it this year, with Black Panther 2 and Avatar the Way of Water is the only two that could do so. Both have big question marks on them as the first Black Panther film become a must-see film for many non-comic-book fans, while 12 years is a long time for a sequel, over the years since it becomes more Dances With Smurfs than Avatar whilst 80% of its BO came from 3D and the sequel will need to attract 3D audiences, recently Doctor Strange 2 and Jurassic World Dominion were released in 3D but failed to make much impact
As in the UK Top Gun Maverick overtook the lifetime BO of Tom Cruise’s previous biggest film in the US 2005’s War of the Worlds $243.3m having overtaken 1986’s Top Gun BO $180.3m within 6 days, but of course, inflation inflated would be $600m+ and War of the Worlds $500m+.
Currently, Paramount have a 26.6% share of the US BO taking $903.9m their biggest BO since 2014 and 2022 will be their first $1bn BO year since 2014 and will likely have their best year since 2011 ($1.96bn) but that shows how far the studio has dropped over the last decade as in 2011 they had Marvell and Dreamworks which along with Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol helped celebrate their 100th anniversary in style.
Sadly, their share of BO will drop over the coming weeks with Universal and Disney increasing their share of the BO with Minions: The Rise of Gru and Thor: Love and Thunder opening while Paramount have Paws of Fury in July (released on Sky Cinema in the UK) and Smile in September before Babylon opens on limited release on Christmas Day (already generating strong buzz). Paramount’s 2023 slate is their strongest for more than a decade with Transformers: Rise of the Beats, Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1, Scream 6 and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie.
Paramount’s previous high was in 2011 with 19.33% and was the biggest studio in the US and globally but in the years since mostly due to poor management, decisions have failed to match the success of their rivals with their annual share under 10% between 2012 and 2019.
Tom Cruise’s 42 films have taken $4.91bn in the US and $11.62bn worldwide; had enormous success in the 80s and 90s and is the last action hero outlasting Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. As his biggest hits were in the 80s and 90s Top Gun, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, the Firm, and Interview with the Vampire hasn’t had a $1bn film globally yet, but inflation inflated both Top Gun and Rain Man would have taken over $1bn.
Took $39.7m (down 25%) taking $419m and $885.16m worldwide from 64 territories; the UK $71.5m; Japan $42.6m; Australia $40.1m; France $34.5m; Germany $20.9m; Brazil $16.3m; Saudi Arabia $11.2m; 70th biggest film worldwide between The Secret Life of Pets and Ice Age: Continental Drift; 2nd biggest film worldwide between Doctor Strange 2 and The Batman and (will overtake Doctor Strange #1 $941.78m shortly); 4th biggest Paramount Pictures film between Transformers: Age of Extinction and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
Top Gun Maverick will be Paramount’s first $1bn+ film globally since 2014’s Transformers: Age of Extinction (inflated with China BO)
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Last weekend was the first weekend since January 1st, 2020, having three films taking over £3m Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (£4,396,258); Jumanji: The Next Level (£3,069,462); The Gentlemen (£3,057,108) and this weekend could have four films taking £2m+. It is far healthier for BO to be shared evenly across four films rather than one film cannibalizing which will be the case when Minions: The Rise of Gru and Thor: Love and Thunder open.
Advance bookings for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis have been reportedly strong, especially in independent cinemas and his films have performed well in the UK and musical biopics have also performed strongly in the UK from 2019’s Rocketman opening £5,381,904 (including £1,360,606 previews) taking £23,484,728 and 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody £9,530,463 (including £3,054,530 previews) taking £55,375,213 while other recent musical dramas include A Star Is Born £4,100,196; Dreamgirls £1,329,817; West Side Story £1,297,786 and Walk the Line £1,111,142.
While more modern music biopics 2003’s 8 Mile opened £4,440,334 (£7,520,566 inflation inflated) taking £13,254,812 (£22,449,591 inflation inflated) and 2015’s Straight Outta Compton opened £2,498,231 taking £8,043,283.
The 2hr 39 min running time for Elvis will limit the number of shows but exhibitors will surely be pleased it didn’t have the original 4-hour running time, which said as with all major releases it will open on multiple screens in multiplexes.
Elvis had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival receiving a 12-minute standing ovation far better than the muted response The Great Gatsby received and Moulin Rouge (6 minutes) but not if Strictly Ballroom 15 minutes). Critical response was positive (81% on Rotten Tomatoes) with widespread acclaim for Austin Butler’s performance.
Despite being a biopic about an American music legend Elvis is likely to perform stronger internationally than in the US as in all other Baz Luhrmann films. It was surprising Warner Bros dated the film for late June as while historically it was an enjoyable time to launch a drama in the summer, they would normally open late July/Aug as Where the Crawdads Sing opens away from the crowded tentpoles. While internationally these dramas would 20+ years ago back to open In September as Moulin Rouge was in 2001 very successfully.
Elvis is Baz Luhrmann’s 6th film and its 30 years since he made his directorial debut with Strictly Ballroom, he followed that up with three films at 20th Century Fox 1996’s Romeo & Juliet, 2001’s Moulin Rouge and 2008’s Australia and Elvis is his second film for Warner Bros after 2013’s The Great Gatsby.
All of his films are visually stunning. I was blown away when I first saw Romeo & Juliet and Moulin Rouge both many months before opening in the UK and before I saw any trailers. The Great Gatsby is an enjoyable romp despite not being as good as would have hoped, Strictly Ballroom is bursting with energy and charm Australia is his only dud but again it’s a visually stunning epic but far too long.
2001’s Moulin Rouge opened £2,403,378 including £204,848 previews (£4,365,556 inflation inflated) taking 7.56x opening and £18,166,288 (£32,997,702 inflation inflated)
While The Great Gatsby opened strongly as #2 in May 2013 with £4,095,325 (including £676,464 previews) from 522 screens against Fast & Furious 6 with £8,717,534 #1 from 462 screens
With Star Trek: Into Darkness #3 £3,678,228 2nd weekend (down 56%/46% not including previews) from 555 screens and £15,553,765; Iron Man 3 4th w/e taking £1,400,462 from 457 screens.
Elvis opens in a similar crowded marketplace with Jurassic World Dominion, Top Gun Maverick, and Lightyear and against Blumhouse Production’s Black Phone having three days of previews.
This will see Elvis opening slightly less than The Great Gatsby with about £2.8m-£3.5ma and could see a three-way battle for #1 if Top Gun Maverick drops between 25%-35% in its 5th weekend taking £2.8m-£3.2m (if Top Gun Maverick continues to hold similar to The Lion King it will take £2.5m+ in its 5th w/e). While Jurassic World Dominion will drop 50%-60% in its third weekend, taking £2.4m-£2.8m.
With Lightyear dropping between 35%-45% taking £2.2m-£2.5m and The Black Phone boosted by three days of previews on Sat/Weds/Thurs should open similar to 2021’s The Forever Purge opened for £720,032 taking £3,206,547 Blumhouse Production horrors aren’t as successful in the UK as they are in the US.
Showing how crowded the marketplace is now last Lightyear shared IMAX screens with Jurassic World Dominion, and this weekend Elvis also has a show with one show a day for each film.
Each cinema in Leicester Square used to have films opening at only their cinema but now all major releases open at Odeon LSQ and West End, Vue West End and Cineworld Leicester Square and Elvis share the main screen with Jurassic World Dominion and Lightyear, surely it would make more sense that they each had one to play rather than cannibalizing each other and pushing films like Top Gun Maverick into smaller screens than they should be playing in. When the original Top Gun opened in October 1986 it would have played for more than a month in Empire 1 in 70mm.
Opening next week
- Minions: The Rise Of Gru – Universal Pictures
Animated comedy prequel to 2015’s Minions the fifth film in the Despicable Me franchise and 12th Illumination Entertainment film featuring voices of Steve Carell, Pierre Coffin, Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, and Alan Arkin and directed by Kyle Balda,
It had the world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 13 receiving positive reviews with Variety calling it a “delightfully silly sequel” so likely to play strongly throughout summer.
The 11 Illumination Entertainment films have taken £300m since the first Despicable Me opened in 2010 with Mario opening in April 2023, Migration in June 2023 and Despicable Me 4 July 2024 and then surely Minions 3 in July 2025
2015’s Minions opened £11,556,856 (3D took £3,194,166) taking £47,091,449
2010’s Despicable Me opened £3,664,376 taking £19,750,505
2013’s Despicable Me 2 opened £14,822,427 (£4,868,323 previews 33%) taking £46,815,412
2017’s Despicable Me opened £11,154,904 taking £47,562,575