- Wonka – £6,362,786 – £18,487,627
Took £1.31m 20.6% (36.1% drop £2.05m) Friday; £2.69m 42.3% (26.1% drop £3.64m) Saturday; £2.36m 37.1% (26.5% drop £3.21m) Sunday.
50th biggest second weekend between Bridget Jones’s Baby and Iron Man 3 (close to Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Lego Movie, Fantastic Beasts 2) and 103rd biggest inflated between Spider-Man 2 and Tomorrow Never Dies (close to Mamma Mia!, Chicken Run, The Simpsons and Labyrinth).
Wonka’s second weekend was similar to several other David Heyman-produced films Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (£6,639,973); Paddington 2 (£6,612,699); Fantastic Beasts 2 (£5,622,755). David Heyman has had the Midas Touch this year producing two of Warner Bros biggest films Barbie and Wonka both shot at Leavesden Studios.
David Heyman had huge success for Warner Bros producing Harry Potter films and developed Paddington at the studio for many years before they dropped the project and Studiocanal acquired it and both films were critical and box office success with a third film set for release next November. David Heyman also has the long-development I Am Legend sequel starring Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan which could go into production next year with a 2025 release.
150th biggest opening week taking £12,124,841 between Independence Day and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and 7th biggest 2023 between Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse and The Litte Mermaid as about 100 of them had extended openings hard to make direct comparisons.
2014’s Paddington dropped 25% £3,837,885 #1 from 540 screens and £10,332,911 27.2% of £37,965,541; it was #1 for 2 weeks; in the top 5 for 8 weeks and in the top 10 for 12 weeks; took £2m+ for 6 weeks and £1+ for 7 weeks.
2017’s Paddington 2 dropped 19% £6,612,699 #2 from 613 screens and £16,893,580 39.6% of £42,643,286; it was #1 for 3 weeks split over 5 weeks, opened #1, then dropped #2 for 2 weeks before returning #1 in early December; in top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 10 weeks; took £2m+ for 4 weeks and £1m+ for 9 weeks.
Roald Dahl’s film adaptions play strongly to children and families, but the casting of Timothée Chalamet as Wonka will attract tweens/teens and as musicals are also very popular it should play to almost all demographics.
Paul King chose to direct Wonka instead of directing Paddington 3 after directing the first two Paddington films, both David Heyman produced Wonka and Paddington 3.
As Wonka was shot in the UK it received a similar 25% tax break as The Marvels and Barbie have had, with a reported $125m budget it was about $30m.
Roald Dahl’s film adaptions have been extremely popular in the UK.
1990’s The Witches up 36.5% £230,394 (£798,963 inflated) and £661,159 31% of £2,135,460 (£7,405,372 inflated)
1996’s Matilda dropped 21.3% £985,764 (£2,152,695 inflated) taking £10,227,163 (£22,333,913 inflated)
1996’s James And The Giant Peach up 11.6% £445,947 (£973,852 inflated) and £1,974,916 34.3% of £5,750,628 (£12,558,128 inflated)
2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory dropped 44.3% £4,441,851 (£8,524,978 inflated) and £19,422,510 52% of £37,354,584 (£64,081,749 inflated)
2009’s Fantastic Mr Fox up 2% £1,545,325 (£2,295,262 inflated) and £5,589,484 60.3% of £9,260,892
2016’s The BFG dropped 36.4% £3,362,699 and £14,478,457 47.2% of £30,694,086
2022’s Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical dropped 39% £2,531,782 (£1.62m Fri-Sat and £911k Sunday) and £7,848,147 28% of £28,040,411; took 6.8x opening
British audiences love seeing musicals even films that underwhelmed have performed stronger in the UK including most recently In The Heights and Cats. So, with the combination of a musical, a prequel of a beloved children’s film, Roald Dahl, similarities to Paddington and a strong British cast it was a no-brainer that Wonka was going to have long legs.
Wonka can also be compared to 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns dropped 9% £7,441,687 #1 from 740 screens and £23,243,909 52.2% of £44,541,719. The difference was Mary Poppins Returns opened the weekend before Christmas, so Friday was a holiday and that was why it didn’t have such a big increase on Saturday.
With a strong hold over the next four weeks and a little direct competition until Migration at the end of January Wonka could take £50m+.
Warner Bros could have two £50m+ films in 2023 Barbie and Wonka two films that despite their success are unlikely to have sequels, for years Warner Bros was Disney’s biggest competitor they were regularly the two biggest studios, but in the year post-Harry Potter they have struggled to stay competitive and gazumped by Universal Pictures.
328th biggest between Angels and Demons and Billy Elliot (close to Mission: Impossible, The Lego Movie: The Second Part, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Moulin Rouge) and 618th biggest inflated between Daddy’s Home and Red Dragon (close to My Girl, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Muriel’s Wedding and Good Morning Vietnam).
Universal Pictures is currently the #1 studio in the UK in 2023 taking £215.1m, and Warner Bros is #2 taking £192m, but over the next 21 days, Wonka and Aquaman could take the £20m+ to become #1 studio. Disney #3 with £159m; Sony Pictures £78m; Paramount Pictures £76m; Lionsgate/eOne £66m.
- 2. Godzilla Minus One – £816,891 – NE
Includes £32k from previews.
Took £277k 33.9% Friday; £285k 34.9% Saturday; £255k 31.2% Sunday.
1,840th biggest opening between The General’s Daughter and Rumour Has It (close to Arachnophobia, Escape Room, Midsommar and Universal Solider) and 2,279th biggest inflated opening between Outrageous Fortune and Muppet Treasure Island (close to Very Bad Things, Escape From LA, Species 2 and 1492: Conquest of Paradise).
It’s impossible to make any comparisons with Godzilla Minus One as it’s the widest opening for a live-action Japanese action film taking more in one day than the previous biggest Zaitochi took over a weekend (£137k). 2004’s Zatoichi opened #12 £137,049 from 48 screens, and Godzilla Minus One opened almost 10 times as many screens.
As it took similar BO Fri-Sat-Sun it wasn’t front-loaded often the case with Japanese animated films and Bollywood films, it also took advantage of a quiet weekend.
Toho released the original Japanese Godzilla films in the 50s and there have been 33 Japanese-produced films since and five American films. After Legendary Pictures acquired rights, Toho wasn’t able to make any Godzilla films after 2016 until.
1998’s Godzilla opened £4,176,960 (£8,260,638 inflated) taking £17,195,077 (£34,006,145 inflated).
Legendary Pictures MonsterVerse
2014’s Godzilla opened £6,385,483 taking £17,074,621
2017’s Kong: Skull Island opened £6,230,997 taking £15,616,015
2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters opened £3,507,717 taking £6,901,606
2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong opened £783,879 taking £2,599,827
And Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opening in April 2024
- 3. The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes – £612,655 – £15,887,971
Down 45% in its fifth weekend
Took £163k 26.6% (28.8% drop £229k) Friday; £250k 40.8% (38.6% drop £407k) Saturday; £199k 32.6% (38.8% drop £325k) Sunday.
370th biggest fifth weekend between Yesterday and Megamind (close to Batman Forever, Jurassic Park 3, Snow White And The Huntsman and The Mummy (1999) and 605th inflated between Misery and Stuart Little 2 (close to Dragonheart, The Little Mermaid (1990), Die Hard 2 Die Harder and The Hunchback Of Notre Dame).
Fifth weekends
2012’s The Hunger Games dropped 28% £1,070,787 #3 and £21,259,368 of £23,684,966
2013’s THG: Catching Fire dropped 43% £775,379 #6 and £30,397,329 of £33,788,744
2014’s THG: Mockingjay, Part 1 dropped 38% £673,220 #6 and £28,601,375 of £30,840,529
2015’s THG: Mockingjay, Part 2 dropped 59% £525,727 #5 and £26,671,519 of £29,046,986
2016’s Fantastic Beasts dropped 48% £1,416,433 #3 and £44,963,803 of £54,703,625
2018’s The Crimes Of Grindelwald dropped 52% £700,808 #7 and £30,541,674 of £34,014,290
2022’s The Secrets Of Dumbledore dropped 66% £401,449 #5 and £19,562,661 of £20,923,375
Many of the tweens who grew up with The Hunger Games books and films watching the first film in 2012 have returned to see the prequel 11 years later, but as with Fantastic Beasts doesn’t play beyond the fanbase.
410th biggest between Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (close to Forrest Gump, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Snow White and the Huntsman and Who Framed Roger Rabbit) and 721st biggest inflated between Walk the Line and Rise of the Guardians (close to Sommersby, Rocky, Adams Family Values and Miracle on 34th Street).
- 4.Wish £587,619 – £6,613,100
Dropped 47.5% in the fourth weekend.
Analysts are often too quick to call a film a flop as most Disney animated films have long legs, Strange World and Encanto both had soft openings, but they took 4.6x and 4.3x openings.
643rd biggest fourth weekend between Hustlers and Eternals (close to The Polar Express, Twister, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Dumb and Dumber) and 934th biggest inflated between Black Hawk Down and Justice League (close to Mannequin, Father of the Bride 2, Housesitter and Miss Congeniality 2).
14th biggest Disney animation fourth weekend between Brave and Bolt (close to Hercules, Zootropolis, Pocahontas and Beauty and the Beast (1992) and the 21st biggest inflated between The Hunchback Of Notre Dame and Planes (close to Mulan, The Little Mermaid (1990), Treasure Planet and Atlantis).
Fourth weekends
Strange World dropped 36% £193,836 (2-day weekend) #9 and £2,551,442 of £3,828,252; in the top 10 for 7 weeks.
Encanto dropped 43% £360,891 #4 and £4,760,942 of £7,556,060; in the top 10 for 8 weeks taking a third of its BO after being released on Disney+.
2016’s Moana dropped 22% £1,105,469 £1,105,469 #3 and £9,833,507 of £20,041,031; Moans opened a week after Thanksgiving so the fourth weekend was over Christmas.
24th biggest Disney animated film between Encanto and Treasure Planet (close to Beauty and the Beast (1992), Mulan, Treasure Planet and The Little Mermaid (1990) and the 29th biggest inflated between Encanto and Meet the Robinsons (close to Brother Bear, Oliver & Company, Meet the Robinsons and The Rescuers Down Under).
The 34 Disney animated films since Oliver & Company have taken over £456m and £720m+ inflated.
1,090th biggest between Saw and Herbie: Fully Loaded (close to Superman III, Twins, Dragonheart and The Mask Of Zorro) and 1,649th biggest inflated between Mike Bassett: England Manager and A Life Less Ordinary (close to Beaches, The American President, Vice Versa and The Aristocats (1994 RE).
162nd biggest animated film between Ice Age: Collision Course and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (close to Coraline, The Jungle Book (1993 re-issue), ParaNorman and The Tigger Movie) and 188th biggest inflated between Isle of Dogs and The Aristocats (1994 RE) (close to Bambi (re), The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Rescuers Down Under and The Fox and the Hound (re)
- 5.Napoleon – £499,388 – £12,474,810
Dropped 47.5% in the fourth weekend.
Took £138k 27.6% (44.3% drop £248k) Friday; £204k 40.8% (48.3% drop £395k) Saturday; £157k 31.4% (49% drop £308k) Sunday.
752nd biggest fourth weekend between Goosebumps and She’s All That (close to American Gangster, 300, Patriot Games and Licence to Kill) and 1,028th biggest inflated between Creed 2 and Corpse Bride (close to Master And Commander, Black Rain, Layer Cake and Daredevil).
6th biggest Ridley Scott fourth weekend between American Gangster and Alien: Covenant (close to Prometheus, Robin Hood, Black Hawk Down and Kingdom Of Heaven) and 9th biggest inflated between Kingdom Of Heaven and Alien: Covenant (close to Black Hawk Down, Kingdom Of Heaven, House Of Gucci and Body Of Lies).
Ridley Scott has been nominated for Best Director Oscar three times for Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down but hasn’t won and also nominated three times for Best Director BAFTA (Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and The Martian) but never won. Surely Ridley Scott deserves to finally win Best Director for Napoleon as aged 85 he’s unlikely to make many more films after next year’s Gladiator 2, having directed so many incredible and hugely successful films over the last 44 years.
Ridley Scott’s 27th film (currently shooting Gladiator 2 set for November 2024 release) his films have taken $1.7bn in the US almost $4.4bn worldwide including over £250m in the UK (£350m inflated). 20th Century Studios last week brought rights to a film adaption of Kevin McMullin’s short story Bomb with Scott Free producing and Ridley Scott attached to direct.
Fourth weekend
2000’s Gladiator dropped 30.6% £2,073,765 (£3,888,919 inflated) and £17,004,308 54.4% of £31,257,293 (£58,616,618 inflated)
1995’s Braveheart dropped 11.5% £774,127 (£1,772,929 inflated) and £6,421,050 53.9% of £11,909,670 (£27,275,882 inflated)
2004’s Troy dropped 43% £720,745 (£1,279,363 inflated) and £15,410,405 85.6% £18,001,854
2020s 1917 dropped 38.1% £2,798,457 and £31,404,434 71.5% of £44,094,898
Others include.
2003’s Master and Commander dropped 60.2% £283,584 (£509,046 inflated) and £5,882,795 83.1% of £7,078,944 (£11,660,311 inflated)
2005’s Kingdom of Heaven dropped 51.7% £311,113 (£526,448 inflated) and £7,011,361 90.4% of £7,755,814 (£13,123,957 inflated)
2007’s 300 dropped 51.2% £499,822 (£788,828 inflated) and £13,012,859 93.1% of £13,986,190 (£22,073,254 inflated)
1992’s The Last of the Mohicans dropped 37.1% £343,848 (£853,729 inflated) and £3,528,428 72.4% of £4,872,044 (£12,096,633 inflated)
2004’s The Last Samurai dropped 30.8% £855,228 (£1,518,077 inflated) and £9,630,327 82.4% of £11,688,667 (£20,419,028 inflated)
535th biggest between Jungle Cruise and The Departed (close to American Hustle, The English Patient, Pulp Fiction and Back to the Future) and 932nd biggest inflated between The Nun and Click (close to Starship Troopers, The Krays, The Hunt For Red October and Cry Freedom).
Also opened.
- Seventeen Tour ‘Follow’ To Japan: Live Viewing – Trafalgar Releasing
Opened £80,608 from 65 screens from one 4 pm show on Saturday.
Surprisingly after Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce opened on 571 screens and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour on 656 screens Seventeen was released in less than 100 as they are as popular as BTS and BTS Permission To Dance On Stage – Seoul: Live Viewing opened last March with £899,127 #3 from 351 screens.
Maybe it was caught in the crossfire after Trafalgar had angered exhibitors with their terms for Taylor Swift and after Beyonce came short of expectations, but exhibitors were the losers as sales were very strong in the cinemas it did play in and with £20+ could have opened far bigger had it played in more cinemas.
Christmas re-releases
- Elf (20th Anniversary) £177,812 #9 taking £898,241.
- Home Alone £177,103 #10 taking £2,496,257.
- Home Alone 2: Lost In New York £103,645 #11 tsking £569,715.
- The Polar Express £96,042 #12 taking £1,048,151.
- It’s A Wonderful Life (75th Anniversary) £69,585 #14 taking £919,402.
It’s A Wonderful Life has been regularly re-released in cinemas for Christmas over the last 20 years and has been joined over recent years by many other Christmas set films from Home Alone to Elf, surprisingly despite tickets being regular prices they continue to find audiences each year. Gremlins was showing on Monday at Everyman Barnet with tickets £18.40 about the same price as 4K Blu-ray.
What this does again show if people want to see films in cinemas they will see them in the cinema despite being available to watch at home. All of the Christmas re-releases are shown over Christmas for free on TV.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £9,899,366 down 26% from last weekend’s £13,378,556: 1,193,796 admissions down 25.8% from 1,609,918 admissions.
27th biggest weekend of the year out of 50 weeks between 19 May 2023 #1 Fast X (£5,895,674) and 26 May 2023 #1 The Little Mermaid (£5,012,929)
62nd biggest since cinemas reopened out of 161 weeks between 25 June 2021 #1 Fast & Furious 9( £6,014,132) and 26 May 2023 #1 The Little Mermaid (£5,012,929)
607th biggest top 10 of the last 21 years (out of 1,133) between 25 June 2021 #1 Fast & Furious 9 £6,014,132 (60.56% of top 10) and 30 August 2013 #1 One Direction: This is Us £3,471,872 (35.16% of top 10) and 18 November 2022 #1 Black Panther Wakanda Forever £6,190,594 (65.09% of top 10)
The top 3 took (£7,792,332) 78.7% of the top 10; Wonka 64.27% (£6,362,786); Godzilla Minus One 8.25% (£816,891); The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes 6.2% (£612,655);
102nd highest #1 percentage (64.27%) between 27 October 2017 Thor: Ragnarok (64.29%) and 16 September 2016 Bridget Jones’s Baby (64.02%).
377th biggest admissions #1 (798,342) between 06 December 2002 Die Another Day (798,747) and 03 August 2007 The Simpsons (797,469)
Down 29.3% from 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 71.3% from 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 773.7% from 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 39% 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)
Up 32.1% 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 68.8% 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 54.9% 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)
Down 74.3% 2015; (£38,533,406); Star Wars: The Force Awakens (£34,011,849); Sisters (£1,215,368); #1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens £34,011,849 1st week 670 screens (88.3% of top 10)
Down 33.2% 2014: (£14,808,248); Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (£1,851,424); Dumb & Dumber To (£1,807,059); The Nutcracker – Bolshoi 2014 (£293,192); Guys and Dolls (Re: 2014) (£5,570); #1 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies £5,409,312 2nd week 605 screens 45% drop (36.5% of top 10)
Down 40.9% 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 40.1% 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)
Down 9.5% 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 50.1% 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)
Down 27.6% 2009; (£13,679,336); Avatar (£8,509,050); St. Trinian’s 2 (£1,586,832); Nine (£44,443); #1 Avatar £8,509,050 1st week 503 screens (62.2% of top 10)
Up 17.8% 2008; (£8,404,783); Twilight (£2,508,422); The Tale of Despereaux (£560,870); A Bunch of Amateurs (£91,156); It’s a Wonderful Life (RE) (£49,845); Bicycle Thieves (re) (£3,802); #1 Twilight £2,508,422 1st week 448 screens (29.8% of top 10)
Down 2.3% 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 2.9% 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 28.2% 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 28.6% from 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)
Down 51.6% from 2003 (£20,475,870); Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (£15,021,761); Freaky Friday (£1,214,559); Good Boy! (£146,354); #1 Lord of the Rings: Return of the King £15,021,761 1st week 494 screens 29% drop (73.4% of top 10)
Up 57.7% 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 88.6% 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)
Next week: (£7,861,021); no new releases 2-day weekend as Sunday was Christmas Day; #1 Avatar: The Way of Water 2nd week £4,974,004 732 screens (63.27% of top 10)
Film News
November UK BO was £59.8m 9% less than November 2022 would see admissions of about 7.2m down 10.9% from 2022 (8.08m) using an £8.21 average from October. Admissions Jan-Nov 111.8m.
US BO 2023
The industry has been in denial for over 20 years fixated on BO which of course has increased year on year due to ticket inflation, the figure the industry should have been looking at is admissions. BO will top $9bn in the US and £1bn in the UK but admissions are almost half what they were 20 years ago. The situation is far worse as the real average ticket price is about a third more than $10.53 due to a third of BO coming from IMAX/PLF.
IMAX has taken $1bn in 2023 for only the third time after 2018 ($1.03bn) and 2019 ($1.11bn); the biggest IMAX films Oppenheimer ($185m) and Avatar 2 ($110m) with $231m from local language films worldwide.
David Puttnam in Screendaily talked about radical change being needed, but the problem is industry talks a lot about change but over the last 20+ years, it’s been cosmetic rather than radical transformation needed due to the changing habits of customers that have seen the majority of cinemagoers being far more selective in the films they see in cinemas.
A growing industry is always evolving, learning from others and taking the next step, the problem with the cinema industry after 17 years of steady growth in the late 80s and 90s instead of pushing forward in the 00s and beyond they have been treading water ever since.
UK Box Office will top £1bn this week but as in the US, it’s not about BO but admissions as UK admissions will be the lowest for almost 30 years while in the US they will be the lowest for over 50 years. Until the industry deals with dropping admissions nothing will change and the situation is far worse with the likes of Oppenheimer taking 40%+ from IMAX/PLF the real average is over a third more than the industry average, so admissions are even worse.
UK BO might return to close to 2019 levels in 2019 but will admissions increase by almost 50m in two years?
US Box Office
Weekend has taken about $80.8m down 47% from last year (Avatar: The Way of Water) and 32% down from 2019 Jumanji: The Next Level.
- Wonka – Warner Bros
Opened $39m; received positive reviews (83% Rotten Tomatoes and A- CinemaScore
424th biggest opening between Kingsman: The Golden Circle and Morbus (close to Charlie’s Angels (2000), The Good Dinosaur, Daddy’s Home and The Angry Birds Movie).
Feels like there has become a new normal Post-COVID in what a strong open is as opening 18 years after Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opened with $56.17m a similar sized open would surely be expected now with 65% ticket inflation since ($93m inflated) and as like all other tentpoles a third from IMAX/PLF these films should be opening far bigger.
Wonka’s budget was $125m and its global marketing costs were probably as much so the film would surely need to take $600m+ worldwide, but the new post-COVID order is that $400m is the mark of success. The problem is there are so many so-called industry experts but much of it is speculation as football transfer fees and player’s wages, its hard to know what fact or fiction is. As industry seemed to low-balled expectations of what is a success, but only studio accountants knew, that said Hollywood accounting has famously twisted numbers to show hits and flops.
Took $3.5m from Thursday’s previews Mamma Mia 2 $3.4m; Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse $3.5m; Avatar $3.53m; Jungle Cruise $2.7m; Jumanji: The Next Level $4.7m; Dune $5.1m
Took 35% from IMAX/PLF
54% female; 60% between 18-34; 18-24 33% and 10% between 13 and 17.
Wonka is a musical, but you wouldn’t have known that from the trailers as Deadline reported test screen audiences hate musicals, the only way to get people into cinemas is to trick them which makes no sense. Both Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story ($10.5m opening) and In the Heights ($11.5m opening) were sold as musicals but was impossible for them not to be.
It also made no sense comparing Wonka opening with The Greatest Showman ($8.8m opening), Paddington ($18.9m) or Mary Poppins Returns ($23.53m) being a prequel to 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ($56.17m) and Timothée Chalamet would attract female audiences as Johnny Depp did 18 years ago with the original film.
While a family film opening the weekend before Christmas will have long legs as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and The Greatest Showman in 2017, Wonka opened a week earlier than those films so will likely have a second-weekend drop of 45% with Migration and Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom opening, but then have a much smaller drop in the third weekend.
Except for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl’s film adaptions haven’t performed strongly in the US as they do internationally
2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opened $56.17m taking $206.45m and $474.96m WW
2009’s Fantastic Mr Fox opened $9.41m (expansion) taking $21m and $46.47m WW
2016’s The BFG opened $18.77m taking $55.48m and $195.24m WW
1990’s The Witches opened $2.22m taking $10.36m
1996’s Matilda opened $8.2m taking $33.45m
1996’s James And The Giant Peach opened $7.53m taking $28.94m
In the UK Wonka opened similar to Paddington
2015’s Paddington opened $18.95m taking $76.27m and $282.43m WW
2017’s Paddington 2 opened $11m taking $40.9m and $227.3m WW
2018’s Mary Poppins Returns opened $23.52m taking $171.95m and $349.54m WW
Took $53.6m from 77 territories $112.4m total and $151.4m worldwide; UK $23.2m; Mexico $11.2m; Germany $6.8m; Spain $6.4m; Japan $6.3m; IMAX worldwide $8.7m.
- The Boy And The Heron – GKIDS
Dropped 58% $5.51m #3 and $23.48m
Hayao Miyazaki’s previous animated films mostly had platform-opening.
2014’s The Wind Rises expanded into 496 screens in the second weekend taking $1,517,404 (didn’t expand further) taking $5.2m and $136.45m worldwide
2009’s Ponyo took $15.09m and $204.17m worldwide
2002’s Spirited Away took 28 weeks to expand into 711 screens (after winning Best Animated Film Oscar) taking $10.05m and $274.92m worldwide
His films have taken over $50m in the US and $1.24bn worldwide.
Disney released Studio Ghibli films in many territories until 2020 when Wild Bunch took over distribution.
- The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes – Lionsgate
Dropped 37% in the fifth weekend #2 $5.82m and $145.26m.
434th biggest fifth weekend between The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 and Dinosaur (close to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Clash of the Titans and John Wick: Chapter 4).
435th biggest between The Meg and American Pie 2; 1,027th inflated between The Princess and the Frog and My Girl; 17th biggest 2023 between Fast X and Five Nights at Freddy’s; 11th biggest Lionsgate film between Divergent and Wonder.
The Hunger Games films have taken over $1.6bn in the US and $3.25bn worldwide.
Fifth Weekends
2012’s The Hunger Games dropped 30.5% $14.66m and $357.06m of $408.01m and $695.22m WW
2013’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire dropped 35.9% $8.76m and $371.71m of $424.66m and $865.01m WW
2014’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 dropped 37.9% $7.87m and $289.35m of $337.13m and $755.35m WW
2015’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 dropped 48.4% $5.89m and $254.48m of $281.72m and $659.54m WW
2016’s Fantastic Beasts dropped 51.3% $5.07m and $207.72m of $234.03m and $816.03m worldwide; $582m internationally 71.3%
2018’s The Crimes of Grindelwald dropped 45.5% $3.78m and $151.79m of $159.55m and $655.775m worldwide; 75.7% internationally $496.2m
2022’s The Secrets of Dumbledore dropped 40.1% $2.55m and $90.17m of $95.85m and $407.15m worldwide; internationally 76.5% $311.3m
Took $6.5m from 84 territories $155.3m total and $300.5m worldwide; UK $19.8m; Germany $14.6m; Australia $12.5m; France $11.7m; Mexico $10.1m.
568th biggest worldwide between G-Force and Pacific Rim: Uprising;22nd biggest 2023 between Five Nights at Freddy’s and Creed III; 16th biggest Lionsgate film between The Divergent Series: Insurgent and Divergent1.
- Wish – Disney
Dropped 40% in the fourth weekend $3.16m #6 and $54.23m.
180th biggest animated film between Raya and the Last Dragon and TMNT; 1,686th biggest between Evil Dead and The Hundred-Foot Journey; 2,902nd biggest inflated between End of Watch and Red Sparrow; 40th biggest 2023 between Napoleon and Saw X; 247th biggest Disney between Raya and the Last Dragon and The Hundred-Foot Journey…
After all the negativity after its opening as with all Disney animated films Wish is holding similar to Encanto.
Disney animated films
2016’s Moana dropped 31.3% $12.72m and $162.92m of $248.75m and $687.22m worldwide
2017’s Coco dropped 46.1% $9.94m and $150.73m of $210.46m and $807.81m worldwide
2021’s Encanto dropped 35.1% $6.48m and $81.49m of $96.09m and $256.78m worldwide
2022’s Strange World dropped 41.6% $2.21m and $33.78m of $37.96m and $73.62m worldwide
The 34 Disney Animated Classic films since 1988 have taken over $4.24bn in the US; $9bn inflated and over $11bn worldwide.
Took $12.2m from 39 territories total $71.9m and $126.2m worldwide; France $9.2m; UK $8.4m; Germany $7.7m; China $5.9m; Spain $4.8m.
196th biggest animated film worldwide between Meet the Robinsons and Onward; 58th biggest 2023 between Gran Turismo and A Haunting in Venice; 177th biggest Disney between The Muppets and Onward.
Platform opening
- Poor Things – Searchlight
Up 94% adding 73 screens taking $1.28m #10 from 82 screens taking $2.22m
Yorgos Lanthimos previously directed 2018’s opened $422,410 from 4 screens; took 10 weeks to expand into over 1,500 screens; taking $34.36m and $95.91m worldwide.
2017’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer opened in $115,120 from 4 screens (expanded into 238 screens after 4 weeks); taking $2.29m and $6.93m worldwide.
- The Zone of Interest – A24
Opened $124,791 from 4 screens ($31k screen average)
Jonathan Glazer’s films receive critical acclaim (sometimes polarised) but struggle to play beyond art-house. While The Zone of Interest will play well on limited release, the question is how wide it will go and when it expands over 100+ screens will it find a wider audience.
Receiving 3 Golden Globe nominations will help as will its likely Best Foreign Film win, while it will also likely receive similar BAFTA and Oscar nominations in January if the expansion is time with Golden Globe award and Oscar nominations that will of course help it find a wider audience. The Zone of Interest received widespread critical acclaim (92% Rotten Tomatoes) since the Cannes Film Festival premiere.
2001’s Sexy Beast opened $170,356 from 9 screens; expanded into 194 screens after 7 weeks (widest) taking $6.94m and $10.04m
2004’s Birth opened $1.28m #13 from 550 screens (widest) taking $5.09m and $23.92m worldwide
2014’s Under the Skin opened $133,154 #29 from 4 screens; expanded into 176 screens (widest) after 3 weeks taking $2.61m and $5.83m worldwide
- American Fiction – MGM
Opened $224,469 from 7 screens ($32k screen average)
American Fiction received its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival receiving critical acclaim (95% Rotten Tomatoes) and received two Golden Globe nominations for Best Film Comedy or Musical and Best Actor for Jeffrey Wright.
Opened on limited release for a week before going wide on December 22nd.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Wonka will likely hold #1 for a third weekend against Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom as the start of the Christmas holidays will likely see Wonka drop about 30% taking £4m-£4.5m. Aquaman 2 might have a four-day opening and will have IMAX/PLF screens, but the buzz has been poor for months and after the poor performance of the three DC films this year both critically and BO.
Expectations are very low and likely take £3m-£4m including £500k+ from Thursday previews similar to Shazam 2 £514,658; (The Flash took £1,077,110) having an opening similar to Morbius (£3,254,830/£749,069 previews) and The Marvels £3,465,783.
Aquaman opened 5 years ago at £5,230,285 #1 from 604 screens taking £22,066,309; it opened against Spider-man: Into The Spider-verse at £2,279,995 #2.
But after Shazam! Fury Of The Gods opened £2,397,953 #1 (657 screens) taking £5,892,663 almost half of 2019’s Shazam! £4,067,068 #1 (599 screens) taking £13,151,121 as well as The Flash £4,252,532 #1 (660 screens) taking £8,856,170; Blue Beetle £1,189,812 #3 (549 screens) taking £4,326,979 and MCU’s Ant-Man 3 £8,834,435 #1 £19,263,938 and The Marvels £3,465,783 #1 taking £7,095,634.
The latest Bollywood film Dunki will likely open third having a four-day opening and having PLF screens, Indian films have performed well this year with the most recent Animal opening £719,022 #6 from 172 screens; Jawan opened £1,346,689; Pathaan £1,967,854.
The question is how Godzilla Minus One holds as Japanese anime is often front-loaded as were the US Godzilla films, while Wish will likely drop to fifth.
Selective Cineworld cinemas reopen on Christmas Day Monday including Leicester Square Cineworld and Odeon
Opening in two weeks
- Poor Things – Disney/Searchlight
Black comedy fantasy starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, and Jerrod Carmichael and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. Based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray.
It had its world premiere at the 80th Venice Film Festival in September and its UK premiere at the London Film Festival in October receiving critical acclaim (92% Rotten Tomatoes) and has been nominated for 7 Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
Emma Stone’s second film starring in Yorgos Lanthimos directed film after the Oscar-winning The Favourite and Poor Things will receive Oscar and BAFTA nominations later in the month.
Opened on platform release in December in the US
Yorgos Lanthimos’s previous films
2019’s The Favourite opened £3,973,975 #2 538 screens taking £16,972,417
2017’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer opened £286,448 #10 from 100 screens taking £862,085
2015’s The Lobster opened £229,619 #9 from 75 screens taking £1,521,066
- The Boys In The Boat – Warner/MGM
The biographical sports drama starring Callum Turner and Joel Edgerton and directed by George Clooney based on the 2013 book by Daniel James Brown.
The book was originally acquired in 2011 by the Weinstein Co. with Kenneth Branagh set to direct, in 2018 Lantern Entertainment acquired Weinstein’s assets and MGM acquired world rights.
It was George Clooney’s first directed film to have a theatrical release since
2017’s Suburbicon opened £231,412 #10 364 screens
2014’s The Monuments Men opened £1,616,625 #2 489 screens taking £ 6,132,299
2011’s The Ides of March opened £665,387 #8 213 screens taking £2,777,102
2008’s Leatherheads opened £474,780 #6 335 screens taking £933,067
2006’s Good Night and Good Luck opened £411,455 #7 139 screens taking £2,359,453
2003’s Confessions of a Dangerous Mind opened £356,623 #6 from 201 screens taking £1,038,201
- The Beekeeper – Studiocanal/Sky Cinema
Action thriller starring Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Minnie Driver, Phylicia Rashad and Jeremy Irons and directed by David Ayer.
Sky Cinema acquired UK rights in February 2023
Sky Cinema started acquiring UK rights for films to premiere day and date Sky Cinema and cinemas with Monster Family, Anon, Hurricane Heist and Final Score in 2018 and has been acquiring higher-profile films over the last year including Ferrari, A Good Person, May December and Lee (premiered at Toronto Film Festival). But major exhibitors have refused to book most of the films despite Sky Cinema being accessible to less than a quarter of the UK.
Major exhibitors regularly complain about the lack of films so it’s crazy that they refuse to book Sky Cinema films along with Netflix and Apple as Sky Cinema heavily promotes these films as seen by the big UK Leicester Square premiere for Ferrari in December. While major exhibitors happily booked Sherlock and Doctor Who when they were simulcast on BBC1.