UK Box Office October 20th-22nd 2023
- Trolls Band Together – £3,051,810 – NE
Took £751k (24.6%) Friday; £1.31m (42.9%) Saturday; £991k (32.4%) Sunday.
519th biggest opening between Tarzan (1999) and Central Intelligence (close to Lost in Space, Doctor Dolittle, Twister and The Huntsman: Winter’s War) and 833rd biggest inflated between The Heat and Turner & Hooch (close to Dr. Dolittle 2, Stuart Little, Cocktail and My Girl).
90th biggest animated film opening between Tarzan and Elemental (close to Toy Story, Shrek, Ice Age and The Good Dinosaur) and 111th biggest animated inflated between Beauty and the Beast (1992) and Elemental (close to Antz, Mulan (1998), Pocahontas and Lilo & Stitch).
20th biggest 2023 opening between Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie and Scream VI (close to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem, Dungeons & Dragons, Elemental and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts).
75th widest opening in 653 cinemas (1,500+ screens) similar to Fast X and Lightyear; 652nd 600+ cinema opening since 2015’s Jurassic World.
The original film opened in October 2016 with £5,440,878 #1 from 608 screens taking £24,228,850; but it took £2,426,072 from weekend previews taking £3,014,806 Fri-Sun. It featured Justin Timberlake’s song Can’t Stop The Feeling the video has been viewed over 1.7bn times since May 2016. Just Sing was the theme song for Troll World Tour but was far less popular video was viewed 394m times, Trolls Band Together features the first song from NSYNC over 20 years ago, video numbers are hard to judge at the moment as the film doesn’t open in the until Thanksgiving.
The sequel Trolls World Tour was due to be released in April 2020 but less than a month before release studios delayed films due to COVID and UK cinemas closed on March 17th. Universal Pictures decided to release the film on VOD in April 2020 exhibitors were outraged and decided to ban all of their upcoming films. Universal was in a no-win situation the film was in the final stages of a marketing campaign, so it was either released on VOD or delayed to an unknown date as Sony Pictures did with Peter Rabbit 2.
Despite being released on VOD when cinemas reopened in July 2020, Trolls World Tour had a limited cinema release taking £948,876.
- 2. Killers of the Flower Moon – £2,531,393 – NE
Took £726k (28.7%) Friday; £837k (33%) Saturday; £968k (38%) Sunday.
Took £177,171 from previews.
632nd biggest opening between Lethal Weapon 3 and American Sniper (close to Gangs of New York, American Gangster, Noah and 12 Years a Slave) and 1,056th biggest inflated between Ali and 21 (close to Gangster Squad, Road to Perdition, Ad Astra and Micheal Collins)
25th biggest 2023 opening between The Equalizer 3 and Shazam 2 (close to Elemental, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, The Creator and A Haunting In Venice).
25th widest opening 701 cinemas close to Belfast and Black Panther Wakanda Forever; 25th 700 cinemas opening since 2017’s Star Wars: Episode The Last Jedi.
The opening took about 40% from IMAX/PLF
Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon had been generating strong buzz since the Cannes Film Festival premiere and despite Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and the rest of the cast not being able to promote the film due to the SAG strike would have done interviews for it at Cannes.
The film has a 3hr 26min running time and some cinemas have selective shows with an interval, always felt an interval would be a fantastic addition to cinema and not just for long films as audiences get restless and get up for toilet breaks ruining the cinema experience for those around them. While for the cinema it allows them to sell for concessions.
It’s the sixth film between Scorsese and DiCaprio and the tenth between Scorsese and De Niro. Scorsese and DiCaprio were attached in 2017 and it was expected to start production in 2018 but didn’t start filming until April 2021 after Apple TV had taken over production with Paramount Picture’s releasing the film theatrically.
Paramount Pictures had had a first-look production deal with Martin Scorsese from 2006 to 2019 releasing Shine A Light, Shutter Island and had US rights for Hugo, The Wolf of Wall Street and Silence.
It moved Apple TV after Paramount had concerns over the $200m budget for Killers of the Flower Moon and it was announced Apple would finance the film. This was similar to what happened with 2019’s The Irishman when Paramount bought US rights, but after Martin Scorsese’s 2016 film Silence flopped dropped US rights and was acquired globally by Netflix.
Martin Scorsese’s Biggest UK openings
2014’s The Wolf of Wall Street £4,655,984
2003’s Gangs Of New York £2,622,748 (£4,707,951 inflated)
2006’s The Departed £2,298,313 (£3,761,305 inflated)
2010’s Shutter Island £2,250,178 (£3,014,104 inflated)
1992’s Cape Fear £1,664,733 (£4,133,309 inflated)
2004’s The Aviator £1,314,946 (£2,225,078 inflated)
2011’s Hugo £1,225,987
1996’s Casino £1,075,172 (£2,105,435 inflated)
1987’s The Color of Money £424,108 (£1,572,158)
1993’s The Age of Innocence £206,361 80 screens (£506,061 inflated)
- 3. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour – £2,362,710 – £8,661,146
Down 59% in the second weekend (took £557k Thursday)
Took £674k 28.5% (70% drop £2.25m) Friday; £927k 39.2% (50.9% drop £1.89m) Saturday; £761k 32% (47.9% drop £1.46m) Sunday.
353rd biggest second weekend between Planet of the Apes and Minority Report (close to The Greatest Showman, The Favourite, Pitch Perfect 3 and Coco) and 631st inflated between The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell Of Fear and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (close to Streetdance, The Great Gatsby, While You Were Sleeping and Music and Lyrics).
Played in 653 screens down only 3 screens from opening weekend (656)
Rather than comparing BO to other films due to the standard average price £19.89, need to compare admissions; Friday 33,886 (70% drop); Saturday 46,606 (51% drop); Sunday 38,260 (47.6% drop).
After the initial rush last Friday which the majority of presales were lucky for it was always likely to drop heavily in its second weekend, that said in June 3.5m+ Taylor Swift fans registered to buy 750,076 tickets available for her UK concerts next summer leaving over 75% of fans (2.8m) not able to get tickets so would surely have taken up the chance to see the concert in cinemas, but only 20% of them have seen it in cinemas having admissions of about 500k. the
Much has been made about Era Tour opening with £5.72m over its first weekend and £2.36m over its second weekend, but impossible to compare these BO numbers with any other film as Era Tour admissions are about a third less than other films. Need to compare Era Tour admissions with Trolls Band Together opening with £3.05m having 382,912 admissions at £7.97 average but as the majority of tickets sold were lower priced children tickets it had more than three times the admissions over the weekend.
The other issue with Era Tour is as the film is released 9 months before her live concerts start in the UK it could ruin the experience of watching the concert live as fans have spent hundreds of pounds on what they thought was going to be a once in a lifetime experience,
There are about 104m Swifties worldwide with 20% in the US, while Taylor Swift has over 230m Instagram followers and 100m+ a month listening to her on Spotify, which adds up to over 520m+ fans worldwide. Ahead of the Eras Tour opening it was being compared to Barbie so surely should have opened far bigger. According to a YouGov survey, Taylor Swift is the 10th most popular contemporary singer in the UK; 96% UK have heard of her and 55% are fans. She had her 10th #1 album this year and has 6 albums in the top 20.
It is these numbers that you need to compare the films BO with while they might compare in dollars they don’t compare with admissions.
AMC surprised the industry at the end of August by announcing they were releasing Eras Tour in the US on October 13. At the time most expected it wouldn’t open internationally until after her international concerts ended in August, but then on September 26th was announced that it would open worldwide the same day.
Comparisons are with
2013’s One Direction: This Is Us dropped 67% £1,122,137 (£1,369,591 inflated) #3 from 479 screens and £5,822,032 of £8,005,391
2009’s Michael Jackson’s This Is It dropped 72% £1,355,855 (£1,986,427 inflated) #2 486 screens and £8,114,380 of £9,732,593 (£14,258,964 inflated)
2011’s Justin Bieber: Never Say Never dropped 48% £421,090 from 383 screens and £1,993,888
One Direction: This Is Us had a huge premiere in Leicester Square within 24 hours of the premiere 3.6 million tweets were sent about One Direction and the hashtag #1DMoviePremiere received 1.9 million tweets.
Other music concert films include.
2012’s Katy Perry: Part of Me dropped 64% £161,114 #9 from 317 screens and £879,293 of £1,029,451
2009’s Jonas Brothers 3d Concert Experience dropped 41% £68,184 #13 from 161 screens and £223,027
2011’s Glee: The 3D Concert Movie took £356,271
2008’s Hannah Montana 3D dropped 53% £113,291 #14 from 65 screens taking £443,308
They all have one thing in common they did not attract the fans of their music as was also the case with older films like 1991’s Madonna: Truth or Dare, 1987’s Sign O’ the Times and 1988’s U2 Rattle and Hum.
They all receive huge media coverage but that doesn’t turn into a huge BO despite the huge popularity of their music and over the last decade receiving huge social media coverage. It’s similar to hugely successful video games they rarely become hugely popular films.
After the first rush for tickets to keep up the momentum, exhibitors should have offered a 2for1 deal as exhibitors will make much more from promotional collectable popcorn tubs and drinks.
Presales for Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé have been open in the US since the start of the month, no figures have been made public, but reports are they are less than a quarter of Era Tour, It is set to open in the UK on November 30th, but advance bookings have yet to open. It will be interesting to see if exhibitors will be willing to accept the same terms, Trafalgar demanded 4 week run for Era Tour, but Cineworld refused and went on social media saying they wouldn’t play it after a week or so and accepted a three-week booking. In the process missed out on a large number of sales (would be interesting to see exhibitor market share as in the US with AMC Odeon in the UK had the largest share of BO, which said they will have the most to lose in its third and fourth weeks.
Putting Era Tour BO in perspective taking £8.66m after 7 days it’s the 811th biggest film in the UK between Traffic and Watchmen (close to The Flash, Birds of Prey, Yogi Bear and National Treasure 2) but with admissions, it’s 2,231st biggest between Blair Witch 2 and The Brady Bunch Movie (close to Monster Trucks, The Little Mermaid (1998 RE), Short Circuit 2 and The Flintstones In Viva Rock Vegas.
Era Tou is back in cinemas from Thursday to Sunday this week, with Friday being half-term will drop 40% this weekend and then 50% last weekend holding its position in the chart only because there is little opening that could top it. Looking to take about £12m over 15 days and about 1m admissions which is about the same as One Direction: This Is Us 10 years ago.
- 4. Leo – £1,157,367 – NE
Took £545,447 from Thursday previews.
Took £221k Friday; £233k Saturday; £168k Sunday.
1,450th biggest opening between Ender’s Game and The Specialist (close to Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, See How They Run, The Peacemaker and Memoirs of a Geisha) and 2,050th inflated between I, Tonya and Picture Perfect (close to The Tall Guy, Carry on Columbus, Psycho (1999) and Harlem Nights).
Advance bookings opened six weeks before opening having the highest presales for Indian films selling over 10k tickets within the first 24 hours.
Leo opened in 184 screens fewer than Pathaan (212) and Jawan (261) with most playing in smaller screens of multiplexes, with the best screen average of the top 15 (£6,290) almost double that of Killers Of The Flower Moon (£3,611) and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (£3,618).
The third biggest Indian film opening in 2023 after Pathaan opened with £1,967,854 in January (including £550,768 from two days of previews) and Jawan £1,346,689 (Including £306k from previews).
Opened bigger than 2016’s Sultan opened £1,048,417 from 121 screens (£8,665 average) taking £1,505,128; 2010’s My Name Is Khan £936,454 #6 from 91 screens (£10,291 average) taking £2,316,393; 2013’s Chennai Express £935,671 #10 126 screens (£7,426 average) taking £1,624,693.
Other Bollywood openers include.
2013’s Dhoom 3 £ 884,567 #5 from 97 screens £9,120 average taking £1,976,454 (highest grossing)
2022’s Ponniyin Selvan 1 £745,386 #5 from 119 screens £6,264 (av)
2016’s Dangal £652,886 #6 from 165 screens £3,957 (av)
2022’s RRR £650,204 #2 from 160 screens £4,064 (av)
2022’s Brahmastra £516,943 #4 from 217 screens (Disney) £2,383 (av)
2022’s Laal Singh Chaddha £411,189 #7 from 350 screens (widest Bollywood opening released by Paramount) £1,175 (av)
2022’s K.G.F: Chapter 2 £357,038 #8 from 89 screens £4,012 (av)
- 5. Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie – £801,725 – £4,512,913
Down 76.3% in the second weekend (40% without previews)
Took £128k (16%) Friday; £384k (48%) Saturday; £289k (36%) Sunday.
1,303rd biggest second weekend between Jackie Brown and The Sum Of All Fears (close to The Borrowers, Back To The Future Part III, Pete’s Dragon and Cowboys & Aliens) and 1,832nd inflated between Duplicity and Definitely, Maybe (close to Willow, The Secret of My Success, The Three Musketeers (1994) and The Last Airbender).
170th biggest animation second weekend between South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and Anastasia (close to The Little Mermaid (1990), The Tigger Movie, Sherlock Gnomes and Captain Underpants) and 184th inflated between The Jungle Book (1988 re-release) and Sherlock Gnomes (close to The Rescuers Down Under, The Aristocats (1994 RE), Bambi (1993 re) and The Fox and the Hound (1988 re).
After opening was inflated with £2m from previews it was always going to drop over 70% in the second weekend, but with half-term this week it should have a minimal drop in its third weekend as Friday BO will be similar to Sat/Sun.
This was similarly the case with 2021’s The Paw Patrol Movie dropping 57% in its second weekend £1,033,099 #2 from 640 screens and £4,469,162 of £8,478,200, as it had a 7-day opening, but opening in August its Friday to Friday was steady.
Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie was a sequel and a spinoff to a very popular property with sales of over $14bn since 2014, the leading brand for children up to 6 topping a 2019 survey ahead of Mickey Mouse, Frozen, and Elmo and is the most watched TV show for children aged 2-5 since 2016 and shown in 170 countries seen by 350 million households.
1,493rd biggest between Dennis and Outbreak (close to Zoolander 2, Power Rangers, Real Steel and Wonder Park) and 2,019th inflated between Allied and Chaplin (close to The Iron Giant, My Cousin Vinny, La Bamba and Forces of Nature).
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £11,761,134 down 11.7% from last weekend’s £13,316,825: 1,298,014 admissions up 4.7% from 1,240,007.
14th biggest weekend of the year out of 42 weeks between 14 April 2023 #1 Super Mario Bros £7,568,523 and 07 July 2023 #1 Elemental £3,049,002
39th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 153 weeks between 21 October 2022 #1 Black Adam £5,655,003 and 11 March 2022 #1 The Batman £7,406,390.
440th biggest top 10 of the last 21 years (out of 1,125) between 03 January 2003 #1 Lord of the Rings: Two Towers £5,774,170 (49.04% of top 10) and 24 January 2014 #1 The Wolf of Wall Street £3,608,968 (30.71% of top 10) and 756th biggest inflated between 02 September 2016 #1 Sausage Party £2,690,156 (24.59% of top 10) and 06 September 2002 #1 The Bourne Identity £2,150,511 (34.11% of top 10)
The top 3 took (£7,945,913) 67.6% of the top 10; Trolls Band Together 25.95% (£3,051,810); Killers Of The Flower Moon 21.52% (£2,531,393); Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour 20.09% (£2,362,710).
363rd highest percentage (43.03%) between 07 October 2011 #1 Johnny English Reborn (43.11%) and 25 May 2012 #1 Men in Black 3 (43.02%)
443rd biggest admissions #1 (718,946) between 04 January 2008 #1 I Am Legend (719,302) and #1 The Wolverine (718,850)
Down 2.1% from 2022 (£12,015,545); Black Adam (£5,655,003); The Banshees Of Inisherin (£1,643,220); Decision To Leave (£410,107); Poltergeist (40th Anniversary 4k Restoration) (£46,598); Coraline (Re: 2022) (£27,432); #1 Black Adam £5,655,003 1st week 650 screens (47.06% of top 10)
Down 33.2% from 2021 £17,614,556); Dune (£5,876,892); The Boss Baby 2 (£1,193,115); The French Dispatch (£867,672); Dear Evan Hansen (£236,397); #1 Dune £5,876,892 1st week 657 screens (33.4% of top 10)
Up 802.1% from 2020 (£1,303,830); Two By Two: Overboard! (£329,265); Honest Thief (£254,267); The Secret Garden (£154,087); Pixie (£116,517); All My Life (£50,489); Cinema Paradiso (30th Anniversary 4K Restoration) (£28,320); #1 Two By Two: Overboard! £329,265 1st week 339 screens (25.25% of top 10)
Down 20% from 2019 (£14,701,611); Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil (£3,300,000); Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (£1,305,511); Zombieland: Double Tap (£1,242,352); Official Secrets (£537,990); The Shining (Re: 2019) (£18,191); #1 Joker £5,489,716 44% drop 3rd weekend 682 screens
Down 18.2% from 2018: (£14,380,280); Halloween (£2,656,097); Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (£2,119,165); Hunter Killer (£368,082); Samson Et Dalila – Met Opera 2018 (£176,889); Fahrenheit 11/9 (£56,814); #1 A Star is Born £2,883,000 2nd week #1 3rd week release 663 screens 7% drop (20.1% of top 10)
Up 20.2% from 2017: (£9,783,969); Geostorm (£1,625,895); Happy Death Day (£998,388); The Death of Stalin (£995,458); My Little Pony (£916,123); Paw Patrol: Big Screen Tails (£35,332); Marshall (£14,967); The Princess Bride (30th Anniversary) (£1,128); #1 Blade Runner 2049 £1,791,027 3rd week 2nd #1 (w1 and w3) 617 screens (18.3% of the top 10)
Down 23.9% from 2016: (£15,448,907); Trolls (£5,440,878); Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (£2,688,561); Ouija: Origin of Evil (£779,626); I, Daniel Blake (£444,800); Keeping Up with the Joneses (£271,306); Don Giovanni – Met Opera 2016 (£254,469); Queen of Katwe (£73,754); #1 Trolls £5,440,878 1st week 608 screens (35.2% of the top 10)
Up 8.3% from 2015; (£10,858,414); Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension 3D (£1,472,427); #1 Hotel Transylvania 2 £2,275,612 588 screens down 64% 2nd week (18.42% of top 10)
Up 8.7% from 2014: (£10,824,678); Fury (£2,692,786); The Book of Life (£981,432); Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (expansion) (£571,581); Love, Rosie (£482,535); The Babadook (£347,512); This Is Where I Leave You (£109,441); Serena (£95,109); #1 Fury £2,692,786 1st week 462 screens (24.8% of top 10)
Up 8.8% from 2013: (£10,812,691); Turbo (£3,892,774); Captain Phillips (£3,483,981); Escape Plan (£961,470); Enough Said (£170,357); #1 Turbo £3,892,774 1st week 528 screens (36% of top 10)
Down 19.9% from 2012 (£14,670,714); Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (£6,030,904); Paranormal Activity 4 (£2,544,701); Frankenweenie (expansion) (£741,683); Beasts of the Southern Wild (£181,801); #1 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted £6,030,904 1st week 532 screens (41.1% of top 10)
Up 4.7% from 2011 (£11,227,673); Paranormal Activity 3 (£3,405,036); Contagion (£1,463,638); Monte Carlo (£237,469); Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (£33,605); Restless (£11,270); #1 Paranormal Activity 3 £3,405,036 1st week 390 screens (30.3% of top 10)
Down 4.1% from 2010: (£12,266,017); Paranormal Activity 2 (£3,764,722); RED (£1,662,472); Legend of the Guardians (£737,444); Alpha and Omega (£643,425); Easy A (£277,975); Africa United (£177,827); Ramona and Beezus (£84,475); #1 Paranormal Activity 2 £3,764,722 1st week 389 screens (30.7% of top 10)
Up 12.5% from 2009; (£10,454,829); Saw VI (£1,736,287); Fantastic Mr. Fox (£1,517,312); Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (£798,641); The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (£35,362); #1 Up £3,807,003 3rd week 549 screens 26% drop (31.1% of top 10)
Down 25.7% from 2008; (£15,824,329); High School Musical 3 (£8,409,375); Saw V (£2,436,817); Ghost Town (£1,347,678); Incendiary (£18,964); #1 High School Musical 3 £8,409,375 1st week 493 screens (53.1% of top 10)
Up 9.7% from 2007: (£10,717,468); Saw IV (£2,482,889); Eastern Promises (£623,491); Sicko (£156,173); #1 Ratatouille £3,056,938 2nd week 525 screens 19% drop (33.5% of top 10)
Up 38.6% from 2006; (£8,486,228); Barnyard: The Original Party Animals (£1,022,890); The Guardian (£826,569); The Grudge 2 (£773,422); The Last Kiss (£431,071); Marie Antoinette (£283,883); #1 The Departed £1,456,564 3rd week 2nd #1 358 screens 14% drop (17.1% of top 10)
Up 3.8% from 2005 (£11,324,493); Nanny McPhee (£2,603,834); Corpse Bride (£1,150,464); Sky High (£646,569); Broken Flowers (£395,880); Dreamer (£149,058); #1 Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit £4,666,723 2nd week 499 screens 50% drop (41.2% of top 10)
Up 21.95% from 2004 (£9,648,812); Alien vs Predator (£2,003,663); Alfie (£1,314,156); The Princess Diaries 2 (expansion) (£807,008); #1 Shark Tale £3,199,963 2nd week 504 screens 58% drop (33.1% of top 10)
Up 14.6% from 2003 (£10,261,167); Intolerable Cruelty (£1,555,684); Second-hand Lions (£200,851); #1 Finding Nemo £3,887,996 4th week 3rd #1 501 screens 34% drop (37.9% of top 10)
Up 30% from 2002 (£9,046,691); XXX (£3,435,891); Slap Her, She’s French (£210,321); All Or Nothing (£164,291); The Powerpuff Girls (£92,007); #1 XXX £3,435,891 1st week 435 screens (37.9% of top 10)
Up 24.3% from 2001 (£9,463,581); America’s Sweethearts (£1,719,897); Jeepers Creepers (£1,533,151); Atlantis (expansion) (£1,282,458); Brotherhood of the Wolf (£123,245); #1 American Pie 2 £2,823,776 2nd week 420 screens 49% drop (29.8% of top 10).
Next week: (£9,985,348); Prey For The Devil (£859,717); Coldplay Music Of The Spheres Live Broadcast From Buenos Aires (£859,717); Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (20th Anniversary) (£454,250); Barbarian (£380,812); Triangle Of Sadness (£308,950); Bros (£215,612); ParaNorman (10th Anniversary) (£39,184); Trick ‘R Treat (Re: 2022) (£24,116) #1 Black Adam £3,488,800 2nd week 38% drop (34.94% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour – AMC
Dropped 67% in the second weekend taking $33.2m #1 and $132m.
174th biggest second weekend between Us and Hotel Transylvania 2 (close to Maleficent, Kung Fu Panda, Puss in Boots and Despicable Me)
510th biggest between Minority Report and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer; 1,177th biggest inflated between The Maze Runner and Planes, Trains & Automobiles; 16th biggest 2023 between Fast X and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
As with One Direction’s This Is Us 10 years ago only a small percentage of Taylor Swift fans came out to see Eras Tour over opening weekend ($90m opening about 4.5m admissions this compares to 4.8m+ who saw her live concerts generating $2.2bn in ticket sales). There are 180m+ Taylor Swift fans in the US and 54m+ Swifties (20%) 523m fans worldwide and 104m+ Swifties. Era should be opening with more than three times as much having one of the biggest ever openings in the US.
It’s impossible to compare the opening with any other concert film due to the standard price of $19.89, but that hasn’t stopped the industry from doing so) tickets were nonrefundable which must have surely frustrated fans when they fo8und out on Wednesday it was having Thursday previews after they rushed out to buy tickets for Friday 6 weeks earlier.
2009’s Michael Jackson: This Is It dropped 43.4% $13.15m and $57.01m of $72.09m and $261.18m worldwide
2011’s Justin Bieber: Never Say Never dropped 54.9% $13.3m and $48.18m of $73.01m and $99.03m worldwide
2012’s Katy Perry’s Part of Me dropped 46.8% $3.8m and $18.65m of $25.32m and $32.72m worldwide
2013’s One Direction: This Is Us dropped 74.4% $4.04m and $23.93m of $28.87m and $68.56m worldwide
Never made any sense for analysts to compare Eras Tour with Never Say Never as is impossible to compare the two as it was released 12 years ago with an average price of $7.93 while Eras Tour according to Entelligence had an average of $20.84.
As a 2023 Morning Consult survey said 53% of US adults are Swift fans, 44% identified as Swifties and 16% as her “avid” fans, the film should attract Swifties about 104m+ of the 520m Swift fans worldwide. As 20% of Swifties are from the US and these adult Swifties will pay at least $19.89 should be looking at a $300m+ opening, $1bn+ US BO and $3bn+ worldwide.
Took $16.1m from 94 territories (played in 4,527 screens internationally) $46.7m total and $178.7m worldwide. Given the popularity of Taylor Swift internationally is as strong as the US Era Tour should have surely taken similar to the US, but as the concerts haven’t started internationally fans are holding back from seeing it.
- Killers of the Flower Moon – Paramount Pictures
Opened $23.25m #2; received critical acclaim (92% Rotten Tomatoes) and A- CinemaScore)
872nd biggest opening between Cocaine Bear and Pineapple Express (close to The Town, Fury, Black Mass and The Social Network).
Took $2.6m from Thursday previews; Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood took $5.8m; Dunkirk $5.5m; Dune $5.1m; Blade Runner 2049 $4m; Inception $3m; The Revenant $2.3m; Ford v. Ferrari $2.1m; Elvis $3.5m.
Took 37% from IMAX/PLF; IMAX $14m and $20m from PLF/Dolby; 56% over 30, 35% 45+ and 62% male
Took $5.1m worldwide from IMAX including $1.75m internationally.
Previous Martin Scorsese CinemaScores include The Wolf of Wall Street: C; Shutter Island: C+; The Departed: A-; The Aviator: B+; Bringing Out the Dead: C-; Casino: B-; The Age of Innocence: B+; Cape Fear: B+; Goodfellas: A-; The Color of Money: B-.
As with all films opening since Oppenheimer in July due to the SAG strike the film promotion was centred on Martin Scorsese as the actors weren’t able to do any promotion, that said the cast attended Cannes Film Festival premiere in May. For most films opening since July, the strike has affected their BO.
Martin Scorsese has directed 26 films, received 13 Oscar nominations winning only 1 Best Director for 2006’s The Departed. His films have taken $1.034bn in the US and $2.153bn worldwide,
Killers of the Flower Moon is Martin Scorsese’s first theatrical release since 2016’s Silence which flopped at the BO taking $7.1m in the US and $23.7m worldwide, this saw Paramount Pictures drop out from releasing 2019’s The Irishman with Netflix buying it instead.
Paramount bought world rights for the film in 2019 from Imperative Entertainment who brought rights to the non-fiction book by David Grann for $5m in 2016, Paramount was the runner-up to the auction. In 2021 Paramount dropped out of it after script changes requested by Leonardo DiCaprio changing the perspective of the film to focus on the marriage of Leo’s character. Paramount also dropped out on Martin Scorsese’s earlier film The Irishman. Apple bought the film in 2020 and Paramount returned as the theatrical distributor in March 2023.
Leonardo DiCaprio has starred in six films directed by Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro has starred in 10 Martin Scorsese-directed films.
Earlier films include.
2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street opened $18.41m taking $1116.94m and $389.81m worldwide
2011’s Hugo opened $11.36m taking $73.86m and $180.04m worldwide
2010’s Shutter Island opened $41.06m taking $128.01m and $299.46m worldwide
2006’s The Departed opened $26.88m taking $132.38m and $289.66m worldwide
2004’s The Aviator expanded $9.4m wide (after platform) taking $102.61m and $213.71m worldwide
2002’s Gangs of New York opened $9.49m taking $77.73m and $183.12m worldwide
1995’s Casino opened $9.94m taking $42.43m and $110.4m worldwide
1991’s Cape Fear opened $10.26m taking $79.09m and $182.29m worldwide
1990’s Goodfellas opened $6.36m taking $46.74m worldwide n/a
Opened with $21m from 63 territories; UK $3m; France $2.6m; Germany $1.6m; Australia $1.4Mm; Spain $1.3m.
- Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 36% in the fourth weekend taking $4.42m #5 and $56.03m.
2021’s PAW Patrol: The Movie dropped 42.6% $2.3m #6 and $34.7m of $40.12m and $144.32m WW
173rd biggest animated/1,621st biggest between Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and ParaNorman; 2,820th biggest inflated between Meet the Spartans and Freedom Writers; 32nd biggest 2023 between Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Exorcist: Believer; 218th biggest Paramount Pictures between Primal Fear and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.
Recent September animation fourth weekends
2019’s Abominable dropped 42.2% $3.51m and $53.92m of $60.71m
2018’s Smallfoot dropped 27.5% $6.57m and $66.32m of $83.24m
2016’s Storks dropped 31.5% $5.68m and $59.22m of $72.67m
2013’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 dropped 29.8% $9.67m and $92.7m of $119.79m
2012’s Hotel Transylvania dropped 24.6% $13m and $118.52m of $148.31m
Took $11.7m (down 42%) 24.5m from 67 territories and $92.3m and $148.4m worldwide; China $15.8m; Germany $8.1m; France $6.4m; Mexico $6.3m; UK $5.6m.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
After a lucrative Mon-Thurs Trolls Back Together will have a strong Friday and take time to last weekend BO £3m+ which will be similar to 2016’s Trolls second weekend £3,256,912 down 40% only 8% not including previews. In 2016 Trolls took £5m Mon-Thurs, if Trolls Back Together took a similar by Sunday could take £10m+.
Killers Of The Flower Moon will drop 30%-40% taking £1.5m-£1.7m as with its opening weekend it will take about two-thirds of its BO Sat/Sun due to its length.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour will drop slightly less than last weekend due to Friday being half-term which could see it against battling it out with Killers Of The Flower Moon for #2 taking £1.4m-£1.7m. Eras Tours again plays Thurs- Sun. Many cinemas are dropping the number of shows on Saturday from Friday.
While Blumhouse’s Five Nights At Freddy’s is tracking in the US anywhere between $40m-$80m as with many other Blumhouse films it has a PG-13 certificate targetting young teens like Happy Death Day, Ouija and Truth and Dare, but the 15 certificate means its target audience can’t legally see it. Early reviews have highlighted that as going for a PG-13 certificate it doesn’t have the gore, so it’s interesting Belfast Council has rated the film 15A allowing under-age children to see it with an adult and did the same with The Batman.
Opening Wednesday during half-term it’s likely teens will buy tickets to see Trolls and try to sneak in to see Five Nights At Freddy’s. It’s likely to open between £1m+ over 5 days similar to 2017’s Happy Death Day £998,388 taking £2,678,427; 2018’s Truth Or Dare £931,250 taking £2,400,490 and 2014’s Ouija £1,373,907 taking £3,207,638.
Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie will hold #5 up slightly from last weekend due to half-term taking £800-£900k.
Over recent years this weekend has been one of the most lucrative weeks of the year with 2012’s Skyfall, 2016’s Doctor Strange, 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok; and 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Opening in three weeks
- Napoleon – Sony Pictures
Historical drama starring Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby and Tahar Rahim and directed by Ridley Scott.
After finishing shooting his last film The Long Duel in 2020 Ridley Scott announced his next film would be Kitbag (working title for Napoleon) which was set up at 20th Century Studios as he had a production deal at the studio, but dropped the film and it was acquired by Apple in January 2021.
Ridley Scott has wanted to make a Napoleon film for a long time Stanley Kubrick also tried.
In April 2023 Apple announced they would invest $1bn annually on films made for theatrical release buying many high-profile films over recent years including Emancipation, Greyhound, Killers of the Flower Moon, Argylle and Untitled Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, many of these films Apple has partnered with studios to release them globally theatrically.
Ridley Scott has said he has a 4.5-hour director cut of Napoleon which will be released on Apple, The theatrical version is 2hr 37mins. Despite BBFC saying the film includes strong bloody violence it’s been given a 15 certificate.
It is Ridley Scott’s 27th film (currently shooting Gladiator 2 set for November 2024 release) his films have taken $1.7bn in the US and almost $4.4bn worldwide.
Recent historical dramas include The Long Duel, The Northman, Les Misérables, Kingdom of Heaven, The Last Samurai, Alexander, 300, Troy, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Noah, Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Patriot, Glory, Amistad, The Last of the Mohicans, The Revenant, 1917, Braveheart, Gladiator, Dances with Wolves and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- Wish – Disney
Animated musical fantasy from Walt Disney Animation Studios featuring voices of Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk, Angelique Cabral, Victor Garber, Natasha Rothwell and Evan Peters and directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn.
Development started in 2018 but it wasn’t officially announced until 2022, the film is inspired by Disney’s centennial. It is the 62nd Disney animated classic but follows a year after their last Strange World disappointed at the BO and Encanto came short of expectations in 2021.
The trailer released in September was the most viewed Disney trailer since 2019’s Frozen II 66.5m times and is the most watched Disney trailer on TickTok. Disney’s animation films since 2019 have disappointed, 2021’s Raya and the Last Dragon went straight to Disney+, Encanto opened with £1,720,132 and Strange World £833,043.
Always find it a strange decision to open an animated film day animated film in November as while Thanksgiving is very lucrative for family films with the long weekend in the US it’s a month before the Christmas holidays start so BO is mostly limited to Sat/Sun until then. Disney has often delayed their animated films for a week until the start of December or delayed them till the end of January for the half-term.
Likely to open similar to 2016’s Moana £2,214,898 taking £20,041,031.
Opening in late November family films hope to play through to January as many Disney films have previously done with Frozen, Moana, Ralph Breaks The Internet and Frozen 2, While Encanto had a lower-than-expected opening it had long legs.