- Creed III – £5,003,452 – NE
Took £1.58m Friday (31.6%); £2.05m Saturday (41%); £1.37m Sunday (27.4%)
On Friday it took 61% more than Creed II (£616k) and more than double Creed.
283rd biggest opening (284th £5m+ opening) between Pitch Perfect 2 and Bruno (close to Legend, Trainspotting 2, Batman and Robin and Jurassic Park) and 446th biggest inflated opening between The Smurfs and Transformers: The Last Knight (close to True Lies, Ghost, Superman III and Ghostbusters 2).
Had the 72nd widest opening in 645 cinemas between Spider-Man: Far from Home and Black Widow; the 145th film opening in over 600 cinemas since 2015’s Jurassic World
Creed III was originally due to be released in November like the previous two films, by delaying its opening to March it opened #1 playing on IMAX and PLF screens Creed and Creed it wasn’t able to have as they both opened in a much more crowded marketplace (Creed opened #3 behind The Revenant #1 £5,235,851 and the 5th weekend of Star Wars: The Force Awakens £3,137,258 and Creed II opened #2 behind Fantastic Beasts 2).
Creed III received positive reviews (91% on Rotten Tomatoes) Variety said it “was a sports film that’s closer to ‘Cape Fear’ than ‘Rocky”; 1992’s Cape Fear was a huge success in the UK opening #1 £1,664,733 (after platform opening) from 275 screens (£4,190,356 inflated) taking £10,396,215 (£26,168,666 inflated).
2018’s Creed II opened £2,991,509 #2 527 screens taking £5,684,690
2016’s Creed opened £2,221,758 #3 482 screens taking £9,672,937
2007’s Rocky Balboa opened £3,639,339 taking £8,503,135
1987’s Rocky IV opened £1,780,894 #1 (£7,950,068 inflated) 231 screens taking £4,030,109 (£17,990,763 inflated). It had the biggest ever UK opening at the time Sylvester Stallone films had the biggest openings in the UK. The previous biggest was Rambo: First Blood £1,642,747 from 322 screens and 1982’s E.T £1,100,083 from 255 screens.
It had the biggest ever BO at Odeon Leicester Theatre (now the site of the new Odeon West End) taking £104,557 beating the previous record set by 1983’s Return of the Jedi £70,066. Top price tickets for Rocky IV were £4 while they were £32.50 for the Odeon Leicester Square, up over 700% to see Creed III, it would be interesting to see how Creed III Leicester Square BO compared with Rocky IV.
1991’s Rocky V opened £1,252,100 (£3,338,933 inflated) 289 screens taking £3,482,057 (£9,285,485 inflated).
1977’s Rocky took £1,656,000 (£16,317,659 inflated)
1980’s Rocky II took £1,655,000 (£9,483,972 inflated)
1982’s Rocky III took £3.1m (£15,089,157 inflated)
After having only 4 different #1 films this year over the last 9 weeks Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, Avatar: The Way of Water and Creed III there will likely be new #1 over the next 5 weeks, Scream VI (opening Wednesday), Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, John Wick: Chapter 4, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves and Super Mario Bros.
MGM likely dated Creed III for this weekend after The Batman opened the same weekend with £13,531,854 and in 2017 Logan opened with £9,443,363. While in 2010 Alice in Wonderland ended Avatar’s 8 weeks #1 split over 11 weeks taking £10,555,220.
Weekend BO for March will likely be down from 2022 levels for the first two weeks but with Shazam! Fury Of The Gods and John Wick: Chapter 4 the month will end far stronger leading into Easter.
2015’s Creed dropped 45.2% £1,217,405 and £4,305,551 75.7% of £5,684,690
2018’s Creed II dropped 42.6% £1,717,275 and £5,990,120 62% of £9,672,937
Creed II did better than Creed due to not having any competition, Creed had The Revenant #1, Star Wars: The Force Awakens #2 and Ride Along 2 opening #3 while Creed II had no direct competition until Aquaman opening two weeks later. Creed III faces off against Ghostface on Wednesday which could see it dropping 50%+. But the one advantage it has it’s a 12A while Scream VI is an 18.
- 2. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – £1,435,619 – £17,214,114
Down 52.9% in the third weekend
Took £292k Friday 20.3% (65.5% drop); £1.37m Saturday 48.9% (48.8% drop); £441k Sunday 30.2% (47% drop)
Had a similar third weekend as Venom: Let There Be Carnage (£1,515,357); Justice League (£1,486,953), X-Men: Apocalypse (£1,248,770); X-Men Origins: Wolverine (£1,211,104) and Spider-Man 2, Dune and Batman Forever
24th biggest MCU third weekend between Iron Man 2 and Blade Widow (close to Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Thor and Eternals).
Third weekends
2015’s Ant-Man dropped 55% £1,126,080 #4 from 519 screens and £12,760,015 78.2% of £16,309,117; #1 Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation #1 £5,351,344
2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp dropped 49% £1,169,524 #8 from 588 screens and £13,597,140 78.3% of £17,353,560: #1 Disney’s Christopher Robin £2,553,810
Took £309,539 more than Ant-Man’s second weekend and £266,095 more than Ant-Man and the Wasp.
As it’s the first film from Phase 5 introducing Kang the Conqueror who will be the supervillain in Phase 5 leading into Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in 2025, before Avengers: Secret Wars starts Phase 6 in 2026.
The 30 MCUs have taken over £1bn at the UK BO since 2008 (£1.2bn inflated) but after steady growth solo films have plateaued since Captain America: Civil War in 2018, while Ant-Man films have been the lowest grossing of the MCU with 2015’s Ant-Man opening £4,011,345 taking £16,309,117 and 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp opened £4,988,747 taking £17,599,289.
Much has been written about fans’ disappointment with MCU over recent films, but they will still come out to see them over the opening weekend so will be back to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 in May and The Marvels in November and both will still open with upwards of £10m ($150m+ in the US) but there are still questions over MCU longer-term as their upcoming films are much the same that came before Captain America: New World Order, Deadpool 3 and then reboots of Blade, Fantastic Four and X-Men and more Avengers films.
56th biggest comic-book film between The Mask and Iron Man (close to Venom 2, Justice League, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Batman and Robin) and 74th biggest inflated between Blade 2 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) close to Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Dick Tracey, Superman IV and Blade).
353rd biggest film between The Matrix and Godzilla (1998) close to Tenet, The Mummy (1999), The Silence of the Lambs and Planet of the Apes) and 653rd biggest inflated between Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip and In the Line of Fire (close to Good Morning Vietnam, Platoon, Judge Dredd and The X- Files).
- 3. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – £1,151,520 – £22,143,133
Down 34.7% in the fifth weekend
Took £419k 15.6% drop (9.5%) Friday; £606k 24.5% drop (52.6%) Saturday: £436k 19.4% drop (37.9%) Sunday.
108th biggest 5th weekend between Doctor Strange 2 and Ice Age III (close to The Secret Life of Pets, Mrs Doubtfire, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical and Despicable Me) and 180th biggest inflated 5th weekend between Apollo 13 and American Pie: The Wedding (close to Lethal Weapon 3, Shrek Forever After, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Licence to Kill).
Fifth weekends
2011’s Puss in Boots dropped 32% £917,161 #6 from 501 screens taking £12,153,259 72 of £15,540,041
2010’s Shrek Forever After dropped 26% £899,851 #5 from 490 screens and £29,193,540 of £31,106,087.
2007’s Shrek The Third dropped 54% £730,493 #5 from 464 screens and £35,791,616 of £38,079,462 (£60,927,139 inflated)
2004’s Shrek 2 dropped 51% £986,280 #4 from 505 screens and £42,276,530 of £48,104,138 (£86,566,021 inflated)
2001’s Shrek dropped 51.2% £966,390 #2 from 474 screens (£1,795,058 inflated) taking £20,015,666 of £29,004,582 (£56,607,976 inflated)
The four Shrek films were hugely popular in the UK taking over £150m+ (£250m+ inflated)
The 40+ Dreamwork Animation films have taken almost £700m since 1998 and £900m+ inflation inflated.
50th biggest animated film between Wall·E and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (close to The Lion King (1994), Toy Story, Monsters vs. Aliens and Big Hero 6) and 73rd biggest inflated between Hotel Transylvania 2 and Chicken Little (close to Pocahontas, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The Little Mermaid and Hercules)
232nd biggest film between Wall·E and Wonder Woman (close to Shark Tale, The Lion King (1994), E.T and Crocodile Dundee) and 485th biggest inflated between Nanny McPhee & the Big Bang and Beverly Hills Cop II (close to Matilda (1996), Spice World, The Commitments and Dead Poets Society).
After last year only had a couple of major animated films, this year has several targeting different demographics next up Super Mario Bros opening in a month will do vastly more than the 1993 live-action film, along with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Elemental, Strays, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, Wish and Migration.
- 4.Cocaine Bear – £1,090,419 – £3,639,103
Down 31% in the second weekend; Friday took £320k 43.3% drop (29.3%); Saturday £486k 24.4% drop (44.6%); Sunday £284k (26%) 23.8% drop.
931st biggest second weekend between About Time and Seven Pounds (close to Face/Off, Braveheart, Dragonheart and Blade) and 1,507th biggest inflated between Daybreakers and Fisherman’s Friends (close to Rambo III, The Running Man, Stakeout and Carlito’s Way).
Elizabeth Banks previously directed 2019’s Charlie’s Angels (taking £1.1m) and 2015’s Pitch Perfect 2 (taking £17.4m).
Cocaine Bear was a palate cleanser film after the stodgy Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it was a Ronseal film ‘does exactly what it says on the tin’ as with Snakes on a Plane, the film’s title told you what the film was, and the trailer made you want to see it. Films like Cocaine Bear were what cinema used to be films that you could enjoy without having to do homework before and after to fully understand the plot. This was similar to the first Ant-Man film, which made the film far more enjoyable and rewatchable.
2000’s Lake Placid dropped 30% £652,124 (£1,197,537 inflated) and £2,007,138 62.7% of £3,203,300 (£5,882,424 inflated)
2010’s Piranha 3D dropped 33.1% £886,495 (£1,203,845 inflated) and £3,287,882 73.6% of £4,466,428 (£6,065,334 inflated)
2006’s Snakes on a Plane dropped 34.7% £698,166 (£1,158,353 inflated) and £2,661,860 72.1% of £3,692,064 (£6,125,642 inflated)
2004’s Open Water dropped 55.1% £884,322 and £3,602,123 74.7% of £4,818,915
1999’s Deep Blue Sea dropped 25.4% £1,450,848 and £4,310,464 54.2% of £7,943,717 (£15,245,899 inflated)
1993’s Alive dropped 15.1% £376,523 (£947,759 inflated) and £1,142,053 42.2% of £2,704,459 (£6,807,486 inflated)
1991’s Arachnophobia dropped 0.9% £846,515 (£2,257,373 inflated) and £2,152,015 39% of £5,515,513 (£14,708,035 inflated)
1,667th biggest film between The Hunt For Red October and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (close to Leon, Violent Night, The Menu and Beetlejuice) and 2,114 biggest inflated between xXx: The Return of Xander Cage and Bandits (close to The Frighteners, The Butterfly Effect, Unlawful Entry and Jacob’s Ladder).
- 5. What’s Love Got to Do with It – £845,838 – £2,710,717
Down 21.8% in the second weekend; Friday took £237k (28%) 22.5% drop; Saturday £380k 13.6% drop (45%); Sunday £229k 31.8% drop (27.1%)
1,209th biggest second weekend between Arachnophobia and Tomb Raider 2 (close to Where the Crawdads Sing, Mickey Blue Eyes, Miracle on 34th Street and One Fine Day) and 1,760th biggest inflated between Police Academy 6 and John Tucker Must Die (close to 500 Days of Summer, So I Married An Axe Murderer, East Is East and Definitely, Maybe).
75th biggest rom-com second weekend between New Year’s Eve and One Fine Day (close to Sliding Doors, Bride and Prejudice, Pretty Woman and Father of the Bride 2) and 117th biggest inflated between So I Married an Axe Murderer and Zoolander 2 (close to Coyote Ugly, Brassed Off, The Secret of My Success and Peter’s Friends).
Was originally due to open ahead of Valentine’s Day (end of January) as 2013’s I Give It A Year dropped 30% £1,014,707 #6 and £3,685,804 of £6,195,388) but was likely delayed due to Magic Mike’s Last Dance and Titanic 25th Anniversary both targetting similar female audience.
The film is made by Working Title, StudioCanal UK has released several Working Title films including King of Thieves, The Program, Legend, Rush, I Give It A Year and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Radioactive was due to have a cinema release in March 2020 but was released instead on Amazon after cinemas closed due to COVID.
Bollywood meets British rom-com immediately look to films like
2002’s Bend It Like Beckham dropped 14% £1,721,146 (£3,359,145 inflated) and £4,570,018 41.2% of £10,914,247 (£21,301,236 inflated);
2004’s Bride and Prejudice dropped 48.2% £863,609 (£1,554,112 inflated) and £3,266,362 65.4% £4,993,561 (£8,986,185 inflated)
1999’s East Is East up 0.2 % £435,742 (£836,293 inflated) and £1,207,329 11.6% £10,373,945 24x opening (£19,910,089 inflated).
Recent rom-coms Ticket To Paradise dropped 52% (21 without previews) £1,337,216 and £5,169,609 54.5% of £9,486,303 and 2019’s Yesterday dropped 26% £1,628,468 and £5,620,084 40.7% of £13,813,168.
Rom-coms used to be hugely popular in the 80s and 90s and British rom-coms especially so with many of them made by Working Title including second weekends 1994’s Four Weddings and a Funeral £1,561,896; 1999’s Notting Hill £3,004,696; 2001’s Bridget Jones’s Diary £4,260,089; 2002’s About A Boy £2,239,288; 2003’s Love Actually £4,660,595, 2005’s Pride & Prejudice £1,934,083; 2013’s About Time £1,092,192; 2020’s Emma £1,156,256; but over the last decade have struggled to find similarly sized audiences in cinemas while found more success on Netflix.
Shekhar Kapur previously directed 2007’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age (took £5.2m); 2003’s Four Feathers (£61,800) and 1998’s Elizabeth (£5.5m);
Also opened.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To The Swordsmith Village – Sony Pictures
Opened £567,638 #6 from 240 screens.
As previous 2021’s Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba-The Movie: Mugen Train it was very front-loaded taking 50% of its 5-day opening from the opening day; £283k Wednesday; £104k Thursday; £38k Friday; £77k Saturday; £66k Sunday.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £10,888,283 up 22.7% from last weekend’s £8,869,711: 1,415,902 admissions up 22.7% from 1,153,408.
495th biggest top 10 of the last 21 years (out of 1,092) between 12 April 2019 #1 Dumbo £2,345,0439 (21.5% of top 10) and 28 March 2014 #1 Captain America: The Winter Soldier £6,037,850 (55.5% of top 10) and 815th biggest inflation inflated between 30 November 2007 #1 Fred Claus £1,937,042 (28.4% of top 10) and 10 December 2010 #1 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader £2,460,118 (30.7% of top 10).
The top 3 took £7,568,221 69.5% the top 10; Creed III 45.7% (£5,003,452); Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania 13.2% (£1,435,619); Puss in Boots: The Last Wish 10.6% (£1,151,520);
45.7% of the top 10 302nd highest percentage #1 between 06 May 2016 Captain America: Civil War (45.8%) and 14 February 2014 The Lego Movie (45.6%).
474th biggest admissions #1 (650,644) between 03 January 2020 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (651,297) and 30 September 2016 Bridget Jones’s Baby (648,740).
Down 38.6% from 2022 (£17,731,345); The Batman (£13,531,854); The Godfather: Part II (Re: 2022) (£45,151); #1 The Batman £13,531,854 1st week 706 screens (76.3% of top 10)
2021; Lockdown
Up 17.7% from 2020 (£9,249,289); The Invisible Man (£2,163,798); Dark Waters (£860,942); Portrait Of A Lady on Fire (£229,678); Agrippina – Met Opera 2020 (£216,109); Downhill (£188,720); True History Of The Kelly Gang (£85,847); #1 The Invisible Man £2,163,798 1st week 580 screens (23.4% of top 10)
Up 28.3% from 2019; (£8,486,971); Fighting with My Family (£2,022,174); The Aftermath (£595,657); La Fille Du Regiment – Met Opera 2019 (£240,965); Alien (40th Anniversary) (£129,245); What They Had (£16,686); #1 Fighting with My Family £2,022,174 1st week 573 screens (23.8% of top 10)
Down 4.5% from 2018: (£11,400,044); Red Sparrow (£1,843,124); Game Night (£1,094,478); Monster Family (£126,235); A Fantastic Woman (£98,445); The Flames of Paris – Bolshoi 2018 (£74,391); #1 Black Panther £3,736,954 3rd week 599 screens 46% drop (32.8% of top 10)
Down 32.6% from 2017: (£16,157,614); Logan (£9,443,363); Viceroy’s House (£921,309); Fist Fight (£400,112); Trespass Against Us (£32,569); #1 Logan £9,443,363 1st week 602 screens (58.4% of top 10)
Up 16.7% from 2016; (£9,333,112); London Has Fallen (£3,229,675); Hail, Caesar! (£1,520,788); Manon Lescaut – Met Opera 2016 (£279,586); The Other Side of the Door (£262,955); The Choice (£139,669); Truth (£26,701); #1 London Has Fallen (£3,229,675 1st week
Down 1 1.5% from 2015 (£12,304,244); The Second-Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (£3,771,852); Focus (£1,910,245); The Boy Next Door (£406,174); It Follows (£371,142); Catch Me Daddy (£37,679); #1 The Second-Best Exotic Marigold Hotel £3,771,852 1st week 589 screens (30.6% of top 10)
Down 8.2% from 2014: (£11,864,224); Non-Stop (£2,652,364); Ride Along (£1,420,992); The Book Thief (expansion) (£1,370,649); Prince Igor – Metropolitan Opera 2014 (£259,667); Nymphomaniac Part 2 (£15,354); Unforgiven (£4,778); #1 The Lego Movie £3,266,594 3rd week 549 screens 45% drop (27.5% of top 10)
Up 39.8% from 2013 (£7,788,702); Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (£1,502,782); Safe Haven (£812,460); Broken City (£499,283); Arbitrage (£402,873); Stoker (£367,509); #1 Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters £1,502,782 1st week 404 screens (19.3% of top 10)
Up 0.9% from 2012 (£10,782,506); This Means War (£1,821,698); Project X (£561,655); Wanderlust (£490,592); Hunky Dory (£31,930); #1 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel £2,342,095 2nd week 1st #1 509 screens 5% up (21.7% of top 10)
Up 17.5% from 2011 (£9,268,880); Rango (£1,638,613); The Adjustment Bureau (£1,395,715); Unknown (£1,356,345); Ironclad (£52,470); The Tempest (£8,445); #1 Rango £1,638,613 1st 470 screens (17.7% of top 10)
Down 26.5% from 2010: (£14,805,412); Alice in Wonderland (£10,555,220); Legion (£212,328); Case 39 (£183,088); Ondine (£102,138); #1 Alice in Wonderland £10,555,220 1st week 533 screens (71.3% of top 10)
Up 0.9% from 2009; (£10,781,295); Watchmen (£3,243,001); The Young Victoria (£1,016,053); The Secret of Kells (£25,657); #1 Watchmen £3,243,001 1st week 419 screens (30.1% of top 10)
Up 63.1% from 2008; (£6,676,677); The Bank Job (£951,013); Semi-Pro (£774,698); The Accidental Husband (£703,631); Untraceable (£549,524); Margot at the Wedding (£33,958); #1 The Bank Job £951,013 1st week 324 screens (14.2% of top 10)
Up 34.8% from 2007: (£8,075,563); Ghost Rider (£1,851,897); The Illusionist (£675,293); Material Girls (£300,962); Freedom Writers (£233,382); #1 Hot Fuzz £2,219,655 3rd week 441 screens 33% drop (27.5% of top 10)
Up 70.3% from 2006; (£6,392,804); Syriana (£864,796); The Weatherman (£406,217); Last Holiday (£399,524); The Matador (£335,017); Kidulthood (£100,056); #1 Date Movie £1,057,768 2nd week 356 screens 18% drop (16.5% of top 10)
Up 142.2% from 2005 (£4,495,350); Boogeyman (£788,439); The Flight of the Phoenix (£292,012); Harold & Kumar Get the Munchies (£284,050); #1 Boogeyman £788,439 1st week 318 screens (17.5% of top 10)
Up 94% from 2004 (£5,614,199); 21 Grams (£582,951); Torque (£503,318); Uptown Girls (£304,525); Suzie Gold (£65,089); #1 Along Came Polly £1,572,126 2nd week 385 screens 30% drop (28% of top 10)
Up 29.9% from 2003 (£8,381,722); Jackass: The Movie (£1,314,740); Analyze That (£575,278); Solaris (£313,804); Adaptation (£238,958); #1 The Ring £1,692,154 2nd week 398 screens 23% drop (20.2% of top 10)
Up 10.5% from 2002 (£9,851,530); A Beautiful Mind (expansion) (£1,226,446); The Mothman Prophecies (£762,516); The Shipping News (limited) (£96,694); #1 Ocean’s Eleven £2,623,689 2-week #1 split 3rd week 437 screens 27% drop (26.6% of top 10)
Next weekend 2022 (£11,727,453); BTS Permission To Dance On Stage – Seoul: Live Viewing (£899,127); Red Rocket (£74,709); Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone (Re: 2022) (£22,184); #1 The Batman £7,406,390 2nd week 715 screens 45% drop (63.1% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Creed III – MGM
Opened $58.37m; received positive reviews (87% Rotten Tomatoes) and A- CinemaScore. (Creed and Creed II both received A CinemaScore and similar positive reviews Creed 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and Creed II 91%.
197th biggest opening between Pearl Harbor and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (close to Jumanji: The Next Level, Jason Bourne, Mission: Impossible II and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.
Opened in IMAX/PLF and 4DX screens taking 14% ($8.2m) from IMAX.
Took $5.5m from Thursday previews; Creed took $1.4m and Creed II took $3.7m both from Tuesday previews before Thanksgiving.
Ahead of opening Creed III was expected to open between $38m-$40m and had a $75m budget.
2015’s Creed opened $42.11m taking $109.76m and $173.56m worldwide
2018’s Creed II opened $35.57m taking $115.71m and $214.21m worldwide
Rocky film series made a home for itself at Thanksgiving with 1976’s Rocky. 1985’s Rocky IV, 1990’s Rocky V, 2015’s Creed and 2018’s Creed II all opening. Creed III was originally due to open on Thanksgiving but by opening in March it was able to get IMAX and PLF screens it wouldn’t have had with Black Panther 2 and Avatar 2. But with Scream IV, Shazam! Fury of the Gods and John Wick: Chapter 4 opening over the next three weeks might not be able to hold on for them for long.
The 8 Rocky films have taken over $800m in the US and $1.55bn worldwide but as of course the first Rocky film opened almost 50 years ago, Rocky’s $225m worldwide BO would be $2.1bn worldwide.
As always industries’ reaction to a film’s opening goes from one extreme to another as MGM is now owned by Amazon, they used its opening showed the power of a wide cinema release. But its strong opening was due to being a sequel to a hugely popular franchise that played across generations and received positive reviews. Creed III had an ace in the hole opening in March as it had an IMAX trailer playing with Avatar: The Way of Water, while Jonathan Majors was talking about Creed III whilst promoting Ant-Man 3 a month ago.
The problem is the industry gets caught up with its hype over the film’s opening weekend, but the key weekend is its second and third, which could see Creed III dropping heavily against Scream VI and Shazam! Fury of the Gods as 66% of its opening audience was under 35, as Creed II dropped 53.2% in the second weekend and 40% in the third without any competition.
Creed III social media TikTok, Youtube, Twitter, and Instagram with an audience of about 354m 69% more than Creed II.
Creed III will lose IMAX/PLF and 4DX screens to Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The industry needs to slow down its response to how films open if a film is playing so heavily to those under 35s this is the audience who rushes to see these films over opening weekend and then quickly moves on to the next one opening the following weekend.
Opened with $41.8m internationally from 75 territories (109% more than Creed and 25% more than Creed II) and $100.4m worldwide.
Took $9.6m globally from IMAX including $3.1m internationally.
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – Disney
Dropped 60% taking $12.81m and $186.13m.
427th biggest third weekend between The Meg and Ant-Man (close to Captain America: The First Avenger, X-Men, Fantastic Four (2005) and Superman Returns).
27th biggest MCU third weekend between Captain America: The First Avenger ($13.02m) and Ant-Man ($12.8m) close to Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Eternals and The Incredible Hulk).
29th biggest 3rd-weekend percentage drop between Thor: The Dark World and Eternals (close to Thor: Ragnarok, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Black Widow).
Third weekends
2015’s Ant-Man dropped 48.6% taking $12.8m and $132.33m of $180.2m and $519.31m worldwide.
2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp dropped 43.3% taking $16.5m and $165m of $216.64m and $622.67m worldwide.
MCU is similar to Disney’s approach to Star Wars, in 2015 they announced plans to release a Star Wars film every year infinitely. Initially, fan reaction was very positive, especially after the release of The Force Awakens and Rogue One but after the release of The Last Jedi it didn’t feel that exciting anymore to have a yearly Star Wars film, especially when to understand it you would have to do your homework.
The Force Awakens (as original Ant-Man) was a palette cleanser to Star Wars it allowed new fans to join existing fans as it was accessible for all but the sequels as with MCU films in Phase 4 you need to do your homework now 30 films and 27 TV shows to fully understand the films.
Took $22m (53% drop) from 52 territories $232.7m total and $419.5m worldwide; China $36.9m; UK $20.7m; Mexico $16.3m; Korea $12.3m; France $11.2m.
- Cocaine Bear – Universal Pictures
Dropped 52% in the second weekend $11.13m and $41.4m
2,178th biggest film between Pale Rider and Peggy Sue Got Married; 3,167th between Mortal Thoughts and All About Steve; 5th biggest 2023 film between Creed III and 80 for Brady; 296th biggest Universal Pictures film between Truth or Dare and Little.
1999’s Lake Placid dropped 49% $5.59m and $21.37m of $31.77m and $56.87m WW
2006’s Snakes on a Plane dropped 57.7% $5.86m and $26.01m of $34.02m and $62.02m WW
2019’s Crawl dropped 49.2% $6.09m and $23.93m of $39.01m and $91.54m WW
1999’s Deep Blue Sea dropped 41.4% $11.2m and $45.51m of $73.64m and $164.64m WW
1997’s Anaconda dropped 27.7% $12.01m and $32.74m of $65.88m and $136.8m WW
1990’s Arachnophobia up 1.4% $8.16m and $23.8m of $53.2m
Took $3.13m from 51 territories and $10.9m total and $52.31m worldwide; 2,874th biggest worldwide between Mother’s Day and The Color of Money; 13th biggest worldwide between Magic Mike’s Last Dance and Plane; 337th biggest Universal Pictures film worldwide between Big Fat Liar and Ambulance.
- Avatar: The Way of Water – Disney
Down 25% in its 12th weekend taking $3.64m and $670.7m.
46th biggest 12th weekend between Star Wars: Return of the Jedi ($3.75m) and Top Gun ($3.47m)
The 9th biggest film between Titanic and Jurassic World; the 22nd biggest inflated between The Dark Knight and Grease; the 3rd biggest sci-fi between Avatar and Jurassic World.
In 2010 Avatar dropped 40.5% in the 12th weekend $8.11m #5 and $720.6m of $749.76m; #1 Alice in Wonderland $116.1m.
Took $6.1m from 52 territories $1.611bn total and $2.282bn worldwide; China $245.3m; France $151.6m; Germany $142.7m; Korea $107.9m; UK $92.8m.
3rd biggest worldwide between Avengers: Endgame and Titanic; 2nd biggest sci-fi worldwide between Avatar and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
In the UK Avatar: The Way of Water took £229,667 #8 and £76,725,041 11th biggest film between Titanic (£79,908,425) and The Lion King (£76,019,595) and 47th biggest inflated between Avengers: Infinity War and The Dark Knight (close to Ghost, Flash Gordon, Moonraker and Star Wars: Attack of the Clones)
However, the industry tries to spin it the film took much less in the UK than it was expected to do after opening with £11,187,562 and it was expected to have much stronger legs, excuses were that it received far harsher reviews in the UK but that is nonsense, it’s probably more to do with the drop in 3D BO compared to the 85%+ Avatar took.
Ticket inflation since Avatar opened in 2009 is up almost 50% (£5.44 to £7.69) and while 3D BO was probably less than half for Avatar 2 it played in five times as many IMAX cinemas in over 50. So Avatar 2 should have taken upwards of £100m, especially as Top Gun: Maverick took £83,575,590, Spider-Man No Way Home £96,903,566 and No Time To Die £98,001,515. But after Avatar’s re-release opened with £1,218,692 taking £2,408,255 didn’t seem to be excited for the sequel as much as there were for the original film and that was even after having the world premiere in London.
Three months before Avatar opened in 2009 there was Avatar Day in August showing 15 minutes of footage at the BFI IMAX which wowed the audience as it was something they hadn’t seen before, but there wasn’t the momentum of excitement leading up to its release, harder to do with a sequel as audiences know what to expect so harder to match up with their expectations.
Avatar opened with £6,670,591 (7.09% of final BO) from 503 cinemas £13,262 average taking £1,739,130 Friday while Avatar: The Way of Water opened with almost double £11,187,562 (14.58% of final BO) from 721 cinemas £15,517 average taking £3.5m Friday.
Avatar took 14.1x for opening compared with 6.86x for Avatar: The Way of Water.
After spending 8 weeks #1 over 11 Avatar dropped #2 in its 12th weekend taking £908,049 from 345 screens dropped 60% losing 3D and IMAX screens to Alice in Wonderland (£10,555,220) taking £88,748,017 94.4% of £94,025,474.
Dropped 30% in its 13th weekend £638,599 #4 from 271 screens and £89,856,247; dropped 30% in 14th weekend #7 £445,809 from 226 screens and £90,596,474; dropped 50% in 15th weekend £224,840 #10 from 170 screens and £91,053,002; dropped 52% in 16th weekend £107,629 #14 from 48 screens and £91,354,118.
It will be interesting to see if Disney give Avatar: The Way of Water an IMAX re-release ahead of its likely release on Disney+ at the end of the month.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Scream VI opens on Thursday with double bill previews on Wednesday, it’s expected to open between $35m-$40m in the US. 2022’s Scream UK opening of £2.46m was 8.2% of US ($30m) but it didn’t have previews and Scream VI will likely add £700k from previews which should see it opening closer to 10%. This should see Scream VI open with £3m+ which should see it open #1 ahead of Creed III’s second weekend.
The scream series has taken over £35m to date and £60m inflation inflated.
1997’s Scream £1,070,532 (£2,125,282 inflated) from 214 screens £8,247,094 (£16,372,609 inflated); opening was 13% of total BO.
1998’s Scream 2 £2,493,950 (£4,951,134 inflated) from 387 screens £8,280,725 (£16,439,375 inflated)
2000’s Scream 3 £2,449,937 (£4,498,975 inflated) from 400 screens £5,585,267 (£10,256,581 inflated)
2011’s Scream 4 £2,061,885 (£2,749,180 inflated) from 408 screens £5,581,902 (£7,442,536 inflated)
2022’s Scream £2,468,510 from 622 screens £7,438,313; opening was 33.2% of total BO.
As the audience for Scream VI is similar to Creed III will likely have a bigger drop than the previous two films, about 50% taking £2.3m-£2.6m
2015’s Creed dropped 45.2% £1,217,405 and £4,305,551 75.7% of £5,684,690
2018’s Creed II dropped 42.6% £1,717,275 and £5,990,120 62% of £9,672,937
As Creed II held better than Creed due to not having any competition, Creed had The Revenant #1, Star Wars: The Force Awakens #2 and Ride Along 2 opening #3 while Creed II had no direct competition until Aquaman opened two weeks later.
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania will drop again 50% in its 4th weekend taking £600k-£700k which will see Puss in Boots: The Last Wish return to #3 taking £700k-£800k holding well despite being available to watch at home ad Minions: The Rise of Gru and DC League of Super-Pets did last year.
Sci-Fi thriller 65 and comedy Champions will struggle to find audiences in the UK while Avatar: The Way of Water will likely have its last week in the top 10, Disney announced it will be released digitally on March 28th.
Opening in two weeks
- John Wick: Chapter 4 – Lionsgate
Action thriller sequel to 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum the fourth instalment in the John Wick franchise, starring Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, and Ian McShane and directed by Chad Stahelski.
Originally set for release on May 21, 2021, delayed first due to COVID and then filming commitments for The Matrix Resurrections seeing it delayed to May 27, 2022, when Top Gun Maverick was moved to that date was then delayed to March 2023.
It had its UK premiere this week and early reactions have been positive, but they always have to be taken with a pinch of salt, but it is 38 minutes longer than the previous film at 2hrs 49 mins it’s almost twice as long as the first film 1hr 36mins.
2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum opened #1 £3,562,524 including £849,972 from 2 days of previews from 542 screens taking £10,203,138
Opened 560%+ than 2015’s John Wick and 60%+ than John Wick: Chapter 2 was Keanu Reeves’s biggest opening in the UK since 2003’s The Matrix Revolutions at £8,712,350 and his first #1 since 2008’s The Day the Earth Stood Still at £2,752,132
2017’s John Wick: Chapter 2 opened #3 £2,232,055 (including £248,415 previews) from 435 cinemas taking £5,766,633
Warner Bros opened the first John Wick film over 6 months after its US release in the UK opening April 2015, the week after Fast & Furious 7 taking £539,602 #7 from 390 screens taking £1,439,149.
- Infinity Pool – Universal Pictures
The sci-fi horror film starring Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth and Cleopatra Coleman and written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg.
Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival receiving positive reviews (87% Rotten Tomatoes) and European premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.
- 80 For Brady – Paramount Pictures
Sports comedy starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Billy Porter, Rob Corddry, Alex Moffat, and Guy Fieri and directed by Kyle Marvin.
While the film had a small audience in the US it has no audience in the UK as it’s about a group of friends going to see Tom Brady at 2017’s Super Bowl, released in the US in February received mixed reviews and opened with $12.5m taking $37m.
Films about US sports rarely find an audience in the UK so there was no reason to give the film a cinema release, studios would regularly give films a token cinema release to be part of their lucrative Sky Cinema deal. 80 For Brady was originally due to be released on Paramount+ but as with Smile they gave it a theatrical release, other studios have also switched films made for streaming like Magic Mike’s Last Dance and given them theatrical release.