- Practical Magic 2 £2,798,771 – NE
Took £1.01m 36.1%; Friday £1.02m 36.45% Saturday; £768k 27.45% Sunday.
647th biggest opening between The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials and GI Joe: Retaliation (close to The Holiday, Ticket To Paradise, Don’t Worry Darling and The Lost City) and 1,029th biggest inflated opening between Sea of Love and Groundhog Day (close to He’s Just Not That Into You, My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and P.S. I Love You).
29th biggest opening over the last 52 weeks between The Magic Faraway Tree and Supergirl (close to Hamnet, Moana, Masters Of The Universe and One Battle After Another)
It’s the sixth biggest opening for both Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman only Minions (£11.68m), Gravity (£6.24m), Ocean’s 8 (£4.34m) The Proposal (£3.24m) and Bullet Train (£2.85m) are ahead, whilst for Nicole Kidman only The Golden Compass (£7.24m), Aquaman (£5.23m), Paddington (£5.18m), Batman Forever (£4.71m) and Happy Feet (£3.68m)
Legacy sequel starring Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing and Maisie Williams and directed by Susanne Bier based on the 2021 novel The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman. Set 25 years after the first film as with all other legacy sequels features the children of the lead characters in the original film.
The first six months of the year was very strong for films targetting female audiences, but they were from films that organically found their audiences Practical Magic 2 feel like the complete opposite cynically created to cash in on this nostalgia. The problem is the original Practical Magic film never connected to audiences as other female targetting films like The Devil Wears Prada or Freaky Friday and built on that audience over the years since on home video and streaming.
Practical Magic was forgotten by many until the sequel was announced, it feels more like the 1990 film Mermaids starring Cher, Bob Hoskins and Winona Ryder with a sequel no one ever thought was needed. Of course, that was similarly the case with The Devil Wears Prada with Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway rejecting plans for a sequel foe almost 20 years. They finally agreed to make a sequel probably for a similar reason Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock agreed to make Practical Magic 2 as they were not getting the film roles they used to get.
It is fabulous to see Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman together but over recent years their star power has dimmed in cinemas, their biggest recent successes have come from steaming films and TV shows.
Sandra Bullock starring in The Lost City and Ocean’s Eight over the last 13 years since the massive success of Gravity. When Practical Magic opened in 1999 Sandra Bullock had recently starred in several disappointing films including In Love and War, Speed 2: Cruise Control and Hope Floats. After Practical Magic came one of her biggest hits Miss Congeniality.
Nicole Kidman has starred in Babygirl, Aquaman and the Lost City and Bombshell but as with Sandra Bullock has sadly been a long time since she had a big box office hit in the cinema so their decision to star in Practical Magic 2 was probably similar to Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway agreeing to finally making Devil Wears Prada 2 for Hollywood to see them as leading actors again.
The trailer feels like it was made by paint by numbers, we need all the stereotypical elements, we must show that they are still as they were 25 years ago, then their children turn up, having done something crazy, then their grand mums turn up and make things worse, and then they fix the mess and end the film with a dance. There is the argument. There is the kids. There is the meddling grandma. There is the dance. I have seen this trailer before in Hocus Pocus 2, Freakier Friday, Coming 2 America, and many others.
1999’s Practical Magic opened £1,001,536/£1,905,535 from 284 screens taking £2,987,705/£5,684,446
This was similar to 2003’s Freaky Friday opening £1,214,559/£2,191,130 taking £6,393,998/£11,535,118.
2025’s Freakier Friday opened £1,758,698 taking £8,192,283; Friday £743k 42.26%; Saturday £555k 31.57%; Sunday £460k 26.17%
I know I am not the target audience but was a huge fan of Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman films from the 90s to 00s and these feels calculated without any heart to it. I grew up with Practical Magic; watched many Sandra Bullock films including While You Were Sleeping and Miss Congeniality and Nicole Kidman in To Die For, Moulin Rouge and The Others.
As Disney would say Freakier Friday is not for those who saw Freaky Friday in cinemas it is for their children, but they also want tis films to play to multi generations.
Practical Magic 2 is directed by Susanne Bier, a filmmaker whose recent career tells the story of the film’s fundamental contradiction. Bier’s biggest successes have been in television and streaming, The Night Manager (2016), The Undoing (2020), and The Perfect Couple (2024), the latter two starring Nicole Kidman. Her most-watched film, Bird Box (2018), was a Netflix release that became the platform’s most-watched film within 28 days, but it was never a theatrical proposition.
Her theatrical films have been less successful. Serena (2014), starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, was a flop. Bird Box worked because it was made for a streaming audience, a different proposition entirely.
This matters because the same film that is a hit on Netflix can be a flop in cinemas. On streaming, there is no marginal cost; you are already paying the subscription, so a film just needs to be enjoyable enough for two hours. In cinemas, you are asking audiences to pay £15-£20, travel to a venue, and commit their evening. The bar is much higher. Practical Magic 2 is a streaming film at heart, a film that would be a hit on Netflix but will struggle in a market that demands every release be an event.
Bier’s connection to both Nicole Kidman (The Undoing, The Perfect Couple) and Sandra Bullock (Bird Box) is likely why the film exists at all. It is a relationship-driven project, not a demand-driven one. Both actresses have found their biggest recent successes on streaming and TV, Kidman in Big Little Lies and The Undoing, Bullock in Bird Box. They are not making Practical Magic 2 because audiences demanded it. They are making it because Bier has relationships with both of them, and it is one of the few theatrical projects available to actresses of their age and stature.
This is the “actress of a certain age” problem in action. Hollywood does not make many films for women over 50, especially not theatrical ones. So, when a project like Practical Magic 2 comes along, with a director both actresses have worked with and trust, it gets made. Not because there’s demand, but because it is one of the few options available.
The result is a film that exists because of streaming-era logic, made by a director whose strengths lie in television and streaming, starring two actresses whose biggest recent successes have been on streaming, being released into a theatrical market that no longer supports this kind of film.
- 2. Oasis: Do not Look Back In Anger £2,656,988 – NE
Took £584k 21.99% Friday; £622k 23.42% Saturday; £410k 15.44% Sunday.
Includes £1,041,985 from previews Wednesday and Thursday
688th biggest opening between Pixels and Halloween (close to Goosebumps, The Other Woman, Last Christmas, and The Muppets
32nd biggest opening over the last 52 weeks between Masters Of The Universe and One Battle After Another (close to Practical Magic 2, Supergirl, Now You See Me: Now You Do not and The Running Man).
Took 14% from IMAX; top 5 cinemas Vue Manchester Printworks, BFI IMAX, Showcase Glasgow East, Cineworld Glasgow Silverburn and Cineworld Ashton-Under-Lyne
It was the third biggest opening for a music documentary after Michael Jackson’s This Is It (£4.87m) and One Direction: This Is Us (£3.47m) and ahead of EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert (£1.87m).
Opened similar to The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act £2,684,963 taking £2,940,072; had similar previews £912,236 and similar opening weekend taking £445k 16.57% Friday; £790k 29.42% Saturday; £542k 20.19% Sunday.
The documentary received strong media coverage after having its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and UK premiere days after receiving positive reviews.
Previously In 2021 Oasis Knebworth 1996 documentary opened £344,833 #4 from 435 screens taking £689k while 2024 blur: Live At Wembley Stadium opened £81,680 #13 319 screens and 2016’s Supersonic took £764,000.
On the back of Oasis: Do not Look Back In Anger documentary Oasis announced their second world tour in 2027 on Monday.
Inspired by Oasis making up on Friday Cineworld and Odeon Twitter made up playing off against each other asking who Liam and Noel be.
It will drop heavily in its second weekend as its shows are dramatically reduced unlike Michael Jackson’s This Is It, One Direction: This Is Us and EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert that played I cinemas for several weeks. It will be released om Disney+ shortly, Disney have not announced a date.
It will play in cinemas until September 24h and then be released o Disney+ in October/November.
- 3. Pressure £2,058,089 – NE
Includes £607,574 from previews Wednesday and Thursday
Took £400k 19.44% Friday; £587k 28.52% Saturday; £511k 24.83% Sunday.
936th biggest opening between Batman and Bounty Hunter (close to Judy, Mary, Queen of Scots, Burn After Reading and Star Trek: Generations) and
40th biggest opening over the last 52 weeks between The End Of Oak Street and Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie (close to Predator: Badlands, The Drama, EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert and Tron: Ares).
Pressure had the third widest cinema opening for Studiocanal after Paddington In Peru (728) and Back To Black (720)
Pressure based on David Haig 2014 stage play tells the story about the build-up of D Day predicting the weather, as it would have a massive impact if they could land soldiers in France, the problem was the weather changes dramatically and there was a battle of wills between the UK and US weather experts. The US were going by historical data, while the British understood how the weather could change suddenly.
The film has been expanded to make it more cinematic which likely lost some of its intensity and claustrophobic elements being set in single room.
It is being sold as from the producers of 2018’s Darkest Hour (open £4,058,356/£4,502,414 taking £24,112,875/£26,751,264 but was never going to open anywhere nearly as strong even over five days.
The Daily Telegraph described British films like Pressure as Waitrose films, which are nostalgic, middle class oriented British films aimed at the older audience rather than the younger demographic that include films like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.
When the Telegraph boxes these films into this category these types of films are intentionally being made as there are limited resources for the British film industry and these films are safe as they have an exiting audience so why would risk making films targetting younger audiences when they have far more higher profile films as competition.
The only way these films can stand out is by highlighting their quaint Britishness and this will mean they are more likely to play to American audiences. Pressure is seen as a British film as its made by Working Title, filmed in the UK with a strong British cast, but Working Title is owned by Universal Pictures and the film was financed by Studiocanal, a French owned company. So, the reason these kinds of films are being made as its what these international companies believe are British films.
It is no different to what Working Title did 30 years ago making awkward romantic British comedies, if this genre of films is successful, they will keep making them as they have low risk. If the Uk had its own self-sufficient film industry, they would make a wider mix of films as Polygram did 30 years ago making a wife range of films including The Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, Bean and Plunkett & Macleane.
The British film industry is not making the films it wants to make. It is making the films that international companies believe British films should be the British films it wants to make are being made by US studios in the UK. For over 60 years the UK has become a production hub for American films, not a home for British ones, as seen what happened when the UK government introduced the Eady Levy, US studios opened British offices to qualify for the levy and the first James Bond films qualified for the lev as they were made by British United Artists
Despite films like Pressure being seen as British films and acquired by US studio as Pressure and The Uprising they seem to be second partner in these films as they opened in the US before the US despite the UK a far stronger market for these films. Pressure opened in May in the US despite positive reviews opened $5.81m taking $15.56m and $19.55m so far worldwide. Had it opened globally in September could have generated much more media coverage having a world premiere at Venice Film Festival before having a high-profile UK premiere as so often happens with September releases.
With positive word of mouth Pressure should hold strongly in its second weekend and also perform strongly mid-week.
- 4. The Odyssey £889,732 – £84,545,888
Dropped 41.8% in its ninth weekend.
£207k 23.3% (-49% £406k) Fri; £391k 43.9% (-33.8% £591k) Sat; £291k 32.7% (-68.8% £533k) Sun
13th biggest ninth weekend between LOTR: The Fellowship of the Rings and Casino Royale (close to Toy Story 4, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Avatar: The Way of Water and American Beauty) and 39th biggest inflated ninth weekend between Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 and LOTR: Return of the King (close to Star Wars: Phantom Menace, The World Is Not Enough, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Fatal Attraction).
After being behind Brand New Day for the last 6 weeks The Odyssey squeezed past it in its ninth weekend due to IMAX BO only £60k separated the two films. It will lose almost all IMAX screens on Friday so will likely drop out of the top 5 in its 10th weekend.
It would be interesting to see the BO split between IMAX and PLFs for The Odyssey as that would explain how its held so strongly over the last nine weeks with IMAX BO increasing week on week as has been in the US making it impossible to compare with other films as most others will lose IMAX/PLFs after 4 weeks.
The Odyssey since its second weekend has held similar to Lord of the Rings and James Bond films and its no different in its ninth weekend, it will now start slowing down so its unlikely to get to £90m which most expected a few weeks ago.
Barbenheimer 9th weekend
2023’s Oppenheimer dropped 34% £323,130 #7 and £57,304,372 of £58.5m Oppenheimer remained in the top ten for ten weeks.
The Odyssey will be released on PVOD and DVD on November 17th and Sky Cinema in April 2027.
10th biggest between Avengers: Endgame and Top Gun: Maverick (close to Spectre, Avatar, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Titanic) and 37th biggest inflated between Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and The Lion King (close to Superman, Shrek 2, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and Toy Story 2).
- 5. Spider-Man: Brand New Day £839,515 – £98,117,216
Dropped 48.7% in its seventh weekend.
72nd biggest seventh weekend between Life of Pi and Four Weddings and a Funeral (close to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Moana 2, Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and 158th biggest seventh weekend between Saving Private Ryan and A Star Is Born (close to Batman Forever, The Flintstones, Braveheart and Jurassic Park: The Lost World).
After a film holds #1 for a long time, they drop down the charts very quickly, Spider-Man: No Way Home hold #1 for six weeks, dropped to third in its seventh weekend and fifth in its eighth weekend and stayed in the top 10 for 13 weeks.
2019’s Joker was #1 for 6 weeks, dropped #3 in seventh weekend, #6 in its eighth weekend and was out of the top 10 in its 10th weekend. It was similar with Black Panther and Avatar, its almost like the BO freezes until another major film opens as the film sucks up all the oxygen of all the films that follow afterwards. Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey were surely helped by the fact that there would not be any films that couple compete directly against either of them for almost two months as all the films opening in the weeks afterwards played to different audiences.
3rd biggest between Skyfall and No Time To Die (close to Barbie, Spectre, Avatar, and Avengers: Endgame) and 26th biggest inflated between Avengers: Endgame and Barbie (close to The Full Monty, The Spy Who Loved Me, Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Crocodile Dundee)
Sony/Marvel will surely announced Spider-Man 5 as part of Phase Seven for release July 2029/30; Spider-Man will appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Sony Pictures will release Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse year, Sony Pictures recently announced no plans for any more Spider-Man spinoff films as they all were poorly received and all except Venom underperformed at the BO.
Also opened
The 45th Anniversary 4K Re-Issue of Steven Spielberg’s Raiders Of The Lost Ark opened £241,149 #9. From 480 screens
Fall 2 opened #6 £479,264 from 371 screens and Runner opened £382,665 #8 from 385 screens.
The Passion Of The Christ (4K Re-Issue) £17,438 #37 from 180 screens ahead of the sequel opening next year
While Coyote Vs. Acme #10 £139,298 taking £1,958,847 in its fourth weekend from 377 screens showing despite exhibitors limiting shows word of mouth has been string and audiences have been seeking it out, had exhibitors supported it would have surely done far better seen by how it is held in the US taking $47.68m and $65m worldwide.
While The Death Of Robin Hood dropped 91% in its second weekend £28,213 #31 from 270 screens and £537,534
—
2026 BO is currently up 21% from 2025.
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £10,943,051 up 75.6% from last weekend’s £6,232,728, 1,366,174 admissions, up 39% from 982,848 admissions.
34th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 23 January 2026 #1 The Housemaid £2,038,034 (18.58%) and 20 February 2026 #1 Wuthering Heights £3,878,031 (38.08%)
126th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 304 weeks between 03 February 2023 #1 Puss In Boots: The Last Wish £4,950,495 (45.13%) and 03 March 2023 #1 Creed III £5,003,452 ( 45.86%)
584th biggest top 10 of the last 25 years (out of 1,274) between 15 August 2008 #1 The Dark Knight £2,302,866 (21.03%) and 02 September 2016 #1 Sausage Party £2,690,156 (24.59%) and 962nd biggest inflated between 04 April 2008 #1 27 Dresses £1,028,661 (15.53%) and 14 December 2001 #1 Harry Potter Philosopher’s Stone £2,391,251 (45.55%)
The top 3 took £7,513,848 (68.7%) of the top 10; Practical Magic 2 25.58% (£2,798,771); Oasis: Do not Look Back In Anger 24.28% (£2,656,988); Pressure 18.81% (£2,058,089)
949th biggest percentage share #1 (25.58%) between 10 September 2010 #1 Resident Evil: Afterlife £1,690,655 (25.58%) and 22 December 2006 #1 Happy Feet £2,048,266 (25.53%)
977th biggest admissions (349,410) between 01 November 2002 #1 28 Days Later £1,500,079 (349,669) and 6 January 2012 #1 Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol £2,223,200 (349,011)
Down 20.2% from 2025; (£13,715,898); Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (£4,390,303); Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle (£3,464,393); The Long Walk (£1,156,220); Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (£215,115); #1 Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale £4,390,303 1st week 751 screens 32.01% of top 10).
Up 23.69% from 2024; (£8,847,393); Speak No Evil (£1,424,999); Lee (£705,643); Prima Facie – NT Live 2022 (Re: 2024) (Theatre) (£556,471); The Critic (£353,075); Spider-Man: Far From Home RE (£77,914); Batman & Robin (Re: 2024) (£15,189); #1 Beetlejuice 2 £4,272,202 2nd week 738 screens 42% drop (48.29% of top 10)
Up 69.31% from 2023; (£6,463,338); A Haunting in Venice (£2,186,930); Rise Of The Footsoldier: Vengeance (£179,804); The Dark Knight (Batman Day) (£175,576); The Jungle Book (Re: 1993) (£117,015); ABBA: The Movie – Fan Event (£116,574); Batman (Batman Day) (£66,351); Joker (Batman Day) (£37,014); Dazed And Confused (30th Anniversary) (£6,433); #1 A Haunting in Venice £2,186,930 1st week 711 screens (33.84% of top 10)
Up 229% from 2022 (£3,325,794); Moonage Daydream (£181,467); Clerks III (£47,712); Jackie Brown (25th Anniversary) (£21,636); #1 See How They Run £984,779 2nd week 15% drop 717 screens (29.61% of top 10)
Up 127.4% 2021 (£4,812,471); Gunpowder Milkshake (£35,578); 12 Mighty Orphans (£17,220); #1 Shangi-Chi £2,362,692 3rd week 34% drop 664 screens (49.1% of top 10)
Up 289 2020; (£2,572,070); Break the Silence (£249,996); The Broken Hearts Gallery (£87,568); The Roads Not Taken (£27,742); #1 Tenet £1,233,090 3rd week 612 screens down 42% (43.84% of top 10)
Down 9.97% 2019; (£12,155,175); Downton Abbey (£5,180,865); Hustlers (£1,353,324); #1 Downton Abbey £5,180,865 1st week 728 screens (42.6% of top 10)
Up 13.4% 2018: (£9,647,148); The Predator (£2,394,163); Crazy Rich Asians (£1,599,858); King of Thieves (£1,535,876); #1 The Predator £2,394,163 1st week 553 screens (24.8% of top 10)
Down 4.6% 2017: (£11,473,084); Victoria and Abdul (£1,846,970); mother! (£831,676); American Assassin (£768,951); Aces of the Jungle (£374,982); #1 It £6,070,542 2nd week 608 down 39% screens (52.9% of the top 10)
Down 13.6% 2016: (£13,181,394); Bridget Jones’s Baby (£8,111,077); Blair Witch (£959,401); The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years (£654,726); The Infiltrator (£370,439); Hunt for the Wilderpeople (£167,646); #1 Bridget Jones’s Baby £8,111,077 1st week 641 screens (61.5% of the top 10)
Down 5.2% 2015; (£11,539,308); Legend (£5,189,074); The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials (£2,799,428); The Visit (£1,031,292); Irrational Man (£197,188); #1 Legend £5,189,074 1st week 522 screens (44.9% of top 10)
Up 53.8% 2014: (£7,115,583); The Boxtrolls (£2,000,597); Pride (£718,778); A Most Wanted Man (£610,312); The Wizard of Oz (Re: 2014) (£42,478); #1 The Boxtrolls £2,000,597 1st week 510 screens (28.1% of top 10)
Up 3.7% 2013: (£10,548,613); Insidious 2 (£2,877,742); Rush (£2,099,308); White House Down (£1,184,338); Justin and the Knights of Valour (£831,011); In a World… (£35,178); 42 (£3,797); #1 Insidious 2 £2,877,742 1st week 414 screens (27.2% of top 10)
Up 41% 2012: (£7,760,490); The Sweeney (£1,545,294); ParaNorman (£1,393,123); Hope Springs (£728,689); To Rome with Love (£141,008); Premium Rush (£115,358); #1 The Sweeney £1,545,294 1st week 406 screens (19.9% of top 10)
Up 27.5% 2011; (£8,582,687); Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (£2,814,860); The Change-Up (£727,497); I Don’t Know How She Does It (£562,609); 30 Minutes or Less (£260,337); You Instead (£6,770); #1 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy £2,814,860 1st 382 screens 42% drop (32.8% of top 10)
Up 78.8% 2010: (£6,609,071); Resident Evil: Afterlife (£1,690,655); Tamara Drewe (£615,553); Going the Distance (£436,361); Cyrus (£429,687); The Runaways (£59,443); #1 Resident Evil: Afterlife £1,690,655 1st week 361 screens (25.6% of top 10)
Up 83.3% from 2009; (£5,969,293); Dorian Gray (£883,148); Sorority Row (£782,693); Julie & Julia (£540,441); Adventureland (£210,671); Whiteout (£150,995); Fish Tank (£103,180); The September Issue (£81,892); Miss March (£24,434); #1 District 9 £1,184,392 2nd week 446 screens 48% drop (19.8% of top 10)
Up 45.1% 2008; (£7,542,608); Pineapple Express (£1,372,911); The Women (£865,310); The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (£513,653); Eden Lake (£192,027); Sydney White (£1,157); #1 Pineapple Express £1,372,911 1st week 389 screens (18.2% of top 10)
Up 45.8% 2007: (£7,504,924); Superbad (£1,484,456); Disturbia (£728,145); Shoot ‘Em Up (£374,770); 3:10 To Yuma (£368,510); December Boys (£23,145); #1 Run, Fat Boy, Run £1,543,836 2nd week 411 screens 23% drop (20.5% of top 10)
Up 123.6% 2006; (£4,892,872); Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (£1,033,759); The Queen (£856,273); The Night Listener (£314,078); DOA (£224,786); #1 Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby £1,033,759 1st week 403 screens (21.2% of top 10)
Up 67.1% 2005: (£6,549,677); Pride and Prejudice (£2,529,947); Wolf Creek (£554,618); Must Love Dogs (£142,199); #1 Pride and Prejudice £2,529,947 1st week 397 screens (38.6% of top 10)
Up 56.3% 2004; (£6,998,915); Open Water (£1,970,176); Anchor Man (£555,864); Wicker Park (£316,722); Super-Size Me (£264,843); #1 Open Water £1,970,176 1st week 378 screens (28.1% of top 10)
Up 105% 2003 (£5,338,138); Calendar Girls (expansion) (£1,762,505); Tears of the Sun (£406,324); Sin Eater (£161,779); Spirited Away (£152,504); #1 Calendar Girls £1,762,505 2nd week (1st #1) 462 screens (33.1% of top 10)
Up 50.9% from 2002: (£7,251,582); Signs (£3,767,713); A Walk to Remember (£246,860); #1 Signs £3,767,713 1st week 443 screens (51.9% of top 10)
Up 66.1% from 2001 (£6,587,094); The Fast and the Furious (£1,763,020); The Martins (£310,600); #1 Moulin Rouge £1,859,732 2nd week 314 screens 23% drop (28.2% of top 10).
Next week: 2025 (£7,412,219); A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (£533,931); The Sound Of Music (60th Anniversary) (£178,556); Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe (£88,284); #1 Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale £2,267,004 2nd week 48% drop 760 screens (30.58% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Practical Magic 2 – Warner Bros
Opened $30m; received poor reviews (36% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore.
Took $4.7m from Thursday previews; Wuthering Heights $3m; Freakier Friday $3.1m; The Lost City $4.25m; Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again $3.4m; Maleficent $4.2m; Pitch Perfect 2 $4.6m
35% from PLFs
695th biggest opening between Meg 2: The Trench and Trolls Band Together (close to Shazam! Fury of the Gods, 28 Years Later, What Lies Beneath and Dark Shadows).
Over recent years Warner Bros have had strong success opening a film the week after Labor Day including Conjuring: Last Rites, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and the It films.
Ahead of opening Practical Magic 2 was tracking to open with $40m+ and $18-$25m internationally and between $48m-$65m worldwide; but this seemed to be very high for a film that did not have the original connection with audiences as other legacy sequels. There were many issues with the film including the length 130 mins was far too stodgy and $75m budget was far too high for a film like this.
1998’s Practical Magic opened $13.1m/$32.3m taking $46.7m/$115m and $94.3m/$232.2m worldwide
2003’s Freaky Friday opened $22.2m/$46m taking $110.2m/$228.3m and $160.8m/$333.2m worldwide
2025’s Freakier Friday opened $28.58 taking $94.2m and $153.2m worldwide
Opened close to recent Sandra Bullock films including Lost City $30.4m taking $105.3m, The Proposal $33.6m taking $163.9m.
Audience was overall 78% female; 69% 25+ and 36% 45+; social media across X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook was 573.6m ahead of opening more than Freakier Friday (460.2m), Snow White (534.2m), and Cruella (424.7m). Joey King has 36.6m fans, Nicole Kidman 25.9m, Maisie Williams 9.8m and Sandra Bullock at 5.5m; while it received poor reviews word of mouth was positive.
Warner Bros have yet to have a $100m US BO film in 2026, all of the other studios have had at least one, it’s the first time in 25 years they haven’t had a $100m US BO film, the last time then went a year without $100m film was between Contact and Lethal Weapon 4. Warner Bros have at least two $100m+ sure things later in the year with The Cat in the Hat and Dune Part 3, and the DC horror Clayface should also, Digger starring Tom Cruise should also be a sure thing but buzz has been soft and it could be a bit to quirky and political to take $100m.
Of course, $100m BO used to mean a film was a hit 30 years ago but now with budgets for films like Practical Magic $75m it needs to take much more.
While Practical Magic became a bigger hit on home video and DVD it wasn’t a big hit in the cinema so didn’t have the foundation fanbase other legacy sequels like Freaky Friday and The Devil Wears Prada had, you can’t create excitement for a legacy sequel if there wasn’t anything for the original film, why it always felt strange to make a sequel to Practical Magic as it’s a film has disappeared from consciousness.
It feels like it was made similar to The Devil Wears Prada 2 was give Anne Hathaway the career boost as she had suffered over recent years with the roles she received and has starred in five cinema releases this year and will also star in Days of Thunder 2, while Nicole Kidman has had a lot of TV success recently film wise apart from Babygirl they haven’t been as successful, this is the regular issue when actresses get older they struggle to find the roles they used to get, as similar to Anne Hathway and Meryl Streep the BO performance of the films starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock have softened.
Practical Magic 2 was directed by Susanne Bier; she previously directed 2018’s Bird Box starring Sandra Bullock despite mixed reviews became Netflix’s most watched film within 28 days. This of course is the issue with the eventisation of cinema audiences will not come out for the films they would have done 20 years ago, films like Practical Magic 2 would be massive on streaming despite receiving mixed reviews, but they struggle in cinemas as people will not pay $20 for these films.
Internationally 2025’s Freakier Friday opened $15.5m from 46 territories; Mexico $2.8m; UK $2.4m; Australia $1.4m
While Ocean is 8 opened with $53.7m worldwide
Opened with $16m from 77 territories and $46m worldwide; including UK $3.9m; Australis $2.2m and Mexico $1.2m
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day — Sony Pictures
Dropped 53.7% in its seventh weekend $8.41m and $935.18m
51st biggest seventh weekend between The Polar Express and A Beautiful Mind (close to Finding Nemo, Jurassic Park, There’s Something About Mary and The Hangover).
3rd biggest film worldwide between Avengers: Endgame and Avatar: The Way of Water (close to Titanic, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War and Spider-Man: No Way Home).
While these films look like they are massive box office successes, they must be put it into perspective seen by 5th biggest film worldwide Ne Zha 2 taking $2.27bn from China alone as it shows that these films should be taking $5bn+ now as the industry is still comparing success with Titanic taking $2.26bn in 1997 now would be $6bn+.
International
Brand New Day took $19m in 67 territories taking $1.516bn total international and $2.452bn WW; China $233m; UK $132m; Mexico $90.7m; France $86.5m; Brazil $76.7m.
- The Odyssey – Universal Pictures
Dropped 42% in its ninth weekend $7.59m and $600.7m.
It took 61% of its BO from IMAX over the weekend, its been taking a higher percentage from IMAX each weekend since opening.
15h biggest ninth weekend between Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Spider-Man: No Way Home (close to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Mrs. Doubtfire, Back to the Future and Beverly Hills Cop).
Premium-format impact
EntTelligence said average ticket prices for Odyssey were general $15.32; 70MM $22.46 and 70MM IMAX $27.77
70mm IMAX has taken $66m worldwide from 41 cinemas averaging $1.6m per cinema; IMAX has taken over $457m worldwide.
This weekend took $14.6m worldwide from IMAX; $4.5m US and $10.2m international including $3.3m from 70mm IMAX $78.8m total and $506.1m total; $290.9m international and $215.2m from the US.
Internationally
The Odyssey took $27m from 85 territories $1.084bn total and $1.684bn worldwide UK $113.7m; China $104.7m; France $88.8m; Korea $87.6m; Germany $61.8m.
It has started to lose IMAX screens with Resident Evil taking many this week apart from some 70mm IMAX screens which it still has for a few more weeks.
It became Universal Pictures biggest film worldwide topping Jurassic World
- The Uprising – Focus Features
Opened $3.31m; received mixed reviews (52% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore.
Opened similar to the recent Death of Robin Hood, $2.8m taking $5.3m
The action period film directed by Paul Greengrass was marketed for a short time as The Uprising: The Rise of Robin Hood, even though Robin Hood is never mentioned in the film, Focus Features marketed I it as a Robi Hood origin story without permission from the producers, after the recent Death of Robin Hood recently flopped it was surprising they would have wanted to connect it to Robin Hood if it had nothing to do with it.
It started development in 2022 as The Hood with Benedict Cumberbatch attached, was retitled The Rage in 2025 with Matthew McConaughey attached he was replaced by Andrew Garfield and Focus Features acquired US rights for $11m and the title was changed to The Uprising.
The film was marketed as The Uprising up to three weeks before opening, then Focus Features released a new trailer changing its title to The Uprising: The Rise of Robin Hood with Garfield dressed in green wearing a mask. While in the UK Entertainment Films had a very different marketing campaign that did not mention Robin Hood and issued a statement saying that any refences to Robin Hood were not approved. It could have just been a publicity stunt as before this happened buzz was very soft, that said it opened softly and as with the Death of Robin Hood likely damaged its UK opening in a months’ time.
It is surprising that yet again a British film acquired by Focus Features opened in the US before the US and likely had an impact on its box office, as Pressure opened in the UK last weekend over three months after opening in the US to mixed success.
- Runner – Angel Studios
Opened $6.46m; received positive reviews 73% Rotten Tomatoes) and A- CinemaScore
As with other Angel Studios films it played strongest in the South, Midwest, and Mountain regions.
- Do not Look Back In Anger – Disney
Opened $1.38m #11 from 1,225 screens; received positive reviews 97% Rotten Tomatoes)
Took 71% of its US opening from IMAX.
Opened $6.8m internationally over half from the UK $3.6m
2009’s Michael Jackson’s This Is It opened $23.23m taking $72.09m and $267.98m worldwide
2013’s One Direction: This Is Us opened $15.81m taking $29.13m and $74.37m worldwide
2026’s EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert opened $3.21m taking $13.57m and $23.46m worldwide
Oasis have become more popular in the US recently after their global tour last year, but they are still far less mainstream than they are in the UK.
UK Box Office Top 10
Box Office Preview
The Resident Evil reboot has received strong buzz and excitement for weeks and being directed by Zach Cregger is his follow-up to last years Weapons (opened £2,818,535 taking £11,231,965) also directed Barbarian and he also directed possibly the worst film ever made 2009’s Miss March.
It is the second reboot of the Resident Evil film series, based on Capcom’s Resident Evil video game franchise, based on events featured in 1998’s Resident Evil 2 video game.
After the disappointing performance of the seventh film of the franchise 2021’s of Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (opened £253,199 #8 from 329 screens) and the 2022 Netflix TV series.
Resident Evil will be boosted by IMAX/PLF screens which will see it have the biggest opening of the series. The current biggest opening of the series was 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife opened £1.69m taking £4.12m; Resident Evil will likely be front-loaded with Avengers Endgame Encore opening next weekend.
The film has had a strong fresh marketing campaign that included a docking slip that has the address of Raccoon City but doesn’t mention the film feels like its targetting passionate fanbase rather than going for a more generic style horror as the other films have should revitalise Resident Evil franchise, that said Zach Cregger has said he was only going to make one Resident Evil film.
Premiere reactions have been very positive calling it one of the best video game adaptations, but as always have to take those reactions with a pinch of salt as they are from extreme fans.
Resident Evil likely to open £2.5m-£3m.
Shaun The Sheep: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom took £451,926 from previews last weekend and will likely open similar to the earlier two films.
2019’s A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon opened £1,305,511 #3 taking £7,081,393
2015’s Shaun The Sheep Movie opened £2,095,061 taking £13,675,389
Shaun The Sheep: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom likely to open between £1.5m-£2m including previews.
And similar to other Aardman Animations films
2012’s The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! opened £2,176,195 taking £16,539,738
2018’s Early Man opened £2,020,653 taking £11,205,643
Practical Magic 2 will drop to third as it will not be affected by those two new releases and while reviews where poor word of mouth has been positive, so drop about 40% in its second weekend.
Pressure should drop to fourth having a similar drop as again word of mouth should see it hold well in its second weekend.
Oasis: Do not Look Back In Anger will drop to fifth having a big second weekend drop 70%+ due to taking £1m+ from previews, which will see The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day moved out of thee top 5 for the first time.
Bad Apples could squeeze into the top 5 depending on if audiences embrace it as it has received positive reviews and dark comedy nature of the film could connect with audiences. There have been many different versions of this plot over the years with films including Ruthless People and The Ref, but Bad Apples is a darker version of it similar to Promising Your Woman and Fargo and TV series Sweetpea.
Coming Soon
- Digger – Warner Bros
Black comedy starring Tom Cruise, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, and Jesse Plemons, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
Iñárritu began developing the film after The Revenant (2015). Tom Cruise was announced in 2024; he had been a fan of the director since Amores Perros (2000). It was filmed in the UK in late 2024 on 35mm with VistaVision, under the working title Judy.
The title was revealed in December 2025, with a teaser trailer, footage at CinemaCon, and a 30-second clip before the Top Gun re-release in May. The trailer was released in July, with a final trailer in early September, which led many to speculate it was a musical. This has been denied. (Cruise previously starred in the 2012 musical Rock of Ages, which flopped.)
The Cruise Paradox
Tom Cruise is the world’s biggest actor; his films have taken over $13.3bn worldwide. But apart from Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder (2008), he has struggled with original films. Digger is his 19th film in 20 years. When he has tried something different, Lions for Lambs, Valkyrie, Rock of Ages, Jack Reacher, The Mummy, audiences have not embraced them. Even positively received films like Oblivion, Edge of Tomorrow, and American Made struggled to find his fanbase. This is despite Cruise being the ultimate showman, always doing everything he can to build media coverage with his famous red-carpet walkabouts.
It is like Cruise has framed his Mission: Impossible films between riskier projects. He ended his relationship with Paramount in 2006, becoming head of United Artists. But after Tropic Thunder, Paramount was desperate for another Mission: Impossible film. Cruise wanted to make Jack Reacher—and as part of the deal to make Ghost Protocol, he got to make it.
Digger is Cruise’s fifth film in eight years and his first original film since American Made (2017).
The Trump/Les Grossman Parallel
Digger Rockwell is described as “the most powerful and hated man in the world,” a billionaire oil tycoon convinced he is the only man capable of saving humanity. The parallels to Donald Trump are unmistakable—and deliberate. But there is also a clear line back to Cruise’s most beloved comedic role: Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder. Digger is the fusion of the two: the ego of Trump, the vulgarity of Grossman, and the catastrophic incompetence of both. It is Trump + Grossman, and it is terrifying.
The trailer opens with the line: “With great power comes great deniability.” It is a direct jab at the Trumpian habit of avoiding responsibility while claiming credit. Multiple outlets have compared the film to Dr. Strangelove for the climate crisis age; a satire of the men who believe they are above consequences. One critic noted the subtext is barely hidden: “Overheard at the Trump White House: Is this fucking play about us?”
The Oscar Narrative
Cruise has been nominated for four Oscars. When it was announced he was starring in Iñárritu’s new film, many guessed he might finally get his Best Actor Oscar—just as Leonardo DiCaprio did with The Revenant. Cruise is overdue for an Oscar, but his recent films have not been Academy-friendly. Digger is his best shot in years.
The Release Strategy
Digger has its world premiere in the UK as the Royal Film Performance on September 22. It was expected to premiere at Toronto or Venice, but Warner Bros. likely still feels burned after the reaction to Joker: Folie à Deux at Venice in 2024. Holding the premiere in London 10 days before opening lets them control the media coverage and embargo.
The first weekend of October has been a lucrative launch date for adult dramas for over a decade—Gone Girl, The Martian, The Girl on the Train, Blade Runner 2049, A Star Is Born, Joker, No Time to Die. But since 2022, films have struggled over that weekend, including Joker: Folie à Deux and The Smashing Machine.
The Benchmark
The Revenant opened to £5.2m in January 2016, taking £21.8m in the UK. That is the benchmark for an Iñárritu film with a major star. But that opened in January after Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. Digger is more similar to last year’s One Battle After Another, which also skipped the festivals and opened with £2.47m, taking £11.6m. That is the realistic comp.
The Political Context
The film feels politically charged and it is. Tom Cruise’s character is a fusion of Les Grossman and Donald Trump. The film opens a month before the midterms. And it arrives in the middle of the battle between Paramount and the AGs over their acquisition of Warner Bros. Tom Cruise has publicly backed David Ellison. A film like Digger, Dr. Strangelove meets The Hudsucker Proxy, is a film that only a studio like Warner Bros., now itself the target of a Paramount takeover, would still make.
Tom Cruise has recently announced Days of Thunder 2 for 2028 opening 38 years after the original film which was not a huge success but its surely Paramount trying to get him to make Top Gun 3 afterwards.
The Prediction
Digger is a gamble. Cruise is a global star, but his original films have struggled. Iñárritu is a critical darling, but his films are dark and challenging. The October release date is a graveyard for recent adult dramas. But if it works, if audiences are ready to laugh at a version of Trump who is destroying the world, it is an awards player and a commercial success. If it does not, it is another entry in the “Tom Cruise tries something different” file.
Its expected to open with about $20m in the US about half of the expansion opening of The Revenant in January 2016, but similar to last year’s One Battle After Another $22m taking $72.91m and $213.21m worldwide and swept the Oscars. Digger is unlikely to sweep the Oscars, but many believed it could have been Tom Cruise chance to finally win Best Actor Oscar.
- Verity — Sony Pictures/MGM
Psychological erotic thriller starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett, directed by Michael Showalter, based on Colleen Hoover’s novel.
Development began in 2020, but after the huge success of It Ends With Us, many of Colleen Hoover’s other novels were pushed into development. While the sequel to It Ends With Us was delayed due to legal action between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, Regretting You and Reminders of Him were quickly moved into production. This was similar to 20 years ago, when many Nicholas Sparks and John Green adaptations were made quickly with mixed success (The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns, Let It Snow; and for Sparks: The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, The Longest Ride, Dear John, Safe Haven, The Lucky One, Nights in Rodanthe, Message in a Bottle).
Colleen Hoover has been writing novels since 2012, publishing 26 novels, and selling 35m copies. But it was only in 2020 that she became a massive success after she became the obsession of BookTok, a TikTok subset devoted to reading. Over the years that followed, Netflix became the home of these female-targeted films, including Jenny Han’s To All the Boys trilogy, Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation, and Amazon made Anne Hathaway star in The Idea of You. Anna Todd’s After We Collided performed well in autumn 2020—one of the few new releases after cinemas reopened post-COVID.
Verity was originally due to be released in May but was moved to October after The Devil Wears Prada 2 was moved to May. Michael Showalter previously directed Amazon’s The Idea of You, starring Anne Hathaway.
It is the fifth film released this year starring Anne Hathaway, after Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey, and The End of Oak Street. She will next star in Alone At Dawn, directed by Riin Howard, due for release next year, and will then film Days of Thunder 2 for release in 2028.
The Box Office Context
| Film | Opening | Total | Notes |
| It Ends With Us (2024) | £4,516,760 | £21,241,321 | The breakout hit. |
| Regretting You (2025) | £1,275,979 | £6,186,391 | Solid, but not a phenomenon. |
| Reminders of Him (2026) | £1,081,952 | £4,068,843 | A step down. |
The Genre Challenge
Verity is a very different kind of film from other Colleen Hoover adaptations. It is an erotic psychological thriller—a genre that has struggled to find audiences for 25 years. Recent attempts like Babygirl and Deep Water have tried to revive it, with mixed success. Verity likely sits between Gone Girl and the Fifty Shades trilogy Dakota Johnson starred in a decade ago.
It is also a very different kind of film for Anne Hathaway. Audiences have grown up with her in very different roles, and it can feel awkward seeing an actor in such a different part—even though we understand they want to play different characters.
The Balancing Act
The danger for Verity is whether it can balance the eroticism and the thriller elements effectively. If it leans too hard into the sex, it risks alienating the Gone Girl audience looking for a smart, twisty thriller. If it downplays the sex, it risks alienating the Hoover fanbase who expect the steam.
Rather than being described as a psychological erotic thriller, it should be a Psychological thriller as otherwise it just makes people think of all those terrible 90s ones including Body of Evidence and Color of Night.
The Core Question
Verity is not Gone Girl. Gone Girl succeeded because it was a smart, satirical thriller that happened to have a dark relationship at its core. Verity is an erotic psychological thriller—a genre that has struggled to find audiences for 25 years.
The question is not whether Verity can be Gone Girl. It is whether it can be the first erotic thriller in decades to actually work. And that is a much taller order.