Top 5 Breakdown
- The Girl on the Train – £3,412,472 – £13,654,644
Down 51.1% in its second weekend currently 38% ahead of Gone Girl after two days less. But as Gone Girl dropped only 16% taking £3.058m in its second weekend taking £9.82m, The Girl on the Train is unlikely to hold as strongly as Gone Girl did.
Similar to Gone Girl The Girl on the Train is expected to lose top spot this weekend with Trolls opening after taking £2.1m from previews.
In its third weekend Gone Girl dropped only 23% taking £2.4m and £14.1m total but The Girl on the Train is more likely to have a 40%+ drop taking £2.03m with tougher competition of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and Keeping Up with the Jones which target similar audience compared to Gone Girl which had Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Best of Me and The Judge targeting different audiences. The Queen of Katwe, I Daniel Blake and Ouija: Origins of Evil also opens while not targeting same audience demographics will still likely take box office away from The Girl on the Train.
A 50%+ drop in week 4 would see it taking £1m compared to Gone Girl’s £1.59m total £17.01m while The Girl on the Train would still be ahead of Gone Girl’s total box office Gone Girl stayed in the top 10 for 8 weeks taking £21.9m over that period while of course being an 18 and not having the same hype machine and media coverage generated. While Gone Girl is still a memorable film two years after opening The Girl on the Train in six months’ time will feel like one of Rachel’s blackouts audiences unsure if they saw it or Gone Girl again.
Gone Girl’s opening was only 18.6% of its final box office while The Girl on the Train if it takes £21m, will be almost double with 33.1%.
Most films perform similarly at the US and UK box office but Bridget Jones’s Baby and The Girl on the Train UK performances are completely different to their US performances. Bridget Jones’s Baby opened in the UK with almost the same pounds £8.3m as dollars $8.5m dropping 22.9% in the UK compared to 45.7% in the US. After 5 weeks only taking $23.6m. Similarly, The Girl on the Train opened with £6.96m in the UK but only $24.5m dropping 50.1% in the US which was similar in the UK due to two days of previews inflating its opening.
The huge difference in the box office with these two films is similar to recent James Bond films especially Spectre which over-performed due to the massive hype and the many surprising five star reviews taking £95m in the UK but underwhelmed in the US after mixed reviews opening a week after taking $200m 34% less than Skyfall. All three films are American films but as with Spectre as with Bridget Jones’s Baby they have been marketed as British because source material is British was it similar with The Girl on the Train being that Paula Hawkins was British, UK cinema audiences want to support their own especially after Brexit it makes complete nonsense but so does the fact they both have performed so well in the UK.
- Inferno -£2,970,027 – NE
2D took £2,635,417 – IMAX £316,146
With the early international release for Doctor Strange opening October 25th Sony Pictures were boxed in with their international release for Inferno with The Girl on the Train opening October 7th and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back opening October 21st forcing them to open two weeks early.
Received its world premiere on Saturday, October 8th in Florence (where some of Inferno was shot) receiving mixed reviews. While Dan Brown novels are very enjoyable reads they don’t make for good films many critics did say Inferno was the best adaption of the three Dan Brown novels it was a backhanded compliment as the film was better than came before but still not good.
Inferno opening was almost 70% less than The Da Vinci Code opened in May 2006 with £9,501,444; dropped 48% in its second weekend against opening weekend of X-Men: The Last Stand with £7.01m, £1.9m dropping 61% in its third weekend against arrival of Poseidon £1.34m and United 93 with £616,882 and 60% in its fourth weekend against The Omen opening with £2.1m after four weeks had taken £26.64m and went on to take £30,249,489
Opening was 50% less than Angels & Demons opened in May 2009 with £6,054,627; dropping 59% in its second weekend taking £2.45m against Night at the Museum 2 opening with £4.16m, 57% in its third weekend £1.1m holding at £1.1m in week four against arrival of Terminator Salvation £6.39m after 4 weeks had taken £16.12 and went on to take £18,302,597.
With the arrival of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Ouija: Origins of Evil and Keeping Up with the Joneses along with the poor reviews is expected to drop 50%+ in its second weekend likely to take a third of The Da Vinci Code and a half of Angels & Demons about £9-10m.
By opening internationally first after receiving poor reviews will likely harm its US opening as previous international earlier openers have done this year The Huntsman, Warcraft, and TMNT2.
Being a key film property for Sony Pictures who are lacking franchises its surprising they would handicap their US launch especially as it is the four thriller opening in four weeks after The Girl on the Train, The Accountant and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. The one advantage it does have has the weekend to itself with rival studios weary of having a second weekend against Doctor Strange.
- Storks – £2,247,038 -NE
2D £1,146,419 with previews £2,032,023 – 3D £122,020 with previews £209,743
After taking £972,000 from previews last weekend opening was muted added only £1.27m for the weekend due to Trolls having successful previews over the weekend taking £2.04 will likely see it top the charts next weekend.
Similar to their comic book movies Warner Bros have been trying to find their USP with animation. Warner Bros have had a long history in animation going back to Looney Tunes 1930-1969 and Merrie Melodies 1931-1969 which included some of the most famous cartoon characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd.
Warner Bros have tried many times to relaunch their animation but has stuttered over the past 25 years, warner Bros Feature Animation was launched in 1994 their first release was Space Jam in 1996 which took over $200m globally but their films after disappointed at the box office Quest for Camelot in 1998 flopped as did the wonderful Iron Giant released in 1999 and Osmosis Jones in 2001 and Looney Tunes: Back in Action in 2003.
In the years that followed Warner Bros animation had success with TV which is similar to currently with comic-book but feature films were disappointments. In 2013 Warner Bros announced Warner Animation Group with their first film 2014’s The Lego Movie which was both critical and box office hit taking over $450m globally. Their second was Storks originally set for release in 2015. The Lego Batman Movie opens in February, Lego Ninjago in 2017, Smallfoot in 2018 and The Lego Movie 2 in 2019.
With half-term holidays starting on Monday both Storks and Trolls will likely perform strongly with Storks likely to take upwards of £10m. But Storks was always likely to disappoint after receiving mixed reviews against Trolls which has received huge media coverage thanks to Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick’s media tour.
Of the eight major animated films opening in 2016 to date is the second worst opening but as it had previews it actually opened lower than The Angry Birds £2.12m but better than Ice Age: Collusion Course opening was inflated by £2.3m from previews but only took £1.45m from its opening weekend.
Last year Hotel Transylvania 2 taking £19.72m was the only animated film opening for autumn half-term in 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Book of Life battled out half term while 2013 had Turbo and Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs 2 and 2012 had Hotel Transylvania 2 and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.
The next few weeks are very crowded for teen and adult films but Storks and Trolls have no competition for the family audience until Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in a months’ time.
- Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary – £2,033,031
The one-day broadcast opened slightly ahead of 2014’s Billy Elliot The Musical Live which took £1.904m from September 28th, 2014 which had overtaken the previous high in 2013 Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor opening with £1.82m.
While Event Cinema is a great addition to the cinema experience they cannot be compared to regular films as ticket prices are 50%+ regular prices. The distributors of Event Cinema will say the reason for increased prices are due to the extra costs Even Cinema has over regular cinema but with Event Cinema screenings now it’s a regular occurrence in cinemas these extra costs must be less than they were. Event Cinema screenings have the advantage over independent cinema as they are nationwide focussed on one screening which will normally get far more media attention than regular independent cinema and must be squeezing indie cinema.
On Thursday, October 27th similar Branagh Theatre Live: The Entertainer 2016 comparing prices of Birmingham cinemas they are in Cineworld and Vue 95%+, Odeon 100%+ and Everyman Cinemas 50%+ more than regular ticket prices.
Celebrating the musicals 25th anniversary was strange as it opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 20 September 1989 (closing after 4,264 performances on 30 October 1999). Its 25th anniversary was celebrated in 2014 by the West End revival opening 21st May 2014 celebrating its 25th anniversary on 22nd September 2014.
This year is the 25th anniversary since it’s Broadway opening after opening on 11 April 1991 and closed on 28 January 2001 after 4,092 performances.
- Bridget Jones’s Baby – £1,888,986 – £41,991,553
Down 37.6% in its fifth week on release overtaking the box office of Bridget Jones Diary which took £41.69m in 2001 becoming the biggest ever romantic-comedy in the UK. Of course, it cannot be compared with the box office of either Bridget Jones’s Dairy or 2004’s Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason but won’t stop people from doing so.
Bridget Jones’s Baby admissions including Monday are 5,126,213 which is still 49.1% less than Bridget Jones Diary 10,070,675 admissions and 36.1% of Edge of Reason 8,017,817.
While Bridget Jones’s Baby has taken more than the previous two films at the box office is still far from beating its admissions or 1994’s Four Weddings and a Funeral which took £27,762,650 was then the highest grossing British film in the UK with admissions of 8,542,354 (average ticket prices were £3.25 over 150% less than are now). Was beaten by The Full Monty, 3 years later which took £51,992,752 and admissions of 12,774,632.
Will shortly overtake Finding Dory’s £42.25m to be the second biggest film of 2016 as it inches closer to overtaking The Jungle Book’s £46.19m to be the year’s highest-grossing film to date but Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Star Wars: Rogue One will push into third by the end of the year.
On Monday overtook Bridget Jones’s Diary to become the biggest rom-com of all time in the UK.
Will put it in the same position as the previous two films were the third biggest film of the year in 2001 after Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone £66.07m and Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring £63m and in 2004 with Shrek 2 £48.1m and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban £46.08m.
Other box office news
For the fifth time this year six films grossed more than £1m; The Girl on the Train, Inferno, Storks, Miss Saigon, Bridget Jones’s Baby and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. The best split of the box office since the first week of January 2015 with The Theory of Everything, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Paddington, Woman in Black: Angel of Death. Night at the Museum 3, Exodus: Gods & Kings, Birdman and Annie all took more than £1m at the box office.
The middle weekend of October has become a lucrative and busy weekend in recent years last year Hotel Transylvania 2, Suffragette, Pan, The Martian, Crimson Peak took over £900,000. As studios open their half-term releases along with open many of the films that received their premieres during the London Film Festival.
September was claimed to have the highest admissions since 1997 with 11.7m (The Full Monty opened 29h August 1997 went on to take £51.99m after 28 weeks on release). With Bridget Jones’s Baby taking £29m in September bringing in a third of those admissions. But as those admission figures are generated by an average ticket price of about £7.21 and the real average ticket price is close to £8.24 those admission figures are 12.5% more than 10.23m which is what the real admissions are.
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This weekend’s top 10 box office took £14,897,205 up 2.1% from last weekend £14,587,631; weekend admissions 1,696,720 down 4.1% from last weekend 1,769,978
This weekend was down 14.1% from same weekend last year (£17,362,134) when Hotel Transylvania 2 £6,302,576, Suffragette £2,931,131, Pan £2,730,832, Crimson Peak £964,356, The Lobster £218,214 and The Program £144,181 opened.
Next weekend in 2015: Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension £1.47m, The Last Witch Hunter £1.24m opened.
A recent survey said average ticket price was £8.24 (the same cost as 13 pints of cider) up from Cinema Exhibitors Association average ticket price of £7.21 for 2015 a 7.3% increase from 2014. For Miss Saigon, as ticket prices are about 100% more than regular cinema tickets averaged price at £15.
Complete UK Box office top 10 – October 14th – 16th 2016
US Box Office Top 10
- Warner Bros – The Accountant – opens $24.7m; received A CinemaScore better than Ben Affleck’s recent fall releases Gone Girl (B) and The Town (B+) slightly less than Argo A+; after receiving mixed reviews opened bigger than many expected as tracking had opening of $15-20m. Opening was slightly ahead of last week’s The Girl on the Train.
- Universal – Kevin Hart: What Now? – opens $11.9m; received A- CinemaScore; opening was similar to his previous concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain in 2013 $10.3m.
- Universal Pictures – The Girl on the Train – drops 51.2% – $11.9m – $46.5m; after mixed reviews always expected to drop heavier than Gone Girl which in comparison dropped 29.6% in its second weekend taking $26.4m and $77.9m.
- 20th Century Fox – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – drops 41.2% – $8.9m – $65.8m; Tim Burton’s previous film 2012’s Dark Shadows dropped similar 40.4% taking $7.5m and $62.9m and will shortly overtake 2003’s Big Fish $66.8m and over the next few weeks should overtake 1998’s Beetlejuice and 2012’s Dark Shadows.
- Lionsgate – Deepwater Horizon – drops 44.9% – $6.3m – $49.3m; has become Mark Wahlberg 20th highest grossing film in US over the next few weeks should overtake 2013’s Pain and Gain, 2006’s Invincible, 199’s Three Kings, 2008’s The Happening.
- Warner Bros – Storks – drops 32.5% – $5.6m – $59.1m; is the 91st biggest animated film in the US will shortly overtake Planes: Fire & Rescue, Ice Age: Collusion Course, Happy Feet Two, The Nut Job and Flushed Away.
- Sony Pictures – Magnificent Seven – drops 42.3% – $5.2m – $84.8m; now Denzel Washington’s 10th biggest film in US and will overtake Inside Man, Crimson Tide and Flight in the coming weeks.
- Lionsgate – Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life – drops 38.2% – $4.2m – $13.7m
- Warner Bros – Sully – drops 40.9% – $2.9m – $111.8.3m; has overtaken Tom Hanks 1998’s You’ve Got Mail and should overtake in the coming weeks 1993’s Sleepless in Seattle, 2009’s Angels & Demons and 1999’s The Green Mile.
- Fox Searchlight – The Birth of a Nation –drops 61.2% – $2.7m – $12.2m; at Sundance it was seen as Oscar favourite but once the hype had disappeared and rape allegations wasn’t the expected success at the box office. But 20th Century Fox have given Hidden Figures an Oscar qualifying opening on December 25th is expected to be a strong award contender alongside Warner Bros Live By Night which Warner Bros have also recently announced a platform December 25th
Expanded on limited release
Bleecker Street – Denial – up 81.9% – adding 65 screens – $398,241 – $839,731
A24 – American Honey – up 82.5% – adding 110 screens – $142,263 – $362,430
Main film releases opening Friday predictions:
Opening UK
- Trolls – 20th Century Fox
Animated musical comedy film based on the dolls of the same name; featuring voices of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Russell Brand, James Corden, and Gwen Stefani.
Having already taken £2.1m from previews last weekend it should top the chart this weekend with an opening of £4m+.
2016 animation films box office 2016
| Capture the Flag | 29th January 2016 | £0.77m | £1.56m | 49.3% |
| Kung Fu Panda | 18th March 2016 | £4.76m | £13.99m | 34.1% |
| Zootropolis | 25th March 2016 | £5.3m | £23.61m | 22.4% |
| Angry Birds | 13th May 2016 | £2.12m | £10.31m | 20.5% |
| The Secret Life of Pets | 24th June 2016 | £9.58m | £35.3m | 27.1% |
| Ice Age: Collusion Course | 15th July 2016 | £3.77m | £7.03m | 53.6% |
| Finding Dory | 29th July 2016 | £8.12 | £42.25m | 19.2% |
| Kubo and the Two Strings | 9th September 2016 | £0.84m | £2.73m | 30.7% |
Trolls feature’s Justin Timberlake’s summer hit single Can’t Stop the Feeling which has been viewed almost 226 million times.
The 33rd animated feature by DreamWorks Animation and the eighth released by 20th Century Fox. They will release two more in 2017 The Boss Baby and Captain Underpants before Universal Pictures take over releasing Dreamworks Animation films in 2018
The seven Dreamworks Animation films 20th Century Fox have released; the opening percentage box office has a massive variation from a low of 20.2% to high 34.3%.; which is due to some of the films have extended previews boosted their box office while also some of them had like Penguins of Madagascar had massive competition from rival releases (Paddington) opening before them; Trolls opening the week after Storks.
| Kung Fu Panda 3 | 18 March 2016 | £4.76m | 34.1% | £13.99m |
| Home | 20 March 2015 | £6.02m | 24.1% | £24.97m |
| Penguins of Madagascar | 5 December 2014 | £1.61m | 20.2% | £7.96m |
| How to Train Your Dragon 2 | 11 July 2014 | £7.81m | 32.2% | £24.25m |
| Mr Peaboy & Sherman | 7 February 2014 | £3.91m | 28.8% | £13.55m |
| Turbo | 17 October 2013 | £3.89m | 34.3% | £11.32m |
| The Croods | 22 March 2013 | £5.37m | 20.5% | £26.15m |
- Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – Paramount Pictures
Action thriller sequel to the 2012 film Jack Reacher starring Tom Cruise and Cobie Smulders and directed by Edward Zwick previously directed Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai in 2003. After directing Glory in 1989, Legends of the Fall in 1994, Courage Under Fire in 1996 and The Siege in 1998, The Last Samurai in 2003 and Blood Diamond in 2006
Jack Reacher was originally developed as a major franchise for Paramount but as the first film, Jack Reacher disappointed in 2012 opening with only $15.2m taking $80.1m opened in the UK with £3.5m taking £9.1m in the UK and $218.3m globally. Normally a film taking such a low global box office a studio wouldn’t consider making a second film but due to Paramount Pictures lack of franchises and wanting to keep Tom Cruise happy to make more Mission Impossible films.
The first Jack Reacher film benefited from opening on Boxing Day 2012 opening in third with £3.57m behind The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey £6.86m (third weekend) and Life of Pi £4.18m (second weekend). With holder-overs The Girl on the Train and Storks along with other openers Trolls and Ouija: Origin of Evil all likely to perform well Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is likely to be squeezed with The Girl on the Train and inferno.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is in the strange situation of having its UK premiere the same time as has nationwide previews opening over a very busy weekend for new releases and only 5 days before Doctor Strange opens taking away its IMAX screens.
As often these days’ studios Entertainment Weekly premiered footage of the first trailer on June 14th before being released on June 22nd receiving 4.8 million views.
It used to be a Tom Cruise film was a major event with his films given the weekend to themselves in the US was up to Knight & Day in June 2010 but from Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol in 2012 which had Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked opening against it, Rock of Ages with That’s My Boy and Jack Reacher with This Is 40 in 2012.
Oblivion was his first film to open without rivals having Tom Cruise’s biggest since Mission Impossible 3 in 2016 repeating this in 2015 last year with Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation having his best opening since War of the Worlds in 2005. But then in 2014 Edge of Tomorrow opened against The Fault in Our Stars and suffered despite receiving strong reviews.
| Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation | 31 July 2015 | £5.33m | 25.2% | £21.07m |
| Edge of Tomorrow | 30 May 2014 | £1.85m | 23.8% | £7.75m |
| Oblivion | 10 April 2013 | £4.91m | 46.8% | £10.48m |
| Jack Reacher | 26 December 2012 | £3.75m | 41.1% | £9.12m |
| Rock of Ages | 13 June 2012 | £1.01m | 39.4% | £2.56m |
| Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol | 26 December 2011 | £2.71m | 15.4% | £17.53m |
| Knight and Day | 6 August 2010 | £2.40m | 26.4% | £9.07m |
| Valkyrie | 23 January 2009 | £1.85m | 29.1% | £6.34m |
| Tropic Thunder | 19 September 2008 | £2.48m | 29.5% | £8.38m |
| Lions For Lambs | 9 November 2007 | £0.65m | 52.8% | £1.23m |
| Mission Impossible 3 | 4 May 2006 | £5.37m | 35.1% | £15.34m |
| War of the Worlds | 1 July 2005 | £8.64m | 28.4% | £30.36m |
- Keeping Up With The Jones – 20th Century Fox
American action comedy starring Jon Hamm, Zach Galifianakis, Gal Gadot, Isla Fisher and Maribeth Monroe and directed by Greg Mottola.
The success of Bad Moms earlier this year along with the lack of comedies this autumn and strong cast and being an alternative to yet another comic-book movies this year gives audiences an alternative. But sandwiched between so many other high profile released will find it hard to find an audience.
Recent spy comedies
| Central Intelligence | 1st July 2016 | £3.04m | £8.32m | 36.5% |
| The Brothers Grimsby | 24th February 2016 | £1.92m | £5.26m | 36.5% |
| The Man From U.N.C.L.E | 14th August 2015 | £1.44m | £6.45m | 22.3% |
| Spy | 5th June 2015 | £2.55m | £10.1m | 25.2% |
Opening a year to the day of Spectre I’m sure it’s going to be a far more enjoyable spy movie as Spectre was just plain Dullfinger but sadly won’t get the audience it deserves.
The trailer is similar to Date Night released six years ago opened in April 2010 £1.27m taking £3.79m. In Keeping Up with the Joneses, Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher discover their neighbours aren’t what they say they are which was similar to the 1999 thriller Arlington Road and 2005’s Mr and Mrs Smith opened June 2005 £3.94m taking £13.4m. Keeping Up with the Joneses is also similar to the TV series The Americans but after first launching on ITV it has been since dumped to ITV Encore.
Last year were several spy films while Spectre was the biggest by far it didn’t have the legs of other spy movies; The Man From U.N.C.L.E had a more modest opening of £1.44m but had the smallest opening the final box office of all the spy film was helped by summer holidays and also by the fact it was the best spy film of 2015.
2015 spy movies
| Kingsman: The Secret Service | 29 January 2015 | £4.23m | 25.7% | £16.43m |
| Spooks: The Greater Good | 8 May 2015 | £1.03m | 31.8% | £3.23m |
| Spy | 5 June 2015 | £2.55m | 25.4% | £10.01m |
| The Man From U.N.C.L.E | 14 August 2015 | £1.44m | 22.3% | £6.45m |
| Spectre | 26 October 2015 | £41.25m | 43.3% | £95.17m |
- Ouija: Origin of Evil- Universal Pictures
Supernatural horror film directed by Mike Flanagan; prequel to the 2014 film Ouija starring Elizabeth Reaser, Annalise Basso, Lulu Wilson, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, and Alexis G. Zall;
2016 has had many horrors after August/September had many horror films opening with Nerve, Light Out, The Purge: Election Year, Morgan, Don’t Breathe and Blair Witch. It is the first horror film released since Blair Witch which disappointed at the box office five weeks ago and the only horror released for Halloween with Rings delayed until 2017.
The first Ouija film opened with £1,369,378 in October 2014 taking £3.2m it had the second biggest horror film of 2014 biggest was Annabelle which opened £1.93m taking £7.4m.
Despite a busy week of new releases most are targeting similar audience while horror fans disappointed by Blair Witch last month are looking for horror for Halloween.The first film opened Halloween weekend in 2014 taking 42.5% of its total box office during its opening dropping 50% in its second weekend. The prequel by opening the weekend before might hold better with Halloween next weekend especially after receiving positive reviews far better than its original but of course has to deal with Doctor Strange.
Supernatural horrors released in 2016 to date; The Darkness had a much more limited release than the other films, while Blair Witch disappointed still managed to open with almost £1m.
| Blair Witch | 16th September 2016 | £0.95m | £2.09m | 45.4% |
| Lights Out | 19th August 2016 | £1.12m | £3.21m | 34.8% |
| The Conjuring 2 | 17th June 2016 | £4.64m | £10.71m | 43.3% |
| The Darkness | 13th May 2016 | £51,490 | £51,490 | n/a |
| The Boy | 18th March 2016 | £0.72m | £2.38m | 30.2% |
| The Forest | 26th February 2016 | £0.44m | £0.92n | 47.8% |
- Queen of Katwe – Disney
Biographical sports drama directed by Mira Nair starring David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o, and Madina Nalwanga; received world premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival opening on limited 52 screens release on September disappointing (normally platform releases open on around 5 screens and then slowly expand over several weeks) expanding to 1,200 screens expanding far too quickly and despite strong reviews only opened in #7 dropping to #10 following weekend.
Before Disney got into the comic-book business were experts at the feel-good sports dramas including 2006’s Invincible and Glory Road, 2005’s The Greatest Game Ever Played, 2004’s Miracle, 2000’s Remember the Titans, 1993’s Cool Runnings and many fiction films too inclding The Mighty Ducks and Angels in the Outfield.
In recent years’ sports dramas McFarland, USA after receiving strong buzz only opened with $11.1m taking $44.4m and at CinemaCon in 2014 Disney’s Alan Horn said Million Dollar Arm was scoring higher than any other Disney movie and Harry Potter opened with $10.5m taking $36.4m.
After disappointing in the US they failed to find audiences in the UK
McFarland in September 2015– £13,000 from 113 screens
Million Dollar Arm in August 2014 – £150,050 from 150 screens
Received its UK premiere at London Film Festival generating a lot of media coverage but seems crazy to open the film over such a busy weekend of new releases but this happens regularly in recent years as studios cannibalize the marketplace with their films that have also premiered during the London Film Festival.
Opening the same weekend as I. Daniel Blake will mean it will likely be overlooked by UK audiences too. Was no reason for it to open this weekend over one of the busiest weekends for new releases but only done so due to its London Film Festival screening.
While Queen of Katwe is never likely to attract a wide audience it should still be given a chance to find an audience. Similar to September 9th when Captain Fantastic opened against Hell or High Water both films received rave reviews but they cannibalized each other at the box office opening Queen of Katwe against I,Daniel Blake will see only one winner.
Queen of Katwe could of easily opened next weekend while opening against mega-movie Doctor Strange its audience demographics are very different.
Opening US Friday
- Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – Paramount Pictures
The first film was planned to be the first part of a film series based on the hugely popular Lee Child novels but after the first had a disappointing opening in December 2012 with $15.2m taking $80m many believed the film series was dead. But as the original was a favorite of Tom Cruise and Paramount Pictures eager to keep him happy as the Mission Impossible film series alone has taken almost $1 billion in the US and $2.8 billion globally were willing to make another movie.
Tom Cruise has had 17 films that have taken over $100m at the box office over his 36 year, acting career to date and bar the blips with drama 2007’s Lion for Lambs and 2012’s Rock of Ages all of his action films have taken over $80m (Knight & Day took $76m).
| Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation | 31/07/2015 | $55.5m | $195.1m |
| Edge of Tomorrow | 06/06/2014 | $28.7m | $100.2m |
| Oblivion | 19/04/2013 | $37.1m | $89.1m |
| Jack Reacher | 21/12/2012 | $15.1m | $80.1m |
| Rock of Ages | 15/06/2012 | $14.4m | $38.5m |
| Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol | 16/12/2011 | $29.5m | $209.3m |
| Knight & Day | 23/06/2010 | $21.1m | $76.4m |
| Valkyrie | 25/12/2008 | $21.1m | $83.1m |
Thrillers The Girl on the Train and The Accountant released the previous two weeks had similar openings of $24m Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is likely to have a similar sized opening which would be bigger than the original.
Recent action thrillers
| The Accountant | 14th October 2016 | $24.7m* | $24.7m* | n/a |
| Triple 9 | 26th February 2016 | $6.1m | $12.63m | 48.2% |
| MI- Rogue Nation | 31th July 2015 | $55.5m | $195.1m | 28.4% |
| Run All Night | 13th March 2015 | $11.1m | $26.4m | 42.1% |
| Blackhat | 16th January 2015 | $3.9m | $8.1m | 48.1% |
| Taken 3 | 9th January 2015 | $39.2m | $89.2m | 43.9% |
| John Wick | 24th October 2014 | $14.4m | $43.1m | 33.4% |
| The Equalizer | 26th September 2014 | $34.1m | $101.5m | 33.5% |
| Edge of Tomorrow | 6th June 2014 | $28.7m | $100.2m | 28.6% |
- Keeping Up with the Jones – 20th Century Fox
Spy comedy offers cinemagoers something different and what they have been lacking in recent weeks with a lack of comedies this autumn with Bridget Jones’s Baby and Masterminds also starring Zach Galifianakis underwhelming at the box office.
But while the cast is very watchable Jon Hamm, Gal Godot, Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher they haven’t had many successful films they can call their own between them. Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover), Gal Godot (Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice and Wonder Woman), John Hamm (Million Dollar Arm) Isla Fisher (Now You See Me) have had successful films but none were successful of their own.
The trailers look very similar to suburban couple comedy Date Night which opened with $25.2m but early reviews have been mixed; Masterminds opened last month with $6.5m and the other Jones movie Bridget Jones’s Baby opened with $8.5m Keeping Up with the Jones should have an opening of close to double.
Recent spy comedies
| Central Intelligence | 17th June 2016 | $35.53m | $127.4m | 27.8% |
| The Brothers Grimsby | 11th March 2016 | $3.25m | $6.87m | 47.3% |
| The Man From U.N.C.L.E | 14th August 2015 | $13.4m | $45.4m | 29.5% |
| Spy | 5th June 2015 | $29.1m | $110.8m | 26.2% |
- Ouija: Origins of Evil – Universal Pictures
Opening two years after the first film which was a surprise hit opening with $19.8m taking $50.8m. With Halloween, the following weekend and the only horror (after Rings was delayed until next year) on release should scare up a similar box office of $12-$15m.
Supernatural horrors released in 2016 to date;
| Blair Witch | 16th September 2016 | $9.57m | $20.58m | 46.5% |
| Lights Out | 22nd July 2016 | $21.68m | $67.26m | 32.2% |
| The Conjuring 2 | 10th June 2016 | $40.4m | $102.4m | 39.4% |
| The Darkness | 13th May 2016 | $4.95m | $10.75m | 46.1% |
| The Boy | 22nd January 2016 | $10.77m | $35.81m | 30.1% |
| The Forest | 8th January 2016 | $12.74m | $26.59m | 47.9% |
2017 sees the long delay Amityville: The Awakening and Rings both original set for release last year along with Insidious: Chapter 4.