- Mean Girls – £3,251,159 – NE
Took £745k (22.9%) from previews Weds/Thurs
Took £656k 20.2% Friday; £1.13m 34.2% Saturday and £712k 21.9% Sunday.
495th biggest opening between The Suicide Squad (2021) and The Proposal (close to What Women Want, The Devil Wears Prada, Ali G Indahouse and The Hangover) and 764th biggest inflated between Old and Public Enemies (close to Role Models, America’s Sweethearts, The First Wives Club and Hairspray).
26th biggest opening over the last 52 weeks between One Life and Trolls World Tour (close to Dungeons & Dragons, The Marvels, Scream 6 and Elemental)
2004’s Mean Girls opened £1,393,494 #3 from 364 screens (£2,473,529 inflated) taking £5,411,323 (£9,605,400 inflated)
The original Mean Girls opened 20 years ago over the years since its popularity has grown, research In 2019 found the Machiavellian-like plot popular with adolescents as adolescents place a lot of emphasis on popularity and they are keenly aware of the difference between being liked and being popular. Similarly, films like Heathers and most recently Saltburn are also popular.
The question was would this version of Mean Girls be as popular as the original film the stage musical doesn’t open in London until June, as Wonka trailers haven’t featured music from the stage show.
Much has been made about how social media and TikTok helped films like Mean Girls and Anyone But You, but if that was the case these films will be taking far more as Taylor Swift: Eras Tour would have been taken in October.
These films have generated over a billion each on social media so why did Barbie have a far stronger conversion rate than these others? Was amazed at how the industry reacted to Eras Tour BO only squeezing past the global BO of 13-year-old This Is It $268m due to China and prices three times as much despite 104m Swifties in the world and millions of others being huge fans.
Maybe it’s all part of the industry lowering its expectations of BO success post-COVID as films that would have been seen as disappointing in 2019 are now seen as successful. It’s similar to calling Mean Girls a hit after opening bigger than the original that opened 20 years ago and Anyone, But You is being compared to The Greatest Showman as it has several small drops.
If Anyone But You was overperforming it should be increasing its BO, especially after generating so much media coverage recently. This was the case with The Greatest Showman the user-generated content grew its audience over far long time and it’s impossible to compare Anyone But You with The Greatest Showman.
2. Wonka £1,691,563 – £58,392,205
Dropped 24.1% in the seventh weekend.
10th biggest seventh weekend between Spider-Man: No Way Home (£1,778,556) and The Kings Speech (£1,685,180); biggest seventh weekends Avatar (£4,865,081); Titanic (£3,010,921); Harry Potter/Philosopher’s Stone (£2,456,876); Avatar: The Way of Water (£2,116,615); Arthur Christmas (£2,047,463); The Full Monty (£1,937,398); The Greatest Showman (£1,925,895); The Grinch (£1,893,709); and 34th biggest inflated seventh weekend between The Mask and Babe (close to The Bodyguard, Paddington 2, Barbie and Fantastic Beasts).
26th biggest film in the UK between LOTR: The Return of the King and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (close to Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, Jurassic World, Joker and Oppenheimer) and 66th biggest inflated between Fantastic Beasts and The Matrix Reloaded (close to The Simpsons, Shrek The Third, Notting Hill and Alice In Wonderland).
4th biggest Warner Bros film between Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Joker (close to Joker, Dunkirk, Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets).
Wonka has currently taken 6.56x opening similar to Big, Toy Story, Enchanted, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, Shaun The Sheep Movie, True Lies and Jerry Maguire; Barbie was 5.16x; Top Gun Maverick 5.23x; Mary Poppins Returns 5.44x; Paddington 7.41x.
Wonka received only one BAFTA nomination for Best British Film, while the other David Heyman-produced film Barbie received five BAFTA nominations, but surprisingly Warner Bros didn’t register it for Best British Film as both were made in the UK so if one was nominated the other should have been too.
Wonka was released digitally on Monday but like many other films, it’s unlikely to harm its box office as audiences will still go to see the film in the cinema that said as with Barbie when it dropped off #1 Wonka Bo slowing down and will likely come short of Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Seventh weekends
2014’s Paddington down 55% £1,268,785 #5 569 screens and £32,834,123 86.5% of £37,965,541; was #1 for 2 weeks; in the top 5 for 8 weeks and in the top 10 for 12 weeks; took £2m+ for 6 weeks and £1+ for 7 weeks.
2017’s Paddington 2 up 20% (Christmas) £1,625,960 #5 631 screens and £34,250,039 80.3% of £42,643,286; #1 for 3 weeks split over 5 weeks, opened #1, then dropped #2 for 2 weeks before returning #1 in early December; top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 10 weeks; took £2m+ for 4 weeks and £1m+ for 9 weeks.
2022’s Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical down 42% £1,182,411 #3 708 screens and £23,963,669 85.4% of £28,044,574
2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory dropped 17% £541,963 #5 422 screens and £35,940,949 96.2% of £37,354,584 (£64,081,749 inflated)
2009’s Fantastic Mr Fox dropped 58% £91,200 #14 346 screens and £8,707,283 94% of £9,260,892 (£13,755,148)
2016’s The BFG up 7% £703,375 #6 510 screens and £28,660,479 93.4% of £30,694,086
1990’s The Witches took £2,135,460 (£7,405,372 inflated) and 1996’s James And The Giant Peach £5,750,628 (£12,558,128 inflated); 1996’s Matilda took £10,227,163 (£22,333,913 inflated)
While many are now comparing Wonka to The Greatest Showman having overtaken its UK and global BO The Greatest Showman was very different few expected it to take a quarter of the BO it took Wonka was always expected to take £40m+ in the UK after the success of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical last year and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 19 years ago.
Wonka could be compared to 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns dropped 46% £530,842 #7 and £42,941,029 94.3% of £44,541,719.
2008’s Mamma Mia! Dropped 16% £1,837,577 #2 and £50,261,947 72.7% of £69,166,814; 2018’s Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! Dropped 42% £976,039 #4 and £61,635,830 94% of £65,603,758; while 2017’s The Greatest Showman down 12% £1,925,895 #2 and £26,106,298 52.6% of £49,592,940 and Barbie dropped 15% £1,641,410 #2 and £92,584,022 96.8% of £95,595,082
- 3. Poor Things £1,091,878 – £3,746,997
Down 39.9% in the second weekend
961st biggest second weekend between The Haunting and Wayne’s World (close to The Descendants, Lion, Bridge of Spies and Road to Perdition) and 1,510th biggest inflated between The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and About Schmidt (close to A History of Violence, The Other Boleyn Girl, A Perfect World and Argo).
While Poor Things had a similar second weekend drop as The Favourite (40%) it took 54% less and without previews dropped 30% while The Favourite increased by 9%.
Yorgos Lanthimos’s previous films 2nd weekends
2019’s The Favourite dropped 39% £2,387,037 #2 617 screens and £8,302,694 of £16,972,417
2017’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer dropped 58% £118,703 #12 from 96 screens and £550,269 of £862,085
2015’s The Lobster up 6% £241,922 #10 84 screens and £651,712 of £1,521,066
2009’s Dogtooth took £189,815
Yorgos Lanthimos has already filmed his next also starring Emma Stone he made directly after completing Poor Things, Kinds of Kindness will also be released by Searchlight Pictures and will likely be released this time next year.
Poor Things received 11 BAFTA nominations last week including Best Film, Best British Film and Best Actress but wasn’t nominated for Best Director and received 11 Oscar nominations this week.
1,692nd biggest between I Know What You Did Last Summer and The Book Thief (close to Molly’s Game, Enemy at the Gates, The Krays and Scandal) and 2,183rd biggest inflated between Notorious and Not Another Teen Movie (close to Empire Of Light, Patch Adams, Training Day and The Frighteners).
- 4. Anyone But You £1,079,651 – £7,035,226
Down 13.41% in its fourth weekend
288th biggest fourth between Jurassic Park: The Lost World and The Matrix (close to Forrest Gump, Cinderella, Black Swan and 50 Shades of Grey) and 521st inflated between American Sniper and Hancock (close to Trainspotting, Demolition Man, Turner & Hooch and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin).
Having a similar fourth weekend drop as Moulin Rouge, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The English Patient, When A Man Loves A Woman, Mamma Mia 2, My Girl and Lion.
14th biggest fourth-weekend rom-com between Two Weeks’ Notice and Hitch (close to Four Weddings and a Funeral, Last Christmas, About A Boy and The Holiday) and 48th biggest inflated between The Five-Year Engagement and The Wedding Singer (close to While You Were Sleeping, Father of the Bride, Sweet Home Alabama and She’s All That).
77th biggest rom com between New Year’s Eve and Get Him To The Greek (close to While You Were Sleeping, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, Something’s Gotta Give and Father of the Bride) and 138th biggest inflated between Bewitched and 500 Days Of Summer (close to Mannequin, In Her Shoes, Shall We Dance? And LA Story).
1,029th biggest between Insidious and Super 8 (close to LA Confidential, Muppets Most Wanted, A Knight’s Tale and Cheaper by the Dozen) and 1,570th inflated between Star Wars: Phantom Menace 3D and The Crow (close to Little Women (1995), Moonstruck, Coyote Ugly and French Lieutenant’s Woman).
The Greatest Showman Anyone But You is a film that the audience rom-com, but critics didn’t, while a key part of a rom-com is the chemistry between the leads, Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell (Glen Powell also had it with Zoey Deutch starring in the 2018 Netflix rom-com Set It Up).
Romcoms historically had long legs as they took time to find their audience and were released close to tentpoles playing to the female audience famously with films like Sleepless in Seattle opening the week after Jurassic Park and My Best Friend’s Wedding opening the same weekend as Batman & Robin. While Batman and Robin opened with twice as much it stayed in the top 10 for 5 weeks and took $107.32m while My Best Friend’s Wedding took $127.12m.
Over recent years rom-coms have struggled to find an audience as studios moved into grossout rom-coms playing to a younger audience while Netflix and other streaming platforms found success with rom-coms. Predictably analysts made comparisons with The Greatest Showman, but it has a long way to go to be comparable.
Will Gluck returns to his rom-com roots after directing Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, Peter Rabbit and Annie.
2011’s Friends with Benefits dropped 58% £243,759 #12 and £5,908,896 of £6,241,762
2010’s Easy A took £773,795
Easy A is probably one of the best modern romcoms as its homages many 80s romcoms and John Hughes films whilst also being a modern-day retelling of A Scarlet Letter, it was also one of Emma Stone’s early leading roles, sadly it didn’t find its audience in cinemas.
Other recent rom-coms third weekend
2022’s Ticket To Paradise dropped 28% £617,041 #4 and £7,796,100 of £9,669,162
2023’s No Hard Feelings dropped 26% £255,123 #8 and £3,680,097 of £3,881,194
It has been seen as a sorta sequel to 1997’s My Best Friend’s Wedding dropped 29% £637,482 (£1,248,337 inflated) and £6,288,946 of £9,003,541 (£17,631,013 inflated) and 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You took £2,809,751 (£5,319,172 inflated).
- 5. One Life £858,245 – £7,474,825
Down 31.1% in its third weekend
726th biggest third weekend between Cape Fear and Sleeping With The Enemy (close to Lion, True Grit, The Bourne Identity and The Panic Room) and 1,067th inflated between State Of Play and 28 Weeks Later (close to Bridge Of Spies, Die Hard, A League of Their Own and Munich)
Strong hold for One Life and has held well over the last two weeks after its inflated opening, likely due to the lack of award contenders.
962nd biggest film between Burn After Reading and Lethal Weapon 4 (close to Jojo Rabbit, Argo, Bridge of Spies and Sully: Miracle on the Hudson) and 1,510th biggest inflated between World Trade Centre and In & Out (close to Jagged Edge, The Doors, Up In The Air and Enemy at the Gates).
Has become See-Saw Films third biggest film in the UK after The Kings Speech £45,735,489; Lion £11,828,681 and ahead of Widows £6,343,548 and Operation Mincemeat £5,297,395
In 1994 Schindler’s List took £735,529 in its third weekend (£1,803,743 inflated) and £5,260,252 of £14,150,675 (£34,701,809) and 269th
139th biggest drama between Burn After Reading and Emma (close to Good Will Hunting, Angelas Ashes, Romeo and Juliet (1997) and First Man) and 269th biggest inflated between World Trade Centre and Up In The Air (close to The Awakenings, The Fisher King, The Patriot and Hugo).
The marketing materials generated controversy after the synopsis used in some independent cinemas referred to the children saved by Nicholas Winton as Central European rather than Jewish. The term wasn’t used by filmmakers or Warner Bros and was likely been added by a third party on IMDB with independent cinemas using that synopsis rather than one supplied by Warner Bros.
Normally there is outrage when non-Jewish actors play Jewish roles as recently with Bradley Cooper playing Leonard Bernstein in the Netflix biopic, Maestro. But with One Life Sir Nicholas Winton’s family requested Sir Anthony Hopkins to be cast giving the film a much higher profile.
That said Anthony Hopkins starred in the coming drama Armageddon Time as a Jewish grandfather alongside Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong but despite premiering at the Cannes Film Festival and receiving positive reviews did not find an audience in cinemas.
Also opened.
• The Holdovers – Universal Pictures
Opened £689,771 #6 from 216 screens.
Premiered at the Telluride Film Festival receiving positive reviews (96% Rotten Tomatoes) from critics taking $17m since its opening in October. Received three Golden Globe nominations for Best Film Musical or Comedy, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
Alexander Payne previously directed.
1999’s Election opened £65,113 taking £168,090
2003’s About Schmidt opened £757,325 #7 220 screens taking £3,201,355
2005’s Sideways opened £349,642 #8 72 screens taking £2,676,546
2012’s The Descendants opened £1,797,939 #2 403 screens taking £7,790,001
2013’s Nebraska opened £151,332 #10 122 screens taking £344,756
2018’s Downsizing opened £1,131,687 #9 389 screens taking £1,922,405
- The End We Start From – Signature Entertainment
Opened £170,993 #13 from 242 screens.
The End We Start From received critical acclaim starring Jodie Comer (generated strong media coverage, including Graham Norton Show and had huge success in cinemas with 2022’s NT Live Prima Facie (opened £447,014 #6 347 screens taking £5,448,881) and regularly on TV) and exhibitors have dropped it from many screens and reduced shows in cinemas it remains in. It’s not a film audiences will rush out to see over opening weekend but when they do seek it out it won’t be playing in any cinemas nearby.
The UKCA blamed the drop in cinemagoing post-COVID in the UK on a lack of quality British films, there are plenty of British films that are getting positive reviews like The End We Start From, One Life, Saltburn, Sumotherhood, Allelujah, Rye Lane and What’s Love Got To Do With It? The problem is the majority of these films are the kind audiences will rush out to see over opening weekend, they wait to hear about them by word of mouth and exhibitors are far too quick to reduce screens and showtimes.
The problem is there are now over 900+ films being released compared with 300 30+ years ago when films were given a chance to find their audience. With fewer films opening at the end of the year and the start of this year some films have been given more time than they would normally, but with All Of Us Strangers, The Color Purple and This England NT Live opening this weekend and then Migration and Argylle next weekend there will be much more movement on screens over coming weeks.
The other problem is the definition of what is a British Film as much has been made of the success of Barbie and Wonka and the failure of The Marvels all three were made in the UK by US studios as Napoleon, Poor Things and Saltburn and later three along with Wonka are nominated for Best British Film alongside low budget films Scrapper and How To Have Sex made without US studios.
Hundreds of millions of Lottery funds have been spent on making British films over the last 25+ years but they are all made individually rather than by a slate of films as the plan was with the poorly conceived Lottery Film Franchises launched in the mid-90s with The Film Consortium, Pathe Films and DNA Films. These companies partnered with distributors and exhibitors to have the infrastructure that should have made several self-sufficient film companies after the franchises ended.
The Book of Clarence was due to open on January 19th in the UK, but after poorly opening the week earlier in the US release was delayed. After 10 days in the US, it has taken only $4.6m, normally would expect a film that performed as badly to be released straight to video but as it was made by Legendary Pictures Sony is likely to be contractually bound to give the film a wide cinema release in the UK.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £10,259,086 up 9.4% from last weekend’s £9,374,860: 1,278,348 admissions up 11.9% from 1,141,883 admissions.
28th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 19 May 2023 #1 Fast X £5,895,674 (57.01%) and 15 December 2023 #1 Wonka £6,362,786 (64.27%)
62nd biggest since cinemas reopened out of 166 weeks between 30 July 2021 #1 The Suicide Squad £3,252,028 (31.66%) and 25 February 2022 #1 Uncharted £3,084,102 (30.61%)
586th biggest top 10 of the last 21 years (out of 1,138) between 24 October 2003 #1 Finding Nemo £3,887,996 (37.89% of top 10) and 30 November 2012 #1 Skyfall £2,275,469 (22.26% of top 10) and 878th biggest inflated between 01 September 2006 #1 You, Me and Depree £1,165,610 (18.57% of top 10) and 29 February 2008 #1 The Bank Job £951,013 (14.24% of top 10)
The top 3 took (£6,035,798) 58.8% of the top 10; Mean Girls 31.69% (£3,251,159); Wonka 16.49% (£1,691,563); Poor Things 10.65% (£1,093,076).
632nd highest #1 percentage (31.69%) between 20 February 2015 Fifty Shades of Grey (31.74%) and 30 July 2021 The Suicide Squad (31.66%)
766th biggest admissions #1 (410,500) between 23 September 2005 Pride and Prejudice (410,633) and 09 April 2010 Clash of the Titans (410,367)
Up 21.3% from 2023; (£8,455,983); Babylon (£1,323,683); That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime The Movie: Scarlet Bond (£62,612); Alice, Darling (£4,749); #1 Avatar: The Way of Water £4,172,161 6th week down 33% 651 screens (33.47% of top 10)
Up 26.8% from 2022 (£8,091,793); Belfast (£2,322,572); Nightmare Alley (£550,868); A Journal For Jordan (£50,511); Jewels – Bolshoi Ballet 2022 (£48,195); #1 Spider-Man No Way Home £2,335,488 6th week 27% drop 655 screens (28.9% of top 10)
2021; Lockdown 2
Down 39.5% 2020 (£16,951,901); Bad Boys For Life (£3,781,233); Bombshell (£742,085); Just Mercy (£529,435); A Hidden Life (£63,375); Waves (£62,943); #1 1917 £6,190,049 2nd week 714 screens 17% drop (36.5% of top 10)
Down 23% from 2019: (£13,317,271); Glass (£3,423,380); Mary, Queen of Scots (£2,082,160); Beautiful Boy (£361,382); La Bayadere – Bolshoi Ballet 2019 (£136,621t); Hey Duggee at the Cinema (£67,672); #1 Glass £3,423,380 1st weeks 559 screens (25.7% of top 10)
Down 48.9% from 2018; (£20,087,765); Coco (£5,209,214); The Post (£2,152,977); The Commuter (£1,602,680); Romeo and Juliet – Bolshoi 2018 (£181,834): #1 Coco £5,209,214 1st week 575 (25.9% of the top 10)
Down 21.9% from 2017: (£12,971,749); Split (£2,548,516); xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (£1,620,811); Lion (£1,265,282); Jackie (£662,900); Romeo et Juliette – Met Opera 2017 (£228,384); The Sleeping Beauty – Bolshoi 2017 (£218,668); Goodfellas (Re: 2017) (£27,226); #1 La La Land £4,373,249 2nd week 674 screens 43% drop (33.7% of top 10)
Down 24.7% from 2016: (£13,620,775); Ride Along 2 (£2,141,341); The Big Short (£1,302,205); The 5th Wave (£497,568); The Taming of the Shrew – Bolshoi 2016 (£160,323); The Assassin (£76,542); Our Brand Is Crisis (£27,723); Dark Places (£625); #1 The Revenant £3,856,489 2nd week 623 screens 26% drop (28.3% of top 10)
Down 25.9% from 2015; (£13,848,440); American Sniper (£2,530,473); Whiplash (£573,546); Wild (£524,941); The Merry Widow – Met Opera 2015 (£463,195); Testament of Youth (£417,486); #1 Taken 3 £3,295,309 2nd week 500 screens 51% drop (23.8% of top 10)
Down 31.8% from 2014: (£15,034,724); The Wolf of Wall Street (£4,655,984); Devil’s Due (£1,002,627); The Night of the Hunter (Re: 2014) (£15,270); #1 The Wolf of Wall Street £4,655,984 1st week 500 screens (30.9% of top 10)
Down 18.1% from 2013: (£12,516,225); Django Unchained (£2,801,312); Monsters, Inc. 3D (£681,247); The Sessions (£84,899); #1 Les Miserables £4,406,828 2nd week 599 screens 46% drop (35.2% of top 10)
Down 7.2% from 2012 (£11,054,100); Haywire (£1,197,866); Underworld: Awakening (£1,114,327); The Sitter (£910,382); J. Edgar (£413,210); W.E. (£182,914); Coriolanus (£169,308); #1 War Horse £3,202,493 2nd week 513 screens 19% drop (29% of top 10)
Down 20.6% from 2011 (£12,916,152); Black Swan (£2,762,429); The Dilemma (£1,102,798); Morning Glory (£524,356); N.E.D.S. (£283,210); Breakfast at Tiffany’s (50th Anniversary) (£10,498); Get Low (£4,608); #1 The King’s Speech £4,226,074 3rd week 502 screens 4% drop (32.7% of top 10)
Down 23.6% from 2010: (£13,422,186); Toy Story 2 (Digital 3-D) (£909,093); Brothers (£366,290); A Prophet (£312,237); Ninja Assassin (£187,285); The Boys Are Back (£64,465); Armoured (£64,931); #1 Avatar £5,155,844 6th week 428 screens 7% drop (38.4% of top 10)
Down 12.6% from 2009; (£11,743,640); Valkyrie (£1,854,195); Underworld 3 (£990,285); Frost/Nixon (£591,411); Milk (£336,027); Rachel Getting Married (£84,652); #1 Slumdog Millionaire £2,806,996 3rd week 2nd #1 379 screens 7% increase (23.9% of top 10)
Up 9.7% from 2008; (£9,348,113); Alien vs. Predator 2 (£1,970,363); No Country for Old Men (£1,257,183); Walk Hard (£240,833); The Good Night (£25,985); #1 Alien vs. Predator 2 £1,970,363 1st week 399 screens (21.1% of top 10)
Down 4.5% from 2007: (£10,737,948); Rocky Balboa (£3,639,339); The Return (£277,457); #1 Rocky Balboa £3,639,339 1st week 405 screens (33.9% of top 10)
Up 6.1% from 2006; (£9,668,855); Fun with Dick and Jane (£1,957,060); Underworld: Evolution (£1,146,779); Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (£803,489); A Cock and Bull Story (£332,582); #1 Fun with Dick and Jane £1,957,060 1st week 422 screens (20.2% of top 10)
Up 29.1% from 2005 (£7,950,505); Elektra (£791,914); Ray (£485,005); A Very Long Engagement (£312,042); Dear Frankie (£57,214); #1 Closer £1,587,136 2nd week £1,568,526 332 screens 1% increase (19.9% of top 10)
Up 5.4% from 2004 (£9,729,138); Paycheck (£927,212); Runaway Jury (£583,367); Girl with a Pearl Earring (£384,498); A Mighty Wind (£62,657); #1 Lord of the Rings: Return of the King £2,377,268 5th week #1 483 screens 36% drop (24.4% of top 10)
Down 22.4% from 2003 (£13,216,953); 8 Mile (£4,440,334); Chicago (expansion) (£1,983,505); The Transporter (£338,420); The Master Of Disguise (£60,077); #1 8 Mile £4,440,334 1st week 423 screens (33.6% of top 10)
Up 15.5% from 2002 (£8,882,363); Black Hawk Down (£1,772,920); Long Time Dead (£580,487); Iris (£378,749); #1 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring £3,276,912 5th week #1 489 screens 25% drop (36.9% of top 10)
Next week: (£9,422,654); Pathaan (£1,967,854); Plane (£1,161,382); The Fabelmans (£1,067,384); Billie Eilish: Live At The O2 (Extended Cut) (£329,407); Unwelcome (£118,322); #1 Avatar: The Way of Water £2,116,615 24% drop 623 screens (22.46% of top 10)
Cinema News
2023 UK admissions were 123.61m up 5.38% from 2022 (117.3m) while BO £978.5m up 8.5% from 2022 (£902m). 2022 admissions were similar to 1993 levels (114.3m taking £366.9m (£905.26m inflated) £3.21 average; 2023 was similar to 1994 admissions (123.5m taking £978.12m); £3.25 average.
Exhibitors keep saying the recovery to pre-pandemic levels will be in 2025 but with similar films to 2022, comic books, and sequels. Disney reimaginations, reboots and Avatar sequel how will admissions increase by 54.3m? Or will the return to 2019 levels be annual BO as ticket inflation from 2019 adds 15%? The question also is what will be the year’s Top Gun: Maverick, Barbie, Oppenheimer and Wonka films that overperform. After the success of Super Mario Bros last year will Minecraft be another successful film based on a computer game.
US Box Office
- Mean Girls – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 59% in its second weekend $11.66m and $50.01m
While it’s pacing 19% ahead of the original ticket inflation since is over 70% and it had a far bigger second weekend drop so won’t have the legs of the original.
2004’s Mean Girls dropped 44% $13.67m and $42.07m of $85.05m and $130.12m worldwide.
Social media was measured to have 264m across X, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube below A Star Is Born 301m and ahead of Rocketman (113.5m) and The Color Purple (200m). Would have surely expected a far bigger opening especially given the popularity of the original film for the last 20 years, but again industry has lowered expectations on the size of the opening.
As with Smile, it was originally due to be released on Paramount+ but after positive test scores Paramount decided to give it a theatrical release, it was also after the successful run of the musical based on the film running from 2018 to 2020, the run ended early due to COVID. It was expected to open in the UK in 2021 but its opening was delayed until June 2024 due to COVID.
Took $7.5m from 18 territories $16.2m total and $66.3m worldwide; Australia $4.3m; UK $4.1m; Mexico $2.8m; Brazil $1.2m; France $600k; Spain $590k.
- Wonka – Warner Bros
Down 21% in its sixth weekend taking $6.71m #3 and $187.44m.
182nd biggest sixth weekend between Fried Green Tomatoes and Wild Hogs (close to The Croods, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Back to the Future Part II)
258th biggest between Gladiator and The Croods; 714th inflated between Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Angels & Demons; 8th biggest 2023 between Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and John Wick: Chapter 4; 8th biggest musical between Happy Feet and Grease (overtaking The Greatest Showman (overtaking Chicago and Mary Poppins Returns); 48th biggest Warner Bros between The Polar Express and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.
Other Roald Dahl’s film adaptions sixth weekends
2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory dropped 40.2% $4.43m and $192.63m of $206.45m and $474.96m WW
2016’s The BFG dropped 35.5% $295,536 and $52.79m of $55.48m and $195.24m WW
In the UK Wonka is performing similarly to Paddington
2015’s Paddington dropped 39.4% $2.44m and $67.81m of $76.27m and $282.43m WW
2017’s Paddington 2 dropped 69.2% $401,294 and $39.27m of $40.9m and $227.3m WW
2017’s The Greatest Showman dropped 10.3% $9.55m and $126.52m of $174.34m and $434.9m WW
2018’s Mary Poppins Returns dropped 36.4% $3.31m and $165.2m of $171.95m and $349.54m WW
2018’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again dropped 41.2% $2m and $115.35m of $120.63m and $395.04m WW.
Analysts are now comparing Wonka with The Greatest Showman, but they are very different films, buzz was strong for Wonka for 15 months after very positive reactions to test screenings in October 2022. Wonka entered Christmas as the only major release as little was expected from Aquaman 2 generating negativity for months. Wonka received very positive reviews in the UK, and momentum built from its strong UK opening before the US. After Charlie and the Chocolate Factory took $475m and Matilda was hugely successful in the UK and on Netflix last year a similar global BO to Charlie was surely the minimum expected.
It was very different to The Greatest Showman, had a little buzz going into its opening, received mixed reviews and after opening fourth behind The Last Jedi, Jumanji and Pitch Perfect 3 little was expected from it, but it became the people’s champion. While Wonka also benefited from IMAX/PLF and other surcharge cinema The Greatest Showman as Barbie In the summer against Oppenheimer didn’t have IMAX/PLF and was also booked into smaller screens.
Took $10.6m (down 35%) from 77 territories $345.8m total and $533.24m worldwide; the UK $73.7m; France $27.8m; Mexico $25.3m; Australia $23.1m; Germany $21.9m.
218th worldwide between Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and The Revenant; 11th biggest 2023 worldwide between Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One and Elemental; 7th biggest musical worldwide between Mamma Mia! And Beauty and the Beast (1991) (overtaking Les Misérables $435.4m; La La Land $435.2m; The Greatest Showman $429.9m and close to 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s $474.96m worldwide; 36th biggest Warner Bros worldwide between Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Godzilla.
Took $16.1m from IMAX worldwide.
- The Beekeeper – MGM
Dropped 48% in the second weekend $8.6m and $31.25m
2020’s The Gentlemen dropped 47.3% $5.6m and $20.03m of $36.47m and $115.17m worldwide
2002’s The Transporter dropped 44.2% $5.08m and $17.19m of $25.29m and $43.92m worldwide
2006’s Crank dropped 53.1% $4.9m and $19.96m of $27.83m and $42.93m worldwide
2011’s The Mechanic dropped 53.6% $5.29m and $20m of $29.12m and $76.13 worldwide
Jason Statham’s films have taken over $635m in the US and over $1.80bn worldwide.
Took $14.2m from 56 territories $44.2m total and $75.3m worldwide; China $9.5m; Germany $5.4m; Australia $3.1m; UK $2.7m.
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – Warner Bros
Dropped 30% in the fifth weekend $3.65m #6 and $114.19m
950th biggest fifth weekend between Limitless and The Witches of Eastwick (close to The Green Hornet, Edge of Tomorrow, War for the Planet of the Apes and Waterworld).
653rd biggest between The Village and Bolt; 1,422nd biggest inflated between Made In America and Hidalgo; 21st biggest 2023 between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Scream VI; 80th biggest comic-book between Ghost Rider and Superman II; 102nd biggest Warner Bros between You’ve Got Mail and Wild Wild West.
Fifth weekends
2018’s Aquaman dropped 41.4% $10.17m and $304.18m of $335.06m and $1.51bn WW
2023’s The Flash dropped 66.9% $750,059 and $106.83m of $108.13m and $270.63m WW
2023’s Blue Beetle dropped 34.3% $2.51m and $67.31m of $72.48m and $129.28m WW
2023’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods dropped 79.7% $317,472 and $57.47m of $57.63m and $133.83m WW.
2019’s Shazam! Dropped 55.1% $2.5m and $135.24m of $140.37m and $365.97m WW.
DC Extended Universe took $2.854bn in the US and $7.4bn worldwide.
Took $9.5m from 78 territories and $283.4m and $397.59m WW; China $59.6m; Mexico $20.8m; France $18.2m; Germany $15.2m; Brazil $13.9m.
IMAX took $32.8m globally.
355th biggest worldwide between Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! And Meg 2: The Trench; the 18th biggest 2023 between John Wick: Chapter 4 and Meg 2: The Trench; the 59th biggest comic book between Eternals and Superman Returns; the 65th biggest Warner Bros between Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore and Meg 2: The Trench.
- Migration – Universal Pictures
Down 12% in the fifth weekend $5.46m #4 and $94.83m
499th biggest fifth weekend between The Italian Job and Date Night (close to Jumanji, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Yogi Bear and Brother Bear).
125th biggest animation between Encanto and DC League of Super Pets; 858th biggest between The Book of Eli and 10,000 B.C.; 1,746th inflated between The Paper and Postcards from the Edge; 28th biggest 2023 between M3GAN and Dungeons & Dragons; 124th biggest Universal Pictures between M3GAN and Red Dragon.
Fifth weekends
2022’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish dropped 18.4% $11.8m and $126.76m of $185,53m and $481.07m worldwide
2021’s Sing 2 dropped 28% $5.75m and $128.45m of $162.72m and $408.4m
The 13 Illumination Entertainment films have taken $3.81bn in the US and $9.628bn worldwide.
Took $6.6m from 73 territories $97.2m total and $192m worldwide; Germany $15m; France $10.3m; Australia $8.5m; Mexico $7.9m; Spain $4.6m; Poland $3m having staggered international release and original Illumination animated film hard to compare with any other animated films.
146th biggest animation worldwide between Gnomeo and Juliet and Open Season; 954th worldwide between Paddington 2 and Open Season; 127th biggest Universal Pictures between For Your Eyes Only and Abominable.
- Anyone But You – Sony Pictures
Down 24% in its fifth weekend $5.4m #5 taking $64.22m
510th biggest fourth weekend between St. Vincent and San Andreas (close to Date Night, 50 First Dates, Midnight in Paris and Maid in Manhattan).
1,393rd biggest between The Nut Job and Down to Earth; 2,534th biggest inflated between A Man Called Otto and In the Name of the Father; 41st biggest 2023 between A Man Called Otto and Wish; 58th biggest rom com between Think Like a Man Too and Hope Springs (close to Book Club, Ticket to Paradise, She’s All That and The Holiday); 183rd biggest Sony Pictures between A Man Called Otto and Mona Lisa Smile.
Fifth weekends
1996’s One Fine Day dropped 21.1% $2.72m and $41.04m of $46.15m
Most recent rom coms
2023’s No Hard Feelings dropped 66.9% $1.08m and $49.22m of $50.45m and $87.25m worldwide
2022’s Ticket to Paradise dropped 45.9% $3.19m and $61.54m of $68.27m and $168.76m worldwide.
It’s been called a sorta sequel to 1997’s My Best Friend’s Wedding dropped 21.6% $6.52m and $94.72m of $127.12m and $299.28m worldwide) as it features Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths as parents of Sydney Sweeney (aged 26). The film has been compared to Much Ado About Nothing and 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You dropped 33.3% $1.81m and $31.13m of $38.17m and $53.47m worldwide.
Will Gluck’s earlier films took $380m in the US and $890m worldwide.
2009’s Fired Up dropped 57.4% $701,639 and $16.75m of $17.23m and $18.6m worldwide
2010’s Easy A dropped 38.6% $2.63m and $52.31m of $58.4m and $76.2m worldwide
2011’s Friends with Benefits dropped 71.1% $533,670 and $54.71m of $55.8m and $146.59m worldwide
2014’s Annie dropped 58.1% $1.99m and $82.17m of $85.91m and $139.82m worldwide
2018’s Peter Rabbit took $115.23m and $346.72m worldwide and 2021’s Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway $40.5m and $150.97m worldwide
Took $10.6m from 41 territories total $35.91m and $100.13m worldwide; Australia $10.8m; UK $9m; Holland $2.4m; Germany $2.4m; Mexico $1.3m.
1,799th biggest worldwide between Any Given Sunday and How to be Single; 66th biggest 2023 between The Creator and Godzilla Minus One; 83rd biggest rom com between Just Like Heaven and How to be Single; 232nd biggest Sony Pictures between A Knight’s Tale and Hellboy.
- Poor Things – Searchlight
Up 19% adding 830 screens taking $2.13m #10 in the seventh weekend from 1,400 screens and $20.3m
The Favourite expanded into 1,540 from 517 screens in its 10th weekend taking $2.54m and $26.1m of $34.36m and $95.91m worldwide.
2017’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer expanded to 238 screens after 4 weeks); taking $2.29m and $6.93m worldwide.
Took $5.1m from 19 territories $13.3m total and $33.7m worldwide; UK $4.7m; Greece $2.3m; Australia $1.7m; France $1.1m; Germany $800k.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
NT Live: Dear England could open #1 depending on how its box office is calculated as it opens in cinemas on Thursday with additional screenings Fri-Sun. Advance bookings on Tuesday were strong for weekend shows and with prices, £15+ could have a similar opening as 2014’s Billy Elliot The Musical Live 2014 £1,904,098 #1 from 509 screens.
Mean Girls will drop 55%+ (40% without previews) taking £1.2m-£1.5m #2
All Of Us Strangers has received critical acclaim and generated strong media coverage due to Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal.
Andrew Haigh’s previous films also received critical acclaim but struggled to find an audience 2011’s Weekend opened on limited release at £30,474 from 10 screens #23 only played in a maximum of 20 screens taking £221,169; 2015’s 45 Years opened £331,196 #10 from 68 screens and expanded into 103 screens taking £1,829,573 and 2018’s Lean on Pete opened £85,597 #12 from 46 screens taking £473,558. But of course, All Of Us Strangers has generated much more media coverage and will likely open with £1m+ depending on the side of its release.
Similar films include.
2013’s Warm Bodies opened £895,509 #6 315 screens taking £2,664,789
2014’s If I Stay opened £505,704 #6 333 screens taking £1,373,572
2009’s The Time Traveler’s Wife opened £1,410,333 #1
2006’s Lake House opened £761,465 #2 343 screens taking £2,655,261 425 screens taking £7,308,665
1990’s Ghost opened £1,504,893 #1 (£4,266,808 inflated) taking £23,341,442 (£66,179,756 inflated)
Wonka will drop about 40% in its eighth weekend taking about £1m #4 becoming the 26th film to take £60m+ since Titanic in 1998.
Poor Things and Anyone But You will be battling out for fifth.
After missing out on major Oscar and BAFTA nominations The Color Purple will struggle to find an audience in the UK. A month ago, expected it to open similar to 2011’s The Help opened £896,597 #7 from 294 screens taking £3,865,125 and 2007’s Dreamgirls opened £1,329,817 (£2,127,707 inflated) taking £3,475,271 (£5,560,434 inflated), but now probably similar to 2017’s Fences opened £350,071 #13 taking £1,158,590, that said UK audiences do like their musicals and even 2021’s In The Heights opened £1,073,687 #3 taking £4,286,073.
Opening in two weeks
- Bob Marley: One Love – Paramount Pictures (Wednesday)
Biographical musical drama starring Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch and James Norton and directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green.
In 2018 Paramount Pictures started development on a biopic on Bob Marley.
Hard to compare the film with other musician biopics like Rocketman, Bohemian Rhapsody and Elvis.
2007’s Dreamgirls opened £1,329,817 (£2,127,707 inflated) taking £3,475,271 (£5,560,434 inflated)
- Madame Web – Sony Pictures (Wednesday)
The fourth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe starring Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced, and Tahar Rahim and directed by S. J. Clarkson.
Sony Pictures started development on a Madame Web in 2019; while Sony received huge success with the Spider-Man spinoff Venom last year’s Morbius was a box office and critical flop. It is Sony Pictures’ first female med comic-book film and has been described as a Sony Pictures version of Doctor Strange. It’s surprising after meeting several A-listers for the lead role they cast Dakota Johnson as it will be her first leading role since starring in the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy.
It was originally dated July 7, 2023, October 6, 2023, and then February 16, 2024; Reaction to the first trailer released in November was poor.
Having 5 day opening likely similar to 2022’s Morbius opened £3,254,830 #2 638 screens taking £6,439,100.