- Barbie – £2,697,820 – £84,790,946
Dropped 39.1% in the fifth weekend.
Took £1.02m 37.1% (27.1% drop £1.4m) Friday; £960k 35.6% (41.1% drop £1.63m) Saturday; £736k 27.3% (47.1% drop £1.39m) Sunday.
14th biggest fifth weekend between Toy Story 4 (£2,985,149) and Sing 2 (£2,769,899) close to Frozen, Mamma Mia! Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Paddington and 44th biggest inflated between Joker and Sing (close to Mrs Doubtfire, Babe, Love Actually and The Lion King (1994)
Barbie took £1m+ for 26 days in a row until Wednesday it’s the second longest after No Time To Die 32 days.
8th biggest between Avengers: Endgame (£88,719,051) and Top Gun Maverick (£83,280,268) close to Spectre, Avatar, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Titanic and 23rd biggest inflated between Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Shrek 2 (close to Deathly Hallows Part 2, Casino Royale, Toy Story 2 and Bridget Jones’s Diary; 10th since 2009’s Avatar to take £80m+ and is Warner Bros UK biggest film overtaking 2011’s Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Predictably the industry is learning the wrong lessons from the success of Barbie as they will see it as let’s make more films based on toys but the reason for Barbie’s success was the talent it had attached to it Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie and it targeted women. If it was about films based on toys then Dungeons & Dragons and Transformers: Rise of The Beasts would have done better at the box office, the problem is a lack of films targetting women.
Comparing Barbie with Top Gun Maverick after 33 days (had two days of previews) took £63.1m 34.5% less than Barbie over 31 days, this was 75.7% of its final BO of £83.5m, so Barbie could be the third biggest film after Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Skyfall to take £100m+, this would be the equivalent of £130m+ as the 6 bigger films (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Skyfall, Spider-Man No Way Home, No Time To Die, Spectre and Avatar) all had IMAX and other premium formats while also were the only major film on wide release.
It used to be the weekend before school holidays started which saw films like Jurassic Park and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace open rather than the weekend they started as have to go back to 1991 when Warner Bros had similar success from Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves in 1991 opening the same weekend with £1,332,078 (£3,778,171 inflated) taking £20,491,099 (£58,118,882 inflated) having very strong legs and also in 1994 with The Flintstones. While most recently The Lion King in 2019.
Normally the studio would be quick to announce a sequel to a massive hit, but Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Greta Gerwig haven’t got deals in place for a sequel as no one expected the film to warrant a sequel. As no deals have been put in place for sequels it will be very costly but it’s doubtful Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Greta Gerwig would want to do a sequel.
Barbie: The Soundtrack has taken over the singles chart with Billie Eilish’s What Was I Made For? #1, Dua Lipa’s Dance The Night #2; #7 remake of Aqua’s Barbie World; Charli XCX’s Speed Drive #14, Ryan Gosling’s I’m Just Ken #18; Lizzo’s Pink #37; Aqua Barbie Girl (original) #57. The soundtrack album #1 Compilations (where it will likely be for many weeks as seen by The Greatest Showman soundtrack #3 in its 189 weeks on release) and of course #1 on the Soundtrack chart.
Barbie has become the highest-grossing film at the Irish box office ever, has overtaken Avatar taking €8,854,036 also overtaking Titanic €8,253,258.
- 2. Oppenheimer – £2,045,953 – £50,054,877
Dropped 35.4% in the fifth weekend.
Took £708k 34.6% (18.9% drop £873k) Friday; £767k 37.5% (37.6% drop £1.23m) Saturday; £571k 27.9% (46.1% drop £1.06m) Sunday.
It took almost £200k less than Sunday estimates (£2,242,650) all other films took a few thousand more than estimates, it’s not often that a film comes in lower than estimates.
IMAX has taken 20.3% (£10.2m) of 52 cinemas and has overtaken Avatar: The Way of Water to become the second biggest IMAX film in the UK after Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
37th biggest fifth weekend between Despicable Me 2 (£2,085,392) and The Greatest Showman (£2,042,450) close to Bohemian Rhapsody, Spectre, The Full Monty and Dunkirk) and the 100th biggest inflated between Jurassic World (£2,049,282) and The Fugitive (£2,035,950) close to Rain Man, Moulin Rouge, Basic Instinct and Les Miserables).
47th biggest between Black Panther and Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix (close to The Full Monty, Quantum of Solace, The Greatest Showman and The Dark Knight) and 90th biggest inflated between Up and Les Miserables (close to Spider-Man 3, War of the Worlds, The Da Vinci Code and Inception); 47th film to take £50m+ since 1997’s The Full Monty
Fifth weekends
2010’s Inception dropped 25% £1,681,130 #2 from 472 screens and £29,204,120 82.8% of £35,264,403; dropped 35% in the sixth weekend £1,076,106; held #1 for 1 week and in the top 5 for 5 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.
2020’s Tenet dropped 18% £648,517 #1 from 569 screens and £14,995,041 85.8% of £17,479,421; dropped 3% in the sixth weekend taking £628,247 held #1 for 8 weeks and in the top 5 for 9 weeks and top 10 for 10 weeks
2017’s Dunkirk dropped 26% £1,938,125 #2 from 647 screens and £49,101,623 86.4% of £56,797,955; dropped 48% in the sixth weekend taking £998,531 held #1 for 4 weeks and in the top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 10 weeks.
2014’s Interstellar dropped 47% £610,289 #6 from 348 screens and £19,150,662 91.8% of £20,852,599; dropped 64% in the sixth weekend taking £213,953 held #1 for 2 weeks and in the top 5 for 4 weeks and top 10 for 6 weeks.
Impossible to compare Oppenheimer with The Dark Knight Trilogy only that the films had similar holds #1 and stayed in the top 5 and top 10 for similar weeks having similar legs.
2005’s Batman Begins dropped 45% £422,489 #4 from 382 screens and £14,806,311 88.5% of £16,733,960: #1 for 2 weeks, top 5 for 5 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.
2008’s The Dark Knight dropped 36% £1,454,847 #4 from 440 screens and £43,498,315 88.1% of £49,411,323: #1 for 2 weeks, top 5 for 6 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.
2012’s The Dark Knight Rises dropped 31% £1,506,178 #5 from 440 screens and £49,776,391 88.2% of £56,446,768: #1 for 2 weeks, top 5 for 6 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.
Christopher Nolan’s films have taken over £300m at the UK BO and £380m inflated.
Much has been made about Oppenheimer’s IMAX box office taking $17m+ from 30 IMAX 70mm cinemas around the world, 19 in the US, 3 in the UK and others in Canada, Australia and Czechia. The problem is there are millions of other cinemagoers around the world who paid similar prices for the IMAX experience but got LieMAX instead retrofitted in a conventional auditorium.
In the UK there are over 50 IMAX cinemas and Oppenheimer has taken 20%+ of its BO from those cinemas but 90% of cinemagoers aren’t getting what they expected from IMAX as BFI IMAX is 85ft wide and 65ft high (height of almost five double-decker buses).
To put into perspective Odeon Marble Arch which had the biggest screen in Europe up to 1996 screen was 75 feet by 30 feet and showed many films in standard 70mm but there was no price difference from 35mm.
Away from the three 70mm IMAX screens in the UK, all other IMAX/PLF screens are probably smaller than the screens they replaced as many of the auditoriums had been split up, as 3D IMAX/PLF is just a gimmick just to increase ticket prices. 40%+ of BO comes from IMAX/PLF and they are about a third more than regular. IMAX/PLF BO has made Oppenheimer BO look more impressive than it is, but it also shows Barbie’s BO is even more impressive not having any IMAX and very few PLF screens as it didn’t need any gimmicks to get audiences to see it.
- 3. Blue Beetle – £1,189,812 – NE
Took £459k (38.6%) Friday; £415k (34.9%) Saturday; £315k (26.5%) Sunday.
1,407th biggest opening between Sommersby and Eyes Wide Shut (close to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Long Kiss Goodnight, White House Down and Fight Club) and 2,001st biggest inflated between Nightcrawler and Devil’s Due (close to Over the Top, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, The Last Boy Scout and Young Guns).
97th biggest comic-book opening between Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Superman III (close to Batman, Blade, Spawn and Super Mario Brothers) and 107th biggest inflated between Elektra and Hellboy (2019) (close to TMNT, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Catwoman and Barb Wire).
Had the second lowest DC opening ahead of Wonder Woman:1984 but that opened with £846,435 the weekend before cinemas closed for their second time due to COVID taking £1,577,142.
313th widest opening in 549 cinemas similar to Spies In Disguise, Pet Sematary (2019); Hotel Transylvania 3; Early Man; Ted 2 and Gone Girl; 554th 500+ opening since 2001’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
14th DC Extended Universe featuring a Latin American cast was always likely to struggle internationally despite receiving positive reviews due to the strikes not allowing talent to promote films. All films opening since Oppenheimer haven’t had talent allowed to promote them which has affected their box office.
Blue Beetle is a very different DC comic-book film as 2015’s Ant-Man was a very different MCU as it is family-centric as the first Ant-Man film was before the sequels became generic MCU films; 2015’s Abt-Man opened £4,011,345 taking £16,309,117. Tonally trailers feel more like Honey I Shrunk the Kids meets The Rocketeer as the first Shazam felt so different from other DC films.
1987’s Innerspace opened £434,710 (£1,611,460 inflated) taking £2,604,800 (£9,655,933 inflated)
1990’s Honey, I Shrunk the Kids opened £1,196,710 (£4,093,467 inflated) taking £9,395,091 (£32,136,856 inflated)
1991’s The Rocketeer opened £768,495 (£2,021,421 inflated) taking £1,949,189 (£5,127,075 inflated)
1999’s The Iron Giant opened £196,079 (£371,199 inflated) taking £2,425,530 (£4,591,799 inflated)
What probably didn’t help Blue Beetle was opening so close to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem as it was targeting a similar audience of tween boys and trailers played with summer films including Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse along with Super Mario Bros.
Blue Beetle should have opened similarly to last year’s DC League of Super-Pets £2,694,626 #1 taking £15,640,836 as since Across The Spider-Verse none of the films targetting tween boys have found their expected audience while of course tween girls have been watching Barbie in huge numbers. As Oppenheimer is 15 what have tween boys been watching this summer they are a demographic who go to the summer regularly throughout the summer holidays as most films released are aimed at them.
There were rumours after the disappointing performance of Shazam 2 and The Flash that Warner Bros might delay the film to next year so the film could be part of James Gunn’s new DC slate, as Blue Beetle along with Aquaman 2 feel like they are being orphaned off and its damage control.
- 4. The Meg 2: The Trench £972,512 – £9,754,037
Took £343k 35.3% (dropped 24.4% £454k) Friday; £354k 36.4% (dropped 41.6% £606k) Saturday; £275k 28.3% (dropped 44.7% £497k) Sunday.
Dropped 37.6% in the third weekend.
609th biggest third weekend between The Conjuring and Vanilla Sky (close to Baby Driver, The Other Guys, Final Destination 3 and 21 Jump Street) and 865th biggest inflated between Non-Stop and Bad Moms (close to Far and Away, Mermaids, Wolf and Elysium.
2018’s The Meg dropped 28% taking £1,502,535 #3 and from 549 screens and £11,734,530 of £15,075,792.
63 years ago, Alfred Hitchcock asked the same question Psycho asked with The Meg 2 and Mutant Mayhem, Who is right, the critics or the paying public, The Meg 2 received poor reviews, but audiences still came out to see it in similar numbers as a first film while Mutant Mayhem had positive reviews but even with 4 days of previews couldn’t open bigger than The Meg 2.
16th biggest 2023 film between Dungeons & Dragons and The Flash; third biggest Warner Bros film between Creed 3 and The Flash.
716th biggest between Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and Walk the Line (close to Superman, Stargate, The Expendables and Baywatch) and 1,198th biggest inflated between The Legend of Tarzan and Knowing (close to Cobra, Spies Like Us, Cruel Intentions and Innerspace).
- 5. Strays – £598,619 – NE
Took £179k (35.1%) Friday; £188k (36.9%) Saturday; £142k (27.8%) Sunday.
Included £89,604 from previews.
Again, previews have a massive effect on box office places as the £90k allowed it to squeeze past TMNT by £9,582
Opened in 487 cinemas 567th widest opening similar to The Call of the Wild, Deepwater Horizon and 300: Rise of An Empire; 1,179th 400+ cinemas opening since 1989’s Batman.
Coincidently Strays opens similar to Barbie’s “Today is gonna be the best day ever” and strangely both Barbie and Reggie find the worlds they live in aren’t as they think they are, but that’s as much as the two films have in common.
While female audiences young and old have been going to the cinema this summer to see films like Barbie and Elemental, male teens haven’t been as excited to see the films that were aimed at them including Fast X, The Flash, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Indiana Jones and the Dial Of Destiny, with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse being the only one that did.
Plays to a teen male audience as 2016’s Sausage Party opened £2,690,156 #1 taking £7,580,034; 1999’s South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut opened £1,496,581 (£2,833,195 inflated) taking £6,577,546 (£12,452,029 inflated); 2005’s Team America: World Police opened £1,526,329 (£2,582,769 inflated) taking £4,688,765 (£7,934,067 inflated); 1997’s Beavis and Butthead Do America opened £593,658 (£1,162,519) taking £2,537,362 (£4,968,741 inflated).
Animal films have been very popular at the box office but they like 2001’s Cats & Dogs (opened £3.7m taking £24.1m); 2009’s Marley and Me (opened £4.4m taking £15.1m) and 2021’s Clifford the Big Red Dog (Opened £1.3m taking £10m) were targeting families while Strays was aimed at older teenagers being a 15. The problem was the marketing felt like it was targeting a younger audience. Not having the likes of Will Ferrell, Jamie Fox and Isla Fisher promoting the film meant the film never went into fifth gear in its marketing campaign. This has been the case with Turtles, Gran Turismo and Blue Beetle and will be the case with many more films over the next few weeks and months as it’s unlikely the strikes will end anytime soon. These films will open lower than expected and take about a third less than they could have done and it’s only going to get worse, but the serious talking won’t start until the Studio CEOs see these films
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £9,706,381 down 30.4% from last weekend’s £13,935,685: 1,217,865 admissions down 30.4% from 1,748,518.
628th biggest top 10 of the last 21 years (out of 1,116) between 09 July 2021 #1 Black Widow £6,889,187 (70.9% of top 10) and 26 May 2017 #1 Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge £5,238,049 (54.1% of top 10) and 910th biggest inflation inflated between 14 September 2012 #1 The Sweeney £1,545,294 (19.9% of top 10) and 06 September 2013 #1 About Time £1,761,079 (22.2% of top 10).
The top 3 took (£5,933,585) 61.1% of the top 10; Barbie 27.8% (£2,697,820); Oppenheimer 21.1% (£2,045,953); Meg 2: The Trench (£1,189,8129) 12.3%.
753rd highest percentage (27.79%) between 10 August 2007 Rush Hour 3 (27.81%) and 11 February 2005 Meet the Fockers (27.8%).
889th biggest admissions #1 (338,497) between 25 February 2005 Hide and Seek (338,537) and 23 December 2011 Arthur Christmas (337,865).
Up 64% from 2022 (£5,920,000); Dragon Ball Super: SUPERHERO (£663,290); Fisherman’s Friends: One and All (£656,293); Orphan: First Kill (£434,601); Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Director’s Edition 4K) (£58,858); The World Is Not Enough (Re: 2022) (£6,933); #1 Nope £1,147,638 2nd week 38% drop 685 screens (19.4% of top 10)
Up 29.7% from 2021; (£7,486,527); People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan (£896,992); Snake Eyes (£542,265); The Night House (£315,610); Reminiscence (£260,272); Around the World In 80 Days (£120,726); Pig (£47,976); #1 Free Guy £2,267,660 2nd week 11% drop 652 screens (30.3% of top 10)
Up 776.7% from 2020 (£1,107,153); The Karate Kid (Re: 2020) (£32,117); Get Out (Re: 2020) (£3,392); #1 Unhinged £178,821 3rd week split over 4 weeks 380 screens up 32% (16.1% of top 10)
Down 39.6% from 2019; (£16,071,094); Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (£7,544,445); Dora & The Lost City of Gold (£1,165,865); Good Boys (£844,169); Uglydolls (£266,074); #1 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood £7,544,445 1st week 663 screens (46.7% of top 10)
Down 35.9% from 2018: (£15,143,203); Disney’s Christopher Robin (£2,553,810); The Equalizer 2 (£1,980,754); The Festival (£1,423,410); #1 Disney’s Christopher Robin £2,553,810 1st week 649 screen 16.9% of top 10)
Up 1.1% from 2017: (£9,602,351); The Hitman’s Bodyguard (£1,982,951); The Dark Tower (£910,529); Everything, Everything (£453,401); An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (£201,130); #1 The Hitman’s Bodyguard £1,982,951 1st week 467 screens (20.6% of the top 10)
Down 25.4% from 2016: (£13,012,003); David Brent: Life on the Road (£1,460,290); Lights Out (£1,126,543); Swallows and Amazons (£676,175); Nine Lives (£636,804); Tickled (£25,602); #1 Finding Dory £2,868,459 4th week (2nd #1) 627 screens up 12% (22.1% of the top 10)
Up 3.4% from 2015; (£9,389,554); Paper Towns (£2,072,789); Sinister 2 (£1,069,261); Vacation (£608,748); The Bad Education Movie (£594,861); Strange Magic (£56,127); Good People (£25,454); #1 Paper Towns £2,072,789 1st week 472 screens (22.1% of top 10)
Down 13.5% from 2014: (£11,216,125); Lucy (£3,076,997); Into the Storm (£1,147,657); Deliver Us from Evil (£629,554); What If (£592,501); Doctor Who: Deep Breath (£522,908); 2 Days, 1 Night (£165,278); Thomas and Friends: Tale of the Brave (£60,328); Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (£12,117); Sin City (Re: 2014) (£10,244); #1 Lucy £3,076,997 1st week 486 screens (27.4% of top 10)
Down 18.6% from 2013:(£11,919,587); Kick-Ass 2 (£2,482,187); Planes (£1,735,940); 2 Guns (£1,423,738); Bachelorette (£19,396); #1 Kick-Ass 2 £2,482,187 1st week 483 screens (20.8% of top 10)
Down 44.5% from 2012:(£17,483,535); Brave (UK expansion) (£5,269,402); The Bourne Legacy (£4,620,289); The Expendables 2 (£1,985,082); The Wedding Video (£333,079); Take this Waltz (£70,358); #1 Brave £5,269,402 3rd week (1st #1) 553 screens 818% increase (30.1% of top 10)
Down 56% from 2011; (£22,058,353); The Inbetweeners Movie (£13,216,736); Cowboys & Aliens (£1,777,320); Spy Kids: All the Time in the World 4D (£703,078); Glee: The 3D Concert Movie (£356,271); The Guard (UK release) (£163,751); #1 The Inbetweeners Movie £13,216,736 1st week 453 (59.9% of top 10)
Down 31.8% from 2010: (£14,228,206); The Expendables (£3,935,700); Piranha 3-D (£1,325,324); Marmaduke (£1,243,789); The Illusionist (£164,950); The Human Centipede (£6,145); #1 The Expendables £3,935,700 1st week 453 screens (27.6% of top 10)
Up 15.8% from 2009; (£8,384,307); Inglorious Basterds (£3,596,415); Dance Flick (£462,825); Shorts (£171,876); I Love You, Beth Cooper (£123,519); #1 Inglorious Basterds £3,596,415 1st week 444 screens (42.8% of top 10)
Down 11.4% from 2008; (£10,950,396); You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (£1,520,637); Wild Child (£1,177,472); Star Wars: The Clone Wars (£895,300); Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (£90,878); #1 The Dark Knight £2,302,866 4th week 499 screens (3rd week #1) 44% drop (21.1% of top 10)
Down 33.2% from 2007: (£14,527,913); The Bourne Ultimatum (£6,553,704); Bratz: The Movie (£1,247,588); Eagle vs. Shark (£47,845); #1 The Bourne Ultimatum £6,553,704 1st week 458 screens (45.1% of top 10)
Up 44.3% from 2006; (£6,725,494); Snakes on a Plane (£1,069,608); John Tucker Must Die (£845,633); Harsh Times (£281,609); A Scanner Darkly (£242,990); #1 Snakes on a Plane £1,069,608 1st week 354 screens (15.9% of top 10)
Up 47.3% from 2005: (£6,589,529); Bewitched (£1,053,432); Unleashed (£498,058); The Perfect Man (£186,460); #1 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory £1,691,431 4th week 516 screens 41% drop (25.6% of top 10)
Up 13.6% from 2004 (£8,540,203); The Village (£2,945,763); A Cinderella Story (£611,209); #1 The Village £2,945,763 1st week 433 screens (34.5% of top 10)
Up 15.6% from 2003 (£8,393,708); Tomb Raider 2 (£1,524,676); Confidence (£325,685); The Man Who Sued God (£195,418); Swimming Pool (£119,092); #1 American Pie: The Wedding £2,180,783 2nd week 425 screens 47% drop (26% of top 10)
Up 51.1% from 2002 (£6,423,296); The Sum of All Fears (£1,144,501); Spy Kids 2 (£1,069,090); #1 Men in Black 2 £3,106,105 3rd week 489 screens 55% drop (21.8% of top 10)
Up 12.4% from 2001 (£11,086,365); Planet of the Apes (£5,445,983); #1 Planet of the Apes £5,445,983 1st week 446 screens (49.1% of top 10)
Next Week 2022 (£5,311,427); Andre Rieu’s 2022 Maastricht Summer Concert (£798,706); Beast (£600,259); The Invitation (£261,791); Mr. Malcolm’s List (£43,467); Die Another Day (Re: 2022) (£6,225); #1 Andre Rieu’s 2022 Maastricht Summer Concert £798,706 1st week 607 screens (15.1% of top 10)
Film News
In the US Sunday is the second National Cinema Day with many cinemas charging $4 for any film in any format Last year it had 8.1m admissions and tickets were $3, as with last year rather than attracting audiences to new films it will likely see repeat viewings for Barbie and Oppenheimer.
Unlike Last year National Cinema Day won’t be the same weekend in the UK as, in the US, a trailer for National Cinema Day was classified on Monday by the BBFC seeing cinemas aren’t taking bookings for September 2nd it looks like it will be on that date. As Sound of Freedom opens next weekend in the UK conspiracy theorists will say exhibitors are trying to hurt its box office. This was similar to in 1997 when The Fifth Element opened and Pathe felt it had lost about £1m.
Last year all tickets were £3, and it had over 1.4m admissions. It was the first National Cinema Dat since 1998. The first weekend of September 2022 was one of the lowest of the year with the only new releases E.T. (40th Anniversary) £438,715; Three Thousand Years of Longing £307,176 and The Forgiven £182,772. But this year will have The Equalizer 3, Sound of Freedom and Cobweb.
The first in 1996 was to celebrate 100 years of cinema all tickets £1 with 1.1m admissions, this was more than 2.5 times the normal Sunday audience of 400k. Over 150 films were shown which included new releases, classics and previews. It was similarly as successful a year later, but tickets were slightly more expensive and was repeated a final time in 1998 this time tickets were half-price, and it was sponsored by MacDonalds, but it wasn’t nearly as successful as the previous years.
Always asked why National Cinema Day never returned after 1998 as it helped boost admissions over those years and the following few years, I believe had it continued it would have helped UK admissions top 200m. While after COVID and cinemas closed there should have been a National Cinema Day, week or even month when cinemas reopened to get people back into the cinemagoing habit, rather than the LoveCinema campaign which targeted the cinephiles who had already returned similar to the infamous Nicole Kidman AMC advert.
17.6m admissions in July, the highest since December 2019 but lower than July 2019 (and lower than July 2017 when Dunkirk opened). The problem is admissions Aug-Dec will be lower than in 2019 and probably 2021 and 2022 and maybe lowest since 2011 as Aug-Dec is lacking the must-see cinema films that will play beyond regular cinemagoers.
The top 10 films took £146m so July BO must be about £160m what was the average ticket price used to calculate admissions? As £160m divided by 17.6m is £9.10 that is probably closer to the real average due to 20%+ of Oppenheimer from the IMAX industry average being much less.
The strike will continue to affect almost all upcoming films as it has done with Turtles, Haunted, Turismo, Beetle and Strays over the last few weeks as they need talent to promote them. A few more disappointing openings will likely see studios delaying more films into 2024. Need monthly National Cinema Day if admissions are to increase this year.
US Box Office
- Blue Beetle – Warner Bros
Opened $25.03m; received positive reviews (76% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore.
779th biggest opening between Dr Dolittle 2 and Vanilla Sky (close to Tomorrow Never Dies $25.14m; The Rock $25.1m; Skyscraper $24.9m and White House Down $24.85m).
The second lowest DC Extended opening after 2020’s Wonder Woman: 1984 $16.7m (COVID affected) and 2021’s The Suicide Squad $26.2m also COVID affected.
Took $3.3m from Thursday’s previews; The Flash took $9.7m; Venom ($10m); Doctor Strange ($9.4m), Aquaman ($9m); Wonder-Woman ($11m); Black Adam $7.6m.
Ahead of the opening, it was expected to open between $28m-$32m; recent DC openings The Flash ($55m); Shazam! 2 ($30m); Black Adam ($67m); Birds of Prey ($33m); Shazam! ($53m)
42% of opening from IMAX/PLF, Dolby and 4DX screens; Blue Beetle lost these screens on Friday with Gran Turismo.
EntTelligence reported Blue Beetle had 2m admissions 23% of the weekend admissions with Barbie having 19%.
While Blue Beetle might be a DC film the character isn’t well-known beyond fans so needed a Comic-Con panel with the cast and then junket interviews to generate media coverage, due to the SAG-AFTRA strike talent hasn’t been allowed to promote films since Oppenheimer opened.
While most of the summer films sell themselves as they have an inbuilt audience most of the late summer, autumn and winter films need talent to promote them or they will struggle to find their audience, this was the case with Blue Beetle and will also happen with Grand Turismo this weekend.
Warner Bros released one more DC film this year Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in December with Joker: Folie à Deux in October 2024 and then Superman: Legacy and The Batman Part II in July and October 2025.
Opened similarly to other Latin American-led cast films including Alita: Battle Angel ($28.5m), Spy Kids ($26.5m), and Once Upon a Time in Mexico ($23.4m).
DC Extended Universe films have taken $2.61bn in the US and $6.4bn worldwide since 2016
Internationally Shazam! opened $102m from 79 territories; Shazam 2 $34m from 77 territories including $5.1m WW from IMAX and The Flash $75m from 78 territories including $15.6m IMAX.
Opened with $18m from 63 territories; Mexico $2.7m; Brazil $2.1m; UK $1.5m; France $1.5m
- Barbie – Warner Bros
Dropped 36% in the fifth weekend, taking $21.03m and $567.2m.
11th biggest fourth weekend between Paranormal Activity and The Avengers (close to Top Gun: Maverick #5 $29.61m; The Sixth Sense #9 $22.89m; Frozen #14 $19.64m and The Super Mario Bros. Movie #18 $18.55m.
EntTelligence average ticket price of Barbie $12.65 and Oppenheimer $13.65.
18th biggest film between Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker; 56th biggest inflated between The Sixth Sense and Iron Man 3; 2nd biggest 2023 film after The Super Mario Bros. Movie; 2nd biggest Warner Bros film between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.
The question of what films will get audiences returning to the cinema was the research that said 22% of those seeing Barbie hadn’t been to the cinema since before COVID. While a lot of films open over the next 3 months, they are targeting regular cinemagoers, not the extended cinemagoers who saw Barbenheimer. If the strike continues it will hurt many more films.
What helped Barbenheimer is the audience of the two films are almost a mirror image of each other. Barbie’s audience is 66.2% female and 74.6% under 29, while Oppenheimer is 70.7% male and 52.9% over 30. The two films complimented each other Barbenheimer probably helped Oppenheimer far more than Barbie, as while Barbie’s audience also went to see Oppenheimer, not as many Oppenheimer probably went to see Barbie.
What will be interesting to see is lessons will be learnt from Barbenheimer studios realise two films playing to very different demographics can perform strongly, this, of course, was the case 30 years ago when studios would open films like Sleepless in Seattle the week after Jurassic Park and the two films would play strongly together.
Barbie has blown away all the cobwebs of Warner Bros’ disappointing start of 2023 climbing from fifth to third biggest studio within a week; Universal $1.36bn; Disney $1.27bn; Warner $852.7m; Paramount $651.5m; Sony $595.7m.
Took $26.7m (down 42%) from 75 territories and $660.6m and $1.279bn worldwide (likely taking $1.4bn+); UK $109.6m; Mexico $53.2m; Australia $51.1m; Germany $47.4m; Brazil $43m; France -$40.7m; China $34.6m; Italy $32.8m; Spain $32.6m; Holland $17.5m; Argentina $14.7m.
25th biggest worldwide between Iron Man 3 and Minions; 2nd biggest worldwide 2023 after The Super Mario Bros. Movie; 2nd biggest Warner Bros film worldwide between Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II ($1.31bn) and Aquaman ($1.14bn).
- Strays – Universal Pictures
Opened $8.24m; received mixed reviews (54% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore.
Took $1.1m from Thursday’s previews.
Strays was expected to open between $15m-$17m; Universal have a good track record of comedies opening in August including 2000’s Bring It On (opened $17.3m taking $68.3m), 2005’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin ($21.4m taking $109.4ml) and 2019’s Good Boys ($21.4m taking $83.1m).
2023’s Cocaine Bear opened $23.23m taking $64.38m and $87.64m WW
2023’s No Hard Feelings opened $15m taking $50.45m and $85.14m WW
2019’s Good Boys opened $21.4m taking $83.14m and $111.17m WW
2008’s Pineapple Express opened $23.24m taking $87.34m and $101.62m WW
2016’s Sausage Party opened $34.26m taking $97.68m US and $140.7m WW
1999’s South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut opened $11.33m taking $52.03m and $83.13m WW
2005’s Team America: World Police opened $12.12m taking $32.78m and $50.82m WW
Opened with $2m from 21 territories and $10.3m worldwide.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 44% in the third weekend taking $8.53m and $88.1m
849th biggest third weekend between Ticket to Paradise and Madea Goes to Jail (close to Waterworld, The Others, Jackass 3D and 300: Rise of an Empire).
128th biggest animated film between The Emperor’s New Groove and The Emoji Movie; 929th biggest between Waterworld and Starsky & Hutch; 1,697th biggest inflated between This is 40 and Cinderella Man; 20th biggest 2023 between Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Insidious: The Red Door; 126th biggest Paramount Pictures between Failure to Launch and The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear.
Third weekend
2016’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows dropped 63.5% $5.25m #7 taking $71.98m of $82.05m and $245.62m WW
2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dropped 41.4% $16.72m #2 taking $145.53m of $191.2m and $485m WW
2007’s TMNT dropped 47.7% $4.82m #9 taking $46.6m $54.14m and $95.8m WW.
1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dropped 25.2% $14.06m #1 taking $72.9m of $135.38m and $202.08m WW
1991’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze dropped 40.1% $7.81m #1 taking $54.06m of $78.65m
1993’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III dropped 36.7% $4.68m #4 taking $28.93m of $42.2m
Took $10.4m from 47 territories $21.9m total and $94.7m worldwide; UK $7.2m; Mexico $2.9m; France $1.8m; China $885k; opens in Australia, Korea and Japan in September.
- The Meg 2: The Trench – Warner Bros
Dropped 47% in the third weekend taking $6.76m and $66.59m
1,316th biggest between Charlie Wilson’s War and Contraband; 2,230th biggest inflated between The Call and The Shallows; 23rd biggest 2023 between Evil Dead Rise and Cocaine Bear; 216th biggest Warner Bros film between Kangaroo Jack and The Final Destination.
Third Weekends
2018’s The Meg dropped 39.4% $12.82m #2 taking $105.08m of $145.52m and $530.51m WW 72.6% internationally.
2016’s The Shallows dropped 45.3% $4.8m #7 taking $36.77m out of $55.12m and $119.1m WW
1999’s Deed Blue Sea dropped 40.6% $6.65m #6 taking $57.09m of $73.64m and $164.64m WW
1997’s Anaconda dropped 39.1% $7.31m #3 taking $43.23m of $65.88m
Took $21.9m from 75 territories $250.1m total and $316.6m worldwide; China $106.3m (from 11,550 screens); China $106.3m; Mexico $18.3m; UK $12.5m; France $9.9m; Spain $9.8m; Germany $8.3m; Italy $5.2m; Indonesia $5m; Australia $4.7m; Malaysia $4.5m; Brazil $4.4m.
- Oppenheimer – Universal Pictures
Down 43% in the fifth weekend taking $10.72m and $285.35m.
112th biggest fifth weekend between Cars and Up in the Air (close to The Dark Knight #26 $16.37m; Joker #50 $13.5m; The Dark Knight Rises #98 $11.01m; Inception #88 $11.28m).
117th biggest between Home Alone and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2; 275th biggest inflated between WALL-E and The Silence of the Lambs; 6th biggest 2023 between The Little Mermaid and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania; 12th biggest Universal Pictures film between Minions and Meet the Fockers.
Took $1.3m from 32 IMAX screens (22 IMAX 70mm) and $80.8m
Fifth weekends
2020’s Tenet dropped 20.4% $2.66m #1 taking $45.14m 77.2% of $58.5m and $365.3m WW; dropped 21.2% in the sixth weekend taking $2.1m; held #1 for 5 weeks and stayed in top 10 for 13 weeks.
2017’s Dunkirk dropped 39.2% $6.61m #4 taking $153.19m 81.5% of $188.045m and $525.24m WW; dropped 40.3% in the sixth weekend taking $3.94m held #1 for 2 weeks and stayed in the top 10 for 9 weeks.
2014’s Interstellar dropped 50.5% $7.78m #5 taking $158.44m 92.8% of $188.02m and $677.89m WW; Dropped 30% in the sixth weekend taking $5.45m stayed in the top 10 for 6 weeks.
2010’s Inception dropped 39% $11.28m #4 taking $248.46m 85% of $292.57m and $825.79m WW; dropping 30.5% in the sixth weekend $7.83m held #1 for 3 weeks and staying in the top 10 for 11 weeks.
2008’s The Dark Knight dropped 37.3% $16.37m #2 taking $471.08m 88.3% of $533.34m and $1.003bn WW; dropped 35.6% in the sixth weekend $10.54m held #1 for 4 weeks and stayed in the top 10 for 10 weeks.
Oppenheimer has now taken more than Interstellar worldwide, do find it interesting post-COVID industry sees things very differently as in 2014 Interstellar global BO was seen as disappointing; Deadline said it made a profit of $47m. 9 years on production, marketing is higher for Oppenheimer and video sales have shrunk so will it be as profitable after Christopher Nolan takes his percentage?
2012’s The Dark Knight Rises dropped 42% $11.01m #6 taking $409.78m 91.4% of $448.13m and $1.081bn WW; dropped 34.4% in the sixth weekend $7.22m; held #1 for 3 weeks and stayed in the top 10 for 8 weeks.
2020’s Tenet ($205m budget) took $365.3m worldwide; 2017’s Dunkirk ($150m+ budget) took $527m worldwide; 2014’s Interstellar ($165m+ budget) took $773.43m worldwide; 2010’s Inception ($160m+ budget) took $870.1m worldwide.
Took $32m from 80 territories $433.23m total and $717.8m worldwide (expected to take $800m+); UK $63.9m; Germany $39.5m; France $31.2m; Australia $22.9m; India $18.4m; Spain $18.4m; Mexico $18m; Holland $16.1m; Korea $12.6m; Brazil $12.6m.
It has taken $65.6m internationally IMAX (15.3%) and $146.4m total; 5th highest grossing IMAX film worldwide after Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avengers: Endgame.
132nd biggest worldwide between Fast X and Captain America: The Winter Soldier; 5th 2023 worldwide between Fast X and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; 5th biggest R-rated between The Matrix Reloaded and IT; 18th biggest Universal Pictures worldwide between Fast X and Sing.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
After Barbie and Oppenheimer have been #1 and #2 for the last 5 weeks, they could switch places in their sixth weekend if they both have similar drops as they have done over recent weeks with Barbie dropping around 40% and Oppenheimer 30%.
If Barbie dropped about 40% it would take £1.6m-£1.7m and if Oppenheimer dropped 30% it would take between £1.5-£1.7m. The cooler wetter weather over the Bank Holiday could see them have lower drops, that said the last weekend of August has been historically soft and studios rarely open any major releases, that was until 2020 when Tenet opened.
But spoof horror The Blackening could split the two films up if audiences come out to see the positively reviewed film opening on Wednesday especially if it can attract the Scary Movie audience.
2000’s Scary Movie opened £3,191,096 taking £9,955,478 (£18,032,991 inflated)
2001’s Scary Movie 2 opened £1,553,796 taking £4,327,602 (£8,331,157 inflated)
2004’s Scary Movie 3 opened £3,490,585 taking £8,907,831 (£15,811,896 inflated)
2006’s Scary Movie 4 opened £1,953,094 taking £5,795,802 (£9,485,122 inflated)
2013’s Scary Movie 5 opened £1,085,932 taking £2,344,473 (£2,861,478 inflated)
But while it received positive reviews the lack of cast interviews talking about the film as with all other films since Oppenheimer means it won’t find its potential audience. Horrors have historically done well over the last weekend of August with Candyman opening over the same weekend in 2021 with £1,112,674 taking £5,128,058. If The Blackening could open with £1.5m over 5 days it could open #2.
Andre Rieu’s concerts have been a mainstay of Event Cinema for the last 8 years, but post-COVID they haven’t found the audiences they used to get with the last two Dublin 2023 taking £715,986 and 2022’s Maastricht Summer Concert £798,706 both taking half of 2020’s Andre Rieu: 70 Years Young £1,717,074 opened before COVID. The 2023 Maastricht Concert will have screenings on Sat/Sun with tickets £20+ in 600+ screens taking about £800k.
The other new release Theatre Camp will struggle to find an audience despite receiving positive reviews.
The other holdovers Blue Beetle, The Meg 2 and Strays will all drop 50%+.
- Opening in two weeks
- The Expend4bles – Lionsgate
Action sequel to 2014’s The Expendables 3 featuring an ensemble cast including Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox and Andy García and directed by Scott Waugh.
After The Expendables 3 disappointed taking $39.32m in the US and $214.65m compared to 2012’s The Expendables 2 taking $85.02m US and $314.97m WW and 2010s The Expendables took $103.06m US and $274.47m was thought that the film series had ended. But in December 2016 Sylvester Stallone announced the fourth film had a 2018 release date but left the film three months later after script issues. In 2020 the fourth film was back in development but due to COVID production was delayed and filming started in September 2021.
2014’s The Expendables 3 opened £1,689,927 #3 from 462 screens taking £3,741,848
2012’s The Expendables 2 opened £1,985,082 #4 from 451 screens taking £5,938,099
2010’s The Expendables opened £3,935,700 #1 from 453 screens taking £9,630,137
- Dumb Money- Black Bear
The comedy-drama starring ensemble cast includes Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D’Onofrio, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, and Seth Rogen and directed by Craig Gillespie. Based on the 2021 book The Antisocial Network by Ben Mezrich about GameStop Redditors.
It has its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
MGM acquired rights to Ben Mezrich’s book in January 2021, it was one of several films that were in development about GameStop, MGM dropped out of the film in September 2022 and Black Bear acquired world rights selling US and selective international rights to Sony, previous adapted Ben Mezrich 2009’s The Accidental Billionaires into 2010’s The Social Network.
In the US due to the strikes to build word of mouth, it’s opening on a platform release in LA and NY on September 15th and then expanding over the following three weeks before going wide on October 6th, while the UK will likely just open wide on 400+ screens.
Financial films have had mixed success at the box office depending on how accessible they are to audiences as they normally have a lot of jargon. Boiler Room (opened £88,765), Wall Street (opened £318,798 (£1,104,704 inflated) taking £2,850,868 (£9,878,877 inflated), The Wolf of Wall Street (£4,655,984 #1 £22,267,066), Rogue Trader (£269,871 taking £969,565, The Big Short (£1,302,205 #4 £5,494,586), Margin Call (opened £131,982 #12), Bonfire of the Vanities (£238,939 (£628,49 inflated) taking £473,284 (£1,244,909 inflated); 99 Homes (opened £38,078 #23) Hustlers (£1,353,324 #3 taking £7,253,643) and Trading Places.
Despite receiving huge media coverage at the time, a film like Dumb Money needs talent interviews to get audiences to understand the film, The problem with Dumb Money is it doesn’t have an internationally friendly cast as The Social Network had, so the film will need to do the heavy lifting.
Craig Gillespie previously directed Cruella (opened £1,453,635 #1 taking £9,491,691); I, Tonya (£1,049,551 #3 £3,564,608); Fright Night (£680,543 #7 £4,259,288); The Finest Hours (opened £247,643 #11) and Million Dollar Arm (opened £150,050 #15).
At CinemaCon in 2014 Disney said Million Dollar Arm had tested higher than the first Harry Potter film. While it received a positive reaction from CinemaCon struggled to find an audience in the US opening a few months later.
- The Lesson – Universal Pictures
Thriller starring Richard E. Grant, Julie Delpy and Daryl McCormack and directed by Alice Troughton.
Received positive reviews and was compared to last year’s film Living starring Bill Nighy and Richard. E Grant could get a Best Actor BAFTA nomination as Bill Nighy received for Living.