- Ghostbusters Afterlife – £4,314,263 – NE
Took £549,710 from Thursday previews (12.74% of opening weekend similar to Men In Black, Fantastic Four, The Day After Tomorrow, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, War of the Worlds, Planet of the Apes, Jurassic World and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)
335th biggest opening in the UK between Notting Hill and The Mask (close to Monsters vs. Aliens, Ghostbusters, Big Hero 6 and Wall·E) and 473rd biggest inflation opening between Ocean’s Thirteen and The Proposal (close to The A-Team, The X- Files, Wild Wild West and Innerspace);
took £57,919 less than 2016’s Ghostbusters (£4,372,182)
Opened similar to Ratatouille, Marley & Me, Pitch Perfect 3, Hitch, Night at the Museum 2, Starsky & Hutch, Johnny English Strikes Back, Rampage, Shazam!, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Ralph Breaks The Internet, The Lego Movie: The Second Part, Ant-Man, Back To The Future Part III, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Bad Boys For Life and Oz: The Great and Powerful.
Industry uses 10% of US opening as a guide of UK openings and Ghostbusters Afterlife took 9.8% of opening similar to Little Fockers, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Zathura, Hitch, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Jungle Book, Ghostbusters and The Pursuit of Happyness).
Had 313th biggest Fri-Sun opening between Paranormal Activity 2 and Braveheart (close to Bad Boys For Life, Aquaman, Oz: The Great and Powerful and Transformers: Age of Extinction); it is only when you see the how the films opened similar to other films and other films inflation inflated that you can see how they have done away from industry hype
Jason Reitman directed Oscar-nominated Juno (opened £2,002,120 taking £9,240,584) and Up in the Air (opened £1,298,023 taking £5,580,729) in 2007 and 2009 but his films since have disappointed at the box office 2011’s Young Adult, 2013’s Labor Day, 2014’s Men, Women & Children, 2018’s Tully and The Front Runner. Ghostbuster Afterlife was a very different film for him to direct if it wasn’t for the nepotism Ivan Reitman is his dad he would have probably never been allowed to direct the film.
Ghostbusters Afterlife was always a big unknown as the big question with all these long-gap sequels is who is its target demographic the children who saw original in cinemas in the 80s or their children? This was probably the real reason why Paramount delayed Top Gun Maverick as they wanted to see what the audience demographic comes out to see Ghostbusters Afterlife. As reviews have said it plays heavily on nostalgia to original films would indicate they were targeted original fans but as its children discover their relative was a Ghostbuster it’s trying to do what Disney did with Star Wars The Force Awakens remake A New Hope for next generation?
2016’s female Ghostbusters reboot received a lot of hostility with a lot of misogynistic comments. Separating the misogyny from the reboot was very disappointing lacking all the charm and humour of the original films. The biggest problem Sony seem to have with these films is they feel the need to add far too much in the films this was seen in the pre-MCU Spider-Man films and the Ghostbusters as often less is more. The new trailer for Spider-Man No Way Home was released this week and it sees Spider-Man face many multiverse villains, rather than the earlier films when there was only one, this does get tiresome for many to watch.
Ghostbusters opened with £4,388,944 (including £1,702,528 previews) taking £10,554,557. Sony would be hoping a better comparison would be 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle opening £8,154,548 (including £4,114,058 previews) Fri-Sun £4,040,490 taking £36,968,605 and 2014’s 22 Jump Street £4,854,991 taking £18,322,998. Ghostbuster Afterlife has previews on Thursday to inflate its opening.
1989 Ghostbusters 2 opened with about £1.5m in 1989 (£3.8m inflation inflated) taking £8.3m (£25.71m inflation inflated); while Ghostbusters opened December 1984 the same weekend as Gremlins took £12.4m (£48m inflation inflated average ticket price £1.90).
Ghostbusters Afterlife opened similar to 2014’s 22 Jump Street opening with £4,854,991 taking £18,322,998
There had been rumours of a third Ghostbusters ever since Ghostbusters 2 opened in 1989 but when Ivan Reitman left the project after Harold Ramis death Sony approached Phil Lord and Christopher Miller to write and director who had just made The Lego Movie and 22 Jump Street that humour would have been perfect for Ghostbusters rather than going straight comedy with Paul Feig. Tonally from the start the reboot was wrong while the original Ghostbuster actors were comedians they weren’t in your face comic actors early on Emma Stone was talked about starring but she refused as didn’t want to be tied down to another franchise but the likes of Emma Stone and Anna Kendrick who can play straight comedy.
After the female Ghostbusters film disappointed it looked like it could be the end of Ghostbusters but as the property is one of Sony’s biggest for merchandise it was always likely they would try again, but it still came as a surprise when it was announced Jason Reitman would direct a new film (then due for release in summer 2020 delayed till November 2021 due to COVID).
The following day a teaser was released with the hashtag #GB20 the film had been developed under the fake title Rust City until they were ready to announce the film.
2016’s Ghostbusters dropped 69.92% (51% not including previews) in its second weekend from 680 screens taking £1,320,048 dropping from #1 to #4 due to new openers The BFG #1 £5,288,529; #2 Star Trek Beyond £4,740,040; #3 Andre Rieu’s 2016 Maastricht Concert £1,414,075.
The biggest problem I had with the Ghostbusters reboot was while original films played it seriously the reboot was in on the joke. The original films were funny but weren’t a comedy but reboots just tried too hard-throwing everything in it and more than often happens with Sony Pictures sequels.
In December 1989 Ghostbusters 2 took 74% more than the reboot of £2,290,516 in its third weekend having taken £3,920,186; took at Odeon Leicester Square £61,650 at its second weekend when tickets were £5 tickets; tickets were 260% more in 2016 for Ghostbusters in 3D (£18) and 350% more for Ghostbusters Afterlife (£22.50). The regularly average ticket price in 1989 was £2.50 (UCI Whiteley’s opening price Ghostbusters 2 opened in 1989).
2. Eternals – £1,217,624 – £12,826,256
Down 59% in its third weekend; normally MCU films have a 50%-60% drop in their second weekends due to having preview inflated openings but then they stabilise with a 40%+ drop in third weekends as word of mouth helps them hold for a few more weeks but this didn’t happen with Eternals.
11th biggest film of the year between Space Jam 2 and Jungle Cruise
Had 22nd biggest MCU third weekend in the UK between Thor (£1,360,418) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (£1,169,524);
Had the 22nd biggest third-weekend drop between Ant-Man (-55.3%) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (-59.2%) with Captain America: The First Avenger, The Incredible Hulk and Avengers: Endgame having bigger third-weekend drops.
479th biggest film in the UK between Space Jam: A New Legacy and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (close to Shazam!, Alien: Covenant, Ransom and The Final Destination) and 711th biggest film in the UK between Juno and Music and Lyrics (close to Wanted, The Wolverine, Empire Strikes Back (SE) and Demolition Man).
62nd biggest comic-book movie between Shazam! and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (close to Thor, X-Men, Fantastic Four and Kick-Ass) and 71st biggest inflation inflated comic-book movie between Shazam! and Superman IV (close to The Hulk, Justice League, Daredevil and Green Lantern).
After three weeks is holding similar to Ant-Man (£12,760,015) likely to be the lowest-grossing MCU since Ant-Man (£16,309,117)
The three MCU films released by Disney this year (Black Widow, Shang-Chi and Eternals) were never likely to match the success of previous films while they were all leading up towards Spider-Man No Way Home.
The three MCU’s for next year also have some risks attached after the news Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is having major reshoots (probably follows events of Spider-Man No Way Home) saw its release date pushed back two months. Thor: Love and Thunder are joined by the Guardians of the Galaxy (this will surely be the approach Marvel take moving forward with their attempts to make films out of their remaining 7,000 characters). While the shine has been removed from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever after the death of Chadwick Bosman and Letitia Wright’s anti-vax comments.
Eternals have seen MCU films take over £800m at the UK BO and 2022’s films will see them take over £1 billion since 2008.
3. No Time To Die – £940,075 – £94,489,174
Down 40% in its eighth weekend; 7th week took £831,140 (down 32.5%) Mon-Thurs and £2,399,010 )down 25.1% Fri-Thurs (7 days)
15th biggest 8th weekend between Paddington (£943,320) and Love Actually (£819,516); 13 films have taken over £1m in their 8th weekend (Avatar, Titanic, The Greatest Showman, Paddington 2, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Slumdog Millionaire, Toy Story 4, Mamma Mia!, The Kings Speech, LOTR: Fellowship of the Rings, Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets, Frozen and Casino Royale).
Avatar, Titanic, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Arthur Christmas, The Greatest Showman, The Kings Speech, Frozen 2, Paddington 2, LOTR: The Fellowship of the Rings, No Time To Die, Slumdog Millionaire, Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets and Mamma Mia!
4th biggest film in the UK between Spectre (£95,179,832) and Avatar (£94,025,474) and the 13th biggest inflation inflated film in the UK between Spectre and The Full Monty.
After No Time To Die became the fourth biggest film in the UK looked at where it would place in admissions in the UK, the BFI did a list of highest historical admissions in 2016 and added all the biggest films that have opened since No Time To Die is #36 with Gone With the Wind, The Sound of Music and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs all taking £200m+ inflation inflated. This again shows how price increases over recent years have dramatically affected BO over the last decade.
It used to be a success breed success but the problem with No Time To Die as with comic-book movies success is very limited.
After 5 weekends of £15m+, BO the last three were much lower and last weekend was historically down on most weekends over the last 20 years as was the weekend many Harry Potter and Hunger Games films opened. While this weekend there will be no match for Frozen 2 and December Spider-Man and Matrix will be no match for Star Wars and Jumanji that played to a much wider demographic.
The problem is over half of the audience who came back to the cinema to see No Time To Die probably won’t return for many more months and while Spider-Man No Way Home will take upwards of £30m won’t be another until March as audiences have become much more selective in the film they see in the cinema and those they wait to see at home.
Instead of launching the LoveCinema campaign with Tenet, it should have been with No Time To Die and featured a montage of upcoming releases to get cinemagoers returning to the cinema again much sooner along with promotions tide to get back audiences over the next few months to see other films beyond comic-book movies.
When Star Wars The Phantom Menace was released in 1999 Fox had a trailer promo montage of multiple upcoming releases attached to the front something similar should have been done on an industry-wide scale to make sure No Time To Die wasn’t a one-hit-wonder.
For what is meant to be a creative industry there is a lack of creativity in how to get audiences to return to the cinema, the only creativity they do seem to have had over the last decade is in how they still claim average ticket price is only £6.75 when many are paying over three times as much.
James Bond eighth weekend drops
2002’s Die Another Day Down 41.3% £640,382 and £34,824,256 96.6% of £36,043,520 (£62,858,506 inflation inflated)
2006’s Casino Royale down 25.5% £1,055,546 and £51,790,402 93.3% of £55,495,547
2008’s Quantum of Solace down 37.7% £204,142 and £50,031,153 97.9% of £51,089,938
2012’s Skyfall down 43.3% £809,406 and £97,897,404 95.2% of £102,816,893
2015’s Spectre down 65.1% £297,803 and £92,798,732 97.5% of £95,183,468
2021’s No Time To Die down 40% £940,075 and £94,489,174 94% of £97m
No Time To Die was released on PVOD on Friday had it not done so it would have probably taken £1m+ in its 8th weekend.
Had a similar eighth weekend drop as -36.74% Tenet; -37.77% Quantum of Solace; -38.22% LOTR: Return of the King; -38.49% The Incredibles; -39.10% Black Widow; -39.48% The Dark Knight; -39.9% Incredibles 2; -39.91% Captain Marvel; -40.56% Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2; -41.39% Die Another Day; -43.35% Skyfall; -43.41% Star Wars: The Force Awakens; -43.55% A Star Is Born; -43.86% 1917
James Bond film stands above any other film franchise or series in the UK their success and long legs in the UK for 60 years is incomparable to any other with only Star Wars: The Force Awakens taking more than Skyfall and Spectre.
Die Another Day opened on 430 screens on November 20th, 2002
7th weekend £1,092,631 down 28% #4 415 screens; #1 Lord of the Rings: Two Towers £5,774,170 #2 Star Trek X: Nemesis £1,957,845 N£; #3 Harry Potter and the Chamber Secrets £1,144,473
8th w/e £640,382 down 41% #5; stayed in the top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 9 weeks
9th w/e £392,489 down 39% #8 275 screens
10th w/e £190,950 down 51% #11 179 screens
Casino Royale opened in 505 cinemas (988 screens) on 19th November 2006
7th w/e £1,417,179 up 40% #3 377 screens; Night at the Museum #1 £7,690,312
8th w/e £1,055,546 down 26% #5; Night at the Museum #1 £2,958,093 2nd w/e
9th w/e £839,164 down 20% #6 301 screens £53,091,639; The Pursuit of Happyness #1 £2,527,181
10th w/e £597,983 down 29% #6 270 screens £54,059,239; Rocky Balboa #1 £3,639,339
Stayed in the top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 12 weeks
Quantum of Solace opened on 540 screens on 31st October 2008
7th w/e £328,067 down 55% #8 322 screens; #1 The Day the Earth Stood Still #1 £2,752,132
8th w/e £204,142 down 38% #9 288 screens; Twilight #1 £2,508,422
9th w/e £188,663 down 7%
10th w/e £164,055 down 15% #13 125 screens; Yes Man #1 £2,223,950
Stayed in the top 5 for 6 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks
Skyfall opened on 587 screens on 26th October 2012
7th w/e dropped to #2 taking £1,428,708 (513 screens); Rise of the Guardians #1 £1,602,689
8th w/e dropped to 4th taking £809,406 (434 screens); The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey #1 £11,601,538.
9th w/e £554,958 down 31% #6 383 screens; The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey #1 £5,979,241
10th w/e £890,022 up 60% #7 339 screens; The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey #1 £6,850,728
Stayed in the top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 11 weeks
Spectre opened in 651 cinemas and on over 2,500 screens on October 26th, 2015
7th w/e £807,462 #3 dropped 35% 442 screens; The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 #1 £2,240,723; #2 The Good Dinosaur £1,273,2943
8th w/e £297,803 #6 dropped 63% 308 screens; Star Wars: The Force Awakens #1 £34,011,849
9th w/e £212,123 #8 dropped 30% 210 screens; Star Wars: The Force Awakens #1 £10,164,805
10th w/e £278,547 #9 up 30% 145 screens; Star Wars: The Force Awakens #1 £10,304,562
Stayed in the top 5 for 7 weeks and top 10 for 10 weeks
The problem is only Spider-Man: No Way Home is a dead cert all others have big question marks attached, who is the target audience for Ghostbusters: Afterlife?, while Encanto has received mixed reviews and is unlikely to match the success of previous Disney animated films, while its 18 years ago since the last Matrix film how The Matrix Resurrections will perform opening only a few days after Spider-Man: No Way Home and against The King’s Man. Will those films perform anywhere close to the films that opened in November/December 2019 (Little Women, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Jumanji: The Next Level, Knives Out, Frozen 2 and Last Christmas.
As In 2019 were 6 films taking £50m+ Avengers: Endgame (£88,719,051); The Lion King (£76,019,595); Toy Story 4 (£65,802,558); Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (£58,265,708); Joker (£58,166,427); Frozen 2 (£53,549,035) and four taking £30m+ Captain Marvel (£39,234,293); Spider-Man: Far From Home (£37,333,748); Aladdin (£37,236,939) and Jumanji: The Next Level (£36,079,399). Spider-Man: No Way Home is probably the only film that will top £30m+ and then there won’t be another until Downton Abbey 2 in March 2022.
4. Dune – £634,843 – £20,185,469
36th biggest film in the UK between Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves and The Flintstones (close to Minority Report, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Clash of the Titans and Interstellar) and 437th biggest inflation inflated between Enemy of the State and Big Hero 6 (close to Back To The Future Part III, The English Patient, 300 and Dead Poets Society).
41st biggest Warner Bros film in the UK between Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves and Clash of the Titans (close to Wonder Woman, I am Legend, Interstellar and It Chapter 2) and 68th biggest inflation inflated between Space Jam and 300 (close to Lethal Weapon 2, Aquaman, Gremlins 2: The New Batch and The Last Samurai).
The gap between Dune and No Time To Die has grown over the last three weeks after being separated by £93,070 its opening weekend, took £202,149 less at its second, £425,624 in its third £394,997 more in its fourth and £305,232 more in its fifth weekend
Fifth weekends took £13,674 more than Tenet (£648,517) dropped 19% #1 from 569 screens (still playing in IMAX and PLF) taking £5,190,428 more (£20,185,469 Vs £14,995,041); Tenet had taken 85.8% of its total £17,467,059 if Dune held similar it would take £23.8m but Tenet had no competition staying #1 for 6 weeks.
And £287,819 more than 2017’s Blade Runner 2049 (£347,024) dropped 50% #8 from 296 screens (Murder on the Orient Express #1 £4,985,600 618 screens) taking £1,982,870 more (£20,185,469 Vs £18,202,599); Blade Runner 2049 had taken 92.5% of its total £18,820,009.
But if Dune were to be the massive blockbuster many thought it was going to be a be to (as Tenet) deserve a sequel or two Denis Villeneuve is often compared to Christopher Nolan so far better comparison would be Inception in 2010.
Took £634,843 less than Inception (£1,681,130) dropped 26% #2 from 472 screens (Toy Story 3 #1 £3,162,944) taking £9,018,651 less (£20,185,469 Vs £29,204,120) Inception had taken 83.5% of its total £34,976,999 if Dune held similarly would have taken £30m+ which is surely the level Warner were hoping for when they greenlit Dune (as they expected Tenet to take last year until they were forced to open it in the middle of a pandemic).
Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival took £268,329 (£366,514 less) in its fifth weekend #6 down 33% from 283 screens taking £8,604,881 95.6% of £8,994,774 opened early autumn which had strong success over previous years with adult sci-fi films; Gravity took 42% more £1,092,998 down 37.2% taking £24,557,256 75.8% of £32,692,161; Interstellar took 4% less £610,289 down 47.3% taking £19,150,662 91.8% of £20,066,636; The Martian took 7.5% less more £590,743 down 65.9% taking £21,797,926 92.4% of £23,578,878; the difference of course were they were original stories while Dune is based on best selling novel so had an existing fanbase.
Since cinemas reopened the industry seems to calculate BO success differently with success now much lower than it used to be despite costs for these films being the same if not more than they were before lockdown. Films like Eternals still have budgets of $150m+ and marketing costs of similar amounts but the industry seems to be calling success at a much lower level and announcing sequels when films have met very low box office levels that wouldn’t previously justify a sequel. Warner Bros were very quick to announce the Dune sequel, while Paramount announced a sequel for Clifford the Big Red Dog after taking $35m at the US BO and Universal Pictures dated Trolls 3 in 2023.
Pre-pandemic Warner Bros expectations for Dune would have been similar to Christopher Nolan’s Tenet taking upwards of $800m worldwide with $150m+ budgets and similar marketing costs but both will take half as much.
What this also shows is films like Dune and Tenet need to open with several other similar sized films as it was never big enough to be the saviour of cinema on its own despite Christopher Nolan’s delusions of grandeur.
Christopher Nolan’s biggest films have all opened in crowded marketplaces with several other films targetting different demographics. Dune had a similar second weekend as 2010’s Inception as Dune only had one-week #1 with Toy Story 3 (opening with £21,187,264) taking £4,172,568 down 29% while Interstellar held #1 for two weeks taking £3,777,804 down 30% had The Imitation Game opening #2 with £2,742,725 and then The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 opening #1 in its third weekend.
2017’s Dunkirk was a different story as it played to all demographics so didn’t need the support down only 18% in its second weekend (£8,235,532) but that was never going to happen with either Tenet or Dune as they both weren’t going to play as wide.
- King Richard – £570,180 – NE
Despite receiving critical acclaim since its world premiere at Telluride Film Festival and UK premiere at the London Film Festival king Richard was always likely to struggle to find an audience as almost exactly four years ago biographical sporting drama Battle of the Sexes (also having a world premiere at Telluride Film Festival and UK premiere at the London Film Festival and receiving critical acclaim) but struggled to find an audience opening #7 with £552,521 from 464 screens taking £1,332,759 (UK BO was more crowded with Daddy’s Home 2, Paddington 2, Justice League, Murder on the Orient Express and Frozen all taking £1m+).
Other recent tennis films include also in 2017 Janus Metz’s Borg vs. McEnroe premiered at Toronto Film Festival (opened £101,995 taking £432,154. While Woody Allen’s Match Point in 2005 opened £751,992 taking £2.5m) and 2004’s Wimbledon opened £1.7m taking £7.2m).
Sporting dramas often have mixed success at the box office with Will Smith comparisons could be made with his Ali biopic released 20 years ago but while Bad Boys for Life, Suicide Squad and Aladdin reimagination were successful at the box office it’s 15 years since his last original drama The Pursuit of Happyness.
12 years ago Warner Bros released The Blind Side with $34.11m taking $255.95m in the US and Sandra Bullock won the Best Actress Oscar for this feel-good inspirational drama; opened in March 2010 in the UK £1,313,317 and £5,933,635
Biographical inspirational feel-good sporting dramas used to be very popular at the US BO with films including Remember the Titans, Rudy, Miracle, Cool Runnings, Coach Carter, We Are Marshall, Invincible, Moneyball, The Fighter And Ali (opened £1,315,506 in 2002 taking £4,367,867.
Box Office News
Ahead of the release of Ridley Scott’s second film this year House of Gucci he has gone on the attack first about comic-book movies saying “The best films are driven by the characters, and we’ll come to superheroes after this if you want, because I’ll crush it. I’ll fucking crush it. They’re fucking boring as shit,”… and superhero movie “scripts are not any fucking good… are mostly saved by special effects, and that’s becoming boring for everyone who works with special effects, if you’ve got the money.”
He followed that up by blaming the failure of The Last Duel on millennials saying “I think what it boils down to — what we’ve got today [are] the audiences who were brought up on these fucking cell phones. The millennian do not ever want to be taught anything unless you are told it on the cell phone,” Scott continued. “This is a broad stroke, but I think we’re dealing with it right now with Facebook. There is a misdirection that has happened where it’s given the wrong kind of confidence to this latest generation, I think.”
Rather than Disney’s marketing or dating, saying “No. Disney did a fantastic promotion job…The bosses loved the movie — because I was concerned it was not for them — but they really liked the movie, so their advertising, publicity, et cetera, was excellent.”
There were multiple reasons why The Last Duel failed to find an audience, the first being the industry failed to deal with what their research told them 18 months ago that older audiences would be much slower to return to cinemas than younger audiences. The US hasn’t had a film that breaks through the demographics as James Bond does in the UK. This is why all tent poles have taken similar BO hasn’t been a breakout hit in the US and won’t for some time.
Why didn’t Disney move The Last Duel in June when Warner moved Dune to October, the problem was they couldn’t as with House of Gucci opening in November and with Dune opening in Europe in September The Last Duel was forced to be sandwiched between No Time To Die and Dune. Premiering The Last Duel at Venice Film Festival also damaged the film (as it did for Dear Evan Hanson at Toronto) as festival critics are far harsher than regular audiences seen by The Last Duel getting far better reviews from local critics, but by then the damage was done.
The last problem was The Last Duel was as all Ridley Scott films one to be seen on the biggest screens but opening on October 15 it was dumped into the small screens of cinemas so audiences didn’t get to experience the film as critics did.
It was a twist of fate for Ridley Scott as all the buzz leading up to the release in September 2015 was for Robert Zemeckis’s The Walk but then The Martian gazumped it after the premiere at Toronto Film Festival. While The Walk premiered at New York Film Festival at the end of September, by then the damage was done when the two films opened the same weekend.
After Cineworld Cinemas announced revenues returning to pre-Covid levels last week due to No Time To Die, this week Everyman Cinemas announced increasing profits. Everyman Cinemas are honest with their average prices of £11.18 while the industry still claims average prices are 40% less. The problem is this while exhibitors are all sweetness and light to studios now thanks to No Time To Die it won’t last as they are fickler than their customers as soon as box office drops off they will be blaming the same studios for a poor slate of films. As the remaining films of the year are no match for 2019.
Biggest Films of 2021
The top 10 biggest films of 2021 are currently
No Time To Die £94.48m; Shang-Chi (£21.2m); Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (£20.5m); Dune £20.18m; Black Widow (£18.83m); Venom 2 £17.59m; Free Guy (£16.78m); F9 (£16.44m); The Suicide Squad (£14.2m); Space Jam 2 (£12.85m).
No Time To Die is the only film that is performing as it would in normal circumstances all others opened about a third less than they would and taken a third less.
The following 10 biggest films from 11-20
Eternals £12.82m; Jungle Cruise (£12.55m); A Quiet Place 2 (£11.54m); The Addams Family 2 £10.11m; The Croods 2 (£9.8m); Cruella £9.45m; The Conjuring 3 £9.36m; PAW Patrol: The Movie £8.47m; Candyman £5.12m.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £8,973,102 up 5.4% from last weekend E8,515,059; 2020 Lockdown 2
The weekend admissions 1,262,040 up 5.4% 1,197,617 from last week; 2020 Lockdown 2.
Top 3 took £6,471,962 72.1% of the top 10; Ghostbusters Afterlife 48.1% (£4,314,263); Eternals 13.6% (£1,217,624); No Time To Die 10.5% (£940,075);
xx from 2020; Lockdown 2
Up 0.9% from 2019 (£8,886,417); Last Christmas (£2,654,354); Le Mans ’66 (£2,000,000); #1 Last Christmas £2,654,354 1st week 512 screens (29.9% of top 10)
Down 60.4% from 2018: (£22,674,299); Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (£12,318,966); Burn the Stage: The Movie (£644,308); Suspiria (£166,257); Hell Fest (£78,116); 9 To 5 (Re: 2018) (£7,514); #1 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald £12,318,966 1st week 674 screens (54.3% of top 10)
Down 52.1% from 2017: (£18,740,071); Justice League (£7,264,784); Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (£236,317); The Exterminating Angel – Met Opera 2017 (£98,593); Ingrid Goes West (£65,750); #1 Justice League £7,264,784 1st week 578 screens (38.7% of the top 10)
Down 58.6% from 2016: (£21,643,947); Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (£15,333,146); Andre Rieu: Christmas With Andre 2016 (£1,180,208); #1 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them £15,333,146 1st week 666 screens (70.8% of the top 10)
Down 52.3% from 2015; (£18,825,730); The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 (£11,255,566); The Dressmaker (£235,968); The Perfect Guy (£102,924); Lulu – Met Opera 2015 (£92,708); True Romance (Re: 2015) (£19,066); #1 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 £11,255,566 1st week 576 screens (59.8% of top 10)
Down 54.4% from 2014: (£19,671,148); The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (£12,654,109); Il Barbiere di Siviglia – Met Opera 2014 (£211,402); What We Do in the Shadows (£127,765); Get on Up (£110,417); The Homesman (£62,384); No Good Deed (£40,583); #1 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 £12,654,109 1st week 565 screens (64.3% of top 10)
Down 54.5% from 2013: (£19,719,142); The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (£12,189,733); Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor (£1,798,629); The Family (£444,659); Andre Rieu: Home for Christmas (£290,173); Blue is the Warmest Colour (£142,077); Parkland (£114,321); #1 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire £12,189,733 1st week 554 screens (61.8% of top 10)
Down 64.4% from 2012 (£25,176,278); The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (£15,850,825); Amour (£115,700); Mental (£12,849); #1 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 £15,850,825 1st week 558 screens (63% of top 10)
Down 55.1% from 2011 (£19,978,237); The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (£13,910,877); Justice (£276,483); #1 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 £13,910,877 1st week 543 screens (69.6% of top 10)
Down 59.2% from 2010: (£21,967,470); Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1 (£18,319,721); Peeping Tom: 50th Anniversary (Re) (£4,729); #1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1 £18,319,721 1st week 579 screens (83.4% of top 10)
Down 55.9% from 2009; (£20,336,403); The Twilight Saga: New Moon (£11,683,158); A Serious Man (£321,114); The Informant! (£179,612); Glorious 39 (£7,654); #1 The Twilight Saga: New Moon £11,683,158 1st week 497 screens (57.4% of top 10)
Up 21% from 2008; (£7,416,989); Body of Lies (£991,979); My Best Friend’s Girl (£911,355); Quarantine (£387,994); Waltz with Bashir (£113,087); Choke (£59,330); #1 Quantum of Solace £2,884,789 4th week 527 screens 44% drop (38.9% of top 10)
Up 0.8% from 2007: (£8,899,926); American Gangster (£2,564,853); Beowulf (£2,199,848); Brick Lane (£194,745); The Jane Austen Book Club (£50,052); Earth (£24,286); #1 American Gangster £2,564,853 1st week 410 screens (28.8% of top 10)
Down 50.8% from 2006; (£18,237,708); Casino Royale (£13,370,969); #1 Casino Royale £13,370,969 1st week 505 screens (73.3% of top 10)
Down 52.3% from 2005 (£18,792,982); Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (£14,933,901); The Libertine (£278,482); Separate Lies (£14,568); #1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire £14,933,901 1st week 535 screens (79.4% of top 10)
Down 0.4% from 2004 (£9,011,036); After the Sunset (£664,214); The Manchurian Candidate (£624,441); Taxi (£540,581); The Incredibles (limited) (£81,307); #1 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason £5,047,315 2nd week 506 screens (56.1% of top 10)
Down 11% from 2003 (£10,075,451); Love Actually (£6,657,479); Master and Commander (limited) (£61,056); #1 Love Actually £6,657,479 1st week 477 screens (66.1% of top 10)
Down 59.7% from 2002 (£22,279,336); Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets (£18,871,829); Super Troopers (£269,696); Bowling For Columbine (£157,898); #1 Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets £18,871,829 1st week 524 screens (84.7% of top 10)
Down 54.3% from 2001 (£19,644,298); Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (£16,335,627); Ghost World (£133,188); #1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone £16,335,627 1st week 507 screens (83.1% of top 10);
Next weekend in 2019 (£21,913,357); Frozen 2 (£15,088,012); Blue Story (£1,324,510); 21 Bridges (£655,214); Akhnaten – Met Opera 2019 (£170,400); Harriet (£115,120); #1 Frozen 2 £15,088,012 1st week 671 screens 1st week (68.9% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Ghostbusters Afterlife
Opened with $44.008m; received mixed reviews (66% Rotten Tomatoes) and x CinemaScore (2016’s Ghostbusters received B+ and Ghostbusters 2 A-)
315th biggest opening in the US between Tron: Legacy and Lucy taking $2m less than 2016’s Ghostbusters.
Took $3.7m from 403 IMAX cinemas (also playing in 847 PLF’s); as with all of the tentpoles released this year over 35% of their opening was taken from IMAX/PLF formats as a decade ago with 3D this artificially inflates box office but as prices for these are about double regular prices far fewer people are going to the cinema.
Took $4.5m from Thursday previews 28% more than 2016’s Ghostbusters ($3.5m) taking $16.5m from Friday including previews 4% less than 2016’s Ghostbusters ($17.2m)
Ahead of opening Sony estimated $27m-$28m opening while the industry expected $30m-$35m but there was always massive questions on how Ghostbusters Afterlife would perform as highlights the massive issue with these long gap sequels who its target demographic is it 80s teens or their children, which was probably the real reason Paramount delayed Top Gun Maverick. As reviews have talked a lot about the nostalgic elements but then it has teens as the next generation of Ghostbusters so you would think they are targetting much younger audiences.
It was originally due for release in July 2020 before being delayed due to COVID so as with most films that were delayed the first trailer was released in December 2019
1984’s Ghostbusters opened with $13.57m ($55m inflation inflated) taking $229.24m ($635m inflation inflated); was #1 for 7 consecutive weeks and returned #1 for another 7 weeks over the following 5 months
1989’s Ghostbusters 2 opened with $29.47m ($70m inflation inflated) taking $112.49m ($275m inflation inflated)
2016’s Ghostbuster opened with $46.01m taking $100.79m and $229.14m worldwide
In August 2016 Sony Pictures said they expected to lose $70m on Ghostbusters as the break-even point was $300m (had a budget of $150m); ahead of its release despite the toxic masculinity that surrounded it after it was announced that it would be a female Ghostbusters film the studio had big plans for two sequels and several animated spinoffs. The problem was away from the unwarranted misogynistic comments that it ruined their childhood it was a very poor film despite all the talent involved.
While talking about 10% of its’s opening weekend in the US from IMAX there wasn’t as much interest to see Ghostbusters Afterlife in IMAX internationally taking $1m from 43 territories.
Opened with $16m from 31 territories
- King Richard – Warner Bros
Opened with $5.7m #4; received positive reviews (89% Rotten Tomatoes) and A CinemaScore
It was expected to open with about $10m but with all films targetting older audiences they have struggled to find an audience this year in cinemas but exhibitors will, of course, blame its soft opening due to it being released on HBO Max same day. But as seen with Dune if it’s a film people want to see in cinemas they will still see it in cinemas even if it’s available on HBO Max the same day. The problem has been the industry has been so focussed on the under 35 markets (as they have been for the past decade) they failed to deal with the problem that was highlighted by their research 18 months ago that older audiences would take time to return.
There hasn’t been that must-see film that plays to all demographics in the US as James Bond does in the US as all of the major films that have opened since May have all targeted the same demographic. This is why many have taken similar box office and there hasn’t been a breakout hit as No Time To Die in the UK. That said the problem in the UK is there won’t be another film playing to all quadroons for some time as while Spider-Man No Way Home is expected to take £30m+ there won’t be another £50m+ until next summer.
Sporting dramas often have mixed success at the box office with Will Smith comparisons could be made with his Ali biopic released 20 years ago ($14.71m taking $58.2m) but while Bad Boys for Life, Suicide Squad and Aladdin reimagination were successful at the box office it’s 15 years since his last original drama The Pursuit of Happyness ($26.54m taking $163.56m). While Will Smith still gets huge media coverage his star power only works with properties this drop in popularity started in 2013 with After Earth.
Four years ago biographical sporting drama Battle of the Sexes had a similar world premiere at Telluride Film Festival and also received critical acclaim but struggled to find an audience opened #16 $518,332 from 21 screens expanding to 1,213 and 1,822 in its second and third weekend taking $3.4m/$2.56m and $5.96m
After the critical acclaim and strong buzz would have expected King Richard to open similar to 2009’s The Blind Side with $34.11m taking $255.95m in the US and Sandra Bullock won the Best Actress Oscar for this feel-good inspirational drama, but it just puts another nail on the coffin for original films in cinemas.
Biographical sporting dramas used to be very popular at the US BO with films including Remember the Titans, Rudy, Miracle, Cool Runnings, Coach Carter, We Are Marshall, Invincible, Moneyball, The Fighter And Ali.
SambaTV reported 707k US households watched King Richard on HBO Max (similar to In the Heights (693k and Cry Macho 693k) and the majority of the viewers watched it in its entirety
Opened with $2.5m from 30 territories; King Richard was always going to struggle internationally
- Eternals – Disney
Down 59% in its third-weekend #2 taking $11.08m and $136.07m.
Third weekend
Venom Let There Be Carnage dropped 48% #2 taking $16.5m and $168.07m of $238.8m
Shang-Chi dropped 37.6% #1 taking $21.67m and $176.86m 78.8% of $224.47m
Black Widow dropped 55% taking $11.61m and $154.82m 79% of $195.97m
Had the 25th biggest third weekend of the MCU between Black Widow and The Incredible Hulk
And the third biggest third-weekend drop after -62% Thor: Ragnarok and -61.2% Thor: The Dark World and similar to -58.7% Doctor Strange; -57.1% Avengers: Endgame; -56.8% The incredible Hulk; -55.5% Thor and -55.1% Black Widow
IMAX took $0.6m (down 89.3%) in its third weekend from 180 screens internationally taking $24.4m worldwide.
454th biggest film between 101 Dalmatians and Argo; 899th biggest inflation inflated between Jackass 3D and Atlantis: The Lost Empire; 8th biggest film in 2021 between No Time to Die and Free Guy; 64th biggest comic-book movie between Shazam! and The Incredible Hulk; 99th biggest Disney film in the US between 101 Dalmatians and Chicken Little.
Some have said Eternals opening is a wake-up call for Marvel it’s not as they will see it as audiences said they wanted a different kind of MCU film, so we gave them something different. But as audiences didn’t come out to see the different MCU as they previously didn’t with Ant-Man they will see it as a reason to instead make MCU films as they have done previously. Eternals was always going to be a hard sell beyond the comic-book fanbase.
Took $22.7m from 49 territories (down 52.7%) $200.3m international total and $336.1m worldwide; Korea $25.2m; UK $17.3m; France $13.7m; Mexico $13.3m; Brazil $10.5m; Australia $9.4m; Italy $8.7m; Japan $8.5m; Germany $8.1m; Taiwan $8m; Russia $7.6m; Spain $6.9m.
427th biggest worldwide between Batman Forever and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time; 11th biggest 2021 film between Dune and Free Guy; 71st biggest comic-book movie between Batman Forever and Fantastic Four; 86th biggest Disney film between Enchanted and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.
- Clifford the Big Red Dog – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 51% in its second-weekend #3 taking $8.12m and $33.53m
The film is also available on Paramount+
The film was originally due to be released in November 2020 delayed to September 2021 but then was removed from the release schedule in July due to the delta variant and the rescheduled November 12th in October.
Has its international rollout in December for the Christmas holidays and to distance itself from Disney’s Encanto opening this weekend.
- Dune – Warner Bros
Down 43% in its fifth-weekend #5 taking $3.17m and $98.3m
784th biggest film in the US between Date Night and The Addams Family; 1,401st biggest inflation inflated between The Good Son and World Trade Centre; 11th biggest 2021 film between Godzilla vs. Kong and Halloween Kills; 133rd biggest Warner Bros film between Edge of Tomorrow and Yes Man.
In comparison 2017’s Blade Runner 2049 dropped 43.6% taking $2.32m and $85.54m 92.9% of $92.05m
The industry needs to slow down before calling these films a hit as after having predictable $50m+ opening the second weekend is now more important than the first to see if it drops below 60% and most films are taking around $200m US and $400m WW which can’t be seen as a hit anymore. 30+ years ago when a film took $100m at US BO was celebrated as was rare and a sign of success with budgets under $50m, but now when films can take that in a day budgets are 4x as much as ticket prices success needs to be recalibrated with $300m ($600m worldwide) the new $100m.
While all of Denis Villeneuve earlier films Prisoners, Sicario, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 have received widespread critical acclaim, but they haven’t been hugely successful at the box office compared with other blockbusters directors with all of his films performing far stronger internationally than in the US.
Prisoners $46m budget took $61m US, $61.12m international and $122.12m worldwide
Sicario budget $30m took $46.88m US, $38.23m international and $85.12m worldwide
Arrival budget $47m took $100.54m US, $102.84m international and $203.38m worldwide
Blade Runner $150m budget took $92.05m US, $167.28m international and $259.33m worldwide
Tenet took $363m last year globally but Warner would have surely expected it to take double but after Christopher Nolan forced them to open in the middle of a pandemic it lost at least $50m.
The seven films Denis Villeneuve directed have taken $401.5m in the US and $1.033bn worldwide
Dune took internationally in 36 territories in September taking $129.3m.
Took $4.6m (32% drop from last weekend) from 75 territories $268.9m total and $367.1m worldwide; China $38.3m; France $31.2m; UK $27.5m; Germany $21.7m; Russia $21.2m; South Korea $12.4m; Spain $9.6m; Italy $8.6m.
359th biggest film worldwide between The Golden Compass and Gone Girl; 10th biggest 2021 film worldwide between Black Widow and Eternals; 66th biggest Warner Bros film between Mad Max: Fury Road and Edge of Tomorrow. (has just overtaken #72 $362.4m worldwide
When Warner Bros greenlit Dune they would have surely expected it to take similar to 2013’s Gravity their #23 biggest film $688.21m and 2017’s It #22 $701.08m in the first part of a similar two partner. Instead, it’s going to take just over half as much.
- No Time To Die – Universal Pictures
Dropped 39% in its seventh-weekend #7 taking $2.76m and $154.78m
No Time To Die was released on PVOD in the US on Tuesday after a 31-day theatrical window
362nd biggest film in the US between Over the Hedge and Fantastic Four; 756th biggest film inflation inflated between The Conjuring and Boomerang; 6h biggest film of 2021 between A Quiet Place: Part II and Eternals.
Seventh weekends
2002’s Die Another Day down 32.7% #12 taking $2.93m and $153.76m 95.5% of $160.94m US, $271.02m internationally $431.97m worldwide
2006’s Casino Royale up 46.4% #12 $4.6m and $153.53m 91.7% of $167.44m US, $449.05m internationally $616.5m worldwide
2008’s Quantum of Solace dropped 31.7% #17 taking $1.4m and $164.3m 97.6% of $168.36m US, $421.21m internationally $589.58m worldwide
2012’s Skyfall dropped 25.8% #7 taking $4.86m and $279.92m 92% of $304.36m US, $804.2m internationally $1.1bn worldwide
2015’s Spectre dropped 64.6% #11 taking $1.43m and $193.91m 97% of $200.07m; $680.6m internationally $880.68m worldwide
The 25 James Bond films have taken $2.287bn in the US and $7.793bn worldwide but inflation inflated this is $20bn
The five Daniel Craig James Bond films have taken $3.85bn worldwide to date while the last 6 Mission Impossible films have taken $1.15bn in the US and $3.57bn worldwide.
Took $13.47m (down 50.5%) from 72 territories internationally ($60.99m from China) and $579.4m total and $733.98m worldwide (including $42.3m from IMAX worldwide); 114th biggest film worldwide between The Matrix Reloaded and Up (overtaking Casino Royale #167 $594.42m and Quantum of Solace #168 $591.69m); 3rd biggest 2021 film worldwide between Hi, Mom and F9; many have said that No Time To Die is the biggest film of 2021 ignoring that the two biggest films in the world are from China Hi, Mom ($841.7m) and The Battle at Lake Changjin ($888.4m)
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage – Sony Pictures
Dropped 26% in its eighth-weekend #6 taking $2.91m and $206.61m.
2018’s Venom dropped 59.8% in its seventh weekend taking $1.97m and $210.07m of $213.51m and $856.1m worldwide.
200th biggest film in the US between Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; 467th biggest inflation inflated between The Client and Men in Black 3; 42nd biggest comic-book movie between Venom ($213.51m) and Thor: The Dark World; 15th biggest Sony Pictures film between Venom and Bad Boys For Life.
6 of Sony Pictures top 10 films are Spider-Man films with Spider-Man No Way Home becoming their 7th next month showing how important Spider-Man now is to the studio since losing James Bond with the two Jumanji films starring Dwyane Johnson the other films in their top 10.
Eighth weekends
Shang-Chi dropped 39.2% taking $2.01m and $220.99m 98.5% of $224.38m
Black Widow dropped 29.4% taking $786,550 and $181.46m 98.8% of $183.65m
Took $7.7m from 55 international territories $248.2m total and $454.8m worldwide; Russia $31.5m; Mexico $22.8m; UK $22.1m; South Korea $17.8m; France $12.5m; Brazil $11.1m; Germany $9.8m; still to open in Australia and Japan.
261st biggest film worldwide between San Andreas and 300; 7th biggest 2021 film worldwide between Godzilla vs. Kong and Shang-Chi; 44th biggest comic-book movie worldwide between X-Men: The Last Stand and Thor; 26th biggest Sony Pictures film worldwide between Hotel Transylvania 2 and Men in Black 2; #7 Venom $853.53m
- Belfast – Focus Features
Dropped 47% #9 in its second weekend taking $945,425 from 584 screens taking $3.44m
Highlights the problem opening these films on limited wide rather than slow expansion as normally they would slowly build over weeks
Surprising again a film that has received critical acclaim and strong buzz since its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival is opening limited wide rather than on a platform as previously they would open far more limited and have a slow expansion.
With older audiences very slow to return to cinemas would have thought these films would have a much slower expansion as seen with The French Dispatch which expanded much more quickly than previous Wes Anderson films.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Buzz on Disney’s Encanto has been very soft likely and reviews have been mixed likely to open similar to 2018’s Coco £2,893,764 Fri-Sun (£5,209,214 including £2,315,450 previews). Surprising the film opens on Wednesday rather than Friday, opens in the US on Wednesday due to Thanksgiving on Thursday but as Weds/Thurs are normal school days children are unlikely to go to see it until Friday with the weekend the strongest as it will be until school holidays start in three weeks.
It’s the first original animated film Disney opened in November since 2015 with The Good Dinosaur opening with £2,926,448 taking £14,810,130. While Disney released Ron’s Gone Wrong in October (was made by Locksmith Animation for 20th Century Fox) it’s their first Disney produced animated film since Frozen 2 in 2019 (£15,088,012) and original Disney produced animated film since Onward in March 2020 just before the first lockdown. (opened £3,419,500 including £800,000 previews, one of the lowest openings for Disney in the UK (despite this the industry didn’t believe COVID was affecting BO in March 2020) taking £7,308,920 (it returned to cinemas after they reopened in July 2020).
It used to be Disney would hold back their Thanksgiving animated films to February half-term in the UK or delay them a week so their openings can have a weekend of previews so surprising Disney opted to go day and date especially as while Encanto has a 30-day theatrical window in the US internationally its longer. In the US Encanto is released on Disney+ on December 24th.
Disney has had huge success over Thanksgiving weekend in the US has 5 of the 10 biggest Thanksgiving weekends in the US their last and their biggest Frozen 2 with $85.97m. This year Encanto won’t get anywhere near that level expected to open with about $25m-30m ($35m-$40m over 5 days) this would be similar to Bolt, Flubber, Toy Story (in 1995 $29.14m was huge), The Muppets, 101 Dalmatians and Enchanted).
Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci has generated lots of media coverage since its UK premiere on November 9th but receiving mixed reviews (66% Rotten Tomatoes) could go either way as being an original film they have struggled to find an audience since cinemas reopened. It’s expected to open in high teens in the US over 5 days so that would be about £1.5m in the UK over 3 days as pre-pandemic adult dramas used to open far stronger in the UK than in the US and Lady Gaga is huge in the UK. But post-pandemic these films have struggled to find an audience in cinemas shown by the soft opening of King Richard.
House of Gucci is Succession with even more exotic global locations and based on a true story but as with Spencer and The Crown will audiences come out to see House of Gucci when they can watch Succession and Ryan Murphy’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story at home?
As the last film Ridley Scott directed based on a true story 2017’s All the Money in the World (79% Rotten Tomatoes) opened disappointingly with £1,161,476 taking £3,176,255
House of Gucci is Lady Gaga second-leading film after 2018’s Oscar-winning and box office hit A Star Is Born, but in that film, she was playing a character similar to herself but House of Gucci is a very different iconic role; opened third October 5th with £4,100,196 (including £1,020,096 previews) from 526 screens behind Venom #1 £8,031,342 and #2 Johnny English Strikes Again £4,117,692, but with strong word of mouth was #1 in its second w/e taking £3,083,089 and £9,595,670 in 612 screens dropped 25% (without previews 0% drop); holding #1 taking £2,883,000 and £14,874,834 down 7% in its third w/e dropped #2 in the fourth w/e with £2,150,987 and £19,238,711 down 25% in 634 screens against Bohemian Rhapsody opening #1 with £9,530,463; stayed in top 5 for 7 weeks and top 10 for 9 weeks taking £29,299,129.
It’s hard to find a comparison to House of Gucci as it’s different to true crime dramas American Gangster (opened £2,564,853 taking £9,336,495), Casino and Good Fellas.
Opening November 26th House of Gucci has two weeks before West Side Story and Spider-Man No Way Home opens.
The BO performance of House of Gucci is far more important to the future of MGM than No Time To Die as the studio only gets a 5% distribution fee for James Bond and the studio has yet to close on Amazon’s acquisition of the studio (won’t happen until next year) the studio needs to show its potential new owners that it’s in a good place after decades of disappointment and poor management putting together a strong upcoming slate that includes Legally Blonde, Creed and Tomb Raider sequels and of course Bond 26 likely in 2024.
Also released is Anything Goes – The Musical on Sunday looking at advance sales at several cinemas it looks like it’s going perform strongly especially as tickets for Event Cinema screening are between £14.99- £19.99. Event Cinema BO has been soft since cinemas reopened but with Anything Goes – The Musical this weekend and Christmas With Andre it’s likely to end strongly and of course with ticket prices more than double regular they will help boost admissions and box office.
Sky Cinema also release A Boy Called Christmas in selected independent cinemas the same day it’s showing on Sky Cinema, the British film based on the bestselling novel by Matt Haig has received positive reviews and should get a much wider cinema release, but major exhibitors refuse to book the film. Despite Sky Cinema being a subscription-based TV channel with less than a quarter of the population subscribing to the channel.
As seen with Trolls World Tour and Onward despite both being available to watch legally at home audiences still came to the cinema to see them when cinemas reopened in July 2020, it is just short-sighted behaviour by exhibitors not to book these films.
What never makes sense with major exhibitors refusal to book Sky Cinema films that get the strong media coverage they do book Event Cinema concerts like Katherine Jenkins ad Little Minx that were shown on ITV and Sky One a couple of weeks later last December.
Opening in two weeks
- West Side Story – Disney
Musical romantic drama starring Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Rita Moreno and Rachel Zegler and directed by Steven Spielberg.
Based on a 1957 Broadway musical by Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim and a remake of the 1961 winning 10 Oscars including Best Picture and was the biggest film of the year since it’s heralded as one of the best musicals ever. (so no pressure for Steven Spielberg).
The musical is loosely based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet; 20th Century Fox had enormous success 25 years ago with Baz Luhrmann’s directed Romeo and Juliet (taking £7,438,055 in the UK and £13,194,781 inflation inflated).
Steven Spielberg said in 2004 “I’ve always wanted to make a musical. Not like Moulin Rouge though – an old-fashioned, conservative musical. … Like West Side Story or Singin’ in the Rain. I’ve been looking for one for 20 years. I just need something that excites me.”
It was originally set to be released in December 2020 but delayed a year due to COVID, it will be first screened for critics and Academy on November 29th being one of the last award contenders to be screened. With studios screening films earlier to build up buzz, (Ghostbuster Afterlife at New York Comic Con in August and Sing 2 at AFI Fest) surprising that West Side Story is being screened so late as previously Oscar contenders that have screened late struggled to build momentum for Oscars, especially as there can’t be any spoilers they are afraid that might be leaked. If West Story was to get a Best Picture Oscar nomination it would be Steven Spielberg’s 12th since E.T The Extra-Terrestrial in 1983.
Musicals are extremely popular in the UK with the massive success of films like The Greatest Showman, A Star Is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, Mamma Mia!, La Land, Rocketman, Les Misérables, Hairspray, Chicago, and Moulin Rouge (20th anniversary this year, opened in the US in May and in September in the UK have long legs).
But film versions of Cats, Annie, Jersey Boys, Rock of Ages (opened this weekend in 2012 with £1,003,107 taking £2,556,436), The Producers and Rent (after flopping in the US the film had an extremely limited release in the UK opening in only 61 screens with £40k).
20 years ago, Moulin Rouge opened in the UK four months after the US in September performing far stronger than it did in the US opening with £2,403,378 down 22.6% in its second weekend taking £1,859,732 and £5,668,964 (31.21% of total box office) taking £18,166,288 (£31,681,304 inflation inflated) was in the top 15 for almost 3 months.
Likewise, 2017’s The Greatest Showman opened with £4,754,049 (including £2,575,147 previews) down 49% in its second weekend taking £2,409,143 and £9,998,783 (20.1% of total box office taking £49,523,728 and played wide in cinemas for over 16 weeks, was still in the top 10 when it was released on DVD.
Many other musicals performed far better in the UK than the US including Mamma Mia!. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Bohemian Rhapsody, Les Miserables, La La Land, A Star Is Born, Rocketman, High School Musical 3, Evita, Hairspray and even Cats.
Clifford the Big Red Dog – eOne
Adventure family comedy based on the children’s book series by Norman Bridwell starring Jack Whitehall, Darby Camp, Tony Hale, Sienna Guillory, David Alan Grier, Russell Wong, Kenan Thompson, and John Cleese and directed by Walt Becker.
Norman Bridwell’s Clifford the Big Red Dog books have been popular since the 60s with a live-action TV show shown on BBC2 in 2002 and also an animated TV series.
It was due to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2021 but was removed after its September US was delayed due to COVID and was released simultaneously theatrically and digitally on Paramount+ on November 10 and receiving mixed reviews taking $23m
eOne release in the UK and Canada with Paramount Pictures releasing it in all other territories
In 2012 was originally developed at Illumination Entertainment as an animated film but in 2016 Paramount acquired rights to make it a live-action animated film
Films about cats and dogs have been immensely popular over the years in cinemas with films including in 2009’s Marley And Me opening with £4.4m taking £15.4m; 1992’s Beethoven taking £6.8m; 1993’s Beethoven’s 2nd taking £5.8m; 2017’s A Dog’s Purpose opened £1,300,097 (including £667,168 previews) taking £3.2m and 2010’s Hachi: A Dog’s Tale opened £442,753 taking £1,048,876 and also the two The Secret Life of Pets films, the first opened with £9,580,039 in 2016 taking £35,825,195, the second in £3,490,598 taking £18,638,365.
2001’s Cats and Dog £3,707,358 taking £23,013,391 (£40,134,464 inflation inflated); despite poor reviews, the film performed strongly and played for 14 weeks in the top 15 and was one of the biggest films of 200; 2010’s Cats & Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore £1,553,005 taking £3,972,149 (£4,819,986 inflation inflated); In October 2020 Cats & Dogs: Paws Unite! £456,531 taking £1.36m.
Clifford The Big Red Dog will be targetting younger children during the Christmas holidays with Disney’s Encanto the other family film released for Christmas.
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (Wednesday 15th) – Sony Pictures
27th Marvel Cinematic Universe and the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Benedict Wong, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Thomas Haden Church, Rhys Ifans, and Jamie Foxx and directed by Jon Watts.
It is the 8th Spider-Man film made by Sony Pictures since 2002; original trilogy directed by Sam Raimi starring Tobey Maguire between 2002 and 2007; The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012 with a sequel in 2014 directed by Marc Webb starring Andrew Garfield and then Spider-Man part of the MCU directed by Jon Watts and starring Tom Holland between 2017 and 2021.
Tom Holland said at the launch of the second trailer “This movie exceeds expectations in every way. This is the most cinematic … superhero movie that has ever been made. I’m proud to say Sony and Marvel have pulled off the impossible.”
Spider-Man: No Way Home is the pièce de resistance to Marvel Cinematic Universe 2021 with three films Black Widow, Shang-Chi and Eternals and several Disney+ shows WandaVision, Falcon & the Winter Soldier, Loki, What if …? and Hawkeye. Having the biggest MCU opening in the UK since Spider-Man: Far From Home £14,148,624 (including £5,749,085 previews).
Used to be successfully brought success over many films but now its success of one comic-book movie plays into the next as the same audience will see each of them with this year the four MCU films had similar openings Blade Widow with £6,889,187 (including £2,240,000 previews); Shang-Chi £5,759,504; Eternals £5,456,577; Venom Let There Be Carnage £6,167,833.