1. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale £4,390,303 – NE

Took £1.64m 37.36% Friday; £1.48m 33.71% Saturday; £1.27m 28.93% Sunday

382^nd biggest opening between Marley & Me and Ghostbusters (2016) (close to It Ends With Us, Minority Report, Notting Hill and Gone Girl) and 565^th biggest inflated between The Lego Movie: The Second Part and Nanny McPhee (close to The Holiday, Life of Pi, The Truman Show and Pride and Prejudice (opened almost 20 years to the day £2,529,947).

15^th biggest 2025 opening between 28 Years Later and Final Destination: Bloodlines (close to Thunderbolts, Nosferatu, Weapons and A Complete Unknown); Universal Pictures’ 4^th biggest opening of 2025.

Universal Pictures 6^th #1 opening of 2025 after Nosferatu, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, Dog Man, How To Train Your Dragon and Jurassic World: Rebirth; with Wicked – Part 2 opening in November.

Opened in 755 cinemas, the 2^nd widest opening ever in the UK, between No Time To Die (773) and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (747); 43^rd 700+ cinema opening since 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi (723); Downton Abbey 3 was probably playing in 2,000+ screens but didn’t have IMAX/PLF screens, but likely played very strongly at the 48 Everyman Cinemas across the UK. Odeon Luxe cinemas had 8 of Odeon’s biggest sites for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.

Downton Abbey: A New Era is part of the Gosford Park Cinematic Universe

2001’s Gosford Park opened with £837,169, taking £12,259,248 and £22,268,006 inflation-adjusted. This led to the Downton Abbey TV series on ITV, launched in 2010 and ran for 52 episodes until 2015.

Since the final episode was broadcast on ITV on Christmas Day 2015, there had been rumours of a spin-off film. In July 2018, it was announced that a film would be made, and Universal Pictures would release the film worldwide.

The film opened in September 2019 with £5,180,865 from 728 screens (£5,719,043 inflated), taking £28,248,361; took £1.52m Friday; £1.81m Saturday and £1.45m Sunday; took £9,882,483 in its opening week, taking 52.4% (£5,180,865) Fri-Sun and £4,701,618 Mon-Thurs.

2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era opened £3,072,762; £1.01m Friday; £1.01m Saturday and £1.05m Sunday; taking £14,894,086

While Downton Abbey: A New Era opened when older audiences were slowly returning to cinemas, that said, it opened 6 + months after many of them came to see No Time To Die, so however the industry spins it, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale opened about £1.5m+ lower than it should have done, especially when you include ticket inflation, the media coverage received, the positive reviews and premium ticket prices. That said, older audiences prefer going to the cinema during weekdays, so it will be interesting to see if it takes more Mon-Thurs than the weekend.

Julian Fellowes’ latest TV drama, The Gilded Age, first series was released on HBO and Sky Atlantic in January, which has been seen as a prequel to Downton Abbey, and a fourth series will be shown next year.

7.6m watched the first episode of the first series in 2010 on ITV, 9m watched the first episodes of season two and season three, 9.2m watched the first episode of series 4 and 8.4m watched the first episode of series 5. The final episode of Downton Abbey was broadcast on ITV1 on Christmas Day 2015 with an audience of 6.9m, with another 4m watching on catch-up for a total of 10.9m. It was the most-watched TV programme on Christmas Day; the first time ITV had managed to do so in 15 years.

Films based on British TV shows have had mixed success at the box office the hits mostly based on comedy series The Inbetweeners Movie, Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, Ali G Indahouse, Kevin & Perry Go Large, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Bean, Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie, and In the Loop. Films based on drama series, including The Avengers, Edge of Darkness, The Saint, Spooks, State of Play, The Sweeney, The Singing Detective and Widows have had more mixed success.

2015’s The Second-Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opened with 40% more than The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, £3,771,852 vs £2,222,051, but took 23% less, £15,575,797 vs £20,308,480.

Other films targeting the grey pound include

2017’s Murder on the Orient Express opened £4,985,600, taking £23,900,453; it took £8,612,958 in its opening 7 days, taking 42% of its box office (£3,627,358) Mon- Thurs; dropped second weekend 12.2% taking £4,376,429 and £12,989,387 54.3% of £23,900,453.

2017 Victoria and Abdul opened £1,846,970, taking £9,434,937

2013’s Philomena opened £1,509,726 taking £10,470,225; dropped 6.7% second weekend taking £1,407,318 and £4,762,182 45.4% of £10,470,225

2011’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy opened £2,814,860, taking £14,133,500

2006 The Queen opened £856,273 taking £9,381,693; increased 6.1% second weekend £908,295 taking £2,658,523 28.3% of £9,381,693

2003 Calendar Girls opened £1,762,505 taking £20,174,133; increased 5.3% second weekend £1,855,986 taking £5,679,683 28.1% of £20,174,133

Also playing strongly in Everyman cinemas was Netflix’s The Thursday Murder Club, while Netflix didn’t report BO data, ScreenDaily estimated it took £500k+ from the 50 cinemas it was playing in. The week afterwards, it was seen 6.58m times over its first week in the UK. Using the £7.72 average ticket price, that’s £50m+, showing how much was how much exhibitors could have generated had major exhibitors not been fixated with their antiquated theatrical windows, which they will happily break on their own rules. The Thursday Murder Club was the most-watched across TV channels and streamers.

So why did only about 500k see Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale in its opening weekend, going by the huge popularity of the TV series? Had The Thursday Murder Club had a wide cinema release three weeks it would have opened with £5m and would have brought more audiences to Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. Sometimes it feels like major exhibitors are behaving like Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, as “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”.

The Downton Abbey TV series was made by Carnival Films, but the films were financed by Universal Pictures instead of a British film distributor, highlighting the failure of the UK film industry over the last 30+ years. As Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is seen as a British film with a British cast and filmed in the UK, but it’s as British as The Thursday Murder Club made by Netflix.

After the hundreds of millions of funding from the Lottery to the British Film industry, there shouldn’t be any reason why a film like Downton Abbey was made by a British Film company and released by a British distributor?

• 2. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle £3,464,393 – NE

Took £1.31m 37.82% Friday; £1.2m 34.64% Saturday; £954k 27.54% Sunday

509^th biggest opening between The Marvels and Monsters University (close to Fantastic Four (2005), The King’s Man, Sherlock Holmes and Toy Story) and 750^th inflated opening between The Marvels and Four Weddings and a Funeral (close to Edward Scissorhands, The Ring Two, Back to the Future and Total Recall (1990).

17^th biggest 2025 opening between Snow White and Dog Man (close to 28 Years Later, Final Destination: Bloodlines, We Live In Time and Weapons).

84^th biggest animation opening between The Secret Life of Pets 2 and Monsters University (close to The LEGO Ninjago Movie, Cars 2, Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie and The Wild Robot) and 109^th biggest inflated animated opening between Coraline and Rio 2 (close to The Rugrats Movie, The Lion King 3D, Antz and Mulan).

It’s impossible to compare the opening of No Yaiba Infinity Castle with other previous Demon Slayer films released over recent years, including 2024’s Kimetsu No Yaiba – To The Hashira Training, which opened £641,878 and 2021’s Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, which opened £693,081, as they didn’t have IMAX/PLF screens.

Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle likely took 50%+ from IMAX/PLF screens, while it was also likely boosted by Kpop Demon Hunters released in cinemas at the end of August, but Netflix didn’t report BO from exhibitors’ reports; it performed strongly and has been seen on Netflix over 291.5m times within a week (accumulated 485.8m viewing hours) expected to have over 300m views within 90 days.

Overtook the previous biggest anime in the UK, 2024’s The Boy And The Heron, which opened £1,640,667, taking £4,412,633

• 3. The Conjuring: Last Rites £2,806,296 – £12,351,371

Down 58.6% in its second weekend

£868k 31% (-65.5% £2.51m) Fri; £1.18m 42.1% (-52.23% £2.47m) Sat; £752k 26.86% (-58% £1.79m) Sun

286^th biggest second weekend between Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (close to Jumanji: The Next Level, The Bourne Ultimatum, Bad Boys For Life and Godzilla (2014) and 514^th biggest inflated second weekend between The Jungle Book (1993 re-issue) and Hannah And Her Sisters (close to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, The Incredible Hulk, The Village and Sleepers).

11^th biggest 2025 second weekend between How To Train Your Dragon and Sinners (close to The Fantastic Four, F1, Thunderbolts and Thunderbolts); Warner Bros 4^th biggest 2025 second weekend.

5^th biggest horror second weekend between It Chapter 2 and Paranormal Activity 2 (close to Sinners, 28 Years Later, The Blair Witch Project and Split) and 14th biggest inflated horror second weekend between The Final Destination and Red Dragon (close to Sleepy Hollow, What Lies Beneath, Paranormal Activity and The Grudge).

After 10 days, The Conjuring: Last Rites is already the highest-grossing film of the series in the UK. It’s about momentum, with success breeding success, not about the films themselves, as seen by the poor reviews the fourth film received; it was more about seeing the trailer with the other summer horror films and with the horrors in the news, a horror at the cinema is escapism.

Having seen it from Nosferatu in January, which had the trailer for Sinners before it, this led into Final Destination: Bloodlines with 28 Years Later trailer and then Weapons had The Conjuring: Last Rites trailer.

The opposite has probably happened with animation, as families haven’t seen the trailers in the cinema, so the audiences for Mufasa: The Lion King, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Moana 2 saw Dog Man but didn’t see those animated films that followed.

The Conjuring Film Series Second weekend

2023’s The Nun 2 dropped 35% £1,133,831 and £3,870,261 56.9% of £6,800,000

2021’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It dropped 61.6% £1,039,094 and £5,312,625, 56.7% of £9,367,720

2019’s Annabelle Comes Home dropped 65.3% £770,640 and £3,983,064 64.5% of £6,176,801

2018’s The Nun dropped 55.3% £1,832,874 and £7,663,574 67.8% of £11,302,155/£12,476,202

2017’sAnnabelle: Creation dropped 39.1% £1,193,210 and £4,754,102 of 8,079,017/ £8,596,764

2016’sThe Conjuring 2: The Enfield Case dropped 82.2% £823,957 and £9,457,326 86.8% of £10,896,992/£11,720,516

2014’s Annabelle dropped 24.4% £1,465,919 and £4,585,010 61.9% of £7,402,588/£7,962,028

2013’s The Conjuring dropped 22.4% £1,620,713/£1,978,114 and £5,852,046 55.9% of £10,471,087/£12,780,178

• 4. The Long Walk £1,156,220 – NE

Took £351k 30.36% Friday; £427k 36.94% Saturday: £378k 32.70% Sunday

1,564^th biggest opening between The Specialist and Did You Hear About The Morgans (close to The Purge: Anarchy, Conspiracy theory, Corpse Bride and The Green Mile) and 2,206^th biggest inflated opening between The Book of Life and Beavis and Butthead Do America (close to Amistad, Man On Fire, Young Guns and Psycho (1999).

32^nd biggest 2025 opening weekend between Materialists and The Amateur (close to The Salt Road, Ballerina, Babygirl and Marching Powder).

Thriller based on the 1979 novel by Stephen King by Richard Bachman. Plans to adapt the novel started in 1988 with George A. Romero. In 2007, Frank Darabont acquired rights to the film adaptation. Frank Darabont previously adapted and directed Stephen King’s The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Green Mile (1999), and The Mist (2007).

In 2018, New Line was going to produce the film, but it was delayed until Lionsgate announced in 2023 that they would make the film with Francis Lawrence directing.

Previously directed 2005’s Constantine, 2007’s I Am Legend, 2011’s Water for Elephants, 2013’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; 2014’s 2014 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1; 2015’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2; 2018’s Red Sparrow; 2022’s Slumberland; 2023’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and will next direct 2026’s The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.

It’s Mark Hamill’s second Stephen King film that he has starred in this year, after the wonderful Life of Chuck.

Other Stephen King non-horror adaptations

1988’s The Running Man opened £577,953/£1,990,169; 297 screens taking £2,530,062/£8,712,213

1995’s The Shawshank Redemption opened £270,688/£616,049; 77 screens, taking £2,414,776/£5,495,697

2000’s The Green Mile opened £1,149,935/£2,069,883;340 screens taking £6,448,988/£11,608,178

2025’s The Life of Chuck opened £486,294 #6 from 623 screens (including £173,284 previews)

Opened similarly to the first two The Purge films

2013’s The Purge opened £1,019,877/£1,244,781, taking £3,365,209

2014’s The Purge: Anarchy opened £1,165,143/£1,253,197, taking £4,430,522

Stephen King’s Horror Was Never Just About Monsters—It Was About Us. And in 2025, We’ve Become His Stories. From killer trucks to cursed toys, King’s tales seemed like campy B-movie scares when first published. But today, they read as bone-chillingly prophetic.

 Here’s how 12 of his most “outlandish” stories morphed into mirrors of modern dystopia—and why Hollywood won’t stop remaking them.

1. The Running Man (1982) → Deepfake Bloodsport
2. Cell (2006) → Algorithmic Zombies
3. The Monkey (1980) → AI Death Predictions
4. Trucks (1973) → The Self-Driving Apocalypse
5. The Mangler (1972) → Automation’s Body Count
6. The Jaunt (1981) → VR Hell
7. The Lawnmower Man (1975) → AI God Complex
8. The Ten O’clock People (1993) → Conspiracy Vapes
9. The Man Who Loved Flowers (1977) → Deepfake Love
10. The Mist (1985) → Algorithmic Mobs
11. Under the Dome (2009) → Lockdown Extremism
12. The Stand (1978) → Pandemic 2.0

Stephen King’s Horrors Keep Being Remade as..

1. Tech Fulfils His Prophecies: AI, deepfakes, and automation made his metaphors literal.

2. Audiences Recognise Themselves: We’re now the chaotic mobs, algorithm addicts, and lonely delusionists he wrote about.

3.Hollywood Trusts His Brand: His name = built-in audience + endless thematic relevance.

Stephen King wrote these stories as escapism—but in 2025, they’re field guides to surviving the modern world. If The Shawshank Redemption were written today, Andy would tunnel out of prison using a smuggled ChatGPT jailbreak.

Stephen King didn’t predict the future—he predicted us. And in 2025, we’re living his darkest drafts.

In November comes the reboot of The Running Man and the TV prequel series It: Welcome to Derry, and the miniseries Carrie TV miniseries next year.

•  5. The Roses £939,257 – £7,344,458

Down 38.1% in its third weekend

Took £259k 26.62% Friday; £390k 41.53% Saturday; £299k31.84% Sunday

699^th biggest third weekend between Speed and Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom (close to Bride Wars, Victoria And Abdul, The Other Woman and Lost in Translation) and 1,027^th biggest inflated third weekend between Everest and The Addams Family 2 (close to Stepbrothers, Eyes Wide Shut, Beetlejuice and The Descendants).

The Roses is the latest Disney reimagination of 20th Century Fox’s 1990s War of the Roses took £5,795,818/£16,335,544.

Third weekend

2024’s Wicked Little Lies dropped 23.4% £898,390 and £6,077,094, 63.6% of £9,558,513

2003’s Intolerable Cruelty dropped 33.3% £688,290/£1,235,512 and £4,862,769 75.2% of £6,465,278/£11,532,658

2005’s Mr & Mrs Smith dropped 9.2% £1,441,740/£2,439,632 and £9,971,023 74% of £13,375,272/£22,490,903

2005’s Closer dropped 42.4% £913,603/£1,545,948 and £5,792,036 69.1% of £8,330,847/£14,008,558

2006’s The Break-Up dropped 44.3% £787,273/£1,288,412 and £7,603,576 75.7% of £10,049,790/£16,343,806

2010’s It’s Complicated dropped 12.3% £1,140,684/£1,527,941 and £5,397,653 61.1% of £8,838,051/£11,764,263

2000’s Meet the Parents took £15,107,452/£27,193,414.

1996’s The First Wives Club took £5,634,022/£12,059,852

1,053^rd biggest between The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Judge Dredd (close to 2 Fast 2 Furious, Focus, The Shape of Water and The Time Traveller’s Wife) and 1,594^th biggest inflated between Storks and Bridge to Terabithia (close to Peter’s Friends, City Slickers, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Personal Services).

———-

Also Opened

•             Spinal Tap II: The End Continues – Sony Pictures

Opened £215,114 #7 from 411 screens

It was always an impossible task for Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, the sequel to 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap, starring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Rob Reiner and directed by Rob Reiner.

The original film has been a cult classic for over 40 years. The question was always, is there an audience for the sequel 41 years later, and can it be as good as the original film?

Rob Reiner has directed some classic films over the last 41 years, including The Sure Thing, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery and A Few Good Men. Then came North in 1994, and he has struggled with the films he has directed over the last 21 years.

THe problem was who was its target audience 41 years later.

1. Aging Original Fans: Drawn by nostalgia and the curiosity to see their heroes one last time.
2. Comedy Cinephiles: Those who appreciate improvised comedy and the work of Guest, McKean, and Shearer, regardless of the subject.
3. Younger Viewers Interested in Music and Satire: Those attracted by the modern hooks (TikTok plot, cameos from stars like Questlove ) and the universal, cringe-comedy themes.

The sequel’s success hinges on its ability to balance reverence for the original with sharp, relevant satire that stands on its own. It may not capture the identical magic, but by embracing the absurdity of its own existence, it has a fighting chance to entertain both those who remember the first tour and those who are just discovering the band 

—–

The weekend’s top 10 box office took £13,715,898, up 31.1% from last weekend’s £10,456,946:  1,763,291 admissions, up 31.7% from 1,339,226 admissions.

The 16th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 27 June 2025 #1 F1 £7,071,647 (50.25%) and 18 July 2025 #1 Superman £4,877,459 (36.40%)

50^th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 252 weeks between #1 16 December 2022 Avatar: The Way of Water £11,187,562 (80.32%) and 11 February 2022 #1 Uncharted £4,705,948 (34.41%)

328^th biggest top 10 of the last 24 years (out of 1,223) between 31 July 2015 #1 Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation £5,351,344 (38.98%) and 02 January 2004 #1 LOTR: The Return of the King £6,496,723 (47.43%) and 595^th biggest inflated between 20 January 2017 #1 La La Land  £4,373,249 (33.71%) and 26 March 2010 #1 Nanny McPhee & the Big Bang £2,586,760 (25.19%)

The top 3 took £10,660,992 (77.7%) of the top 10; Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale 32.18% (£4,390,303); Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle 25.395 (£3,464,393); The Conjuring: Last Rites 20.57% (£2,806,296).

676^th biggest percentage share #1 (32.01%) between 07 May 2010 #1 Iron Man 2 £3,214,776 (32.02%) and 13 December 2024 #1 Moana 2 £3,613,290 (31.99%)

627^TH biggest admissions (567,223) 24 August 2007 #1 The Bourne Ultimatum £2,864,804 (567,288) and 21 March 2008 #1 Horton Hears a Who £2,947,089 ( 566,748)

Up 55.03% from 2024; (£8,847,393); Speak No Evil (£1,424,999); Lee (£705,643); Prima Facie – NT Live 2022 (Re: 2024) (Theatre) (£556,471); The Critic (£353,075); Spider-Man: Far From Home RE (£77,914); Batman & Robin (Re: 2024) (£15,189); #1 Beetlejuice 2 £4,272,202 2nd week 738 screens 42% drop (48.29% of top 10)

Up 112.21% from 2023; (£6,463,338); A Haunting in Venice (£2,186,930); Rise Of The Footsoldier: Vengeance (£179,804); The Dark Knight (Batman Day) (£175,576); The Jungle Book (Re: 1993) (£117,015); ABBA: The Movie – Fan Event (£116,574); Batman (Batman Day) (£66,351); Joker (Batman Day) (£37,014); Dazed And Confused (30th Anniversary) (£6,433); #1 A Haunting in Venice £2,186,930 1st week 711 screens (33.84% of top 10)

Up 312.41% from 2022 (£3,325,794); Moonage Daydream (£181,467); Clerks III (£47,712); Jackie Brown (25th Anniversary) (£21,636); #1 See How They Run £984,779 2nd week 15% drop 717 screens (29.61% of top 10)

Up 185.01% 2021 (£4,812,471); Gunpowder Milkshake (£35,578); 12 Mighty Orphans (£17,220); #1 Shangi-Chi £2,362,692 3rd week 34% drop 664 screens (49.1% of top 10)

Up 387.68% 2020; (£2,572,070); Break the Silence (£249,996); The Broken Hearts Gallery (£87,568); The Roads Not Taken (£27,742); #1 Tenet £1,233,090 3rd week 612 screens down 42% (43.84% of top 10)

Up 12.84% 2019; (£12,155,175); Downton Abbey (£5,180,865); Hustlers (£1,353,324); #1 Downton Abbey £5,180,865 1st week 728 screens (42.6% of top 10)

Up 42.18% 2018: (£9,647,148); The Predator (£2,394,163); Crazy Rich Asians (£1,599,858); King of Thieves (£1,535,876); #1 The Predator £2,394,163 1st week 553 screens (24.8% of top 10)

Up 19.55% 2017: (£11,473,084); Victoria and Abdul (£1,846,970); mother! (£831,676); American Assassin (£768,951); Aces of the Jungle (£374,982); #1 It £6,070,542 2nd week 608 down 39% screens (52.9% of the top 10)

Up 8.25% 2016: (£13,181,394); Bridget Jones’s Baby (£8,111,077); Blair Witch (£959,401); The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years (£654,726); The Infiltrator (£370,439); Hunt for the Wilderpeople (£167,646); #1 Bridget Jones’s Baby £8,111,077 1st week 641 screens (61.5% of the top 10)

Up 18.86% 2015; (£11,539,308); Legend (£5,189,074); The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials (£2,799,428); The Visit (£1,031,292); Irrational Man (£197,188); #1 Legend £5,189,074 1st week 522 screens (44.9% of top 10)

Up 92.76% 2014: (£7,115,583); The Boxtrolls (£2,000,597); Pride (£718,778); A Most Wanted Man (£610,312); The Wizard of Oz (Re: 2014) (£42,478); #1 The Boxtrolls £2,000,597 1st week 510 screens (28.1% of top 10)

Up 30.03% 2013: (£10,548,613); Insidious 2 (£2,877,742); Rush (£2,099,308); White House Down (£1,184,338); Justin and the Knights of Valour (£831,011); In a World… (£35,178); 42 (£3,797); #1 Insidious 2 £2,877,742 1st week 414 screens (27.2% of top 10)

Up 76.74% 2012: (£7,760,490); The Sweeney (£1,545,294); ParaNorman (£1,393,123); Hope Springs (£728,689); To Rome with Love (£141,008); Premium Rush (£115,358); #1 The Sweeney £1,545,294 1st week 406 screens (19.9% of top 10)

Up 59.81% 2011; (£8,582,687); Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (£2,814,860); The Change-Up (£727,497); I Don’t Know How She Does It (£562,609); 30 Minutes or Less (£260,337); You Instead (£6,770); #1 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy £2,814,860 1st 382 screens 42% drop (32.8% of top 10)

Up 124.09% from 2009; (£5,969,293); Dorian Gray (£883,148); Sorority Row (£782,693); Julie & Julia (£540,441); Adventureland (£210,671); Whiteout (£150,995); Fish Tank (£103,180); The September Issue (£81,892); Miss March (£24,434); #1 District 9 £1,184,392 2nd week 446 screens 48% drop (19.8% of top 10)

Up 129.77% 2008; (£7,542,608); Pineapple Express (£1,372,911); The Women (£865,310); The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (£513,653); Eden Lake (£192,027); Sydney White (£1,157); #1 Pineapple Express £1,372,911 1st week 389 screens (18.2% of top 10)

Up 81.85% 2007: (£7,504,924); Superbad (£1,484,456); Disturbia (£728,145); Shoot ‘Em Up (£374,770); 3:10 To Yuma (£368,510); December Boys (£23,145); #1 Run, Fat Boy, Run £1,543,836 2nd week 411 screens 23% drop (20.5% of top 10)

Up 180.32% 2006; (£4,892,872); Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (£1,033,759); The Queen (£856,273); The Night Listener (£314,078); DOA (£224,786); #1 Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby £1,033,759 1st week 403 screens (21.2% of top 10)

Up 109.41% 2005: (£6,549,677); Pride and Prejudice (£2,529,947); Wolf Creek (£554,618); Must Love Dogs (£142,199); #1 Pride and Prejudice £2,529,947 1st week 397 screens (38.6% of top 10)

Up 95.97% 2004; (£6,998,915); Open Water (£1,970,176); Anchor Man (£555,864); Wicker Park (£316,722); Super-Size Me (£264,843); #1 Open Water £1,970,176 1st week 378 screens (28.1% of top 10)

Up 156.94% 2003 (£5,338,138); Calendar Girls (expansion) (£1,762,505); Tears of the Sun (£406,324); Sin Eater (£161,779); Spirited Away (£152,504); #1 Calendar Girls £1,762,505 2nd week (1st #1) 462 screens (33.1% of top 10)

Up 89.14% from 2002: (£7,251,582); Signs (£3,767,713); A Walk to Remember (£246,860); #1 Signs £3,767,713 1st week 443 screens (51.9% of top 10)

Up 108.22% from 2001 (£6,587,094); The Fast and the Furious (£1,763,020); The Martins (£310,600); #1 Moulin Rouge £1,859,732 2nd week 314 screens 23% drop (28.2% of top 10).

2024 Next week: (£6,171,771); The Substance (£591,247); Interstellar (10th Anniversary) (£453,921); 200% Wolf (£237,038); Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary (Re: 2024) (£176,314); The Dark Knight (Re: 2024) (£117,463); Batman Begins (Re: 2024) (£54,472); The Dark Knight Rises (Re: 2024) (£33,733);  The Batman (Re: 2024) (£8,950); #1 Beetlejuice 2 £2,458,216 3^rd week dropped 42% 729 screens (39.83% of top 10).

US Box Office

• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle –

Opened $70.61m; received positive reviews (97% Rotten Tomatoes) and A CinemaScore

Took $11.4m from previews, including Tuesday fan and Thursday night shows; 2022’s Dragon Ball Super: Superhero took $4.3m in previews

162^nd biggest opening between Shrek Forever After and Transformers (close to Despicable Me 3, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Spectre and Maleficent).

Took 44% from IMAX/PLF

Took $58.5m worldwide from IMAX, including $13m internationally

EntTelligence reported 4.5m admissions, an average ticket price of $14.56 and $17.91 for PLF; 67% of the audience booked tickets in advance; 55% according to EntTelligence, saw the subtitled version and 33% bought tickets to the dubbed version; 53% of Saturday’s cinemagoers saw it after 5 pm.

It was Sony Pictures’ biggest opening since 2023’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse with $120.6m, topping Sony’s 28 Years Later ($30m); Venom: The Last Dance ($51m), It Ends With Us ($50m) and likely Bad Boys: Ride or Die ($56.5m).

2023’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village opened $10.11m

2024’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To the Hashira Training opened $11.5m, taking $17.65m and $44.35m worldwide

Infinity Castle has over 200m followers in the social media universe across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, according to RelishMix

Took $62.1m internationally $107.8m total; Mexico $9.8m; India $5.2m; UK $4.6m; Brazil $4.4m; Spain $3.7m; Australia $3.2m; Italy $3m; Saudi Arabia $2.8m; Peru $2.8m. 

• The Conjuring: Last Rites – Warner Bros

Dropped 69% in its second weekend $25.62m and $130.57m

321^st biggest second weekend between Split and Divergent (close to Scary Movie, The Sixth Sense, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and Mad Max: Fury Road)

The Conjuring Universe 8 films have taken $800m in the US and $2.3bn since 2013.

2021’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It opened $24.1m, taking $65.63m and $206.43m WW; 20% of the opening came from IMAX (8.8% $1.2m)/PLF/Dolby Cinema; it opened the week after A Quiet Place Part 2 opened.

2019’s Annabelle Comes Home opened $20.26m, taking $74.15m and $228.51m worldwide

2019’s The Curse of La Llorona opened $26.34m, taking $54.73m and $121.66m worldwide

2018’s The Nun opened $53.8m, taking $117.45m and $36.39m worldwide

2017’s Annabelle: Creation opened $35.01m, taking $102.1m and $305.38m worldwide

2016’s The Conjuring 2 opened $40.4m, taking $102.47m and $310.2m worldwide

2014’s Annabelle opened $37.13m, taking $84.27m and $256.86m worldwide

2013’s The Conjuring opened $41.85m, taking $137.4m and $317.78m worldwide

Took $60.5m internationally from 76 territories $201.8m total, and $332.9m worldwide; Mexico $13.3m; UK $8.8m; Brazil $7.7m; India $6.7m; Germany $5.6m; Indonesia $5.6m; Spain $5.1m; Philippines $4.5m; Italy $4.3m; Australia $3.6m.

• Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – Focus Features

Opened $18.1m; received positive reviews (90% Rotten Tomatoes) and A CinemaScore

Took $2.6m from previews, including $1m from Wednesday

At the start of the weekend, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale was expected to open with $20m+, but it dropped off over the weekend. If it was the counterprogramming that analysts said it was, it should have opened with at least $20m. Especially as it’s the very English film American audiences lap up seen by My Oxford Year, released last month on Netflix, watched 24.6m times in its first week and #1 in over 73 countries.

2019’s Downton Abbey opened $31.03m, taking $96.85m and $194.69m worldwide

2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era opened $16m, taking $44.14m and $92.65m worldwide

Opened $12.3m internationally and $30.4m worldwide; UK $6.3m; France $1.4m; Australia $1.2m

• The Long Walk – Lionsgate

Opened $11.7m; received positive reviews (90% Rotten Tomatoes) and B CinemaScore

Took $1.3m from previews

Opened similarly to recent Stephen King adaptations, 2025’s The Monkey $14.01m, taking $39.72m and $68.87m and 2019’s Doctor Sleep, opening $14.11m, taking $31.58m and $72.38m worldwide.

Stephen King’s most recent adaptation, Life of Chuck (also starring Mark Hamill), opened wide $2.31m in expansion, taking $6.71m and $16.93m; it struggled to find an audience despite winning the People’s Choice Award at last year’s Toronto Film Festival.

Its director, Francis Lawrence, ’s lowest opening after 2011’s Water for Elephants and 2018’s Red Sparrow, both opening with $16.8m.

• Toy Story (30^th anniversary) – Disney

Opened $3.44m.

Toy Story was previously re-released in 2009, opening $12.49m, taking $30.7m and $41.25m worldwide

Toy Story originally opened in 1995 with $29.14m, taking $191.79m and $2544.73m worldwide.

The four films have taken $1.44bn in the US and $3 28bn worldwide, with Toy Story 5 opening next summer, despite most people hoping 2010’s Toy Story 3 would be the final film of the series, but then came Toy Story 4 in 2019, repeating the same story but this time with a fork being a toy.

• Spinal Tap II: The End Continues – Bleecker Street

Opened $1.61m; received mixed reviews (67% Rotten Tomatoes) and A- CinemaScore

1984’s This Is Spinal Tap had a slow expansion release, taking 9 weeks to play into less than 10% of the screens Spinal Tap II: The End Continues opened in.

Rob Reiner run from 1984-1992 is arguably one of the greatest directorial streaks ever: This is Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A Few Good Men, but then came North in 1994, which was both a critical and box office failure and the films that followed haven’t connect with the same cultural impact.

This Is Spinal Tap (1984) is not just a film; it’s a cultural landmark. It pioneered the mockumentary genre, was added to the National Film Registry, and its dialogue entered the lexicon (e.g., “This goes to 11”). The original was a perfect storm of improvisational genius, timing, and satire that captured the absurdity of the heavy metal era.

The music industry and comedy genres have drastically evolved. The original film satirized the specific excesses of 1980s hair metal bands. Today’s music scene, dominated by TikTok trends and carefully curated celebrity images, presents a very different target for satire. Furthermore, the mockumentary format is now ubiquitous, making it harder to feel fresh or groundbreaking.

Reiner’s own directorial output has been less consistent since his incredible 1980s-90s streak. Spinal Tap II may well be his final film, and while the odds are stacked against it, the mere fact that he’s reuniting with the band one last time feels like a fitting, if risky, encore for a director who gave us so much joy.

• The Sound of Music – 60^th Anniversary – 20^th Century Fox

Opened $1.6m #10 from 1,219 screens

The Sound of Music took $163.21m ($1.9bn inflated) in the US and $281.23m ($3.3bn inflated) worldwide.

UK Box Office Top 10

Box Office Preview

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale will drop 40%-45% in its second weekend, similar to the last two films, taking £2.4m-£2.7m

2019’s Downton Abbey dropped 36.7% £3,280,44 and £13,162,925, 46.6% of £28,242,871

2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era dropped 49.4% £1,553,503 and £7,671,735, 50.8% of £15,092,058

The big question is, how will A Big Bold Beautiful Journey open the romantic fantasy starring Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell, Kevin Kline, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge and directed by Kogonada and written by Seth Reiss (The Menu)? The script was on the 2024 Blacklist.

Sony Pictures acquired world rights in February 2024 for $50m. It’s Margot Robbie’s first film since 2023’s Barbie; it was originally set to be released in May but was delayed to September. It was expected to premiere at the Toronto/Venice Film Festivals, but didn’t premiere at any film festival. It must mean Sony Pictures doesn’t have much faith in the film, or they are concerned about what has happened with recent studio films premiering at film festivals, as they didn’t premiere Caught Stealing either at Venice/Toronto Film Festivals.

Surely would like to be compared to It would also be comparable to 2004’s Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind opened £1,045,501/£1,855,822, taking £4,874,405/£8,652,340. As well as the 2000s, Being John Malkovich opened £296,282/£533,308 on 55 screens, taking £1,660,642/£2,989,156, and 2009’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button opened £2,213,495/£3,222,588, taking £8,962,672/£13,048,596.

Recent comparisons include 2025’s The Life of Chuck opened £486,294 #6 from 623 screens (including £173,284 previews), and 2025’s We Live In Time opened £2,843,516, taking £8,737,854

Instead, it makes me think of Danny Boyle’s 1997’s A Life Less Ordinary opened £795,206/£1,547,428, taking £3,376,442/£6,570,374; A Life Less Ordinary was Danny Boyle’s follow-up to 1996’s Trainspotting and had huge hype surrounding it ahead of its opening. Starring Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter, Delroy Lindo, Ian Holm and Dan Hedaya.

The other big question is how Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle will perform in its second weekend, while it has scored very high audience scores; these films are normally very front-loaded. After its strong opening weekend, exhibitors predictably have it holding in the same screens, but it could drop 60%+?

Coming Soon

• Tron: Ares – Disney

Sci-fi action sequel to 2010’s Tron Legacy starring Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Gillian Anderson, and Jeff Bridges and directed by Joachim

2010’s Tron Legacy opened £1,970,692/£2,623,173, taking £10,069,754/£13,403,773

Buzz has been soft for Tron: Ares as the marketing campaign has yet to start despite opening in less than three weeks’ time, as opening 15 years after Tron: Legacy, the campaign should be in full gear, or maybe Disney will include an extended IMAX promo with the re-release of Avatar: The Way of Water in two weeks. AS Tron: Ares is likely to take a large percentage of BO from IMAX/PLF, so trailers with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle have likely boosted its attention to a similar audience.

Current expectations are a $30m-$40m US opening, but that will likely increase close to its release date so open in the UK with £4m-£5m