- Venom: The Last Dance £4,299,477 – NE
Took £1.57m 36.52% Friday; £1.55m 36.17% Saturday; £1.17m 27.22% Sunday.
371st biggest opening between Mrs Brown’s Boys d’Movie and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (close to Pitch Perfect 3, Ghostbusters Afterlife, Godzilla (1998) and Mission: Impossible) and 556th biggest inflated opening between Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie and The Exorcist (1998 RE) (close to The Truman Show, The Others, Lethal Weapon 4 and Crocodile Dundee)
10th 2024 opening between It Ends with Us and Twisters (close to Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Bad Boys: Ride or Die and Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes)
69th biggest comic-book opening between Superman Returns and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (close to X-Men, Batman Forever, X-Men: Dark Phoenix and Fantastic Four (2005) and 84th biggest inflated comic=book opening between Ant-Man and X-Men: Dark Phoenix (close to Blade: Trinity, Superman III, Daredevil and Green Lantern)
2018’s Venom opened £8,031,342 #1 opened against Johnny English Strikes Again £4,117,692 and A Star is Born £4,100,196 also opened, taking £20,123,186
2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage opened £6,167,833 #2 597 screens (#1 No Time To Die 3rd week £8,404,165 and Halloween Kills #3 £1,598,062; Ron’s Gone Wrong #5 £868,053; The Last Duel #6 £325,523 also opening; taking £18,027,072.
In August 2018 Tom Hardy said he was signed to star in three Venom films with plans to make a crossover film with Spider-Man. Spider-Man had a cameo in Let There Be Carnage with footage from Spider-Man: No Way Home.
It was originally due to be released on 12th July 2024 delayed to November 8th and then to October 2025 due to the SAG strike; the first teaser trailer was released in June.
The first two films opened in a much more crowded marketplace. The Last Dance opens three weeks after Joker: Folie à Deux, not have the legs of the first film and family films Transformers One and The Wild Robot playing to younger audiences.
- 2 The Wild Robot £1,943,087 – £6,420,643
Dropped 40.3% (37% without previews) in its second weekend.
Took £514k 26.45% (-4.1% £536k) Friday; £778k 40% (-40.15% £1.3m) Saturday; £649k 33.4% (-47% £1.22m) Sunday.
480th biggest second weekend between Daddy’s Home 2 and American Hustle (close to Jungle Cruise, Terminator Salvation, The Nutty Professor and Chicago) and 815th biggest inflated second weekend between Birds of Prey and The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (close to 12 Monkeys, The First Wives Club, The Living Daylights and Cocktail)
88th biggest animated second weekend between Epic and Moana (close to Wall·E, Dinosaur, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Lilo & Stitch) and 118th biggest inflated animation between Flushed Away and The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (close to Rango, Coraline, Shaun The Sheep Movie and The Good Dinosaur).
22nd biggest Dreamworks Animation second weekend between Over The Hedge and How To Train Your Dragon 2 (close to Trolls Band Together, Kung Fu Panda 2, Antz and Rise Of The Guardians) and the 26th inflated second weekend between Flushed Away and How to Train Your Dragon (close to Puss in Boots, Turbo, Megamind and Bee Movie).
14th biggest 2024 biggest second weekend between Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire and Back to Black (close to Bad Boys: Ride or Die, If, A Quiet Place: Day One and Twisters).
The Wild Robot had the biggest second weekend for an original Dreamworks Animation film since 2017’s The Boss Baby £3,619,765 and 2016’s Trolls £3,256,912, but their second weekends were half-term, some schools had half-term last week, but most schools are off October 28th-1st November.
2022’s The Bad Guys dropped 50.85% #3 £1,120,106 and £4,851,614; had competition from the second weekend of Sonic The Hedgehog 2 #2 £2,903,034 and £10,643,083 and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore opening #1 £5,884,935; 2019’s Abominable #5 dropped 53.33% £999,351 and £3,716,273; had competition from Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil #2 opening £3,300,000 and Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon #3 £1,305,511; The Wild Robot only had Transformers One which has dropped off a lot since opening.
With Venom: The Last Dance likely to drop 60% in its second weekend The Wild Robot could return to #1 as with half-term it could increase by about 20% in its third weekend taking £2.5m after taking about £500k Mon-Thurs, so by next Sunday The Wil Robot could double its BO to about £13m.
1,155th biggest between Beethoven and The Guru (close to The Green Mile, Top Gun, Freaky Friday and Miracle on 34th Street) and 1,715th biggest inflated between Cyrano de Bergerac and The Bridges Of Madison County (close to Muppet Treasure Island, Ritchie Rich, The Waterboy and The Cable Guy).
- 3 Smile 2 £1,011,389 – £4,011,365
Down 49.4% (40% without previews) in the second weekend
Took £330k 32.64% (-38.78% £539k) Friday; £397k 39.3% (-41.4% £677k) Saturday; £283k 28% -64% £784k) Sunday.
1,075th biggest second weekend between While You Were Sleeping and 21 (close to Chronicle, The Equalizer 3, A Simple Favour and Alien3) and 1,640th biggest inflated second weekend between The House Bunny and Anna Karenina (close to The Wolfman, Super Mario Brothers (1993), Red Heat and Assassin’s Creed).
28th biggest 2024 second weekend between Civil War and Argylle (close to Furiosa, The Fall Guy, Speak No Evil and All Of Us Strangers)
63rd biggest horror second weekend between Insidious: The Last Key and The Exorcist: Believer (close to Mama, Evil Dead Rises, Scream VI and The Ring Two) and 99th biggest inflated horror second weekend between The Wolfman and The Exorcist: Believer (close to Jeepers Creepers 2, The Lawnmower Man, House on Haunted Hill and Paranormal Activity 4
2022’s Smile dropped 8% £1,715,678 #1 and £4,751,848 of £11,096,080; over a quiet weekend of new releases The Woman King #2 £1,308,685 and #5 £632,722 with female-targeted holdovers Don’t Worry Darling #3 £1,020,083 and Ticket To Paradise #4 £861,172, so over last weekend Smile 2 should have held far stronger.
Taking $83m worldwide to date it has performed stronger than many recent studio horrors including Tarot, The First Omen, Abigail, Imaginary, and Night Swim, so will surely be a Smile 3 in October 2026.
1,696th biggest between The Pacifier and The Legend of Zorro (close to Rocky IV, The Golden Child, Single White Female and Legends Of The Fall) and 2,249th biggest inflated between Match Point and Revolutionary Road (close to The Nice Guys, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Old School and Copland).
- 4 Transformers One – £377,581 – £3,403,511
Down 41% in the third weekend
£87k 23.08% Friday; £156k 41.38% Saturday; £132k 35.01% Sunday
1,437th biggest third weekend between The Help and Spy Game (close to Beverly Hills Cop III, Scary Movie 2, The Little Mermaid (1990) and Mermaids) and 1,599th biggest third weekend inflated between Haunted Mansion (2023) and Hanna (close to Snow Dogs, Working Girl, Clifford The Big Red Dog and Power Rangers (2017)
191st biggest animated second weekend between Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1992 RE) and Kubo and the Two Strings (close to Toy Story 2 (Digital 3-D), The Angry Birds Movie 2, Captain Underpants and Ice Age: Collision Course) and 207th biggest inflated animated second weekend between Kubo and the Two Strings and Ballerina (close to The Prince of Egypt, The Fox and the Hound (1988 RE), Captain Underpants and Planes 2: Fire & Rescue).
Despite receiving positive reviews Transformers One had a similar heavy second-weekend drop as many of the other Transformer’s films. While the original 1986 film was animated and played to younger audiences, the live-action films targeted tweens and teens who wouldn’t have been interested in seeing an animated film. Was Paramount hoping it would perform similarly to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Saying that tweens and teens did see Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Vers; 2018’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse opened £2,279,995 taking £10,040,340 and 2023’s Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse opened £9,159,823 taking £30,366,099. The sequel followed the hugely successful Spider-Man: No Way Home while Transformers One followed last year’s Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts. It might have been different had it followed 2018’s Bumblebee.
The question is where Paramount now goes with the Transformers franchise, they were hugely successful for the studio up to 2014 and the reboot should have happened then, but Chinese BO inflated its global box office.
Third weekends
2007’s Transformers dropped 41% #3 £1,385,910/£2,187,268 and £18,019,122 78.81% of £22,863,864/£36,084,158
2009’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen dropped 49% #3 £2,214,505/£3,244,413 and £20,785,050 78.32% of £26,539,878/£38,882,873
2011’s Transformers: Dark Of The Moon dropped 58% #2 £1,990,508/£2,617,879 and £23,954,570 85.97% of £27,862,654/£36,644,448
2014’s Transformers: Age Of Extinction dropped 55% #5 £803,063/£863,753 and £17,375,039 91.09% of £19,074,771/£20,516,319
2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight dropped 73% #4 £440,822/£469,072 and £8,961,918 93.94% of £9,540,299/£10,151,693
2018’s Bumblebee dropped 42% #5 £1,014,828/£1,120,246 and £10,708,890 83.92% of £12,760,693/£14,086,250
2023’s Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts dropped 34% #6 £789,228 and £6,290,055 77.52% of £8,114,370
1,870th biggest between The Host and Spy Kids: All the Time in the World 4D (close to Superman IV, The Karate Kid Part 2, Moonwalker and Free Willy 2) and 2,424th biggest inflated between Julie & Julia and Shooter (close to The Brady Bunch Movie, Short Circuit 2, Very Bad Things and Missing Link).
- 5 The Apprentice – £372,778 – £1,569,636
Down 50.2% (42% without previews) in its second weekend
Took £110k 29.5% (-39.6% £182k) Friday; £161k 43.2% (-34.8% £247k) Saturday; £101k 27.1% (-68.4% £320k) Sunday.
2,284th biggest second weekend between Downsizing and The Krays (close to Past Lives, The Wrestler, Woman in Gold and Van Wilder) and 2,746th biggest inflated opening between Goodfellas and The Color Purple (1986) (close to That Thing You Do!, A Mirror Has Two Faces, Space Cowboys and Grumpy Old Men).
The Apprentice film continued to generate a lot of media coverage over the last week ahead of the US Election next week and interest in the film has been stronger than in the US dropping heavily in its second weekend.
Also opened.
• The Room Next Door – Warner Bros
Opened £239,043 #8 from 233 screens.
It premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion and received positive reviews (95% Rotten Tomatoes).
Warner Bros acquired selected international rights including the UK in June, Sony Pictures Classics has US rights.
Pedro Almodóvar’s last film was in 2022’s Parallel Mothers opened £301,877 #6 from 186 screens taking £1,109,127.
Some of Pedro Almodóvar’s previous film openings
Pain & Glory opened £307,131 from 125 screens.
2016’s Julieta opened with £356,191
2011’s The Skin I Live In opened with £325,349
2006’s Volver opened with £433,283
2002’s Talk To Her opened with £174,757
- A Nightmare On Elm Street (40th Anniversary) – Warner Bros
Opened £117,454 #11 from 313 screens.
1987’s Nightmare on Elm Steet III opened £539,524/£1,987,456 taking £2,177,810/£8,022,444
1989’s Nightmare on Elm Steet 4 opened £504,930/£1,716,329 taking £1,931,565/£6,565,663
1990’s Nightmare on Elm Street 5 opened £187,663/£528,929 taking £662,327/£1,866,772
1992’s Freddy’s Dead The Final Nightmare opened £1,181,500/£2,915,103 taking £2,618,161/£6,459,762/
1995’s Wes Craven’s New Nightmare opened £345,526/£786,370 taking £754,925/£1,718,105
2010’s Nightmare On Elm Street opened £1,342,837/£1,787,440 taking £3,502,236/£4,661,800
- The Front Room – Universal Pictures
Opened £56,665 #15 from 259 screens.
Horror is directed by the Eggers Brothers based on the 2016 short story by Susan Hill.
Opened in the US in September by A24 receiving mixed reviews; opened $1.58m taking $2.91m
Their brother Robert Eggers previously directed.
2022’s The Northman opened £897,737 #4 528 screens taking £4,349,002
2016’s The Witch (opened #7 £447,626 from 179 screens taking £883,088)
2020’s The Lighthouse (opened #10 £384,284 from 83 screens) both received critical acclaim and had incredibly low budgets.
His next Nosferatu opens in the UK in January
UK box office in detail
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £9,176,580 up 4.7% from last weekend’s £8,766,339: 1,158,659 admissions up 5.5% from 1,098,059 admissions.
28th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 12 January 2024 #1 Wonka £2,227,606 (23.76%) and 05 April 2024 #1 Kung Fu Panda 4 £2,834,711 (30.93%)
96th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 206 weeks between 21 May 2021 #1 Peter Rabbit 2 £4,605,673 (49.27%) and 29 April 2022 #1 Downton Abbey: A New Era £3,072,762 (33.5%)
720th biggest top 10 of the last 22 years (out of 1,177) between 28 August 2009 #1 The Final Destination £3,633,395 (39.59%) and 29 April 2022 #1 Downton Abbey: A New Era £3,072,762 (33.5%)
The top 3 took (£7,253,953) 79.1% of the top 10; Venom: The Last Dance 46.85% (£4,299,477); The Wild Robot 21.17% (£1,943,087); Smile 2 11.02% (£1,011,389).
626th biggest admissions #1 (542,863) between 06 March 2009 #1 Watchmen (545,042) and 29 October 2004 #1 Shark Tale (542,358)
323rd biggest percentage share #1 (46.85%) between 16 August 2019 #1 Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (46.94%) and 04 June 2004 #1 Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban (46.84%)
Down 26.7% from 2023; (£12,520,974); Five Nights at Freddy’s (£5,379,587); Beetlejuice (35th Anniversary) (£98,845); #1 Five Nights at Freddy’s £5,379,587 1st week 607 screens (42.96% of top 10)
Down 8.1% 2022 (£9,985,348); Prey for The Devil (£859,717); Coldplay Music of the Spheres Live Broadcast from Buenos Aires (£859,717); Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets (20th Anniversary) (£454,250); Barbarian (£380,812); Triangle of Sadness (£308,950); Bros (£215,612); ParaNorman (10th Anniversary) (£39,184); Trick ‘R Treat (Re: 2022) (£24,116) #1 Black Adam £3,488,800 2nd week 38% drop (34.94% of top 10)
Down 37.8% 2021 (£14,743,119); Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (20th Anniversary) (£965,008); Last Night In Soho (£731,950); Antlers (£251,100); My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission (£218,956); Cliff Richard – The Great 80 Tour (£157,345); Blade (4K Restoration) (£20,342); #1 No Time to Die £3,514,308 5th week 4th split #1 (23.8% of top 10)
Up 603.8% 2020; (£1,303,830); Two By Two: Overboard! (£329,265); Honest Thief (£254,267); The Secret Garden (£154,087); Pixie (£116,517); All My Life (£50,489); Cinema Paradiso (30th Anniversary 4K Restoration) (£28,320); #1 Two By Two: Overboard! £329,265 1st week 339 screens (25.25% of top 10)
Down 35.3% 2019; (£14,176,042); Terminator: Dark Fate 19.5% (£2,864,941); The Addams Family (£2,117,740); Countdown (£390,873); Black And Blue (£25,840); #1 Joker £3,464,682 37% drop 4th weekend 657 screens
Down 55.1% 2018: (£20,418,070); Bohemian Rhapsody (£9,530,463); The Hate U Give (£911,309); La Fanciulla Del West – Met Opera 2018 (£186,621); Die Walkure – ROH, London 2018/19 (£185,066); Beetlejuice (30th Anniversary) (£33,825); #1 Bohemian Rhapsody £9,530,463 1st week 659 screens (46.6% of top 10)
Down 52.3% 2017: (£19,248,577); Thor: Ragnarok (£12,375,804); Jigsaw (£1,851,249); Breathe (£535,675); Call Me by Your Name (£235,760); The Shining (Re: 2017) (£1,448); #1 Thor: Ragnarok £12,375,804 1st week 611 screens (64.3% of the top 10)
Down 50.8% 2016: (£18,662,678); Doctor Strange (£9,288,898); Ethel & Ernest (£19,202); #1 Doctor Strange £9,288,898 1st week 602 screens (49.7% of the top 10)
Down 80.6% 2015; (£47,258,977); Spectre (£41,299,090); Tannhauser – Met Opera 2015 (£162,876); #1 Spectre £41,299,090 1st week 651 screens (87.4% of top 10)
Down 15.2% 2014: (£10,824,678); Fury (£2,692,786); The Book of Life (£981,432); Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (expansion) (£571,581); Love, Rosie (£482,535); The Babadook (£347,512); This Is Where I Leave You (£109,441); Serena (£95,109); #1 Fury £2,692,786 1st week 462 screens (24.8% of top 10)
Down 26.8% 2013: (£12,528,593); Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (£3,658,618); Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (£1,940,476); Ender’s Game (£1,158,548); One Chance (£717,857); The Selfish Giant (£81,737); Reef 2: High Tide (£26,910); Closed Circuit (£19,998); #1 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 £3,658,618 1st week 510 screens (29.2% of top 10)
Down 65.5% 2012: (£26,591,268); Skyfall (£20,180,369); #1 Skyfall £20,180,369 1st week 587 screens (75.9% of top 10)
Down 41.7% 2011; (£15,727,396); The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (£6,758,724); The Help (£896,597); The Ides Of March (£665,387); Anonymous (£183,194); Ghostbusters (Re: 2011) (£55,934); #1 The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn £6,758,724 1st week 512 screens (42.9% of top 10)
Down 25.2% 2010: (£12,266,017); Paranormal Activity 2 (£3,764,722); RED (£1,662,472); Legend of the Guardians (£737,444); Alpha and Omega (£643,425); Easy A (£277,975); Africa United (£177,827); Ramona and Beezus (£84,475); #1 Paranormal Activity 2 £3,764,722 1st week 389 screens (30.7% of top 10)
Down 12.2% 2009; (£10,454,829); Saw VI (£1,736,287); Fantastic Mr. Fox (£1,517,312); Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (£798,641); The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (£35,362); #1 Up £3,807,003 3rd week 549 screens 26% drop (31.1% of top 10)
Down 42% 2008; (£15,824,329); High School Musical 3 (£8,409,375); Saw V (£2,436,817); Ghost Town (£1,347,678); Incendiary (£18,964); #1 High School Musical 3 £8,409,375 1st week 493 screens (53.1% of top 10)
Down 14.4% 2007: (£10,717,468); Saw IV (£2,482,889); Eastern Promises (£623,491); Sicko (£156,173); #1 Ratatouille £3,589,762 3rd week up 19% 525 screens (33.5% of top 10)
Up 2.3% 2006; (£8,965,508); Saw III (£2,522,521); Step Up (£1,212,725); A Good Year (£376,962); #1 Saw III £2,522,521 1st week 373 screens (28.1% of top 10)
Down 30.2% 2005: (£13,142,985); Saw II (£2,189,212); The Legend of Zorro (£1,899,689); #1 Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit £3,593,266 3rd week 495 screens 23% drop (27.3% of top 10)
Up 21.5% 2004; £7,550,271); Finding Neverland (£776,124); Exorcist: The Beginning (577,128); House of the Dead (£107,045); Saved! (£80,772); #1 Shark Tale £2,435,188 3rd week 503 screens 24% drop (32.2% of top 10)
Up 0.1% 2003 (£9,161,054); The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (£1,357,534); In America (£284,259); In the Cut (£279,068); Alien – Director’s Cut (£208,081); #1 Finding Nemo £3,393,575 5th week 4th #1 501 screens 13% drop (37.1% of top 10)
Up 26.1% from 2002: (£7,277,320): Halloween Resurrection (£520,171); K-19 (£352,163); High Crimes (£208,727); Donnie Darko (£191,348); Simone (£147,372); Possession (£85,004); The Magdalene Sisters (£78,151); #1 XXX £2,044,850 2nd week 40% drop 435 screens (28.1% of top 10)
Up 15.8% from 2001 (£7,926,562); Legally Blonde (£1,453,148); The Man Who Wasn’t There (£419,609); #1 American Pie 2 £1,626,438 3rd week 417 screens 42% drop (20.5% of top 10).
2023 Next week: (£6,841,865); Bottoms (£226,585); How To Have Sex (£134,090); The Royal Hotel (£78,469); Dance First (£27,805); #1 Trolls Band Together £1,829,764 3rd week 2nd #1 split over 3 weeks 28% drop 667 screens (26.74% of top 10).
US Box Office
- Venom: The Last Dance – Sony Pictures
Opened $51.01m; received poor reviews (37% Rotten Tomatoes) and B- CinemaScore.
It was expected to open with $65m a few months ago it was expected to open closer to $100m.
Took $8.5m from Thursday previews; Venom: Let There Be Carnage $11.6m; Venom $10m; The Flash $9.7m; Doctor Strange $9.4m; Aquaman $9m; Black Adam $7.6m; Joker: Folie à Deux $7m.
283rd biggest opening between Prometheus and Wanted (close to I, Robot, Men in Black II, Jurassic Park III and Dunkirk.
40% came from IMAX/PLF
Has 715m social media followers across TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, less than Venom (754m) and more than Let There Be Carnage (417m).
2018’s Venom opened $80.25m taking $213.51m and $856.08m worldwide; received 30% Rotten Tomatoes and B+ CinemaScore.
2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage opened $90.03m taking $213.55m and $506.81m worldwide; 65% of Fridays BO came from IMAX/PLF; received 59% Rotten Tomatoes and B+.
2018’s Venom opened $205.2m worldwide from 58 territories including $125.2m internationally ahead of the $110m it was expected to open; IMAX took $15.4m from 726 screens in 60 territories with $7m internationally; S Korea $16.4m; Russia $13.6m; UK $10.5m; Mexico $10.2m; Australia $6.8m; Germany $5.7m; Brazil $5.1m.
2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage international opening was staggered due to No Time To Die and Dune opening $24.8m in 13 territories from 10,600+ screens; 15% less than Venom.
Opened with $124m from 64 territories; China $46m (14% IMAX); Mexico $7.3m; S. Korea $5.8m; UK $5.7m; India $4.7m; Germany $4.1m; Italy $3.4m; Australia $3.2m; Indonesia $2.7m; Spain $2.7m.
Took $16m worldwide from IMAX; $4.8m US; $5.3m international not China; China $6m.
Third biggest 2024 biggest international opening after Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine
- Smile 2 – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 59.2% in its second weekend $9.52m #2 and $40.82m.
Second weekend
2022’s Smile dropped 18% $18.54m #1 and $50.83m of $105.93m and $217.4m worldwide
Smile 2‘s social media across TikTok, X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube has 154.4m followers ahead of Saw X (134m) and The Nun II (149.8m).
The original film had a $17m with an extraordinarily strong marketing campaign which went viral, was originally made for Paramount+ but was given a theatrical release after high test scores and lack of Paramount releases for the last few months of the year.
Smile took $12.6m (down 42%) from 67 territories $43m total and $83.7m worldwide; UK $5.2m; France $4.5m; Germany $3.6m; Italy and Australia $2.4m..
- The Wild Robot – Universal Pictures
Dropped 33% in the fifth weekend $6.8m #3 and $111.67m.
334th biggest fifth weekend between Peter Rabbit and What Lies Beneath (close to Cinderella, Wreck-It Ralph, Dead Poets Society and Space Cowboys).
110th biggest animated film between Bolt and The Little Mermaid; 688th biggest between Spy Kids 3D: Game Over and Enemy of the State; 1,526th biggest inflated between Miracle and Volcano; 14th biggest 2024 between Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and IF; 105th biggest Universal Pictures between Twins and Glass.
Fifth weekends
Recent original Dreamworks Animations
2022’s The Bad Guys dropped 12.7% $6.14m #3 and $74.4m of $97.45m and $250.38m worldwide
2019’s Abominable dropped 40.6% $2.08m #10 and $56.9m of $60.71m and $188.62m worldwide
2017’s Captain Underpants dropped 74% $1.11m #15 and $69.26m of $73.92m and $125.42m WW
Dreamworks Animations have taken $6.45bn in the US and $17.3bn worldwide.
Took $17.6m (down 27%) from 79 territories $121m total and $233.1m worldwide; Mexico $16m; Australia $10.3m; UK $8.4m; France $8.2m; China $7.2m.
134th biggest animated worldwide between Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Encanto; 771st biggest worldwide between The Mask of Zorro and Gone in 60 Seconds; 20th biggest 2024 worldwide between The Garfield Movie and Joker: Folie à Deux; 107th biggest Universal Pictures worldwide between American Pie and American Wedding.
- We Live in Time – A24
Up 1,699% in its second weekend adding 980 screens taking $4.84m #5 and $11.76m
Two weeks ago, added 980 screens and increased BO by 1,712.5% on Friday added 1,983 screens increasing only 15%, as so many films it expanded far too wide far too quickly which will see it lose screens this Friday. After 2015’s Brooklyn had a slow expansion and would have surely expected a similar slow with We Live in Time.
John Crowley previously directed 2019’s The Goldfinch opened $2.67m taking $5.33m and $10.03m worldwide; 2015’s Brooklyn had a slower expansion opening in 5/23/111/845 screens after 4 weeks $3.94m taking $38.32m and $62.07m worldwide and 2013’s Closed Circuit opened $2.46m taking $5.75m. It is Andrew Garfield’s first film since 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Conclave – Focus Features
Opened $6.6m #4; received positive reviews (92% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore.
Took $500k from Thursday previews.
Directed by Edward Berger previously directed 2022’s All Quiet on the Western Front. Based on 2016’s Robert Harris novel.
Black Bear acquired UK rights in 2022 and Focus Features US rights in 2023; had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and the Telluride Film Festival. Opens in the UK at the end of November.
- Anora – Neon
Up 85% added 28 screens to 32 $908,830 #8 and $1.66m
Premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival winning the Palme d’Or, the first American film to do so since The Tree of Life in 2011. Had a 10-minute standing ovation receiving critical acclaim (98% Rotten Tomatoes). Also screened at the Toronto and London Film Festivals.
It’s currently the favourite to win Best Picture Oscar next year ahead of Emilia Perez, Conclave and The Brutalist. Next year’s Oscars are wide open compared to other years with fewer contenders. In the last 70 years has only been one film that won both the Palme d’Or and Best Picture: Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite.
Sean Baker’s previous films
2021’s Red Rocket opened $88,195 from 6 screens expanding to 377 screens after three weeks taking $1.02m and $2.31m worldwide.
2017’s The Florida Project opened $157,553 from 4 screens expanding to 229 screens after 6 weeks taking $5.9m and $10.95m worldwide
2015’s Tangerine opened $60,683 in 4 screens expanding to 44 screens after 5 weeks taking $702,354
It was acquired by Neon and became the fifth consecutive Palme d’Or winner distributed by Neon in the US after Parasite, Titane, Triangle of Sadness and Anatomy of a Fall.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
The calm before the storm, are several new releases but will any of them find a wide audience against holdovers?
Venom: The Last Dance is likely to drop about 60% similar to the last two films taking £1.5m-£1.8m
2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage dropped 60% £2,470,169 #3 607 screens and £11,193,195 of £18,027,072; Dune #1 £5,876,892; No Time To Die #2 £2,470,169; The Boss Baby 2 #4 £1,193,115
2018’s Venom dropped 63% £3,002,032 #2 554 screens and £13,729,817 of £20,123,186; A Star is Born #1 £3,083,089; Johnny English Strikes Again #3 £2,900,426; First Man #4 £2,415,330; Smallfoot #5 £2,324,189.
With half-term this week The Wild Robot will return #1 and will increase by 20%+ taking £2.2m-£2.5m taking similar BO Mon-Thurs and will have taken about £13m by Sunday.
The question is how the new releases will do, Hugh Grant has been generating strong media coverage for Heretic as has Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story with lots of powerful interviews by Christopher Reeve’s children.
Media coverage has been less for Small Things Like These starring Cillian Murphy. The film was financed by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity after Cillian Murphy met Matt Damon while working on Oppenheimer.
Warner Bros are dumping Juror #2 in the UK and not doing much with it in the UK despite it likely to be Clint Eastwood’s final film and making most of his films at Warner Bros. The film sees Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette reunite 22 years after starring together in About A Boy.
Clint Eastwood’s films have had mixed success in the UK; his last two films have struggled to find an audience 2019’s Richard Jewell opened £158,868 #19 119 screens; 2021’s Cry Macho opened £72,131 #15 341 screens while 2019’s The Mule opened £725,554 taking £1,421,554.
Anora premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival winning the Palme d’Or, the first American film to do so since The Tree of Life in 2011. Had a 10-minute standing ovation receiving critical acclaim (98% Rotten Tomatoes). Also screened at the Toronto and London Film Festivals.
Universal Pictures acquired international rights as they did with Sean Baker’s previous film 2022’s Red Rocket (opened £74,709 #12 168 screens; became the fifth consecutive Palme d’Or winner distributed by Neon in the US after Parasite, Titane, Triangle of Sadness and Anatomy of a Fall.
With last week being half-term could see Transformers One have a slight increase taking £400k but Smile will drop 40%+.
Opening in three weeks
- Wicked Part 1 – Universal Pictures
The first of a two-parter of the musical fantasy based on the stage musical, which was based on the 1995 novel based on the characters from L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Keala Settle, and Peter Dinklage and is directed by Jon M. Chu.
The first film covers the events from the musical’s first act; Wicked Part 2 is set for release on November 21st, 2025.
Has 2hr 40-minute running time rated PG
Universal Pictures has been developing a film adaption of the stage musical since 2012. Many directors were attached including Rob Marshall, James Mangold, and Ryan Murphy. In 2015 Universal Pictures announced Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) was directing the film with a December 20th, 2019, release date, but left in 2020 due to “scheduling conflicts”.
Cats was instead released on December 20th, 2019, while it underperformed Cats still opened £3,207,471 taking £11,987,192 as British audiences love their film musicals. After Cats and COVID-19 in 2020, Wicked was undated.
In 2021 Jon M. Chu was attached to direct (Crazy Rich Asians and In The Heights) and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were cast. Filming started in November 2022 one of the first films to be made at Sky Studios Elstree. Filming stopped in July 2023 due to SAG strike and restarted in January 2024.
The first trailer was released during the Super Bowl, the second was released in May and a LEGO version of the trailer was attached to Pharrell Williams’s Piece by Piece. On October 9th advance sales opened in the US recreating the poster of the stage musical which saw fans create “fan-edits” of the poster. Advance sales have been strong with some predicting it could open similar to Barbie in the US.
Wicked has its world premiere in Australia on November 3rd and its UK premiere on November 18th at the Royal Festival Hall.
In April 2024, the stage musical became the 10th longest-running stage show in London’s West End, seen by over 12 million people, having over 6,500 shows and generating over £2m in ticket sales since its premiere in 2006. Having over 7,500 shows on Broadway running over 20 years. It’s been seen worldwide by over 65 million in over 130 cities in 16 countries taking over $1bn worldwide.
Wicked opening is complicated opening three weeks after Paddington In Peru is likely to hold very strongly and the second weekend of Gladiator II is also likely to hold strongly, that said Wicked targets a different demographic than both of those films and will have long legs as other musicals have had in the UK.
Wicked will have the biggest musical opening in the UK topping Mamma Mia 2 (£9,735,930); Bohemian Rhapsody (£9,530,463) Wonka (£8,904,750); High School Musical 3 (£8,409,375/£12,888,984); Les Miserables (£8,127,991/£9,920,381); La La Land (£6,596,256) and Mamma Mia! (£6,594,058/£10,106,662).
But would look at comparisons more like Frozen 2 (£15,088,012); Fantastic Beasts (£15,333,146); The Lion King (£16,671,764); Barbie (£18,509,236) and Beauty and the Beast (£19,700,000) given the huge popularity of the stage show in the UK and the huge popularity of musicals in the UK.
This could see the weekend BO also having the third weekend of Paddington in Peru and the second weekend of Gladiator II the biggest weekend since Barbie opened in July 2023.
With Wicked playing in 700+ cinemas 1,000+ screens with Gladiator II and Paddington In Peru in similar amount of screens it will be interesting to see how many screens and the BO will be for films 4-10.