- Despicable Me 4 £1,244,979 – £44,561,247
Down 12.3% in its eighth weekend
Took £213k 17.12% (-46.08% £395k) Friday; £732k 58.84% (+21.39% £603k) Saturday; £299k 24.04% (-28.98% £421k) Sunday.
11th biggest eighth weekend between Avatar: The Way of Water and The King’s Speech (close to Paddington 2, Mamma Mia!, Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets and Wonka) and the 31st biggest inflated eighth weekend between The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day (close to Top Gun, The Bodyguard, Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves and Independence Day)
2nd biggest animated eighth weekend between Toy Story 4 and Frozen (close to Inside Out 2, Frozen 2, Despicable Me 2 and Incredibles 2) and 3rd biggest inflated between Frozen and Chicken Run (close to Incredibles, Toy Story 3, Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 2)
Eighth weekends
2022’s Minions: The Rise of Gru dropped 0% £753,073 #4 and £40,732,878 of £45,764,546; #1 Nope £1,147,639
2017’s Despicable Me 3 dropped 16% £633,634 #6 and £43,212,759 of £47,562,575: #1 The Hitman’s Bodyguard £1,982,951
2015’s Minions up 13% £581,573 #8 and £43,237,367 of £47,645,626: #1 Pixels£2,660,772
2013’s Despicable Me 2 dropped 17% £768,575 #10 and £42,676,372 of £47,436,199; #1 Kick-Ass 2 £2,482,187
2010’s Despicable Me dropped 30% £136,358 #8 and £19,586,224 of £19,670,786/£26,455,718 inflated: #1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1 £3,739,781
Despicable Me 4 was #1 for two weeks in July before Deadpool and Wolverine opened and is the second film this year to return to #1 after If in May.
As the last two National Cinema Days family films saw the smallest holds and biggest increases despite Despicable Me 4 being available to watch at home people opted to see it in the cinema again; in 2023 Barbie dropped 16%; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem +29%; Elemental +64% Haunted Mansion +4% and The Little Mermaid +219%; in 2022 Minions: The Rise Of Gru +84% £1,056,163 10th weekend #1; DC League Of Super-Pets +68% #2 6th weekend.
The fear exhibitors have that National Cinema Day audiences would drop off on Friday and Sunday due to National Cinema Day was evident over the weekend due to a lack of major new releases unlike last year with The Equalizer 3 £2,783,302 #1 taking £579k (20.8%) Friday; £819k (29.4%) Saturday and £562k (20.2%) Sunday.
The 14 Illumination Entertainment films have taken £490m (£530m inflated) since the first Despicable Me opened in 2010; upcoming Super Mario Bros 2 April 2026, Minions 3 June 2027 and Despicable Me 5 in July 2028.
12th biggest animated film between Minions The Rise of Gru and Toy Story 2 (close to Shrek 2, Minions, Toy Story 2 and Finding Dory) and the 29th biggest inflated animated between Finding Dory and Inside Out (close to Ice Age II, Toy Story, Shrek Forever After and Shark Tale).
67th biggest between The Inbetweeners Movie and Mary Poppins Returns (close to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Jungle Book, Mary Poppins Returns and The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe) and 157th biggest inflated between Paddington and Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (close to Crocodile Dundee II, Batman Forever, The Day After Tomorrow and 101 Dalmatians).
- 2. Deadpool & Wolverine – £1,226,818 – £54,665,575
Down 31% in its sixth weekend
Took £310k 25.29% (-35.68% £482k) Friday; £598k 48.78% (-16.25% £714k) Saturday; £318k 25.94% (-45.36% £582k) Sunday.
53rd biggest sixth weekend between Spectre and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (close to Incredibles, Despicable Me 2, Sherlock Holmes and Jurassic World) and the 128th inflated sixth weekend between The Silence of the Lambs and The Flintstones (close to There’s Something About Mary, Ghostbusters 2, Jumanji: The Next Level and True Lies).
5th biggest comic-book sixth weekend between Black Panther and Avengers Infinity War (close to Joker, The Dark Knight Rises, The Dark Knight and Captain Marvel) and 8th inflated MCU sixth weekend between The Dark Knight and Avengers Infinity War (close to The Mask, Men In Black, Batman and Spider-Man: The Movie)
3rd biggest MCU sixth weekend between Black Panther and Avengers Infinity War (close to Captain Marvel, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers Assemble and Spider-Man: Far From Home).
Sixth weekends
2016’s Deadpool dropped 46% £519,634 #7 404 screens and £36,755,497 of £37,616,432 (£40.45m inflation inflated); took 2.74x opening; #1 Kung Fu Panda 3 £1,740,695
2018’s Deadpool 2 dropped 48% £454,656 #4 460 screens and £31,525,696 of £32,501,893/£35.87m inflated; took 2.51x opening; #1 Ocean’s 8 £4,347,070
2018’s Black Panther dropped 31% £1,308,281 #3 497 screens and £44,892,064 85.67% of £52,399,681/£70,189,153 inflated
2016’s Suicide Squad dropped 38% £784,618 #5 454 screens and £32,460,925 of £33,191,023/£35.47m; took 2.95x of opening; #1 Sausage Party £2,690,156
2019’s Joker down 32% £1,668,466 #1 601 screens and £54,331,476; took 4.6x opening.
2012’s The Dark Knight Rises dropped 9% £1,378,717/£1,725,020 #4 398 screens and £52,534,102 93.41% of £56,424,320 (£70,153,943 inflated) 3.93x opening; #1 Brave £2,371,691
2008’s The Dark Knight dropped 38% £908,618/£1,392,632 #5 396 screens and £45,787,563 93.67% of £49,309,894 (£75,102,762 inflated) 4.41x opening; #1 Stepbrothers £1,681,492
2002’s Spider-Man dropped 26% £508,899/£945,437 #5 366 screens £26,266,787 95.41% of £33,458,286/£52,804,463 inflated: #1 Scooby-Doo £2,513,564
Deadpool & Wolverine couldn’t be compared to the first two films as it has received far more hype and media coverage than those films received and needed to be compared to other MCU films similar to MCUs.
34 MCUs have taken £1.136bn since 2008 and £1.325bn inflated.
40th biggest between Fantastic Beasts and Super Mario Bros (close to Casino Royale, Bohemian Rhapsody, Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Full Monty) and the 100th biggest inflated between The Lion King (1994) and Super Mario Bros (close to Back to the Future, Gladiator, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves).
6th biggest comic book between The Dark Knight Rises and Marvel Avengers Assemble (close to Avengers: Infinity War, Joker, The Dark Knight and Avengers Age of Ultron) and the 13th biggest inflated between Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man (close to The Dark Knight, Men In Black, Batman Forever and Iron Man 3).
The upcoming MCU includes a new Daredevil TV series, 20th Century Fox made the 2003 film, it was then remade for Netflix as a TV series and Marvel is bringing it back as a TV series titled Born Again. Footage received rave reactions for Captain America: Brave New World at D23 but the film has had extensive reshoots and has been delayed from May 2024 to February 2025.
Thunderbolts is the only new Marvel film on their slate, but it’s another group of anti-heroes seen before Guardians of the Galaxy and Suicide Squad many times. The Fantastic Four: The First Steps, the third version of The Fantastic Four in 20 years. Another reboot Blade starring Mahershala Ali has seen several directors leave the film. Wesley Snipes returned to play Blade in Deadpool and Wolverine saying, “There will only ever be one Blade” Then there are the next Avengers films titled Doomsday in 2026 and The Secret Wars in 2027, with the thousands of characters in Marvel comics they are again going the easiest route with their upcoming slate.
- 3. It Ends With Us £1,142,288 – £18,639,856
Down 38.2% in its fourth weekend
Took £360k 31.52% (-42.12% £622k) Friday; £473k 41.42% (-30.03% £783k) Saturday; £309k 27.06% (-43.72% £549k) Sunday.
273rd biggest fourth weekend between Billy Elliot and Two Weeks’ Notice (close to The Lion King (1994), Ghost, Evita and Forrest Gump) and 505th biggest inflated fourth weekend between Lethal Weapon 3 and Superman Returns (close to Father of the Bride, Brokeback Mountain, Maverick and Trainspotting).
Some complained It Ends With Us glamourises domestic violence in response the director Justin Baldoni wrote a letter to survivors of domestic violence titled Dear Survivor, “You embody resilience and courage, qualities that shine bright even on the darkest days, ”.. “In the tapestry of your life, each thread tells a story of endurance, strength, and hope. Every step forward you take, no matter how small, is a declaration of your unyielding spirit and an inspiration to others. ”.. “You may not always see the impact you have, but your journey encourages and motivates, lighting the path for those of us still searching for the light. While I can never fully understand your pain and all you have endured, I want you to know that you are never alone in this fight. We are with you. ”.. “You are not just surviving; you are thriving, and in your thriving, you inspire us all. May your journey forward be filled with moments of profound peace. And may you remember that as you fight for joy…you are liberating us all. Sending you gratitude, strength, and love. 💜”
After It Ends With Us has now taken $285m worldwide (overtaking the global box office of Anyone But You $220m) Sony Picture would be hoping to announce plans for the sequel but it’s complicated due to the fallout between Blake Lively Justin Baldoni as Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios acquired rights to Colleen Hoover sequel It Starts With Us. Baldoni’s character Ryle has a smaller role in the sequel. Blake Lively could direct the sequel.
As with many book-to-film adaptions, there were many changes as the book acknowledges the violence from the start but in the film Lily believes at the start they were accidental. Ellen DeGeneres featured heavily in the book with a young Lily watching Ellen and Finding Nemo giving her daughter’s middle name Dory. While at the end in the hospital, Lily tells her daughter, “It ends with us”. This was originally removed from the script as the screenwriter thought it was too corny to say instead “It stops here, between you and me” but after fans were given the chance to read the script they wanted the line to return.
The trailer was viewed 128.1m in the first 24 Hours becoming the biggest recent it’s for female-led films Wicked 112.9m views; Barbie 101.6m; Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour 96.2m; Mean Girls 79.3m; Challengers 75m; The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 61.6m and its had many more views playing with many summer films.
The first trailer for Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy was released exclusively in cinemas with It Ends With Us.
As with 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling there were claims of tensions between the director Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively during postproduction with two cuts of the film the director’s cut and a second cut Blake Lively requested which became the released version, despite the original version testing better. It was reported Ryan Reynolds wrote a key rooftop scene at the start of the film. Blake Lively said “We help each other. He works on everything I do. I work on everything he does. So, his wins, his celebrations are mine and mine are his.”
Fourth weekends
Films about abusive relationships include.
2013’s Safe Haven took £2,076,306/£2,518,276 inflated
1991’s Sleeping With the Enemy dropped 36.8% £541,875/£1,425,328 and £6,018,773 65.2% of £9,230,825/£24,128,097 inflated.
Blake Lively recent films include.
2015’s The Age of Adaline took £1,084,834 and 2018’s A Simple Favor took £4,930,383
Other comparisons include.
2014’s The Fault in Our Stars dropped 42% £558,626 #4 and £9,887,813 of £11,006,752.
2022’s Where The Crawdads Sing dropped 49% £256,397 #9 and £6,131,681 of £8,115,231.
2022’s Don’t Worry Darling dropped 40% £610,841 #5 and £9,353,046 of £9,995,806
331st biggest between Saving Private Ryan and The Secret Life of Pets 2 (close to Maleficent, Little Fockers, War Horse and Billy Elliot) and 609th biggest inflated between Puss in Boots and Mad Max: Fury Road (close to My Girl, As Good As It Gets, Aliens and Sleepy Hollow).
- 4 Alien: Romulus £1,079,488 – £10,820,834
Took £294k 27.2% (-50.2% £593k) Friday; £462k 43% (-41% £783k) Saturday; £323k 29.94% (-49.9% £645k) Sunday.
Down 46.6% in its third weekend
573rd biggest third weekend between Paranorman and Fast X (close to Get Out, The Gentlemen, The Suicide Squad and Ghostbusters: Afterlife) and 884th inflated between Cheaper By The Dozen and Cars 3 (close to Cocktail, Big, LA Confidential and Top Gun).
Alien: Romulus was originally developed to be released straight to Disney+ as the Predator prequel Prey released in 2022 and received positive reviews. Predator: Badlands has just started production directed by Dan Trachtenberg it is not yet known if it will be given a theatrical release or go to Disney+ but after the impressive performance of both Prey on Disney+ and Alien: Romulus it’s likely to be given a theatrical release in August 2025.
Fede Álvarez previously directed 2013’s Evil Dead took £3,355,676, 2016’s Don’t Breathe took £3,719,221)
1979’s Alien was the 5th biggest film of the year after Moonraker, Superman 2, Jaws and Every Which Way But Loose; Alien and Aliens had a long-exclusive run at the Odeon Leicester Square all others opened wide.
1997’s Alien Resurrection took £7,232,926/£14.074m inflated
Third weekends
1986’s Aliens dropped 27.4% £325,841/£1,381,358 and £2,917,579 67.88% of £4,298,142/£18,107,066 inflated
1992’s Alien3 dropped 41.3% £567,670/£1,409,449 and £4,932,637 75.63% of £6,522,262/£16,092,310 inflated
2012’s Prometheus dropped 36% £2,009,955/£2,514,810 #1 522 screens and £19,452,845 78.68% of £24,628,830/£30,621,716
2017’s Alien: Covenant dropped 66% £725,145/£771,616 #4 536 screens and £11,629,455 89.95% of £12,913,468 (£13,654,829 inflated); #1 Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge £5,238,049
649th biggest between London Has Fallen and Bullet Train (close to Batman Returns, Sweeney Todd, Moonraker and Back to the Future Part II) and 1,082nd biggest inflated between The Thomas Crown Affair and Ted 2 (close to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Witches of Eastwick, Working Girl and Flatliners (1990).
- 5 Andre Rieu’s 2024 Maastricht Concert – £629,652 – NE
Took £273k Saturday 43.4% and £356k Sunday 56.6%
It has been 13 years since the first Andre Rieu: Maastricht Concert was released and has taken over £20m since; they grew in popularity from 2014 to 2019, but post-COVID haven’t had similar success.
Andre Rieu was playing on 649 screens including many of the cinemas that were part of National Cinema Day, but prices were full price Event Cinema about £19. Why have audiences not returned in the same number they did before COVID-19 is it that they realise these concerts are quite similar to previous years and older concerts are available to watch on Sky Arts regularly?
2014’s André Rieu: Maastricht Concert £830,586,
2015’s Andre Rieu: Maastricht Concert £1,107,000.
2016’s Andre Rieu: Maastricht Concert £1,414,075.
2017’s Andre Rieu: Maastricht Concert £1,439,604.
2018’s André Rieu’s Maastricht Concert Amore £1,783,222.
Andre Rieu 2019 Maastricht Concert – Shall We Dance? £1,492,154 #4 587 screens.
2020’s Andre Rieu: Magical Maastricht: Together In Music (September) £124,101 #4 403 screens.
2021’s Andre Rieu: Summer Concert: Together Again (August) £420,056 #4 551 screens.
2022’s Andre Rieu: Maastricht Summer Concert opened #1 £798,706
2023 Andre Rieu: Maastricht Concert: Love Is All Around #5 £710,326
Also opened.
- Afraid – Sony Pictures
Opened £216,620 from 413 screens.
Was directed by Chris Weitz previously directed 2001’s Down To Earth; 2002’s About A Boy; 2007’s The Golden Compass; 2009’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon and 2018’s Operation Finale, but best known for co-directing American Pie in 1999 with his brother Paul.
The third Blumhouse Productions horror was released this year after Night Swim opened £590,691 taking £1,294,132 and Imaginary opened £652,808 taking £1,730,394.
The next Blumhouse Productions film Speak No Evil opens in two weeks; in 2025 Wolf Man, The Woman in the Yard, M3GAN 2.0, The Black Phone 2 and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.
- The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Sony Pictures
Opened £129,875 #14 from 409 screens taking £24,211,586.
2002’s Spider-Man opened £253,261 #7 586 screens
2004’s Spider-Man 2 opened £208,243 #10 449 screens
2007’s Spider-Man 3 opened £156,781 #11 428 screens
2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man opened £146,633 #14 404 screens
——
Coraline (15th Anniversary) – Trafalgar
Dropped 33% in third weekend £267,647 #9 358 screens taking £3,023,256; has overtaken the box office taken for re-release of Titanic (£2.4m) and Avatar (£2.6m).
In 2009 Coraline opened £2,427,244 from 392 screens taking £7,244,992
Twisters – Warner Bros
Up 4% in the seventh weekend £293,702 #8 469 screens taking £14,149,637; it returned to 4DX cinemas for a final week. Twisters didn’t perform as strongly internationally as the first film. Was surprised critics said it was better than the original maybe it was the end scene in the cinema with the audience experiencing 4DX for real.
1996’s Twister opened £3,044,033/£6,515,876 inflated from 400 screens taking £15,004,691/£32,118,149 inflated.
Many other films returned to cinemas for NCD including Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone £15,697 from 98 screens; Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban £4,860 from 11 screens; Wonka £3,552 from 6 screens; Barbie £1,506 from 2 screens and The Batman £1,268 from 6 screens.
The Terminator (4K Restoration – 40th Anniversary) – Park Circus £97,668 #17 from 177 screens
The Lego Batman Movie (Re: 2024) – Park Circus £11,407 #44 from 111 screens
National Cinema Day
Admissions for National Cinema Day were 1m down a third from last year’s 1.56m admissions; total box office for Saturday was £4m 13% down from 2023’s £4.7m and 2022’s took £4.4m with 1.46m admissions. But there were over 200 cinemas that weren’t part of National Cinema Day and 649 screens on Saturday showed Andre Rieu’s 2024 Maastricht Concert tickets were about £19.
What does the industry expect from NCD when you hold it on historically one of the worst weekends for cinema in the year, only announce it 5 days before and don’t give the public much choice?
It’s similar to the much-heralded Love Cinema campaign it played to existing cinemagoers doesn’t attract the 30% who have come back occasionally since COVID to see Bond, Maverick, Barbie, Oppenheimer and Wonka.
Is this the best cinema industry can come up with all the creative talent it has? Makes me think of Harry Stamper in Armageddon ‘this is the best that you c – that the government, the *U.S. government* can come up with. I mean, you-you’re NASA for cryin’ out loud, you put a man on the moon, you’re geniuses! You-you’re the guys that think this shit up!’
I was going to say it dates back to how the industry dealt with COVID but goes back to 2003 after 17 years of steady growth admissions dropped 8.7m from 2002, nothing changed, and admissions dropped further in 2005 and 2006. There was so much positivity about cinema in the 90s with admissions expected to top 200m in the 00s. At the Screen International conference in the late 80s long-term were 350m+ admissions.
National Cinema Day only works if there are films out that audiences want to see, distributors won’t open anything big over National Cinema Day as exhibitors are the big winners as the lower price means more food and drink is sold.
Last year The Equalizer 3 opened £2,783,302 taking £819k on National Cinema Day. In 1997 Pathe felt they lost £1m+ from The Fifth Element opening over NCD opened with £1,510,073 (£2,957,072 inflated) increasing BO by 14% in its second weekend £1,720,531, took £7,088,854 (£13,881,613 inflated).
2023’s NCD took £4.65m from 713 cinemas 66% of 1,087 cinemas in the UK and Ireland with 1.56m admissions, there were 34% of cinemas not part of NCD including Everyman cinemas. This year’s advert said all tickets from £4 as last year from £3 as only Cineworld of the major exhibitors charged £3 all others had surcharges, Picturehouse £3.70, Vue £3.90, Odeon, Curzon and Showcase £4. That difference in pricing makes a significant difference at £3.90.
The first in 1995 was to celebrate 100 years of cinema all tickets £1 with 1.1m admissions, this was more than 2.5 times the normal Sunday audience of 400k. Over 150 films were shown, which included new releases, classics and previews, and were similarly successful a year later.
National Cinema Day is hugely popular so why did it take 24 years for it to return to the UK the 1996/97 NCDs were hugely popular in 1996 all tickets £1 (no booking fees) had 1.4m admissions and 2.5x normal Sunday admissions.
In 1998 McDonald’s was a sponsor and tickets were half-price, Daniel Battsek, chairman of the All-Industries Marketing Committee for Cinema, said: “National Cinema Day is fast becoming an institution. On NCD 1998 we are toasting the success of British Cinema and its continued development.” The cinema market is expected to continue to grow over the next five years, with admissions expected to increase to 185m by 2002. While admissions didn’t get to 185m by 2002 still grew steadily up to 36.3m. Had NCD continued beyond 1998 200m+ would have happened within a decade.
31 years ago, Jurassic Park was the catalyst that saw UK admissions increase from 103.6m to 114.4m and the industry believed this would see admissions continue to grow steadily for the rest of the decade to top 200m by 2000, while they didn’t get to 200m they did increase steadily each year, until they stopped in 2002.
My question has always been why the industry didn’t do anything in the years that followed after 17 years of steady growth surely after 5 years of no admission growth industry should have said we needed to do something. While admissions were flat BO was still steadily increasing as exhibitors saw an easier way to increase BO was just to increase ticket prices and they have done that ever since.
In 2022 all tickets were £3 having 1.4m admissions, It was the first National Cinema Day since 1998. The first weekend of September 2022 was one of the lowest of the year with the only new releases E.T. (40th Anniversary) £438,715; Three Thousand Years Of Longing £307,176 and The Forgiven £182,772. But this year will have The Equalizer 3, Sound Of Freedom and Cobweb.
The first in 1995 was to celebrate 100 years of cinema all tickets £1 with 1.1m admissions, this was more than 2.5 times the normal Sunday audience of 400k. Over 150 films were shown, which included new releases, classics and previews, and were similarly successful a year later.
National Cinema Day is hugely popular so why did it take 24 years for it to return to the UK the 1996/97 NCDs were hugely popular in 1996 all tickets £1 (no booking fees) had 1.4m admissions and 2.5x normal Sunday admissions.
Industry heralds the success of National Cinema Day but without new films audiences want to see it’s not attracting new cinemagoers; it’s just giving people the chance to see a summer film again.
UK box office in detail
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £7,236,745 down 31.4% from last weekend’s £10,544,299: 870,209 admissions down 34.6% from 1,331,351 admissions.
42nd biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 09 February 2024 #1 Migration £2,468,390 (33.93%) and 17 May 2024 #1 IF £2,435,054 (35.05%)
137th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 198 weeks between 09 February 2024 #1 Migration £2,468,390 (33.93%) and 17 May 2024 #1 IF £2,435,054 (35.05%)
922nd biggest top 10 of the last 22 years (out of 1,169) between 13 September 2002 #1 Signs £3,767,713 (51.96%) and 03 May 2002 #1 About A Boy £2,239,288 (30.94%) and 1,085th inflated between 19 September 2014 #1 The Boxtrolls £1,333,137 (21.82%) and 21 March 2014 #1 The Grand Budapest Hotel £1,267,408 (20.78%)
The top 3 took (E3,614,085) 49.9% of the top 10; Despicable Me 4 17.2% (£1,244,979); Deadpool & Wolverine 16.95% (£1,226,818); It Ends With Us 15.78% (£1,142,288)
Year to date BO is 13% down from 2023. While September looks soft October has Joker: Folie à Deux and then November sees the release of Paddington in Peru, Gladiator 2, Wicked and Moana 2 far stronger than last year.
1,131st highest #1 percentage (17.2%) between 24 February 2006 #1 Date Movie (17.31%) and 20 October 2006 #1 The Departed (17.16%)
1,135th biggest admissions #1 (157,194) between 27 April 2007 #1 Next (157,428) and 24 December 2004 #1 The Polar Express (153,421)
Up 20.3% from 2023; (£9,073,887); The Equalizer 3 (£2,783,302); Sound Of Freedom (£760,060); Cobweb (£325,904); Jurassic Park (30th Anniversary) (£283,297); #1 The Equalizer 3 £2,783,302 1st week (30.67% of top 10)
Up 29.1% 2022 (£5,607,200); Spider-Man: No Way Home (Extended) £469,309; E.T. (40th Anniversary) (£438,715); Three Thousand Years Of Longing (£307,176); The Forgiven (£182,772); Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan – Director’s Cut 4K (40th Anniversary) (£96,105); #1 Minions: The Rise Of Gru #1 £1,056,163 up 84% 3rd weekend #1 over 10 weeks (National Cinema Day) (23.23% of top 10)
Down 19.9% 2021 (£9,037,234) Shangi-Chi (£5,759,504); Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins (£122,898); Annette (£86,670); Here Today (£28,577); #1 Shangi-Chi £5,759,504 640 screens 1st week (63.7% of top 10)
Up 18.6% 2020; (£6,099,807); Tenet (£5,335,654); Hope Gap (£72,769); Bring The Soul: The Movie (£39,085); #1 Tenet £5,335,654 611 screens 1st week (85.7% of top 10)
Down 3.5% 2019; (£7,501,395); The Informer £301,424; #1 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood £1,841,873 3rd week 9% drop 697 screens (24.5% of the top 10)
Down 8.1% 2018: (£7,876,859); Searching (£765,050); The Happytime Murders (£694,044); Yardie (£438,088); Cold War (£228,780); Upgrade (£58,006); Action Point (£33,993); #1 Disney’s Christopher Robin £1,173,235 3rd week 646 screens (14.9% of top 10)
Up 16.8% 2017: (£6,193,484); The Limehouse Golem (£371,412); God’s Own Country (£167,824); Patti Cake$ (£121,446); Inhumans (£80,176); #1 American Made £968,068 2nd week 556 screens 9% drop (15.6% of the top 10)
Down 34.3% 2016: (£11,014,615); Sausage Party (£2,690,156); Brotherhood (£1,979,309); Cafe Society (£494,457); Morgan (£193,686); Equity (£12,923); #1 Sausage Party £2,690,156 1st week 525 screens (24.4% of the top 10)
Up 34.2% 2015; (£5,392,011); No Escape (£637,630); Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (£431,726); The Transporter Refuelled (£352,278); American Ultra (£347,401); Ricki and the Flash (£220,032); Dope (£39,787); #1 Straight Outta Compton £1,366,741 2nd week 456 screens (25.3% of top 10)
Up 6.3% 2014: (£6,808,576); Sex Tape (£1,431,058); Before I Go to Sleep (£790,271); The Hundred-foot Journey (£694,875); The Guest (£313,003); They Came Together (£21,951); Island of Lemurs: Madagascar (£3,341); #1 Sex Tape £1,431,058 1st week 440 screens (21.1% of top 10)
Down 26.7% 2013: (£9,874,123); One Direction: This Is Us (£3,471,872); Pain & Gain (£1,016,136); The Way, Way Back (£532,487); You’re Next (£523,549); Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain (£36,882); #1 One Direction: This Is Us £3,471,872 1st week 476 screens (35.1% of top 10)
Down 33.1% 2012 (£10,812,241); Total Recall (£2,493,230); The Watch (£2,235,933); The Possession (£979,192); A Few Best Men (£263,770); Thomas & Friends: Blue Mountain Mystery (£108,503); Berberian Sound Studio (£45,516); Cockneys vs. Zombies (£11,474); Rec 3 (£1,263); #1 Total Recall £2,493,230 1st week 464 screens (23.1% of top 10)
Down 16.1% 2011; (£8,618,765); Friends with Benefits (£1,947,272); Jane Eyre (£1,012,111); Colombiana (£424,049); Troll Hunter (£200,607); #1 The Inbetweeners Movie £3,679,555 3rd week 475 screens 42% drop (24.9% of top 10)
Down 0.2% 2010: (£7,227,858); The Last Exorcism (£1,104,856); Dinner for Schmucks (£940,586); The Switch (£666,018); Jonah Hex (£36,456); #1 The Last Exorcism £1,104,856 1st week 313 screens (15.3% of top 10)
Down 16.9% 2009; (£8,704,321); District 9 (£2,288,378); 500 Days of Summer (£1,242,631); #1 District 9 £2,288,378 1st week 447 screens (26.3% of top 10)
Down 18.1% 2008; (£8,832,337); Stepbrothers (£1,681,492); The Strangers (£1,250,624); Babylon A.D. (£536,968); #1 Stepbrothers £1,681,492 1st week 362 screens (19.04% of top 10)
Down 6.4% 2007: :(£7,728,093); 1408 (£1,073,963); No Reservations (£512,657); Death Sentence (£260,733); Breach (£156,140); Hallam Foe (£132,972); Two Days in Paris (£110,284); Year of the Dog (£5,733); #1 The Bourne Ultimatum £2,232,971 3rd week 468 screens 22% drop (28.9% of top 10)
Up 22.5% 2006; (£5,908,103); Little Man (£1,090,761); The Wicker Man (£736,316); The Sentinel (£627,838); Crank (£450,141); Adrift (£337,718); #1 You, Me and Depree £1,165,610 2nd week 412 screens 29% drop (19.7% of top 10)
Up 19% 2005: (£6,082,782); The 40-Year-Old Virgin (£1,757,540); Red Eye (£891,582); The Business (£531,267); On a Clear Day (£58,257); #1 The 40-Year-Old Virgin £1,757,540 1st week 394 screens (28.9% of top 10)
Up 13.2% 2004; (£6,394,789); The Terminal (£1,451,168); Hellboy (£1,058,375); Stage Beauty (£128,035); #1 The Terminal £1,451,168 1st week 436 screens (22.7% of top 10)
Up 38.1% 2003 (£5,237,796); Blackball (£376,233); Camp (£245,183); #1 The Pirates of the Caribbean 5th week (3rd #1 over 5 weeks) £1,542,745 456 screens 24% drop (29.4% of top 10)
Down 16.1% from 2002: (£6,235,380); Insomnia (£1,159,754); The Sweetest Thing (£592,722); Windtalkers (£388,212); #1 Insomnia £1,159,754 1st week 264 screens (18.6% of top 10)
Up 13.5% from 2001 (£6,378,036); A Knight’s Tale (£1,678,264); Angel Eyes (£162,648); What’s Cooking (£45,445); #1 A Knight’s Tale £1,678,264 1st week 377 screens (26.3% of top 10).
2023 Next week: (£6,660,831); The Nun 2 (£1,743,903); Jawan (£1,346,689); Past Lives (£515,509); My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (£411,191); School Of Rock (20th Anniversary) (£16,300); #1 The Nun 2 £1,743,903 1st week 561 screens (26.18%)
US Box Office
- Deadpool and Wolverine – Disney
Down 16% in its sixth weekend $15.46m #1 and $599.81m
16th biggest sixth weekend between Toy Story and Barbie (close to The Sixth Sense, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Spider-Man: No Way Home).
16th biggest between Incredibles 2 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie; 55th biggest inflated between Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; 2nd biggest 2024 between Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 4; 6th biggest comic-book between The Avengers and The Dark Knight; 9th biggest Disney between Incredibles 2 and The Lion King.
Took $84m worldwide from IMAX; $44.2m US; internationally $39.8m
EntTelligence ticket pricing standard $15.06; Premium average $18.38
Sixth weekends
2018’s Deadpool 2 dropped 39.3% $5.27m #5 and $304.17m of $324.59m/$384.1m inflated and $785.89m/$929.96m worldwide inflated
2016’s Deadpool dropped 26.8% $8.01m #5 and $340.95m of $363.07m/$452.5m inflated and $782.83m/$975.6m worldwide inflated
The 34 films have taken $12.34bn in the US and $30.85bn worldwide.
Deadpool & Wolverine has 1.21 billion posts across TikTok, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram combined compared to Spider-Man: No Way Home (1.2bn), Thor: Love & Thunder (963m) and Black Panther (900m). Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War 2.47bn.
Took $14.9m from 55 territories $658.4m total and $1.262bn worldwide; UK $66.6m; China $58.7m; Mexico $42.4m; Australia $38.7m; Germany $33.1m; France $31.7m; Brazil $25.6m; Spain $23.3m; India $18.7m; Italy $18.4m.
24th biggest worldwide between Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Incredibles 2; the 7th biggest comic book between Black Panther and Iron Man 3; the 13th biggest Disney between Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Incredibles 2.
- Alien: Romulus – Disney
Dropped 44% in the third weekend $9.24m #2 and $88.68m
Took $37.2m worldwide from IMAX; US $13.1m; International $24.1m
778th biggest third weekend between Hairspray and Sleeping with the Enemy (close to Die Hard with a Vengeance, Cape Fear, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Inside Man)
924th biggest between Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde and The Scorpion King; 1,888th biggest inflated between Burn After Reading and Airplane II: The Sequel; 17th biggest 2024 between The Garfield Movie and Longlegs; 120th biggest sci-fi between Star Trek: First Contact and Space Cowboys; 36th biggest horror between The Haunting and The Black Phone.
Took $37.2m from IMAX worldwide.
EntTelligence reported Alien: Romulus’s average price $15.40.
The first trailer released in March was seen over 50m times in its first 24 hours.
Third weekends
2017’s Alien: Covenant dropped 61.2% $4.12m #6 and $67.34m of $74.26m and $240.89m worldwide; took 69.2% internationally
2012’s Prometheus dropped 52.2% $9.9m #4 and $108.45m of $126.47m/$171.3m inflated and $403.35m worldwide; 68.6% internationally
1997’s Alien Resurrection dropped 51.1% $3.25m #7 and $41.5m of $47.79m/$112.2m inflated and $161.37m worldwide; 70.4% internationally
1992’s Alien³ dropped 52.1% $8.36m #3 and $35.2m of $55.47m/$144.1m inflated and $159.81m worldwide; 65.3|% internationally
1986’s Aliens dropped 18.3% $7.06m #1 and $37.31m of $85.16m/$248m inflated and $131.06m internationally; 35% internationally
1979’s Alien up 21.8% $2.66m #1 and $11.05m of $84.2m and $108.59m worldwide; 22.5% internationally
The unreleased films made by 20th Century Fox released by Disney apart from Avatar: The Way of Water and Free Guy predictably underwhelmed at the box office, The Call of the Wild, The New Mutants, The Last Duel and The King’s Man as they were films Disney had no interest. Over the last 5 years 20th Century Studios has made mostly low-budget horrors, remakes and sequels apart from those made by Regency (The Creator and Amsterdam).
This year 20th Century Studios has released The First Omen, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Deadpool & Wolverine and Alien: Romulus all properties 20th Century Fox had success with originally. Upcoming films The Amateur (delayed 6 months from November 2024 to April 2025) and three more Avatar sequels. It’s easy to make a success from existing properties as Disney has done for the last decade, but 20th Century Fox also had huge success from original films including Bohemian Rhapsody, The Greatest Showman and The Fault in Our Stars but Disney has no interest in making this kind of films despite there being an audience who wants to see them.
Took $22.6m from x territories $194.7m total and $285.79m worldwide: China $73.3m; UK $10.7m; S. Korea $9.7m; France $7m; Mexico $5.6m; Spain $4.7m; Australia $4.2m; Germany $3.8m; Hong Kong $2.4m; Italy $2.3m.
603rd biggest between Lethal Weapon 4 and Wedding Crashers; 14th biggest 2024 between Twisters and It Ends With Us; 112th biggest Sci-fi between Elysium and John Carter; 15th biggest horror between Resident Evil: Afterlife and Split.
- It Ends With Us – Sony Pictures
Dropped 36% in the fourth weekend $7.41m #5 and $133.7m
597th biggest fourth weekend between John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Safe House (close to The Big Sick, Les Misérables, The Devil Wears Prada and Sleepless in Seattle)
501st biggest between Argo and Anger Management; 1,181st biggest inflated between Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Scary Movie 2; 102nd biggest based on fiction book between 101 Dalmatians and Live Free or Die Hard; 11th biggest 2024 between A Quiet Place: Day One and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire; 43rd biggest drama between The Godfather and Wonder; 56th biggest Sony Pictures between Godzilla and Anger Management.
In June Sony Pictures screened a rough cut at Colleen Hoover’s Book Bonanza in Dallas, they screened the Blake Lovely cut of the film rather than the director’s version. Sony said “Blake, Colleen and so many women put so much effort into this remarkable movie, working selflessly from the start to ensure that such an important subject matter was handled with care. Audiences love the movie. Blake’s passion and commitment to advancing the conversation around domestic violence is commendable,”
Fourth weekends
2014’s The Fault in Our Stars dropped 40.1% $5.13m #8 and $109.87m of $124.87m and $307.16m worldwide.
Films about abusive relationships include.
2013’s Safe Haven dropped 40.2% $3.75m #7 and $62.83m of $71.34m and $97.59m worldwide
1991’s Sleeping With the Enemy dropped 11.7% $8.13m #3 and $53.51m of $101.6m/$260.2m inflated and $175m/$450m worldwide inflated
Blake Lively recent films include.
2015’s The Age of Adaline dropped 44.7% $3.21m #7 and $37m of $42.62m and $65.66m worldwide
2016’s The Shallows dropped 37.4% $3m #11 and $51.4m of $55.12m and $119.1m worldwide
2018’s A Simple Favor dropped 47.6% $3.42m #6 and $49m of $53.54m and $97.64m worldwide; a sequel has been made and will be released by Amazon/Lionsgate next year.
While
2022’s Where the Crawdads Sing dropped 25% $5.67m #7 and $64.64m of $90.23m and $144.35m worldwide
2022’s Don’t Worry Darling dropped 36% $2.23m #6 and $42.45m of $45.3m and $87.6m worldwide
Took $15.8m from 58 territories internationally $150m and $285.79m worldwide; UK $24.2m; Australia $13.1m; Mexico $12.6m; Germany $11.9m; Brazil $9.1m; France $7.1m; Spain $6.6m; Holland $4.8m; Saudi Arabia $3.2m; Sweden $3.2m.
601st biggest worldwide between Elysium and Lethal Weapon 4; 15th biggest 2024 between Alien: Romulus and A Quiet Place: Day One; 56th biggest drama between The Departed and Saturday Night Fever; 161st based on fiction book between American Pie 2 and Lethal Weapon 4; 59th biggest Sony Pictures between Elysium and The Tourist.
- Blink Twice- Amazon/MGM
Dropped 34% $4.8m #6 and $15.45m
Has plot similarities with
2022’s The Menu dropped 39.2% $5.47m #5 and $18.94m of $38.5m and $79.62m worldwide
2022’s Don’t Worry Darling dropped 64.6% $6.84m #2 and $32.35m of $45.3m and $87.6m worldwide
2017’s Get Out dropped 15.4% $28.23m #2 and $78.07m of $176.04m and $255.4m worldwide
2019’s Midsommar dropped 44.1% $3.66m #8 and $18.52m of $27.42m and $48.1m worldwide
Took $14m internationally and $30.75m worldwide.
Open with $6.7m from 73 territories
- Afraid – Sony Pictures
Opened $3.66m; received poor reviews (25% Rotten Tomatoes) and C+ CinemaScore.
Took $400k from Thursday previews.
Afraid was expected to open between $5m-$7m; had a $12m budget; was made by Blumhouse Productions; Imaginary opened $9.91m taking $28m and Night Swim opened $11.79m taking $32.49m. Next, Blumhouse Speak No Evil opens in two weeks with Wolf Man; The Woman in the Yard, Drop, M3gan 2.0, Insidious 5, The Black Phone 2 and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 all set for release in 2025.
Directed by Chris Weitz, he previously directed 2001’s Down To Earth; 2002’s About A Boy; 2007’s The Golden Compass; 2009’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon and 2018’s Operation Finale, but best known for co-directing American Pie in 1999 with his brother Paul.
Opened $2.3m from 19 territories.
Despicable Me 4 – down 3% in the ninth weekend $4.12m #8 and $354.15m
90th biggest ninth weekend between The Dark Knight and Aladdin (2019) (close to Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Migration and Barbie).
17th biggest animated film between Inside Out and Zootopia; 68th biggest between Aladdin and Furious 7; 3rd biggest 2024 between Deadpool & Wolverine and Dune: Part Two; 10th biggest Universal Pictures between Despicable Me 2 and Furious 7.
Took $12.3m internationally $559.7m total and $913.8m worldwide; UK $57.5m; China $56.7m; Mexico $44.9m; Germany $37.1m; and France $33.1m.
17th biggest animation between Shrek 2 and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs; 72nd biggest worldwide between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Spider-Man 3; 3rd biggest 2024 between Deadpool & Wolverine and Dune: Part Two; 13th biggest Universal Picture between Minions: The Rise of Gru and The Secret Life of Pets.
Inside Out 2 – up 33% in the twelfth weekend $2.71m #11 and $649.94m
Biggest animated film; 11th biggest between Jurassic World and Barbie; biggest 2024 film; 5th biggest Disney between Avengers: Infinity War and The Avengers.
Took $7.1m internationally and $1016.1bn #11 biggest worldwide overtaking The Fate of the Furious and will shortly overtake Jurassic World; Mexico $102.3m; Brazil $80.2m; UK $74.2m; France $63.9m; Korea $60.9m; Japan $29.7m.
Biggest animated film worldwide; 9th biggest worldwide between Jurassic World and The Lion King; biggest 2024 worldwide; 4th biggest Disney worldwide between Avengers: Infinity War and The Lion King.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
There have been lofty expectations for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice for the last month in the US with opening estimates increasing from $80m to $120m, but it’s unlikely to open as strongly in the UK. Presales look soft, only 38 tickets were sold over 11 shows at the Vue West End on Friday (Tuesday) and were similarly soft at Odeon Leicester Square, BFI IMAX, Vue Westfield/Manchester.
Beetlejuice opened in August 1988 £524,740/£1,806,931 207 screens taking £3,604,282/£12,411,267 inflated; received 15 certificates in the UK (12 didn’t launch in the UK until 1989’s Batman) but surprisingly received a PG in the US, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has a PG-13 and received 12A in the UK.
As with all legacy sequels, the question is who is the sequel targetting fans of the original in their 40s and 50s, or younger audiences, reviews have described it as a fan service so it is unlikely to attract new audiences who haven’t seen the original, while also having the quirkiness you expect from a Tim Burton film. This is why I feel tracking has overestimated expectations for the film so likely to open similar to legacy sequels like 2016’s Independence Day: Resurgence (opened £5,067,855); 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road (£4,538,933); 2016’s Ghostbusters (£4,388,944); 2021’s Ghostbusters Afterlife (£4,314,263); 2024’s Twisters (£4,149,210); 2024’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (£4,056,097)
Since its release, it has become a Halloween favourite and was the first film Netflix sent out on DVD in 1998 and was an enormous success on home video.
Beetlejuice was the second film Tim Burton directed after 1985’s Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and followed Beetlejuice with 1989’s Batman opened £2,058,159/£6,995,974 inflated taking £12,034,291/£40,906,260 inflated; 1991’s Edward Scissorhands opened £1,341,367/£3,506,147 taking £4,299,657/£11,238,707 inflated. Batman Returns and Ed Wood followed and then 1997’s Mars Attacks opened £2,121,878/£4,129,060 inflated taking £7,061,157/£13,740,630 inflated; 2000’s Sleepy Hollow opened £2,848,933/£5,128,079 inflated taking £10,046,249/£18,083,248 inflated.
He then directed 2001’s Planet of the Apes when asked if he would like to do a sequel said, “I’d rather jump out a window.” He went back to more quirky films like Big Fish, Carlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Sweeny Todd, Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows, Frankenweenie and Big Eyes, his last was 2019’s live-action reimagination of Dumbo.
In 2022 Park Circus re-released 1988’s Beetlejuice in 350 screens tsking £93,042 #14; originally opened with £524,740 (£1,818,338 inflated) taking £3,604,282 (£12,489,621 inflated). The film was originally released as a 15 and was reclassified as 12A in 2018.
Plans started for a sequel in 1990, a script was finished in January 2015 with a plan to start filming later in the year. But the project kept getting delayed until April 2019 when Warner Bros cancelled the film. In February 2022, a sequel was announced again and Tim Burton returned to direct in March 2023. Filming started in May 2023 and was stopped in July due to the SAG strike with only two days of production left, filming restarted in November 2023
Legacy sequels have had mixed success from the tremendous success of Top Gun: Maverick, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, Avatar: The Way of Water
The mixed success of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Bad Boys for Life, Tron: Legacy, Live Free or Die Hard, Creed, Blade Runner 2049, Mary Poppins Returns, T2 Trainspotting and Mad Max: Fury Road.
To the underperforming The Matrix Resurrections, Terminator: Dark Fate, Independence Day: Resurgence, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, The Craft: Legacy, Doctor Sleep, Bill & Ted Face the Music, Dumb and Dumber To.
After the re-release of the first five Spider-Man films over the last five weeks
Spider-Man Homecoming is the latest to be re-released and likely to open similar to the original trilogy.
All holdovers are likely to drop 40%-50% after National Cinema Day holds; Despicable Me 4; Deadpool & Wolverine; It Ends With Us and Alen: Romulus taking between £700k-£900k.
blur: Live At Wembley Stadium (Concert) is released three months after blur: To The End opened £147,981 #8 from 477 screens but the concert has Event Cinema prices of £20 so should open much bigger. Opens in cinemas a week after Oasis fans struggled to buy tickets for next summer’s concerts. Next year will be the 30th anniversary of the Battle of Britpop, in August 1995 Blur released Country House and Oasis released Roll with It on the same day: Country House outsold Roll With It by 274,000 to 216,000. Blur fans will have none of the issues to see Live At Wembley Stadium in cinemas this weekend.
Opening in two weeks
- Never Let Go – Lionsgate
Post-apocalyptic thriller starring Halle Berry, Percy Daggs IV, Anthony B. Jenkins, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Christin Park, and Stephanie Lavigne, directed by Alexandre Aja.
Originally called Mothe Land, Mark Romanek was first attached to direct.
Alexandre Aja previously directed.
2019’s Crawl opened £458,796 #7 483 screens taking £1,060,836
2014’s Horns opened £396,042 #11 379 screens
2010’s Piranha 3D opened £1,325,324 #4 354 screens taking £4,466,428
2008’s Mirrors opened £496,909 #2 342 screens taking £2,620,025
2006’s The Hills Have Eyes opened £1,126,575 #1 331 screens taking £3,457,043
- The Outrun – Studiocanal
Drama starring Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu, Nabil Elouahabi, Izuka Hoyle, Lauren Lyle, Saskia Reeves, and Stephen Dillane and directed by Nora Fingscheidt based on the 2016 memoir by Amy Liptrot.
Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival receiving positive reviews describing it as powerful, and unusual, in its depiction of addiction.
- Megalopolis – Entertainment Films
Epic sci-fi drama featuring an ensemble cast of Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, D. B. Sweeney, Dustin Hoffman and written, directed, and produced by Francis Ford Coppola.
Megalopolis is a passion project for Francis Ford Coppola he first conceived the idea in 1977, developing it alongside making studio films due to make it in 1991 delayed making studio films Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Jack and The Rainmaker to help finance the film. It’s the first film he has directed since 1997’s The Rainmaker since then he has done over 300 rewrites of Megalopolis script.
It received its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival receiving mixed reviews (53% Rotten Tomatoes).
Vanity projects are rarely successful include Barry Levinson’s Toys, Guy Ritchie’s Swept Away, Kevin Spacey’s Beyond the Sea, Kevin Costner’s The Postman, Renny Harlin’s Cutthroat Island, Eddie Murphy’s Harlem Nights, Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate and Warren Beatty’s Rules Don’t Apply.
Studios willl often allow directors to make vanity project after having a big hit for the studio or trying to tie the director down for a future film project, but as many of these films underperform at the BO its often a long time befor the direct another film. Francis Ford Coppola funded the making of Megalopolis
Lionsgate caused controversy by creating a trailer with fake quotes from famous film critics slating Francis Ford Coppola’s previous films but were made up. The intention was to show other Coppola films also received polarised reviews, using the tagline “Genius is often misunderstood.”
Distributors have previously used negative reviews on film promos when films received negative reviews.
Entertainment Films acquired UK theatrical rights in May and Lionsgate acquired US rights in June, Coppola retained VOD and TV rights in the hope of selling to a global streamer. Francis Ford Coppola self-funded the $120m film and will pay marketing costs.
Mike Figgis directed a behin the scenes documentary about the making of the film, had a run into him when I was a projectionist at Sony Pictures about 25 years ago struggling to keep a film in focus which was a 16mm blowuop to 35mm with cement joins every few hundred feet.