- Avatar: Fire and Ash £9,015,796 – NE
Took £3.09m 34.3% Friday; £2.95m 32.7% Saturday; £2.97m 32.9% Sunday; Mon £2m and Tues £1.91m
136th biggest opening between Die Another Day and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (close to Gladiator II, Die Another Day, The Matrix Revolutions and War of the Worlds) and 208th biggest inflated opening between Jurassic Park 3 and The Sixth Sense (close to Batman and Robin, Titanic, Mission: Impossible and X-Men).
6th biggest 2025 opening between Lilo & Stitch and Mission Impossible 8 (close to The Fantastic Four, How To Train Your Dragon, F1 and Superman).
Avatar: Fire and Ash opened 5.9% more than Avatar but 19.4% less than Avatar: The Way of Water
2009’s Avatar opened £8,509,050/£12,466,384 taking £93,442,625/£136,900,316
2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water opened £11,187,562 taking £76,725,041/£79,518,671; 3D 45.3% (£5,060,733) 557 cinemas (£9,085 average); IMAX/3D 12% (£1,346,849) 54 screens (£25k average) and 2D 2.7% (£4,773,500) £5,584 average.
Avatar 2 took Fri £3.7m; Sat £4.3m; Sun £3.9m; Mon £2.2m; Tues £2.2m; Weds £2.2m; Thurs £2.24m
Avatar 3 took Fri £3.1m; Sat £2.9m; Sun £2.9m; Mon £2m; Tues £1.91m and will likely take £1.8m Weds; £0.08m Thursday (Christmas Day similar to Avatar 2.
Avatar 2 second weekend Fri £2.55m; Sat £2.5m; Sun (Christmas Day) £0.08m; So Avatar 3 will likely take more than Avatar 2 I it second weekend, but it doesn’t mean it’s performing better despite many surely likely to say that next week.
But Avatar 2 took 17.9% less than Avatar despite opening 12 years later and almost 50% ticket inflation. Would expect Avatar 3 to take at least 20% less than Avatar 2, taking about £61m, a third less than Avatar took 16 years ago.
In 2009 Avatar took 85%+ from 3D with IMAX (9 screens) and 2D (300+) taking about 7%; Avatar 2 took much more in 2D (41%) with 47% 3D and 12% IMAX; Avatar 3opening was about 50% 3D/premium formats including about 12% from 61 IMAX cinemas with BFI IMAX the highest grossing cinema in the UK, 2009’s Avatar took £607,000, selling 47,487 tickets with an average ticket price of £12.90, selling 99% capacity, it would be interesting to see how Avatar 3 did in comparison.
Avatar 2 was #1 for 7 weeks, similar to 2000’s Gladiator, 1996’s Independence Day and 1994’s Four Weddings and a Funeral, but Avatar: Fire and Ash will remain at the top for fewer weeks.
The 7 James Cameron-directed films have taken £400m at the UK BO and £600m+ inflation inflated.
Ahead of opening, Pearl & Dean was predicting UK opening between £9m-£12m and total BO between £60m-£70m, this would top A Minecraft Movie £57m, making it the biggest film of 2025, but came in at the lower end of their estimates, so it’s likely to be much closer to A Minecraft Movie total than expected. Few would have expected a film that opened in April still being the biggest film in the UK. That said, many were surprised by the BO of A Minecraft Movie, despite the success of the game, and it has a lot in common with the Super Mario Bros film that was a bigger success a year earlier.
Top cinemas in the UK were.
1-BFI IMAX; 2-Cineworld Leicester Square and Odeon Leicester Square
3-VUE Manchester Printworks; 4-Vue Westfield Stratford
5-Showcase Bluewater; 6-Cineworld Crawley
7-Cineworld Sheffield; 8 Cineworld O2 Greenwich
9-Cineworld Dublin; 10-Cineworld Basildon
After rival studios avoided opening major films close to Avatar 2 after the huge success of Avatar, in 2009, when Avatar was an unknown, rival studios opened many other films against it. In 2009, Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 and Sherlock Holmes opened the week after, both opening strongly with £5.34m and £3.1m. This year, The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants, Anaconda, and The Housemaid are opening the week (including extended previews), followed by Song Sung Blue and Hamnet on January 9.
In 2009, 20th Century Fox feared Avatar would underperform, so they released Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel the following week. Avatar lost #1 in its second weekend to The Squeakquel (playing to a younger family audience) while Avatar dropped 55%, taking £3,828,123. Few would have imagined that the Avatar would take £4m+ for the next 8 weeks, returning to #1 for 8 of the next 9 weeks and go on to take £93,442,625 (£140m inflated).
James Cameron said in 2006 he would like to make sequels if the first film was successful, and after the first film was the biggest ever film worldwide, plans started for sequels, but due to the delays in making the first film, the sequels were delayed until the new technology was created to make it possible to perform capture scenes underwater. Avatar: Fire and Ash was shot alongside Avatar: The Way of Water from September 2017 to December 2020.
At that time, the sequels were vital to the studio, but everything changed a few months later when Disney announced it would acquire the studio (in December 2017). While Avatar might have been the biggest film globally, Disney was far more interested in MCU and Star Wars; Avatar was only interested in Disney after Pandora: The World of Avatar opened at Disney World, Florida, in May 2017.
As Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash started production before Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, they must have surely put up the budget for these films.
The sequel has had 9 delays in its release; it was originally due to be released in December 2015. It would have been interesting, Avatar Vs Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
While James Cameron always brings new technology to his films, they often struggle with their plot, and Avatar feels like a remake of 1990s Dances with Wolves and 1992’s Ferngully and after the release of the first film, South Park spoofed it as Dances with Smurfs.
It’s impossible to compare Avatar: The Way of Water’s second weekend with Avatar: Fire and Ash, as it only had a two-day weekend, as Sunday was Christmas Day. Avatar 2 dropped 56% (£4,974,004), seeing it increasing 54% in its third weekend (£7,643,764) across New Year’s Eve.
With Christmas Day on Thursday and New Year’s Eve on Wednesday, the weekends won’t be affected this weekend, so have more in common with 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker dropping 35% without previews and 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi dropping 50% without previews.
Avatar 3 is likely to take £5.5m-£6.5m in its second weekend, after taking about £2m a day Mon-Weds as these are the most lucrative two weeks of the year, and this year with The Spongebob Movie: Search For SquarePants, Anaconda, Marty Supreme and The Housemaid there are films for all demographics so next weekend will see at least seven films taking £1m+.
It will be these films that will push admissions over 2024 levels, and not films like Wicked 2 and Avatar 3 that will come short of expectations. This is what exhibitors fail to grasp: the key to admissions growth isn’t tentpoles, it is having a wide mix of films audiences want to see, and their success builds more success.
James Cameron sent a letter to cinema technicians telling them how to frame the film correctly and to play the film on level 7. The problem is that very few cinemas have technical staff on site, and most will play the film at about 4.5, so it sounds muffled, losing dynamic range. The reason is more due to the fact that when these single screens were converted into multiple screens in the 70s, they were done cheaply, so sound bleeds from one screen to the next if they were played on level 7. This is also the case with many multiplexes.
- 2. Zootropolis 2 £1,879,319 – £18,640,722
Down 32.1% in its fourth weekend
Took £782k Mon and £784k Tuesday
124th biggest fourth weekend between Toy Story and Wicked: For Good (close to A Christmas Carol, Shrek, Happy Feet and Paddington In Peru) and 244th inflated fourth weekend between Rain Man and Sex and the City (close to Back to the Future Part II, The Others, Kindergarten Cop and Jumanji).
32nd biggest animation fourth weekend between Toy Story and Despicable Me 2 (close to Shrek 2, The Croods, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Monsters University) and 49th biggest inflated animation fourth weekend between Wreck-It Ralph and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (close to Tarzan, Antz, Ice Age II and Puss in Boots).
5th biggest Disney animation fourth weekend between Moana 2 and Lilo & Stitch (2002) (close to Wreck-It Ralph, Tangled, Hercules and The Lion King (1994) and 9th biggest Disney inflated animation fourth weekend between Tarzan and Wreck-It Ralph (close to Big Hero 6, Hercules, Bolt and Beauty and the Beast (1992)
2016’s Zootropolis dropped 52.2% £1,129,311 and £20,701,132 87% of £23,461,047/£25,075,775
2024’s Moana 2 dropped 43.1% £2,057,688 and £29,751,577 70.24% of £42,357,963
11th biggest 2025 film between F1 and Captain America: Brave New World (close to The Fantastic Four, How To Train Your Dragon, Sinners and Thunderbolts), biggest animated film in 2025, ahead of Dog Man (£13.88m) and The Bad Guys 2 (£14.64m).
348th biggest between Saving Private Ryan and The Secret Life of Pets 2 (close to X-Men: The Last Stand, Little Fockers, Mission: Impossible and Happy Feet) and 628th biggest inflated between Puss in Boots and Mad Max: Fury Road (close to Waterworld, My Girl, Oz: The Great and Powerful and School of Rock).
72nd biggest animated film between Sonic The Hedgehog and The Secret Life of Pets 2 (close to Despicable Me, Kung Fu Panda, Elemental and Coco) and 101st biggest inflated animated film between Puss in Boots and Elemental (close to Cars 2, Ralph Breaks The Internet, The Little Mermaid (1990) and Flushed Away).
- 3. Wicked: For Good £1,072,379 – £42,775,032
Down 42.2% in its fifth weekend
Took £375k Monday and £369k Tuesday
163rd biggest fifth weekend between Moulin Rouge and Men in Black 3 (close to Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Billy Elliot and Crocodile Dundee) and 330th biggest inflated fifth weekend between Armageddon and Stargate (close to Dead Poets Society, Beauty and the Beast (1992), Parenthood and Antz)
11th biggest musical fifth weekend between Moulin Rouge and La La Land (close to The Greatest Showman, Les Misérables, Evita and The Commitments) and 13th biggest inflated musical fifth weekend between Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical and La La Land (close to Evita, The Commitments, High School Musical 3 and Hairspray).
Wicked For Good is the 3rd biggest film of 2025 between Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy and Lilo & Stitch, but by now should have topped both A Minecraft Movie and Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy to be the biggest film of the year to date.
78th biggest between Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug and Paddington 2 (close to Finding Dory, Frozen, Moana 2 and Alice In Wonderland); 91st £40m+ BO since 1993’s Jurassic Park
171st highest inflation between The Hangover Part II and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (close to Cats and Dogs, 101 Dalmatians (1996), The Mask and The Bodyguard).
As with Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy earlier in the year, Wicked: For Good received positive reviews, massive media coverage, hype and an opening bigger than the previous film, but both have had much softer legs, and both have come short of expectations at the start of the year.
Ahead of opening, Mad About The Boy was expected to easily top £50m and Wicked: For Good to top £70m, but Mad About The Boy struggled to get to £46m, and Wicked: For Good will struggle to top Mad About The Boy. Why have both films struggled to meet their expectations? They weren’t as good as their hype and previous films.
2025’s Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy dropped 41/9% £1,196,487 and £42,934,166 92.6% of £46,367,473
Also reminds me of 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns, which has similar huge hype and expectations ahead of opening, massive media coverage and rave reviews, but the music didn’t connect with audiences as much as The Greatest Showman opening a year earlier and sales of the soundtrack and singles from the album were far less popular. As audiences can sometimes see past the hype, critics get caught up in it after the opening weekend.
2018’s Mary Poppins Returns dropped 26.1% £1,668,638/£1,841,973 £40,699,643 91.44% of £44,511,884/£49,135,695
Compared to 2017’s The Greatest Showman, which dropped 2.9% £2,042,450/£2,107,896 and £19,965,506 40.32% of £49,523,728/£51,110,603
British audiences love their musicals, but Wicked: For Good felt like a cynical attempt to get fans paying twice for what should have been one film, especially as the second half of the show is weaker than the first half and has weaker songs.
Wicked: For Good will be released on VOD in early January as the first film, so exhibitors can’t blame the theatrical window.
Wicked is the Mamma Mia! of millennial theatre audiences: since opening in 2006, it has become the 10th-longest-running show in West End history, seen by 13 million people, with more than 7,400 performances and over £115m in UK ticket sales. The Broadway production has topped $1bn.
Fifth weekends
2024’s Wicked dropped 27.3% £2,511,897 and £48,233,182 79.53% of £60,649,197
2023’s Wonka dropped 43.4% £3,779,635 and £53,074,026 83.9% of £63,277,138
2018’s Mary Poppins Returns dropped 26% £1,668,638 #4 and £40,699,643 91.44% of £44,541,719
2013’s Les Miserables dropped 41.1% £1,640,857/ £2,002,700 and £33,456,340 82% of £40,818,299/£49,819,578
2008’s Mamma Mia! Dropped 11.5% £2,803,272/£4,296,553 and £39,168,064 57.5% of £68,116,092/£104,401,010.
2018’s A Star Is Born dropped 15.3% £1,821,004/£2,010,166 and £22,929,874 78.3% of £29,299,129/£32,342,667
2001’s Moulin Rouge dropped 19.8% £1,072,657/£2,064,994 and £12,494,719 69.7% of £17,934,410/£34,525,905
1997’s Evita dropped 25.1% £838,500/£1,641,977 and £11,436,629 80.3% of £14,237,881/£27,881,059
Showing the lack of interest in Wicked: For Good singles from the film have dropped heavily in the charts over the last few weeks, with no songs in the top 100 now, the soundtrack album, of course, is top of the soundtrack albums with Wicked #1; while Ariana Grande’s Santa Tell Me #12
Down 34.8% in its third weekend; unusual for a Bollywood film to hold so strongly, as they are normally front-loaded.
It’s the fifth Indian film in 2025 to take over £1m; only Saiyaara (£3.21m) and L2: Empuraan (£1.38m) have taken more. It was playing in only 135 screens, having the best screen average in the top 10.
- 5. Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 £373,346 – £6,202,380
Down 63.3% in its third weekend
2023’s Five Nights at Freddy’s dropped 53.6% £637,969 and £9,870,466, 94.25% of £10,472,999
33rd biggest 2025 between Regretting You and Mickey 17 (close to The Salt Road, The Naked Gun, Karate Kid: Legends and Predator: Badlands).
67th biggest horror between Jeepers Creepers and Saw IV (close to Smile 2, 28 Days Later, The Exorcist: Believer and The First Purge) and 102nd biggest inflated horror between Cabin in the Woods and Jeepers Creepers 2 (close to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Stigmata and Piranha 3-D)
1,240th biggest between Bad Neighbours 2 and BlacKkKlansman (close to Blade, Taken, After Earth and Demolition Man) and 1,801st biggest inflated between The Thin Red Line and Regretting You (close to Out of Sight, Fantastic Four (2015), Unstoppable and The Muppets Christmas Carol).
Similar to 2023’s Five Nights at Freddy’s, other Blumhouse Pictures’ previous sequels this year, M3GAN 2.0 and The Black Phone 2, have all taken far less than their previous films. M3GAN spinoff Soul8ate was due to be released in January, but Universal Pictures pulled it from release due to M3GAN 2.0 flopping in the summer.
Blumhouse Productions signed Mike Flanagan to write and direct a third Exorcist film despite the last film, 2023’s Exorcist: Believer, flopping. Scarlett Johansson has been surprisingly attached to the film. Blumhouse Productions paid $400m for global rights to Exorcist in 2021 and had plans to make a trilogy, but 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer opened $26.49m, taking $65.53m and $136.29m worldwide, far less than their recent Halloween reboot. The problem with The Exorcist while the original film was a massive success, all attempts to make sequels since have failed to match its success. Blumhouse Productions has four films set for release in 2026: The Mummy, Obsession, Insidious sequel and Other Mummy.
Christmas Re-Releases: The Myth of “They’ll Just Watch It at Home”
The Christmas re-releases once again underline a simple truth the industry keeps trying to argue away: people will go to the cinema to see films they can watch for free at home. This weekend, six Christmas titles landed in the UK Top 15, many of them decades old, all of them readily available on terrestrial television throughout the festive period — and yet audiences still paid to see them on the big screen.
The pattern mirrors the UK singles chart every December when festive standards reclaim the top spots. Songs like Last Christmas reached #1 36 years after release, while Elf topped the chart in 2020 — 17 years after it first hit cinemas. Cultural familiarity doesn’t kill demand; it creates it.
The numbers tell the story clearly:
Home Alone (Re: 2018) jumped 47.5% to #6, taking £267,348 from 543 screens (total £4.17m)
The Polar Express rose 45.6% to #8 with £183,081 from 325 screens.
It’s a Wonderful Life surged 196% to #9, adding £166,599.
Elf climbed 82% to #11 with £152,106.
The Muppet Christmas Carol leapt 126% to #12, grossing £130,487.
Die Hard rocketed 289% to #14 with £79,547.
Love Actually rose 109% to #20, taking £42,283.
Unlike regular wide releases, these titles play on limited schedules, often just one or two shows per day, frequently at reduced ticket prices. They aren’t competing for dominance — they’re offering ritual. And that’s the key distinction.
These films will exit cinemas again on Thursday, only to return next year — just as reliably as Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town reappears on the singles chart every December. The lesson is clear: availability is not the enemy of theatrical exhibition. If audiences want the experience, they will show up — even when the film is already waiting for them at home.
It’s similar to Disney’s sustained box office success over the past decade hasn’t really been about storytelling reinvention — it’s been about nostalgia as currency. To paraphrase Field of Dreams: audiences don’t arrive as consumers, they arrive as children — longing for the past. And when they do, exhibitors don’t mind saying, “It’s only twenty dollars per person.” The money is rarely the obstacle. Peace is.
They take their seats not just in a cinema, but in memory — back where they once sat, cheering heroes they already know. For a couple of hours, the noise of the present fades, and they’re dipped back into something familiar and comforting. The memories come so thick that they almost have to brush them away.
That’s the magic Disney has monetised better than anyone. Not novelty, but reassurance. Not discovery, but return. Whether it’s animated reboots, live-action remakes, sequels, or legacy IP, the offer is the same: come back to a place you already loved. In a fragmented, anxious, content-saturated world, that promise is powerful — and audiences keep buying the ticket.
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Year-to-date, has dropped to 1% ahead of 2024.
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £13,689,612, up 79.5% from last weekend’s £7,628,065: 1,768,684 admissions, up 79.5% from 985,538 admissions.
The 14th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 12 September 2025 #1 Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale £4,390,303 (32.01%) and 18 July 2025 #1 Superman £4,877,459 (36.40%)
55th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 266 weeks between 12 September 2025 #1 Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale £4,390,303 (32.01%) and 11 February 2022 #1 Uncharted £4,705,948 (34.41%)
332nd biggest top 10 of the last 24 years (out of 1,237) between 02 January 2004 #1 LOTR: The Return of the King £6,496,723 (47.43%) and 18 December 2009 #1 Avatar £8,509,050 (62.20%) and 598th biggest inflated between 16 November 2007 #1 American Gangster £2,564,853 (28.82%) and 10 April 2015 #1 Fast & Furious 7 £5,407,918 (43.59%)
The top 3 took £11,967,494 (87.4%) of the top 10; Avatar: Fire and Ash 65.86% (£9,015,796); Zootropolis 2 13.73% (£1,879,319); Wicked: For Good 7.83% (£1,072,379).
102nd biggest percentage share #1 (65.86%) between 21 November 2003 #1 Love Actually £6,657,479 (66.08%) and 24 March 2017 #1 Beauty and the Beast £12,334,338 (65.69%)
226th biggest admissions (1,164,832) between 28 June 2019 #1 Toy Story 4 £8,284,437 (1,165,181) and 05 October 2012 #1 Taken 2 £7,378,048 (1,158,249)
12 April 2024 #1 Back To Black £2,772,698 (358,230) and 11 November 2011 #1 Immortals £2,166,432 (357,497)
Up 22.92% from 2024; (£11,137,093); Mufasa: The Lion King (£4,415,961); London 2024 (Ballet) Ivanov/Wright The Nutcracker – ROH (£227,083); It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) (£140,144); #1 Mufasa: The Lion King £4,415,961 1st week (39.65% of top 10).
Up 14.1% from 2023; (£9,899,366); Godzilla Minus One (£816,891); The Nutcracker – ROH, London 2023 (£180,826); Seventeen Tour ‘Follow’ To Japan: Live Viewing (£80,609); #1 Wonka £6,362,787 2nd week 29% drop 741 screens (64.27% of top 10).
Down 1.72% 2022 (£13,929,358); Avatar: The Way Of Water (£11,187,562); The Muppet Christmas Carol (30th Anniversary) (£93,615); It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) (75th Anniversary) (£93,832); Die Hard (30th Anniversary) (£32,429); Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (Re: 2018) (£30,790); (The Amazing Maurice (£30,316); Eyes Wide Shut (20th Anniversary) (£3,468); #1 Avatar: The Way Of Water £11,187,562 1st week 721 screens (80.32% of top 10);
Down 60.27% 2021 (£34,452,923); Spider-Man No Way Home (£31,899,232); The Nutcracker – Bolshoi Ballet 2021 (£85,417); #1 Spider-Man No Way Home £31,899,232 1st week 679 screens (92.6% of top 10)
Up 1,108.19% 2020; (£1,133,072); Wonder Woman 1984 (£846,435); Come Away (£42,834); The Nutcracker Bolshoi Ballet 2020 (£13,821); #1 Wonder Woman 1984 1st week £846,435 214 screens (74.7% of top 10)
Down 55.67% 2019; (£30,884,264) Cats £3,207,471; #1 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 740 screens (£20,864,500) 1st week (67.56% of top 10)
Down 17.05% 2018: (£16,539,374); Mary Poppins Returns (£8,181,541); The Nutcracker – Bolshoi Ballet 2018 (£258,038); #1 Mary Poppins Returns £8,181,541 1st week 735 screens (39.4% of the top 10)
Down 75.91% 2017: (£31,690,287); Star Wars: The Last Jedi (£28,010,841); It’s a Wonderful Life (Re: 2017) (£61,102); #1 Star Wars: The Last Jedi £28,010,841 1st week 723 screens (88.4% of top 10)
Down 48.5% 2016: (£21,944,702); Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (£17,305,011); The Nutcracker – Bolshoi 2016 (£135,026); The Eagle Huntress (£16,513); #1 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story £17,305,011 1st week 698 screens (78.9% of the top 10)
Down 56.77% 2015; (£38,533,406); Star Wars: The Force Awakens (£34,011,849); Sisters (£1,215,368); #1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens £34,011,849 1st week 670 screens (88.3% of top 10)
Down 7.55% 2014: (£14,808,248); Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (£1,851,424); Dumb & Dumber To (£1,807,059); The Nutcracker – Bolshoi 2014 (£293,192); Guys and Dolls (Re: 2014) (£5,570); #1 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies £5,409,312 2nd week 605 screens 45% drop (36.5% of top 10)
Down 23.46% 2013: (£17,885,304); Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (£4,545,934); Walking with Dinosaurs (£982,023); The Harry Hill Movie (£549,736); Moshi Monsters: The Movie (£334,748); Sleeping Beauty – Bolshoi 2011 (£86,942); American Hustle platform (£39,595); #1 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug £5,358,380 2nd week 594 screens 43% drop (30% of top 10)
Down 6.99% 2012: (£14,717,807); Life of Pi (£3,610,604); Pitch Perfect (£952,107); Home Alone (Re: 2012) (£43,544); West of Memphis (£1,103); #1 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey £5,979,241 2nd week 601 screens 48% drop (40.6% of top 10)
Up 25.18% 2011; (£10,935,855); Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (£3,827,697); Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (£2,361,867); It’s a Wonderful Life (Re) (£46,785); #1 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows £3,827,697 1st week 540 screens (35% of top 10)
Up 107.45% 2010: (£6,599,055); Tron Legacy (£1,970,692); Burlesque (£425,931); Animals United (£307,409); Fred: The Movie (£257,133); It’s a Wonderful Life (Re) (£44,422); Catfish (£28,056); #1 Tron Legacy £1,970,692 1st week 454 screens (29.9% of top 10)
Up 0.08% 2009; (£13,679,336); Avatar (£8,509,050); St. Trinian’s 2 (£1,586,832); Nine (£44,443); #1 Avatar £8,509,050 1st week 503 screens (62.2% of top 10)
Up 62.88% 2008; (£8,404,783); Twilight (£2,508,422); The Tale of Despereaux (£560,870); A Bunch of Amateurs (£91,156); It’s a Wonderful Life (RE) (£49,845); Bicycle Thieves (re) (£3,802); #1 Twilight £2,508,422 1st week 448 screens (29.8% of top 10)
Up 28.68% 2007: (£10,638,757); St. Trinian’s (£1,832,594); Alvin and the Chipmunks (£1,433,937); P. S. I Love You (£224,096); I’m Not There (£58,491); #1 Enchanted £2,547,975 2nd week 1st week #1 24% of top 10)
Up 42.38% 2006; (£9,614,556); Eragon (£1,317,687); Déjà Vu (£1,098,295); Black Christmas (£367,743); Grounded (£240,378); The Wizard of Oz (re) (£22,973); #1 Happy Feet £2,034,916 2nd week 466 screens 45% drop (21.6% of top 10)
Up 129.64% 2005: (£5,961,400); No new releases; #1 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe £2,843,353 3rd week 2nd 1 over 3 weeks 525 screens 41% drop (47.7% of top 10)
Up 66.84% 2004; (£8,205,320); Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (£2,210,979); Ella Enchanted (£107,730); #1 Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events £2,210,979 1st week 452 screens (27% of top 10)
Down 33.14% 2003 (£20,475,870); Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (£15,021,761); Freaky Friday (£1,214,559); Good Boy! (£146,354); #1 Lord of the Rings: Return of the King £15,021,761 1st week 494 screens 29% drop (73.4% of top 10)
Down 22.78% from 2002: (£17,727,804); Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (£13,063,560); Sweet Home Alabama (£758,267); Hey Arnold (£35,881); #1 Lord of the Rings: Two Towers £13,063,560 1st week 501 screens (73.7% of top 10)
Down 5.80% from 2001 (£14,532,108); The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings (£11,058,045); The Princess Diaries (£587,677); #1 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings £11,058,045 1st week 470 screens (76.1% of top 10).
2024 Next week: (£24,433,177); Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (£11,760,314); Better Man (£1,568,933); Sonic the Hedgehog 3 £11,760,314 1st week 639 screens (48.13% of top 10)
£1bn Reached — But the Recovery Still Isn’t There
The UK box office has finally tipped past £1bn in 2025, a milestone the industry will understandably celebrate. But scratch beneath the headline and the picture is far less triumphant. Despite being around 20% ahead of 2024 during the summer months, the full-year total now sits just 1% above last year, with admissions tracking almost identically to 2024 levels. In other words, the gains made during peak season have quietly evaporated.
The same pattern is playing out in the US. The 2025 domestic box office is now expected to land at $8.8bn–$8.9bn, falling short of the long-trailed $9bn target and only 1–2% ahead of 2024’s $8.7bn. That’s not a recovery — it’s stagnation with better press.
According to EntTelligence, US attendance from January 1 to December 22 stands at 745 million admissions, driven by average ticket prices of $13.29, with premium formats pushing that to $17.65. Across the year, moviegoers consumed a staggering 71 billion minutes of cinema from 11,000 titles, underlining just how fragmented and selective theatrical attendance has become.
Exhibitors, however, will continue to cite their preferred $11.51 “average” ticket price, a figure that conveniently flatters admissions and downplays the growing reliance on premium formats. The reality is simpler and more uncomfortable: box office growth is being driven by pricing, not people.
More money is being taken from the same number of cinemagoers — sometimes fewer — and the gulf between blockbuster weekends and everything else continues to widen. Hitting £1bn sounds healthy. But when admissions are flat, and growth is measured in single-digit percentages, it’s clear the industry is still running in place.
While this industry points to 2026 with Super Mario Bros Galaxy Movie, Supergirl, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Avengers: Doomsday, and Dune: Part 3 that will see BO and admissions return to pre-pandemic levels, but the industry have been saying this since 2021, in October 2021 Vue Cinemas said it was the start of the second golden age of cinema and a year later UKCA said UK admissions will top 200m within 5-10 years, admissions for 2025 will still be about 50m down from 2019 levels.
The problem is exhibitors have regularly made these claims since cinemas reopened after COVID, but 5 years later, the gap is still very wide, and the excuses are now about theatrical windows, lack of content and Netflix. Coming out with stats, Gen Z are going to the cinema more often now than in previous years. If this were really the case, admissions would be growing, and they wouldn’t still be in decline in the US as they have been since 2002. It feels like they say these things and don’t think people will remember, but the internet always remembers.
US Box Office
- Avatar: Fire and Ash – 20th Century Studios
Opened $89.16m; received positive reviews (67% Rotten Tomatoes) and A CinemaScore
Took $12m from Thursday previews: Avatar: The Way of Water $17m; Top Gun: Maverick $19.3m
109th biggest opening between Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Captain America: Brave New World (close to Justice League, Jurassic World: Rebirth, Skyfall and Solo: A Star Wars Story)
Opened 33.5% less than 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water and 15.8% more than 2009’s Avatar.
101st biggest Friday ($36.48m) between Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Twilight; 163rd biggest Saturday ($28.41m) between American Sniper and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; 126th biggest Sunday ($24.26m) between Avatar and Logan.
Opened in 3,800 cinemas; 430 3D IMAX; 1,050 PLF 80% 3D, including 175 Dolby; 380 D-Box/4DX and 120 ScreenX.
Total 3D: 56%; standard 3D 23%; IMAX 3D 15%; PLF 3D 14%; 4DX 3D 4%
Total 2D: 44%; standard 2D 34%; PLF 8%; 4DX 1%; ScreenX 1%
Down from the previous two films but still much higher than most tentpoles; Under 25, 38% similar to Way of Water, 40%
EnTelligence said 5.2m saw Fire and Ash this weekend, compared to 8.7M for Way of Water; Average price for Way of Water $14.43 (Fire and Ash $16.66) and IMAX/PLF/3D was $17.96 (compared to the Avatar 3 $19.82); 45% Saturday’s audience saw it before 5 pm.
Weekend audience breakdown 45% Fire and Ash; 14% David; 12% Housemaid; 9% SpongeBob Movie; and 8% Zootopia 2.
Total BO for 2025 is $8.35bn +1% more than 2024; $650m needs to be taken over the next 10 days if BO is to top $9bn. Many analysts don’t think it will get to that level, believing it will end at $8.9 bn.
Of course, as they always say next year will be better with films including Super Mario Bros Galaxy Movie, Supergirl, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Avengers: Doomsday, and Dune: Part 3 but it’s just more of the same, include The Odyssey from Christian Nolan in this as everyone knows what they will get from his films as we know these other films. The big unknown is how the World Cup will affect the BO next summer and the 250th anniversary of the USA celebrations.
EntTelligence says admissions for Jan. 1-Dec. 22 are 745m from average ticket prices of $13.29 and premium upcharge tickets at $17.65, but of course, the industry still believes the average is closer to $11.51.
Opened $43.6m from IMAX worldwide; $13m US; $17.1m internationally, including $13.5m from China. Opened in 1,703 IMAX cinemas worldwide and will play in all of them until January.
7th biggest December opening after Spider-Man: No Way Home ($260.1m), Star Wars: Force Awakens ($247.9m), Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($220m), Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker ($177.3m), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ($155m); Avatar: The Way of Water ($134.1m); 2009’s Avatar #10 $77.02m/$11.8.2m.
With Christmas Day on Thursday, Avatar 3’s second weekend will be a 4-day weekend, which will make it look like it has a minimal drop to about $75m despite is 3 day drop likely being closer to $55m, a 40% drop.
The first trailer was shown at CinemaCon and was released with Fantastic Four: First Steps in July, and Avatar: The Way of Water was re-released in October, but both Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avatar: The Way of Water re-release underwhelmed at the BO, showing that interest in Avatar had dropped off.
The first trailer was seen over 160m times in its first 24 hours, compared to the Avatar: The Way of Water teaser trailer, which was attached to Doctor Strange 2 in May and released online on May 9th, viewed 148.5m times in its first 24 hours (23m in China).
Avatar: Fire and Ash world premiere in Los Angeles on December 1st, it was followed by premieres across the globe. Its social media embargo ended on December 2, receiving the normal rave reactions. Review embargo ended two weeks later, and they were far more mixed, praising how it looks, but not so much the lack of story and how similar it felt to the other two films, and it was way too long.
2009’s Avatar opened $77m in 7,000+ screens at 3,452 cinemas; it was the second highest-grossing December opening weekend after I Am Legend ($77m); took $3.53m from midnight previews with 3D taking 85% of BO (in comparison, I Am Legend took $1.7m. Avatar opened in 3,129 3D screens at 2,038 cinemas, taking $55m (72% of opening), and IMAX took $9.5m (12.4%) from 178 cinemas.
There were 18 different versions of Avatar created for the US and 92 internationally in 47 languages, which included 52 subtitled and 18 dubbed versions on film, 58 subtitled and 36 dubbed versions in digital 3D, 9 subtitled and 8 dubbed versions in digital 2D and 23 subtitled and 15 dubbed versions for IMAX. James Cameron made the film using three aspect ratios: Scope (2:39:1), flat (1:85:1), and IMAX (1:43:1) and released on 17,000 35mm screens, 7,382 digital 3D screens, 553 digital 2D screens, and 272 IMAX 3D screens. (178 US IMAX screens and 83 internationally).
Internationally opened with $164.5m in five days from 106 territories (opening didn’t include Japan (opened a week later) and China and Italy (in January)). Played in 14,505 screens, 26% 3D accounting for 56% of the opening. Taking $241.6m globally was the 9th highest grossing of all time and the biggest for a non-sequel.
After 45 days of release, Avatar overtook Titanic to become the biggest film globally $ with 2.039bn and went on to take $749.76m in the US (held #1 for 7 weeks; Titanic was #1 for 15 weeks), $1.99bn internationally and $2.743bn worldwide. It remained the biggest film globally until Avengers: Endgame overtook it after 91 days of release. Avatar retained its #1 global status after it was re-released in China in March 2021. (Avatar took $262m in China).
2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water opened $134.1m, taking $688.45m and $2.34bn worldwide; in over 52,000 screens worldwide (then Disney’s widest ever global opening) in over 160 different versions globally, including 3D, 4K, HFR48, ScreenX and 4DX.
Avatar 2 opened with $307.6m from 52 territories and $441.6m worldwide; China $56.8m (27% from 735 IMAX screens); Korea $24.9m; Germany $20m; France $19.3m; India $18.2m; opened #1 in all territories apart from Japan; $16.5m from IMAX internationally and $15.8m from China taking $48.8m worldwide (11.3%) from 1,543 screens in 80 territories
Avatar 3 was expected to open between $340m-$380m worldwide; the second biggest global opening in 2025 after Zootopia 2, $560.3m and ahead of Lilo & Stitch, $341m; opening between $250m-$275m and about $100m in the US.
Disney has predictably taken over $6bn worldwide in 2025, ahead of Warner Bros $4.37bn, which is more of a surprise given the mix of films they released this year.
Opened $257m from 51 territories and $345m worldwide; China $57.6m; France $21.4m; Germany $18m; S. Korea $13.6m; UK $11.9m; Mexico $10m; India $9.2m; Australia $8.2m; Italy $7.9m; Spain $7.1m; Brazil $5.9m; Indonesia $5.6m.
- The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants – Paramount Pictures
Opened $15.61m; received positive reviews (86% Rotten Tomatoes) and A- CinemaScore
Took $1.4m from Thursday previews.
2004’s The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie opened $32.01m/$57.5m, taking $85.41m and $141.06m worldwide
2015’s The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water opened $55.36m/$75.6m, taking $162.99m and $325.18m WW
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run was due to open Memorial weekend in 2020, but due to COVID, it was delayed several times, going straight to CBS All Access in early 20221 and international rights were acquired by Netflix.
After receiving its world premiere at AFI Festival in October, Search for SquarePants received positive reviews, and Paramount surely expected it to open far bigger; it opened less than $1m Zootopia 2 fourth weekend, that said, it should hold strongly over the next two weekends.
Audience was 53% male to 47% female; 7-17 28%; 53% 18-34 at 53% (25-34 30%); it had a few PLFs. Animated David also opened, but the religious animated film is unlikely to attract the same audience as either Search for SquarePants or Zootopia 2. So why does SpongeBob open so much less than previous films despite the popularity of SpongeBob?
- The Housemaid – Lionsgate
Opened $19.01m; received positive reviews (78% Rotten Tomatoes) and B CinemaScore
Took $2.2m from Thursday previews.
Paul Feig directed 2018’s A Simple Favor opened $16.01m, taking $53.64m and $97.64m world and directed a sequel this year that was released straight to Amazon.
The trailers generated a lot of buzz as they featured a spooky version of Sabrina Carpenter Please, Please, Please and the novel the film was based on has sold almost 4m copies in the US. Since starring in 2023’s Anyone But You, Sidney Sweeney has generated a lot of media coverage; that said, a lot of it this year was negative due to the controversy generated after her American Eagle “great jeans” campaign.
2023’s Anyone, But You opened $6m, taking $88.31m (14.7x opening) and $220.33m worldwide
Similar films include.
2016’s The Girl on the Train opened $24.53m, taking $75.39m and $173.18m worldwide
2014’s Gone Girl opened $37.51m, taking $167.76m and $370.89m worldwide
2022’s Don’t Worry Darling $19.35m, taking $45.3m and $87.6m worldwide
2000’s What Lies Beneath opened $29.7m/$63.5m taking $155.5m/$332m and $291.4m/$622.3m WW
1992’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle opened $7.67m/$21.3m, taking $88.1m/$244.2m
1992’s Single White Female opened $10.21m/$28.3m taking $48.1m/$133.2m worldwide
Receiving strong word of mouth, The Housemaid will hold strongly over the next few weeks and see a boost next weekend.
- David – Angel Studios
Opened $22m; received positive reviews (70% Rotten Tomatoes) and A CinemaScore
Took $2.2m from Thursday previews.
David was Angel Studios’ biggest opening ahead of 2023’s Sound of Freedom, opening $19.68m, taking $184.17m and $250.57m, and also 2025’s The King of Kings opened $19.37m, taking $60.27m and $79.71m worldwide.
Since releasing Sound of Freedom, Angel Studios has had mixed success from the films they have released recently, reporting losses of $38.6m up from $3.9m in 2024, showing the struggles independent studios have with theatrical.
They will release Young Washington next year to be released next summer during America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
Angel Studios had an IPO in September, raising $2.6bn
- Zootopia 2 – Disney
Dropped 50% in its fourth weekend, $12m and $278m.
100th biggest third weekend between Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Lincoln (close to Moana 2, The Incredibles, Despicable Me 2 and The Princess and the Frog).
EntTelligence said the average ticket price was $14.42; the average PLF ticket was $18.
2016’s Zootopia dropped 27.6% $37.16m and $200.92m of $341.3m/$454.1m and $1.025bn/$1.4bn worldwide
2016’s Moana dropped 34.4% $18.53m and $144.7m of $248.75m and $643.33m worldwide
2024’s Moans 2 dropped 48.3% $26.49m and $337.39m of $460.4m and $1.059bn WW
Social media for Zootopia 2 across X, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube before opening was 518m, above Kung Fu Panda 4‘s 353mn, but below Minions: Rise of Gru ‘s 668m.
Took $56.6m worldwide from IMAX; $10.9m US and $45.7m international, including $34m from China.
Took $131.1m from 51 territories $877.7m total and $1.137bn worldwide; China $539.1m; France $44m; S. Korea $41.3m; Japan $39.3m; Mexico $28.9m; Germany $27.2m; UK $24.7m; Taiwan $17.7m; Italy $16.2m; Australia $14.7m; Brazil $14.4m; Spain $12.9m.
Last year, Moana 2 took $57.2m (down 44%) $379.5m total and $717m worldwide; France $40.5m; UK $33.5m; Germany $24.8m; Mexico $23.5m; Brazil $21.1m; Australia $18.7m; S. Korea $17.9m; Italy $17.5m; Spain $13.7m; China $13.2m; Japan $12.3m; $15m worldwide from IMAX.
Zootopia 2 global BO has been inflated by $502m from China. The first film was a massive hit in China, taking $236.1m, so it was always expected that the sequel would perform stronger 9 years later.
- Wicked: For Good – Universal Pictures
Down 43% $4.86m in its fifth weekend and $321.06m
647th biggest fifth weekend between Dolittle and The Sum of All Fears (close to Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Beaches and Footloose (1984).
EntTelligence said the average ticket price was $14.42; the average PLF ticket was $18 last year. EntTelligence said the average price of Wicked is $14.36, and PLF screens $17.72.
Despite opening 30% more than Wicked three weeks ago, it’s been far more front-loaded and is now *5 down from Wicked’s BO, so it’s likely to struggle to get to $350m. Most analysts expected Wicked: For Good to perform stronger than Wicked, with another 50%+ drop expected in its fourth weekend and the same again in its fifth weekend.
Wicked saw an increase after Christmas last year, but the marketplace is far more crowded this year with 5 other wide releases opening close to Avatar: Fire and Ash.
2024’s Wicked dropped 38% $14.15m #3 and $384.56m of $474.56m (41.23m admissions); $284.29m (24.7m admissions) internationally and $758.85m (65.9m admissions) worldwide.
96th biggest between Shrek the Third and Transformers; 332nd biggest inflated between The Bourne Supremacy and Chicago; 5th biggest 2025 between Jurassic World Rebirth and Sinners; 6th biggest musical between Frozen and The Little Mermaid; 16th biggest Universal Pictures between Oppenheimer and Jaws.
Fifth weekends
2014’s Into the Woods dropped 42.7% $3.88m and $121.49m of $128m and $212.9m WW
2012’s Les Misérables dropped 43.7% $4.22m and $137.54m of $149.26m and $442.75m WW.
Comparison films include.
2013’s Oz the Great and Powerful dropped 31.6% $8.01m and $212.6m of $234.91m/$311.48m and $493.31m/$654.1m WW
2017’s Beauty and the Beast dropped 42.1% $13.7m and $454.72m of $504.01m and $1.263bn worldwide
2014’s Maleficent dropped 35.1% $8.37m and $202.01m of $241.41m/$318.53m and $758.41m/$1bn
2023’s Barbie dropped 37.8% $21.03m and $566.81m of $636.23m and $1.446bn worldwide
Jon Chu previously directed.
2018’s Crazy Rich Asians dropped 33.9% $8.68m and $149.54m of $174.83m and $239.34m worldwide
Wicked 2 social media was 1.33bn across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube; Ariana Grande 510m driving over 570m views on Instagram, plus Cynthia Erivo at 5.4m, Jonathan Bailey at 5.7m, Jeff Goldblum at 5.2m and Michelle Yeoh at 3.1m, Bowen Yang at 1.1m and director Jon M. Chu at 975k.
Took $4m from 78 territories, total $163.7m and $485.43m worldwide; UK $53.6m; Australia $17.9m; Germany $9m; S. Korea $6.4m; Mexico $6.3m; Holland $5.1m; Philippines $5.1m; Spain $4.6m; France $4.3m.
279th biggest worldwide between Mr and Mrs Smith and Saving Private Ryan; 13th biggest 2025 between The Conjuring: Last Rites and Captain America: Brave New World; 14th biggest musical between La La Land and Beauty and the Beast (1991); 36th biggest Universal Pictures between Jaws and Bruce Almighty.
Wicked took in comparison last year in its fifth weekend $12.6m (down 34%) from 81 territories $187.4m total and $572.97m worldwide; UK $60.8m; Australia $22.5m; Korea $13.1m; Mexico $9.6m; Germany $8m.
- Hamnet – Focus Features
Down 36%, dropped 132 screens in its fourth weekend, $918k and $8.82m
Hamnet has been developing strong buzz since having its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, also screened at Toronto and London Film Festivals, winning the People’s Choice Award and the Audience Award. Will expand over the coming weeks; received widespread critical acclaim and is being positioned in a similar way as Shakespeare in Love was in December 1998 for Golden Globes, Oscars and BAFTA over the coming months for it to play strongly over the coming weeks.
On Platform
- Marty Supreme – A24
Opened $875k from 6 screens, having the best screen average since before COVID, $145,833. The film expands widely on Christmas Day.
Timothée Chalamet has been heavily promoting the film for months. Presales were the highest of any A24 film, with 65 sellouts over the 6 screens. The film has received widespread critical acclaim 96% Rotten Tomatoes).
- Is This Thing On – Searchlight Pictures
Opened $135,833 from 6 screens.
Comedy drama directed by Bradley Cooper, loosely based on British comedian John Bishop, had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival in October, receiving positive reviews (89% Rotten Tomatoes), but didn’t receive any Golden Globe nominations. For the film to have a chance to find an audience, it needs award recognition, which is unlikely in the US.
UK Box Office Top 10
Box Office Preview
Avatar: Fire And Ash will hold #1 in its second weekend against the fourth new releases, many of them having extended openings having up to five days of previews.
Impossible to compare Avatar: Fire and Ash’s second weekend with 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water, as it was a two-day weekend, as Christmas Day was Sunday; Way of Water dropped 56% £4,974,004.
Rival studios kept their distance from Avatar 2 as they had done previously with MCU and Star Wars films, but after it didn’t match the success of the first film. As Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Pitch Perfect 3, Ferdinand and The Greatest Showman showed in 2017, multiple films can open against the second weekend of Star Wars: The Last Jedi when they are playing to different demographics.
Avatar: Fire and Ash will drop 30%-40% in its second weekend, taking £5.5m-£6.5m after taking about £2m a day Mon-Weds.
This weekend, there are films for all demographics.
For teens Anaconda
In 2017 Jack Black starred in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle sequel to 1996’s Jumanji despite backlash having a sequel to the Robin Williams film it was a huge success as it had the nostalgic charm ad was able to play to those who grew up with the original as well attract new fans; Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle opened with a strong £8,154,548 (including £4,114,058); 2019’s Jumanji: The Next Leel was a similar success and a third Jumanji film will be released next Christmas.
As the Jumanji films were the perfect alternative to Star Wars films, Anaconda will surely also be for Avatar: Fire and Ice. Reviews have been positive with Jack Black and Paul Rudd on the promo tour, including appearing on The Graham Norton Show. Jack Black has made several jungle-based films, including King Kong and Tropic Thunder.
Anaconda will open between £2m-£3m.
For younger children, The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants, it will have 5 days of previews, taking £834k previews Sat/Sun and then £394k on Monday and will likely take a similar amount on Tues/Weds, taking about £1.9m in previews and likely add a similar amount Fri-Sun opening with about £4m over its 8-day opening.
2005’s The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie opened £1,252,322/£2,119,110, taking £5,364,336/£9,077,231
2015’s SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water 3D opened £2,262,498/£2,500,986, taking £7,989,048/£8,831,167
The most recent film, 2021’s The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, was due to have a cinema release in the UK, but international rights were sold to Netflix in July 2020 due to COVID.
Paramount Pictures has positioned The SpongeBob Movie in the same slot 20th Century Fox did with Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 in 2009, the weekend after Avatar opened and with its extended previews, Alvin 2 replaced Avatar #1 for its second weekend.
For female adults, The Housemaid thriller is based on the 2022 bestselling novel by Freida McFadden, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried and directed by Paul Feig. Paul Feig is best known for directing 2011’s Bridesmaids, 2013’s The Heat, 2015’s Spy, 2018’s A Simple Favor and 2019’s Last Christmas.
Freida McFadden’s novel sold over 750,000 copies in the UK and was on the Amazon best-seller list for 83 weeks, and generated a lot of attention on social media, including TikTok.
The Housemaid has been compared to 2016’s The Girl on the Train and also the recent BBC TV drama The Guest, as both feature a young woman who takes the job of a housekeeper in an expensive home with a perfect couple, but they have hidden secrets. The Guest had over 3.5m viewers in September on BBC One.
It’s also comparable to films like Parasite, Gone Girl, Fatal Attraction and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.
Sydney Sweeney has had an up and down 2025, receiving critical acclaim for her performance in Christy, but failed to find an audience and also generated controversy featuring in an American Eagle jeans campaign with the slogan “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.”
Two years ago, Sydney Sweeney starred in the rom-com Anyone But You
While the trailer featured a creepy version of Sabrina Carpenter’s song Please, Please, Please.
The Housemaid has received positive reviews and has had previews from Monday to Wednesday ahead of its weekend, which will boost word of mouth; it took £584k on Monday and will take similar on Tues/Weds, taking about £3m including previews.
2018’s A Simple Favour opened £1,621,900, taking £4,930,383
2016’s The Girl on the Train opened £6,957,945 (including £1,783,789 previews) taking £23,372,415/£24,981,043
2014’s Gone Girl opened £4,109,628/£4,843,490 taking £22,370,392/£26,365,105
2000’s What Lies Beneath opened £2,258,893/£4,066,007 taking £13,827,135/£24,888,844
1992’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle opened £1,001,221/£2,470,302 taking £5,950,847/£14,682,464
1988’s Fatal Attraction opened £904,240/£3,113,731 taking £15,441,564/£53,172,690
And for Timothée Chalamet fans, Marty Supreme
Timothée Chalamet has been heavily promoting the film and received widespread critical acclaim for his performance.
To promote the film, Timothée Chalamet had a Zoom call with the A24 marketing team, presenting marketing ideas for the film.
Timothée Chalamet has recently starred in A Complete Unknown, Dune Part 2, Wonka and will star in Dune Part 3 next year, but surprisingly, Marty Supreme is opening over a very busy weekend especially as sports films often struggle to find an audience, surely would have been better opening in late January to benefit from BAFTA and Oscar nominations to bring in the audience. That said, recently starred in A Complete Unknown, opening £2,616,302, taking £11,887,982, so it’s hard not to bet on Timothée Chalamet, and the two weeks of Christmas are so lucrative.
Despite these four new releases, Zootropolis 2 will have a minimal drop in its fifth weekend, taking about £750k a day Mon-Weds (took £782k Mon) and will take £10m+ over the Christmas holidays, and by the time schools return on January 5th will be close to £30m.
With the four new releases, Wicked: For Good and all other holdovers will drop heavily, as will the Christmas re-releases.
Coming Soon
- Hamnet – Universal Pictures
Historical drama based on the bestselling novel by Maggie O’Farrell, starring Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson and Joe Alwyn and directed by Chloé Zhao.
Since premiering at the Telluride Film Festival in August, Hamnet has received positive reviews and strong buzz.
Hamnet received 6 Golden Globe nominations, including Best Drama Film, Best Director Drama, Best Actor Drama and Best Screenplay Drama, and in January/February will be getting similar BAFTA and Oscar nominations.
Chloé Zhao previously directed the Oscar-winning 2020’s Nomadland and 2021’s Eternals.
27 years ago, Shakespeare In Love took $100m in the US ($230m inflated) and $289m ($660m inflated) worldwide and received 13 Oscar nominations. Hamnet could receive a similar number of nominations, and has been dated in the prime second weekend of January slot that has seen much success over the last 20 years with the must-see award contender.
1999’s Shakespeare in Love opened £1,819,385/£3,422,691 taking £20,814,996/£39,157,902
Over 4m copies of the book have been sold worldwide, with over 1.5m from the UK; the story is a deeply British literary mythologising of the nation’s greatest writer. The book won the Women’s Prize for Fiction and dominated the British literary press. Maggie O’Farrell is a beloved author in the UK. Hamnet opened on limited release in the US, taking $8.8m after 4 weeks, but will be far more successful in the UK in January and will receive many BAFTA award nominations, becoming the must-see award nomination film like The King’s Speech and The Darkest Hour.
- Giant – True Brit Entertainment
Biographical sports drama about boxer Prince Naseem Hamed starring Amir El-Masry and Pierce Brosnan and directed by Rowan Athale and produced by Sylvester Stallone’s Balboa Productions.
Had its premiere at the London Film Festival, receiving mixed reviews. US biographical sports dramas used to be a mainstay of cinema in the 90s and 00s, with many made by Disney, but there have been fewer British biographical sports films like The Damned United, Rush and Eddie the Eagle. It’s a rags to riches films about an underdog who rises to the top. The problem is that films like this struggle to find an audience now and will find a bigger home on streaming.