- Send Help £1,593,703 – NE
Includes £259,444 From previews; £176k (Thursday and £76k Monday)
Took £374k 23.48% Friday; £569k 35.72% Saturday; £398k 24.98% Sunday a
1,178th biggest opening between The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell Of Fear and Trance (close to 10 Cloverfield Lane, Cabin in the Woods, Cocaine Bear and Intolerable Cruelty) and 1,771st biggest inflated opening between The Three Musketeers and Sister Act 2 Back In The Habit (close to Sunshine, Boogie Nights, The River Wild and Edge Of Darkness).
40th biggest opening over the last 52 weeks between The Bad Guys 2 and The Salt Road (close to Tron: Ares, Freakier Friday, Ballerina and Marty Supreme).
86th biggest horror opening between Cabin in the Woods and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (close to The Exorcist: Believer, Final Destination 2, The Haunting and 28 Days Later) and 140th biggest inflated horror opening between Insidious Chapter 3 and Texas Chainsaw 3D (close to Evil Dead, The Craft (1996), I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and Unfriended).
While it might have opened 114% more than Blink Twice (£746,328); 68% more than Ready or Not (£947,958) and 66% more than The Menu (£932,029) these aren’t really comparison titles.
Send Help opened #1, but positioned after the phenomenon of The Housemaid and with minimal competition, it had the clear runway to capture a massive, ready-made audience. The trailer played before The Housemaid, as both are “woman trapped by a controlling man” premise, setting expectations for a sharp psychological thriller.
However, the film itself was a survival horror, prioritising graphic violence and primal struggle over psychological tension and social strategy. This created a stark genre mismatch. Where The Housemaid delivered a cathartic, intellectual victory within a system, Send Help offered a visceral, physical battle against nature. For much of the Housemaid audience—particularly those drawn to its nuanced power dynamics—the blood and gore were a turnoff, not a draw.
Ultimately, Send Help was marketed for its horror elements, which appealed to a niche audience, but failed to sell its smarter, more accessible survival-thriller core. It won its quiet weekend but missed the far larger opportunity to convert the broad, psychology-hungry audience left eager by The Housemaid.
On the surface The Housemaid, Send Help and Wuthering Heights look unrelated. Different tones, different audiences, different marketing hooks. But underneath, there’s a connective current: women navigating, resisting or surviving male control physical, emotional, psychological.
While Rachel McAdams is best known for starring in comedies like Mean Girls (2004), Wedding Crashes, Game Night, along with The Notebook and Spotlight, she also starred in the similarly tense psychological thriller Red Eye in 2005, directed by Wes Craven (opened £891,582/£1,516,257 taking £3,414,662/£5,807,100).
Rachel McAdams also had small roles in the Doctor Strange films directed by Sam Raimi, who said he wanted to work with her again as he wasn’t able to utilise her full potential in the Doctor Strange sequel.
Send Help is Sam Raimi’s first horror film since 2009’s Drag Me to Hell (opened £1,907,731/£2,808,994 taking £6,332,690/£9,324,420). Send Help has received positive reviews and had its UK premiere last week, with Rachel McAdams promoting the film, which included appearing on the Graham Norton Show last Friday.
It’s a return to horror for Sam Raimi, who hasn’t directed one since 2009’s Drag Me to Hell, instead directed 2013’s Oz the Great and Powerful, 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the Spider-Man trilogy.
Send Help opened similarly to 2013’s Evil Dead, £1,375,842/£1,687,671 taking £3,355,676/£4,116,227 and 2021’s Evil Dead Rises (opened £1,477,840, taking £5,288,972.
The film was originally developed at Sony Pictures in 2019, described as “Misery meets Cast Away” The trailer starts with Rachel’s character being mistreated by her boss, but then the tables are reversed when their plane crashes and they land on an island. The film moved to 20th Century Studios in 2024 after Sony Pictures had plans to release it straight to streaming, as it was due to be made soon after COVID.
It’s easy to say in hindsight that Sony Pictures made a mistake planning to give Send Help a Netflix release after 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Karate Kid: Legends, I Know What You Did Last Summer, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, Caught Stealing, and Anaconda all underperformed while Smile and Evil Dead Rise, planned as streaming releases, had successful cinema releases. But the original thriller Send Help wasn’t a sure thing, as female survival thriller 2016’s The Shallows opened a similar $16.8m, taking $55.12m and $119.1m worldwide, and was seen as a disappointment despite also receiving positive reviews.
The problem is that people have very short memories and have lowered their expectations on what is a hit post-COVID, while the industry keeps undervaluing the female audience in cinemas, despite female-targeting films regularly “surprising” at the box office. While the male-targeting films like Avatar: Fire and Ash underperformed, The Housemaid and Hamnet helped January’s BO be the biggest since 2020, with the highest January admissions since 2020. Female audiences will return strongly again to cinemas for Wuthering Heights this weekend and then Scream 7 at the end of the month.
- 2. Stray Kids £1,083,888 – NE
Took £390k 36.01% Friday; £420k 38.78% Saturday; £273k 25.21% Sunday
Took 19% from 50 IMAX screens and 7% from 35 4DX screens
Had the biggest opening for Event Cinema in 2026
1,678th biggest opening between The Bikeriders and Den of Thieves (close to Game Night, Scary Movie 5, Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce and In The Heights) and 2,328th biggest inflated opening between Jennifer’s Body and The Accidental Husband (Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, Peppa Pig: Festival of Fun, Down With Love, and Blinded By The Light)
But it’s impossible to compare Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience with regular films as seen by almost a third of its box office from IMAX/4DX its more like a theme park ride than a film opening similar to 2011’s Justin Bieber: Never Say Never £820,592/£1,084,644 taking £1,993,888/£2,635,486 and 2023’s Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce opened £1,082,080 taking £1,679,777 and ahead of 2014’s One Direction: Where We Are – The Concert Film opening £1.03m.
Other K-pop concert films include
2023’s BTS: Yet To Come In Cinemas opened £535,337 #8 from 380 screens
2022’s BTS Permission to Dance on Stage Live opened £899,126 (broadcast live at 8.45 am Saturday)
2018’s Burn the Stage: Movie #6 opened £644,308 from 212 screens
In 2019, Love Yourself In Seoul – BTS World Tour 2019 #10 £518,810 from 519 screens.
And in 2020, Break the Silence: The Movie #3 £374,060 from 363 screens (including £124,063 from previews).
But as seen by the popularity of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters Singalong in August, Kpop has grown in popularity over the last few years and next February, Paramount Pictures will release an untitled K-Pop film.
As with other K-pop films, Stray Kids will be front-loaded, dropping heavily in its second weekend despite it being half-term.
- 3. The Housemaid £929,423 – £30,085,266
Down 33.6% in its seventh weekend
£264k 28.4% (-30.7% £381k) Fri; £422k 45.43% (-31.6% £617k) Sat; £243k 26.16% (-41.16% £401k) Sun.
60th 42nd biggest seventh weekend between Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me 2 (close to Bridget Jones’s Diary, Top Gun: Maverick, Life of Pi and Four Weddings and a Funeral) and 152nd biggest inflated seventh weekend between The Mummy (1999) and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (close to Sense and Sensibility, There’s Something About Mary, Look Who’s Talking and Basic Instinct).
The Housemaid and Zootropolis 2 were released on PVOD last week, but both films held well in cinemas, showing that if it’s a film people want to see in the cinema, they will go to the cinema to see it, showing exhibitors’ anger over shortened have no value and is just an excuse.
The continued strength of The Housemaid and Zootropolis 2 — despite both being available on PVOD — quietly undermines one of the industry’s favourite panic narratives. Availability does not equal abandonment. Audiences are not simply chasing access; they’re chasing attention, conversation and occasion.
When a film still feels culturally present, the big screen remains the premium expression of that moment. This is the same principle driving creator-led releases and fandom events: platforms may own libraries, but the winners increasingly own attention. And attention, not exclusivity, is what moves tickets.
The Housemaid has become Paul Feig’s biggest film ahead of Bridesmaids (£23.05m). It is also Sydney Sweeney’s biggest film in the UK, ahead of Anyone But You (£11.71m) and has overtaken It Ends With Us (£21.91m), Gone Girl (£22.61m), Fifty Shades Darker (£23.15m) and The Girl On The Train (£24.01m).
The Housemaid had a similar seventh weekend as Joker, Top Gun: Maverick, Bohemian Rhapsody, Mamma Mia 2, Oppenheimer, Dunkirk, Moana 2, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Seventh weekends
2014’s Gone Girl dropped 34.8% £454,488/£491,289 and £21,545,587 97.4% of £22.61m/£26,365,105
2000’s What Lies Beneath dropped 23.8% £412,013/£776,523 and £10,542,207 76.24% of £13,827,135/£24,888,844
1992’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle dropped 5.6% £236,225/£589,459 and £5,242,969 88.1% of £5,950,847/£14,682,464
1988’s Fatal Attraction dropped 27.9% £379,432/£1,321,413 and £11,556,543 74.84% of £15,441,564/£53,172,690
While 2011’s Bridesmaids dropped 26.3% £539,252/£712,774 and £21,499,160 93.27% of £23,050,000/£30,467,079
The Housemaid continues to hold similar to 2012’s Life of Pi (opened the same day 13 years earlier), dropped 24.2% £848,579 /£1,067,051 and £27,308,038, 95.06% of £28,726,668/£34,859,834.
2018’s A Simple Favour took £4,930,383; 2016’s The Girl on the Train took £24.1m
8th biggest 2025 between Zootropolis 2 and Superman (close to Jurassic World Rebirth, Mission Impossible 8, The Fantastic Four and How To Train Your Dragon).
The 3rd biggest Lionsgate film between The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and La La Land. The Housemaid will overtake Mockingjay Part 1 next weekend, but will come short of topping THG: Catching Fire (£33,492,985) to become their biggest film in the UK. As the film is now available on PVOD, Wuthering Heights will take screens and the audience away. While Wuthering Heights might seem to be an epic romance, it shares similar themes to The Housemaid, including abuse, pain and trauma.
161st biggest between Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse and Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (close to Slumdog Millionaire, Notting Hill, La La Land and A Star Is Born) and 332nd biggest inflated between Rambo: First Blood Part II and Happy Feet (close to About A Boy, Pulp Fiction, Indecent Proposal and Bridesmaids).
Following the combined £50m+ success of The Housemaid and Hamnet, the next major test for the female audience arrives with Wuthering Heights this weekend. It headlines an unusual mix of upcoming female-targeted films—from legacy sequels (The Devil Wears Prada 2, Practical Magic 2) to fantasy (Supergirl, Narnia) and period pieces (Sense and Sensibility). Crucially, a sustained pipeline has been built for audiences who discovered Hamnet via The Housemaid are now seeing Wuthering Heights trailers with Hamnet. This cross-pollination is designed to build success throughout the year.
While it’s understandable after the huge success of The Housemaid, Lionsgate have announced plans for a sequel, but can lightning strike twice? How can they repeat the twist in the sequels that was teased at the end of The Housemaid, with Millie going for an interview for another job and the wife suffering physical abuse? Except for Bridget Jones’s Diary and Twilight, female-focused sequels have struggled to match the success of the original; even the 50 Shades of Grey sequels were no match for the first film.
The Housemaid has taken more than It Ends With Us ($350m) worldwide taking $354.6M; $231M internationally and $123.6M US.
- 4. Hamnet £830,376 -£16,618,821
Dropped 41.3% in its fifth weekend
£370k 26.2% (-27.45% £510k) Fri; £575k 40.7% (-30.8% £831k) Sat; £467k 33.1% (-25% £623k) Sun
256th biggest fifth weekend between Johnny English Reborn and Signs (close to About A Boy, Evita, Murder on the Orient Express and What Women Want) and 470th biggest inflated fifth weekend between The Croods and Waterworld (close to Good Morning Vietnam, Captain Phillips, Green Book and Miss Congeniality).
Hamet will drop down the harts over the next few weeks, but with the BAFTA Awards in 10 days and Jessie Buckley almost certainly winning Best Actress BAFTA, it will likely match the BO of Shakespeare in Love, taking over £20m. Hamnet is unlikely to win other major awards, which will likely be shared with One Battle After Another and Sinners.
1999’s Shakespeare in Love dropped 28.2% £990,386/£1,884,321 and £12,179,132 58.5% of £20,814,996/£39,157,902
Hamnet’s fifth weekend was similar to other female-focused dramas, including.
2019’s Little Women dropped 32.1% £1,004,904 and £18,498,695 86.9% of £21,283,939/£23,612,791
2019’s Downton Abbey dropped 35% £949,205 and £25,394,967 89.9% of £28,242,871/£31,333,157
2015’s The Theory Of Everything dropped 35% £1,032,912 and £16,643,178 77.4% of £21,502,825/£23,888,714
2011’s Black Swan dropped 35.2% £693,332/£916,434 and £14,277,599 90.9% of £15,708,154/£20,762,758
2005’s Pride And Prejudice dropped 34.4% £594,792/£1,011,525 and £12,651,399 86.9% of £14,562,448/£24,765,437
2024’s It Ends With Us dropped 41.4% £668,902 and £20,110,598 93.5% of £21,500,000
416th biggest between Enchanted and F9 (close to The Bodyguard, The Favourite, Chicago and Forrest Gump) and 719th biggest inflated between The Polar Express and Father of the Bride (close to Forever Young, My Best Friend’s Wedding, War of the Roses and Cold Mountain).
Hamnet has taken $70.6m worldwide, including $48.8m internationally, taking almost half, $222.7m, from the UK.
- 5. Zootropolis 2 £603,912 – £33,327,807
Down 41.2% in the eleventh weekend
Despite being released on PVOD last week, 100,000 people still chose to watch Zootropolis 2 in the cinema over watching it at home, showing again that exhibitors’ comments about shortened theatrical windows are an excuse.
Zootropolis 2 stayed in the top 5 for its eleventh weekends as Goat was having previews over the weekend ahead of opening on Friday, (Goat took £1.3m on Sat/Sun) why it took far more than Moana 2 last year in its eleventh weekend £244,566 and £41,652,799 as Dog Man opened £3,252,537 and also had competition with Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic The Hedgehog 3 over Christmas, Zootropolis 2 has had no direct competition over its 11 weeks as The Spongebob Movie: Search For Squarepants plays younger.
136th biggest between The Inbetweeners Movie 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King (close to Inception, Fantastic Beasts 2, The Lego Movie, and Sing 2) and 284th biggest inflated between Tarzan and Mufasa: The Lion King (close to Pretty Woman, Three Men And A Baby, The BFG and Hook).
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BO is currently 20% ahead of 2025; January BO was about £106m with about 13.2m admissions.
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £6,948,063, down 21.8% from last weekend’s £8,886,321: 818,818 admissions, down 26.2% from 1,109,403 admissions.
46th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 17 October 2025 #1 Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie £1,901,289 (26.82%) and 28 March 2025 #1 Snow White £2,015,179 (30.84%)
201st biggest since cinemas reopened out of 273 weeks between 17 October 2025 #1 Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie £1,901,289 (26.82%) and 17 May 2024 #1 IF £2,435,054 (35.05%)
1,012th biggest top 10 of the last 24 years (out of 1,244) between 25 September 2015 #1 Everest £1,996,439 (28.64%) and 17 May 2024 #1 IF £2,435,054 (35.05%) and 1,157th biggest inflated between 15 March 2024 #1 Dune Part 2 £4,046,492 (59.39%) and 17 May 2024 #1 IF £2,435,054 (35.05%)
The top 3 took £4,234,653 (60.9%) of the top 10; Send Help 22.94% (£1,593,703); Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience 15.6% (£1,083,888); The Housemaid 13.4% (£929,423)
1,020th biggest percentage share #1 (22.94%) between 04 April 2014 #1 Rio 2 £2,882,680 (22.98%) and 16 January 2026 #1 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple £3,376,384 (22.91%)
1,169th biggest admissions (198,964) between 11 September 2009 #1 District 9 £1,184,392 (199,057) and 19 September 2014 #1 The Boxtrolls £1,333,137 (198,383)
Down 10.78% from 2025; (£7,787,566); Dog Man (£3,252,536); Macbeth: David Tennant And Cush Jumbo (£691,142); September 5 (£638,912); Becoming Led Zeppelin (£417,768); Love Hurts (£140,082); #1 Dog Man £3,252,536 1st week 608 screens (41.77% of top 10)
Down 4.49% from 2024; (£7,274,501); The Iron Claw (£754,152); Peppa’s Cinema Party (£490,693); Turning Red (£57,385); #1 Migration £2,468,390 2nd week dropped 31% 678 screens (33.93% of top 10)
Down 16.82% from 2023; (£8,352,776); Magic Mike’s Last Dance (£1,529,155); Titanic (Re: 2023) (£870,646); Epic Tails (£259,637); Women Talking (£117,380); #1 Puss In Boots: The Last Wish £3,066,908 38% drop 697 screens 2nd week (36.72% of top 10)
Down 49.19% 2022 (£13,675,065); Uncharted (£4,705,948); Death On The Nile (£1,898,357); Marry Me (£700,513); The Beatles: Get Back – The Rooftop Concert (£79,987); #1 Uncharted £4,705,948 1st week 579 screens (34.4% of top 10)
2021 Lockdown
Down 52.64% 2020; (£14,669,621); Dolittle (£5,085,520); Birds Of Prey (£2,833,297); Parasite (£1,397,387); The Personal History Of David Copperfield (£530,339); Underwater (£191,869); #1 Dolittle £5,085,520 1st week 600 screens (34.7% of top 10)
Down 48.29% from 2019: (£13,436,944); The LEGO Movie 2 (£4,016,730); Alita: Battle Angel (£3,198,180); All is True (£266,767); If Beale Street Could Talk (£252,462); Boy Erased (£118,585); #1 The LEGO Movie 2 £4,016,730 1st week 572 screens (29.9% of top 10)
Down 51.61% from 2018; (£14,358,030); Fifty Shades Freed (£6,132,414); Tad The Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas (£302,312); The Mercy (£301,138); The 15:17 to Paris (£290,577); Status Update (£137,886); #1 Fifty Shades Freed £6,132,414 1st week 592 screens (42.7% of top 10)
Down 69.19% 2017: (£22,550,899); The LEGO Batman Movie (£7,906,468); Fifty Shades Darker (£7,557,485); The Space Between Us (£258,401); Fences (£102,688); 20th Century Women (£60,203); Prevenge (£30,118); Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (£14,692); #1 The LEGO Batman Movie £7,906,468 1st week 600 screens (35.1% of top 10)
Down 72.19% 2016: (£25,026,922); Deadpool (£13,729,803); Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (£4,296,291); Zoolander 2 (£2,089,678); Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (£357,444); A Bigger Splash (£347,704); Concussion (£111,993); Oddball and the Penguins (£23,835); The Iron Giant: Signature Edition (£13,729); Jem and the Holograms (£8,869); #1 Deadpool £13,729,803 1st week 543 screens (54.8% of top 10)
Down 39.62% 2015; (£11,507,851); Shaun The Sheep Movie (£2,095,061); Jupiter Ascending (£1,349,938); Selma (£792,365); The Interview (£283,811); #1 Big Hero 6 £2,540,116 2nd week 513 screens 41% drop (22.1% of top 10)
Down 41.43% 2014: (£11,863,126); Mr. Peabody and Sherman (£3,916,559); RoboCop (£2,410,948); Dallas Buyers Club (£1,086,938); The Invisible Woman (£132,021); #1 Mr. Peabody and Sherman £3,916,559 1st week 507 screens (33.1% of top 10)
Down 45.47% 2013: (£12,741,358); Wreck-It Ralph (£4,526,380); I Give It A Year (£1,450,023); Warm Bodies (£895,509); Hitchcock (£606,817); #1 Wreck-It Ralph £4,526,380 1st week 501 screens (35.5% of top 10)
Down 44.93% 2012: (£12,616,654); The Woman in Black (£3,153,020); The Muppets (£2,650,664); Star Wars: Episode I – Phantom Menace 3D (£1,528,156); The Vow (£1,091,469); A Dangerous Method (£186,775); Big Miracle (£149,796); #1 The Woman in Black £3,153,020 1st week 412 screens (25% of top 10)
Down 54.39% 2011; (£15,233,283); Gnomeo and Juliet (£2,945,627); True Grit (£1,823,254); Yogi Bear (£1,820,405); Just Go With it (£1,628,265); Never Let Me Go (£625,496); #1 Gnomeo and Juliet £2,945,627 1st week 462 screens (19.3% of top 10)
Down 55.14% from 2010: (£15,488,281); Valentine’s Day (£3,732,393); The Wolfman (£2,367,849); Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (£1,502,663); My Name Is Khan (£936,454); A Single Man (£502,009); Pretty Woman: 20th Anniversary (£51,938); #1 Valentine’s Day £3,732,393 1st week 432 screens (24.1% of top 10)
Down 16.64% 2009; (£8,335,147); The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (£2,213,495); He’s Just Not That Into You (£1,913,542); The Secret of Moonacre (£308,099); Doubt (£253,097); Vicky Cristina Barcelona (£243,684); Punisher: War Zone (£94,365); #1 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button £2,213,495 1st week 425 screens (26.5% of top 10)
Down 30.47% 2008; (£9,992,789); National Treasure 2 (£2,483,297); Juno (£2,002,120); The Water Horse (£760,340); Definitely, Maybe (£698,041); There Will Be Blood (£215,490); The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (£106,911); Arctic Tale (£7,619); #1 National Treasure 2 £2,483,297 1st week 491 screens (24.8% of top 10)
Down 29.30% 2007: (£9,827,338); Music and Lyrics (£1,929,058); Charlotte’s Web (£1,892,120); Epic Movie (£1,368,657); Hannibal Rising (£1,044,033); Goal! 2 (£326,807); The Reef (£208,259); #1 Music and Lyrics £1,929,058 1st week 432 screens (19.6% of top 10)
Down 35.79% 2006; (£10,821,573); Chicken Little (£3,173,867); Final Destination 3 (£2,219,978); Big Momma’s House 2 (£1,735,839); The Little Polar Bear 2 (£80,915); #1 Chicken Little £3,173,867 1st week 400 screens (29.3% of top 10)
Down 34.73% 2005: (£10,644,664); The Magic Roundabout (£1,569,843); The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (£1,252,322); Son of the Mask (£725,524); The Sea Inside (£89,507); #1 Meet the Fockers £2,957,466 3rd week 456 screens 36 drops (27.8% of top 10)
Down 15.42% 2004; (£8,214,642); School of Rock (£2,742,356); Something’s Gotta Give (£1,215,563); The Dreamers (£117,181); Charlie (£92,336); #1 School of Rock £2,742,356 1st week 376 screens (33.4% of top 10)
Down 38.01% 2003 (£11,208,480); Two Weeks’ Notice (£2,636,050); Final Destination 2 (£1,675,057); The Wild Thornberrys (£1,430,610); Punch Drunk Love (£151,494); #1 Two Weeks’ Notice £2,636,050 1st week 414 screens (23.5% of top 10)
Down 54.98% from 2002: (£15,433,492); Monsters, Inc. (£9,200,257); From Hell (£891,862); Just Visiting (£121,414); #1 Monsters, Inc. £9,200,257 1st week 503 screens (21.6% of top 10)
2025 Next week: (£22,858,608); Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (£12,298,966); Captain America: Brave New World (£6,404,345); Heart Eyes (£710,234); #1 Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy £12,298,966 727 screens 1st week (53.8% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Send Help – 20th Century Studios.
Dropped 53% in its second weekend, $9.046m and $34.85m
Earlier in the weekend, it was looking to drop under 50%, but final figures came in over 50%, disappointing hold for the film that has received positive reviews and strong word of mouth, but it must have performed softer on Super Bowl Sunday.
Similar films include Sam Raimi’s underrated 1998 film A Simple Plan, which flopped at the box office, finding an audience on home video.
2013’s Evil Dead dropped 63.2% $9.48m and $41.53m from $54.23 m and $97.54m worldwide
2016’s The Shallows dropped 47.8% $8.77m and $35.02m of $55.12m and $119.1m worldwide
2009’s Drag Me to Hell dropped 55.5% $7.04m and $28.23m of $42.1m and $90.84m worldwide
While Rachel McAdams starred in Wes Craven’s 2005 horror Red Eye dropped 36.4% $10.28m and $32.56m of $57.89m and $96.25m worldwide. Showing a film like Send Help should be performing far stronger and also holding stronger.
So it’s no surprise that when it was based at Sony Pictures soon after COVID, they planned to release it straight to streaming as the $40m budget film is unlikely to take similar worldwide BO as Drag Me to Hell despite being released 17 years later. As the industry is so desperate for an original film success, it has lowered its expectations on what a hit is, despite a decade ago Shallow’s BO seen as a disappointment.
Took $6.3m internationally, $17.9m total and $53.7m worldwide; UK $2.2m
- Solo Mio – Angel Studios
Opened $7m; received positive reviews 76% Rotten Tomatoes) and A- CinemaScore
Over a quiet weekend for new releases, it let Angel Studios find an audience for solo Mio, which it wouldn’t have otherwise received, and its escapism to sunny Italy from the freeze across the US, but it’s unlikely to last long in cinemas.
- Stray Kids – Universal/Live Nation
Opened $5.69m; took 38% from IMAX in the US ($2.1m)
Similar to 2023’s BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas, Stray Kids took a large percentage of its BO from premium formats; BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas opened with $8.02m, taking $1.5m from the 1,127 4DX and ScreenX screens, which took 19% of its BO.
2025’s KPop Demon Hunters Singalong opened $19.2m; $10.1m Saturday and $9.1m Sunday; it was released by Netflix who didn’t reported BO as they don’t report BO data for cinema releases, but this is an estimate from rival studios and exhibitors after it has sold out more than 1,300+ shows in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
Admissions for KPop ‘s Saturday and Sunday, according to EntTelligence, were 1.5m; the standard ticket price was $13.63, and Premium was $16.31, taking 18% of the weekend’s admissions. KPop Demon Hunters is now the most popular Netflix film of all time, with over 236m views to date alongside its cinema release.
Took 20% of global BO from IMAX; $2.1m US and $1.8m internationally
Opened with $13.5m worldwide; Mexico $2.1m; Germany $1.6m; UK $1.4m;
- Avatar: Fire and Ash – 20th Century Studios
Down 39% in its eighth weekend, $3.47m and $391.5m
220th biggest eighth weekend between Signs and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (close to The Hunt for Red October, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Dumb and Dumber and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids); Avatar #2 $22.85m and Avatar: The Way of Water #10 $11.33m.
Variety reported this week that, despite Avatar: Fire and Ash taking $1.43bn worldwide, it still hasn’t made a profit. After eight weeks on release, it has taken almost 40% less in the US than Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar and its not had the legs of the first two films. The budget of Avatar: Fire an Ash and its marketing was over $500m, and James Cameron probably has a similar first dollar gross contract for the sequels as he did for the first film.
But as with all of Disney’s films, they are properties, and the cinema release is just the first window of their lives. Last year, Lilo & Stitch took $1bn worldwide at the BO but over $4bn worldwide on merchandising.
While Disney might have only had the film rights to Avatar since acquiring 20th Century Fox in 2019, they have been in the Avatar business since 2011, announcing plans to build Pandora Land at Disneyland, and it opened in May 2017. While 20th Century Fox announced plans for Avatar sequels soon after the first film was released, it was only in April 2017 that they set release dates. This was 8 months before Disney announced they were buying the studio. Pandora – The World of Avatar boosted admissions to Disneyland in 2017 by 15% (12.5m over $1bn in sales).
Disney announced plans for two more Avatar films to be released in 2029 and 2031, but ahead of the release of Avatar 3, James Cameron wasn’t sure if those films would be made and since the third film has opened, there hasn’t been any further news on these sequels.
The industry is very quick to call out a film for being a success as they lowered expectations on what is a hit but then with Avatar sequels thy higher their expectations of what is a hit, as if you live by the sword you die by the sword, that said with Disney as they make properties not films as Yogurt said I Spaceball “Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made!”
EnTelligence said Fire and Ash 2D standard $16.66 and IMAX/PLF/3D $19.82; this compares to the average ticket price for a 3D/PLF $18.28 compared to $12.53 for 2D for Avatar 2.
55th biggest between Frozen and Spider-Man: Far From Home; 213th biggest inflated between Gladiator and Jumanji: The Next Level; 4th biggest 2025 between Zootopia 2 and Superman; 18th biggest sci-fi film between Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Jurassic World: Dominion.
Taken $186.8m from IMAX worldwide
Eighth weekends
2009’s Avatar dropped 26.9% $22.85m and $629.34m of $749.76m of $749.76m/$1.25bn and $2.93bn/$4.5bn worldwide; #2 behind Dear John $30.46m.
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.
2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water dropped 29% $11.33m and $636.95m of $688.45m/$748m and $2.32bn/ $2.54bn worldwide
Internationally eighth weekend
Avatar 2 took $27.9m (36% drop) from 52 territories, $1.538bn total, and $2.174bn worldwide; China $240.6m; France $141.5m; Germany $130.7m; Korea $105.5m; UK $88.2m.
Avatar took $76m (20% drop) in its 8th weekend internationally from 52 territories, $1.58bn total ($153m from IMAX worldwide and $629.34m US), and $2.21bn, 80.5% of $2.743bn.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is expected to take about $1.6bn
Avatar 3 took $12.2m internationally from 52 territories, $1.047bn total and $1.439bn worldwide.
18th biggest worldwide between Barbie and Avengers: Age of Ultron (close to Top Gun: Maverick, Furious 7, Deadpool & Wolverine and The Super Mario Bros. Movie).
- Zootopia 2 – Disney
Down 32% in its eleventh weekend, $4m and $414.51m.
49th biggest eleventh weekend between March of the Penguins and Traffic (close to Pretty Woman, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Avengers: Endgame).
11th biggest animated film between Toy Story 3 and Frozen; 44th biggest between Toy Story 3 and Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith; 191st biggest, inflation-adjusted between It and Joker; 3rd biggest 2025 between Lilo & Stitch and Superman; 25th biggest Disney between Toy Story 3 and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
EntTelligence said the average ticket price was $14.42; the average PLF ticket was $18.
2016’s Zootopia dropped 12.1% $2.82m and $331.84m of $341.3m/$454.1m and $1.025bn/$1.4bn worldwide
2016’s Moana dropped 46.1% $1.33m and $242.09m of $248.75m/$331m and $643.33m/$856.1m worldwide
2024’s Moans 2 dropped 43.7% $1.61m and $456.18m from $460.4 m and $1.059bn WW
Took $12.8m from 52 territories, $1.388bn total and $1.803bn worldwide; China $638.1m; France $74.6m; Korea $56.2m; Germany $48.5m; UK $43.5m; Mexico $40.2m; Australia $27.9m; Brazil $24.6m.
2nd biggest animated film worldwide between Ne Zha 2 and Inside Out 2; 9th biggest worldwide between Spider-Man: No Way Home and Inside Out; 4th biggest Disney between Avengers: Infinity War and Inside Out.
UK Box Office Top 10
Box Office Preview
Last week and this weekend highlight the lows and highs of cinema over the last decade. After having the lowest weekend since the beginning of November last weekend, this weekend, with the first must-see film of the year, will be one of the highest weekends of the year so far.
Wuthering Heights has been generating huge media coverage over the last few weeks due to it being the latest adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel, starring Margot Robbie and directed by Emerald Fennell.
After Emerald Fennell previously directed Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, it has been seen more as a period spin of Fifty Shades of Grey than focusing on the original text. This has seen the film receiving mixed reviews as it’s not the Wuthering Heights many expected, as it focuses on the sexualised nature of the relationship and, similar to Fifty Shades of Grey, which was a fanfiction of Twilight, the 2026 film is more fanfictions being sex over substance.
30 years ago, Baz Luhrmann directed Romeo and Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. It was set in modern times but kept all the key elements of the film and the Shakesperen text, and it has beloved audiences ever since.
By focusing on the sexual elements of the novel, it has made some wonder if the director understands the deeper meaning of the novel, as with abuse, pain and trauma its far from a sweet romantic film for Valentine’s Day.
Emerald Fennell’s previous films, 2020’s Promising Young Woman, didn’t have a UK cinema release due to COVID and were released on Sky Cinema; 2023’s Saltburn opened £841,064, taking £5,577,963.
Wuthering Heights opens over Valentine’s Day weekend, and female-focused films have opened strongly over this weekend, including 2025’s Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy opening £12,298,966; £3.54m Friday; £3.67m Saturday; £2.98m Sunday, taking £46,367,473.
11 years ago, Fifty Shades of Grey opened Valentine’s Day weekend at £13,550,290 (took £4.61m Friday), taking £38,570,543/£42,368,752; Fifty Shades Darker opened £7,906,468, and Fifty Shades Freed £6,132,414.
English period romance dramas have been a mainstay of cinema for decades, as they have a nostalgic element to dating that began with courtship, etiquette, letters, and lingering glances rather than the immediate physicality of swiping on an app.
Modern versions include.
2019’s Little Women opened £3,578,877/£3,970,472, taking £21,283,939/£23,612,791
2020’s Emma opened £1,635,797/£1,850,669 taking £7,455,943/£8,435,325 (COVID affected)
1996’s Emma opened £402,155/£1,400,549 taking £5,012,831/£17,457,729
2005’s Pride And Prejudice opened £2,529,947/£4,302,521 taking £14,562,448/£24,765,437
1996’s Sense and Sensibility opened £629,152/£1,238,208 taking £13,605,627/£26,776,676
1995’s Little Women opened £423,563/£974,925 taking £3,143,960/£7,236,529
Wuthering Heights is likely to open between £8m-£9m
After Goat took £1.3m from previews last weekend, it will likely take about £3m-£4m over its opening weekend, including previews, ahead of half-term holidays.
Being about basketball might limit its appeal; 2021’s Space Jam: A New Legacy opened £1,363,556/£1,452,405 taking £12,856,288/£13,693,998
1997’s Space Jam opened £1,467,506/£2,888,138 taking £11,648,511/£22,924,957
Crime 101 will likely open similar to Amazon/MGM’s Mercy (£612,349 in January, it feels like their approach to making original films is using an algorithm/Moneyball approach, having a high concept idea and then add recognisable cast, and what you get is a 90s style film that now finds a much wider audience on streaming as seen by films like Carry-On and Heart of Stone.
It will be interesting to see how long Amazon/MGM continue this, as Apple announced plans to spend $1bn on original films in 2023, but after they struggled to find an audience, they abandoned plans. As Amazon/MGM can promise to give these films 45-day windows, but if they are being played out of cinemas within half that time, how long will they think this policy is working, as while these films find audiences on streaming, they don’t find them in cinemas?
Coming Soon
- Scream 7 – Paramount Pictures
Slasher horror starring Neve Campbell, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, and Courteney Cox, Isabel May, Anna Camp, Michelle Randolph, Jimmy Tatro, McKenna Grace, and Joel McHale and directed by Kevin Williamson.
It will be released in IMAX for the first time. The film series has been released in IMAX.
The sequel to 2023’s Scream VI, the seventh film in the Scream series and the 20th anniversary of the release of the first film, which was also written by Kevin Williamson.
The film went through changes after Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega were fired, and Neve Campbell returned after not starring in Scream VI due to the salary she was offered did not match the value she brought to the franchise. 20 years on from the original film, of course, it’s to do with Sidney Prescott’s daughter, Ghostface targets.
2023’s Scream VI opened £3,043,922 over 5 days; £207k from Weds double bill; £467k Thurs; £805k Friday; £964k Saturday; £601k Sunday; taking £7,595,558.
The Scream series has taken over £42m to date and £70m inflation-adjusted.
1997’s Scream £1,070,532 (£2,125,282 inflated) from 214 screens £8,247,094 (£16,372,609 inflated); opening was 13% of total BO.
1998’s Scream 2 £2,493,950 (£4,951,134 inflated) from 387 screens £8,280,725 (£16,439,375 inflated)
2000’s Scream 3 £2,449,937 (£4,498,975 inflated) from 400 screens £5,585,267 (£10,256,581 inflated)
2011’s Scream 4 £2,061,885 (£2,749,180 inflated) from 408 screens £5,581,902 (£7,442,536 inflated)
2022’s Scream £2,468,510 from 622 screens £7,438,313; opening was 33.2% of total BO.
Scream was a horror film for people who watched horror films Randy in Scream explains the rules of horrors, that you can never have sex, never drink and never say “I’ll be right back”, while the rules for the sequel are the body count is always higher, death scenes are more elaborate and never assume the killer is dead (that part is also the in the first film when Billy comes back from the dead for one last scare. While the rules of the third film were that the killer is superhuman. The original title for Scream was Scary Movie, the title that was used a few years after Scream to spoof Scream, which was also spoofing horror films. This year, Paramount Pictures released both Scream 7 and A Scary Movie 6.
Scream was one of several horrors that featured actors from popular teen US TV shows. I Know What You Did Last Summer opened in 1997, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy), who then starred in Scream 2. Was also Final Destination, Urban Legend, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and The Faculty, many of them written by Kevin Williamson, who wrote the original Scream script and also Dawson Creek (many of its teen actors appeared in these teen horrors).
What was incredible about the first Scream film it opened in May 1997 six months after the US was it had very strong legs (was in the top 15 in the UK for over 3 months) as it was a horror film for people who don’t like horror films, but the sequel is far more of a straight horror, while tries to be too clever for itself. 1997’s Scream took 8x opening, taking only 12.5% of BO, while 2022’s Scream took 3x opening and opening 33.2% of BO. This was similar to Scream 2-4 and will also be the case with Scream 7.
- EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert – Universal Pictures
Documentary directed by Baz Luhrmann had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, receiving positive reviews.
It will be released a week ahead of its release in IMAX cinemas only, before playing in regular cinemas from February 27th.
Baz Luhrmann used unseen footage of Elvis Presley from Elvis: That’s the Way It Is, which was discovered in the Warner Bros Archive in 35mm and 8mm
- The Testament Of Ann Lee – Walt Disney
Historical musical drama starring Amanda Seyfried, Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Stacy Martin, Tim Blake Nelson, and Christopher Abbott and directed by Mona Fastvold.
Received its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, receiving positive reviews and critical acclaim for Amanda Seyfried’s performance, described as “career best”. But only had a limited wide release in the US, taking $2.4m and apart from receiving Golden Globe nominations failed to get either BAFTA or Oscar nominations, and with them, it will struggle to find an audience.
It was shot on 35mm film and released in selected cinemas in the US in 70mm, but while it had BAFTA screenings in the UK last year in 70mm, the film won’t play in 70mm or film in the UK.