| Date | |
|---|---|
| Author | DCM |
| Categories | cinemabox OfficeFilm News |
The Weekend Round-up
Apes remained strong at the top of the box office as Dawn of the Planet of the Apes added a further £3.8m. That figure is off 47% from its huge £7.1m opening last weekend and gives it a terrific cume of £17m. By this time next week it should have eclipsed Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ final total of £21m and will have firmly established a place on the top ten of the year-to-date.
This week’s highest new entry was sword and sandals action pic, Hercules with £1.4m. In terms of similarly themed films, that’s below both Wrath of the Titans and Immortals, which both opened with £2.2m, but it compares favourably to recent Dwayne Johnson-led films, Pain & Gain (£1m) and Snitch (£268k). Another new entry opened in third spot in The Purge: Anarchy. The dystopian horror kicked off with £1.2m, which is an improvement over the original Purge’s £1m debut just last year. That film finished its run on £3.4m, so Anarchy will be looking to top that.
How To Train Your Dragon 2 was in fourth after adding £991k. That’s 47% off from last week and to date the animated sequel is up to £15.1m and still has a little way to go to overtake the first film’s £17.4m total. Transformers: Age of Extinction completed the top five with a further £803k giving it a cume of £17.4m. It’s now almost certain to finish as the lowest grossing Transformers film.
A couple of family films opened in the lower end of the top 10 in Earth To Echo in sixth (£618k, including £44k in previews) and The House of Magic in tenth (£223k). Overall the box office was down 39% from last weekend and down 25% from the same weekend last year, which saw The Wolverine open on top.
Next Weekend
Guardians of the Galaxy hits cinemas on Thursday and the preview screenings have been rapturously received. DCM’s Exhibition Coordinator and all-round Marvel nut, Sabrina Parmar said “Marvel's risk has paid off - GOTG is funny, action packed and fun to see anti-heroes take control.” Marketing Director, Zoe Jones proclaimed “it’s my favourite film so far this year”. High praise indeed.
The Buzz
The Inbetweeners 2 is in cinemas on 6 August and it will surely become the biggest comedy of the year. It has just been given a 15 certificate by the BBFC, who said that they instructed the filmmakers to make changes to two specific scenes to avoid getting an 18 certificate. Planes 2: Fire and Rescue is in cinemas on 8 August and is already on general release in the US. Reviews from US critics suggest it’s an improvement over its predecessor.
Across The Pond
Lucy opened in the top spot with $43.9m, which is a terrific result for an R-rated original sci-fi title. 65% of Lucy's audience were over the age of 25. Hercules was in second with $29.8m, which is lower than the similarly themed Wrath of the Titans ($33.5m). Last week’s number one, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes fell 54% to $16.8m, for a cume of $172.1m. That’s just slightly behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ final total of $176.8m. In fourth, The Purge: Anarchy added $10.5m for a cume of $51.9m and Planes: Fire & Rescue completed the top five with $9.5m for a cume of £35.3m.
