| Date | |
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| Author | Zoe Aresti |
The Weekend Round-up
Fast & Furious 8 raced to the top of the box office with a powerful £14m. That figure includes a hefty £5.4m from Wednesday and Thursday previews, so the Friday to Sunday total is £8.6m. While that’s down on the £12.8m Friday to Sunday total Fast & Furious 7 opened with, that film had no previews. Fast & Furious 8 also added £2.3m on Monday, so is now up to £16.3m.
The Boss Baby had a great second full weekend, adding £3.6m, which is a 29% increase on last weekend. After Sunday it was up to £16.7m, but it added another £1.4m on Monday and now sits on £18.2m. It has a great chance of matching Trolls’ current total of £24.9m.
Beauty and the Beast had yet another strong weekend, falling just 7% to £2.6m. That takes it over the £65m mark and it added another £910k on Monday to sit on £66m. Today it will overtake Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, currently on £66m, to become the biggest film since Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience added £515k in fourth, which took it to £2.4m after Sunday, and it added another £206k on Monday, so it’s now on £2.6m. Peppa Pig and the Golden Boots finished on £2.3m, so it has already surpassed that.
After taking a hit from last weekend’s sun, Going In Style has bounced back, falling just 12% to £500k. It’s also been performing strongly with midweek audiences and after Sunday was on £1.7m. It added another £143k on Monday, which brings its total to £1.9m.
Outside of the top five, The Handmaiden is proving a strong draw for the arthouse audience, opening with £475k in sixth, which includes £197k from previews. It added another £82k on Monday for a very healthy total of £557k. It looks like a total in excess of £1m is on.
The adaptation of Julian Barnes’ Man Booker prize winning novel, The Sense of an Ending, opened in 10th with £330k, which included £5k from previews. Monday saw it add another £98k for a solid start of £428k.
Overall the box office was up 54% from last weekend and up 45% from the same weekend last year, when the top four films were The Jungle Book, Zootropolis, Eye In The Sky and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Next Weekend
Their Finest is a comic drama from Danish director, Lone Scherfig (The Riot Club, An Education). A British film crew attempts to boost morale during World War II by making a propaganda film after the Blitzkrieg. Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy lead the classy British cast.
The Zookeeper’s Wife tells the account of keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, Antonina and Jan Zabinski, who helped save hundreds of people and animals during the German invasion. The always excellent Jessica Chastain stars as Antonina.
Rules Don’t Apply is the latest film from Hollywood legend Warren Beatty, who also stars. It’s the unconventional love story of an aspiring actress (Lily Collins), her determined driver (Alden Ehrenreich), and their boss, eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes (Beatty).
Unforgettable is a thriller about a woman (Katherine Heigl) who sets out to make life hell for her ex-husband's new wife (Rosario Dawson).
The Buzz
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 had its first screening in the US at the weekend and the first reviews were tweeted from the assembled critics. Steven Weintraub from Collider said it ‘kept a smile on my face from beginning to end. Funny, action packed, emotional, and tons of surprises.” Peter Sciretta from SlashFilm said it’s ‘funnier than the original, a ton of surprises, and an unexpected emotional profoundness”, while Mike Ryan from Uproxx said it’s “very fun… Drax is a hoot. Baby Groot steals the show”. For a full list of twitter responses, go here. It looks like another huge hit is just over a week away.
Across The Pond
Fast and Furious 8, or The Fate of the Furious, as it’s known in the US, topped the box office with an imposing $98.8m. While that’s down on the $147.2m the seventh instalment opened with, it’s still an impressive result. The Boss Baby took second, adding $16m, which brings its total to $116.8m. Beauty and the Beast continued its sensational run, adding $13.7m, for a new cume of $454.7m. Smurfs: The Lost Village finished in fourth, adding $6.7m for a new cume of $24.9m. Completing the top five is Going in Style, which added $6.3m, bringing its total to $23.3m.