| Date | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mia Blakeney |
Box Office Round-up
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 opened with the biggest Friday to Sunday total of 2023 to date. The year’s second Marvel blockbuster launched on Wednesday and in six days has grossed £15.8m, with £9.2m of that coming from Friday to Sunday. After six days in cinemas the first Marvel blockbuster of 2023, Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, had banked £11m, so Guardians is well ahead of that. In terms of the two previous films in the series, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 1 opened with £6.4m and finished on £28.6m, while Vol. 2 opened with £13.1m and finished on £41m, and while Vol.2’s final total looks out of reach, Vol.3 will hopefully fall somewhere between the two.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie fell to second after four weekends in the top spot, adding £1.3m from Friday to Sunday, but then added a hefty £911k on Monday alone, which takes its total to just £27k short of £50m! It has now surpassed all the Despicable Me and Minions films to become Illumination Entertainment’s biggest film ever and it’s now the fifth biggest animated film in UK & Ireland history.
On its third weekend, Evil Dead Rise fell 53% to £494k from Friday to Sunday, and then added a further £130k on Monday, which takes its total to £4.6m. Just a reminder that the last Evil Dead film in cinemas finished its run with £3.4m in 2013 so it probably won’t be 10 years until we see another Evil Dead film on the big screen.
Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton drama The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry added £337k over the weekend, and a further £207k on Monday for an 11-day total of just over £2.2m. While it’s not going to match The Duke, which finished on over £5m, it’s not far behind March’s Allelujah which is on its way out of cinemas as has reached £3.6m.
Rounding out the top five is John Wick: Chapter 4 which added £195k from Friday to Sunday and then £61k on Monday for a new total of £17.1m. This is a terrific result, especially when you consider that John Wick: Chapter 2 finished its run with £6m, while Chapter 3 finished with £10.4m.
Outside of the top five, south Asian release, Jodi, opened in ninth with £119k across the four days, while the latest MUBI release, Return To Seoul, opened in 10th with £102k, which includes £17k from previews.
Next Weekend
Love Again is the big new Celine Dion inspired romantic comedy we’ve all be waiting for. Priyanka Chopra Jonas stars as a young woman who tries to ease the pain of her fiancé's death by sending romantic texts to his old cell phone number and forms a connection with the man the number has been reassigned to. Sam Heughan is the man who fails to block the nuisance texts, while Celine Dion doesn’t Think Twice about making an appearance. It’s in cinemas from tomorrow (Wednesday).
Book Club: The Next Chapter stars Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen as four best friends as they take their book club to Italy for the fun girls trip they never had. If you liked Mamma Mia, this could be for you.
The Eight Mountains is a drama about friendship and self-discovery set in the breath-taking Italian Alps. It’s set over four decades and follows the profound, complex relationship between Pietro and Bruno. It won the Jury Prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The Buzz
Meg 2: The Trench is the sequel to the hit 2018 action film that delivered 1.6m DCM admissions. This sequel sees Jason Statham face off against and even bigger giant shark and this time there might be more than one. This time around Statham is joined by one of the biggest stars in China, Jing Wu, and it’s directed by British filmmaker Ben Wheatley (Kill List, High-Rise, Sightseers, Free Fire). It’s set to be one of the biggest films of the school summer holidays and one of the best for reaching 16-34 men. It’s in cinemas on 4 August.
Across The Pond
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 opened in the top spot with an impressive $118.4m, the second biggest opening weekend of 2023 to date. The Super Mario Bros. Movie fell to second but added $18.6m for a huge new total of $518.1m. Evil Dead Rise added $5.9m in third, which takes its total to $54.3m, while Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret added $3.2m in fourth for a new total of $12.5m. Finally, Love Again completed the top five, opening with $2.4m.