| Date | |
|---|---|
| Author | Tom Linay |
The Weekedn Round-up
Avengers: Infinity War is now the biggest superhero film of all time in the UK. On its third weekend, the Marvel juggernaut added £5.7m, which is a healthy drop of 44%. That takes its total to £60.3m, making it the first superhero film in history to cross the £60m mark. When it crossed £56.3m it overtook The Dark Knight Rises to become the biggest superhero film in UK history and it’s now the 16th biggest film overall. It will climb into the top 10 before the end of its run.
Sherlock Gnomes opened in second with £2.5m, which includes £910k from previews last weekend. Gnomeo and Juliet was a hit in 2011, opening with £2.9m on its way to £16m and Sherlock Gnomes will have to have a strong May half-term week in a couple of weeks to get close to that figure.
After Amy Schumer had her best ever opening in the UK last week, I Feel Pretty had a great second weekend, falling just 22% to £1.6m. That takes its total to £3.1m and it will shortly overtake Trainwreck’s final total of £3.2m to become Schumer’s biggest film in the UK.
Melissa McCarthy vehicle Life Of The Party opened with £618k in fourth, which included £78k from Thursday previews. This is the third collaboration between McCarthy and her husband director, Ben Falcone with The Boss opening with £599k in 2016 and Tammy opening with £474k in 2014. If Life Of The Party gets to £1.8m it will be McCarthy and Falcone’s biggest film together to date.
Gabrielle Union thriller Breaking In completed the top five, kicking off its run with £425k. In terms of comparative, Taraji P. Henson and Idris Elba thriller No Good Deed feels pretty apt and could only open with £41k in 2014.
Outside of the top five, Hindi title Raazi opened in 10th with £150k. With Ramadan starting tomorrow it should have a fruitful run. True-life thriller Entebbe could only open in 11th with £138k.
Overall, the box office was down 12% from last weekend and up 3% from the same weekend last year, when the top films were Alien: Covenant, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, The Boss Baby and Fast & Furious 8.
Next Weekend
Deadpool 2 is a sequel to the irreverent superhero sensation. Ryan Reynolds stars as foul-mouthed mutant mercenary Wade Wilson (aka Deadpool) brings together a team of fellow mutant rogues to protect a young boy of supernatural abilities from the brutal, time-traveling mutant, Cable (Josh Brolin). It’s in cinemas now.
On Chesil Beach is an adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel. In 1962 England, a young couple find their idyllic romance colliding with issues of sexual freedom and societal pressure, leading to an awkward and fateful wedding night. Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle star as the couple.
The Buzz
Solo: A Star Wars Story had its first screenings to US critics last week and the initial responses are extremely positive. Jacki Jing of IGN said she was ‘completely floored’ by the film, Kevin Polowy of Yahoo Entertainment said it’s ‘fun as hell. It’s a straight intergalactic heist movie’, while Michelle Buchman of Nerdist said ‘I loved #SoloAStarWarsStory so much. It’s a western. A caper. Funny with so much heart.’ Alden Ehrenreich’s performance had been a concern going in for a lot of people, but those concerns appear to be unfounded. Angie Han of Mashable said ‘Alden Ehrenreich is the real deal’, while Joel Meares of Rotten Tomatoes says Alden Ehrenreich has ‘swagger to match [Donald Glover]’. The early responses have been collated here: http://variety.com/2018/film/news/solo-a-star-wars-story-first-reactions-1202806823/.
Across The Pond
Avengers: Infinity War topped the box office with $62m, which takes its total to a huge $548m. It’s now the eighth largest domestic release. Life of the Party opened in second with $17.8m, which is Melissa McCarthy's smallest opening as a film's lead behind Tammy's $21.6m. Breaking In opened in third with $17.6m and Overboard fell to fourth, falling 33% to $9.8m, for a new cume of $29.4m. A Quiet Place completed the top five, adding $6.5m, a drop of just 17% and takes its total to $169.6m.