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| Author | Zoe Aresti |
The Weekend Round-up
The Bond juggernaut marches on as SPECTRE held on to the top spot. In its third weekend it banked £7.8m, down 40% from last weekend, and now sits on a huge £77.6m. That’s enough to put it fourth on the list of highest grossing films of all time in the UK, with only Titanic (thanks to 3D re-release), Avatar and Skyfall ahead of it. It will overtake Titanic’s £80m total at some point this week and should have the legs to at least get very close to Avatar’s £93.6m in second.
The Lady In The Van had a terrific weekend, opening in second spot with a fantastic £2.3m. Philomena opened on a similar release date in 2013 with £1.5m on its way to a punchy £11.4m, so the Maggie Smith vehicle will be looking at that as a target to reach.
Hotel Transylvania once again had a strong weekend, falling just 18% to £913k, taking it to £18.6m. £20m is looking likely, which is an amazing result, considering the first film only managed £8.3m.
Capitalising on the Diwali holiday, Salman Khan romance Prem Ratan Dhan Payo opened in fourth with an impressive £912k, which included £187k from previews.
Steve Jobs opened in fifth with £903k (which includes £7k from previews).
Brooklyn had a great hold in sixth, falling just 20% (once previews are removed) to £782k and after ten days in cinemas, it has grossed £2.8m.
The box office was down 16% from last weekend and up 21% from the same weekend last year, when the top four spots were taken by Interstellar, The Imitation Game, Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey? and Mr.Turner.
Next Weekend
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is in cinemas on Thursday and, if The Twilight Saga and the Harry Potter series are anything to go by, it should be the biggest in the series. The target is Catching Fire’s £34.2m and with Mockingjay Part 2 the first in the series to be released in 3D, it has the extra surcharge too.
The Dressmaker stars Kate Winslet as a glamorous woman who returns to her small town in rural Australia and with her sewing machine and haute couture style, she transforms the women and exacts sweet revenge on those who did her wrong. It has already banked an impressive $11m in Australia.
The Buzz
The Big Short premiered at the American Film Institute fest at the weekend. Directed by Adam McKay (Anchorman, The Other Guys, Step Brothers) it’s about four outsiders in the world of high-finance who predict the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s and decide to take on the big banks for their lack of foresight and greed. The cast is dynamite, with Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt and Steve Carell, and the early reviews are positive. Screen International said it ‘means to infuriate its audience, but it’s smart enough to know that such an approach doesn’t preclude a film from being darkly, cathartically funny as well.’ While The Guardian gave it three stars, Slashfilm said it’s ‘McKay’s most accomplished directorial effort’. It’s out in the UK on 22 January.
Across The Pond
SPECTRE held on to the top spot, bringing in a further $33.7m, which is a 52% drop on last weekend. It has now banked $129m after ten days in cinemas. Peanuts stayed in second spot, adding $24m for a new cume of $82.3m. Christmas comedy, Love the Coopers (or Christmas With The Coopers, as it’s called in the UK) opened in third with $8.3m. The Martian continued to be a decent draw, falling 26% to $6.7m for a terrific cume of $207.4m. Chilean mining drama, The 33, was another new entry in fifth, kicking off its run with $5.8m.
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