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| Author | Tom Linay |
The Weekend Round-up
After terrific preview figures last weekend, Sing duly opened in the top spot, kicking off its run with an amazing £10.5m. That figure includes the £4.2m from previews, but it’s still a great result and the Friday to Sunday total of £6.3m is even more than the £5.9m The Secret Life of Pets opened with last summer.
T2 Trainspotting opened in second with £5.1m, which is comfortably Danny Boyle’s biggest ever opening in the UK. It’s also the third biggest Friday to Sunday opening for an 18-cert film ever, behind only Fifty Shades of Grey and Hannibal.
La La Land continued its incredible run, falling just 29% to £3.1m on its third weekend. It has now banked £21m and by this time next week it will have overtaken last year’s big awards title, The Revenant (£23.4m). If, as expected, it cleans up at all the major awards ceremonies, it could get close to £30m.
After delivering a great opening last weekend, M. Night Shyamalan thriller, Split, had a sensational second weekend, falling just 22% to £2m. That’s an incredible result for a horror title, and after 10 days in cinemas it has grossed £6m. For reference, Shyamalan’s last horror, The Visit, grossed £2.9m across its entire run.
It received six Oscar nominations last week, including Best Picture and Best Director, and Hacksaw Ridge opened in fifth with £1.5m, which includes £219k from previews. Mel Gibson’s last film as director was 2007’s Apocalypto, which opened with £1.4m.
Outside of the top five, Lion had an exceptional hold in sixth, falling just 13% to £1.1m, which brings its total to £3.3m.
Two Bollywood titles opened this weekend. Raees kicked off its run with £766k in seventh, while Kaabil opened with £222k in 14th.
Lion’s hold was almost matched by Jackie, which fell just 16% in ninth to £557k and after 10 days in cinemas has grossed £1.8m.
Pertinent drama, Denial, could only open with £229k, which was enough for 13th spot.
Overall the box office was down 11% from last weekend and down 5% from the same weekend last year, when the top four films were The Revenant, Dirty Grandpa, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Ride Along 2.
Next Weekend
Rings is the latest entry in the horror franchise about a cursed video. In this instalment, a young woman finds herself on the receiving end of a terrifying curse that threatens to take her life in seven days.
Loving stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga as Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple whose challenge of their anti-miscegenation arrest for their marriage in Virginia led to a legal battle that would end at the US Supreme Court. Jeff Nichols (Mud, Midnight Special) directs and Negga has a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is the sixth film in the Resident Evil series, and once again stars Milla Jovovich as Alice, the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity's final stand against the undead.
Gold is one of those films released around this time of year that hoped for awards recognition, that sadly never came. Matthew McConaughey stars as Kenny Wells, a prospector desperate for a lucky break, who teams up with a similarly eager geologist and sets off on a journey to find gold in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.
The LEGO Batman Movie previews on Saturday and Sunday.
The Buzz
Get Out is the directorial debut of US comedian, Jordan Peele (Key & Peele) and it had its premiere at Sundance last week. British actor, Daniel Kaluuya (Sicario) plays Chris, a young African-American man who visits his Caucasian girlfriend's mysterious family estate, where all is not what it seems. I’m pleased to say that the first reviews are extremely positive.
Variety said ‘blending race-savvy satire with horror to especially potent effect, this bombshell social critique from first-time director Jordan Peele proves positively fearless — which is not at all the same thing as scareless’. The Hollywood Reporter called it ‘a fantastic thriller with a sharp eye for the intersection of genre thrills and social commentary.’ It’s out in the UK on 17 March.
Across The Pond
Split had a great second weekend, falling just 35.9% to $25.6m, which was enough to take the top spot. Despite some controversy surrounding its release, A Dog's Purpose opened in second with $18.2m. Hidden Figures took third, after adding $14m, which was enough to push it over the $100m mark. It now sits on $104m and if it has a strong awards showing, there should be plenty more to come. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter opened in fourth with $13.6m, which is the smallest opening in the franchise. La La Land completed the top five, adding $12.2m, for a new cume of $106.7m.