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The Weekend Round-up
Star Wars: The Last Jedi started 2018 where it was expected to be, in first place. On the final weekend of 2017, the mega-blockbuster fell 22% to £8m, which takes its total to £68.3m. For comparison, at the end of 2015, The Force Awakens was on £87.1m, while at the end of 2016, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was on £50.7m. Looking at the future prospects for The Last Jedi, The Force Awakens added a further £35.9m in 2016, and Rogue One added a further £15.3m in 2017. After adding £1.3m on New Year’s Day, The Last Jedi now sits on £70m.
Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle had a terrific festive period and its second weekend was a big success, increasing on the previous weekend by 28%. That takes its total to £17.8m and with £1.2m added on New Year’s Day it looks like a total north of £25m is on the cards. It’s a great result for a film that wasn’t a slam-dunk, especially when you consider other recent revivals of popular 90s properties, Independence Day: Resurgence (£12.1m) and Power Rangers (£4.9m), didn’t achieve quite the same success.
The Greatest Showman was the highest new entry, opening in third with £4.8m, which includes £2.2m from previews after launching on Boxing Day. While that’s not quite as impressive as the most recent big screen hit musical, La La Land, which kicked off its run with £6.6m (including £944k from previews), it’s still a decent start and will hopefully have a long run through January. After adding another £701k on New Year’s Day, it’s now on £5.5m.
Pitch Perfect 3 fell to fourth but also had a solid second weekend, falling just 7% to £2.3m. That takes its total to £8.9m and it has already sailed past the total of the first Pitch Perfect (£6.5m). While the second film’s total of £17.4m looks out of reach, Pitch Perfect 3 will still finish comfortably north of £10m and after New Year’s Day it’s on £9.3m.
Paddington 2, on its eighth weekend put in a strong performance, increasing on last weekend by 15% to £1.9m. That took its total to £37.6m and on New Year’s Day it added another £413k, which takes its total to £38m and in the process overtaking the first Paddington’s final total of £37.9m. That also means it is distributor, StudioCanal’s, biggest film of all time.
Outside of the top five, after the festive period Ferdinand sits on £6.1m, Daddy’s Home 2 on £13.6m and Wonder sits on £4.2m.
Overall, the box office was down 17% from last weekend and up 40% from the same weekend last year, when the top films were Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Moana and Passengers.
Next Weekend
All The Money In The World is the latest film from film-making machine Ridley Scott. It’s the fascinating true story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother to convince his billionaire grandfather Jean Paul Getty to pay the ransom. It has recently received a lot of press because Ridley Scott decided to replace Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer in November and still got the film finished in time for its scheduled release date.
Hostiles is a western starring Christian Bale who is hoping for awards recognition. In 1892, a legendary Army captain reluctantly agrees to escort a Cheyenne chief and his family through dangerous territory. It’s the second collaboration between Bale and director, Scott Cooper, after Out Of The Furnace.
The Buzz
Darkest Hour is Gary Oldman’s much talked about performance as Winston Churchill, which could snare the lauded actor his first Oscar. It opens in the UK on 12 January and promises to be one of the biggest films this awards season. It is currently doing solid business in the US, having grossed $18.1m so far with plenty more to come.
Across The Pond
Star Wars: The Last Jedi held on to the top spot for a third weekend, adding $52.6m, taking its total to $517.4m. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle had a great holiday period and added $50.4m over the New Year weekend, an increase of 38% on the previous weekend. That takes its total to $169.6m and $200m-plus is now a certainty. Pitch Perfect 3 stayed in third, falling 16% to $16.8m and a new total of $63.3m. The Greatest Showman had a great weekend in fourth, increasing a whopping 77% on last weekend to $15.6m and a new total of $49.1m. Ferdinand completed the top five, adding $11.4m for a new cume of $53.6m.