| Date | |
|---|---|
| Author | Zoe Aresti |
The Weekend Round-up
The Predator came to win, and it did, mostly. The big return of one of the most famous sci-fi franchises opened with £2.4m, which includes £744k from previews. The last film in the Predator series, 2002’s Predators opened with £2.2m and went on to finish on £5.8m, so The Predator looks like it’s going to beat both those totals.
Last week’s top film, The Nun won the Friday to Sunday period, adding £1.8m. That’s a drop of 47% and takes The Nun’s total to £7.7m. As I mentioned last week, The Conjuring 2 is currently the biggest performing film in the extended universe, finishing its run on £11m, and The Nun is going to make a pretty good fist of matching it
One of this year’s big box office sensations in the US, Crazy Rich Asians could only open in third place in the UK & Ireland with £1.6m, which includes £49k from previews. It has shown remarkable legs in the US, dropping just 6% on its second weekend, so hopefully it can post similar holds here.
Geriatric heist comedy, King Of Thieves opened in fourth with £1.5m, which includes £45k from previews. Last time StudioCanal released a British crime film in September it was Legend in 2015, which opened with £5.2m, which included £1.5m in previews, so King Of Thieves has opened well short of that. With a cast predominantly aimed at the older cinemagoer, hopefully it will perform strongly in midweek showings.
Christopher Robin completed the top five, adding £522k, which takes its total to £13.2m.
Outside of the top five, the sing-a-long version on Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again was released on Sunday, which boosted its Sunday box office. Hopefully that will have a positive effect on midweek showings too. It’s now up to £64.2m.
Overall, the box office was down 5% from last weekend and down 15% from the same weekend last year, when the top films were It, Victoria & Abdul, mother! and American Assassin.
Next Weekend
The House With A Clock In Its Walls is a spooky all ages thriller starring Cate Blanchett and Jack Black. A young orphan named Lewis Barnavelt aids his magical uncle in locating a clock with the power to bring about the end of the world. It previewed impressively over the weekend, which bodes well for its release on Friday.
Mile 22 is an action thriller from Peter Berg (Patriot’s Day, Deepwater Horizon, Lone Survivor). An elite American intelligence officer, aided by a top-secret tactical command unit, tries to smuggle a mysterious police officer with sensitive information out of the country. It’s in cinemas on Wednesday.
A Simple Favour is a stylish thriller from Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy). It centres around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy blogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily's (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town.
The Little Stranger is the latest film from Room director, Lenny Abrahamson. After a doctor is called to visit a crumbling manor, strange things begin to occur.
The Buzz
Green Book is proving one of the surprise hits of festival season. Directed by Peter Farrelly, who is best known as one of the Farrelly brothers (Dumb & Dumber, Kingpin, My Myself & Irene), Viggo Mortensen plays a working-class Italian-American bouncer who becomes the driver of an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South. It won the prestigious audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival, beating the likes of If Beale Street Could Talk and A Star Is Born. Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are reportedly strong contenders for acting nominations.
Across The Pond
The Predator topped the box office in the US too with $24.6m. That’s slightly less than the opening of 2010's Predators which kicked off its run with $24.8m. Last week’s top film, The Nun fell to second, adding $18.2m for a new total of $85m. A Simple Favor opened in third with $16m and White Boy Rick opened in fourth with $8.9m. Crazy Rich Asians completed the top five, adding $8.7m for a new total of $149.6m.