| Date | |
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| Author | Mia Blakeney |
Box Office Round-up
On the hottest weekend of the year, horror continued its strong year as The Nun II opened at the top of the box office. Set in the Conjuring-universe, it opened with a sturdy £1.8m, which is some way down on the Friday to Sunday total of the first film (£3.4m) but still a solid start.
Jawan sees the return of Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan to the big screen. Last time SRK starred in a big screen film it was Pathaan in January which opened with £2m, £551k of which was from previews. While Jawan hasn’t opened quite as big, it’s still posted a terrific £1.3m, which includes £307k from previews after launching on Thursday. Pathaan is the biggest South Asian release of 2023 grossing £4.3m, with Rocky Aur Kii Prem Kahaani, still in cinemas now, second with £2.3m. Jawan looks like it might finish between the two.
Last weekend’s top film, The Equalizer 3 added £1m over the weekend, which takes its total to £4.7m. After two weekends The Equalizer 2 was on £4.6m, so this sequel is still tracking ahead. The second instalment finished on £7.5m so that’s still the target for this third film.
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie continues its incredible run and on its eighth weekend added £561k, a hefty drop of 66% from last weekend. That takes its total to £93.7m and while it is still the 7th biggest film of all time, it’s closing in on Avatar in sixth (£94m).
Past Lives is one of the best reviewed films of 2023 and a major awards contender in 2024. It opened on Thursday and in four days has grossed £516k, which includes £153k from previews. This is a solid start and it had the third highest location average of any film in the top 15 (£1,676), which bodes well for the rest of its run.
Outside of the top five, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 opened in seventh with £411k. This third instalment arrives seven years after the second and time has not been kind to the series as while that film posted an opening of £992k and a final total of £4m, this third film doesn’t look like getting close to that total. It’s a world away from the £13.6m final total of the first film in 2002.
The box office was down 28% from last weekend and up 26% from the same weekend last year.
Next Weekend
A Haunting In Venice is the third Hercule Poirot film to be directed by and star Kenneth Branagh. In post-World War II Venice, Poirot, now retired and living in his own exile, reluctantly attends a seance. But when one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer. As with the first two films, Branagh has assembled a high-quality cast, including Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan and Kelly Reilly.
Rally Road Racers is an animation featuring the voice talents of Chloe Bennet, J.K. Simmons, Sharon Horgan and John Cleese. Racers compete in a high-stakes rally along the famous Silk Road trade route.
The Buzz
The Toronto International Film Festival started on Thursday and some of the best films released in the next six months are expected to launch at the festival. Dumb Money had its world premiere on Thursday and has been very warmly received by the critics in attendance. Directed by Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya, Cruella) and starring Paul Dano, Shailene Woodley and Seth Rogen, It’s based on the insane true story of everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (a videogame store) into the world's hottest company. Total Film gave the film four stars, while Variety called it a ‘smart, light-fingered, brashly entertaining finance-world docudrama’. Indiewire called it a ‘rousing success’ and Deadline said ‘What a story. What a wildly entertaining, stand-up-and-cheer populist movie.’ It’s in cinemas on 22 September.
Across The Pond
The Nun II opened in the top spot in North America too with $32.6m, which like in the UK, is some way down on the opening of the first film ($53.8m). The Equalizer 3 added $12.1m in second, which takes its total to $61.9m. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 opened in third with $10m, which is down on the $17.9m of the second film, while Jawan opened in fourth with $6.2m and has banked $7.6m including previews. Barbie rounds out the top five, adding $5.9m for a new total of $620.5m.