| Date | |
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| Author | Mia Blakeney |
Box Office Round-up
The original series of film adaptations of The Hunger Games books created one of the most critically and commercially successful film franchises of the 21st century. Now, 8 years after the final film, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, The Hunger Games is back with the prequel The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes. It opened in the top spot with £5.4m, which is more than the £4.9m the original The Hunger Games opened with in 2012 but below the three sequels, which all opened with more than £11m. This is understandable considering the The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes book is perhaps less well known and there’s not a megastar like Jennifer Lawrence leading the cast.
After a lacklustre opening last week, The Marvels dropped a hefty 63% this weekend to £1.3m. That takes its total after 10 days in cinemas to £5.7m and it now looks like it won’t get to £10m, which a year ago would have been almost unthinkable. In the Marvel vs DC battle that neither wants to be part of, The Marvels needs to top £8.9m to gross more than June’s The Flash.
Released in time for the Diwali celebrations, Tiger 3 starring Salman Khan opened in third with £1.2m, which includes £867k from previews after it opened on Sunday, 12th. The main character in Tiger 3 also appeared as a cameo in January’s Pathaan, which finished its run with £4.4m. While Tiger 3’s opening is impressive, it’s not going to beat Pathaan.
Emerald Fennell’s follow-up to the Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman, Saltburn opened in fourth with £841k, which includes £64k from previews. On this weekend last year, The Menu opened with £932k on its way to £4.1m, so hopefully Saltburn can perform similarly.
Trolls Band Together rounded out the top five adding £734k, a drop of 24% from last weekend. That takes its total to £14.8m and it’s currently the fifth highest grossing animation of 2023, behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, and Elemental. It need a further £4m to overtake Elemental.
Outside of the top five, Eli Roth horror Thanksgiving opened with £486k in sixth. With a title like Thanksgiving it’s more aimed at US audiences but hopefully we’ll see a bump with UK audiences on Thanksgiving (Thursday).
Event cinema hit the top 10 too as popular stand-up comedian Kevin Bridges’ concert film, The Overdue Catch-Up opened with £332k from predominantly Friday evening shows.
Next Weekend
Napoleon is the latest action epic from Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, The Martian). It details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine. Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby star and it’s in cinemas on 22 November.
Wish is a brand new Christmas animation from Disney. It follows a young girl named Asha, who wishes on a star and gets a more direct answer than she bargained for when a trouble-making star comes down from the sky to join her. Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine star.
Love Actually (20th Anniversary) is the anniversary re-release of one of the most beloved Christmas films of the 21st century.
The Buzz
Inside Out 2 is a sequel to one of the very best Pixar films. Released in 2015, Inside Out brought to life the emotions inside 11-year-old Riley’s head and in this sequel, Riley is now a teenager and is dealing with a whole range of new emotions. The first film delivered over 4m DCM admissions and was nominated for two Oscars, winning one. It’s also #166 on the IMDB top 250. A sequel to one of the most beloved animated films of the 21st century should be one of the biggest films of 2024 and not just for family audiences – we’re forecasting 10 16-34 TVRs across the industry. It’s in cinemas on 16 June 2024.
Across The Pond
The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes opened in the top spot in North America with $44m, which is pretty good when you consider the budget for the film is reportedly $100m. Trolls Band Together opened this weekend in North America and kicked off its run with $31.8m. The Marvels fell a huge 78% to $10.2m, which takes its total after 10 days in cinemas to $65m. Thanksgiving opened in fourth with $10.2m and Five Nights At Freddy’s added $3.5m in fifth for a new total of $132.6m.