| Date | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mia Blakeney |
Box Office Round-up
After a terrific opening last weekend, Wonka followed it with a terrific hold, adding £6.4m, a drop of 29% from last weekend. That takes its total after 10 days in cinemas to £18.5m, and with Christmas still to come it’s only just getting started. Last year, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical finished its run with £28m, and the best performing Paddington film to date is Paddington 2 with £42.6m. Wonka looks like its going to surpass that.
After setting a record for a Japanese language film in North America, Godzilla Minus One has arrived in the UK and opened with a terrific £817k, including £31k from previews. The last Japanese Godzilla film to hit UK cinemas was Shin Godzilla in 2017, which only grossed £59k. Godzilla Minus One has been distributed in the UK by Anime, who have been releasing films since 2013 and, as the name suggests, specialise in Japanese animation. Their biggest film to date is last year’s One Piece Film: Red which finished its run with £845k, and their second biggest film is The First Slam Dunk from earlier this year which finished its run with £154k. Godzilla Minus One is going to be their biggest release by some distance.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes came in third on its fifth weekend, adding £613k, a drop of 36% drop from last weekend. It has now banked a solid £15.9m and as the third biggest film currently in cinemas, it should hold on to a good number of screens across the Christmas period.
Disney’s Wish added £587k on its fourth weekend, a drop of 48% from last weekend. That takes its total to £6.6m and it will hopefully get close to surpassing Encanto’s final total of £8.6m before Christmas.
Napoleon fell to fifth, adding £499k, a drop of 48% from last weekend. That takes its total after four weekends in cinemas to £12.5m. Over the next week it will overtake the final total of Alien: Covenant (£12.9m) to become Ridley Scott’s sixth highest grossing film in the UK & Ireland.
Outside of the top five, Saltburn is closing in on £5m in sixth, while South Asian release Animal crossed the £2m mark in seventh. Elf and Home Alone are the two best performing Christmas classics at the moment in ninth and tenth.
Next Weekend
Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom is the sequel to Aquaman, which is still DC Comics’ biggest ever film worldwide. Aquaman balances his duties as king and as a member of the Justice League, all while planning a wedding. Black Manta is on the hunt for Atlantean tech to help rebuild his armor, while Orm plots to escape his Atlantean prison. It’s in cinemas from Thursday.
Dunki is the latest film from Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan (Pathaan, Jawan). Four friends from a village in Punjab share a common dream: to go to England. Their problem is that they have neither the visa nor the ticket. A soldier promises to take them to the land of their dreams. It’s in cinemas from Thursday.
The Buzz
IF is the third film from director John Krasinski and it’s a departure from his two A Quiet Place films. Described as being like a live-action Pixar film it stars Ryan Reynolds as the father of a young girl who goes through a difficult experience and begins to see everyone's imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up. The stellar cast includes Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon. It’s set to be one of the best films for all ages in 2024, with a similar audience to Wonka. It’s in cinemas on 24 May.
Across The Pond
Wonka opened in North America this weekend and kicked off with $39m, which bodes very well for the upcoming holiday period. A final total over $200m could be on. The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes is in second, adding $5.8m, which takes its total to $145.2m. The Boy And The Heron added $5.2m for a new total of $23.1m. Godzilla Minus One fell to fourth adding $4.9m, which takes its total after three weekends in cinemas to $34.3m. Trolls Band Together rounded out the top five, adding $4m for a new total of $88.7m.