| Date | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mia Blakeney |
Box Office Round-up
Gladiator II won the battle for the top of the UK box office, opening with a huge £9.1m, which includes £382k from Thursday previews for the hard-of-hearing. The Friday to Sunday total of £8.7m is the sixth highest opening of 2024 (behind Deadpool & Wolverine, Inside Out 2, Paddington In Peru, Dune: Part II and Despicable Me 4). For comparison, Dune: Part II opened with £9.3m in March and finished its run with £39.6m, but that had little competition for weeks. Gladiator II also delivered the biggest ever opening for Ridley Scott, surpassing The Martian’s £6.5m opening weekend. The first Gladiator finished its run with £31.3m in 2000, and that looks like a realistic target for this sequel, even with some pretty big films in the immediate future.
After Paddington In Peru’s terrific opening last weekend, it posted a great hold falling just 29% to £6.8m. On its second weekend back in July, Despicable Me 4 fell 45% to £4.9m, so that shows how strong Paddington In Peru’s hold is. After just ten days in cinemas it has banked £18.8m and it still looks on track for a similar total to Paddington 2 (£42.7m) but we’ll see what impact Wicked and Moana 2 have on Paddington In Peru over the next few weeks.
Red One posted the best hold in the top 15, falling just 28% to £1.4m. That takes its total after 12 days in cinemas to £4.6m and it has already surpassed Christmas 2022’s Violent Night, which finished on £3.8m. This week Red One should surpass the final total of Dwayne Johnson’s action-thriller Skyscraper, which finished with £5.3m in 2018.
Last weekend Heretic delivered a strong hold, but this weekend it took a bit of a tumble, falling 50% to £505k. That takes its total after three weekends in cinemas to £4.9m. It’s already one of the biggest horror films of 2024 but should have the legs to overtake Speak No Evil’s final total of £5.6m.
Venom: The Last Dance rounded out the top five, adding £399k, down 59% from last weekend. That takes its total after four weekends in cinemas to £11.8m. Venom: Let There Be Carnage finished its run with £18.1m in 2021, so this is set to be the lowest performing film in the series.
Outside of the top five, Cantonese-language comedy The Last Dance opened with £187k. Event cinema was back in the top 10 as Kiss Me, Kate: The Musical opened in eighth with £259k, while Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration opened in 10th with £179k.
Next Weekend
Wicked is the long-awaited big screen adaptation of the smash-hit stage musical. Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman because of her green skin, and Glinda, a popular girl, become friends at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. After an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star.
The Buzz
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the eighth instalment in the best action franchise around, and the trailer suggests it could be Tom Cruise’s final outing as Ethan Hunt. The Mission: Impossible series has been remarkably consistent in quality and admissions delivery, with the last two instalments Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning both delivering comfortably over 2m DCM admissions, and Dead Reckoning delivered 8 16-34 men TVRs. A Mission: Impossible film is always one of the best blockbusters of they year and if the new trailer is anything to go by, The Final Reckoning is set to be one of 2025’s best.
Across The Pond
Red One opened in the top spot with a solid $34.1m, and it should have a decent run until Christmas. Venom: The Last Dance added $7.4m in fourth, down 54% from last weekend, and takes its total to $127.6m. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever fell to third, adding $5.4m, for a new total of just under $20m. Heretic added $5.2m in fourth, which takes its total to $20.4m, whilst The Wild Robot added $4.3m in fifth, which takes its total to $137.8m.