- Back to Black – £1,897,014 – £6,398,157
Dropped 31.6% in the second weekend
Took £592k 31.21% (38.27% drop £959k) Friday; £802k 42.28% (22.88% drop £1.04m) Saturday; £503k 26.52% (27% drop £773k Sunday
487th biggest second weekend between Passengers and Belfast (close to Chicago, Cats, The Devil Wears Prada and Moulin Rouge) and 828th biggest inflated between The Hannah Montana Movie and Black Widow (close to Cocktail, The Wedding Singer, Parenthood and The Guru).
Studiocanal’s 6th biggest second weekend between Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Shaun The Sheep Movie (close to The Imitation Game, RoboCop, Early Man and Non-Stop).
Amy Winehouse generated huge media coverage when she was alive. In January 2023 a week after production started on the film pictures of Marisa Abela and Eddie Marsan as Amy and her father, Mitch Winehouse found their way to social media generating much criticism. The film had its world premiere on Monday and the embargo ended Tuesday morning, received mixed reviews as it gives a vanilla version of her life while also being too soon for a biopic compared to Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman and most recently Bob Marley: One Love.
After the death of Amy Winehouse, there were several attempts to make a biopic about Amy Winehouse including in 2015 Noomi Rapace was in talks to star with Kirsten Sheridan directing. They didn’t progress until 2018 when Winehouse’s estate announced they had signed a deal for a film about her life and career with Studiocanal.
Sam Taylor-Johnson previously directed 2009’s Nowhere Boy took £1,292,610; 2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey took £34,662,255 and 2019’s A Million Little Pieces £25,746.
Amy Winehouse’s 2015 documentary Amy took £3,763,429.but was released on far fewer screens 100+ compared with 748 screens Back to Black is playing in week 2.
Music biopics have been extremely popular in the UK over recent years and Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black 2018 album sold 3.93m copies in the UK and is the 12th biggest-selling album in the UK.
Other recent music biopics’ second weekends include.
2024’s Bob Marley: One Love dropped 65.7% (44% without previews) £2,387,019 and £11,313,026 of £17,126,572
2023’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody dropped 58% (up 1% without previews) £1,388,927 #2 and £6,269,960 of £11,383,690
2006’s Walk the Line up 4% £1,150,472 #4 and £3,024,681 of £9,737,493
2022’s Elvis dropped 26% £2,963,292 #2 and £10,197,943 of £27,492,430; had long legs staying in top 5 for 7 weeks and top 10 for 11 weeks.
2019’s Rocketman dropped 53% (37% without previews) £2,486,043 #4 and £11,957,794 of £23,502,881: top 5 for 5 weeks and top 10 for 7 weeks
2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody dropped 39% (11% without previews) £5,750,267 #1 and £20,427,866 of £55,376,188.
1993’s Tina, What’s Love Got To Do With It dropped 16% £393,260 (£970,286 inflated) and £1,537,105 of £3,703,961 (£9,138,745 inflated)
Spoof musician biopics.
2008’s Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story Walk Hard opened £240,833 #13 296 screens; others include 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap; 2000’s Almost Famous; 2016’s Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping; 1996’s That Thing You Do! And 2001’s Josie and the Pussycats.
These films had the musician’s estate approval Rocketman was produced by Elton John while Queen produced Bohemian Rhapsody. The difference between those biopics is the main musicians died 20+ years ago while Amy Winehouse is only 14 years after her death which feels too soon for a biopic.
The question was always whether audiences embrace Back to Black as they have with other musician biopics over recent years that also received mixed reviews, whilst opening #1 opened lower than would have expected. The question is how it will hold over the next few weeks, looking at its Fri-Sun daily split looks like it will be front-loaded despite little competition over the next few weeks.
It’s hard to make second-weekend comparisons as many had extended openings which saw them drop about 50%; Bob Marley: One Love dropped 65.7%; 44% without previews and Rocketman 37% without previews so would expect a similar drop for Back to Black. £1.6m+ should see Back to Black remain #1 in its second weekend.
After Wicked Little Letters has taken £9.3m and with Paddington in Peru opening later in the year Studiocanal are likely to have their best year at the UK BO.
There are many more musician biopics on the way with Robbie William’s Better Man later this year and then Micheal Jacksom’s Micheal early next year along with 4 individual Beatles films directed by Sam Mendes in 2027, Bee Gees directed by Ridley Scott and most recently 20th Century Studio announced they were making Deliver Me from Nowhere Bruce Springsteen biopic starring The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White
British audiences like their biopics despite many of them receiving mixed reviews as they are popcorn movies with amazing musical elements like Queen’s Live Aid performance in Bohemian Rhapsody.
- 2. Civil War £1,055,680 – £3,807,820
Dropped 42.1% in the second weekend
Took £328k 31.09% (34.27% drop £499k) Friday; £434k 41.14% (29.08% drop £612k) Saturday; £293k 27.77% (6% drop £353k Sunday
1,003rd biggest second weekend between Shallow Hal and The Firm (close to Black Hawk Down, Fatal Attraction, Contagion and The Man from U.N.C.L.E) and 1,564th biggest inflated between Mermaids and Deepwater Horizon (close to Eagle Eye, Another 48 Hours, The Lawnmower Man and Red Eye).
Civil War has received positive reviews with some comparing it to 28 Days Later as instead of Zombies the characters are travelling through a war and the film isn’t about a Civil War but about the journalists who are following the story.
Alex Garland previously directed 2022’s Men opened £519,907 #3 568 screens taking £1,004,483; 2018’s Annihilation was released theatrically in the US and internationally on Netflix; 2015’s Ex Machina opened £1,093,952 #5 442 screens taking £2,890,149.
2002’s 28 Days Later dropped 28.4% £1,073,042 (£1,981,001 inflated) and £3,338,507 of £6,315,553 (£11,659,482 inflated)
2006’s Children Of Men dropped 25.4% £957,119 (£1,556,547 inflated) and £2,978,545 of £4,858,150 (£7,900,729 inflated)
2013’s The Purge took £3,365,209; 2014’s The Purge: Anarchy £4,430,522; 2016’s The Purge: Election Year £1,908,983; 2018’s The First Purge £5,904,674
Other similar films include.
2005’s War of the Worlds dropped 51.2% £4,219,120 (£7,094,571 inflated) and £17,568,570 of £30,600,000 (£51,454,777 inflated)
1999’s The Siege dropped 22.6% £654,587 (£1,231,432 inflated) and £1,935,098 of £3,143,307 (£5,913,300 inflated)
2006’s V for Vendetta dropped 48.6% £611,036 (£993,718 inflated) and £2,434,315 of £3,331,295 (£5,417,630 inflated)
Also wrote screenplays for 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Never Let Go and Dredd and wrote the scripts for follow-ups to 28 Months Later, and 28 Years Later.
1,702nd biggest between Buster and Living (close to The Peacemaker, Universal Solider, The Nice Guys and Flatliners (1990) and 2,219th biggest inflated between Empire Of Light and The Relic (close to Midnight Run, Where The Wild Things Are, The Frighteners and The Menu).
- 3. Kung Fu Panda 4 – £901,615 – £18,587,205
Dropped 48.6% in the fourth weekend.
Took £126k 13.98% (76.88% drop £545k) Friday; £436k 48.39% (35.98% drop £681k) Saturday; £339k 37.62% (97.7% drop £528k) Sunday
387th biggest fourth weekend between X-Men: Days Of Future Past and Kung Fu Panda (close to Jumanji, Pride And Prejudice, The Devil Wears Prada and Basic Instinct) and 665th biggest inflated between Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 and Scream 2 (close to Yes Man, Ghost Town, Ali G Indahouse and Pitch Perfect 3).
84th biggest fourth weekend animated between Sherlock Gnomes and Kung Fu Panda (close to Ice Age, Cars, Rio 2 and The Princess And The Frog) and 116th inflated animated between Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 and Valiant (close to Mulan, Angry Birds, Rango and Mr. Peabody And Sherman).
21st biggest Dreamworks Animation fourth weekend between Shark Tale and Kung Fu Panda (close to Monsters Vs. Aliens, Antz, Bee Movie and Madagascar) and 29th biggest inflated between The Croods 2: A New Age and Mr Peabody And Sherman (close to Over The Hedge, Trolls Band Together, Kung Fu Panda 3 and The Bad Guys).
13th biggest Dreamworks Animation after 4 weeks between Madagascar and Home (close to Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Trolls, How To Train Your Dragon 2 and Shrek).
Took £1,295,506 Mon-Thurs in its third weekend down 71.2% (£4,499,125) from its second weekend Mon-Thurs and 80.5% (£6,661,830) opening week Mon-Thurs.
Fourth weekends
2008’s Kung Fu Panda dropped 40.4% £900,739 (£1,380,556 inflated) and £13,975,978 71.18% of £19,634,723 (£29,905,193 inflated)
2011’s Kung Fu Panda 2 dropped 52.4% £728,598 (£958,239 inflated) and £12,625,531 77.94% of £16,199,968 (£21,172,235 inflated)
2016’s Kung Fu Panda 3 dropped 36.4% £761,699 (£819,263 inflated) and £11,147,832 79.67% of £13,993,060 (£14,956,145 inflated)
38 Dreamworks Animation films have taken over £730m and £1bn inflated.
In 2010 Jeffrey Katzenberg said that there were plans for six films in the series. In August 2022 Dreamworks Animation confirmed Kung Fu Panda 4 was in production with details released at CinemaCon 2023. The trailer was released in December and viewed over 142m times in the first 24 hours more than The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Sing 2 and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
With the lucrative Easter holidays ended Kung Fu Panda 4 will be limited to weekend BO and dropped much heavier than normal family films over the last weekend of the Easter holidays. There are another two months until the next two major animation films Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 4.
329th biggest between The Lego Movie: The Second Part and War Horse (close to 2012, Little Fockers, Billy Elliot and 22 Jump Street) and 607th biggest inflated between Final Destination and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (close to My Girl, As Good As It Gets, School of Rock and Sleepy Hollow).
70th biggest animated film between The Lego Movie: The Second Part and Elemental (close to Hotel Transylvania 3, How to Train Your Dragon 3, Bolt and Tarzan) and 97th biggest inflated between Puss in Boots and Mulan (close to Antz, Cars 2, The Emperor’s New Groove and The Little Mermaid (1990).
- 4. Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire – £652,128 – £12,888,920
Down 45% in the fourth weekend
Took £325k 19.17% (66.03% drop £368k) Friday; £314k 48.16% (35.12% drop £484k) Saturday; £213k 32.67% (12% drop £333k) Sunday
598th biggest fourth weekend between Jungle Cruise and Ocean’s 12 (close to Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer, The Great Gatsby, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb and Robin Hood (2010) and 892nd biggest inflated between The Time Traveller’s Wife and Hustlers (close to Superman IV, Look Who’s Talking Too, Up In The Air and Malice).
The fifth film of the MonsterVerse and sequel to 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong
Fourth weekends
2014’s Godzilla dropped 52% £475,387 #6 383 screens and £16,449,997 of of £17,074,621 (£20,123,660 inflated)
2017’s Kong: Skull Island dropped 42% £662,414 #6 438 screens and £14,435,739 of £15,616,015
2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters dropped 70% £150,693 #11 283 screens and £6,779,991 of £6,901,606
2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong dropped 30% £112,197 #7 343 screens and £2,430,004 of £2,549,257
531st biggest between Lilo & Stitch and Space Jam: A New Legacy (close to The Meg 2, Baby Driver, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Ransom) and 900th biggest inflated between District 9 and Mona Lisa (close to Midnight Express, A Good Day to Die Hard, Wild Wild West and Superman IV).
Took £208k 34.9% Friday; £233k 39.09% Saturday; £155k 26.01% Sunday
2,148th biggest opening between Don’t Say A Word and Cobra (close to Flatliners (1990), Predator (1988), The Crow (1994) and Black Rain) and 2,469th biggest inflated between Johnny Mnemonic and John Wick (close to Highlander, The Shawshank Redemption, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and National Treasure).
176th biggest horror opening between Psycho (1999) and Night Swim (close to I Know What You Did Last Summer, Fright Night, Nightmare on Elm Steet III and Halloween: Resurrection) and 194th biggest inflated between Urban Legend and Child’s Play (close to Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, The Lost Boys, Witches of Eastwick and Evil Dead II (1987).
22nd biggest 2024 opening between Imaginary and Night Swim (close to Monkey Man, The Iron Claw, The Zone of Interest and The First Omen).
This year horror films have opened similarly so far Imaginary, Abigail, Night Swim, Immaculate and The First Omen, all opening lower than expected and all likely attracting similar audiences, all of these films should be opening £1m+. So why aren’t horror fans coming out to see these films horror used to be a strong genre or is there just a lack of interest in these films despite many of them receiving positive reviews?
The marketing for Abigail was surprisingly soft as it had a lot going for it receiving positive reviews, directed by by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett; previously directed 2019’s Ready or Not; 2022’s Scream and 2023’s Scream VI. It featured a dance sequence, this could have been a repeat of the M3gan dance received 209.8m views on TikTok. Maybe Universal Pictures was concerned about backlash from actress Melissa Barrera after social media posts for her pro-Palestine posts.
Over a quiet weekend, Abigail should have surely opened bigger than their previous film 2019’s Ready Or Not opened £947,958 taking £1,637,064 and Evil Dead Rises (opened the same weekend last year with £1,477,840 taking £5,288,972. Instead, it opened similar to recent horrors Night Swim opened £590,691 and Imaginary (£652,808)
Vampire films include.
1996’s From Dusk Till Dawn opened £501,303 (£1,073,059 inflated) taking £2,458,967 (£5,263,519 inflated)
1988’s The Lost Boys opened £204,521 (£704,264 inflated) taking £774,362 (£2,666,499 inflated)
2014’s Dracula Untold opened £1,713,283 taking £4,454,648
2011’s Fright Night opened £680,543 taking £1,512,699
2007’s 30 Days of Night opened £1,532,976 taking £4,374,809
UK box office in detail
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £6,309,075 down 36.5% from last weekend’s £9,940,796: 796,600 admissions down 36.5% from 1,255,151 admissions.
51st biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 15 September 2023 #1 A Haunting in Venice £2,186,930 (33.84%) and 06 October 2023 #1 The Exorcist: Believer £1,677,878 (30.4%)
133rd biggest since cinemas reopened out of 179 weeks between 15 September 2023 #1 A Haunting in Venice £2,186,930 (33.84%) and 20 May 2022 #1 Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness £2,968,358 (47.54%).
1,011th biggest top 10 of the last 22 years (out of 1,150) between 17 March 2006 #1 The Pink Panther £1,944,581 (30.67%) and 06 September 2002 #1 The Bourne Identity £2,150,511 (34.11%) and 1,098th inflated between 02 July 2021 #1 Fast & Furious 9 £2,681,393 (44.82%) and 20 April 2018 #1 Rampage £1,413,973 (24.81%)
The top 3 took (£3,854,309) 61.1% of the top 10; Back to Black 30.07% (£1,897,014); Civil War 16.73% (£1,055,680); Kung Fu Panda 4 14.29% (£901,615).
699th highest #1 percentage (30.07% ) between #1 06 March 2009 Watchmen (30.08%) and 27 December 2013 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (30.06%)
1,038th biggest admissions #1 (239,522) between 01 December 2023 #1 Napoleon (241,032) and 16 July 2021 #1 Black Widow (239,497)
Down 29.5% from 2023; (£8,951,596); Evil Dead Rise (£1,477,840); Missing (£382,054); The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan (£161,609); Coldplay – Music Of The Spheres: Live At River Plate (£145,544); #1 Super Mario Bros £4,271,315 3rd week down 44% 707 screens (47.72%)
Down 17.6% from 2022 (£7,659,588); The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent (£516,697); #1 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2nd week split over 4 weeks) £1,637,442 20% drop 647 screens (21.4% of top 10)
2021; Lockdown 2
2020: Lockdown 1
Up 26.4% from 2019; (£4,991,232); Red Joan (£432,866); Greta (£331,811); The Goonies (4K Restoration) (£59,033); #1 Shazam! £979,787 2nd week #1 over 3 weeks 512 screens (19.6% of top 10)
Up 10.7% from 2018: (£5,699,055); The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (£825,777); The Leisure Seeker (£105,130); Funny Cow (£74,142); Wildling (£20,111); #1 Rampage £1,413,973 2nd week down 66% (24.81%)
Down 33.1% from 2017: (£9,428,676); Their Finest (£850,328); Eugene Onegin – Met Opera 2017 (£274,598); Unforgettable (£270,610); The Belko Experiment (£129,942); The Zookeeper’s Wife (£101,407); Rules Don’t Apply (£47,158); #1 Fast & Furious 8 £3,593,733 2nd week 58% drop (38.12%)
Down 49.9% from 2016: (£12,580,441); Bastille Day (£762,598); Friend Request (£624,996); Shakespeare Live! (£250,893); Miles Ahead (£168,397); #1 The Jungle Book £8,095,442 2nd week 18% drop (64.54%)
Down 15.6% from 2015; (£7,479,374); Child 44 (£505,558); A Little Chaos (£331,530); Ivan The Terrible – Bolshoi 2015 (£97,268); The Last Five Years (£5,371); #1 Fast & Furious 7 £3,039,720 3rd week 44% drop (40.64%)
Down 55.7% from 2014: (£14,230,137); The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (£9,011,114); The Love Punch (£613,424); Locke (£251,063); #1 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 £9,011,114 1st week (63.32%)
Down 17.8% from 2013: (£7,677,512); Olympus Has Fallen (£2,247,900); Evil Dead (£1,375,842); Love is All You Need (£202,176); Promised Land (£52,664); The Lords of Salem (£925); The Words (£765); #1 Olympus Has Fallen £2,247,900 1st week (29.28%)
Down 21.5% from 2012 (£8,037,734); Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (£1,169,235); Lockout (£596,500); Gone (£275,087); Marley (£203,062); #1 Battleship £1,282,091 2nd week 66% drop (15.95%)
Down 36.9% from 2011; (£10,007,227); Fast Five (£5,332,096); Arthur (£764,468); Beastly (£553,069); TT3D (£312,998); Pina (£71,809); #1 Fast Five £5,332,096 1st week (53.28%)
Down 3.6% from 2010: (£6,545,848); Date Night (£1,272,405); It’s a Wonderful Afterlife (£464,468); The Joneses (£247,178); Centurion (£114,147); Agora (£31,530); Extract (£26,714); #1 Date Night £1,272,405 1st week 400 screens (19.4% of top 10)
Down 33.5% from 2009; (£9,489,959); I Love You Man (£1,122,258); Crank 2: High Voltage (£554,565); In the Loop (£468,954); Good (£27,054); Not Easily Broken (£10,727); #1 Monsters vs. Aliens £2,057,367 3rd week 1st #1 (21.68%)
Up 4.6% from 2008; (£6,030,881); Fool’s Gold (£975,498); In Bruges (expansion up 634%) (£638,654); Street Kings (£619,647); Happy-Go-Lucky (£383,365); Flashbacks of a Fool (£246,072); #1 21 £1,010,923 2nd week 39% drop (16.76%)
Up 18.4% from 2007: (£5,328,808); Fracture (£851,289); Alpha Dog (£452,232); The Reaping (£310,591); Pathfinder (£109,262); #1 Wild Hogs (£954,553 2nd week 44% drop (17.91%)
Down 2.9% from 2006; (£6,495,276): Silent Hill (£991,687); American Dreamz (£690,625); Eight Below (£413,525); Tristan and Isolde (£224,133); Mistress of Spices (£85,563); #1 Ice Age II £1,886,277 3rd week 48% drop (29.04%)
Up 15.8% from 2005: (£5,446,480); The Wedding Date (£808,641); Guess Who (£697,561); Cursed (£207,597); Beauty Shop (£131,060); #1 The Interpreter £1,212,734 2nd week 24% drop (22.27%)
Up 3.6% from 2004 (£6,090,459); Kill Bill – Volume 2 (£2,768,832); Taking Lives (£317,740); Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (£211,020); Wondrous Oblivion (£54,624); #1 Kill Bill – Volume 2 £2,768,832 1st week 411 screens (45.4% of top 10)
Up 16.9% from 2003 (£7,590,235); Phone Booth (£1,385,040); How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (£1,247,975); Bulletproof Monk (£607,839); Ghosts of the Abyss (£75,227); #1 Johnny English £2,529,665 2nd week 26% drop (33.33%)
Down 1% from 2002 (£6,372,772); The Scorpion King (£1,610,794); #1 Bend It Like Beckham £1,721,146 2nd week 14% drop (27.01%)
2023 Next week: (£7,835,588); The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry (£784,698); Star Wars: Episode VI – Return Of The Jedi (40th Anniversary) (£446,291); Polite Society (£220,278); Big George Foreman (£204,220); #1 Super Mario Bros £3,067,431 4th week down 28% 713 screens (39.15%)
US Box Office
- Civil War – A24
Dropped 56% in its second weekend $11.12m #1 and $44.88m
5th biggest A24 between Talk To Me and Hereditary (close to The Iron Claw, Lady Bird, Moonlight and Ex Machina); 9th biggest 2024 between Argylle and Madame Web. 230th biggest sci-fi between Frequency and Timecop; 2,074th biggest between xXx: Return of Xander Cage and Cop Out; 3,390th biggest inflated between A Bronx Tale and 28 Weeks Later.
Second weekends
Previous Alex Gartland films
2014’s Ex Machina dropped 58.3% $2.23m and $10.86m of $25.44m and $36.86m worldwide
2018’s Annihilation dropped 49.3% $5.6m and $20.59m of $43.07m worldwide (Netflix had many international territories)
2022’s Men dropped 63.5% $1.2m and $5.94m of $7.58m and $11.15m worldwide
2002’s 28 Days Later dropped 40.3% $6m and $20.55m of $45.06m and $84.66m worldwide
Other similar films include.
1998’s The Siege dropped 41.8% $8.1m and $26.37m of $40.98m and $116.67m worldwide
2005’s V for Vendetta dropped 51.9% $12.33m and $46.2m of $70.51m and $134.68m worldwide
2006’s Children of Men dropped 37.5% $6.37m and $21.33m of $35.55m and $70.45m worldwide
Has taken $20m internationally from 9 territories and $70m worldwide; UK $4.8m; Holland $750k; Brazil $1.m; Spain $574k; Belgium $205k; Finland $180k; Portugal $126k.
Took $1.9m worldwide from IMAX and $8.5m total.
- Abigail – Universal Pictures
Opened $10.29m; received positive reviews (82% Rotten Tomatoes) and B CinemaScore.
Took $1m from Thursday midnights.
Took 19% from PLF
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett previously directed.
2022’s Scream opened $30.01m taking $81.64m and $137.74m worldwide
2023’s Scream VI opened $44.44m taking $108.16m and $168.96m worldwide
2019’s Ready Or Not opened $8.01m taking $28.71m and $57.61m worldwide
Vampire films include.
1996’s From Dusk Till Dawn opened $10.24m taking $25.83m
2014’s Dracula Untold opened $23.51m taking $56.28m and $217.12m worldwide
2011’s Fright Night opened $7.71m taking $18.3m and $41m worldwide
2007’s 30 Days of Night opened $15.95m taking $39.56m and $75.51m worldwide
Recent horrors Night Swim opened $11.79m taking $32.49m and $54.07m worldwide; Imaginary opened $9.91m taking $27.81m and $38.65m worldwide; while the same weekend last year Evil Dead Rises opened $24.5m taking $67.23m and $147.03m worldwide.
The last film was based on Universal’s MonsterVerse (Abigail was originally a Dracula’s Daughter reimagination) was 2023’s Renfield opened $8.02m taking $17.29m and $26.49m worldwide.
While other comparisons are 2022’s M3GAN opened $30.42m taking $95.15m and $180.08m worldwide.
Opened $5m from 62 territories
- Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire – Warner Bros
Dropped 38% in the fourth weekend $9.57m #3 and $171.73m.
353rd biggest fourth weekend between Fast & Furious 6 and Sweet Home Alabama (close to Sherlock Holmes, Justice League, World War Z and Uncharted).
326th biggest between Mary Poppins Returns and True Grit; 851st biggest inflated between Wolf and G-Force; 3rd biggest 2024 between Kung Fu Panda 4 and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire; 58th biggest sci-fi between Tron: Legacy and Close Encounters of the Third Kind; 58th biggest Warner Bros between The Matrix and Black Adam.
The budget was $135m with Legendary funding 75% and Warner Bros 25% with Warner paying P&A costs which are another $65m+ with promotional partners.
Previous MonsterVerse film’s fourth weekends
2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters dropped 56.1% $3.85m and $102.5m of $110.5m; $387.3m WW
2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong dropped 45.3% $4.29m and $86.66m of $100.91m and $470.11m worldwide
2014’s Godzilla dropped 49% $6.12m and $185.21m of $200.67m and $524.97m worldwide
2017’s Kong: Skull Island dropped 41.5% $8.58m and $147.63m of $168.05m and $568.65m worldwide
While
1998’s Godzilla dropped 36.1% $6.2m and $123.65m of $136.31m and $379.01m worldwide
2005’s King Kong dropped 49% $12.62m and $192.67m of $218.08m and $556.9m worldwide
Took $33.7m (47% drop) internationally from 71 territories $278.6m total and $485.33m; China $119.3m; Mexico $30.2m; UK $15.9m; India $14m; Australia $10.7m; Indonesia $8.6m; Brazil $7.3m; France $7.3m; Taiwan $7.1m; Spain $6.1m.
Took $38m globally from IMAX; China $14.8m.
257th biggest worldwide between Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish; 2nd biggest 2024 between Dune: Part Two and Kung Fu Panda 4; 55th biggest sci-fi between War for the Planet of the Apes and Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi; 44th biggest Warner Bros between Clash of the Titans and Troy.
- The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare – Lionsgate
Opened $8.91m; received mixed reviews (72% Rotten Tomatoes) and A- CinemaScore
Took $1.45m from Thursday midnights
Recent Guy Ritchie films include
2023’s The Covenant opened $6.38m taking $16.93m and $21.63m worldwide
2023’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre opened $3.14m taking $6.49m and $48.98m worldwide
2021’s Wrath of Man opened $8.3m taking $27.46m and $103.96m worldwide
2020’s The Gentlemen opened $10.65m taking $36.47m and $115.17m worldwide
Guy Ritchie made his name making British gangster films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and RocknRolla and then he directed Aladdin in 2019.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Challengers has received critical acclaim (95% Rotten Tomatoes) but will that translate into BO as Luca Guadagnino’s previous films also received positive reviews but struggled to find a wide audience; 2022’s Bones And All opened #6 £318,246 from 468 screens taking £586,996.
2017’s Call Me by Your Name opened #11 £235,760 from 111 screens taking £883,452
2016’s A Bigger Splash opened #11 £347,704 from 101 screens
Tennis films have struggled to find an audience in cinemas with films including King Richard, Battle of the Sexes, Wimbledon and Match Point.
Zendaya’s first film since Dune Part 2 and previously starred in Spider-Man: Far From Home and The Greatest Showman, but as with Timothée Chalamet with Wonka and Dune audiences came to see these films for other reasons.
The marketing for Challengers has been strong with the UK premiere two weeks ago, looking to open similar to films like Saltburn (£841,064); All Of Us Strangers (£1,176,972)
Other new releases will struggle to find a wide audience I.S.S and Ordinary Angels,
Holdovers Back To Black and Civil War will each drop about 40%; Back to Black £1.2m and Civil War £600k with Kung Fu Panda dropping 30% taking about £600k.
As last weekend, this weekend will be the lowest of the year and the lowest since December 2022; 5 years ago, this weekend Avengers Endgame had the second biggest opening in the UK taking £46,742,473.
Opening in two weeks
- If – Paramount Pictures
Animated fantasy comedy starring Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Cailey Fleming, Fiona Shaw and Alan Kim and the voices of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., and Steve Carell and directed by John Krasinski.
It’s a reunion between John Krasinski and Steve Carell (The Office)
When Paramount screened footage at CinemaCon audience reaction was soft, do we really need a live-action Monsters Ince film? It will likely play young and with no other family film until Inside Out 2 in June it could find an audience.
cigarette burns and missed changeovers 