- Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes – £3,802,189 – NE
Took £650,258 (17.1%) previews (Thursday)
Took £965k 25.38% Friday; £1.19m 31.3% Saturday; £999k 26.28% Sunday.
409th biggest opening between Cinderella and Tomorrow Never Dies (close to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Wanted, Terminator: Genisys and X-Men: Dark Phoenix) and 633rd biggest inflated between Baby Driver and Elysium (close to Back To The Future Part III, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Waterworld and Beverly Hills Cop II)
6th biggest 2024 opening between Ghostbusters: Frozen Planet and The Fall Guy (close to Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, Migration, One Life and Mean Girls).
It opened in 658 cinemas 81st widest opening similar to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Ghostbusters Afterlife (close to Bohemian Rhapsody, Shazam! Fury Of the Gods and Dune); almost 200 more cinemas than 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes (658 Vs 488)
Excuses will be made that it was the first hot sunny weekend of the year but if it’s a film people want to see they will see it no matter what the weather. It was a strange coincidence up to a few years ago the weather would always turn cooler and wetter over a weekend of a Disney film, this would have been the case this year had an MCU film opened last weekend.
If the weather was the reason for the soft opening then BO will increase from Monday and will drop less than 50% in its second weekend, but it rarely happens.
In May 2012 Men In Black 3 opened with a disappointing £2,935,736 #1 with all other films dropping 70% (as last weekend) the following weekend increased by 3% £3,032,053 #3 despite the opening of Prometheus £6,236,580 #1 and Snow White and the Huntsman £3,589,027 #2.
In July 2013 Monsters University opened £3,463,917 #1 (2002’s Monsters, Inc opened £9,200,257 £16,985,090 inflated). The following weekend dropped 19% taking £2,791,078 and played strongly for the rest of the summer, taking £29,768,407.
The opening was 6.51% of US including previews and 5.4% without; compared to 12.79% for War with previews and 9.28% without; 11.99% Dawn with previews 9.78% without and 10.65% Rise with previews 8.63% without; showing how poor its UK opening was compared to opening exactly as expected in the US.
The previous four Planet of the Apes films were released in mid-July/August so as with The Fall Guy last weekend’s dating had more to do with it as films play better at various times of the year and the last trilogy of films played better in a crowded marketplace.
Another issue with Kingdom has been an issue with many films planning franchises the ending is setting up the next instalment. Kingdom producers talked about having another five films as planned as a nine-part series. The 1968 original Planet of the Apes had four sequels with the last 1973’s Battle for the Planet of the Apes.
20th Century Fox originally rebooted the classic 60’s sci-fi series in 2001 with Tim Burton directing starring Mark Wahlberg; opened £5,445,983 (£10,484,175 inflated) taking £16,850,987 (£32,440,185 inflated). The studio had plans for a sequel, but Tim Burton said at the time, “I’d rather jump out a window.”
The studio decided to reboot it a second time in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes which took almost double BO of Planet of the Apes and received positive reviews, the two sequels Dawn and War were similarly as successful with the trilogy taking £75m+ in the UK (£90m inflated).
The fourth instalment in the second Planet of the Apes reboot franchise and sequel to 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes.
2011’s Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes opened £5,835,140 (£7,674,268 inflated) taking £20,768,895 (£27,143,506 inflated)
2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opened £8,705,995 (£9,363,938 (inflated) taking £32,873,910 (££38,744,251 inflated)
2017’s War For The Planet Of The Apes opened £7,195,773 (£7,656,917 inflated) taking £20,758,444 (£21,950,184 inflated)
The three films took $533m in the US and $1.67bn worldwide, and 2001’s film took $180m in the US and $362m worldwide, so had Disney not brought Fox in 2019 they would have made a fourth film, but it would have been released much sooner.
In February World of Reel reported Disney had test screenings of the film and it was poorly received. Still, then 13 minutes of gravity-defying cliff jumping was screened last week at CinemaCon and their reaction was predictably hugely different. They always have to take CinemaCon’s reaction with a pinch of salt as so often audiences rave about footage and films screened and then a few months later come short of expectations, as seen with it getting a B CinemaScore.
Development started on a fourth film in 2016 before War was released, but after the film was released Matt Reeve decided to take a break from Planet of the Apes but wasn’t until after Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019 that development started up again as it was one of several of Fox’s IP’s Disney wanted to expand further.
Wes Ball was due to direct Mouse Guard for 20th Century Fox in April 2019, but the film was cancelled two weeks before it was due to start filming after Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, it was one of several films Disney cancelled after buying the studio.
Wes Ball previously directed The Maze Runner film trilogy; 2014’s The Maze Runner opened £2,041,229 taking £8,685,511; The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials opened £2,799,428 taking £8,669,049; 2018’s The Maze Runner: The Death Cure opened £2,247,915 taking £6,667,941. They targeted tweens while Kingdom targeted 25+.
Kingdom will drop 50% this weekend and similar the following weekend when it loses IMAX/PLF screens to Furiosa.
- 2. The Fall Guy – £948,970 – £6,708,809
Dropped 73.6% in its second weekend.
Took £291k 30.7% (£810k -64.1%) Friday; £366k 38.61% (£1.23m -70.2%) Saturday; £291k 30.7% (£1.11m -74.25%) Sunday.
1,140th biggest second weekend between Assassin’s Creed and Blade: Trinity (close to S.W.A.T, The Heat, Lethal Weapon 2 and Friends with Benefits) and 1,691st inflated between Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Happy Feet 2 (close to Ride Along, The Taking of Pelham 123, I Spy and Bullet Train).
There are several comparable sets of films The Fall Guy could be compared to; first, the films based on US TV, The Fall Guy is less well-known internationally than Baywatch or The A-Team, it was first broadcast on ITV early Saturday evenings in the same slot as The A-Team.
Other films based on TV shows.
2012’s 21 Jump Street dropped 24% £1,184,044 #2 and £3,947,933 of £9,863,555 (£12,341,057 inflated)
2014’s 22 Jump Street dropped 54% £2,255,100 #1 and £9,771,503 of £18,322,998 (£21,594,962 inflated)
2004’s Starsky & Hutch dropped 55.4% £1,846,576 (£3,257,212 inflated) and £8,074,374 of £12,284,956 (£21,669,677 inflated).
2017’s Baywatch dropped 75% (dropped 40.3% without previews) £1,139,773 #4 and £6,983,836 of £9,511,833
2010’s The A-Team dropped 61% (45% without previews) £1,386,868 #7 (£1,846,050 inflated) and £7,041,641 of £9,835,019 (13,173,967 inflated)
2015’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E. dropped 37% £917,934 #5 and £3,545,230 of £6,455,363 (£7,135,817 inflated)
1993’s The Fugitive dropped 4.3% £1,548,427 (£3,844,537 inflated) and £4,259,409 of £14,202,602 (£35,263,158 inflated)
2006’s Miami Vice dropped 47% (38% without previews) £1,186,987 #3 (£1,942,564 inflated) and £4,740,818 of £6,873,370 (£11,248,616 inflated)
2003’s S.W.A.T. dropped 51% (38% without previews) £958,361 #2 (£1,709,509 inflated) and £3,545,355 of £5,149,101 (£9,184,883 inflated)
2000’s Charlie’s Angels dropped 29.2% £2,250,016 (£4,050,029 inflated) and £6,966,355 of £13,022,763 (£23,440,973 inflated)
2008’s Get Smart dropped 54% (38% without previews) £710,174 #6 and £3,493,606 of £4,621,510 (£7,083,353 inflated)
1996’s Mission Impossible dropped 46.8% by £2,211,738 (£4,331,094 inflated) and £8,646,146 of £18,351,333 (£35,936,148 inflated); it’s impossible to include Mission Impossible as despite being part of a team it was all about Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise)
2022’s The Lost City dropped 50% (23% without preview) £1,372,328 #3 and £5,633,575 of £10,606,648.
Films about the cinema industry include.
1999’s Bowfinger dropped 30.5% £622,911 (£1,171,842 inflated) and £2,239,000 of £3,520,163 (£6,622,254 inflated)
1992’s The Player dropped 22.3% £258,293 (£637,284 inflated) and £960,429 of £2,687,526 (£6,630,905 inflated)
2008’s Tropic Thunder dropped 46% £1,345,392 #1 and £5,038,511 of £8,387,745 (£12,775,181 inflated)
1991’s The Hard Way dropped 35.1% £238,492 (£623,385 inflated) and £791,963 of £988,326 (£2,583,347 inflated)
David Leitch previously directed.
2022’s Bullet Train dropped 68% (51% without previews) £909,264 #2 and £5,062,175 of £10,766,199.
2017’s Atomic Blonde dropped 70% (56% without previews) £500,923 #8 and £3,063,918 of £3,063,918
2018’s Deadpool 2 dropped 71% (51% without previews) £3,771,293 #2 and £20,682,579 of £32,501,893
2019’s Hobbs & Shaw dropped 54% (40% without previews) £2,938,833 #2 and £12,801,580 of £20,448,914
Despite the enormous success of Barbie Ryan Gosling struggles to open films on his own as seen with 2016’s The Nice Guys dropped 34% £641,684 #6 and £2,232,634 of £3,792,002 and 2004’s The Notebook dropped 47% £162,517 and £785,209 of £1,109,047.
1,092nd biggest between Waking Ned Devine and Magic Mike XXL (close to Shaun of the Dead, Lethal Weapon 2, The Equalizer and The Talented Mr. Ripley) and 1,637th biggest inflated between The Water Horse and There Will Be Blood (close to Spy Game, The Pacifier, Zathura and Bowfinger).
- 3. Challengers £333,281 – £4,699,043
Down 66.2% in the third weekend.
Took £124k 37.24% (-60% £310k) Friday; £103k 30.93% (-70.6% £250k) Saturday; £106k 31.83% L319k) Sunday
1,492nd biggest third weekend between Harry Brown and X-Men: Dark Phoenix (close to Sideways, The Menu, The Prestige and The Great Escaper and 1,625th biggest inflated between The Divergent Series: Allegiant and The Great Escaper (close to Amy, The Visit, The Ides Of March and Steel Magnolias).
While Challengers is set around tennis it has more in common with films like Brokeback Mountain (£1,069,677 #3 dropped 16% and £4,783,631 of £9,469,032) and Don’t Worry Darling (£1,020,083 dropped 44% #3 and £8,209,397) about a love triangle.
Luca Guadagnino’s previous films also received positive reviews but struggled to find a wide audience; 2022’s Bones And All took £806,578; 2016’s A Bigger Splash £347,704; 2018’s Suspiria £351,171
2017’s Call Me by Your Name dropped 35% £91,412 #15 95 screens and £767,323 of £1.8m.
While tennis films have struggled to find an audience in cinemas.
2017’s Battle of the Sexes dropped 70% £67,193 #14 224 screens of £1,332,759.
2006’s Match Point dropped 43% £250,249 #13 155 screens and £1,969,287 of £2,468,298
2004’s Wimbledon dropped 46% £815,806 #3 432 screens and £5,626,706 of £7,168,347
2021’s King Richard took £1.6m
2023’s Air dropped 29% £516,224 #5 and £3,653,838 of £4,579,060
Impossible to compare Challengers with tennis films as while it might be set around tennis it is more about the love triangle between the players and the coach which was highlighted in the film’s marketing campaign.
2015’s Whiplash has a similar plot about achieving ambitions (dropped 27% £124,290 #13 157 screens and £1,622,987
Andrew Garfield will star with Julia Roberts In Luca Guadagnino’s next film thriller After The Hunt made by Amazon MGM Studios.
Josh O’Connor starred in Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera opened £99,985 #9 from 68 screens including £28,932 from previews. He next stars alongside Kate Winslet in Lee released by Sky Cinema in September.
1,487th biggest between Payback and The Heartbreak Kid (close to The Usual Suspects, Misery, The Birdcage and Game Night) and 2,020th biggest inflated between Nuts and Hitman (close to Made in Dagenham, Roxanne, To Die For and Crying Game).
- 4. Back To Black – £211,408 – £11,300,178
Down 72.6% in the fifth weekend
Took £80k 37.91% (-45.13% £226k) Friday; £73k 34.6% (-75.67% 3300k) Saturday; £58k 27.49% £242k) Sunday.
977th biggest fifth weekend between Notes On A Scandal and Napoleon (close to Blue Jasmine, Amelie, Saving Mr. Banks and Beetlejuice) and 1,147th biggest inflated between Spotlight and Snow Dogs (close to Working Girl, Everything Everywhere, Unfaithful and Cruel Intentions).
Sam Taylor-Johnson previously directed 2009’s Nowhere Boy took £1,292,610; 2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey £34,662,255 and 2019’s A Million Little Pieces £25,746.
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’ fifth weekends include.
2023’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody dropped 40% £458,930 #8 and £10,530,284 of £11,383,690
2006’s Walk the Line dropped 22% £574,026 #7 and £7,249,814 of £9,737,493
2022’s Elvis up 24% £1,236,783 #4 and £18,452,065 of £27,492,430; had long legs stayed in the top 5 for 7 weeks and top 10 for 11 weeks.
2019’s Rocketman dropped 52% £783,785 #4 and £21,096,176 of £23,502,881: top 5 for 5 weeks and top 10 for 7 weeks
2017’s The Greatest Showman dropped 2% £2,042,450 #4 and £19,965,506 of £49,592,940.
1993’s Tina, What’s Love Got To Do With It took £3,703,961 (£9,138,745 inflated)
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.
After Wicked Little Letters has taken £9.5m and with Paddington in Peru opening later in the year Studiocanal will 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 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 20th Century Studio announced they were making Deliver Me from Nowhere Bruce Springsteen biopic starring The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White.
608th biggest between The Nun and Enemy of the State (close to I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Anyone But You, Spice World and Bend It Like Beckham) and 1,031st biggest inflated between Phone Booth and Fun with Dick and Jane (close to The Karate Kid Part 3, Dangerous Minds, Edward Scissorhands and Big).
7th biggest Studiocanal film between Shaun The Sheep Movie and Early Man (close to Rush, Wicked Little Lies, Non-Stop and RoboCop (2014) and 9th biggest inflated between Rush and Non-Stop.
Down 72.3% in its second weekend
Other horror films’ second weekends this year; Abigail dropped 36.59% £378,317 and £1,326,241 of £1,635,672; Night Swim dropped 57.7% £249,691 and £1,090,639 of £1,294,132; Imaginary dropped 37.7% £406,392 and £1,373,256 of £1,730,394.
All horrors opening since Five Nights At Freddy’s in October have underperformed (Abigail, The First Omen, Immaculate, Imaginary, Night Swim and Thanksgiving) the genre used to perform well, and success would breed success as they would attract similar demographics, that’s the reason why when one underperforms all that have followed do too.
Upcoming summer horrors should perform much stronger including M. Night Shyamalan’s The Watchers, A Quiet Place: Day One, Trap, The Crow and They Listen.
Also opened.
- Eurovision – Grand Final Live – CinemaLive
Opened £34,435 #16 from 77 screens.
Last year Eurovision took £237,787 #7 from 444 screens.
Tickets in most cinemas were about £20 with Everyman Cinemas charging £28, how can exhibitors justify the high price when Eurovision was shown live on BBC1? With prices at about £20 means about 1,500 admissions so about 20 per screen.
IF had weekend previews taking £635,125 Sat/Sun #3 ahead of opening next weekend. Despite having previews over the weekend, it has an embargo in place for reviews and in the US it’s only being screened to selective critics before opening.
If started its international opening taking $3.6m and expanding next week into 56 territories
BO News
28.8m admissions in the first quarter of 2024 were 11% higher than in 2023 but 23% less than in 2019; BO’s first quarter was £222m 7% higher than in 2023 but 16% less than 2019 £264m.
The biggest film of the first quarter was Dune: Part Two £38m and One Life £10m was the biggest British film; BFI called it the “highest earning UK independent release” despite being acquired by Warner Bros.
January 9.6m in 2024; 13.7m in 2019
12% more tickets than in 2023; Wonka had 17.5% of admissions.
February 10m in 2024; 12.2m in 2019
9% more than February 2023 but 18% less than 2019; Migration and Bob Marley: One Love took 15% of admissions combined.
March 9.2m in 2024; 11.4m in 2019
12% more than in 2023 but 19% less than in 2019
The first quart BO was £217m from 242 films (including Eire); 17% more than 2023’s £185m (207 films) but 14% less than 2019’s £251m from 180 films.
April/May BO is likely to be much lower than 2023.
UK box office in detail
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £5,979,754 down 31.2% from last weekend’s £8,694,226: 742,138 admissions down 31.7% from 1,086,745 admissions.
50th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 19 April 2024 #1 Back To Black £1,897,014 (30.1%) and 06 October 2023 #1 The Exorcist: Believer £1,677,878 (30.4%)
142nd biggest since cinemas reopened out of 182 weeks between 02 July 2021 #1 Fast & Furious 9 £2,681,393 (44.82%) and 19 August 2022 #1 Nope £1,147,638 (19.39%)
1,046th biggest top 10 of the last 22 years (out of 1,153) between 24 December 2010 #1 Little Fockers £3,035,717 (50.76%) and 11 September 2009 #1 District 9 £1,184,392 (19.84%) and 1,1.08th inflated between 11 October 2013 #1 Prisoners £968,990 (19.37%) and 04 September 2015 #1 Straight Outta Compton £1,366,741 (25.35%)
The top 3 took (£5,084,440) 85.1% of the top 10; Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes 63.58% (£3,802,189); The Fall Guy 15.87% (£948,970); Challengers 5.57% (£333,281)
109th highest #1 percentage (63.58%) between 08 July 2005 #1 War of the Worlds (63.62%) and 09 July 2010 #1 Twilight Saga: Eclipse (63.43%)
692nd biggest admissions #1 (480,074) between 18 January 2019 #1 Glass (481,488) and 07 June 2002 #1 Star Wars Ep II – Attack of the Clones (479,887)
Down 25.1% from 2023; (£7,986,182); Love Again (£340,785); Book Club: The Next Chapter (£299,370); Eurovision – Grand Final Live (£237,787); Machine Gun Kelly: Mainstream Sellout Live From Cleveland (£57,625); #1 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 £5,349,346 2nd week 56% drop 710 screens (66.98%)
Down 37.7% from 2022 (£9,597,322); Everything Everywhere All at Once (£681,351); Little Mix Live – The Final Show (£361,909); Firestarter (£250,006); Father Stu (£60,844); Friday The 13th (1980) (Re: 2022) (£26,333); #1 Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness £5,690,351 2nd week 71% drop 701 screens (59.3% of top 10)
2021; Lockdown 2
2020: Lockdown 1
Down 50.4% from 2019; (£12,057,386); Pokemon Detective Pikachu (£4,951,838); The Hustle (£1,037,478); Amazing Grace (£166,593); Dialogues Des Carmelites – Met Opera 2019 (£141,630); The Corrupted (£52,988); #1 Pokemon Detective Pikachu £4,951,838 1st week 579 screens (41.1% of top 10)
Down 47.7% from 2018: (£11,439,663); Sherlock Gnomes (£2,522,342); Life of the Party (£618,311); Breaking In (£424,675); Entebbe (£138,390); How to Talk to Girls at Parties (£23,311); Anon (£19,108); #1 Avengers: Infinity War £5,706,170 44% drop 3rd week 636 screens (49.8% of top 10)
Down 46.3% from 2017: (£11,133,770); Alien: Covenant (£5,178,531); Der Rosenkavalier – Met Opera 2017 (£313,653); Miss Sloane (£190,295); The Last Face (£46,414); #1 Alien: Covenant £5,178,531 626 screens 1st week (46.5% of top 10)
Down 34.3% from 2016: (£9,103,851): Angry Birds (£2,138,507); Our Kind of Traitor (£358,180); Everybody Wants Some!! (£169,764); Green Room (£144,517); Mustang (£65,038); Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (£58,798); The Darkness (£51,490); #1 Captain America: Civil War £2,789,985 42% drop 586 screens 3rd week (30.6% of top 10)
Down 31.2% from 2015; (£8,695,042); Spooks: The Greater Good (£1,010,363); The Age of Adaline (£570,386); Big Game (£535,905); Girlhood (£66,574); A Royal Night Out (£9,241); Top Five (£64,612); Rosewater (£11,838); #1 Avengers: The Age of Ultron £3,509,620 565 screens 3rd week 59% drop (40.3% of top 10)
Down 54.7% from 2014: (£13,200,641); Bad Neighbours (£8,446,240); Sabotage (£300,521); La Cenerentola – Met Opera 2014 (£285,597); Frank (£202,747); The Wind Rises (£199,598); Next Goal Wins (£17,145); #1 Bad Neighbours £8,446,240 506 screens 1st week (63.9% of top 10)
Down 57.6% from 2013: (£14,089,241); Star Trek: Into Darkness (£8,431,574); Mud (£239,037); Deadfall (£33,987); Vehicle 19 (£239); #1 Star Trek: Into Darkness £8,431,574 554 screens 1st week (59.8% of top 10)
Down 46% from 2012 (£11,071,152); Dark Shadows (£2,404,029); Piranha 3DD (£242,889); How I Spent My Summer Vacation (£152,728); Jeff Who Lives at Home (£92,472); All in Good Time (£76,111); Cafe De Flore (£43,719); #1 Avengers Assemble £4,169,087 3rd week 498 screens 49% drop (37.6% of top 10)
Down 21% from 2011; (£7,566,720); Attack the Block (£1,133,859); The Way (£104,397); Take Me Home Tonight (£45,859); Taxi Driver (35th Anniversary) (£15,161); #1 Thor £1,360,418 30% drop 3rd week 472 screens (17.9% of top 10)
Down 43.9% from 2010: (£10,656,307); Robin Hood (£5,750,332); Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (£5,623); #1 Robin Hood £5,750,332 1st week 537 screens (53.9% of top 10)
Down 58.1% from 2009; (£14,256,881); Star Trek (£5,950,203); Coraline (£2,427,244); Cheri (£120,234); #1 Star Trek £5,950,203 499 screens 1st week (41.7% of top 10)
Up 12.5% from 2008; (£5,315,678); What Happens in Vegas… (£1,263,093); Speed Racer (£362,102); Doomsday (£311,383); Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? (£26,550); #1 Iron Man £1,976,721 2nd week 499 screens 64% drop (37.2% of top 10)
Down 38.1% from 2007: (£9,654,662); 28 Weeks Later (£1,575,620); My Best Friend (£117,440); Spider-Man 3 £5,596,612 2nd week 522 screens 53% drop (57.9% of top 10)
Up 3.9% from 2006; (£5,753,595); Prime (£851,322); When a Stranger Calls (£494,131); Brick (£142,878); #1 Mission: Impossible III £2,751,733 2nd week 511 screens 49% drop (47.8% of top 10)
Up 15.8% from 2005: (£5,161,794); Monster-in-Law (£1,312,679); The Jacket (£175,773); A Good Woman (£130,193); Seed of Chucky (£109,110); #1 Kingdom of Heaven £1,385,529 2nd week 450 screens (26.8% of top 10)
Down 34% from 2004 (£9,050,154); Van Helsing (£5,429,632); Laws of Attraction (£433,962); Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (£177,036); Van Helsing £5,429,632 1st week 458 screens (59.9% of top 10)
Down 12.7% from 2003 (£6,850,974); Old School (£742,478); Darkness Falls (£483,739); Hope Springs (£366,352); I Capture the Castle (£138,142); #1 X-Men 2 £3,079,985 2nd week 56% drop 454 screens (44.96%)
Up 9.1% from 2002 (£5,480,784); Dog Soldiers (£681,348); Slackers (£152,078); I Am Sam (£151,079); #1 About A Boy £2,239,288 444 screens 3rd week 32% drop (27.7% of top 10)
2023 Next week: (£10,340,735); Fast X (£5,895,674); Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (£327,197); Beau Is Afraid (£231,370); Don Giovanni – Met Opera 2023 (£99,842); Local Hero (40th Anniversary) (£16,033); #1 Fast X £5,895,674 1st week 653 screens (57.01%)
US Box Office
- Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes – Disney
Opened $58.4m; received positive reviews (80% Rotten Tomatoes) and B CinemaScore.
Took $6.6m from Thursday previews (included Weds $1.6m fan previews)
Presales $3.1m similar to Dead Reckoning ($54.6m opening)
Took 44% from IMAX/PLF screens.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire $10m; Godzilla: King of the Monsters $6.3m; War for the Planet of the Apes $5.01m; Dawn of the Planet of the Apes $4.1m. Rise of the Planet of the Apes $1.3m/
Opened in IMAX/PLF with exclusive IMAX screens on Wednesday (has IMAX screens for 2 weeks)
210th biggest opening between Pearl Harbor and Creed III (close to Hobbs & Shaw and Jumanji: The Next Level (close to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum); Dawn of the Planet of the Apes #137 $72.61m; Planet of the Apes #159 $68.53m; War for the Planet of the Apes #224 $56.26m; Rise of the Planet of the Apes #244 $54.8m.
As often Disney will underestimate weekend BO so opening weekend looks stronger than it really is as we’re tracking for $50m-$52m which increased to $56m over the weekend increasing to $58.5m on Monday.
Post-COVID the industry has lowered BO opening expectations by about a third, Kingdom, Furiosa and Bad Boys 4 would be looking at $80m+ openings now $50m despite all costs going up since pre-Covid, whilst these films are opening with upwards of 50% from IMAX/PLF so admissions for these films are 50% down.
What doesn’t help is The Fall Guy should have never opened in summer, it should have never moved from March 1st as it wasn’t an early summer film it was either spring or late summer, likewise, Furiosa isn’t a Memorial Day weekend film.
30+ years ago when a film took $1bn globally it was the sign of a hit; Jurassic Park was $1.11bn in 1993 260m+ global admissions now $1bn is less than 100m admissions.
2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes opened $56.26m taking $146.88m and $490.71m WW
2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opened $72.61m taking $208.54m and $710.64m WW
2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes opened $54.8m taking $176.76m and $481.8m WW
2001’s Planet of the Apes opened $68.53m taking $180.01m and $362.21m WW
Was expected to open with $130m worldwide with $50m+ from the US with 45%+ from IMAX/PLF (1,600 IMAX screens worldwide having 2-week run); 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes opened $62m internationally ($8m China); 2014, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes $127m ($37m China) and 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes $130m ($56m China). The trilogy has made $1.68bn worldwide and all Apes films $2.1bn worldwide.
The three films took $533m in the US and $1.67bn worldwide, and 2001’s film took $180m in the US and $362m worldwide, so had Disney not brought Fox in 2019 they would have made a fourth film, but it would have been released much sooner.
Opened $72.7m from 52 territories and $131.2m worldwide; China $11.4m; France $7.1m; Mexico $6.4m; UK $4.8m; Korea $3.2m; Australia $2.7m; Brazil $2.6m; Germany $2.2m; Spain $2.2m.
$13.4m from IMAX worldwide
- The Fall Guy – Universal Pictures
Dropped 51% in the second weekend $13.69m #2 and $49.69m.
819th biggest second weekend between The Amityville Horror and Elysium (close to What Happens in Vegas, Anchorman, Jack Reacher and John Carter)
The Fall Guy wasn’t a start of summer film as it was planned to be a March release, had it opened March 1st as planned it wouldn’t have had the expectations attached. As seen in films like 21 Jump Street and Starsky and Hutch
2022’s The Lost City dropped 51.7% $14.71m and $54.49m of $105.34m and $192.9m WW
2012’s 21 Jump Street dropped 43.6% $20.47m and $70.22m of $138.44m and $201.58m WW
2014’s 22 Jump Street dropped 51.9% $27.46m and $109.91m of $191.71m and $331.33m WW
2004’s Starsky & Hutch dropped 43% $16.01m and $51.5m of $88.23m and $170.26m WW
Films about the cinema industry include.
1999’s Bowfinger dropped 41.3% $10.6m and $35.8m of $66.38m and $98.62m WW
2008’s Tropic Thunder dropped 37% $16.27m and $65.83n of $110.51m and $195.7m WW
David Leitch previously directed films
2022’a Bullet Train dropped 55.4% $13.4m and $54.48m of $103.36m and $239.26m WW
2017’s Atomic Blonde dropped 55.4% $8.15m and $34.03m of $51.68m and $100.01m WW
2018’s Deadpool 2 dropped 65.4% $43.46m and $208.17m of $324.57m and $786.32m WW
2019’s Hobbs & Shaw dropped 57.9% $25.26m and $108.37m of $173.95m and $760.73m WW
Despite the enormous success of Barbie Ryan Gosling struggles to open films on his own as seen with 2016’s The Nice Guys dropped 41.8% $6.51m and $21.87m of $36.26m and $71.26m WW; 2004’s The Notebook dropped 45% $7.4m and $28.7m of $81.41m and $118.26m WW.
Took $9.4m internationally (down 54%) from 78 territories total of $54m and $103.7m worldwide; UK $8.3m; Australia $6.6m; Mexico $3.6m; Germany $3.4m; France $3.4m.
- Tarot – Sony Pictures
Dropped 48% $3.4m #4 and $11.96m
Other horror films’ second weekends this year; Abigail dropped 49.5% $5.2m and $18.74m of $30.92m WW; Night Swim dropped 60.7% $4.63m and $19.14m of $32.49m and $54.07m worldwide; Imaginary dropped 44% $5.55m and $19.03m of $28m and $38.65m worldwide.
Upcoming horrors should perform stronger including M. Night Shyamalan’s The Watchers, A Quiet Place: Day One, Trap, The Crow and They Listen all opening during summer.
Took $3m from 35 territories $8.2m total and $20.2m worldwide.
- Challengers – MGM
Dropped 42% in the third weekend $4.37m #3 and $47.76m
Luca Guadagnino’s previous films also received positive reviews but struggled to find a wide audience.
2022’s Bones And All dropped 51% $582,879 and $7.28m of $7.83m and $15.23m worldwide
2017’s Call Me by Your Name dropped 31.4% (after platform) $885,090 and $12.82m of $18.09m and $42.1m worldwide
While tennis films have struggled to find an audience in cinemas.
2017’s Battle of the Sexes dropped 47.6% $1.34m and $10.36m of $12.63m and $18.59m WW
2006’s Match Point up 46.7% $2.93m and $10.16m of $23.15m and $85.63m WW
2004’s Wimbledon dropped 47.7% $1.73m and $14.83m of $17m and $41.68m worldwide
While last year’s Amazon sporting drama Air dropped 30.6% $5.44m and $41.76m of $52.46m and $90.06m WW
Sporting films both fictional and non-fiction have been extremely popular In the US but have become a genre of films that have suffered over the last 20 years.
Challengers will be released on Amazon on May 17th.
Took $4.2m from 63 territories taking $30.6m and $68.7m worldwide.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Surprising Paramount are hiding IF holding a media screening last weekend at the same time it had paid previews in the UK taking £635k Sat/Sun and having a late embargo after weekend previews. Public reactions have been incredibly positive with many saying the trailers don’t do the film justice and it is quirky, charming and heartwarming while the trailers make it feel like a Monsters Inc and Inside Out live-action remake.
Surprisingly most films about imaginary friends aren’t children’s films as there are many horror movies like recent Imaginary, Donnie Darko, A Monster Calls (opened £1,920,744 taking £2,865,362) and Drop-Dead Fred (opened £236,902 taking £1,794,121). Directed by John Krasinski it’s a long way from the two A Quiet Place films and much more to the Some Good News web series he made in 2020 during COVID.
Ryan Reynolds’s first major cinema release since 2021’s Free Guy having starred in several Netflix films including Red Notice and The Adam Project and before voiced Detective Pikachu (opened £4,951,838 taking £13,842,524 in 2019’s Pokemon Detective Pikachu, with IF opening including £635k previews would expect similar £4m+ opening.
Also opening is the first part of a horror trilogy all set for release this year The Strangers: Chapter 1, a remake of 2008’s The Strangers directed by action director Renny Harlin (previously directed Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Deep Blue Sea. While he is best known for directing action films 1998’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master was his first US film (opened £504,930 on 270 screens (£1,716,329 inflated) taking £1,931,565 (£6,565,663 inflated).
The original film 2008’s The Strangers opened £1,250,624 (£1,904,797 inflated) taking £4,025,916 (£6,131,780 inflated); The Strangers: Chapter 1 will open similar to other horror films have opened this year between £600k-£800k #3.
Horror films have opened disappointingly since October, but home invasion horrors have performed well including Scream, Saw, Don’t Breathe, It, The Invisible Man and The Purge.
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes will drop about 55% in its second weekend between £1.5m-£2m #2.
The Fall Guy will drop 40%+ in its third weekend taking £500k-£600k #4.
Challengers will drop about 50% in the fourth weekend despite being released on Amazon on Friday
Opening in two weeks
- Bad Boys: Ride Or Die – Sony Pictures (Wednesday)
Action-comedy sequel to Bad Boys for Life and the fourth instalment in the Bad Boys franchise starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Joe Pantoliano, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd and Tiffany Haddish and directed by Adil & Bilall.
Immediately after the opening of 2020’s Bad Boys for Life Sony Pictures announced they were developing a fourth film; it was shortly put on hold after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, in February 2023 Will Smith announced the fourth film was in pre-production. Filming started in April but stopped in July after the SAG strike started and filming restarted in December.
The first trailer was released at the end of March.
2020’s Bad Boys For Life opened £3,781,233 #2 (behind 1917) 535 screens taking £15,953,076
2003’s Bad Boys 2 opened £3,175,258 #1 383 screens (£5,663,974 inflated) taking £8,408,498 (£14,998,942 inflated)
1995’s Bad Boys opened £866,215 #1 299 screens (£1,971,386 inflated) taking £5,079,511 (£11,560,266 inflated)
Tracking to open with $50m+ in the US; 2020’s Bad Boys for Life opened $62.5m ($38.6m from 39 territories and $97.8m worldwide) taking $206.3m and $426.5m WW; 2003’s Bad Boys 2 opened $46.52m taking $138.6m and $273.34m WW; 1995’s Bad Boys opened $15.52m taking $65.8m and $141.4m WW.
cigarette burns and missed changeovers 