- Minions: The Rise of Gru – £3,086,374 – £28,218,622
Up 15.9% in its fourth weekend due to the start of the summer holidays and returned to #1 after Thor: Love and Thunder dropped 24.9% the two films were separated by only £33,575.
2nd biggest Illumination 4th weekend between Sing 2 (+£3,391) and Despicable Me 3 (-£69,318) taking £384,054 more than Minions.
The 11 Illumination Entertainment films have taken over £355m since the first Despicable Me opened in 2010 and almost £400m worldwide inflation inflated; upcoming Mario opening in April 2023, Migration in June 2023 and Despicable Me 4 July 2024.
Always find it a strange coincidence when a film BO is so similar to a previous instalment and that was the case for both Minions: The Rise of Gru and Thor: Love and Thunder in their fourth/Third weekend.
The top 5 all took £1m+ for the first time since February and like February this was expected to be the start of the school holidays, but despite this still had one of the lowest third weekends of July for the last 20 years as this weekend has been a very strong weekend for cinemagoing.
This should be a positive but this weekend and last weekend have been over the last 40+ years very lucrative at the box office being the start of the summer school holidays and seeing the biggest summer movies open, including 2001’s Jurassic Park III £4.72m 1999’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace £9.51m; 1998 Godzilla £4.17m; 1997 The Lost World: Jurassic Park £5.7m; 1995 Batman Forever £4.71m; 1993 Jurassic Park £4.87m; 1992 Batman Returns £2.77m; 1991 Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves £5.7m; 1990 Back to the Future Part III £3.85m; 1989 Licence to Kill £3.17m; 1987 An American Tale; 1983 Superman III. This was when studios held back their big summer films often by a month or more, but this year as they have all opened day and date with the US the 6 weeks of summer holidays are much lighter than normal.
156th biggest film between Downton Abbey and The Pirates of the Caribbean (close to Shrek, The Boss Baby, The LEGO Batman Movie and Sonic the Hedgehog 2) and 370th biggest inflation inflated between Cars and The Martian (close to Despicable Me, Tangled, Dead Poets Society and The Rugrats Movie).
20th biggest Universal Pictures film between Downton Abbey and The Grinch (close to Ted, Furious 8, Fast & Furious 6 and Darkest Hour) and 27th biggest inflation-inflated Universal Pictures film between Bridesmaids and Johnny English Reborn.
33rd biggest animated film between The Boss Baby and The Grinch (close to A Bug’s Life, Sing, The Croods and Ratatouille) and 53rd biggest inflation-inflated animated film between Arthur Christmas and Home (close to How to Train Your Dragon 2, Ice Age, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted and Brave).
Minion Cult on TikTok was up to 1.1bn views within 24 days, and the hashtag #MinionsCult was viewed 6.1m times the day before opening. While Gentle Minions in TikTok has been viewed over 170m times. But how much of it is responsible for the BO it has generated is hard to tell as the sequel is performing similar to the first film. The marketing team behind Minions: The Rise of Gru created the Gentleminion phrase but user-generated content made by fans over the last four weeks made it go viral.
The latest thing to come from TikTok is that Minions is based on a true story which shows the dangers of TikTok being able to share fake news and millions will believe it as a recent survey showed many younger people got their news by TikTok.
Fourth weekends
2017’s Despicable Me 3 dropped 20% taking £3,082,983 #2 from 645 screens and £30,319,469 63.7% of £47,562,575; #1 Dunkirk £10,023,720 1st week
2015’s Minions dropped 35% taking £2,702,320 #2 from 607 screens and £32,293,570 67.8% of £47,645,626; #1 Ant-Man £4,011,345 1st week.
2013’s Despicable Me 2 dropped 17% taking £1,850,549 #3 from 544 screens and £30,279,559 63.8% of £47,436,199; #1 Monsters University £2,791,078 2nd week
2010’S Despicable Me dropped 53% taking £1,177,507 #3 from 516 screens and £16,863,318 85.7% of £19,670,786; #1 Due Date £2,346,089 1st week
By opening these films at the end of June they get a boost four weeks later when the school holidays start, normally by this time there is another family film released but this year as it was the only major one on release it had an increase, while The Railway Children Returns had a small drop and Lightyear increased by 33.7%.
How Minions: The Rise of Gru holds against DC League of Super-Pets will determine if it can get close to the BO of the original Minions film as like the first film it should play out the summer holidays, while Lightyear will be released on Disney+ next week.
If Minions: The Rise of Gru holds similar to Minions and Despicable Me 3 it should take about £43m about 10% less.
Other animated films also had big increases Lightyear #9 up 30% £216,574 taking £9.76m in its 6th weekend, will be released on Disney+ in early August. The Bad Guys #13 was up 67% £32,449 taking £13.47m in its 17 weekends, while The Railway Children Return dropped 15% #6 £313,775 taking £1.14m. As Swallows and Amazon’s 2016 remake The Railway Children Return will hover in the lower end of the charts though the rest of the summer, that is if exhibitors keep playing it as in some cinemas it’s down to one show a day from Friday.
- 2. Thor: Love and Thunder – £3,052,799 – £26,485,918
Down 24.9% in its third weekend taking very similar to Thor: Ragnarok in its third weekend, always find it a strange coincidence when a film takes BO so similar to the previous instalment.
As all other films except The Railway Children Returns saw an increase over the weekend the 24.9% drop isn’t as impressive as it looks, as it is really a 45%+ drop, this can also be seen by its drop is more than double others over last Mon/Tues.
11th biggest MCU third weekend between Thor: Ragnorok and Doctor Strange 2 (close to Captain Marvel, Iron Man 3, Shang-Chi, Doctor Strange).
Took £20,550 less than Thor: Ragnarok (£3,073,349) and £1,269,945 more than Thor: The Dark (£1,782,854);
13th biggest MCU after 18 days on release between Spider-Man: Far From Home (£27,220,581) and Thor: Ragnarok taking £605,980 more (£25,879,938).
29th biggest comic-book movie in the UK between X-Men: Days of Future Past and Spider-Man 2 (close to Spider-Man Homecoming, Man of Steel, X-Men 2 and Wonder Woman) and 47th biggest inflation inflated between Iron Man and Logan (close to Batman Returns, Men in Black 3, Superman Returns and Thor: The Dark World).
167th biggest in the UK (280th to take £20m+ since 1986’s Crocodile Dundee) between Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Spider-Man 2 (close to Spider-Man, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, The Lost World: Jurassic Park and I are Legend) and 370th biggest inflation inflated between Cars and The Martian (close to The Naked Gun, Speed, Licence to Kill and A Fish Called Wanda).
These films are aimed at tweens with short attention spans that get caught up in the hype and rush to the cinema to see the latest MCU over opening weekend and then quickly move on to the next film that opens the week after.
Thor: Love and Thunder being the 29th MCU and direct sequel to Thor: Ragnarok that follows on from events in Avengers Endgame has of course massive advantage as the fanbase for MCU films is huge with the 29 films taking almost £1bn at the UK BO since 2008. It does make them less accessible than earlier films as to fully understand everything need to have done your homework before now over 93 hours of content that includes all the films and TV spinoff shows.
The 29 MCU films have taken almost £980m since 2008 (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will see MCU take over £1bn in the UK) and over £1.11bn inflation inflated.
2017’s Thor:Ragnorok dropped 33% £3,073,349 (16.5% of top 10) #3 569 screens taking £25,879,938 83.6% of £30,936,228 #1 Paddington 2 £8,260,160 1st week, #2 Murder on the Orient Express £4,985,600
2013’s Thor: The Dark World dropped 40% £1,782,854 (15.1% of top 10) #2 497 screens taking £17,088,066 85% of £20.1m; #1 Gravity £4,838,152 2nd week
2011’s Thor dropped 30% £1,360,418 (18% of top 10) #1 472 screens taking £11,824,445 85.3% of £13,854,712; Thor held #1 for 3 weeks until Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opening with almost twice as much as Thor (£11,634,860) 4 weeks later; #2 Fast & Furious 5 £1,155,540 4th week and #3 Attack the Block £1,133,859
Thor: Love and Thunder might have taken similar to Thor: Ragnarok but after Doctor Strange took £42m the fourth film should have taken a similar amount.
One of the biggest problems with the MCU is that similar to Disney’s Star Wars films they aren’t accessible to new audiences, Marvel as Lucasfilm with the TV shows are targeting existing fans with their films and TV shows.
Newbies will need to watch 93 hours of MCU content to fully understand what’s going on, another reason why Top Gun Maverick was so successful is it was a Ronseal movie doing exactly what it said on the tin, could just enjoy the film for what it was.
Phase 4 of the MCU has been disappointing, even dare I say it Spider-Man No Way Home wasn’t as good as the hype but it was an audience film as it feels very different from watching at home. But as with Top Gun Maverick, opened at the perfect time audiences were primed and were accessible to non-comic-book fans with Hollanders opting to see it again and again instead of other films that opened over the months after.
MCU exhibitors might believe they are good for cinema but they cannibalise everything around it for several weeks. Over the last 7 weeks between Doctor Strange 2 and Thor 4 have seen strong BO with several films performing well as their success breeds further success but comic-book movies only breed success for the next.
At Comic-Con last week Marvel announced Phase 5 and 6 which includes 10 films and 10 TV series beginning with Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania and then the third reboot of Fantastic Four in less than 20 years, (20th Century Fox made Fantastic Four films in 2005 and 2015) and reboot of Blade and Captain America: New World Order with Anthony Mackie replacing Chris Evans as Captain America
They all feel very much like the previous phases for Marvel with fewer solo films and more ensemble comic-book movies with two Avengers films in 2025, it does look like Disney will be focusing much of their slates between 2023-2025 with Marvel releasing about 4 films a year.
Marvel also screened the new Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer which was viewed over 172 m times in the first 24 hours; Marvel’s most watched trailers in the first 24 hours were Avengers: Infinity War 230m in November 2017, Avengers: Endgame 289m December 2018 and Spider-Man: No Way Home 355.5m in August 2021.
- 3 Where The Crawdads Sing – £1,395,704 – NE
Included £64,954 from 318 previews
Had the 1,168th biggest opening between Parasite and Mean Girls (close to Far From The Madding Crowd, Hidden Figures, The Book Thief and Hustlers) and 1,405th biggest inflation inflated between Parasite and The Last Witch Hunter (close to Sweet Home Alabama, Lost in Translation, The Town and Serendipity).
Opened similar to 2018’s A Simple Favour opened #2 at £1,621,900 (including £303,453 previews) from 480 screens taking £4,930,383 opening similar to 2011’s The Help opened with #7 £896,597 from 294 screens (including £271,336 previews) taking £3,865,125 (£4,796,327 inflation inflated).
The film had the widest ever opening for a film directed by a woman in the UK playing in 691screens ahead of 673-screens for 2019’s Frozen 2 and 650 screens for Cate Shortland’s Black Widow, but as with The Railway Children Returns last week Where the Crawdads Sing will be losing screens and performances in its second weekend.
There is no reason for films to open as wide as they are as it opened in more than double the screens of The Help and a third more than A Simple Favour but studios believe they have to open as wide as possible as exhibitors will quickly pull the film in its second weekend if it doesn’t match expectations.
The problem of course rarely do these films match expectations as they are films audiences don’t rush out to see over the opening weekend but will seek them out after a few weeks but by then they will be having one show a day as is the case with The Railway Children returns next weekend. Exhibitors cry out for content but then they are also far too quick to pull content not giving films a chance to find their audiences anymore.
Where The Crawdads Sing is the latest film to be advertised with the “only in cinemas” tag but will be out of cinemas long before its theatrical window ends, why the theatrical window needs to be tailored to each induvial film so a film can be “only in cinemas” but then in a month it can be available elsewhere as once a film is playout of cinemas it’s unlikely to come back so surely should then be immediately available to be seen on PVOD or people will just turn to piracy.
Daisy Edgar-Jones has been generating a lot of media coverage ahead of release, she previously starred in the hugely popular Normal People shown on BBC1 in the summer of 2020.
Where The Crawdads Sing was the escapist hit of lockdown last year in the UK selling more paperback than any other. While the film might have received mixed reviews many who read the book will still want to see the film and the book featured in the Duchess of Cornwall’s first book club.
It was due to have preview screenings at Everyman cinemas on Tuesday but many cinemas cancelled them probably due to the high temperatures but on the hottest day of the year, surely 2.5 hours in cold air-conditioned cinema is the best place to be?
Crawdads is produced by Elizabeth Gabler’s 3000 Pictures one of the first films she has made since Fox 2000 closed after 20th Century Fox was acquired by Disney. Fox 2000 had much success over the years making similar films like Where The Crawdads Sing original films targetting female audiences including The Devil Wear Prada, Hidden Figures, Life of Pi, The Fault in Our Stars, Marley & Me, In Her Shoes and Water For Elephants.
After a nostalgic heavy summer now has three original films that will hopefully build from their success as cinemagoers will have seen trailers for Where The Crawdads Sing, Nope and Bullet Train and choose to see these rather than going to see Top Gun Maverick for their dozenth time.
The novel sold over 12 million copies worldwide spending 150 weeks on the best-seller chart (was #1 for 27 non-consecutive weeks, was part of Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine book club and was back as the bestselling novel at Amazon when the last trailer was released at the end of May.
Taylor Swift’s original song Carolina features in the film
Similar film adaptions include The Girl on the Train, The Help, Gone Girl, The Secret Life of Bees
and upcoming The Nightingale, The Marsh King’s Daughter
And then for TV Normal People, Big Little Lies, The Woman in the Window, The Kite Runner
This weekend as last weekend has been historically over the last 20+ years very lucrative for cinema as school summer holidays begin and children like going to the cinema and going many times during the school holidays as it was a cheap day out, it still is in some independent and Vue cinemas. Cinema is all about momentum and that was strong over the weeks after Top Gun Maverick opened 8 weeks ago, the problem is there isn’t another film like that until possibly Avatar: The Way of Water in December to get audiences of all ages excited about going to the cinema again, so these are the month’s exhibitors need to do more to get audiences into cinemas to see the films they haven’t been going to see in cinemas for the last few years.
It’s easy for trade bodies and exhibitors to call out films like Minions: The Rise of Gru, Jurassic World Dominion, Top Gun: Maverick, Doctor Strange 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, The Batman, Sing 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home as audiences are always going to come out to see them. But most of the films opening over the next few months will need more work to get audiences excited to see them in the cinema as many of them would be films they would normally wait to see at home.
Crawdads will quickly drop down the chart over the next two weeks.
- 4 Elvis – £1,236,783 – £18,452,065
Up 22% in its fifth weekend
Taking similar 5th weekend as Slumdog Millionaire, Arthur Christmas, Calendar Girls, Love Actually, Last Christmas, Aladdin, Moulin Rouge and Billy Elliot.
Elvis has overtaken the BO of Baz Luhrmann’s 2013’s The Great Gatsby (£15.5m) and 2001’s Moulin Rouge (£18.16m). The performance OF Elvis in the UK and the US again show certain films perform better in a crowded marketplace as the films work off each other; Elvis has taken so far 4.6x opening.
Baz Luhrmann as Christopher Nolan films works better in crowded marketplace why it was always complete madness for Tenet to open alone In summer 2020 as the film was never going to be the success it was going to be being the only major film on release. Originally Tenet was to open in the UK on July 16th, 2020, the same day as Top Gun Maverick.
Many would say that was complete insanity, as they will say next summer when Oppenheimer opens against Barbie on July 21st with Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1 opening weekend before and The Marvels weekend after, but as with Inception and Interstellar and even The Dark Knight trilogy, they all performed far better being sandwiched between other major films.
11th biggest 2022 film between Fantastic Beast 3 and Belfast;
311th biggest film in the UK between Angels and Demons and Billy Elliot (close to Maleficent, War Horse, Moulin Rouge and Coco) and 587th biggest inflation inflated between Thor and Sleepy Hollow (close to When Harry Met Sally, Sister Act, A Passage to India and Free Guy).
50th biggest Warner Bros film in the UK between The Lego Movie: The Second Part and Happy Feet (close to Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, The Hangover Part III, Troy and Tenet (£17.46m), and 89th biggest Warner Bros film inflation inflated between The Final Destination and Disclosure (close to The Great Gatsby, Mad Max: Fury Road, Good Morning Vietnam and Forever Young)…
Elvis is Baz Luhrmann’s 6th film and its 30 years since he made his directorial debut with Strictly Ballroom, he followed that up with three films at 20th Century Fox 1996’s Romeo & Juliet, 2001’s Moulin Rouge and 2008’s Australia and Elvis is his second film for Warner Bros after 2013’s The Great Gatsby.
All of his films are visually stunning was blown away when I first saw Romeo & Juliet and Moulin Rouge both many months before opening in the UK and before seeing any trailers. The Great Gatsby is an enjoyable romp despite not being as good as would have hoped, Strictly Ballroom is bursting with energy and charm Australia is his only dud but again it’s a visually stunning epic but far too long.
Fifth weekends
2001’s Moulin Rouge dropped 20% £1,072,657 #1 (£2m inflation inflated) from 397 screens taking £ £12,494,719 (£23.5m inflation inflated) 68.7% of £18,166,288 (£32,997,702 inflation inflated); Moulin Rouge was #1 for two weeks and then returned #1 in 5th w/e
2013’s The Great Gatsby dropped 34% £433,188 #7 340 screens £14,724,537 95% of £15.5m; #1 Man Of Steel £11,198,786 1st week.
- 5. Top Gun Maverick – £1,095,131 – £74,184,350
Up 31% in its 9th weekend; as with almost all other films in the top 10 increasing from last weekend this was due to the start of the summer holidays and cooler temperatures over the weekend in most of the UK, (London was the still high 70s on Sunday).
5th biggest ninth weekend between Slumdog Millionaire and The Kings Speech (close to Mamma Mia!, Toy Story 4, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Casino Royale); #1 Avatar (£2,817,009); #2 The Greatest Showman (£2,000,922); #3 Titanic (£1,953,082)
11th biggest film in the UK (15th to take over £70m since Titanic in 1998) between The Lion King and Toy Story 3 (close to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Titanic, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Beauty and the Beast) and 47th biggest inflation inflated between Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe and Toy Story 4 (close to The Dark Knight, Moonraker, Independence Day and Live and Let Die)
After 9 weeks Top Gun Maverick has taken similar BO as The Lion King, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Toy Story 3, Beauty and the Beast and Avenger Infinity War.
Paramount hasn’t set a PVOD release date yet there were some rumours it could be August 24th and then on Paramount Plus on September 24th but there are rumours that it will get an IMAX re-release in August ahead of the re-release of Spider-Man Far From Home and Avatar in September.
A Sony Pictures boss has said that they and Venom 2 deserve some credit for Top Gun Maverick’s success, (Venom 2 opened with $90.03m taking $213.55m in the US and $506.86m worldwide, while it matched US BO of the first film took a third less worldwide $856.08m) saying “We took a big gamble putting ‘Venom’ in theatres. Then we doubled down with ‘Ghostbusters.’ Then our biggest bet was when every other tentpole had fled, we tripled down with ‘Spider-Man’ our biggest, most important piece of IP.”
Comic-book movies only help the next one so Black Widow ($183.65m US $379.75m worldwide) and Shang-Shi ($224.54m US and $432.24m worldwide) helped both Venom 2 and Spider-Man No Way Home.
Had he used Ghostbusters Afterlife as the film that deserves credit then what he said would have some truth behind it as was a legacy sequel opening 30+ years after Ghostbuster 2 (2016’s Ghostbusters didn’t have the direct connection with the original films) with the original cast alongside newbies it was targetting fans of the original films and younger audiences. Top Gun Maverick was due to open a week after Ghostbuster Afterlife in November 2021, so Paramount moving Top Gun Maverick to May could have been seen as they were seeing how a similar legacy sequel performs and then have 6+ months to tweak the campaign.
The problem of course was there was no central planning or strategy behind how studios were going to open films once cinemas reopened they all had different ideas, Warner was forced to open Tenet in August with predictable results while their other films were released the same day o HBO Max while other studios opted to delay their films for a year or more with others sold to streaming services. The two “saviours of cinema” Paramount and Sony sold many of their 2020 films to streaming services.
80s nostalgia features heavily in the cinema, digital download and music charts with the original Top Gun film topping video charts, Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill topping singles charts and Top Gun topping cinema charts in June.
It was reported that Tom Cruise will get about $100m payday for Top Gun Maverick, normally these huge pay-outs are obscene like the salaries paid out for many Marvel films, but with Top Gun Maverick the film’s success is almost completely on Tom Cruise so deserves everything and more. Tom Cruise received $12.5m upfront and then over 10% of the first dollar gross.
After the huge success of Top Gun Maverick, Paramount Pictures will surely want a Top Gun 3 but Tom Cruise stars in Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Parts 1 and 2 due for release in 2023 and 2024 and once he finishes filming them he is then due to make the first film shot in space with Doug Liman and then maybe Edge of Tomorrow 2? So Top Gun 3 is unlikely to happen before 2025?
Also opened
- Prima Face – NT Live
Took £447,014 from 347 screens and £1,837,876 after opening with £1.37m on Thursday #1 the biggest Event Cinema opening post=pandemic, ticket prices were about three times normal average price £22+ so as with Secret Cinema it can’t be included within regular cinema box office as it artificially inflates both admissions and box office.
As about 22,351 saw Prima Facie over the weekend from encore screenings paying about £22 each but as the average ticket price is £8.08 it would add 55,324 admissions, while about 91,894 have seen it to date adding 227,460 admissions.
Likely to be the biggest NT Live theatre show since 2019’s Fleabag, similar to Fleabag it opened Thursday taking £1,869,799 (went on to take £4,311,079) and then Friday became its second weekend taking £19,598 from 2 screens. This never makes any sense when films that have extended previews that are added to films opening so surely should be the case with Event Cinema screenings.
Event Cinema and Secret Cinema have been cinemas’ secret weapon over the last 5+ years as they boost both box office and admissions while Event Cinema screenings are normally midweek and have limited showtimes so are far more lucrative booking than playing an art-house, foreign language or independent film for exhibitors.
In 2019 Event Cinema took £45.3m in the UK about 3.3% of the year’s box office up from 2.4% in 2018, but it dropped to £6.7m in 2021 taking 1.1% of total BO as most Event Cinema events target older audiences who have been slow to return to cinemas over the last two years as seen by BO from Andreu Rieu’s Concert last year £866k taking far less than before lockdown. (£1.3m).
What I find strange about Event Cinema screenings is that Prima Facie had screenings on Thursday but its box office from Thursday wasn’t included in its weekend box office as Fri-Sun BO was seen as it’s the second weekend, but then films that open before Friday always include preview box office within their openings, as Bullet Train opening next week release date says opens August 3rd it doesn’t say previews from Wednesday as it will have the same amount of shows on Wednesday as Friday.
The Living Daylights took £10,707 #24 from 100 screens re-released as part of the 60th anniversary of James Bond, the box office is similar to the previous 14 James Bond films that have also been re-released. ITV is also currently showing James Bond films on Saturday night and The Living Daylights was on last Saturday, but still, 1,000 people preferred to see it in the cinema.
The Living Daylights is such an underrated James Bond film and unlike all Daniel Craig Bond films (apart from Casino Royale) is still very enjoyable having seen it countless times since 1987.
Other Cinema News
Industry always used hot temperatures as an excuse for films not performing as strongly as expected but the drop-offs from previous Mon/Tues this week on the two hottest days of the year show this isn’t true
Monday Thor -55%; Minions -18%; Elvis -28%; Top Gun -15%
Tuesday Thor -48%; Minions -3%; Elvis -30%; Top Gun -13%
June 2022 BO was £95.7m #1 Top Gun Maverick taking 39% (£37.17m); #2 Jurassic World Dominion taking 30% (£28.6m) #3 Lightyear 8% (£7.6m) #4 Elvis 7.5% (£7.2m) #5 Doctor Strange 2 2.5% (£2.4m) #6 Black Phone 2.1% (£2m) #7 Everything Everywhere All At Once 1.4% (£1.4m #8 Downton Abbey 2 1% (£1m)
May BO took about £93m with top 10 films taking 96% with Doctor Strange 2 taking £38.6m and Top Gun Maverick £21.3m 64% with 11.3m admissions this would see an average £8.23
2022 UK BO January-June was £492.8m the industry expects BO for the year will be about £1.05bn similar to 2009; 2021 was £597m and 2020 £323m. With BO returning to pre-COVID levels in 2023 which was expected when cinemas shut after the first lockdown.
In the US up to July 17, 2022, summer BO was $2.5bn compared to $957m in 2021; $2.8bn in 2019 and $2.9bn in 2018. Analysts are predicting BO for 2022 28% down from 2019 with 2023 down 7% much of it depends on Black Panther 2 and Avatar 2 matching the success of their first instalments. The average ticket price is up 5% since 2019 ($8.93 Vs $9.37) but as 35% of BO of tentpoles is from IMAX/PLF then really average is about a third more…
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £11,455,674 up 17.9% from last weekend’s £9,715,916
445th biggest top 10 of the last 20 years between 05 December 2014 #1 Paddington £3,837,88 (33.5% of top 10) and 04 November 2016 #1 £3,445,203 (30.14% of top 10) and 703rd biggest inflation inflated between 19 October 2007 #1 Ratatouille £3,056,938 (39.73 of top 10) and 03 December 2010 #1 HP: Deathly Hallows Part 1 £3,739,781 (41.3% of top 10)
The weekend admissions were 1,384,809 up 15.2% from last week’s 1,202,465
Have increased the average ticket price from £7.52 to £8.07 up 7.44% due to the UKCA website reporting admissions for June 2022 11.86m while CinemaScore reported BO for June was £95.8m and to get the average ticket price divide BO by admissions. Being a 7.4% increase makes it impossible to make any direct comparisons with any other films released pre-pandemic.
Top 3 took £7,534,877 65.7% of the top 10; Minion: The Rise of Gru 26.94% (£3,086,374);Thor: Love and Thunder 26.65% (£3,052,799); Where the Crawdads Sing 12.2% (£1,395,704);
Up 88.3% from 2021 (£6,084,995); Old (£866,860); #1 Black Widow £1,410,288 3rd week 644 screens (23.18% of top 10)
Up 2,744% from 2020 (£402,752); The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (Re: 2020) – Extended Version £24,136 (81 screens); The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (Re: 2020) Extended Version £10,479 (57 screens); The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (Re: 2020) – Extended Version £10,205 (57 screens); #1 Onward £60,074 5th week split over 5 months 123 screens (14.92% of top 10)
Down 53.3% from 2019 (£24,533,644); The Lion King (£16,671,764); #1 The Lion King £16,671,764 1st week 713 screens (67.95% of top 10)
Down 41.6% from 2018: (£19,632,861); Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (£9,735,930); Hotel Artemis (£357,261); Spitfire (£211,464); Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie (£125,081); Escape Plan 2 (£6,737); #1 Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! £9,735,931 1st week 702 screens (49.6% of top 10)
Down 48.1% from 2017: (£22,066,254); Dunkirk (£10,023,720); Andre Rieu’s 2017 Maastricht Concert (£1,439,604); #1 Dunkirk £10,023,720 1st week 638 screens (45.4% of top 10)
Down 32.3% from 2016: (£16,914,463); The BFG (£5,288,529); Star Trek Beyond (£4,740,040); Andre Rieu’s 2016 Maastricht Concert (£1,414,075); #1 The BFG £5,288,529 1st week 680 screens (31.2% of the top 10)
Down 32.7% from 2015; (£17,039,800); Inside Out (£7,376,513); Southpaw (£1,662,296); The Legend Of Barney Thomson (£163,395); #1 Inside Out £7,376,513 1st week 608 screens (43.3% of top 10)
Up 17.5% from 2014: (£9,750,537); Hercules (£1,449,120); The Purge: Anarchy (£1,165,143); Earth to Echo (£618,379); The House of Magic (£223,047); #1 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes £3,752,511 2nd week 574 screens 57% drop (38.5% of top 10)
Up 17.1% from 2013: (£9,787,596); The World’s End (£2,123,576); The Frozen Ground (£89,515); Breathe In (£26,910); Easy Money (£21,346); Roman Holiday (Re: 2013) (£12,701); #1 Monsters University £2,791,078 2nd week 532 screens 19% drop (28.5% of top 10)
Down 38.9% from 2012 (£18,751,675); The Dark Knight Rises (£14,362,443); Lola Versus (£348); #1 The Dark Knight Rises £14,362,443 1st week 594 screens (76.6% of top 10)
Down 32.4% from 2011 (£16,959,452); Cars 2 (£3,541,664); Horrible Bosses (£2,077,239); Beginners (£146,096); #1 Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 £8,523,417 2nd week 581 screens 64% drop (50.2% of top 10)
Down 60.6% from 2010: (£29,078,984); Toy Story 3 (£21,187,264); The Rebound (£360,015); Splice (£110,225); #1 Toy Story 3 £21,187,264 1st week 562 screens (72.8% of top 10)
Down 16% from 2009; (£13,633,561); The Proposal (£3,249,640); Antichrist (£99,092); #1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince £5,176,950 2nd week 586 screens 74% drop (37.9% of top 10)
Down 22.8% from 2008; (£14,835,085); Wall·E (£4,253,736); Meet Dave (£681,584); Donkey Punch (£144,953); City of Men (£17,000); Standard Operating Procedure (£3,539); #1 Mamma Mia! £4,561,109 2nd week 435 screens 31% drop (30.7% of top 10)
Down 4.3% from 2007:( £11,971,119); Hairspray (£2,045,912); Firehouse Dog (£90,730); #1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix £6,639,973 2nd week 566 screens 60% drop (55.4% of top 10)
Down 4% from 2006; (£11,936,216); Superman Returns (£4,337,637); Atomised (£25,823); #1 Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest £6,048,087 2nd week 514 screens 56% drop (50.6% of top 10)
Down 3.4% from 2005 (£11,856,897); Fantastic Four (£3,541,391); Dark Water (£480,199); Kicking and Screaming (£240,452); #1 Fantastic Four £3,541,391 1st week 406 screens (29.9% of top 10)
Up 28.4% from 2004 (£8,920,625); Thunderbirds (£1,350,974); Two Brothers (293,237); Before Sunset (£139,278); Cowboys and Angels (£18,806); #1 Spider-Man 2 £3,590,463 2nd week 503 screens 59% drop (40.2% of top 10)
Up 46.3% from 2003 (£7,829,988); The Hulk (£3,529,440); Buffalo Soldiers (£113,664); Brown Sugar (£90,877); Four Feathers (£61,800); #1 The Hulk £3,529,440 1st 500 screens (45.1% of top 10)
Up 20% from 2002 (£9,549,998); Austin Powers in Goldmember (£5,585,978); The Crocodile Hunter (£266,803); Sunshine State (£25,888); #1 Austin Powers in Goldmember £5,585,978 1st week 446 screens (58.5% of top 10)
Next weekend 2021 (£10,270,607); The Suicide Squad (£3,252,028); Jungle Cruise (£2,241,651); Spirit Untamed (£592,154); The Sparks Brothers (£123,005); #1 The Suicide Squad £3,252,028 1st week 635 screens (31.66% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Nope – Universal Pictures
Opened $44.36m; received positive reviews (82% Rotten Tomatoes) and B CinemaScore (similar to Us)
Took $6.4m from Thursday midnights; Us took $7.4m and Get Out $1.8m
318th biggest opening between xXx and Alvin and the Chipmunks (close to Mad Max: Fury Road, The Meg, Uncharted and Lucy).
Ahead of release Nope was expected to open with $50m but that always felt low after Jordan Peele’s previous film Us opened with almost a third more three years ago; Get Out had a budget of $4.5m, Us $20m and Nope $68m, Us made $119m profit while Get Out $124.8m. So with Nope opening lower than expected must be seen as disappointing especially as it was playing in IMAX (was shot in IMAX) and PLF screens taking 35% of BO taking 12% from IMAX.
Jordan Peele films have become a brand similar to M. Night Shyamalan so their performances should be compared similarly as those who went to see Get Out will have also seen Us and then would have expected to see Nope.
Attached to the front of IMAX screenings of Nope was an exclusive first look at the trailer of Christopher Nolan’s ensemble Oppenheimer set to open the same weekend next year.
EntTelligence reported Nope had 1.4m by Saturday with the average ticket price of $13.21; 31% after 8 pm with 43% between 5-8 pm.
Nope opened lower than expected despite playing in IMAX and PLF screens and with lower Rotten Tomato scores than Get Out and Us will likely be front-loaded so must be seen as a disappointing opening.
2017’s Get Out opened $33.37m taking $176.19m and $255.74m worldwide
2019’s Us opened $71.11m taking $175.08m and $255.18m worldwide
Get Out received 98% Rotten Tomatoes and Us 93% while Get Out received A- CinemaScore and Us B.
Jordan Peele films don’t travel well taking 70% of their global BO in the US and that will be likely for Nope.
Starts its international release in August
- Thor: Love and Thunder – Disney
Dropped 52% in the third weekend taking $22.55m and $276.67m
Thor lost IMAX and PLF screens to Nope
113th biggest third weekend between Monsters Inc and Ted (close to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Deadpool 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Shang-Chi)
Had the 17th biggest MCU third weekend between Spider-Man: Homecoming and Shang-Chi (close to Doctor Strange 2, Iron Man 2, Thor: Ragnarok and Doctor Strange).
Third weekend
2017’s Thor Ragnarok dropped 62% taking $21.66m #3 and $247.26m 78.5% of $315.06; $538.91m internationally (63.1%) and $853.97m worldwide; #1 Justice League $93.84m 1st wk.
2013’s Thor: The Fark World dropped 61.2% taking $14.19m #2 and $167.91m 81.4% of $206.3m; $438.42m internationally 68% and $644.78m worldwide; #1 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire $158.07m 1st wk.
2011’s Thor dropped 55.5% taking $15.45m #3 and $145.36m 80.3% of $181.03m; $238.29m internationally 60% and $449.32m worldwide; #1 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides $90.15m 1st wk.
Had the 4th lowest Rotten Tomatoes score for MCU ahead of Eternals, Thor: The Dark World and The Incredible Hulk, with Black Widow #19 shows Phase 4 has been disappointing so far apart from Spider-Man No Way Home.
The 75th biggest second weekend between Minions: The Rise of Gru and Monsters University; #45 Thor: Ragnarok $57.7m ($10.44m+); #131 Thor: The Dark World $36.58m ($10.05m less); #145 Thor $34.7m ($11.93m less)
15th biggest MCU second weekend between Iron Man and Spider-Man: Far From Home;
114th biggest film between The Hangover and Gravity; 270th inflation inflated between Good Morning Vietnam and The Day After Tomorrow; 6th biggest 2022 film between Minions: The Rise of Gru and Sonic the Hedgehog 2; 31st biggest comic-book film between Man of Steel and The Amazing Spider-Man; 39th biggest Disney film between Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University.
EntTelligence data showed most exhibitors increased prices for the film with AMC’s average of $15.05 and Regal’s $14.40 compared to an average of $13.48
Took $31.8m (down 49%) from 48 territories and $322m and $598.2m worldwide; UK $31.5m; Australia $25.5m; Mexico $23.2m; Korea $22.3m; Brazil $17.2m.
Took $38m from IMAX worldwide including $14.2m internationally
173rd biggest worldwide between Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Mamma Mia!; 7th biggest 2022 worldwide between Minions: The Rise of Gru and Fantastic Beasts 3; 42nd biggest comic-book film between Logan and Iron Man; 51st biggest Disney film worldwide between Ant-Man and the Wasp and Tangled.
- Minions: The Rise of Guru
Dropped 33% in the fourth weekend taking $18.03m and $298.18m
The 72nd biggest fourth weekend between Forrest Gump and The Grinch (close to The Secret Life of Pets, Big Hero 6, Inside Out and Wreck-It Ralph).
16th biggest animated film between Shrek the Third and Up; 95th biggest film between The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and The Twilight Saga: New Moon; 227th biggest inflation inflated between Pocahontas and Ocean’s Eleven; 10th biggest Universal Pictures film between Minions and Meet the Fockers (overtaking Despicable Me 3 and Despicable Me)
EntTelligence had the highest average ticket price for an animated movie at $12.82; Lightyear ($12.45), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($11.76), The Bad Guys ($11.32) and Sing 2 ($10.69).
Despicable Me franchise has taken over $4bn worldwide since the first film was released in 2010
Fourth weekends
2015’s Minions dropped 46% $12.38m #4 and $287.57m 85.6% of $336.04m and $1.15bn worldwide 71% $823.39m internationally; (55% Rotten Tomatoes) #1 Mission Impossible Rogue Nation $55.52m 1st w/e
2017’s Despicable Me 3 dropped 32.8% $13.01m #3 and $213.62m 80.7% of $264.62m and $1.03bn worldwide 74% $770.17m internationally; (75% Rotten Tomatoes); #1 Dunkirk $50.51m 1st week
2013’s Despicable Me 2 dropped 34.1% $16.42m #3 and $306.81m 83.3 of $368.06m and $970.76m worldwide 62% internationally $602.7m; (59% Rotten Tomatoes) #1 The Wolverine $53.11m 1st wk.
2010’s Despicable Me dropped 34.5% $15.52m #4 and $190.33m 75.6% of $251.55m and $543.15m worldwide 53% internationally $291.6m; (81% Rotten Tomatoes); #1 Inception $27.48m 3rd w/e
The 12 Illumination Entertainment films have taken over $3bn in the US and almost $7.7bn
Took $42.1m from 79 territories and $341.9m and $640.3m worldwide; Mexico $32.3m; UK $33.5m; Australia $26.8m.
28th biggest animated film worldwide between Big Hero 6 and Moana; 154th biggest film worldwide between Thor: The Dark World and Moana; 5th biggest 2022 film between The Batman and Thor: Love and Thunder; 15th biggest Universal Pictures film worldwide between F9: The Fast Saga and Sing.
- Where The Crawdads Sing – Sony Pictures
Dropped 40% in the second weekend taking $10.35m and $38.35m
Having a decent hold despite receiving poor reviews showing that fans of the book are still seeing it
Similarly to the second weekend, 2018’s A Simple Favour was down 36% taking $10.25m and $32.41m taking $53.54m and $97.64m worldwide
Took $4.1m from the UK, Australia and New Zealand
- Elvis – Warner Bros
Down 18% in the fifth weekend $6.58m and $118.66m
587th biggest film between The Break-Up and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events; 1,104th biggest inflation inflated between Fantasia 2000 and Monster-in-Law; 9th biggest 2022 film between Uncharted and Lightyear; 93rd biggest Warner Bros film between Blazing Saddles and Horrible Bosses.
Fifth weekend
1996’s Romeo + Juliet dropped 24.5% taking $2.41m ($5m inflation inflated) and $39.81m ($91m inflation inflated) taking $46.35m ($102m inflation inflated) and $147.54m worldwide ($325m inflation inflated)
2001’s Moulin Rouge dropped 36.5% $2.44m ($6m inflation inflated) 7th weekend (after two weeks on platform) and $48.02m ($86m inflation inflated) of $57.38m ($97m inflation inflated) and $179.21m worldwide ($303m inflation inflated)
2008’s Australia dropped 50.4% taking $1.07m ($1.6m inflation inflated) and $44.28m ($59m inflation inflated) of taking $49.55m ($67m inflation inflated) and $211.78m worldwide ($285m inflation inflated)
2013’s The Great Gatsby dropped 35.2% taking $4.22m and $136.16m of $144.85m and $353.65m worldwide
Took $6.7m (down 32%) from 73 territories taking $94m and $210.2m worldwide; the UK $21.8m; Australia $18.7m; France $6.3m; Japan $4.2m; Germany $4.1m; 801st biggest film worldwide between Pulp Fiction and Into the Woods; 15th biggest 2022 film worldwide between Lightyear and The Lost City; 132nd biggest Warner Bros film between Miss Congeniality and Horrible Bosses.
- Top Gun: Maverick – Paramount Pictures
Dropped 17% in the 9th weekend taking $10.27m and $635.583m
16% have seen the film more than once in the cinema and 4% have seen it more than 4 times or more
6th biggest 9h weekend between Frozen and American Sniper; but as Platoon and Frozen had platform openings it had the 3rd biggest 9th weekend after Titanic. Avatar and Forrest Gump; 1986’s Top Gun took $4.73m up 7% in its 9th weekend $14m inflation inflated taking $88.42m of $176.8m
9th biggest film between Jurassic World and The Avengers; 24th biggest inflation inflated between Spider-Man and Independence Day; Biggest Paramount Pictures film in the US ahead of Titanic. (Paramount will re-release Titanic next February for its 25th anniversary)
Currently, Paramount have a 23.42% share of the US BO taking $1,087bn (Top Gun Maverick taking almost 60%) biggest BO since 2011 ($1.96bn) but this shows how far the studio has dropped over the last decade as in 2011 they had Marvell and Dreamworks which along with Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol helped celebrate their 100th anniversary in style; Universal have 22.6% ($1,047bn); Disney 17.5% ($811m); Warner Bros 12.8% ($595m; Sony 11.3% ($525m).
Paramount’s 2023 slate is probably their strongest for more than a decade with Transformers: Rise of the Beats, Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1, Scream 6 and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie.
Tom Cruise’s 42 films have taken $5.06bn in the US and $11.9bn worldwide;
Took $16.4m (down 19%) taking $647.1m and $1,283n from 65 territories; the UK $91.9m; Japan $72.7m; Australia $58.8m; Korea $53.3m; France $48.5m, 17th biggest film worldwide between Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Beauty and the Beast; 2nd biggest Paramount Pictures film between Titanic and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Has taken $98m IMAX worldwide
Top Gun Maverick is the 50th film to take $1bn+ since Jurassic Park in 1993; its Paramount’s first $1bn+ film globally since 2014’s Transformers: Age of Extinction (inflated with China BO)
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Animated superhero comedy DC League of Super-Pets should top the charts this weekend as Family films featuring pets have been hugely successful at the box office in the UK.
2001’s Cats and Dogs opening £3,707,358 (£6,734,138 inflation inflated) taking £23,013,391 (£41,802,102 inflation inflated); 2010’s Cats & Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore opened £1,553,005 (£2,729,587 inflation inflated) taking £3,972,149 (£5,020,262 inflation inflated) while the third film Cats & Dogs: Paws Unite! Still managed to open with £456,532 #2 in October 2020 in the middle of the pandemic from 531 screens taking £1,375,548 after 6 weeks.
While 2017’s The LEGO Batman Movie opened £7,906,468 (including £2,449,040 previews) taking £26,771,191; 2016’s The Secret Life of Pets opened £9,580,039 (including £3,630,044 previews) taking £35,825,195 and 2019’s The Secret Life of Pets 2 opened £3,490,598 taking £18,638,365.
Likely to open similar to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 between £4m-£5m depending on how well DC League of Super-Pets will depend on how Minions: The Rise of Gru holds in its fourth weekend as after increasing by 15.9% last weekend unlikely to drop more than 30% taking £2m-£2.5m
With Thor: Love and Thunder dropping 45%-55% taking £1.2m-£1.5m
Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick is holding 4th/5th down 20% with Elvis taking and Top Gun Maverick taking £900k+.
Where the Crawdads Sing will drop 45%-55% in its second weekend taking £600k-£750k.
Opening next week
- Bullet Train – Sony Pictures (Wednesday)
Action-comedy starring Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Michael Shannon, and Sandra Bullock directed by David Leitch based on the Japanese novel Maria Beetle (published in English as Bullet Train).
Had UK premiere on July 20th attended by Brad Pitt who has been travelling across Europe over the week having other premieres generating much media coverage attending the Berlin premiere in a skirt as it was so hot, Brad Pitt as Harry Styles can pull it off and look cool. Surprising given that it’s based on a novel that the embargo doesn’t end until the day before opens in the UK?
David Leitch previously directed Deadpool 2 (Brad Pitt had a cameo), Atomic Blonde and Hobbs & Shaw
2017’s Atomic Blonde opened £1,686,430 (including £555,569 previews) taking £3, 063,918
2018’s Deadpool 2 opened £12,974,669 (including £5,240,000 previews) taking £32,501,893
2019’s Hobbs & Shaw opened £6,377,583 (including £1,468,289 previews) taking £20,448,914
Brad Pitt has had a long career starring in many films over the last 31 years taking $3.37bn in the US and $8.55m worldwide but hasn’t had the success on his own that would have been expected as his biggest films include
2004’s Troy opened £6,017,523 (including £2,273,204 previews) (£10,828,861 inflation inflated)) taking £17,964,987 (£32,328,974 inflation inflated))
2005’s Mr and Mrs Smith opened £3,943,422 (including £405,373 previews) (£6,764,936 inflation inflated) taking £13,375,272 (£22,945,265 inflation inflated)
1996’s Seven opened £2,629,000 (£6,536,098 inflation inflated) taking £19,510,000 (£48,504,862 inflation inflated)
2013’s World War Z opened £4,535,899 taking £14,458,634
And ensembles including the Ocean Eleven trilogy, Inglourious Basterds, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, Interview with the Vampire, Sleepers and The Lost City (cameo)
Comparisons have been made with John Wick
2017’s John Wick: Chapter Two opened £2,232,055 (including £248,415 previews) taking £5,766,633
2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum opened £3,562,524 (including £849,972 previews) taking £9,587,828
2010’s Kick-Ass opened £3,881,704 (including £2,041,132 previews) taking £11,528,933
2013’s Kick-Ass 2 opened £2,482,187 (including £1,000,667 previews) taking £5,055,634
2014’s Lucy opened £3,076,997 taking £14,129,734PrimPrim
- Westlife: Live From Wembley Stadium – CinemaLive (Saturday)
Westlife’s last ever show from Wembley Stadium with encore screenings on Sunday. The concert was due to take place in August 2021 but due to COVID restrictions, it had to be delayed until this year.
Westlife’s last Event Cinema was in July 2019 Westlife – The Twenty Tour #4 opening with £899,488 and 2012’s Westlife: The Final Concert at £573,000
While 2015’s Take That Live (£965,000) was their first Event Cinema concert; 2017’s Take That: Wonderland Live from the O2 2017 (£1,004,918 from 481 screens).
Other recent Event Cinema pop concerts include
BTS – Permission to Dance on-Stage Live in March 2022 opening with £899,126
The most popular Event Cinema over the last five years has been André Rieu’s Maastricht Concert; 2018’s André Rieu’s Maastricht Concert, ’Amore £1,783,222; Andre Rieu’s 2017 Maastricht Concert £1,439,604; Andre Rieu’s 2016 Maastricht Concert £1,414,075; Andre Rieu’s 2015 Maastricht Concert (Concert) £1,107,000; Andre Rieu’s 2014 Maastricht Concert £830,586
cigarette burns and missed changeovers 