- The Batman – £1,664,503 – £35,636,413
Dropped 50.38% in its fourth weekend;
64th biggest fourth weekend between The Martian and The Lego Movie (close to Captain Marvel, Avenger Infinity War, The Incredibles and Shang-Chi)
£531,946 less than 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises £2,196,449 (18% ticket inflation since) #2 down 49% from 548 screens taking £46,259,177 82% of £56,374,370
£638,363 less than 2008’s The Dark Knight £2,302,866 (45% ticket inflation since) #1 down 44% from 499 screens taking £40,153,039 81.5% of £49,263,805
£1,800,180 less than 2019’s Joker £3,464,683 #1 down 37% from 657 screens taking £46.73m 80.8% of £57.8m
£882,351 more than 2005’s Batman Begins £782,152 (60% ticket inflation since) #2 down 43% from 461 screens taking £13,871,254 83.2% of £16,665,365
Has become the biggest 20222 release of the year overtaking Sing 2 (£31.85m) and the third biggest film since cinemas reopened;
18th biggest comic-book movie (23rd to take £30m+ since Men In Black in 1997) between Men In Black and Spider-Man 3 (close to Captain America: Civil War, Iron Man 3, Suicide Squad and Deadpool 2) Batman Vs Superman #16 £36,495,828; Man of Steel #24 £29,830,339); The Dark Knight Rises #5 £56,374,370; The Dark Knight #8 £49,263,805; #4 Joker £57.8m
26th biggest inflation inflated between Batman Vs Superman and Hancock; Batman #20 £38,840,287 inflation inflated, Batman and Robin #38 £27,117,137, Batman Begins #39 £26,607,971 and Batman Returns #42 £25,721,677; The Dark Knight #4; The Dark Knight Rises #6; Joker #8
101st biggest film in the UK (131st to take £30m+ since Jurassic Park) between The Secret Life of Pets and Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 close to (Batman Vs Superman, Men In Black, Spider-Man 3 and Suicide Squad) and 205th biggest inflation inflated between Madagascar and Hancock (close to A View to A Kill, Basic Instinct, Octopussy and Man of Steel).
19th biggest Warner Bros film between Batman Vs Superman and Inception (close to Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Fantastic Beasts 2 and The Matrix Reloaded) 35th inflation inflated biggest between The Lego Movie and Man of Steel (close to
I am Legend, Gravity, The Fugitive and The Matrix).
Using DCM’s average ticket price of £9.71 The Batman would have 3.67m admissions but using the average of £7.52 from last year this would be 4.73m.
In 1989 Batman opened in 400 cinemas took £12,034,291 inflation inflated £38,840,287); Batman was the second-biggest film of the year after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
1992’s Batman Returns took £10,979,599 and £25,721,677 inflation inflated; 7th biggest film of 1992
1995’s Batman Forever opened £4,714,153 (£10,186,905 inflation inflated) taking £20,015,001 and £43,250,807 inflation inflated; 2nd biggest film of 1995
1997’s Batman and Robin took £14,676,429 £27,117,137 inflation inflated; 7th biggest film of 1997
So far this year #1’s Spider-Man: No Way Home 3 weeks (3 in 2021); Sing 2 2 weeks; Uncharted 3 weeks and The Batman 4 weeks.
2. RRR – £650,204 – NE
Took £237,128 from previews on Thursday from 136 screens #2
Bollywood has grown in popularity in the UK over the last decade, over the last few weeks Paramount released Gangubai Kathiawadi opening with £243,848 #11 from 150 screens taking £583,079 from 62 screens also Bheemla Nayak opened £146,671 from 35 screens; Radhe Shyam opened £186,705 #9 from 124 screens; The Kashmir Files opened #15 £58,635 from 18 screens having the second-best screen average in the top 15 after The Batman.
3. Ambulance £521,049 – NE
The opening was similar to 2018’s Den of Thieves opened £1.08m taking £2.79m; 2018’s Mile 22 £0.79m taking £1.6m and 2019’s 21 Bridges £655,213 taking £1,508,196
It’s Michael Bay’s first theatrical released film since 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight previously made 6 Underground for Netflix. Michael Bay is of course famous for his big-budget action films including Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbour, The Island and four Transformers films, also directed the smaller scale Pain & Gain and 13 Hours in 2016.
Heist films have been popular in the cinema over the years including
2004’s Layer Cake opened £1,090,561 taking £4,447,859; 1998’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels opened £941,638 taking £11,784,141; 2003’s The Italian Job opened £2,294,027 taking £7,699,425; 2010’s The Town opened £1,005,039 taking £4,771,263; Inside Man opened £1,806,854 (same weekend in 2006) taking £8,106,743.
Always surprising studios open a big-budget, high-concept action the US set films internationally early and you don’t get any more like this than with a Michael Bay film
Michael Bay previously directed Netflix’s 2019’s 6 Underground
Ambulance is his first original theatrical released film since 2016’s 13 Hours opened #15 £238,231 and 2013’s Pain & Gain #4 £1,016,136 taking £1,923,892 and directed five Transformers films between 2007 and 2017; the highest-grossing was 2011’s Transformers: Dark Of The Moon opened £10.7m taking £28.1m.
1995’s Bad Boys opened with £866,215 taking £5.1m (2003’s Bad Boys 2 opened £3.17m taking £8.4m); 1998’s Armageddon opened £2.7m taking £16.5m; 2001’s Pearl Harbor opened £3.1m taking £13.4m; 2005’s The Island opened £1.48m taking £4.87m;
Jake Gyllenhaal is best known for 2001’s Donnie Darko also starring in dramas 2007’s Zodiac opened £818,369 taking £3,288,925; 2014’s Nightcrawler £1,003,822 taking £2,777,52; 2013’s Prisoners £1,365,527 taking £7,213,760; 2011’s Source Code £1,306,661 taking £5,888,913. He also starred in blockbusters including 2004’s The Day After Tomorrow opened £7.3m taking £25.2m; 2010’s Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time opened £1.4m taking £8.9m and 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home opened £14.2m taking £37.3m, but wasn’t the reason why audiences went to see these films.
Michael Bay said in an interview recently about his disappointment with some visual effect shots in the film saying ‘Some of the CGI Is S— in This Movie’
Global openings are the norm now for most films but with Fantastic Beast 3 opening a week earlier in the UK and with the Easter school holidays starting April 1st this saw Paramount and Universal opt to open Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and The Bad Guys a week before and Universal open Ambulance two weeks earlier than the US while The Lost City opening two weeks after the US.
The problem with Ambulance despite surprisingly getting positive reviews it’s a film if you have seen the trailer there is no need to watch the film.
With Morbius opening on Thursday Ambulance will be out of UK cinemas before it opens in the US in two weeks.
Ambulance took $6.7m from 58 territories and $12.8m total
Last weekend’s top 10 took £4,302,969 the lowest over the last 48 weeks since cinemas reopened after the second lockdown on May 21st, not including the 26 weeks cinemas reopened after the first lockdown on July 4th it was the lowest top 10 weekend since June 25th, 2010 (£3,145,120) when Get Him to the Greek opened #1 £1,569,556 and Killers #2 £389,509; Sex and the City 2 #3 £357,066; Prince of Persia #4 £159,684; but with 27% ticket inflation since this weekend was the lowest for over 20 years.
Many used the excuse as they did last weekend about the sunny weather but it wasn’t barbequed weather, this highlights the problem with cinema today they are always very low lows before highs as next weekend with Morbius, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and The Bad Guys should be a strong weekend along with the following weekend with Fantastic Beasts 3 and the Easter holidays. Many will say that it didn’t include The Bad Guys BO but that also took about half the amount films animated films take in previews.
Down 42.4% in its seventh weekend
Uncharted has overtaken Transformers (£22.86m); X-Men 2 (£22.66m); Toy Story (£22.3m); Wall-E (£22.2m); Wonder Woman (£22.2m); Men In Black 2 (£22.1m); Men in Black 3 (£21.75m);
As with last year’s Free Guy many have said Uncharted performance was a surprise but the timing was the perfect opening weekend before half-term with Spider-Man No Way Home dropping off the Tom Holland fans were eager to watch it over half-term and probable then went to see Spider-Man No Way Home again.
While it was no surprise Uncharted performed similarly to Sonic The Hedgehog which opened a month before the first lockdown in 2020 why did its box office drop off heavily over its fourth and fifth weekend before cinemas closed the week after. While taking more than Pokémon Detective Pikachu as it opened in a much more crowded marketplace between Avengers: Endgame and Aladdin.
202nd biggest film in the UK (272nd film to take £20m+) between Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Ghost (close to The World Is Not Enough, Wreck-It Ralph, Doctor Strange and Transformers and 393rd biggest inflation inflated between Pride and Prejudice and Sliding Doors (close to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Mission: Impossible III, Superman Returns and Stargate).
Similarly themed film based on a fictional video game seventh weekend
2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle #9 dropped 28% £874,788 465 screens and £35,343,483 95.6% of £36,968,605
2019’s Jumanji: The Next Level #5 down 14% £921,225 547 screens and £33,592,531 93.1% of £36,079,399
2021’s Free Guy #3 down 19% £551,195 566 screens and £16,128,786 95.6% of £16,866,112
5. The Nan Movie £289,730 – £1,149,243
Down 48.8% in its second weekend;
Not really much can be said about The Nan Movie only that it’s holding slightly better than The Phantom Of the Open (#6 down 52.1% with £218,626 and £1,065,110) despite receiving poor reviews after Warner didn’t press screen the film.
What it does show again as with spinoff films based on British TV shows like Mrs Brown’s Boys D’ Movie (few would have imagined it would have opened £4,301,306 taking £14,290,727), The Bad Education Movie and Keith Lemon: The Film (taking £2,900,378) no matter how bad they are there is still an audience who want to see them. While a film like The Phantom of the Open struggles to find an audience despite receiving positive reviews.
This week Disney announced filming had started on a Full Monty Disney+ spinoff show 25 years after the original film was released and was a massive box office hit, over the years since many films have tried to replicate that formula, the closest was 2003’s Calendar Girls taking £20,427,788.
There have been many films spinoff based on British TV shows over the years and they have had mixed success in cinemas, including Mrs Brown’s Boys D’ Movie, Guest House Paradiso, David Brent: Life On the Road, Absolutely Fabulous The Movie, Ali Gi Indahouse, Borat, Bruno, The Bad Education Movie, Kevin & Perry Go Large, The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse, People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan, Bean, Keith Lemon: The Film, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa and The Inbetweeners Movie.
The Nan Movie was missing a director’s credit as the film had extensive reshoots with producers re-editing the film in postproduction making it a very different film from what the director had planned.
Other Box Office News
Many celebrated the CODA Best Picture win as a win for the indie film but it was far from it as the film was financed two years ago selling international rights and those independent distributors were gazumped by Apple after they acquired global rights at Sundance. Apple acquired CODA for $25m and then spent millions promoting the film.
Had those independent international distributors kept their rights the film would have come and gone as many Academy voters have admitted they hadn’t seen it until after it was nominated. It’s all about timing and momentum for the Oscars and as in previous years, Netflix went slightly early with their film The Power of the Dog was their early favourite.
Had The Power of the Dog won Best Picture there would have been associated questions to ask as it was developed by See-Saw Productions who also made Lion and The King’s Speech. If there was a British film industry, then the film should have been made and financed by a British company and not need to go to Netflix or other US studios to be made. Hundreds of millions of lottery funding have been spent making films over the last 25+ years but this should have been spent building infrastructure and self-funding studios as was the plan with the film franchises.
Apple winning Best Picture Oscar before Netflix is the worst possible outcome for legacy studios despite having an extraordinarily strong slate of contenders for 2023. With the Oscars now over, look to potential award contenders in 2023, it’s looking strong with Sam Mendes’s Empire of Light, Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, Untitled David O Russell and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of a Flower Moon.
It’s not the first-time streamers have gazumped indies as Paramount sold global rights to Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman to Netflix in 2017 a year after STX brought international rights for $50m at Cannes. The Irishman was going to be the STX film that launched the company internationally, but five years later they were close to bankruptcy and sold. Showing again the dangers of independent films they are always one film away from disaster as was also the case with Moonfall earlier this year with many gambling big acquiring rights preproduction.
UK box office in detail
This weekend’s top 10 box office took £4,302,969 down 38.1% from last weekend’s £6,945,071
The weekend admissions were 572,203 down 38.1% 923,547 from last week; using the average price of £7.52 calculated by CAA 2021 admissions 74m with UK BO of £556.9m;
Top 3 took £2,835,756 65.9% of the top 10; The Batman 38.7% (£1,664,503); RRR 15.1% (£650,204); Ambulance 12.1% (£521,049);
2021 n/a cinemas closed
2020 n/a cinemas closed
Down 55.2% from 2019; (£9,597,710); Us 74.2% (£2,766,839); The White Crow (£326,997); Five Feet Apart (£253,341); The Great Escape With Dan Snow: A Gala Screening On The 75th Anniversary (£172,550); #1 Captain Marvel £3,378,583 3rd week 632 screens 49% drop (32.5% of top 10)
Down 62.8% from 2018: (£11,575,592); Pacific Rim: Uprising (£1,655,186); A Wrinkle In Time (£655,542); Unsane (£478,451); Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Secret Cinema 2018) (£349,492); Proud Mary (£26,291); #1 Peter Rabbit (£4,595,239) 2nd week 37% drop (39.7% of top 10)
Down 77.1% from 2017: (£18,777,727); Power Rangers (£1,574,624); Life (£743,281); The Lost City of Z (£270,139); CHiPs: Law and Disorder (£205,933); Idomeneo – Met Opera 2017 (£186,423); #1 Beauty and the Beast £12,334,338 2nd week 37% drop (65.7% of top 10)
Down 82.5% from 2016: (£24,577,822); Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (£14,621,007); Zootropolis (£5,306,726); My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (£983,534); Capture the Flag (£86,104); #1 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice £14,621,007 1st week (59.5% of top 10)
Down 66.1% from 2015; (£12,903,791); Cinderella (£3,803,799); The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water 3D (£2,262,498); Get Hard (£1,438,389); Seventh Son (£411,576); Wild Tales (£183,423); The Signal (£10,103); #1 Cinderella £3,803,799 1st week (29.5% of top 10)
Down 60.5% from 2014: (£10,881,865); Captain America: The Winter Soldier (£6,037,850); Muppets Most Wanted (£2,214,906); The Legend of Hercules (£189,881); 20 Feet from Stardom (£62,154); #1 Captain America: The Winter Soldier £6,037,850 1st week (55.5% of top 10)
Up 65.5% from 2013: (£12,481,896); GI Joe: Retaliation (£2,792,861); Trance (£1,592,339); ; The Host (£991,017); Finding Nemo 3D (£264,779); In the House (£209,431); Good Vibrations (£56,320); #1 The Croods £3,305,642 2nd week 38% drop (26.5% of top 10)
Down 53% from 2012 (£9,142,345); The Hunger Games (£4,900,177); Act of Valour (£262,935); The Kid With a Bike (£66,822); Wild Bill (£60,430); #1 The Hunger Games £4,900,177 1st week (53.6% of top 10)
Down 40.1% from 2011 (£7,183,735); Limitless (£2,087,363); A Turtle’s Tale (£1,122,067); The Eagle (£1,038,954); Faster (£157,169); Country Strong (£22,001); #1 Limitless £2,087,363 1st week (29.1% of top 10)
Down 58.1% from 2010: (£10,270,286); Nanny McPhee & the Big Bang (£2,586,760); The Blind Side (£1,313,317); #1 Nanny McPhee & the Big Bang £2,586,760 1st week (25.2% of top 10)
Down 50.3% from 2009; (£8,665,959); Knowing (£2,471,605); The Haunting in Connecticut (£1,127,679); The Damned United (£618,929); Two Lovers (£88,060); Traitor (£78,675); The Life Before Her Eyes (£1,596); #1 Knowing £2,471,605 1st week (28.5% of top 10)
Down 46.8% from 2008; (£8,081,479); 27 Dresses (£1,752,897); Drillbit Taylor (£724,738); First Sunday (£40,706); Grindhouse (£27,225); The Hottie and the Nottie (£17,167); #1 27 Dresses £1,752,897 1st week (21.7% of top 10)
Down 52% from 2007: (£8,956,317); 300 (£4,746,071); TMNT (£948,791); Amazing Grace (£431,967); I Want Candy (£349,301); #1 300 £4,746,071 1st week (53% of top 10)
Down 34.2% from 2006; (£6,536,128): Inside Man (£1,806,854); Hostel (£1,215,987); The Ringer (£560,520); Transamerica (£137,932); The Boys from County Clare (£36,708); #1 Inside Man £1,806,854 1st week (27.6% of top 10)
Down 42.5% from 2005 (£7,489,470); Miss Congeniality 2 (£1,302,070); Valiant (£1,096,329); Melinda and Melinda (£129,257); Maria Full of Grace (£84,335); Mickybo and Me (£47,918); #1 Hitch £1,660,358 2nd week over 4 weeks (22.2% of top 10)
Down 46.6% from 2004 (£8,067,662); The Passion of the Christ (expansion) 3rd week (£2,019,935); Dawn of the Dead (£1,944,745); Agent Cody Banks 2 (£246,755); Under the Tuscan Sun (£203,634); The Station Agent (£97,044); The Honeymooners (£8,229); Fear X (£7,902); #1 The Passion of the Christ £2,019,935 3rd week up 573% (25.1% of top 10)
Up 4.6% from 2003 (£4,112,397); The Recruit (expansion) (£923,834); The Core (£583,238); Cradle 2 The Grave (£374,938); The Rules of Attraction (£227,531); #1 The Recruit £923,834 1st week (2nd weekend up 2545% (22.4% of top 10)
Down 53.3% from 2002 (£9,207,851); Blade 2 (£2,540,226); Crossroads (£1,126,053); E.T. (20th Anniversary) (£465,048); The Count of Monte Cristo (£47,675); #1 Blade 2 £2,540,226 1st week (27.6% of top 10)
Next weekend 2020 and 2021 – Cinemas Closed First Lockdown
Next weekend in 2019 (£11,266,299); Dumbo (£6,076,779); Die Walkure – Met Opera 2019 (£176,278); #1 Dumbo £6,076,779 1st week 666 screens (53.9% of top 10)
US Box Office
- The Lost City – Paramount Pictures
Opened with $30.45m; received positive reviews (76% Rotten Tomatoes) and B+ CinemaScore (similar to Six Days Seven Nights, Sahara and Fool’s Gold)
559th biggest opening between Dear John and John Wick: Chapter 2 (close to Just Go With It, Step Brothers, Night at the Museum, John Carter and Prince of Persia).
Industry predictably heralded the opening of The Lost City as they did earlier In the year with Scream and Jackass Forever despite both performing similar to films released 20 years ago. The Lost City as those two films received strong buzz for weeks before opening, strong marketing campaigns and positive reviews and should be looking at openings twice as big. But the problem has been while audiences are coming out to see Marvel films they aren’t coming back to see other films.
Industry described the film as the biggest opening for a female-driven film during the pandemic and success for an original film. While comparisons were made with Death on the Nile ($12.8m) and Marry Me ($7.9m) but neither were likely to open any better.
Despite the massive box office of Spider-Man No Way Home (taking over $800m over the weekend) the industry has seemly lowered expectations on what success is with films this year, as Scream and Jackass Forever were seen as successful despite both taking less than films released 20 years ago while The Lost City opening was being compared with Sandra Bullock films 2013’s The Heat ($39.11m taking $159.58m) and 2009’s The Proposal ($33.62m taking $163.95m) rather than 1999’s The Mummy ($43.38m taking $155.38m). As you would have expected being trailered with Uncharted would have helped The Lost City?
EntTelligence reported an average price of $11.90 with exhibitors not up charging for the film as they did with The Batman; this is still a third more than the industry claimed average ($9.18) and as other films premium formats taking 21% from Friday.
Took $2.5m from Thursday previews similar to Free Guy taking $2.2m last August opening with $28.36m and $121.62mand $331.52m worldwide.
Sandra Bullock’s last cinema release was 2018’s Ocean’s 8 opened with $41.6m taking $4m from Thursday previews and $140.29m and $297.79m worldwide
Comparisons have been made with 2008’s Tropic Thunder opening with $25.81m taking $110.51m and $195.7m worldwide
While 1984’s Romancing of the Stone opened with $5.1m ($22m inflation inflated) taking $76.57m ($310m inflation inflated)
1998’s Six Days Seven Nights opened $16.48m ($45m inflation inflated) taking $90.5m ($260m inflation inflated)
2005’s Sahara opened $18.06m ($35m inflation inflated) taking $50.56m ($80m inflation inflated)
2008’s Fool’s Gold opened $21.6m and $70.23m and $111.23m worldwide
2012’s Journey 2: The Mysterious Island opened $27.33m and $103.88m and $335.29m worldwide
2021’s Jungle Cruise opened $35.01m and $116.98m and $220.88m worldwide
Opened with $3.7m from 16 territories; expands into territories in mid-April after Fantastic Beasts 3 opened.
- The Batman – Warner Bros
Dropped 44% in its fourth weekend taking $20.47m and $331.85m
Took $31.5% from IMAX in the US (10% of US BO)
68th biggest film in the US between Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 and Batman Vs Superman; Aquaman #64 $335.1m; Joker #63 $335.45m; Wonder Woman #32 $412.56m; The Dark Knight Rises #22 $448.13m; The Dark Knight #13 $553.72m.
181st biggest inflation inflated between It Chapter One and True Lies; 8th biggest Warner Bros film between Aquaman and Batman Vs Superman.
Batman BO fourth weekends
1989’s Batman dropped 21.5% $15.11m and $167.63m 66.7% of $251.34m ($882m) Int $160.16m ($560m) $411.5m WW ($1.4bn)
1992’s Batman Returns dropped 44.1% $7.72m and $137.48m 84.4% $162.9m ($530m) Int $103.99m ($338m) $266.89m WW ($870m)
1995’s Batman Forever dropped 39.6% $9.26m and $154.85m 84.1% of $184.07m ($573m) Int $152.5m ($471m) WW $336.56m ($1.04bn)
1997’s Batman and Robin dropped 49.1% $4.08m and $98.79m 92% of $107.35m ($235m) Int $130.88m ($395m) WW $238.23m ($720m)
2005’s Batman Begins dropped 35.9% $10.01m and $171.9m 83.1% of $206.85m ($435m) Int $166.8m ($350m) WW $373.66m ($790m)
2008’s The Dark Knight dropped 38.8% $26.1m and $441.62m 82.6% of $534.85m Int $471.11m WW $1.005bn
2012’s The Dark Knight Rises dropped 46.9% $18.97m and $389.6m 86.9% of $448.14m Int $633m WW $1,081bn
2016’s Batman Vs Superman dropped 61.4% $9.02m and $311.33m 94.2% of $330.36m Int $543.27m WW $873.63m
2017’s Justice League dropped 42% $9.66m and $212.12m 92.6% of $229.02m Int $428.9m WW $657.92m
2019’s Joker dropped 34.2% $19.24m and $277.93m 82.8% of $335.45m int $738.8m WW $1.74bn
Took $25m (down 49%) from 76 territories taking $340.9m and $672.9m worldwide; UK $47.4m; Mexico $28m; Australia $24.1m; France $22.2m; Brazil $20.2m; China $17.9m.
136th biggest film worldwide between Doctor Strange and The Sixth Sense; 32nd biggest comic-book movie between Doctor Strange and Man of Steel; 24th biggest Warner Bros film worldwide between Gravity and Man of Steel;
Took $52.7m worldwide from IMAX
- Jujutsu Kaisen 0 – FUNation
Dropped 74.6% in the second weekend taking $4.57m taking $27.71m.
51st biggest second-weekend drop between The Bye Bye Man and One Direction: This Is Us
These films are normally very front-loaded as have a limited fanbase currently last year’s Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train dropped a similar 69.5% in the second weekend taking $6.48m and $34.2m of $49.5m in the US and $454.77m worldwide
Took $4.4m internationally from 9 territories and $132m total and $159.77m worldwide
- Uncharted – Sony Pictures
Down 36% in its sixth weekend taking $5m and $133.5m
472nd biggest in the US between Grown Ups 2 and Mission Impossible 3; 926th biggest inflation inflated between The Good Dinosaur and Couples Retreat; 55th biggest Sony Pictures film between Grown Ups 2 and Angels & Demons.
EntTelligence estimated an average of $13.48 due to about a third of BO from IMAX/PLF
Took $7.7m from 55 territories and $223.9m total and $357.45m worldwide; UK $31.3m, France $18.8m; Russia $17.2m; China $13.6m; Germany $12.9m.
394th biggest film worldwide between Top Gun and Goldeneye; 35th biggest Sony Pictures film worldwide between Hitch and Basic instinct
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
Buzz for Morbius has been poor but this was similar to the buzz with Venom ahead of its release in 2018 with critics calling it “a bizarre and baffling mess” but it was a hit with comic-book fans opened #1 with £8,031,342 including £2,431,342 dropped 63% in its second weekend taking £19,907,988 and 2021’s Venom 2 opened £6,167,833 (no previews) dropped 60% in its second weekend taking £18,300,000.
After the success of Spider-Man No Way Home and The Batman the poor buzz for Morbius isn’t likely to determine comic-book fans to see it over opening weekend, but as with Venom will likely be front-loaded with Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore opening a week later.
Morbius embargo ends at 8 pm EST (1 am) Thursday, March 31st hours before opening in the UK which was expected after social media reaction was very poor, describing it as not great, not as fun as Venom and with poor visual effects, saying that there’s a good film trapped in it. As the film had multiple reshoots this is understandable as the film was due to open before Spider-Man No Way Home and a few months after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The poor buzz is unlikely to stop comic-book fans from seeing Morbius but will make it front-loaded.
Morbius opens almost exactly 20 years to the day another vampire comic-book film opened Blade 2 with £2,540,226 (£4,614,130 inflation inflated) 1998’s Blade opened £1,642,390 (£3,064,708 inflation inflated). Sony is expecting it to open with about $33m (similar to Blade 2 opening in the US) with some estimating it could open between $40m-$50m, but advance sales have been soft, even opening on the back of Spider-Man No Way Home, about 30% of its opening will come from IMAX/PLF.
Morbius will probably open with £5m-£6m over 4 days similar to Shang-Chi, Eternals, Aquaman, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Venom 2.
Early buzz for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was very positive with many saying it was better than the original, but reviews have been far more mixed, but that won’t stop fans of the original from going to see it opening at the start of the Easter holidays.
The first film opened in February 2020 only 5 weeks before the first lockdown opening with £4,733,768 taking £19,280,822, as its box office was affected by COVID, would normally be expected the sequel to perform stronger but for Fantastic Beasts 3 opening next weekend. The Bad Boys as Dolittle in 2020 will target a younger audience.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will open between £3m-£4m
Dreamworks Animation The Bad Guys had previews last weekend taking a disappointing £697,141 and will likely open third, but being the start of the Easter holidays and playing to a younger audience than all of the other releases it is is should perform well over the next two weeks. Critics have described it as the best Dreamworks Animation film for several years but critics also loved Captain Underpants, but it struggled to find an audience.
The Bad Guys will open between £2m-£3m including previews but will have longer less than the other two films playing steadily over the next two weeks during the Easter holidays.
Opening next week
- Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – Warner Bros
Sequel to 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald the third part in the Fantastic Beasts film series and the 11th in the Wizarding World franchise. The featured ensemble cast includes Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, Katherine Waterston, Richard Coyle and Mads Mikkelsen and is directed by David Yates.
Filming was due to start in spring 2020 but was delayed due to COVID instead starting filming in September and Mads Mikkelsen replaced Johnny Depp.
It was originally set for 12th November 2021 but after production was delayed moved to July 15th, 2022, but in September 2021 I was brought forward to April 15th opening a week earlier in the UK.
Fantastic Beasts was originally expected to be a trilogy but in 2016 JK Rowling announced that it would include 5 films covering events between 1926 and 1945, but producer David Heyman said in February 2022 they haven’t started on a script for the fourth film.
Like other prequel film series like The Hobbit even though Fantastic Beasts is set in the same universe as Harry Potter it can’t be compared to those films, as The Hobbit trilogy can’t be compared to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and they were never going to be initially as successful. As they play to an older audience than the original films.
Fantastic Beasts 3 had its world premiere on March 29th
early reviews have said it’s the best Fantastic Beast film so far
The first trailer was released in December and a second trailer was released in February.
JK Rowling has received a lot of negative media coverage in recent years over her comments about the transgender community which has seen Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson criticise her. Last week Russian President Putin was comparing the treatment of Russia with the Western cancel culture which saw it become front-page news, the question is will either affect Fantastic Beasts.
2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opened £15,333,146 from 666 screens; with Arrival #2 at £1,496,205 and Trolls #3 at £1,241,574
Dropped 42% in second weekend taking £8,892,489 and £30,136,276; Allied opened #2 with £1,331,919 and Bad Santa #4 £799,156
Dropped 50% in third weekend taking £4,494,727 from 649 screens and £37,886,538; Moana opened #2 £2,214,898 and Sully: Miracle on the Hudson #3 £1,786,844
Dropped 40% in fourth weekend taking £2,734,960 from 620 screens and £42,392,249; Moana #2 £1,911,784 and Sully: Miracle on the Hudson #3 £1,222,683
After 4 weeks at #1 dropped to #3 in fifth weekend down 48% taking £1,416,433 from 480 screens and £44,963,803; Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opened #1 £17,305,011 and Moana #2 £1,424,527
Stayed in top 5 for 6 weeks and In top 10 for 9 weeks taking £568,432 in 9th weekend and £54,000,202 98.9% of £54,593,487
2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald opened £12,318,966 (19.6% less) from 674 screens; with The Grinch #2 at £3,906,597 and Bohemian Rhapsody #3 at £3,021,648
Dropped 54% in second weekend taking £5,622,755 from 679 screens and £22,043,790; with The Grinch #2 £3,283,072 and Bohemian Rhapsody #3 £2,211,454 and new releases Robin Hood #4 £1,330,387; Nativity Rocks! #5 £834,414; The Girl in the Spider’s Web #6 £557,403
Dropped to #3 in third weekend down 52% taking £2,709,967 from 661 screens and £26,753,839; with Ralph Breaks the Internet opening #1 £4,032,775 and Creed 2 #2 £2,991,509
Dropped 46% in fourth weekend #4 taking £1,468,736 from 619 screens and £29,271,816; with Ralph Breaks the Internet #1; The Grinch #2 and Creed 2 #3
Stayed in the top 5 for 4 weeks and in the top 10 for 8 weeks taking £365,814 at the 9th weekend and £33,501,931 98.5% of £33,995,565
Normally rival studios keep their distance from tentpoles as they did with the first two Fantastic Beast films not opening anything targetting a similar demographic in the week before or after but opening ahead of Easter the marketplace is far more crowded with The Bad Guys and Sonic The Hedgehog 2 opening two weeks before along with Morbius (targetting older audience) and surprisingly Paramount is opening The Lost City on Wednesday only 5 days after Fantastic Beasts 3 opens, but that will be playing to an older female audience.
With such a crowded marketplace while Fantastic Beasts will likely open in 700 cinemas (similar to The Batman) it won’t play in as many screens, The Batman opened on 2,658 screens.
- The Outfit – Universal Pictures
Crime drama starring Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, Johnny Flynn, Dylan O’Brien, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Simon Russell Beale and directed by Graham Moore; had a world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival receiving positive reviews (90% Rotten Tomatoes); opened on March 18th in the US #8 with $1.49m
Focus Features acquired world rights in February 2021
- The Lost City – Paramount Pictures (Wednesday)
Action-adventure comedy starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Brad Pitt and directed by Aaron and Adam Nee. (was originally called the Lost City of D
Had its world premiere at SXSW on March 12 received positive reviews comparing it to action-adventure films like Romancing of the Stone and comparisons have been made with 2008’s Tropic Thunder opened
Other similar films include
1998’s Six Days Seven Nights opened £908,713 taking £4,535,477
2005’s Sahara opened £1,370,577 taking £4,726,275
2008’s Fool’s Gold opened £975,498 taking £2,241,576
2008’s Tropic Thunder opened £2,483,271 (£474,296 previews) taking £8,387,745
2012’s Journey 2: The Mysterious Island opened £1,200,587 taking £6,467,920
2021’s Jungle Cruise opened £2,241,651 taking £12,487,739
Reviews have highlighted the strong chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum but the film is let down by the script.
Surprising Paramount is opening The Lost City only 5 days after the third Fantastic Beast film
cigarette burns and missed changeovers 