UK Box Office Report December 1st-3rd 2017
This week’s UK box office was noteworthy for a number of reasons, not least because of the continued success of Paddington 2, this week’s number one…
Earning £2,883,617 in its fourth weekend is the mark of an incredible success for Studiocanal and Paddington 2’s producers given the picture’s modest budget and well financed competition. This weekend’s gross is perhaps even more important as regards the film’s overall box office takings in the region which now stand at £26,903,226. This total, to be put into context, has the movie sitting just outside the top 5 for 2017 so far, ahead of the likes of Justice League, Blade Runner 2049, Wonder Woman and Logan, and just £1.9million away from Spider-Man: Homecoming, a film that Paddington 2 will likely surpass this week.
Paddington 2 seems set for success then, even without a 2017 release in North America [Americans and Canadians will have to wait until January 2018], though it hasn’t yet surpassed the financial success of Paddington 1, which grossed an incredible £34million in 2014/15. It seems, given the box office takings drop-offs to date and the number of weeks it’s likely to hold on to its spot at major cinema chains, that Paddington 2 will just about make it to the £34million mark, and may even push Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 for the number 4 highest grossing movie of 2017 if it makes receives a strong push over the typically family orientated Christmas period. It seems that only Star Wars: The Last Jedi stands in its way.
Elsewhere in the top 5, Wonder debuted strong at number 4, grossing a respectable £1,240,245. The movie, which stars Owen Wilson and Julia Roberts, was made for a rumoured $20million and has been a surprise success in North America having already earned over 4 times its budget in just 2 weeks, currently standing at $88million in the region, $100million worldwide. The likelihood is that Wonder will earn around £5million total in the UK, which will likely be higher than expectations for such a modestly budgeted film and will no doubt help to boost its already incredibly successful run at the worldwide box office.
In a further update on Justice League, it is now a lock that the movie won’t touch the top 5 for the year, nor will it get close to the 3 Marvel Studios releases in terms of overall box office gross. Worldwide, the film has made some $570million, which should be enough for Warner Bros. to break even. The next few weeks will likely leave Justice League with a profit, the amount of which will be determined with how well it fights against growing competition around the world.
Elsewhere in the chart, things are looking like this:
- Paddington 2 – weeks on release: 4 – weekend: £2,883,617 – total: £26,903,226
- Daddy’s Home 2 – 2 – £1,945,640 – £7,879,672
- Justice League – 3 – £1,486,953 – £15,554,643
- Wonder – 1 – £1,240,245 – £1,240,245
- Murder on the Orient Express – 5 – £824,494 – £22,127,760
- Thor: Ragnarok – 6 – £578,606 – £30,194,221
- A Bad Moms Christmas – 5 – £338,089 – £7,407,722
- Battle of the Sexes – 2 – £221,996 – £1,127,064
- The Star – 2 – £176,362 – £432,706
- The Man Who Invented Christmas – 1 – £168,137 – £168,137
- Event Cinema: Nutcracker (Bolshoi 2017 Ballet) – 1 – £160,421 – £160,421
- Happy End – 1- £135,682 – £135,682
- The Disaster Artist – 1 – £130,238 – £130,238
- Frozen – 157 – £124,075 – £43,132,048
- Listy do M3 – 2 – £74,300 – £515,397
The big news from this week’s actuals is the confirmation that Thor: Ragnarok has finally surpassed Spider-Man: Homecoming to enter the Top 5 Grossing Movies of 2017 list, entering at number 5 with £30,194,221, just a few hundred thousand pounds above its Marvel Studios counterpart but with legs to run for a few more weeks.
A Bad Moms Christmas also continues to hold strong, earning a further £338,089 to jump to close to £7.5million overall. This is a solid take for a modestly budgeted comedy, and has helped to boost the overall takings of the film at the worldwide box office to just over $100million, nearly 4 times its $28million budget.
Down at the bottom of the chart is The Disaster Artist which earned £130,238 through previews, with the official release not due until today (Wednesday 6th December). The drama-comedy, which is receiving some awards season attention and stars comedy mega-powers James Franco and Seth Rogen, seems to have drawn the attention of those in the know, so it will be interesting to see if the cast and premise amount to a considerable mainstream run.
Frozen, which was last week’s number 5, maintained its spot on the chart this week, squeezing in at number 14 to add another £124,075 to its bountiful kitty, while Polish production Listy do M3 has out-performed Polish counterpart Botoks, at least in weeks on the chart, by managing to maintain its spot for a 2nd successive week (despite earning £200,000 less overall).
Next week, The Disaster Artist and Christmas-themed horror film Better Watch Out will be looking to exploit the chart’s currently depleted overall strength, with the former looking to challenge Paddington 2 for the number 1 spot given its strategy to open on a Wednesday (allowing for a 5 day weekend). We will also know more about whether Paddington 2 will be able to stake its claim for the year’s top 5 above Thor: Ragnarok and we’ll have more on Justice League. For now, make sure to subscribe to us on YouTube for first access to our weekly Top 5 UK Box Office Films video (posted every Tuesday), bookmark our home page, like us on Facebook and subscribe to us on Twitter.
