‘Despicable Me 4’ Reclaims U.K., Ireland Box Office Pole Position Thanks to National Cinema Day Lift
Though numbers were down from last year, the U.K. and Ireland box office saw a boost from National Cinema Day on Aug. 31 with cinemas reporting 1 million admissions for the promotional event, according to Comscore.
Boosted by lower ticket prices, Universal’s “Despicable Me 4” narrowly reclaimed the top spot for the weekend, grossing ￡1.24 million ($1.6 million) in its eighth week of release for a cumulative total of ￡44.5 million ($58.4 million).
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Disney’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” followed closely in second place with ￡1.22 million, pushing its six-week total to ￡54.6 million. Sony’s “It Ends With Us” rounded out the top three with ￡1.1 million in its fourth frame, reaching ￡18.6 million overall.
Sci-fi horror “Alien: Romulus” from Disney landed in fourth with ￡1.07 million, bringing its three-week tally to ￡10.8 million. Newcomer, “Andre Rieu’s 2024 Maastricht Concert: Power Of Love,” from Piece of Magic Entertainment, debuted in fifth place with ￡629,652.
Disney’s “Inside Out 2” continued to show legs in its 12th week, adding ￡614,501 in sixth place for a ￡58.1 million total.
Trafalgar Releasing’s 15th anniversary re-release of “Coraline” also benefited from the National Cinema Day promotion, earning ￡267,646 in its third week in ninth place for a ￡3.02 million total. Sony’s new release “Afraid” rounded out the top 10 with ￡216,620.
The coming week sees a slew of new releases hitting cinemas. Workbus is set to launch British political thriller “The Whip,” directed by Christopher Presswell and starring Shian Denovan, on Wednesday, Sept. 4.
Friday, Sept. 6 brings a diverse lineup of films to theaters. Warner Bros. is rolling out Tim Burton’s highly anticipated sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” As Oasis fans despair over the ticketing system for their upcoming reunion concerts, aficionados of their rivals can look forward to concert film “Blur: Live at Wembley Stadium” from Altitude. Superhero enthusiasts will have a chance to revisit Sony’s “Spider-Man Homecoming” in a one-week re-issue.
Elysian Film Group Distribution’s Sundance-debuting drama “Rob Peace” marks the return to the directorial chair of acclaimed British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor.
BFI Distribution is presenting “Starve Acre,” a folk-horror film from director Daniel Kokotajlo, starring Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark that premiered at the London Film Festival last year. Kaleidoscope Entertainment offers “Knock Out Blonde: The Kellie Maloney Story,” the authorized documentary of Kellie Maloney, the famous British transgender boxing manager.
Other notable releases include Karim A?nouz’s Cannes-bowing period drama “Firebrand,” featuring a cast led by Jude Law and Alicia Vikander, as well as Vertigo’s acclaimed thriller “Red Rooms” and a 75th anniversary reissue of the classic “The Third Man” from Studiocanal. The Batman 85th anniversary celebrations continue with a re-release of “Batman Forever,” from Park Circus.
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