The winner: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Delivering the second biggest opening weekend number this year – behind only Avengers: Infinity War – Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has taken a dino-size bite out of the UK box office. The sequel to 2015 reboot Jurassic World has begun with a nifty £10.6m for the weekend period, and £14.3m including Wednesday and Thursday previews.
Those numbers compare with a £23.1m debut UK weekend and £29.4m, including previews, for Avengers: Infinity War. A much closer comparison is the year’s third-biggest opener: February’s Black Panther began with a £10.5m weekend and £17.7m including previews.
Of course, the most valid comparison point is not those recent Disney/Marvel hits, but Jurassic World itself, which began in June 2015 with £16.8m, and £19.4m including Thursday previews. Jurassic World went on to achieve a stunning lifetime total of £64.3m, then the seventh biggest film of all time at the UK box office – and currently the 13th biggest.
On a like-for-like comparison, Fallen Kingdom is running 37% behind the pace of Jurassic World. In Fallen Kingdom’s favour is the fact that it doesn’t face an especially threatening set of competitors lumbering into cinemas in the coming weeks. Ocean’s 8 arrives next Monday (18 June), but otherwise it’s rather slim pickings – with distributors evidently running scared of the World Cup, kicking off this Thursday (14 June).
The loser: Solo: A Star Wars Story
While Solo: A Star Wars Story held up pretty well in the UK in its second session, declining a reasonably mild 35% from its opening weekend, the slump has now set in. For its third frame, it’s dropped a hefty 62% from the previous session. Takings of £1.19m push the total after 18 days to £16.4m. For comparison, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story had reached £52.1m at the same stage of its run.
Most would agree that Solo: A Star Wars Story possessed more powerful brand value than Rogue One – after all, Han Solo is an established and beloved character, whereas Rogue One provided the answer to a question few had hitherto been asking (how exactly the rebels in Star Wars: A New Hope got their hands on the plans to the Death Star).
Disney and Lucasfilm will now be pondering what went wrong, but the May release date for Solo seems a big misstep, given that December had worked so well for The Force Awakens, Rogue One and The Last Jedi. A bigger issue is the paltry five-month gap since the last Star Wars film. Audience appetites have very evidently been taken for granted, and were found wanting.
The indie alternative: McQueen
While documentary hits such as My Generation and Eric Clapton – Life in 12 Bars have posted healthy UK opening numbers this year thanks to live-event launches, McQueen, unusually, has debuted in six figures without such a boost. The film about London fashion wunderkind Alexander McQueen grossed £120,000 for the weekend, and £131,000 including previews.
After just three days of full play, McQueen has nearly equalled the total gross of fellow fashion doc Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist, which has reached £133,000 over its 12-week run.
McQueen leads a rather under-performing set of independent and arthouse films currently on release. The only other title grossing more than £50,000 at the weekend was On Chesil Beach (£786,000 so far). Also plugging away are Edie (picking up audiences in pockets across the UK, and especially in Scotland, with £264,000 to date), L’Amant Double (£106,000 after 10 days), The Breadwinner, My Friend Dahmer, Jeune Femme, Tully, Lean on Pete and Zama. US indie The Boy Downstairs has begun with a poor £12,800 from 24 sites – and that’s including previews.
The market
Thanks to the arrival of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, UK takings are overall 85% up from the previous session, which suffered from a dearth of commercially potent new releases. They are also a very handy 49% up on the equivalent weekend from 2017, when The Mummy debuted in second place, failing to dislodge Wonder Woman from the top spot.
Box office should subside in the coming frame, absent any new blockbuster releases. Critically acclaimed US indie horror Hereditary should connect with discerning genre fans, while Super Troopers 2 is likely to struggle to match its North American success ($30m so far). Bollywood specialist Yash Raj offers sequel Race 3, starring Salman Khan and Anil Kapoor. Alternatives include Rupert Everett directing himself as Oscar Wilde in The Happy Prince.
Top 10 films, 8-10 June
1. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, £14,334,894 from 663 sites (new)
2. Solo: A Star Wars Story, £1,192,220 from 617 sites. Total: £16,390,659 (three weeks)
3. Deadpool 2, £1,182,010 from 565 sites. Total: £29,042,739 (four weeks)
4. Book Club, £507,917 from 535 sites. Total: £2,037,605 (two weeks)
5. Avengers: Infinity War, £406,119 from 433 sites. Total: £69,563,230 (seven weeks)
6. Sherlock Gnomes, £301,555 from 571 sites. Total: £7,580,001 (five weeks)
7. Blade Runner: The Final Cut – Secret Cinema, £226,459 from one site. Total: £4,064,682 (12 weeks)
8. Show Dogs, £201,435 from 484 sites. Total: £2,549,449 (three weeks)
9. Kaala, £169,773 from 80 sites (new)
10. McQueen, £131,278 from 63 sites (new)
Other openers
Coppelia – Bolshoi Ballet, £96,840 from 130 sites
The Boy Downstairs, £12,823 from 24 sites
Lek and the Dogs, £1,256 from four sites
Rubb Rakha, £539 from four sites
King of Hearts, £361 from two sites (reissue)