Advertisement

UK box office report, Jan 17-19: 1917 will set record as UK cinema's biggest grossing First World War film

Starring Colin Firth, Oscar frontrunner 1917 is cruising ahead of competition - Universal Pictures
Starring Colin Firth, Oscar frontrunner 1917 is cruising ahead of competition - Universal Pictures

The winner: 1917

Sam Mendes’s First World War film 1917 already made an impressive mark when it debuted at UK cinemas with £7.45m including £100,000 previews – but was that simply a triumph of marketing of the film’s ambitious “continuous-shot” execution? Now the numbers are in for 1917’s second weekend of play, and they suggest that the film is genuinely connecting with audiences.

Declining just 16 per cent from its opening session, 1917 has delivered second-weekend box office of £6.19m, bringing the total after 10 days to a hefty £18.4m. That’s very close to the entire UK cinema run of Steven Spielberg’s War Horse (£18.7m).

For comparison, Christopher Nolan’s Second World War film Dunkirk began with just over £10m, and then declined 18 per cent in its second weekend of play. If 1917 follows the same trajectory as Dunkirk, it should reach around £38-39m by the end of its run. Saturday's best picture win at the Producers Guild Awards augurs well for further success at the Baftas and Oscars – and wins at those ceremonies would help sustain the life of 1917 into mid-February. Whatever happens, 1917 will be by far the biggest-grossing First World War film ever at UK cinemas – after all, the genre has very few high-achieving entrants. Globally, 1917 stands at $143m.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence remain an audience favourite - Credit: Sony Pictures
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence remain an audience favourite Credit: Sony Pictures

The runner-up: Bad Boys for Life

Last year’s release calendar was dotted with franchise revivals and belated sequels that failed to connect with audiences. Men In Black: International, Terminator: Dark Fate and Charlie’s Angels all attempted to revive audience interest in properties that had long lain dormant. Of the trio, the Terminator did best, but with a mediocre £7.32m lifetime. Charlie’s Angels flamed out with a dismal £1.14m.

That is all context for the release of Bad Boys for Life – belatedly following up Bad Boys 2, which was released in October 2003. It’s also worth noting that the Bad Boys films – which stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as Miami cops – have never been as commercially potent in the UK as they were in the US. Top performer is Bad Boys 2, with £8.69m. Adding to the challenges for Sony UK: Will Smith is coming off the commercially disappointing sci-fi film Gemini Man, suggesting that his box office power has waned.

Given all of the above, Sony should be pretty delighted with a UK debut of £3.78m for Bad Boys for Life – indicating strong residual affection for these characters. The film faces little obvious competition in the coming weeks, and should push past £10m.

In the US, Bad Boys for Life debuted with a strong $62m, and stands at $112m globally.

Margot Robbie and Kate McKinnonin in Bombshell - Credit: Lionsgate
The fall of Roger Ailes: Margot Robbie and Kate McKinnon star in this Fox News harassment drama Credit: Lionsgate

The fresh awards-season contenders: Bombshell v Just Mercy

January is the month when each weekend sees the release of films that have been dated at this time in the hope that, come their arrival in cinemas, they will have been blessed with awards nominations. That’s why both Bombshell and Just Mercy opened last Friday, alongside Waves and A Hidden Life. Of the quartet, it’s Bombshell’s awards campaign that is going reasonably to plan, having picked up Oscar and Bafta nominations in the same three categories: actress (Charlize Theron), supporting actress (Margot Robbie) and hair and make-up.

Bombshell debuted in the UK with an OK £691,000 from 484 cinemas, and £742,000 including previews. Despite the starry cast (which also includes Nicole Kidman), the biographical drama faced the hurdle that UK audiences are not necessarily so interested in the film’s subjects, notably Fox News stars Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson, and the channel’s boss Roger Ailes (now deceased), who is accused of serial sexual harassment. In the US, Kelly is a household name.

Warner Bros campaigned for nominations for its own biographical drama Just Mercy, starring Michael B Jordan and Jamie Foxx, but came up empty-handed at both the Oscars and Baftas. Foxx, who plays real-life death row prisoner Walter McMillian, earned a supporting actor nomination at the Screen Actors Guild awards. Absent significant nominations, Warner Bros instead leveraged the star power of its cast (which also includes Brie Larson), and critical acclaim for this true story of a Harvard law graduate (Jordan) who faces hostility in Alabama when he sets about overturning wrongful convictions of men awaiting execution. UK debut is a reasonable £476,000 from 376 cinemas, and £529,000 including previews.

Terrence Malick's film about an Austrian rebel farmer who defied Hitler is a hidden gem - Credit: Film Stills
Terrence Malick's film about an Austrian rebel farmer who defied Hitler is an underrated gem Credit: Film Stills

The disappointments: Waves and A Hidden Life

While Bombshell and Just Mercy represented tricky sells in the UK, they both had star power on their sides. Those same advantages did not accrue in the cases of Waves and A Hidden Life, which likewise landed in cinemas on Friday. Both titles began the awards season as part of the conversation, but failed to earn Bafta or Oscar nominations. Waves – Trey Edward Shults’s highly charged drama about an affluent African-American Florida family – instead picked up nominations at the Gothams and Independent Spirit awards. A Hidden Life traded on the cachet of its auteur director (Terrence Malick), but the biographical drama about an Austrian conscientious objector in the Second World War faced the challenge of a rather lengthy running time of 174 minutes.

Both titles performed similarly badly. Waves grossed £51,600 from 135 cinemas, and £62,900 including previews. A Hidden Life was right behind with £50,700 from a tighter 108 venues (thus achieving a higher screen average), and £63,400 including previews.

Stirring and showy: this high-school drama throbs with the energy of 21st century youth - Credit: A24
Stirring and showy: this high-school drama throbs with the energy of 21st century youth Credit: A24

The market 

Following upticks of 22 per cent and 33 per cent for the first two weekends of January (when compared with the year-ago equivalent sessions), the month continues in a similarly robust fashion. The strong hold from 1917 helped the January 17-19 market overall to a performance that is 22 per cent up on the equivalent weekend of 2019.

Going into the coming weekend, cinemas are welcoming Armando Iannucci’s distinctive take on The Personal History of David Copperfield, starring Dev Patel, with Peter Capaldi, Tilda Swinton and Hugh Laurie. Also in the mix are a couple of spooky genre titles – The Turning (based on Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw) and The Grudge – plus family film Paw Patrol: Ready, Race, Rescue. Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote stars Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce – both Oscar-nominated currently, albeit for their roles in other films, namely Marriage Story and The Two Popes. This long-awaited film plays nationwide screenings with Q&A on Thursday (January 23), ahead of the proper release a week later.

Top 10 Films Jan 17-19

  1. 1917, £6,190,049 from 714 sites. Total: £18,439,267 (2 weeks)

  2. Bad Boys for Life, £3,781,233 from 535 sites (new)

  3. Little Women, £1,480,139 from 673 sites. Total: £16,355,697 (4 weeks)

  4. The Gentlemen, £1,092,084 from 511 sites. Total: £7,895,247 (3 weeks)

  5. Jumanji: The Next Level, £1,064,594 from 569 sites. Total: £32,471,541 (6 weeks)

  6. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, £901,078 from 565 sites. Total: £56,482,187 (5 weeks)

  7. Bombshell, £742,085 from 484 sites (new)

  8. Jojo Rabbit, £656,736 from 499 sites. Total: £5,482,043 (3 weeks)

  9. Just Mercy, £529,435 from 376 sites (new)

  10. Frozen II, £514,468 from 552 sites. Total: £51,908,104 (8 weeks)

Other openers

  • Weathering with You, £221,789 (including £69,180 previews) from 57 sites

  • A Hidden Life, £63,375 from 108 sites

  • Waves, £62,943 from 135 sites

  • Exhibition on Screen: Lucian Freud – A Self Portrait (exhibition), £45,219 (including £36,956 previews) from 15 sites

  • Pattas, £28,345 from 33 sites

  • Big Brother, £13,879 from 77 sites

  • Midnight Traveller, £6,972 from 3 sites

  • Jai Mummy Di, £6,917 from 14 sites

  • Khatre Da Ghugga, £1,786 from 5 sites

  • Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache, £1,446 from 2 sites

 

Thanks to Comscore, @cSMoviesUK

All figures relate to takings in UK and Ireland cinemas. Chart numbers include preview takings