Tenet continues to dominate much of the UK box office (which isn’t difficult when everything gets delayed…) taking almost £650k across 569 sites.
After We Collided which has been a surprising hit, and a great alternative to the action-heavy Tenet finished with another £514k at 489 cinemas across the country.
Due to the film’s success, it was recently announced two sequels had been given the ‘green-light’ by the studio courtesy of Deadline.
Bill & Ted: Face The Music which we reported as being a profitable venture for MGM earlier this week, took a further £216k across just 10 less site than Tenet.
Despite releasing on Disney+ Onward in the next few days, had a 46% increase in its box office return, taking a further £124k.
New UK Releases
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Read more: No Time To Die’s Super Bowl Trailer Was The Big Game’s Most Expensive
This weekend sees the release of kid’s films, Elfkins, Cats & Dogs 3 along with an exclusive theatrical showing for Netflix’s The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Netflix specifically does not report box office for this release, so we will be unable to gauge its success.
It has a heavily awarded cast including Michael Keaton, Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance to name a few and should be a nice option for cinema-goers this weekend.
Tenet Still Triumph At The Box Office
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Read more: Tenet IMAX Review
If we look across the Globe, Tenet opened up in Japan on September 18th, and the Japan Times reported the film “triumphs at the box office”.
Currently, it’s taken over £6 million in two weeks to sit comfortably at the top of the Japanese box office and will most likely end the year as the biggest international release in Japan.
Tenet sits according to BoxOfficeMojo on £220m, ($284.9m) which is a great number for the reasons we discussed here (Why Tenet is actually a bloody success).
Expectedly we shall see some older titles making their way into the Box Office in the UK the news that came late in the day on Friday for the cancellation of No Time To Die’s November release.
Keeping an ear to the ground has suggested that MGM till hasn’t footed any of the promotional costs for the movie, this has in fact been paid for by all the product placement sponsors.
Universal the distributor was having it’s handed forced by MGM when they released the November trailer, MGM has funded the entire cost of the production.
Universal pulled the plug last night, seemingly wanting to ensure any profit is maximised at the cost of exhibitors who will fall in its wake along with MGM who need the income.
Cinemas and exhibitors who were already struggling will now have to dive into the back catalogue amongst the few and far between releases that are left for 2020.
Realistically in order to survive the next few months (amidst any further delays such as perhaps, Disney’s Soul in November), distributors need to offer films are a heavily reduced rate to maximise ticket sales for those sites.
Ensuring Survival
Credit: Pexels
Read more: Has Nolan’s Tenet Killed Off The Rest Of 2020’s Cinema Releases?
The rest of 2020 is no longer a question of waiting for James Bond to save the day, but actually about cinemas and distributors working together to ensure they survive.
Cineworld which historically lost £1 billion in the past 6 months of Covid-19 has just taken hits from ratings agency Moody who downgraded further both it’s outstanding $4. Billion debts giving it an increasingly negative outlook.
The second-largest chain in the world only has 72% of its 778 sites open around the world and it faces losing liquidity in the last quarter of 2020 if attendances stay low and these sites don’t reopen.
However, whilst it struggles now, Cineworld can easily bounce to high profits once releases start again, along with potential Vaccines.
Seemingly this makes it different from other businesses facing the pinch – there is a light at the end of the tunnel for investors and makes it attractive for debt restructuring.
A note of caution, we have no guarantee we won’t see further delays, and it’s most likely we’ll be living with this virus long term, so if the worst happens, it’s unclear how Cineworld would continue to meet its debt demands.
The final option would be a takeover, but whom would invest in Cinemas within the current climate, and in a chain with so much debt…
What do you make of this news?
Are you keeping an eye on the box office records despite the COVID-19 pandemic?
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