Here’s our box office update for the week of December 16th. Numbers are very much down this week but it’s good news for the Christmas movie Elf. Read on to find out why.
Well with further news that Wales will be entering a lockdown according to rumours on December 28th, including the closure of Cinemas, it’s not looking good as we start 2021, is it? However, despite the UK under Tier 3 in most locations (further of which seem set to be announced tomorrow), some Cinemas have been open. Bustling and Trading.
UK and Irish Cinemas recorded over £1m in Box Office gross last weekend, that’s almost double the weekend prior. The Munro release of the theatrical dance version of A Christmas Carol, voiced by Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis and Carey Mulligan, took £25,700 with Vue Dublin being it’s #1 grosser.
This hit the top of the indie/arthouse cinemas per the BFI reporting system. With just 312 sites open at the weekend the release of Warner’s Wonder Woman 1984 promised a great end to the year. Sadly, this will diminish by over 100 sites as the City of London entered Tier 3 today.
The box office weekend numbers – Good news for Elf fans
Read more: Has Nolan’s Tenet Killed Off The Rest Of 2020’s Cinema Releases?
Across both national and independent cinemas at the weekend the box office looked a little like this:
Elf – £98,200 173 Sites
Home Alone – £87,800 160 Sites
Little Mix: LM5 – £83,500 129 Sites
Superintelligence – £72,600 167 Sites (New Warners release with Melissa McCarthy)
Love Actually – £42,500 120 Sites
Honest Thief £28,600 95 Sites
It seems almost surreal to see festive titles such as Elf, Love Actually, Home Alone leading the way. But with films in short supply, evidently people just want a festive escape. So what business can we expect Wonder Woman 1984 to do?
According to Hollywood Reporter, early estimates show China’s pre-booking sales are doing 65% of what Tenet achieved. That’s looking at around $25-30m. The first release finished around $38,7m on its opening weekend.
Elsewhere The Reporter is also leading that due to the backlash over its HBO Max Streaming Plans (More Here).
Operators to Slash Ticket Prices?
Credit: Vue cinemas
Read more: 5 Movies You Should Watch This Christmas
Exhibitors in the US are considering slashing the ticket prices low to prevent Warner Bros. making any sort of profit. More here. Certainly, that would trigger some sort of legal action at the very least from parent company AT&T. But watch this space for updates.
If terms are similar to the UK in the initial weeks, Warner Bros. are expecting to take over 55%-60% of the revenue from ticket sales. In a time where every penny counts for those small cinemas that remain open, that’s a significant chunk of change removed from their Box Office.
As Wonder Woman 1984 opened today in the UK, with Blithe Spirit seemingly the only larger title opening in January (along with a Sky Cinema simultaneous release), the challenge continues…
What do you make of this box office update? Do you think you’ll be going to be cinema to watch Elf again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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