The charming bear’s return looks set to capture Christmas, while the outlook is far from terminal for Murder on the Orient Express

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The winner: Paddington 2

Given the huge box office success of the first Paddington movie audience affection for the bear and critical acclaim for Paddington 2, a big opening for the sequel was a given. The only question was: how big? Its predecessor debuted in the UK just under three years ago with £5.13m from 518 cinemas. This time around, distributor StudioCanal achieved a slightly wider release out of the gate, rolling Paddington 2 into 607 venues. Gross for the debut session is £8.26m, an increase of 61% on the Paddington number.

With sequels, you expect bigger numbers in the early running, since fans of the original rush out to see the film on opening weekend. In other words, few people expect Paddington 2 to stay 61% ahead of Paddington’s pace. However, with seven weeks of play in the run-up to Christmas, the stars look very well aligned for a final UK figure north of the original’s £37.9m.

The runner-up: Murder on the Orient Express

Last week we reported that Kenneth Branagh’s lavish Murder on the Orient Express had opened in the UK with a sturdy £4.99m, buoyed by ample hype for the starry ensemble. But given the lacklustre response from critics, would the numbers sustain?

So far, the answer is an emphatic yes, with the Agatha Christie whodunnit delivering an impressive £4.38m, down just 12% from the opening frame. Add in £3.62m earned from the Monday-to-Thursday period last week, and Orient Express has reached a nifty £12.99m after just 10 days.

The film opened in many new territories at the weekend, including the US, and the global gross now stands at $87m. It’s a very solid start for the film, justifying Fox’s gamble of borrowing a move from Hollywood’s past: taking a much-loved piece of material, and throwing a lot of big names into the mix. Expect more of that to follow in the future.

Third place: Thor: Ragnarok

Dropping a relatively mild 33%, Thor: Ragnarok added £3.07m at the weekend, swelling its total after 20 days to £25.9m. The Marvel sequel is now the 12th biggest hit of 2017, after Beauty and the Beast, Dunkirk, Despicable Me 3, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, It, Spider-Man: Homecoming, La La Land, Fast & Furious 8, Sing, The Boss Baby and The Lego Batman Movie.

It’s relatively rare to see three films perform as well as each other – ie Paddington 2, Murder on the Orient Express and Thor: Ragnarok all above £3m in a single weekend. It’s happened just two other times in 2017: once in late January, with Sing, T2 Trainspotting and La La Land; and once in mid-July with War for the Planet of the Apes, Despicable Me 3 and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

The indie contender: The Florida Project

The battle for arthouse audiences became even more intense at the weekend with the arrival of The Florida Project. Released aggressively into 100 cinemas, the critically acclaimed film made the comScore Top 10 thanks to a debut of £165,000 plus £77,000 in previews. Director Sean Baker’s previous film Tangerine began in November 2015 with a disappointing £19,000 from 15 sites.

The Florida Project entered a UK market already occupied by Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer (£550,000 so far), Armando Iannucci’s crowdpleasing The Death of Stalin (£4.28m), Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name (£767,000), Andy Serkis’ Breathe (£1.51m), Sally Potter’s The Party (£974,000) and innovative animation Loving Vincent (£767,000). No Stone Unturned, Alex Gibney’s documentary about a killing during the Troubles, is also in the mix – a strong performance in Northern Ireland saw the film begin with a decent £31,000 from 19 cinemas.

The flop

Given the wealth of titles jostling for space at indie venues, Sony took the multiplex route for Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, starring Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall and Bella Heathcote. The US indie failed to generate the critical heat it needed to land with audiences, and opened to a very poor £9,100 from 72 venues, and a dismal £127 average. Sony will be hoping that the film can find its audience when it transitions to home entertainment platforms.

The market

Thanks to the strong performance of the top three titles, the market overall rises 25% from the previous session, and is also up by a robust 62% from the equivalent weekend a year ago, when Arrival landed at the top spot. Cinema owners are now hoping the good times can continue with the arrival on Friday of DC’s superhero team-up Justice League.

Top 10 films Nov 10-12

1. Paddington 2, £8,260,160 from 607 sites (new)

2. Murder on the Orient Express, £4,376,429 from 642 sites. Total: £12,989,387 (two weeks)

3. Thor: Ragnarok, £3,073,349 from 569 sites. Total: £25,879,938 (three weeks)

4. A Bad Moms Christmas, £1,272,396 from 478 sites. Total: £4,186,649 (two weeks)

5. Jigsaw, £414,932 from 342 sites. Total: £4,541,777 (three weeks)

6. The Death of Stalin, £296,693 from 290 sites. Total: £4,282,860 (four weeks)

7. Only the Brave, £268,680 from 332 sites (new)

8. The Florida Project, £241,490 from 100 sites (new)

9. Blade Runner 2049, £213,054 from 192 sites. Total: £18,640,036 (six weeks)

10. The Lego Ninjago Movie, £193,466 from 484 sites. Total: £9,306,771 (five weeks)

Other openers

Predator, £99,689 from 2 sites (including £97,405 previews) (reissue)

The Taming of the Shrew – Bolshoi Ballet, £61,300 from 126 sites

Qarib Qarib Single, £35,767 from 32 sites

No Stone Unturned, £30,713 from 19 sites

Villain, £15,184 from 43 sites

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, £9,148 from 72 sites

Mutluluk Zamani, £5,956 from three sites

Marjorie Prime, £4,737 from three sites

Ippadai Vellum, £3,656 from seven sites

Aramm, £2,976 from four sites

Félicité, £2,946 from six sites

The Secret Spitfires, £2,801 from one site

Kaleidoscope, £1,648 from seven sites

Aux, £550 from nine sites

A Caribbean Dream, £541 from two sites



Thanks to comScore. All figures relate to takings in UK and Ireland cinemas.