Denis Villeneuve’s film heads straight to No 1, making it Ryan Gosling’s second UK hit this year, while Dunkirk is now Christopher Nolan’s biggest film

Blade Runner 2049 is light years ahead of the rest at the UK box office

Blade Runner 2049 is light years ahead of the rest at the UK box office

The winner: Blade Runner 2049

A US debut of $33m was judged disappointing, but Blade Runner 2049’s UK result has lived up to expectations, and the territory is the international star performer. Denis Villeneuve’s film begins with £5.21m from 634 cinemas for the weekend, and £6.07m including Thursday. Site average is a robust £8,223, or £9,577 if previews are added in.

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Comparisons with the original Blade Runner are not possible since Ridley Scott’s 1982 film predates the birth of official box office data gathering in the UK. (Various rereleases of Blade Runner, including a Director’s Cut and a Final Cut, have collectively earned £1.93m.)

Instead, analysts are turning to other decades-later reboots for box office comparisons. For example, Mad Max: Fury Road began in May 2015 with £4.54m including £639,000 in previews. Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, which took some of its creative DNA from the Alien franchise, kicked off in June 2012 with £6.24m.

Blade Runner 2049 gives Ryan Gosling his second big hit of the year, after La La Land, which debuted in January with £6.60m, including £944,000 in previews. Previously, major box office success had eluded the actor, thanks to his preference for indie movies such as Drive (£3.04m lifetime) and The Place Beyond the Pines (£3.43m). The Notebook (2004), now cited by fans as one of the great romantic weepies, reached only £1.21m. Before 2017, Gosling’s biggest UK hit was Gangster Squad, with £5.25m. Including supporting roles, he also has The Big Short (£6.03m).

The runner-up: Kingsman

The arrival of Blade Runner 2049 sucked up a huge number of screens, to say nothing of the attention of audiences, and virtually every existing film in the marketplace fell by at least 50%. In that context, a decline of 50% for Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a decent result – Matthew Vaughn’s film added £2.11m for a 19-day tally of £19.46m. The title will soon become the 16th this year to pass £20m at UK cinemas, joining – in order of box office merit – 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, The Lego Batman Movie, Logan, Fifty Shades Darker, Wonder Woman and War for the Planet of the Apes.

Dunkirk sets new Nolan record

The weekend saw Dunkirk reach £56.5m, overtaking The Dark Knight Rises to become Christopher Nolan’s biggest ever UK hit. Dunkirk has significantly punched above its weight in the UK – which is not that surprising given the very British storyline and characters. Globally, Dunkirk has reached $522m, which compares with $1.08bn for The Dark Knight Rises and just over $1bn for The Dark Knight.

Annual trend: first three quarters

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Data gatherer comScore has issued its latest monthly update showing box office for the first three quarters of the year – in fact, since it’s a weekly model, for the first 39 weeks of the year from 6 January to 5 October. Total UK and Ireland box office for the period is £1.01bn, which is up 6% on the same period in 2016. Box office was 18% up on 2016 at the end of the first quarter and 12% up on 2016 at the end of the second, so the strong lead has been gradually eroded as the year has worn on. It’s possible that the trend could continue and 2017 end roughly even with 2016, but strong titles in the fourth quarter – including Thor: Ragnarok, Justice League, Paddington 2 and Star Wars: The Last Jedi – make that outcome unlikely.

The market

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Michael Fassbender in The Snowman. Photograph: Allstar/Universal Pictures

Thanks to the arrival of Blade Runner 2049, box office overall rises by 13% from the previous session, but is 21% down on the equivalent weekend from 2016, when The Girl on the Train landed impressively at the top spot. Among this coming weekend’s new releases, look for two titles to do most of the heavy lifting: The Snowman, starring Michael Fassbender and adapted from the Jo Nesbø bestseller; and The Lego Ninjago Movie, which already racked up some decent preview numbers on Saturday and Sunday. Admired British genre title The Ritual should also figure.

Top 10 films 29 September to 1 October

1. Blade Runner 2049, £6,071,625 from 634 sites (new)

2. Kingsman: The Golden Circle, £2,112,966 from 600 sites. Total: £19,458,871 (three weeks)

3. It, £807,500 from 485 sites. Total: £30,961,497 (five weeks)

4. The Mountain Between Us, £777,646 from 423 sites (new)

5. Victoria & Abdul, £467,042 from 497 sites. Total: £8,233,307 (four weeks)

6. Goodbye Christopher Robin, £397,441 from 573 sites. Total: £1,744,601 (two weeks)

7. Norma – Met Opera, £224,794 from 201 sites (live event)

8. Flatliners, £195,318 from 322 sites. Total: £950,712 (two weeks)

9. Home Again, £174,799 from 404 sites. Total: £952,035 (two weeks)

10. The Emoji Movie, £141,250 from 401 sites. Total: £14,612,815 (10 weeks)

Other openers

The Glass Castle, £49,425 from 82 sites

Chef, £28,821 from 26 sites

The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl, £10,349 from two sites

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Night is Short, Walk on Girl.

Chasing the Dragon, £8,448 from 12 sites

Blood Simple, £7,000 from eight sites (reissue)

Bailaras, £5,774 from seven sites

On the Road, £2,477 from 10 sites

Solo, £2,273 from nine sites

The Reagan Show, £1,231 from four sites

Return to Montauk, £1,106 from one site

The Ornithologist, £445 from one site

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