| Rank | Film (origin) | Distributor | Sep 19-21 | Total | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (UK) | Universal | £2.3m | £10.1m | 2 |
| 2 | The Conjuring: Last Rites (US) |
Warner Bros | £1.5m | £15m | 3 |
| 3 | Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle (Japan) |
Sony | £907,171 | £5.5m | 2 |
| 4 | The Long Walk (US) | Lionsgate | £820,447 | £2.6m | 2 |
| 5 | The Roses (UK-US) |
Disney | £602,000 | £8.5m | 4 |
GBP to USD conversion rate: 1.35
Universal’s Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale held the UK-Ireland box office crown on its second weekend; as Sony’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey missed out on the top five on debut.
Downton Abbey 3 added £2.3m on its second session – a 49% drop that brought it to £10.1m. It is behind the first Downton Abbey film, which had £13.2m at this stage in 2019; but ahead of 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era, which was at £7.7m.
Warner Bros’ former number one The Conjuring: Last Rites moved up a place to second, on its third weekend in cinemas. The horror added £1.5m – a 47% drop – and is just shy of £15m.
It has already surpassed the totals of the previous The Conjuring films, The Conjuring (£10.5m, 2013), The Enfield Case (£11m, 2016) and The Devil Made Me Do It (£9.6m, 2021), as well as the following from The Conjuring universe:Annabelle (£7.5m, 2014), Annabelle: Creation (£8.3m, 2017), Annabelle Comes Home (£6.6m, 2019), The Nun (£11.4m, 2018), The Nun 2 (£6.5m, 2023).
Sony anime Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle moved to third on its second weekend, with a £907,171 session – a 74% drop on its opening. It is now up to £5.5m in total, already ahead of the totals of the three previous Demon Slayer films combined.
Thriller The Long Walk posted the best hold in the top five, dropping just 27% on its second weekend. The Lionsgate title added £820,447 and is up to £2.6m.
Disney’s The Roses starring Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch held a top five spot for the fourth weekend. The family comedy dropped 36%, with £602,000 taking it to £8.5m total.
After a strong weekend last time out, takings for the top five dropped 53%, to £6.1m. The figures are still up 28% on the equivalent weekend from last year, as UK-Ireland cinemas look to follow a tough August with a better September. Paul Thomas Anderson’s well-reviewed One Battle After Another offers a good chance to keep figures up next weekend, for Warner Bros.
Journey begins
Romance A Big Bold Beautiful Journey started out slowly for Sony, taking £532,327 from 649 sites at an £820 site average, mirroring its soft international launch.
Universal animation sequel The Bad Guys 2 is showing a long tail, falling just 18% on its ninth weekend in cinemas with £232,309 bringing it to £13.3m total. Another couple of weeks in cinemas will see it overtake the £13.8m of 2022’s The Bad Guys.
A two-day weekend release of The Sound Of Music took £177,067 for Trafalgar Releasing, for the film’s 60th anniversary.
Polish comedy Tesciowie 3 opened with £145,341 for Magnetes Pictures – ahead of the totals of the previous two films in the series, 2021’s Tesciowie (£75,206) and 2023’s Tesciowie 2 (£125,050).
Now through a seventh weekend for Disney, body swap comedy Freakier Friday added £138,000 on its latest session – a 35% drop that brought it to £8.7m.
Indian comedy Jolly LLB 3 started with a decent £115,677 from 105 sites at a £1,123 average for Bakrania Media; although it was still down on the £138,134 start of Jolly LLB 2 from 2017.
Concert film David Gilmour Live At The Circus Maximus, Rome took £114,464 at the weekend for Trafalgar Releasing, and has £376,184 in total having opened on Wednesday, September 17.
Playing on Sunday, September 21 alone, music film Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe made £87,448 for Trafalgar Releasing.
Former box office number one Weapons added £80,787 on its seventh weekend – a 38% drop that brought it to £11.7m.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, the sequel to hit musical The Phantom Of The Opera, brought in £68,954 on Sunday, September 21 alone for CinemaLive.
Universal’s How To Train Your Dragon live-action remake is still in cinemas after 15 weekends, adding £63,462 on its latest session – a 273% increase – to hit £23.1m total.
Mockumentary sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues dropped 72% on its second weekend for Sony, with £59,581 taking it to £408,145 total.
Marvel Cinematic Universe title xFantastic Four: The First Steps added £56,000 – a 37% drop across its ninth weekend. The Disney release is up to £23.8m, the 20th -highest-grossing of 36 MCU films to date.
European animation Diplo: The Mighty Dinosaur started out with £53,776 for Signature Entertainment, from 303 sites at a £177 average.
Comedy thriller Caught Stealing added £51,027 on its fourth weekend for Sony – a drop of 54% that brought it to £1.7m total.
Smurfs leads Paramount’s slate, adding £39,000 on its ninth weekend for £5.7m but still down on the totals of the previous three Smurfs features.
Jurassic World Rebirth added £36,623 on its 12th weekend for Universal, dropping just 3% on its previous session. The dinosaur feature is now up to £35.9m total, ahead of the £35.1m of 2022’s Jurassic World: Dominion and the third-highest-grossing of four Jurassic World films.
Universal’s Hot Fuzz re-release brought in £20,343 from 89 sites at a £229 site average.
Neo Sora’s Venice 2024 title Happyend started with £19,865 from 26 sites at a £764 average for Modern Films. The film, which started in the Horizons strand, has £35,331 including previews.
The Naked Gun reboot added £18,000 on its eighth weekend for Paramount, and is up to £7.6m.
Russian animation Dogs At The Opera is up to £54,372 for Miracle/Dazzler, having added £17,243 on its second session.
Irish romantic drama Girls & Boys started with £17,377 including previews from 19 sites in Ireland for Break Out Pictures, at a £914 average.
Ethan Coen’s Honey Don’t! added £15,229 on its third weekend in cinemas to hit a £400,494 total.
Celine Song’s Materialists put on a further £16,537 on its sixth session – a 62% drop that brought it to almost £3.9m total, ahead of the £3.1m of Song’s 2023 Past Lives.
Warner Bros’ Superman is coming to ground after 12 weekends in cinemas, adding £13,044 on its latest session for a £28.1m total.
Indian action thriller Baaghi 4 added £8,358 on its third weekend for Bakrania Media. The film has £174,671 in total – down on the cumes of 2018’s Baaghi 2 (£474,238) and 2020’s Baaghi 3 (£252,271).
Sophie Dupuis’ romantic drama Solo started with £6,265 including previews from 13 sites at a £481 average for Peccadillo Pictures.
Animation The Glassworker started with £5,654 for Miracle/Dazzler, from 86 screens at a £66 average.
Cannes 2024 Critics’ Week thriller Ghost Trail began with £4,194 from nine sites at a £466 average for New Wave Films, and has £5,050 including previews.
Anne Marie Fleming’s sci-fi Can I Get A Witness starring Sandra Oh started with £699 for T A P E Collective, and has £1,325 including previews.