Summer Blockbusters Can’t Save The UK Box Office

The post Summer Blockbusters Can’t Save The UK Box Office appeared first on Ready Steady Cut.

May kicks off the summer movie season at the box office, and the month had some strong contenders to draw audiences to cinemas after an anemic April. Attractive prospects included Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Ryan Reynolds starring in IF, the Mad Max franchise returning with the prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and everyone’s favorite cat Garfield in The Garfield Movie.

This comparison will show the pre-pandemic box office average (2015-2019, the red line), the post-pandemic box office average (2021-2023, the yellow line), and the current 2024 box office (the blue line). Numbers aren’t adjusted for inflation and are from the British Film Institute.

Weekend 20: May 17-19 2024

May 17-19

• Weekend 20 saw a slight increase in the box office total for the top 15 films, rising to £7,247,148. 
• Despite the rise, it couldn’t come close to either the pre-pandemic total or the post-pandemic total. 
• Weekend 21 sees Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The Garfield Movie release. 

Weekend 20 saw a slight increase after the plummetous decline of Weekend 19, rising 16% to £7,247,148. IF struggled to attract families to cinemas, opening to  £2,435,054. The second weekend of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes almost beat it to number one, only dropping 43% from its first weekend. The total weekend average for the year so far fell to  £10,019,912.25. 

This weeekend in the pre-pandemic era achieved a total of £12,180,318.40, which means 2024’s total dropped 41%, which is about middle of the drops that have been occuring throughout the year. Of course, this is evidently due to a lack of big-budget and high profile big hitters, which has affected this year hugely. 

The top-performing film for Weekend 20 of the pre-pandemic period is Deadpool 2, which opened in 2018 to £12,974,669, way above even the total for all the top 15 films for this weekend in 2024 combined. The top-performing year for Weekend 20 was also 2018, which totalled £17,319,634.

In the post-pandemic era, Weekend 20 produced an average total of £8,762,672.67, which means that 2024’s total is 17% less. The top-performing film for this era was the first weekend of Fast X in 2023 which achieved a total of £5,895,674. 2023 was also the standout year for Weekend 20, with a total of £10,560,090. 

2024’s last two major box office contenders for May include Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and family-orientated The Garfield Movie. Hopefully both will provide some strong box office numbers, perhaps even managing to rise above both the pre and post-pandemic.  

#uk #boxoffice update!

Weekend 20 saw a slight rise in the 2024 box office to £7,247,148.

It’s 41% lower than the pre-pandemic total of £12,180,318.40 and 17% lower than the post-pandemic total of £8,762,672.67.

Numbers from @BFI pic.twitter.com/gdqOeUMUP1

— Kieran (@KieranDavidBurt) May 26, 2024

Weekend 19: May 10-12 2024

May 10-12

• Weekend 19 saw another decline in the box office, with a total of £6,249,772.
• This weekend couldn’t get get above the pre-pandemic era total for the same weekend of £11,174,278.
• The same weekend in the post-pandemic era also couldn’t be overcome, as it was  £9,196,393.50. 
• Weekend 20 sees the family film IF hit cinemas. 

The box office for Weekend 19 saw another disappointing weekend for the box office, as it dropped 32% to £6,249,772. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes opened to £3,802,189 and it was the only film to achieve a total above £1 million at the box office. It shows that audience interest in the current crop of films in the marketplace are struggling to garner audience interest. The Fall Guy for example fell hard in its second weekend, dropping 74% from its opening weekend. The total weekend average for the year so far fell 2% to £10,165,847.21.

Weekend 19 in the pre-pandemic era achieved a total of £11,174,278, meaning 2024’s Weekend 19 total dropped 44%. The top-performing film for Weekend 19 in the pre-pandemic era was the third weekend of the 20218 film Avengers: Infinity War when it achieved  £5,706,170. The top-performing weekend overall belongs to 2019, where it brought in £12,337,294. This was due to the strong opening for Detective Pikachu and an amazing third weekend for Avengers: Endgame. The total weekend average for the year so far fell to £15,834,299.27. 

Weekend 19 in the post-pandemic era also managed to beat out 2024’s total, coming in at £9,196,393.50. This means that 2024’s total is 32% lower. The top-performing film for this weekend in this era was the second weekend of the 2022 film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse with a total of £5,690,351. 2022 was also the top-perfoming year for Weekend 19 in the post-pandemic period coming in at £10,104,669. The total weekend average for the year feel 1% to £11,402,752.66.

Weekend 20 sees the opening of the family film IF starring Ryan Reynolds.

#uk #BoxOffice update!

Weekend 19 didn’t give much of a pick me up to the box office, totalling £6,249,772.

Compared to the same weekend pre-pandemic – £11,174,278 and post-pandemic – £9,196,393.50.

Numbers from @BFI pic.twitter.com/kye97zrQV0

— Kieran (@KieranDavidBurt) May 18, 2024

Week 18: May 3-5, 2024

May 3-5

• May didn’t get off to the best start at the summer box office, with a total of £9,166,481.
• This weekend can’t compete with the same weekend from the pre-pandemic average £16,283,414.80. 
• The biggest shame is the same weekend in the post-pandemic era brought in more than double this weekend, totaling £19,543,336.
• Weekend 19 sees Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes open in cinemas, which hopefully drives some business for cinemas. 

The box office for Weekend 18 provided a poor start to the summer with a total of £9,166,481. The top-performing film for the weekend was the opening of Universal’s The Fall Guy, which came in with a small total of £3,598,996. Unfortunately, Universal couldn’t capitalise on the meme potential by bringing both the supporting actors from the breakout hits Barbie and Oppenheimer together to turn this film into a box office phenomenon. This week, despite being a 27% increase over the previous weekend, brought the overall average weekend box office total for 2024 down from £10,454,991 to £10,383,407. 

The same weekend in the pre-pandemic era made £16,283,414.80 as first weekend in the summer season was usally coasting off the momentum provided by a Marvel Studios’ release in Week 17. 2024 unfortunately didn’t have a release from Marvel Studios in Weekend 17, or a big release in general, so there was no momentum to push it. This means that 2024’s total for this weekend is 44% lower than the prepandemic era. 

The top-performing film for Weekend 18 in the pre-pandemic era was the opening weekend for Captain America: Civil War with a total of £14,466,681. Weekend 18 was the last weekend in April instead of Weekend 17, which used to be a huge time for Marvel movies. The top-performing Weekend 18 was in 2016, which had a total of £23,250,570.

#uk #BoxOffice update!

The lack of a #Marvel film was felt at the 2024 Weekend 18 box office which totaled £9,166,481.

Pre-pandemic total was £16,283,414.80 and the post-pandemic total £19,543,336.

The release of more films in May should improve this!

Numbers from @BFI

— Kieran (@KieranDavidBurt) May 12, 2024

When compared to the same weekend in the post-pandemic era, which had a total of £19,543,336, 2024’s total is 53% less. In the post-pandemic era, Marvel Studios moved the opening of their tentpoles from the last weekend of April to the first weekend in May, to kick off the summer box office. They began to prop up this weekend, and it’s clear that the box office this year due to a lack of a massive release from Marvel Studios. 

The top-performing film for Weekend 18 in the post-pandemic era was the opening weekend of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness which posted a total of £19,765,718. The top-performing year for Weekend 18 was 2022 with a total of £23,825,949. While Marvel Studios has struggled more recently at the box office, during this early period of the post-pandemic era it still could cash in on its brand. With the decline in its box office power and only one Marvel Studios film planned for 2024, the box office has an empty spot left, that isn’t easily filled.   

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes is the biggest release planned for May 10-12, but there are two other notable releases. The final of the Eurovision Song Contest will be in cinemas for one week, and there will be a Transformers: 40th Anniversary Event release too. 

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