‘Paddington In Peru’ rejuvenates UK-Ireland box office with £9.7m opening weekend

Its total came from 732 cinemas, at a robust £13,201 location average. The £9.7m figure is the biggest opening ever for Studiocanal, topping the £8.3m of 2017’s Paddington 2, and the £5.1m of 2014’s Paddington.

It also marks the third-biggest opening of 2024, behind the £12.6m of Deadpool & Wolverine and £11.3m of Inside Out 2. 

It is the biggest opening of the year for a UK-produced film, and sixth-biggest in the last decade, according to Studiocanal. It is also the biggest opening for a UK-produced film since 2021’s No Time To Die (£21m).

Paddington In Peru’s start is ahead of family film comparisons Despicable Me 4 (£8.9m), Wonka  (£8.9m) and Mary Poppins Returns  (£8.2m).

The robust start is good news for UK-Ireland exhibitors, who have suffered recently with both October and 2024 down on last year; and concerns over incoming tax rises and wage increases.

Although overshadowed by Paddington In Peru, Amazon Studios’ Christmas action comedy Red One – released by Warner Bros – made a decent £2m, from 556 cinemas at a £3,581 average. The film, starring Dwayne Johnson, has £2.4m including previews and will look to extend its run through the festive period.

Hugh Grant-starring thriller Heretic fell just 35% across its second weekend, with £1m taking it to a £3.8m cume for Entertainment Film Distributors.

Former number one Venom: The Last Dance added £965,026 on its third weekend for Sony – a 55.5% drop on last time out. The third title in the Venom series is up to almost £11m, but will likely end down on the £20.2m of 2018’s Venom and £18.1m of 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

The Wild Robot leads Universal’s slate, adding £664,667 on its fourth weekend in cinemas – a 70% fall. The Dreamworks animation is up to £12.7m, in a decent performance for an original title. 

Paddington In Peru gave a significant boost to the cumulative top five takings, contributing 56% of what was t he second highest-grossing weekend of the year to date. Takings for the top five increased by 93.7% to hit £14.3m; cinemas will hope both Paddington and Gladiator II can work together next weekend for an even bigger number.

Small Things scores substantial

Irish drama Small Things Like These recorded an excellent second session, dropping just 25% with £657,151. The Cillian Murphy-starrer is now up to £2.2m from just two weekends for Lionsgate.

Smile 2 leads Paramount’s slate, adding £310,000 on its fourth weekend – a 48.3% drop. It is up to £6.1m, and is now falling behind the rate needed to catch the £11.7m of the 2022 first film.

With the market dominated by Paddington In Peru, Sean Baker’s Anora posted one of the better holds, falling just 37% with £240,719. The awards contender has crossed the £1m mark on its second weekend in UK-Ireland cinemas, with almost £1.1m – becoming Baker’s highest-grossing film in the process by overtaking 2017’s The Florida Project  (£946,521).

Indian comedy horror Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 added £158,007 on its second weekend, released by Bakrania Media on behalf of AA Films UK. The film now has £708,718, and retains an outside chance of becoming the latest Bollywood title to break the £1m barrier.

Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2 added £134,661 on its second session – a 57.9% drop, that took it to £334,827 in total.

Pharrell Williams Lego film Piece By Piece opened to £117,882 for Universal, from 349 cinemas at a flat £340 location average. Including previews, the film has £186,978.

Indian action title Singham Again added £109,806 on its second session, to hit a £610,821 total for Moviegoers Entertainment.

Animation Transformers One added £85,000 on its fifth weekend for Paramount – a 78.1% drop – and is up to £4.5m.

Seventh Art Distribution’s Exhibition On Screen: Van Gogh Poets & Lovers took £52,272 at the weekend, having already made £102,580 on its November 6 event day release. The film has £180,945, with reports still to come in and further screenings booked for the coming weeks.

A remastered release of Kathryn Bigelow’s surfing thriller Point Break took £51,331 for BFI Distribution, at an £841 location average – a decent number for a re-release. The film has £51,880 including previews, with £4m through its original 1991 release through Fox. 

With Paddington In Peru leading its slate, Studiocanal also has Donald Trump film The Apprentice  in cinemas, adding £46,221 on its fourth weekend – a 75.3% drop – to reach £2.2m.

Breakout low-budget horror hit Terrifier 3 added £40,145 on its fifth weekend, extending its record as Signature Entertainment’s highest-grossing film ever with a £3.3m total.

Japanese anime Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom opened to £38,245 for Sony, at a £209 location average.

Andrea Arnold’s Bird opened to £36,000 for Mubi, from 61 sites at a £590 site average. It has £138,000 including previews, which was down on the openings of previous Arnold films including American Honey  (£176,072) and Wuthering Heights  (£156,931).

Still in cinemas after 10 weekends, Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice added £32,586 for Warner Bros, and is up to £26.3m as the fifth-highest-grossing film of the year.

Pedro Almodovar’s The Room Next Door suffered a acute 74.3% fall across its third weekend, with the Warner Bros awards contender adding £28,607 to hit £672,911.

Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance added another £28,000 on its eighth session, to hit £3.8m and extend its position as Mubi’s highest-grossing film in the UK and Ireland.

Still in cinemas after 18 weekends, Universal’s Despicable Me 4 added £18,710 on its latest session to hit £48.1m – the highest-grossing film in the Minions/Despicable Me franchise.

Having scored a third-most nine Bifa nominations last week, The Outrun starring Saoirse Ronan added £12,314 on its seventh weekend in cinemas for Studiocanal, for an impressive £2.3m total.

After only six weekends in cinemas, Warner Bros’ Joker: Folie À Deux is nearing the end of its run, with £8,215 taking it to £10.3m total. Once marked as a tentpole title for the autumn box office, it will now end below 2024 releases including Back To Black (£12.3m), The Fall Guy (£12.3m) and Bad Boys: Ride Or Die (£12.1m).

Warner Bros animation Buffalo Kids added £5,591 on its fifth weekend in cinemas, and is up to £598,540.

Sky Cinema’s Lee starring Kate Winslet added £5,242 on its ninth weekend, released by Studiocanal, for a £4.4m total.