'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice', 'The Substance'

Source: Warner Bros / Mubi

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’, ‘The Substance’

RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (Sep 13-15)Total gross to dateWeek
 1. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice  (Warner Bros)  £2.5m £18.2m 3
 2. Speak No Evil  (Universal) £813,979 £3m 2
 3. Lee  (Studiocanal) £555,529 £1.8m 2
 4. The Substance (Mubi) £519,668 £591,322 1
 5. Despicable Me 4  (Universal) £369,840 £46.7m 11

GBP to USD conversion rate: 1.32

Warner Bros’ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice continued its reign at the UK and Ireland box office this weekend as it crossed the £18m mark while Mubi body horror The Substance opened in fourth place.

The Beetlejuice sequel dropped 42% in its third week to bring in £2.5m and push its total up to £18.2m. It will likely enter the UK top 10 highest-grossing films of 2024 within the next week.

In its second weekend, Universal horror Speak No Evil added £813,979 and is now just shy of £3m. It overtakes fellow horror releases of the year Abigail (£1.7m, Universal); The Strangers: Chapter 1 (£1.8m) and Imaginary (£2m), both through Lionsgate.

Lee starring Kate Winslet dropped just 18% in its second session with £555,529 for Sky Cinema via Studiocanal. The biopic of war photographer Lee Miller has a total of £1.8m.

Mubi’s The Substance opened at number four with £519,668 and a mild £998 location average. Including previews, the film’s total stands at £591,322 to make it the second-highest theatrical opening for Mubi of all time behind Priscilla which debuted on £642,404 in January.

Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley star in the film about a fitness instructor who turns 50 and takes a black-market drug that promises a younger, healthier version of herself. It premiered at Cannes where it won best screenplay for writer-director Coralie Fargeat.

On its 11th weekend, Despicable Me 4 dropped just 5% for Universal to bring in £369,840. With a total of £46.7m, it is still just shy of overtaking Despicable Me 2 (£47.5m) and 3 (£47.9m).

Alien record

'200% Wolf'

Source: Signature Entertainment

‘200% Wolf’

Opening just outside of the top five was Signature Entertainment’s animation 200% Wolf with £237,038. The sequel to 100% Wolf follows a boy whose wish to become a werewolf is fulfilled.

Next in line is Disney’s Deadpool & Wolverine which dropped just 38% in its ninth session to add £224,754 for a £57.1m cume.

On its second weekend, Lionsgate’s The Critic took a healthy 37% dip with £207,710. The UK period drama starring Ian McKellen is now up to £875,020.

Sony’s It Ends With Us made £190,768 for a cume of £21.2m after seven weeks of play.

National Theatre Live’s re-release of Prima Facie took in £170,771 on its second session. Including the £5.5m made on its original 2022 run, the title is now up to £7.6m. 

Disney’s Alien: Romulus is now second highest-grossing Alien title at the UK and Ireland box office after hitting £13.1m. In its sixth weekend, the horror title added £143,080 and overtakes 2017’s Alien: Covenant which ended on £12.9m.

In event cinema, Trafalgar Releasing launched Jung Kook: I Am Still to the tune of £116,121. The K-pop star’s documentary and concert film made a total of £211,170 since opening last Thursday. CinemaLive opened Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary on Sunday (September 22) with £176,314.

Meanwhile, re-releases had a strong weekend. Spider-Man: No Way Home opened on £113,438 for Sony while The Dark Knight led Park Circus’ re-release of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy with £108,207. The Dark Knight Rises scored £33,097 followed by Batman Begins on £26,429.

Disney’s Inside Out 2 continues its reign as the highest-grossing title of 2024, dropping just 28% on its 15th outing with £111,064. The Pixar title is less than £1m away from hitting £60m and will likely overtake Oppenheimer’s £59.6m box office.

Warner Bros thriller Blink Twice crossed the £3m on its fifth session after adding £77,899. 

Also for Warner Bros is Twisters which is now on its 10th weekend in cinemas, taking in £57,135 for a £14.5m cume.

Irish-language hit Kneecap is just shy of £2m after adding another £47,387 for Curzon in the UK and Wildcard Distribution in Ireland.

Family feature Harold And The Purple Crayon continues a solid run in its eighth weekend for Sony, adding £40,728 to its £3.1m total.

In its second session, festival favourite My Favourite Cake made £28,601 for Curzon to bring its total up to £88,693.

Henry VIII drama Firebrand collected £22,000 in its third session for MetFilm to hit £360,000.  The distributor also opened French title The Goldman Case on £18,000 with a £29,000 total including previews.

The Count Of Monte-Cristo is up to £354,060 after four weeks for Entertainment Film Distributors with the French drama adding £16,311. 

Black Bear’s Sing Sing dropped just 37% in its fourth weekend with £12,900 to bring its total up to £313,000.

Chinese animation Boonie Bears: Time Twist took a 82% drop in its second weekend for Miracle/Dazzler. Its total box office to date is £40,052. 

Indian coming-of-age drama Girls Will Be Girls opened on £4,840 for Modern Film and has a total of £11,136 including previews.

Next week’s big releases will be Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis for Entertainment Film Distributors, and Lionsgate’s Never Let Go starring Halle Berry.