‘Jackass Forever’ sets franchise opening record as ‘Sing 2’ tops UK-Ireland box office

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Paramount’s Jackass Forever has set a franchise opening record with a £2.1m start at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, as Sing 2 kept top spot with an impressive second session.

Jackass Forever played in 537 locations, taking a location average of £3,911 – a decent total for an 18-rated film. It was also the number one film on Friday.

The £2.1m figure topped the full openings of Jackass: The Movie (£1.3m); Jackass: Number Two (£735,274), Jackass 3D (£1.7m) and Jackass: Bad Grandpa (£1.9m). Paramount will now look for it to push past the latter title’s £6.5m franchise record.

Universal’s Sing 2 posted an excellent £5.1m second weekend, falling 24.3% to reach just shy of £13m. While the £29.5m of 2017’s Sing represents a lofty target, Universal will be confident of passing the £20m mark that few films have surpassed since the pandemic – especially with the upcoming school half-term.

Another Universal title, Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast, moved to number three in the chart with a £1.5m third session – an impressive hold, dropping just 21.9%. It now has just short of £9m, and should move into eight-figure territory within the next week.

Long-time former number one Spider-Man: No Way Home added £1.15m on its eighth session – a 35% drop – to reach £91.7m. It is currently the sixth-highest-grossing film of all-time in the UK and Ireland, with a chance of catching Avatar’s £94m, Spectre’s £95.2m and even No Time To Die’s £96.7m.

Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi Moonfall opened to £1m – enough for a place in the top five - from 550 locations at an average of £1,850. It has £1.16m including Thursday previews.

Belle starts well

Scream dropped 50% for Paramount on its fourth weekend, adding £392,000 to reach £6.9m.

Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley fell back 55% for Disney, adding £149,779 on its third session to reach £1.6m. The studio also has The King’s Man, which dropped 53% on its sixth weekend with £133,541 taking it to £7.9m.

Released by National Amusements, Mamoru Hosoda’s anime Belle made a decent start, taking £120,916 from 150 sites at an £806 average. It has £152,216 including previews, making it Hosoda’s highest-grossing title in the territory already, surpassing the £112,144 of Mirai.

Disney’s slate also includes West Side Story, which dropped 43% with £68,374 bringing it to £7.5m from nine weekends; and Encanto, which added £64,150 for £7.3m from 11.

Two Universal awards contenders are continuing with select screenings: Licorice Pizza, which added £49,455 to reach £2.3m; and House of Gucci, which put on £48,316 for £9.9m.

Picturehouse Entertainment opened Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir Part II to £47,555 from 95 sites at a £500 location average – down on the £99,186 start from 43 sites and £2,307 average of the first film. Part II has £92,931 including previews, and will look to capitalise on the older midweek audience in the next four days.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye opened to a low £34,304 from 112 locations at an average of just £306 for Disney.

Warner Bros has had a quiet few weeks with The Matrix Resurrections now closing out its run, adding £23,039 to reach £7.5m from seven sessions. The studio will look to storm back with its next major release: The Batman, on March 4.

Fresh from its four Bafta nominations, Vertigo Releasing’s Boiling Point added £15,696 and is up to £422,859.

BFI Distribution’s release of Francois Truffaut’s Jules & Jim took £10,238 from 11 locations.

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s Lingui: The Sacred Bonds opened to £7,213 including previews for Mubi.

Sony’s Jockey started with £2,874 from 42 sites, taking just £68 per site; and has £9,120 including previews.

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