| Rank | Film (distributor) | Three-day gross (Nov 29-Dec 1) | Total gross to date | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Moana 2 (Disney) | £12m | £12m | 1 |
| 2. | Wicked (Universal) | £8.3m | £28.5m | 2 |
| 3. | Gladiator II (Paramount) | £2.6m | £23.4m | 3 |
| 4. | Paddington In Peru (Studiocanal) | £1.8m | £27.3m | 4 |
| 5. | Conclave (Black Bear) | £886,000 | £1.1m | 1 |
GBP to USD conversion rate: 1.27
It was another record-breaking weekend at the UK and Ireland box office as Moana 2 sailed to the top with a £12m debut for Disney.
The sequel had the third-highest opening of the year, behind last week’s Wicked (£13.7m) and Deadpool & Wolverine (£12.6m) but was ahead of fellow Disney animation Inside Out 2 which scored an £11.3m debut back in June.
It is also the highest opening for an animated title post-pandemic in the UK and Ireland and the fifth-highest animated opening of all time, beating out 2011’s Toy Story 3 on £11.5m. Ahead of it is 2019’s Toy Story 4 (£13.5m); 2007’s The Simpson Movie (£13.6m); 2019’s Frozen II (£14.9m); and 2019’s The Lion King (£16.7m).
Moana 2 had an impressive £19,048 location average after launching in 630 cinemas and opened more than four times higher than the £2.2m of Moana in 2016
The sequel sees the eponymous islander, voiced by Auli‘i Cravalho, embark on a journey to find a mythical, lost island. Dwayne Johnson also returns to the voice cast while new additions include comedian Rose Matafeo and Hualalai Chung.
Dropping to second place but with only a 39% decrease was Universal’s Wicked, scoring £8.3m in its second weekend. With a total of £28.5m, it is already the fifth highest-grossing film of 2024, overtaking Beetlejuice Beetlejuice at £26.3m.
Next in line was Gladiator II with £2.6m, The Paul Mescal-starring sequel is up to £23.4m after three weeks for Paramount.
Faced with stiff competition, Paddington In Peru took a 57% dip with £1.8m. After four weeks, the Studiocanal title is at £27.3m and still has a way to go to match that of its predecessors Paddington (£38m) and Paddington 2 (£42.7m)
Edward Berger’s Conclave debuted in fifth position with £886,000 for Black Bear. The Vatican-set thriller, about electing a new pope, has a total of £1.1m including previews. Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow are among the cast of this Telluride premiere.
Awards buzz
Dropping out of the top five after three weeks was Warner Bros festive comedy Red One which made £425,831 for a £6.6m cume.
Hugh Grant horror Heretic is up to £5.7m after landing £96,584 in its fifth week of play for Entertainment Film Distributors.
Also on its fifth weekend, Lionsgate’s Small Things Like These made £71,177 to bring its total to £3.7m.
Sean Baker’s Anora dropped only 39% in its fifth session with £53,885 for a £1.7m cume for Universal.
Fellow Cannes award-winner All We Imagine As Light debuted with £50,866 for BFI Distribution. Payal Kapadia’s debut feature, surrounding three women in Mumbai, has a total of £111,033 including previews.
Universal’s animation The Wild Robot is up to £13.6m after adding £48,735 in its seventh week of play.
Park Circus’ 20th anniversary release of festive animation The Polar Express made £49,617.
For Sony, Venom: The Last Dance took in £45,620 and now stands at £12.3m after six sessions.
Not be confused with Hong Kong drama The Last Dance which made £23,381 in its third weekend for Trinity CineAsia. With a total of £466,532, it is now the second-highest-grossing Hong Kong film in the UK and Ireland, behind only Stephen Chow’s Kung FuHustle, which took £1.3m in 2005.
Paramount horror Smile 2 is up to £6.5m after adding £14,000 in its seventh run.
Indian horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 made £10,008 in its fourth session and now stands at £879,717 for AA Films.
Vertigo Releasing opened horror romance Your Monster on £6,580 including £5,444 from 13 previews.
Additional reporting by Livia Sasso.
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