| Rank | Film (distributor) | Three-day gross (Dec 27-29) | Total gross to date | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mufasa: The Lion King (Disney) | £4.2m | £12.6m | 2 |
| 2. | Sonic The Hedgehog 3 (Paramount) | £4m | £11.8m | 1 |
| 3. | Wicked (Universal) | £2.7m | £53m | 6 |
| 4. | Moana 2 (Disney) | £2.2m | £33.8m | 5 |
| 5. | Better Man (EFD) | £1.3m | £1.6m | 1 |
GBP to USD conversion rate: 1.25.
Disney animation Mufasa: The Lion King held off Paramount’s Sonic The Hedgehog 3 in the final UK-Ireland weekend box office of 2024.
Mufasa fell a slim 4% on its second session, taking £4.2m; the film had £12.6m by the end of Sunday, December 29, from 10 days in cinemas.
This is well down on the £36.9m of 2019’s The Lion King at the same stage (which ended on £76m), but a decent second session that will raise hopes of crossing the £20m mark by the end of its run.
It was just enough to hold off Sonic The Hedgehog 3, which took just over £4m from Friday to Sunday, from 639 sites at a £6,290 average. This was down on the £5m start in 650 sites at a £7,671 average of 2022’s Sonic The Hedgehog 2; and the £4.7m opening of 2020’s Sonic The Hedgehog, in 619 sites at a £7,647 average.
However, Sonic 3 has £11.8m in total, having opened for previews on Friday, December 20; and like Mufasa will hold hopes of topping £20m before the end of January 2025.
Universal’s Wicked topped £50m total with a £2.7m sixth weekend in cinemas – an impressive 7% rise on its previous session. The Cynthia Erivo- and Ariana Grande-starring musical now has £53m in total, overtaking Despicable Me 4 (£48.1m) to become the third-highest-grossing release of 2024.
It is behind only Deadpool & Wolverine (£57.6m) and Inside Out 2 (£59.2m) among 2024 releases. At current rates it will hold hopes of overtaking both titles before it leaves cinemas; although this may be impacted by Universal’s decision to release the film on digital services from this Friday, January 3.
Disney’s Moana 2 also posted a 7% increase, with £2.2m on its fifth session. The film is now up to £33.8m, as the sixth-highest-grossing 2024 release, with the £39.6m of Dune: Part Two still in its sights.
Robbie Williams biopic Better Man started with £1.3m from 658 sites, at a £1,910 average for Entertainment Film Distributors. Including three days of previews, the film has £1.6m. This represents a moderate start in a competitive market; director Michael Gracey’s previous film, musical The Greatest Showman, also got off to a moderate start over the festive period, before ending on a colossal £50.5m.
On the final weekend of 2024, takings for the top 15 titles were up 49% on the equivalent weekend from 2023, bringing festive good news for exhibitors after a tough year. The top 15 titles brought in £24.8m, up from £16.6m last year, despite a 5% reduction in open cinema locations. Commercial awards contenders are among the strongest offerings heading into January, with Universal horror Nosferatu and Studiocanal romance We Live In Time starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh both opening on January 1, 2025.
Paddington goes on
Studiocanal’s Paddington In Peru posted the best holdover of the top 15 titles, increasing 24% on its eighth weekend with £819,038. The film has topped the £33m mark; it will likely finish down on the £38m of 2014’s Paddington and especially the £42.6m of 2017’s Paddington 2, but has still drawn a strong figure in a competitive market, and is the seventh-highest-grossing 2024 release.
Gladiator II increased 13% on its seventh session, with £561,663 taking it to £30.3m for Paramount – the eighth-highest-grossing release of the year. It should top the £31.3m of Ridley Scott’s 2000 first film within the next fortnight.
Conclave starring Ralph Fiennes also posted a strong hold, increasing 9% on its fifth session with £364,320. The papal drama is up to £5.5m, behind only this year’s Longlegs (£8.1m) among Black Bear releases.
Sony’s Kraven The Hunter did not find the increases seen elsewhere at the box office, falling 49% on its third session with £87,632 taking it to £1.4m. It will finish below the £4.3m of fellow 2024 Sony Marvel title Madame Web.
Bollywood titles continue to find an audience over the Christmas holidays, with Kalees’ Baby John taking £63,591 for Bakrania Media, from 91 sites at a £698 average. The action title, starring Varun Dhawan, has £112,835 including previews.
A re-release of Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli title Spirited Away took £61,861 at the weekend through Elysian Film Group Distribution, and has £77,415 including previews.
Met Film Distribution opened Justin Kurzel’s thriller The Order to £61,069 from 85 sites at a £718 average. The Venice Competition entry has £67,194 including previews.
Dreamz Entertainment’s Malayalam-language thriller Marco added £65,869 on its second session – an 18% drop that brought it to £204,140 total.
Venice Competition title Queer starring Daniel Craig added £59,527 on its third weekend – a 24% drop that took it to £648,790 total for Mubi.
Warner Bros’ 10th anniversary re-release of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar added £51,775 on the 15th weekend of its re-issue, and is up to £1.3m, in addition to the £21.8m of the film’s original run.
All figures estimates; credit: Comscore.
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