Awards contenders dominate new releases at UK and Ireland cinemas this weekend as Babygirl, Maria and A Real Pain all launch.
Nicole Kidman returns with Babygirl, which Entertainment Film Distributors is opening in 575 locations. Halina Reijn’s 18-rated erotic drama stars Kidman as a high-powered CEO who becomes embroiled in an affair with a young intern, played by Harris Dickinson. Further cast include Antonio Banderas and Sophie Wilde.
Other awards contenders with 18-ratings include this year’s Anora, which grossed just shy of £2m for Universal and 2023’s Poor Things, with a £1.6m opening and a £7.1m total run for Disney’s Searchlight. The Fifty Shades Of Grey trilogy is perhaps the most famous example of a female-skewing, 18-rated erotic drama achieving huge box office success. Those titles, based on the best-selling books, grossed £35.1m, £23.2m and £17.8m respectively.
Elsewhere, Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain is screening in 445 sites via Disney’s Searchlight Pictures after opening on Wednesday (January 8). Eisenberg also stars in the feature alongside Golden Globe winner Kieran Culkin as cousins who embark on a tour through Poland to honour their late grandmother.
Studiocanal is launching Pablo Larrain’s Maria in 405 venues. Angelina Jolie takes centre stage in the Venice premiere as the iconic opera singer Maria Callas in the week leading up to her death in Paris. It completes Larrain’s trilogy of important 20th-century women, following 2016’s Jackie (opened: £663,110, closed: £3.8m) and 2021’s Spencer (opened: £418,179, closed: £2.8m).
Dreamz Entertainment opens Indian action NBK 109 in 85 cinemas on Sunday (January 12). The Telugu-language feature follows a robber who battles to establish his own territory amid conflicts with powerful adversaries.
Mubi is opening Denmark’s Oscar contender The Girl With The Needle in nine locations. Magnus von Horn’s black-and-white feature is loosely based on the true story of an infamous Danish serial killer who adopted children from impoverished mothers and subsequently murdered them. It first premiered at Cannes in competition and was nominated for a Golden Globe in best foreign language film.
BFI Distribution is launching Victor Kossakovsky’s documentary Architecton in seven venues. The film had its world premiere at the Berlinale in competition and sees the Russian filmmaker explore the history of concrete and stone as building material.
French romantic comedy It’s Raining Men begins rolling out through Parkland Entertainment. Call My Agent! star Laure Calamy headlines Caroline Vignal’s feature about a married woman who starts using a dating app to spice up her sex life.
Also out this weekend is Icelandic horror The Damned via Miracle Comms; Indian action Fateh via Zee Studios; the Trailer Park Boys film Standing On The Shoulders Of Kitties via Blue Fox Entertainment; and children’s animation Sarah & Duck On The Big Screen via Vue Entertainment.
Key holdover titles include Mufasa: The Lion King, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and last week’s opener Nosferatu.
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