Hoping to storm to the top of the UK-Ireland box office this weekend is Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love And Thunder, which is opening for Disney in 690 locations – making it the widest ever release in the territory from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The fourth film in the Thor series sees Chris Hemsworth return as the Asgardian god, and reunited with Natalie Portman as a super-powered Jane Foster. Together, they must square off a new villain, played by Christian Bale. Tessa Thompson and Russell Crowe also star.
It is Waititi’s second outing as the helm of Thor, following on from 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, which took £7.3m in its debut weekend from 610 sites (a figure which was plumped up to an opening £12.4m owing to a Tuesday release date).
Recent Marvel box office hits are Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, which took £14.9m from 685 locations when it opened in May, while Spider-Man: No Way Home took £19.5m in its debut weekend in December, from 679 sites.
Beyond the rapturous return of Thor and the ongoing #gentleminions trend seeing scores of teenagers suiting up and turning out for Minions: The Rise Of Gru – which opened to £10.4m last weekend – it’s a fairly quiet week for new releases.
Universal is putting Brian And Charles out at a respectable 146 sites. The feature debut of Jim Archer – whose credits include TV comedy series Big Boys and The Young Offenders – stars David Earl as a hapless inventor and loner who manages to build himself a robot friend. The comedy premiered at Sundance in January, and went on to win the audience award at Sundance London.
Netflix is playing Carrie Cracknell’s Persuasion, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, in fewer than 25 sites. The cast features Dakota Johnson, Cosmo Jarvis, Henry Golding, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Richard E. Grant.
Trinity Cine Asia’s Ode To The Spring is out in 17 sites. The Mandarin language drama follows people living in Wuhan during the Covid-19 outbreak, and is the work of five different directors: Nan Zhou, Chi Zhang, Yusheng Tian, Yue Dong and Xiaozhi Rao. Another foreign language title out this weekend is Punjabi-language Indian romantic comedy Sohreyan Da Pind Aa Gaya, about matchmaking gone wrong, with Ksshitij Chaudhary directing and Zee Studios International releasing.
Modern Films is putting Futura in 10 cinemas and seven virtual cinemas. The Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title sees a trio of Italian filmmakers – Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi and Alice Rohrwacher – ask the next generation what might lie ahead for their country and themselves.
Ben Lawrence’s Ithaka – the documentary charting Julian Assange’s fight for freedom – is out for Dartmouth Films at five sites.
Studiocanal is playing Dr. Who: Classic Movie Double Bill in 370 locations on Sunday (July 10). The double bill features Dr. Who And The Daleks (1965) and Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966). The titles are directed by Gordon Flemyng and star Peter Cushing as the timelord.
Key holdovers, in addition to Universal’s Minions: The Rise of Gru, include Elvis (Warner Bros); Jurassic World Dominion (Universal); Lightyear (Disney); Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (Disney); The Black Phone (Universal); and Nitram (Picturehouse).
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