'Companion'

Source: Warner Bros

‘Companion’

Warner Bros horror Companion leads new releases at the UK and Ireland box office this weekend in 561 cinemas.

Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid star in the dark comedy about a weekend away that goes wrong when a human android, built for companionship, reveals itself. It marks the feature debut of Drew Hancock while further cast include Rupert Friend, Lukas Gage and Jaboukie Young-White.

Thatcher most recently starred in fellow horror title Heretic which surpassed £6m late last year and Quaid had a role in 2023’s Oppenheimer (£60m). Companion is produced by Zach Cregger who wrote and directed Barbarian which cracked £1m on its run back in 2022.

Universal’s Nosferatu has dominated the genre market in 2025, creeping up to £12m after just four weeks. Other titles have struggled to match, with Steven Soderbergh’s Presence opening on just £292,058 last weekend (also for Warner Bros) and Wolfman up to £1.1m in its second session.

 A Hard day’s Night 

Saturday Night_DF-01754_rv2

Source: Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing

‘Saturday Night’

Sony is launching Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night in 265 venues. The Telluride premiere chronicles the 90 minutes leading up to the first-ever recording of SNL in 1975 and stars an ensemble cast featuring Cooper Hoffman, Dylan O’Brien, Rachel Sennott, Willem Dafoe and J.K. Simmons. Reitman’s last feature Ghostbusters: Afterlife opened on £3.7m and finished on £12m – making it his most successful run in the territory, ahead of Juno (£2m opening; £9.8m finish).

Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths lands in 260 cinemas for Studiocanal. The UK filmmaker’s 15th feature stars Bafta nominee Marianne Jean-Baptiste as a depressed woman with a complicated relationship with her sister, played by Michele Austin. Mr. Turner remains Leigh’s most successful film, opening on £1m back in 2014 for a £7m cume.

In event cinema, Les Miserables: The Staged Concert is screening in 391 locations via CinemaLive for its 40th anniversary. Trafalgar Releasing has K-Pop live concert (G)I-dle World Tour [iDOL] In Cinemas in 45 sites. National Amusements also has Eric Clapton: Unplugged which opened on Monday (January 27).

Trinity Film and Cine Asia are opening Chinese comedy Detective Chinatown 1900 in 106 cinemas. The film is a prequel to the Detective Chinatown franchise which was hugely successful on home turf.

Japanese anime The Colours Within is out in 85 locations via Anime Ltd. The feature centres on a high school student who can see people as colours and accidentally joins a band.

Parkland Film Capital is rolling out French title The Tasting in three sites. The romantic comedy follows a doctor and a wine shop owner who fall in love.

Park Circus is re-releasing Richard Linklater’s romance Before Sunrise and Billy Wilder’s comedy The Apartment in cinemas for their 30th and 65th anniversaries, respectively.

Further releases Korean drama By The Stream via ICA; Polish comedy Dalej Jazda via Magnetes Pictures; Indian action Deva via Zee Studios Sunny Malik; Indian family drama Fussclass Dabhade via Dreamz Entertainment; and music documentary The Fuzztones Vs The World via MusicFilmNetwork.