Romance It Ends With Us opens in 630 cinemas through Sony at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, pitting lead actress Blake Lively against her husband Ryan Reynolds, whose Deadpool & Wolverine has held top spot for two weekends.
It Ends With Us is adapted by Christy Hall from Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel, about a woman whose connection with a neurosurgeon begins to remind her of her parents’ troubled relationship.
Director Justin Baldoni stars alongside Lively having optioned the book through his Wayfarer Studios in 2019, with Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj and Kevin McKidd also on the cast.
Having broken out in TV’s Gossip Girl from 2007-2012, Lively has found success in diverse big-screen romantic stories, including fantasyThe Age of Adaline (£1.4m total), comedy Cafe Society (£1.5m) and thriller A Simple Favour (£5.2m).
Her other credits in lead roles include shark attack thriller The Shallows (£2.2m) and action thriller The Rhythm Section (£356,624).
It is a third feature as director for US actor-filmmaker Baldoni, after 2019’s Five Feet Apart (£950,743) and 2020 Disney+ release Clouds.
Warner Bros is opening M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap in 535 cinemas, in which a father and his teenage daughter attend a pop concert, only to realise they’ve entered a dark and sinister event.
Josh Hartnett and Ariel Donoghue lead the cast, alongside Shyamalan’s daughter Saleka Shyamalan, Alison Pill and Hayley Mills.
It is a 16th feature for US filmmaker Shyamalan, whose highest-grossing title remains 1999 horror The Sixth Sense with a huge £25.8m.
After his Unbreakable sequels Split (£11.4m) in 2017 and Glass (£11m) in 2019 put him back in eight-figure territory at the box office, his two post-pandemic releases haven’t hit the same heights – 2021’s Old (£3.4m) and 2023’s Knock At The Cabin (£3.2m).
Trap opened with $20m around the world last weekend, mainly from $15.5m in North America.
Border lands in cinemas
Eli Roth’s action-adventure comedy Borderlands starts in 544 cinemas through Lionsgate. Based on the Gearbox Software videogame series of the same name, it follows an outlaw who returns to the place where she grew up to find the missing daughter of the most powerful man in the universe.
Cate Blanchett leads the cast, alongside Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Edgar Ramirez, Ariana Greenblatt and Jamie Lee Curtis. Having shot in 2021 to 2022, the film underwent two weeks of reshoots in 2023, helmed by Tim Miller.
Despite being known for gory genre titles such as debut Cabin Fever (£2.9m), Hostel (£4.2m) and Hostel 2 (£1.8m), Roth’s highest-grossing film is 2018 fantasy comedy The House With A Clock In Its Walls starring Blanchett and Black, which made £8.3m.
Universal is opening Pamela Adlon’s comedy Babes in 107 cinemas. The film is written by, produced by and stars US comedian Ilana Glazer, who co-created hit Comedy Central series Broad City.
Babes follows two lifelong friends who navigate challenges to their friendship when one of them pursues pregnancy alone after a one-night stand.
Vue Entertainment, the theatrical distribution arm of Vue Cinemas, is playing Bluey At The Cinema: Family Trip Collection, a collection of episodes of Australian kids animation Bluey, in all 93 of its cinemas.
Indie titles continue to fight for space amid a busy summer blockbuster slate. Altitude is opening Christopher Zalla’s Radical in 32 sites, starring CODA actor Eugenio Derbez as a teacher in a neglected Mexican border town who tries a new method to unlock his students’ potential.
The film debuted at Sundance 2023, winning the Festival Favourite award; and went on to play Sydney, Melbourne, Zurich and Glasgow among other festivals.
BFI Distribution is opening Sky Peals, the debut feature of 2018 Screen Star of Tomorrow Moin Hussain, in 28 sites. Produced by fellow Screen Star Michelle Stein, the film follows a man working nightshifts at a motorway service station fast food restaurant, who goes looking for answers when he hears that his estranged father has died. It debuted in Venice Critics’ Week last year, going on to play BFI London Film Festival.
A24 is opening Daina O. Pusic’s fantasy drama Tuesday starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus in 10 sites; while Apple has Doug Liman’s crime comedy The Instigators starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, and Kaleidoscope has family animation Gracie and Pedro: Mission Impossible, with neither distributor sharing location numbers.
Re-releases continue to fill gaps on the schedule, with Sony opening Spider-Man 2 in 557 cinemas after Spider-Man took £253,261 last weekend; and Vertigo Releasing playing Tinto Brass’ Caligula: The Ultimate Cut in 14 cinemas. Vertigo is also opening Neil Marshall’s crime title Duchess in nine cinemas, co-written by and starring Charlotte Kirk.
Signature Entertainment will preview animation Ozi: Voice Of The Forest, executive produced by Leonardo Di Caprio, in 259 cinemas on Saturday and Sunday, ahead of a full release next weekend.
Deadpool & Wolverine should have enough in the tank to keep the number one spot for a third weekend for Disney, with Universal’s Despicable Me 4 and Warner Bros’ Twisters holding well in recent weeks.
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