Universal’s vampire horror Abigail is aiming to take a bite out of the box office this weekend, as it opens in 545 sites in the UK and Ireland for Universal – the widest new opener of the weekend.
The film follows a kidnapping that goes outrageously awry. It shot in Ireland and is directed by US filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett – the team behind Scream and Scream VI. The cast includes Matilda The Musical’s Alisha Weir in the titular role, alongside Melissa Barrera and Dan Stevens. Production companies are Project X Entertainment, Vinson Films and Radio Silence.
It’s a more modest release than for Scream and Scream VI – which also starred Barrera – with Scream opening in 622 sites in January 2022 to £2.5m, while Scream VI started in 624 in March 2023, taking £2.4m, for Paramount.
Signature has Canadian family animation Butterfly Tale, about a clumsy but lovable butterfly, flying into 424 sites.
Event cinema specialists Trafalgar Releasing is unleashing Met Opera La Rondine at 112 cinemas (UK only), with the majority of locations screening on Saturday night, and some delayed ‘as live’. American In Paris – The Musical is another event cinema release that will have repeat screenings this weekend, with 350 sites playing on Sunday, after its live performance on Thursday (April 18).
Maïwenn’s Jeanne Du Barry - last year’s Cannes opener in which Depp is a producer and Maïwenn and Depp both star – is opening for IN.2/Miracle in 104 sites. It is a first foray into UK-Ireland distribution for Depp’s production company, IN.2 Film.
The period drama follows Jeanne Vaubernier (Maïwenn), a woman born into poverty who uses her intellect and charms to climb the social ladder, rising to the opulent court of King Louis XV of France (Depp).
The Book Of Clarence, Jeymes Samuel’s follow-up to Netflix Western The Harder They Fall, is being released at 184 sites for Sony, three months after its original January 19 release date was set. Jay-Z is among the producers of the Biblical epic, that played at BFI London Film Festival. LaKeith Stanfield, David Oyelowo, Omar Sy, James McAvoy and Benedict Cumberbatch star.
Rachel Lambert’s Sundance title Sometimes I Think About Dying is out at 59 sites for Vertigo. The comedy drama is headlined by Daisy Ridley and follows an office worker who often thinks about dying, and whose life takes a different turn when she sparks fly with a new colleague.
Seventh Art is bringing Exhibition On Screen’s feature John Singer Sargent 2024: Fashion And Swagger to 57 sites this weekend, after opening on Tuesday (April 16). The documentary about the American painter and his influence on contemporary art and fashion was filmed at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Tate Britain, London.
Picturehouse is rolling Fantastic Machine into 37 locations this weekend – the debut feature from Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck. The Sundance premiere explores the history of the moving image, via the moving image.
Conic is releasing Zoljargal Puevdash’s Mongolia-set Cannes Un Certain Regard 2023 premiere If Only I Could Hibernate at 17 sites, with £4,158 from previews already banked.
Dartmouth Films is opening Thomas Pickering’s documentary I Could Never Go Vegan at four sites, which explores whether the leading arguments facing the vegan movement are justified. Executive producers include Alicia Silverstone and Heather Mills. An additional five sites will open the following week.
Marco Orsini’s documentary Beyond The Raging Sea, about a perilous cross-Atlantic rowing race, is out at four sites this weekend for Munro Film, with the figure boosted up to 30 across the ensuing week.
Also out this weekend is Paul Duane’s Irish folk horror All You Need Is Death for Blue Finch Films and a mockumentary set in the world of competitive vegetable growers Swede Caroline for Picnik Entertainment.
Key holdovers include Back To Black (Studiocanal); Kung Fu Panda 4 (Universal); Civil War (Entertainment Film); and Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire (Warner Bros).
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