UK Box Office Thread

[Wotad]

1 hour ago, TalismanRing said:

What's irrelevant is the number of screens MPR had in regards to the demand or box office for AQM.  If AQM was pushing capacity then a shortage of screens would affect it's box office - but it isn't even close to doing that.  Whatever the demand is for MPR it's just less for AQM in the UK. 

 

You really think MP is performing better on Imax screens?  Demand really means nothing in the UK when they push what they want to push and that was MP. 

 

MP is not pushing capacity either yet will keep this absurd amount of screens, if it had 18 screens everywhere and can only do 7 million is MP at capacity?

Edited December 23, 2018 by Wotad

[maxalcamo]

Good start for that Mary Bish. Ready for Christmas,

I understand some of you want to see Acqua Man on Imax but you can't find so crazy they give the imax screens to Mary, it's a film with great visuals and animations. You act like they gave them to something like The King's speech 😅

Edited December 23, 2018 by maxalcamo

[TimmyRiggins]

59 minutes ago, maxalcamo said:

Good start for that Mary Bish. Ready for Christmas,

I understand some of you want to see Acqua Man on Imax but you can't find so crazy they give the imax screens to Mary, it's a film with great visuals and animations. You act like they gave them to something like The King's speech 😅

Except that Aquaman DEMANDS IMAX. 90 min + of the film have the frame opening up. Mary Poppins Returns doesn't demand that.

[Heretic]

Good start for Mary Poppins. I’m not sure what type of opening people were expecting around Christmas but I’m sure Disney will be very pleased with a £7m OW. Add in Christmas Eve and it’ll probably be around £9m 4 day. For a family film that’s a strong start and it has two weeks of holidays to capitalise on. 

 

Also I don’t get why some are so offended that Aquaman has lost a few screens. It’s doing decently and should have a good run over the next couple of weeks but a £2m 2nd weekend hardly warrants more screens than it currently has. IMAX I get though. 

[iluvjuanki]

1 hour ago, maxalcamo said:

Good start for that Mary Bish. Ready for Christmas,

I understand some of you want to see Acqua Man on Imax but you can't find so crazy they give the imax screens to Mary, it's a film with great visuals and animations. You act like they gave them to something like The King's speech 😅

 

Actually after seeing Aquaman, I do find it crazy that they gave the imax screens to MP. Aquaman is one of the very very few movies that should be seen in Imax.

Edited December 23, 2018 by iluvjuanki

[wildphantom]

23 minutes ago, iluvjuanki said:

 

Actually after seeing Aquaman, I do find it crazy that they gave the imax screens to MP. Aquaman is one of the very very few movies that should be seen in Imax.

It’s not like they make the decision based on the experience. Mary Poppins to UK exhibitors was the golden goose they were going all out for this Christmas. The one they felt would be the biggest hit, so they’ll put it in their biggest, most lucrative screens. Simple as that. 

 

I agree with you though that Aquaman should be seen massive. 

[Ipickthiswhiterose]

The only movies I recall with this level of screen opening were:

 

TFA - 50.6m (2nd all time)

IW - 41.4m (3rd all time)

TLJ - 37.4m (5th all time)

 

The other three in the top 6: Spectre, Deathly Hallows and Order of Pheonix I don't recall having this level of screen monopoly, though in Spectre's case I may be mistaken looking at the amount it made (63.7m).

 

I would argue that the absolute minimum to justify what we're seeing would be the Shrek 3 (7th) and Toy Story 3 (8th) figures of around 33m, since these were family friendly movies that managed to hit those weekends with high screen numbers but certainly not the percentage that MPR has been gifted.

 

And going back to the Nativity Rocks point: it doesn't matter whether folks think it's bad or not, it was a Christmas movie made specifically for schoolchildren that was yanked before the schools went on Christmas holiday. I think that counts has having been shafted regardless of its quality.

 

[SchumacherFTW]

1 hour ago, Ipickthiswhiterose said:

The only movies I recall with this level of screen opening were:

 

TFA - 50.6m (2nd all time)

IW - 41.4m (3rd all time)

TLJ - 37.4m (5th all time)

 

The other three in the top 6: Spectre, Deathly Hallows and Order of Pheonix I don't recall having this level of screen monopoly, though in Spectre's case I may be mistaken looking at the amount it made (63.7m).

 

I would argue that the absolute minimum to justify what we're seeing would be the Shrek 3 (7th) and Toy Story 3 (8th) figures of around 33m, since these were family friendly movies that managed to hit those weekends with high screen numbers but certainly not the percentage that MPR has been gifted.

 

And going back to the Nativity Rocks point: it doesn't matter whether folks think it's bad or not, it was a Christmas movie made specifically for schoolchildren that was yanked before the schools went on Christmas holiday. I think that counts has having been shafted regardless of its quality.

 

Not really, they released it at a point they thought would work, and it bombed. Cinemas won't just hold on to something for good will. 

[Heretic]

1 hour ago, Ipickthiswhiterose said:

The only movies I recall with this level of screen opening were:

 

TFA - 50.6m (2nd all time)

IW - 41.4m (3rd all time)

TLJ - 37.4m (5th all time)

 

The other three in the top 6: Spectre, Deathly Hallows and Order of Pheonix I don't recall having this level of screen monopoly, though in Spectre's case I may be mistaken looking at the amount it made (63.7m).

 

I would argue that the absolute minimum to justify what we're seeing would be the Shrek 3 (7th) and Toy Story 3 (8th) figures of around 33m, since these were family friendly movies that managed to hit those weekends with high screen numbers but certainly not the percentage that MPR has been gifted.

 

And going back to the Nativity Rocks point: it doesn't matter whether folks think it's bad or not, it was a Christmas movie made specifically for schoolchildren that was yanked before the schools went on Christmas holiday. I think that counts has having been shafted regardless of its quality.

 

Okay... MPR has no where NEAR the number of showtimes or screens TFA, TLJ, DH2 had. They had shows like every 20minutes from 8am to gone midnight in places. I don’t know what cinemas you’re looking at. This has the normal 1-2 shows per hour. 

 

And Aquaman is doing just fine with the number of screens it has. Demand isn’t justifying more. 

Edited December 23, 2018 by Heretic

[terrestrial]

IMAX:

the dates / weeks which film get negotiated about and fixed a long time before the release.

Long range tracking, expectations, early informations play into those (and a lot of other details/reasons), not always those are the same impression/knowledge/... as like later, the time of release.

 

Most of the time that works, sometimes not and then there is also, as always, the middle-ground. That is the reality of the business.

I do understand being a bit bumped by it, but not getting aggressive/angry .... over it.

Edited December 23, 2018 by terrestrial

[Ipickthiswhiterose]

32 minutes ago, Heretic said:

Okay... MPR has no where NEAR the number of showtimes or screens TFA, TLJ, DH2 had. They had shows like every 20minutes from 8am to gone midnight in places. I don’t know what cinemas you’re looking at. This has the normal 1-2 shows per hour. 

 

And Aquaman is doing just fine with the number of screens it has. Demand isn’t justifying more. 

 

I didn't mention Aquaman. 

 

The kind of description you're giving there (shows from 8-12 every 20 minutes and implying that 1-2 shows per hour isn't really that much) can only describe London or other major cities, where these issues are always going to be less pronounced because of the sheer number of screens. 

 

My local yesterday had 18 Poppins, 5 Grinch, 4 Ralph, 3 Spiderverse, 3 Zero, 3 Aquaman, 2 Beasts, and 1 each of a few including Nutcracker, Creed, Smallfoot, CBeebies et al. The Bumblebee previews have been shelved. I really can't see how that wouldn't strike anyone as being lopsided to a Star Wars type level.

 

Again, I'm not claiming any kind of strange conspiracy - I think the movie theatres genuinely thought/think Poppins is going to be the size of those behemoths (and they may be true, only it seems reasonable to wait and see), I'm just pointing out that this is very unusually, possibly uniquely, deferent treatment to be giving a film that hasn't actually earned it yet. 

 

 

Edit: PS - I openly acknowledge that right now I'm feeling somewhat saltier than usual about this kind of thing as I have only recently been geography-screwed out of watching my most anticipated movie of the year (Suspiria) on the big screen because not one of the many cinemas within 30 miles of me was willing to show it even once. 

Edited December 23, 2018 by Ipickthiswhiterose

[Wotad]

15 minutes ago, Ipickthiswhiterose said:

 

I didn't mention Aquaman. 

 

The kind of description you're giving there (shows from 8-12 every 20 minutes and implying that 1-2 shows per hour isn't really that much) can only describe London or other major cities, where these issues are always going to be less pronounced because of the sheer number of screens. 

 

My local yesterday had 18 Poppins, 5 Grinch, 4 Ralph, 3 Spiderverse, 3 Zero, 3 Aquaman, 2 Beasts, and 1 each of a few including Nutcracker, Creed, Smallfoot, CBeebies et al. The Bumblebee previews have been shelved. I really can't see how that wouldn't strike anyone as being lopsided to a Star Wars type level.

 

Again, I'm not claiming any kind of strange conspiracy - I think the movie theatres genuinely thought/think Poppins is going to be the size of those behemoths (and they may be true, only it seems reasonable to wait and see), I'm just pointing out that this is very unusually, possibly uniquely, deferent treatment to be giving a film that hasn't actually earned it yet. 

 

 

Edit: PS - I openly acknowledge that right now I'm feeling somewhat saltier than usual about this kind of thing as I have only recently been geography-screwed out of watching my most anticipated movie of the year (Suspiria) on the big screen because not one of the many cinemas within 30 miles of me was willing to show it even once. 

my Cinema seems to be doing better then yours at least they have about 8 a day for aquaman. 

[SnokesLegs]

4 hours ago, Ipickthiswhiterose said:

The only movies I recall with this level of screen opening were:

 

TFA - 50.6m (2nd all time)

IW - 41.4m (3rd all time)

TLJ - 37.4m (5th all time)

 

The other three in the top 6: Spectre, Deathly Hallows and Order of Pheonix I don't recall having this level of screen monopoly, though in Spectre's case I may be mistaken looking at the amount it made (63.7m).

 

I would argue that the absolute minimum to justify what we're seeing would be the Shrek 3 (7th) and Toy Story 3 (8th) figures of around 33m, since these were family friendly movies that managed to hit those weekends with high screen numbers but certainly not the percentage that MPR has been gifted.

 

And going back to the Nativity Rocks point: it doesn't matter whether folks think it's bad or not, it was a Christmas movie made specifically for schoolchildren that was yanked before the schools went on Christmas holiday. I think that counts has having been shafted regardless of its quality.

 

Spectre’s OW is a bit of a cheat though, it was counting 6 days if I remember correctly as it opened on a Monday.

 

It definitely had a massive monopoly on screens though, moreso than MPR. James Bond is probably about equal to Star Wars in the UK in terms of cinemas just throwing everything else out to accommodate it (although, for those two franchises, it’s worth it given the undeniable demand).

 

They overestimated the demand for MPR, but it’s not anywhere near on the level of SW in terms of showing times. At the cinema I used to work at, we had around 25-30 showings a day of TFA, and over the first few days we were open 24 hours with IMAX showings at 3:30am and 7am.

[Wotad]

10 minutes ago, SnokesLegs said:

Spectre’s OW is a bit of a cheat though, it was counting 6 days if I remember correctly as it opened on a Monday.

 

It definitely had a massive monopoly on screens though, moreso than MPR. James Bond is probably about equal to Star Wars in the UK in terms of cinemas just throwing everything else out to accommodate it (although, for those two franchises, it’s worth it given the undeniable demand).

 

They overestimated the demand for MPR, but it’s not anywhere near on the level of SW in terms of showing times. At the cinema I used to work at, we had around 25-30 showings a day of TFA, and over the first few days we were open 24 hours with IMAX showings at 3:30am and 7am.

 

I do agree that the demand for SW is on another level.. well at least with TFA and TLJ.

 

Where do people think Aquaman can end up in UK? $25 million at least right.

Edited December 23, 2018 by Wotad

[Heretic]

$9.4m for MPR, that’s about £7.4m, and with Christmas Eve included this should be at around the £10m mark in 4 days. I really don’t know what people were expecting but this is a very good opening, especially for the weekend just before Christmas. Sets the stage for some big BO returns over the holiday period. 

[lorddemaxus]

$2.8 mil weekend for Aquaman today. Seems like a good hold. Hopefully, more screens get added now that Mary Poppins Returns seems to be underperforming.

[Wotad]

My Cinema seems weird we can play like 4 Imax screens a day and all were going to MP but its been cut down to 2/3 but no replacement ?

 

Seems weird. 

 

Also seems like Aquaman screens got cut here while spiderman's have not, same for ralph neither got screens cut but Aquaman did yet im pretty sure Aquaman doing better than both films currently. 

 

Same for FB2 also its getting similar screens. 

Edited December 23, 2018 by Wotad

[SliverS]

It's pity that British don't give Aquaman imax screens.It's worthy watching in imax.Since Avatar,Aquaman is the most visual stunning masterpiece imo.

Edited December 23, 2018 by SliverS

[SnokesLegs]

36 minutes ago, SliverS said:

It's pity that British don't give Aquaman imax screens.It's worthy watching in imax.Since Avatar,Aquaman is the most visual stunning masterpiece imo.

To be fair, it did have IMAX for a week and a half before MPR took over, so anyone that really wanted to see it in the format still had the chance.

 

My opening weekend Saturday 8pm IMAX showing wasn’t exactly heaving though, so while it did look good in IMAX, it’s not like it was pulled out and replaced while it was still selling out or anything. This isn’t like the hilarious mistake that they made back in 2012 when they pulled The Avengers out of IMAX while it was still selling out almost every showing...to replace it with Dark Shadows...

 

MPR is getting a week in IMAX before losing the prime evening slot to Bumblebee. Whether MPR benefits from the format or not, they’ve shared the screen space out more equally than in the US where it seems like Aquaman has the monopoly on it.

 

Lets not forget that Aquaman has been out for two weeks already in the UK, so it’s likely that it’d probably be doing a similar amount of tickets to MPR in IMAX at this point. A $6.5 million UK five day opening doesn’t really warrant a monopoly on IMAX screens the way some are suggesting.

[Wotad]

1 hour ago, SnokesLegs said:

To be fair, it did have IMAX for a week and a half before MPR took over, so anyone that really wanted to see it in the format still had the chance.

 

My opening weekend Saturday 8pm IMAX showing wasn’t exactly heaving though, so while it did look good in IMAX, it’s not like it was pulled out and replaced while it was still selling out or anything. This isn’t like the hilarious mistake that they made back in 2012 when they pulled The Avengers out of IMAX while it was still selling out almost every showing...to replace it with Dark Shadows...

 

MPR is getting a week in IMAX before losing the prime evening slot to Bumblebee. Whether MPR benefits from the format or not, they’ve shared the screen space out more equally than in the US where it seems like Aquaman has the monopoly on it.

 

Lets not forget that Aquaman has been out for two weeks already in the UK, so it’s likely that it’d probably be doing a similar amount of tickets to MPR in IMAX at this point. A $6.5 million UK five day opening doesn’t really warrant a monopoly on IMAX screens the way some are suggesting.

Its not just MPR though at least in my Cinema,Ralphy,FB2,Spiderman are getting similar screens to Aquaman and sure it had a week of Imax but compared to MPR never had the same amount.

 

Also its having Imax from 21st of December to 3rd of January that is not just a week, Aquaman has a monopoly in America because clearly they knew what they were doing. 

 

No-one is suggesting Aquaman should get the same but for example at my Cinema we have 4 Imax screens possible a day and MP was getting 4 and now 3 but nothing is taking up the other one. 

 

Is bumblebee even getting Imax my Cinema says 28th of December 2d Imax. 

Edited December 23, 2018 by Wotad