‘Mean Girls’ Dethrones ‘Wonka’ at U.K., Ireland Box Office
Paramount’s “Mean Girls” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.2 million ($4.1 million), according to numbers from Comscore.
After a stellar reign at the top, Warner Bros.’ “Wonka” slid to second place with £1.6 million and after seven weekends, has a total of £58.3 million. In its second weekend, Disney’s “Poor Things” collected £1.09 million in third place for a total of £3.7 million. In fourth position, in its fourth weekend, Sony’s “Anyone But You” took in £1.07 million for a total of £7 million.
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Rounding off the top five was Warner Bros.’ “One Life” that collected £858,245 in its third weekend for a total of £7.4 million.
There were two other debuts in the Top 10. Universal’s awards season contender “The Holdovers,” which has won two Golden Globes and scored five Oscar and seven BAFTA nominations, bowed with £689,771 in sixth place. Pathe Live’s “Queen Rock Montreal” concert film placed ninth with £285,110.
In 10th place, in its fourth weekend, Elysian’s “The Boy and the Heron” by anime legend Miyazaki Hayao that is an Oscar and BAFTA nominee and a Golden Globe winner, earned £266,130 for a total of £4.4 million. That makes it Miyazaki’s highest-grossing title ever in the U.K. and Ireland, above “Spirited Away” (£1.1 million, 2003), “Howl’s Moving Castle” (£999,000, 2005) and “Ponyo” (£880,000, 2010).
“Vue is seeing increased demand for anime across all our markets in Europe,” a spokesperson for the leading European cinema chain told Variety.
The Bollywood release coming up is Indian air force epic “Fighter,” starring A-listers Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor, releasing on Jan. 25, ahead of Friday, Jan. 26, which is a public holiday in India for Republic Day.
On the Friday, the wide releases are Studiocanal’s horror film “Baghead” and Warner Bros.’ “The Color Purple,” both of which are opening across more than 300 locations each.
Disney is opening Andrew Haigh’s “All of Us Strangers,” starring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, which has six BAFTA nominations and won a clutch of prizes at the British Independent Film Awards. Curzon is opening documentary “Samsara,” which won awards at the 2023 Berlin and Thessaloniki festivals.
Miracle Comms is bowing sci-fi romance “Forever Young,” Vertigo Releasing action-thriller “Jackdaw” and Verve Pictures documentary “This Blessed Pot.”
Miracle/Dazzler is releasing Abel Ferrara’s “Padre Pio,” starring Shia LaBeouf, Asia Argento and Marco Leonardi, which bowed at Venice in 2022.
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