The winner: the weather
Sunny weather in September is always a particular challenge for cinemas, as audiences tend to consider that this may be the last chance of the year to enjoy the sun, and are not going to pass it up. Arriving at the end of a summer that's had more than its fair share of rainfall, the sunshine proved an irresistible attraction for most of us, with any cinema plans put on hold until another, greyer day. Despite the arrival of some significant cinematic attractions, box-office fell 42% from the previous weekend, and overall the frame was the third worst of the past year.
Emerging the winner of a thin field with £1.05m, Dredd was able to claim bragging rights, the first 18-certificate film to top the chart since 2010. But the gross was the lowest for a number-one film since the climax of Euro 2012 football, when successive weeks of virtually no major releases culminated with Ice Age 4: Continental Drift grabbing the top spot from its early rollout in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland only.
Although Dredd is the first 18-certificate chart-topper since Saw 3D in October 2010, that achievement needs to be put in context. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, also 18 certificate, opened in the runner-up spot at the end of 2011 with £4.33m including £2.76m in previews. Even stripping out those significant preview takings, it achieved £1.57m over the three-day weekend, and one of those days was New Year's Eve, which is not a good day for cinema attendance.
The losers: everything else
Be they a new entrant or an existing title, all films wilted in the sun. The gentlest decline for a wide release was experienced by The Possession, down 45%. Everything else fell more than 50% from the previous weekend, and several top titles (Brave, The Bourne Legacy, The Expendables 2) fell 60% or more, in certain cases compounded by a steep drop in screen count. Keith Lemon: The Film plunged 79%, following a 69% drop the previous weekend.
Landing in second place, moonshine-distilling western Lawless kicked off its run with £973,000 including £82,000 in previews. With a cast including Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska and Guy Pearce, that's a disappointing number. John Hillcoat's previous film The Road debuted with £627,000 back in January 2010, but that was from just 157 screens, as against 410 for Lawless. An 18 certificate "for strong bloody violence and strong language" might be considered a handicap, but you'd think Lawless's tale of heroic bootleggers resisting corrupt law enforcement, plus a side order of romance, would have broad appeal.
With £876,000, Working Title's latest literary adaptation Anna Karenina likewise disappointed in third place. This is the company's third picture with director Joe Wright, following Pride and Prejudice (debut of £2.53m including £270,000 in previews) and Atonement (£1.63m). Reteaming the director with Keira Knightley and a period classic previously proved a winning formula, but audiences have so far not flocked to their collaboration on the Leo Tolstoy doorstopper. Critical responses to the adventurous theatrical presentation have tended towards praise for trying something new, tempered by some reservations about the outcome. At Rotten Tomatoes, scores from all critics (65% fresh), top critics (67% fresh) and site users (64% like it) are untypically similar. Midweek grosses are traditionally healthy for older-skewing upscale fare, so it's by no means all over for this one.
Adam Sandler's latest, That's My Boy, landed disastrously outside the top 10, with just £255,000. His last effort, Jack and Jill, debuted with £849,000 in February.
Although all films experienced a rough weekend, Universal will take comfort that its Ted (down 52%), with £29.19m, is now in sniffing distance of Ice Age 4 (£29.24m), the third biggest hit so far in 2012. (In fact, reports reach us that last night, Monday, Ted overtook Ice Age 4.) And Disney will be pleased that Brave, with £19.34m, will soon be the 11th film to cross the £20m barrier this year. Many successful animated films have run out of puff around this box office level, so if Brave can push a little harder, it will overtake Kung Fu Panda (£20.3m), Tangled (£20.5m), Arthur Christmas (£20.8m) and Monsters Vs Aliens (£21.4m).
The event
Although sunshine was the predictable enemy for all regular releases, it proved otherwise for Future Cinema's presentation of Grease, attracting more than 9,000 punters to London's Barnes Common for what it billed as "the ultimate Grease experience". The creators of the more famous brand Secret Cinema will take heart from such a success under the Future Cinema banner, indicating that it's the participatory themed experience, rather than the surprise element, that is key to appeal. A gross of £290,000 would have been enough to earn Grease tenth place in the box-office chart, had it been tracked by the official data gatherer – and this from a single venue.
The distributor of concert film Shut Up and Play the Hits, which captures the last ever performance of LCD Soundsystem, also sparked audience interest through building a one-off event. The lion's share of its £69,500 opening comes from last Tuesday's premiere at the Hackney Picturehouse, including a live Q+A with frontman James Murphy and other band members, which was relayed to 59 other sites nationwide. (See "Other openers" below for the breakdown.)
The arthouse market
Unless you count Anna Karenina, playing wide on nearly 500 screens, there are no arthouse titles in the top 15, with The Imposter, in 17th place, flying the flag for the sector. Grosses fell significantly, presumably due to the double whammy of period-drama Keira and the sunshine, but joint distributors Revolver and Picturehouse will take comfort from The Imposter's gross to date of £889,000. Shadow Dancer, which is performing better in Ireland than elsewhere, also fell hard, and is now at £674,000. Berberian Sound Studio dropped a gentler 57%, and has achieved £97,000 after 10 days. Samsara is right behind it, with £95,000, also after 10 days.
The future
With the market down 29% on the equivalent frame from 2011, and 44% down on average weekend takings for the past year, cinemas are crying out for strong fresh product, and preferably some more conducive weather for cinema going. Arriving Wednesday is Nick Love's take on 70s TV cop classic The Sweeney, starring Ray Winstone and Ben Drew. Hope Springs, with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones rekindling their stale marriage, is aiming for the currently buoyant older audience. Well-regarded stop-motion animation ParaNorman 3D comes from the makers of Coraline. Premium Rush features Joseph Gordon Levitt as a Manhattan bicycle courier trying to save the day for his imperiled customer. Woody Allen follows up his return-to-form hit Midnight in Paris with To Rome with Love.
Top 10 films
1. Dredd, £1,049,345 from 415 sites (New)
2. Lawless, £973,234 from 410 sites (New)
3. Anna Karenina, £875,702 from 496 sites (New)
4. Total Recall, £675,280 from 466 sites. Total: £4,075,574
5. Brave, £649,057 from 530 sites. Total: £19,344,823
6. The Possession, £533,334 from 358 sites. Total: £2,150,064
7. Ted, £479,943 from 383 sites. Total: £29,191,321
8. The Dark Knight Rises, £352,587 from 256 sites. Total: £55,312,954
9. The Watch, £338,184 from 373 sites. Total: £3,162,291
10. The Bourne Legacy, £270,180 from 305 sites. Total: £10,569,592
Other openers
That's My Boy, 289 sites, £254,621
Raaz 3D, 19 sites, £73,236
St George's Day, 39 sites, £14,145
Tabu, 11 sites, £9,987
Shut Up and Play the Hits, 9 sites, 9,519 (+ £59,961 previews)
The Queen Of Versailles, 8 sites, £8,624
Aaj de Ranjhe, 9 sites, £6,146
Twenty8k, 4 sites, £1,572
Dabbe: A Djinn Incident, 2 sites, £895
Love, 3 sites, £844
A Night in the Woods, 4 sites, £199
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