James Wan horror lands top while Universal’s The Secret Life Of Pets scores biggest ever Saturday/Sunday preview haul for an original animation.

The Conjuring 2

UK TOP FIVE

RankingFilm/DistributorWeekend grossRunning total
1The Conjuring 2 (WB)$6.8m (£4.64m)$6.8m (£4.64m)
2Me Before You (WB)$1.43m (£979,126)$9.6m (£6.54m)
3Gods Of Egypt (eOne)$703,000 (£481,536)$703,000 (£481,536)
4Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows (Paramount)$631,000 (£432,000)$8m (£5.47m)
5Alice Through The Looking Glass (Disney)$611,000 (£417,259)$13.2m (£8.99m)

WARNER BROS

The Conjuring 2 has unsurprisingly topped the UK box office after a strong run since last Monday’s [June 13] launch.

Warner Bros’ horror sequel scared up $6.8m (£4.64m) from its 504 sites, including $2.7m (£1.86m) in previews. It’s worth noting that its Fri-Sun tally of $4.1m (£2.78m) would have also seen it officially land the top spot.

The opening marks director James Wan’s best-ever horror debut, ahead of Insidious Chapter 2’s $4.21m (£2.88m) from 414 sites. The Conjuring 2’s Fri-Sun tally was also higher than its predecessor’s $3.15m (£2.16m) bow from 371 sites.

The Conjuring 2 will hope to thrive as the sole major genre effort out in the market at the moment, and should comfortably top The Conjuring’s $15.4m (£10.5m) final UK result.

Also for Warner Bros, Me Before You continued its excellent run as it dropped one place to second. The adaptation fell only a third with $1.43m (£979,126) for $9.6m (£6.54m) after three weeks in play.

Barbershop 3: A Fresh Cut opened with $134,000 (£91,502) from its 111 sites, ahead of Barbershop 2’s $107,000 (£73,402) from 45 sites but down on the original’s $213,000 (£145,741) bow from 100 sites.

UNIVERSAL

Though it won’t be counted until next week, The Secret Life Of Pets comfortably led the UK market over Saturday and Sunday.

Universal’s latest Illumination Entertainment release scored the biggest ever Sat/Sun preview haul for an original animation with a mighty two-day total of $5.3m (£3.6m).

It not only bodes well for its official opening this Friday [June 24], but also suggests that Independence Day: Resurgence has a fight on its hands for the top spot this coming weekend.

Also for Universal, Warcraft: The Beginning fought to an additional $467,000 (£319,486) for $8.3m (£5.7m) after three weeks in play, while The Boss generated $432,000 (£295,321) for a ten-day tally of $1.87m (£1.28m).

EONE

After being pushed back a few months Gods Of Egypt still struggled to make a mark at the UK box office, despite charting third.

Battling negative reviews, eOne’s action fantasy posted a non-final bow of $703,000 (£481,536) from its 405 sites, marking a site average of $1,736 (£1,189) and a total some way short of the $3.7m (£2.5m) UK debut of Alex Proyas’ previous film, Knowing.

PARAMOUNT

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows fell almost 50% with a $631,000 (£432,000) third weekend.

Paramount’s sequel is now up to $8m (£5.47m), still less than half of the original’s $20.3m (£13.9m) final UK result.

DISNEY

Rounding off this week’s top five, Disney’s Alice Through The Looking Glass sailed to a $611,000 (£417,259) fourth weekend for $13.2m (£8.99m) to date.

Also for Disney, The Jungle Book fell only 40% with a $342,000 (£233,758) tenth weekend and has now swung to an outstanding $66.5m (£45.43m).

Captain America: Civil War and Zootropolis stand at $54m (£36.87m) and $34.6m (£23.61m), respectively.

ICON FILM DISTRIBUTION

In its third weekend, Icon Film Distribution’s The Nice Guys took in an extra $600,000 (£411,068) for $4.4m (£3.02m) to date.

FOX

Falling 46% in its fifth weekend, Fox’s X-Men: Apocalypse added a non-final $551,000 (£377,383) for $25.9m (£17.76m) so far.

It seems unlikely that it’ll catch X-Men: The Last Stand’s $28.1m (£19.22m) UK result, meaning Apocalypse will end its run as only the fifth highest-grossing outing of the series.

SONY

The Angry Birds Movie is edging towards £10m at the UK box office, with the previews of The Secret Life Of Pets impacting it this weekend.

Sony’s animation flew to a further $345,000 (£236,191) for $14.2m (£9.74m) after six weeks in play.

LIONSGATE

Following its soft opening, Lionsgate’s Mother’s Day dropped around 60% on its way to a $219,000 (£150,000) second weekend for $1.27m (£868,000).

Also for Lionsgate, The Keeping Room posted a UK bow of $38,000 (£25,839) from its 18 sites.

CURZON ARTIFICIAL EYE

Matteo Garrone’s English-language debut Tale Of Tales grossed a non-final $175,000 (£119,310), including previews, from its 74 sites on its UK debut through Curzon Artificial Eye.

Also for Curzon Artificial Eye, Love & Friendship now stands at an impressive $2.08m (£1.42m) following a $156,000 (£106,444) fourth weekend.

NEW WAVE FILMS

Released on eight screens through New Wave Films, Cemetery Of Splendour recorded a UK debut of $7,400 (£5,097) including a preview at the Tate of $2,100 (£1,423).

UPCOMING RELEASES

This week sees saturation releases for Fox’s Independence Day: Resurgence (opens June 23) and Universal’s The Secret Life Of Pets following its previews over the weekend.

eOne’s Elvis & Nixon receives a wide release, while Studiocanal’s Becoming Zlatan, Sony’s The Meddler and Soda Pictures’ Remainder are among the films receiving a limited release.