Universal’s Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary Performance records the biggest-ever debut for an event cinema release.

girl on the train

UK TOP FIVE

RankingFilm/DistributorWeekend grossRunning total
1The Girl On The Train (eOne)$4.15m (£3.41m)$16.6m (£13.64m)
2Inferno (Sony)$3.65m (£3m)$3.65m (£3m)
3Storks (Warner Bros)$2.72m (£2.24m)$2.72m (£2.24m)
4Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary Performance (Universal)$2.38m (£1.96m)$2.38m (£1.96m)
5Bridget Jones’s Baby (Universal)$2.28m (£1.88m)$50m (£41.17m)

(Note - Dollar conversions are based on today’s rates)

EONE

The Girl On The Train held off all newcomers continued its journey as the UK’s number one for the second straight week.

eOne’s adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ bestselling novel fell only 34% (excluding previews) on its way to a $4.15m (£3.41m) second weekend for an excellent $16.6m (£13.64m) after 12 days in play.

It’s currently tracking well ahead of Gone Girl which stood at $11.9m (£9.8m) at the end of its second weekend, sustaining well to reach $27.2m (£22.4m) at the UK box office.

Also for eOne, The BFG and Supersonic stand at $36.7m (£30.13m) and $812,000 (£667,591), respectively.

SONY

Inferno had to settle for second place on its UK debut due to the continued success of The Girl On The Train.

Sony’s latest Dan Brown adaptation uncovered $3.65m (£3m) from its 555 sites, a decent opening given its soft reviews. However, it is the lowest opening of the series to date by some distance, behind Angels & Demons’ $7.4m (£6.05m) from 506 sites.

The Da Vinci Code opened with $11.6m (£9.5m) from 523 sites on its way to a series high to date of $37m (£30.42m). Angels & Demons took $22.8m (£18.79m), and Inferno would have to sustain strongly to challenge that.

Also for Sony, The Magnificent Seven corralled $255,000 (£210,000) for $7.2m (£5.9m) after four weeks in play, while Don’t Breathe has now scared up $4.5m (£3.7m).

WARNER BROS

Boosted by last week’s previews, Storks flew into third spot on its UK bow.

Warner Bros’ animation delivered $2.72m (£2.24m) from its 529 sites, including $1.18m (£972,000) in previews. Its Fri-Sun tally of $1.54m (£1.27m) would have seen it chart sixth.

It’s co-director Nicholas Stoller’s first animation and marks his second-best opening in the UK, behind Bad Neighbours. The opening is some way behind Warner Animation Group’s first film, The Lego Movie’s $9.8m (£8.05m) from 547 sites.

Previews of Trolls provided family competition this weekend and Storks will face the full opening of Fox’s animation over the upcoming school holidays.

UNIVERSAL

Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary Performance recorded the biggest-ever debut for an event cinema release in the UK.

Universal’s broadcast hit the high note with a non-final $2.38m (£1.96m) from its 593 sites on Sunday [October 16]. That tops the previous record holder, Billy Elliot - The Musical Live’s $2.31m (£1.9m) debut from 553 sites in 2014.

Also for Universal, Bridget Jones’s Baby has become the third release of 2016 to hit the £40m mark at the UK box office.

Universal’s well-received threequel fell only 37% on its way to a superb $2.28m (£1.88m) fifth weekend for a stunning $50m (£41.17m) to date. It will soon overtake Diary’s $51.1m (£42m) result to become the biggest-ever romantic comedy in the UK.

It’s well on its way to become the year’s biggest film to date, currently The Jungle Book’s $56.1m (£46.19m).

American Honey travelled to $213,000 (£175,383) from its 98 sites, including $36,000 (£29,836) in previews, on its UK bow.

That marks director Andrea Arnold’s best-ever UK opening, ahead of Wuthering Heights’ $191,000 (£156,931) from 81 sites, and Universal will hope it can prosper midweek with the arthouse audience.

FOX

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children fell 41% on its way to a non-final $1.6m (£1.32) third weekend.

Fox’s adaptation is now up to $10.6m (£8.77m) in the UK, currently making it Tim Burton’s eighth-best performer. Sleepy Hollow is next in its sights with $12.8m (£10.05m).

Also for Fox, Trolls danced to a promising preview haul of $2.48m (£2.04m) from Saturday and Sunday. It won’t be reported in this weekend’s chart and will be added to its official opening this coming weekend.

LIONSGATE

Falling more than 50% on its third weekend, Lionsgate’s Deepwater Horizon drilled up a further $551,000 (£453,473) for $5.9m (£4.85m) to date.

DISNEY

In its 12th weekend, Disney’s Finding Dory swum to an extra $228,000 (£187,694) for a terrific $51.4m (£42.25m) to date.

ALTITUDE

My Scientology Movie boosted 30% (excluding previews) with a non-final $147,000 (£120,900) second weekend from its 34 sites.

Following its live stream event last Monday [October 10], Altitude’s documentary is now up to a strong $935,000 (£768,993). It plays in 62 sites across this coming week.

ICON FILM DISTRIBUTION

Posting a hefty drop in its second weekend, Icon Film Distribution’s War On Everyone could only add $42,000 (£34,811) for $400,000 (£329,124) to date.

UPCOMING RELEASES

This week sees saturation releases for Fox’s Trolls, Universal’s Ouija: Origin Of Evil, Disney’s Queen Of Katwe, Paramount’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and Fox’s Keeping Up With The Joneses.

eOne’s I, Daniel Blake and Soda Pictures’ Phantom Boy both receive wide releases.