All articles by Mary Scott – Page 2
-
News
UIP, UGC resolve legal battle over UK rental terms
The legal battle between distributor UIP (UK) and UGC's UK circuit has been resolved three months after it began. Since the release of Mission: Impossible 2 in July, both companies have been at loggerheads over the terms agreed for tickets sold through the use of UGC's loyalty pass. UIP and ...
-
News
Dinosaur storms into UK's number one spot
Six months after its North American release, Dinosaur hit UK screens with a robust three-day gross of $3m (£2.1m) last weekend. Playing at 374 sites, Walt Disney Pictures' computer-animation set in a real-life background secured a healthy screen average of $8,319 (£5,690) taking the number one place in the box ...
-
News
UK adds voice to digital cinema debate
As the North American film industry discusses the ever-changing digital cinema issue at ShowEast, Orlando, the UK is becoming a driving force in the debate through a series of government-backed discussions and demonstrations.The "Celluloid Or Silicon" roadshow is currently presenting the latest developments in electronic film technology to the industry ...
-
News
Billy Elliot leaps 13% in second weekend
The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps may have weighed in at number one in the UK's weekend chart but the box office winner was British title Billy Elliot, which rose 13% from its opening weekend to $2.5m (£1.7m).The figures are vindication that UIP's ambitious release strategy for Stephen Daldry's low-budget ...
-
News
Spean Bridge expands across Europe, Asia
Despite the gloom hovering over several European exhibitors, particularly those with circuits in Germany and the UK, fledgling exhibition company Spean Bridge has announced ambitious expansion plans to build sites across nine European countries, as well as Taiwan and Japan.From its initial announcement in 1998 to build cinemas in the ...
-
News
Hollow Man beats Billy Elliot to number one spot
Highly-anticipated British title Billy Elliot has failed in its bid to take the number one spot at the UK box office over the weekend. The release of Columbia Pictures' Hollow Man crept into the top of the chart by a slim margin of $138,000 (£93,277).However the widely-feted Billy Elliot opened ...
-
News
Irene opens well but doesn't live up to Mary
The Farrelly brothers latest comedy Me Myself And Irene opened in the UK over the weekend with $1.9m (£1.3m) from 357 screens, including previews of $126,743 (£86,946). Distributed by 20th Century Fox, the comedy starring Jim Carrey and real-life wife Renee Zellweger, won the number one spot and a screen ...
-
News
O Brother wins audiences despite UK fuel crisis
Despite the UK's fuel crisis and the start of the Olympic Games, cinema-going was not as disrupted as first thought - a relief for several of the weekend's new releases. Although the Top 15 box office tally of $8.4m (£6m) was $1.8m (£1.3m) down on last weekend's Top 15 aggregate, ...
-
News
UGC, UIP move towards cinema pass resolution
UIP and UGC's feud over rental revenues from the exhibitor's Unlimited cinema pass has taken a major step towards being resolved after UGC agreed to release UIP's Shaft this Friday.Although a law suit continues, UGC and UIP are also expected to strike agreements for the wide releases of Billy Elliot ...
-
News
Snatch steals record-breaking UK opening
The latest UK gangster movie Snatch has stormed into the UK chart at number one with an impressive three-day gross of $3.85m (£2.6m). Adding in paid previews of $800,000, the film's official opening gross reaches an impressive $4.6m - a new record for an 18-certificate film released in the UK.Playing ...
-
News
X-Men, Shanghai Noon top tepid weekend
The UK box office over the August bank holiday weekend was disappointing, with the aggregate gross around $1.5m lower than the same weekend last year. The major opener, Shanghai Noon (pictured), released and highly-publicised by Buena Vista International, grossed $1,095,159 (£744,631) over the three-day weekend taking second place in the ...
-
News
UCI launches new brand of cinema in the UK
United Cinemas International (UCI) today unveiled its "next generation" brand strategy to differentiate its cinemas from other exhibitors in the highly competitive UK market. "thefilmworks" concept, created through a three-way partnership with UCI, advertising agency BDHTBWA and architects RTKL, will be rolled out first at the group's 20 screen Printworks ...
-
News
Gone In Sixty Seconds holds onto top spot
Gone In Sixty Seconds held on to the number one spot at the UK box office last weekend, grossing $1.5m (£1m) from 393 situations. It fell an average 35% from its opening weekend and reported the highest site average over what was a lacklustre box office weekend with $3,850 (£2,599).The ...
-
News
Gone In Sixty Seconds speeds to top of UK chart
Gone In Sixty Seconds sped to the top of the UK box office over the weekend with an opening three-day gross of $2.4m (£1.6m) from 394 sites, excluding previews of $230,000. This gave the Jerry Bruckheimer-Touchstone Pictures co-production a site average of $6,600 (£4,353), a stable opening considering the mixed ...
-
News
MI:2 pushes Gladiator off top spot in France
Mission: Impossible 2's opening in France last Wednesday scooped an impressive $6.8m in its first five days. Playing on 769 screens across the country, the John Woo-Tom Cruise picture pulled in 1,312,595 admissions ousting Gladiator from its five-week rule at the top of the box office chart. Although this ...
-
News
Perfect Storm rides tide to top of UK chart
The Perfect Storm washed up at the top of the UK chart this weekend with an opening gross of $3m (£1,920,045) excluding previews of $435,000. The Hollywood adaptation of Sebastian Junger's bestseller of the same name, played at 409 cinemas for a screen average of $8,888 (£5,333). This is a ...
-
News
UIP holds back Flintstones in UGC pass row
In an unprecedented move, the UK office of United International Pictures (UIP) has pulled its new release of The Flintstones In Viva Rock Vegas from all UGC's UK and Irish cinemas. The last minute decision was taken because both companies are still arguing over rental terms in regard to tickets ...
-
News
Gladiator roars past $200m internationally
UIP's Gladiator has clocked up $200m internationally as of Monday 24 July, bringing its worldwide total to $380m. This tally makes it a strong contender for a place in the top five chart of worldwide hits this year after Toy Story 2 and Mission: Impossible 2 which will also take ...
-
News
Stuart Little scrapes into pole position in the UK
Seven months after it opened in the US (where the DVD is now available), Columbia TriStar finally gave Stuart Little its nationwide UK release last weekend. Excluding previews, it just missed the number one slot with a three-day gross of $2.1m (£1,394,384) but including paid previews of $454,718 (£454,718) it ...
-
News
UK admissions hit 26-year high
UK admissions between January and June this year reached a 26-year high as cinemas punched 71 million tickets, according to the cinema advertising association monitor (CAA).The tally is all the more impressive coming despite the dent in June's attendance levels from the European Championship soccer tournament. Ticket sales during that ...