‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ pips ‘The Running Man’ in close UK-Ireland box office battle

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Magic thriller Now You See Me: Now You Don’t and Edgar Wright’s action title The Running Man engaged in a close battle at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, with Now You Don’t coming out on top across the three-day weekend.

Lionsgate’s Now You See Me: Now You Don’t started with just over £2m from Friday to Sunday, with final figures still to come. Playing in 566 sites, it conjured up a healthy £3,548 site average.

The £2m opening beat out the £1.8m weekend start of 2013 first title Now You See Me, which went on to £11.2m; and the £1.6m start of 2016 sequel Now You See Me 2, which ended on £6.4m. This bodes well for the third film, which has £2.4m already including previews from Wednesday and Thursday last week.

The Running Man made £1.7m from Friday to Sunday for Paramount, from 646 sites at a £2,598 average. Including previews, it has £2.4m, with a total opening less than £10,000 ahead of Now You Don’t.

It is the fourth-highest opening from nine directorial features for Wright, behind Hot Fuzz  (£5.9m total), Baby Driver (£3.6m total) and The World’s End  (£2.1m total).

Last weekend’s number one Predator: Badlands took a sizeable 61% hit on its second session for Disney, with £915,196. It is still up to £4.3m total, and should overtake 2004’s Alien Vs. Predator  (£5.1m) and 2010’s Predators (£5.8m) within the next fortnight to become the highest-grossing title in the nine-film franchise.

Sky Cinema’s post-Second World War drama Nuremberg started with £853,727, released in cinemas by Studiocanal. Playing in 531 sites, it took a £1,608 site average, and has £895,331 including previews.

It just about held off Sony anime Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution, which began with £834,536 – but from a superior site average of £2,299 from 363 sites. The opening put Execution well ahead of the £517,669 of 2022’s Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which ended on £1.5m – a figure Execution should comfortably pass before the end of its run.

Takings for the top five rose for a second consecutive weekend, up 27% to £6.3m with a flood of new titles. However, the figures were still 65% down on the equivalent weekend from last year, when Gladiator II  and Paddington In Peru were both in cinemas. Exhibitors are pinning hopes to Universal’s Wicked: For Good, in cinemas next weekend, nearing the £13.7m start of last year’s first film.

Karma comes to cinemas

UK indie drama The Choral, released by Sony, added £600,316 on its second weekend. This 34% drop was better than the market average, and brought the film to a decent £2.6m total to date.

Gurinder Chadha’s Christmas Karma started with £487,528 from 434 sites for True Brit Entertainment, at a £1,123 average. The film will look to make the most of the growing festive cheer in the lead-up to Christmas, with yuletide titles typically holding better than non-yuletide counterparts.

Colleen Hoover adaptation Regretting You added £382,000 on its fourth weekend for Paramount – a 52% drop that brought it to a strong £5.9m total.

Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia leads Universal’s slate with a £257,512 third weekend – a 53% drop that brought the film to a £2.6m cume.

Paramount animation A Paw Patrol Christmas received a 3% increase across its second weekend, with £257,000 taking the canine comedy to £552,000.

Keeper, the latest horror from Longlegs director Osgood Perkins, opened to £176,000 from 358 cinemas for Black Bear, at a £492 location average.

Family title Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie dropped 44% on its fifth weekend in cinemas for Universal, with £172,139 bringing it to a £5.9m total.

Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson fell 46% on its second weekend – a moderate hold in a market filled with new titles. The Mubi release added £157,214, and is up to £778,341, with the £1m of 2017’s You Were Never Really Here still within sight.

UK indie favourite I Swear dropped 57% on its sixth weekend in cinemas for Studiocanal; but still added £116,154, for an impressive £5.9m running total.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere dropped out of both the top five and top 10 on its fourth weekend for Disney. The music biopic fell 68%, adding £107,547 to hit £3.9m total.

Spiritual drama Laalo: Krishna Sada Sahaayate has become the highest-grossing Gujurati-language film ever at the UK-Ireland box office after just three days in cinemas. The Bakrania Media release made £89,610 from Friday-to-Sunday, in just 14 locations at a huge £6,401 average.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s revolutionary thriller One Battle After Another remains Warner Bros’ major box office title, adding £73,374 on its eighth weekend – a 59% drop that brought it to £11.7m.

Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36 is demonstrating box office staying power, adding £39,472 on its third weekend for Curzon. This drop of just 25% was far better than the weekend average, and brought the film to a decent £273,291.

Horror Black Phone 2 added £37,294 on its fifth weekend for Universal – an 80% drop that saw it through to £3.7m total, behind the £4.7m of the 2022 first film. 

Anime Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc put on £32,342 for Sony – an 83% drop on its fourth weekend that brought it to £2.7m total.

Animation The Bad Guys 2 is finally nearing the end of its journey after 17 weekends in cinemas for Universal. The creature sequel added £19,042 on its latest session – a 15% drop that brought it to £14.6m total, ahead of the £13.8m of the 2022 first film.

Concert film j-hope Tour ‘Hope On The Stage’ The Movie made £17,966 on Saturday, November 15 for Trafalgar Releasing, and has £40,588 in total following two screening days earlier in the month.

Independent animation Night Of The Zoopocalypse added £16,800 on its sixth weekend for Kazoo Films, and is up to £1.2m total.

Universal’s Back To The Future 40^th anniversary re-release dropped 89% on its third weekend in cinemas, and has £1.4m in total.

The Mastermind starring Josh O’Connor added £11,534 on its fourth weekend in cinemas for Mubi, and has made a decent £462,799.

Feminist Indian drama Haq added £11,437 on its second weekend for Bakrania Media, and has £67,287 in total.

Kenji Iwaisawa’s sports anime 100 Meters took £8,163 at the weekend for Anime Ltd, and has £11,883 including previews.

Live action-animation hybrid Sketch added £8,153 on its fourth weekend for Kova International, and is up to £502,085 in total.

Derek Cianfrance’s true story comedy-drama Roofman  starring Channing Tatum is closing out after five weekends for Paramount, adding £8,000 on its latest session to land just shy of £2m.

Munro Film Services’ Hong Kong crime drama Valley Of The Shadow Of Death took £7,200 from 25 screens, and has £15,900 including previews.

Julia Ducournau’s Alpha opened to £5,991 from 45 sites at a £133 average for Curzon. Including previews, the film has £22,525.

Documentary John Cleese Packs It In about the legendary UK comedian made £3,649 at the weekend for CinemaLive, and has £27,468 following a Thursday, November 13 event release, with final figures to come.

Ronan Day-Lewis’s Anemone is slipping out of cinemas after two weekends, dropping 88% on its second session with £3,160 taking it to £71,007 total for Universal.

A re-release of Andrew V. McLaglen’s 1978 army drama The Wild Geese  made £2,900 from 41 screens on Saturday and Sunday for Munro Film Services, with final results still to come.

The latest Exhibition On Screen release, Caravaggio 2025, made £191,628 across the last week, including a £157,978 opening on Tuesday, November 11, for Seventh Art. Multiple encores are booked for the coming weeks.

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