UK-Ireland box office: ‘The Running Man’, ‘Now You See Me 3’ open in busy weekend for new titles

Paramount’s The Running Man and Lionsgate’s Now You See Me: Now You Don’t are the key new releases battling it out in UK and Ireland cinemas this weekend. 

Edgar Wright’s The Running Man leads the way in 646 locations after opening on Wednesday (November 12). Glen Powell stars as a man who joins a game show in which contestants go on the run and are pursued by “hunters” hired to kill them.

It is the latest Stephen King adaptation to hit screens and comes shortly after the similarly dystopian The Long Walk, another King adaptation, opened on £1.2m in September. The novel was previously adapted in the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Wright has a long history at the UK box office, the highest-grossing of which was his 2007 comedy Hot Fuzz, opening on £4.4m for a £21.2m run. His last feature, 2021’s Last Night In Soho was less successful with a £716,248 debut and a £2.3m gross.

The Running Man carries the UK director’s biggest budget yet, reportedly $110m, and will hope to utilise the rising star power of Top Gun: Maverick and Twisters star Glenn Powell against fairly mixed reviews from critics. Further cast includes Colman Domingo, Michael Cera, Lee Pace and Emilia Jones. 

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t launches in 563 venues via Lionsgate. It is the third film in the magician heist franchise, following 2016’s Now You See Me 2 (£2.3m opening; £6.2m gross) and 2013’s Now You See Me (£2.9m opening; £10.5m gross).

Ruben Fleischer directs Now You Don’t which sees original cast Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher and Morgan Freeman all return. The story sees the retired Horsemen illusionists reunite for a diamond heist.

Christmas comes early

Following closely behind is Studiocanal’s Nuremberg which opens in 531 sites. James Vanderbilt’s drama follows a Second World War psychiatrist evaluating Nazi leaders before the Nuremberg trials. Cast includes Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Rami Malek and Richard E Grant.

Kicking off the festive season is Gurinder Chadha’s Christmas Karma which TrueBrit Entertainment is opening in 439 locations. The Bollywood-inspired take on Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol stars an ensemble cast featuring Kunal Nayyar, Boy George, Danny Dyer, Eva Longoria, Hugh Bonneville and Pixie Lott.

Sony is opening anime title Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution in 363 cinemas.

Osgood Perkins’s latest horror Keeper launches in 357 venues via Black Bear. It is the director’s third film in 18 months, following Longlegs (£1.4m opening) and The Monkey (£1m opening).

In event cinema, Exhibition On Screen: Caravaggio 2025 screens in 70 locations via Seventh Art and John Cleese Packs It In in 31 via CinemaLive while Trafalgar Releasing has j-hope Tour ‘Hope On The Stage’ The Movie.

Munro Film Services is re-releasing the 1978 war film The Wild Geese in 60 venues. The distributor is also opening Hong Kong drama Valley Of The Shadow of Death in 25 venues.

Anime Ltd is launching 100 Meters into 48 sites on Sunday (November 16).

Julia Ducournau’s Alpha opens in 45 cinemas via Curzon. The Cannes premiere follows up the French director’s Titane (£268,173) with a story about a girl who returns home from school with a tattoo feared to be a new lethal bloodborne disease.

Netflix has two titles opening in awards-qualifying runs – Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly starring George Clooney and Taiwan’s Oscar hopeful Left-Handed Girl.

Further releases include 1987’s City On Fire via Arrow Films; Indian romantic comedy De De Pyaar De 2 via Yash Raj Films; documentary Harley Flanagan: Wired For Chaos via Screenbound International Pictures; Fiona Shaw drama Park Avenue via Olympic Films; and documentary Predators via Dogwoof.

• Why several European film companies are ready for a fresh approach to YouTube