The UK box office was set up to have a fantastic run in March, with several blockbuster films like Dune: Part Two, Kung Fu Panda 4, Ghostbusters: The Frozen Empire, and Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire all hitting cinemas. However, the first three weeks of March, despite a relatively strong start, have been disappointing and represent a new norm of mediocre business.
This comparison will show the pre-pandemic box office average (2015-2019, the red line), the post-pandemic box office average (2021-2023, the yellow line), and the current 2024 box office (the blue line). Numbers aren’t adjusted for inflation and are from the British Film Institute.
Weekend 11 – March 15-17 2024
March 15-17, 2024
- The third week in March saw a 27% decline over last weekend for a total of £7,179,781.
- While it’s marginally below the post-pandemic average, it’s well below the pre-pandemic average.
- The lack of new blockbuster films for the second week in a row can explain this low haul.
- Weekend 12 sees the opening of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, reviving the sullen box office.
Weekend 11 of 2024 took a sharp drop to post its lowest box office total yet, with a measly £7,179,781 total, driven by Dune: Part II’s third weekend of £4,046,492. That’s nearly seven times the amount of the number two film for this weekend, Wicked Little Letters as it pulled in £589,610. Needless to say, this is a huge disappointment, but when put into the context of other eras it’s not fully as bad.
Looking at the pre-pandemic era, it’s clear this total is nowhere near before COVID-19. For Weekend 11 in that period, the combined total was £15,263,699.20. This meant the 2024 Weekend 11 box office was 53% lower, a dramatic drop. This is likely because fewer films are coming out on top of an already lower audience number, lowering it even further. The top performing film for this week in the pre-pandemic era was Disney’s live-action The Beauty and the Beast opening to a stunning £19,700,000, something that’s unheard of nowadays.
While Weekend 11 in 2024 doesn’t manage to top the same weekend in the post-pandemic era either, dropping 7%, it isn’t far off the total of £7,686,055.50. It could indicate a new norm for this weekend in the box office calendar, that going forward it will stabilize around that total. It’s a low norm to settle around, which is disappointing, but until the wider box office situation improves this total won’t either. The top performing film for this era is Warner Bros. The Batman with a third week total of £3,351,288.
#uk #boxoffice update
Weekend 11 box office fell to a total of £7,179,781 compared to £15,263,699.20 for the pre-pandemic era.
It’s just below the post-pandemic of £7,686,055.50.
The opening of #GhostbustersFrozenEmpire in Week 12 will revive interest.
Numbers from @BFI. pic.twitter.com/rMqBYK08k1
— Kieran (@KieranDavidBurt) March 24, 2024
Weekend 10 – March 8-10 2024
March 8-10, 2024
- The second weekend in March 2024 saw a 30% decline over last weekend for a £9,866,415 total.
- It falls below the pre-pandemic average, failing to keep up with what’s traditionally been a slow box office month.
- This drop means the 2024 box office again stays below the post-pandemic average.
- No big blockbusters will open on Weekend 11, likely causing the box office to fall further in the future.
Weekend 10 of 2024 was unable to keep pace with averages set in prior years. Dune: Part Two was able to keep a strong foothold in its second weekend, falling only 37% and bringing in £5,851,155. It was the only film to bring in over £1 million this weekend. Its closest competitor was Wicked Little Letters, which brought in £898,390.
The same weekend from the pre-pandemic era produced a total of £12,521,668.60. This meant that the 2024 box office dipped below that total by 21% the average for the pre-pandemic era for the same weekend by 21%. The highest-performing film in this period was the £12,750,000 opening of 2019’s Captain Marvel, back when Marvel Studios produced films with shocking box office success.
When compared to the same weekend in the post-pandemic era, it achieved a total of £11,436,467.50. 2024 couldn’t match that, as it’s below this total by 14%. The highest-performing film for Weekend 10 for this period was 2022’s The Batman, which pulled £7,406,390 in its second weekend.
There’s not much to be said about both other than it’s disappointing, and with one more weekend in March without any new blockbusters, cinemas will have to hold out just a bit longer until three big new releases — Kung Fu Panda 4, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire — provide a jolt in business and set the conditions for a healthier marketplace.
Weekend 9 – March 1-3 2024
March 1-3, 2024
- Dune: Part Two helped to drive the weekend box office to a total of £14,028,285 with a mighty £9,279,080 opening.
- The 2024 weekend box office couldn’t beat the post-pandemic average of £14,643,028.
- It easily overtook the £12,672,958.60 pre-pandemic average, signaling a shift in how important studios see the first weekend in March.
Weekend 9 saw the UK box office take in a healthy total of £14,028,285, 66% of which came from Dune: Part Two’s huge £9,279,080 opening. It’s an excellent take and one that left its cinematic competitors in the dust. The next closest film was Bob Marley: One Love which mustered £1,351,557 in its third week of release. It shows just how big of a box office event Dune: Part Two was and will likely continue to be as the weeks progress. But it’s a stark change from the dull first two months of the year.
Despite this great weekend, Weekend 9 in 2024 was unable to pass the post-pandemic average of £14,643,028. While this is disappointing, it’s not a disaster. Weekend 9 in 2024 is only 4% lower than the post-pandemic average, and this kind of variation is expected. It signals a shift in the March box office, that in the post-pandemic era, studios have scheduled more of their blockbusters for this weekend.
This trend becomes even more apparent when compared to the pre-pandemic average. Weekend 9 in this time frame was a comparatively quieter period, with fewer big blockbusters released. The weekend nine average for the pre-pandemic period is £12,672,958.60, so 2024 has increased that by 11%, the first increase of the year.
And while £12,672,958.60 seems like a big number now, this weekend is the worst so far for the post-pandemic period. This further hints at the shift in release schedules as mentioned above.
There are no hard hitters like Dune: Part Two opening on Weekend 10, the month is packed with even more high-profile releases to provide the 2024 box office with a much-needed boost.
#uk #BoxOffice update! #DunePartTwo helped to drive the weekly UK Box office to a total of £14,028,285, only 4% lower than the post-pandemic average of £14,643,028.
It’s 11% higher than the pre-pandemic average of £12,672,958.60.
Numbers from @BFI pic.twitter.com/QybAZZerHI
— Kieran (@KieranDavidBurt) March 9, 2024
For more analysis of the UK Box Office, you can check out our breakdowns of January 2024 and February 2024.
