February 27Feb 27 Author 66. Nye: NT Live 2024 - £2.1 million One man's dream of the NHS Confronted with death, National Health Service founder Aneurin ‘Nye’ Bevan’s deepest memories lead him on a mind-bending journey back through his life; from childhood to mining underground, Parliament and fights with Winston Churchill. Director: Rufus NorrisCast: Michael Sheen, Sharon Small, Remy BeasleyRelease Date: 23rd April 2024Distributor: National TheatreCertification: 15Genre: TheatreRotten Tomatoes: n/aIMDb: 8.1 Top 15 Chart Run: 7 (1 week)Opening Weekend: £36,588 (#22) We don't have to wait long for the next and final Theatre recording as 'Nye' lands just two places higher than 'Vanya'. This one sees Michael Sheen take on the role of Nye Bevan, founder of the NHS, looking back at his life on his deathbed. This compares very favourably to 2023 where the highest placed theatre recording was 'A Little Life' at #92 in the EOY charts (£1.4 million). 2025 looks set to be even better as we already have a release that has out-grossed this!
March 1Mar 1 Author 65. Kneecap - £2.2 million Mind your Language. When fate brings Belfast teacher JJ into the orbit of self-confessed ‘low life scum’ Naoise and Liam Og, the needle drops on a hip hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish, they lead a movement to save their mother tongue. Director: Rich PeppiattCast: Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, DJ PróvaiRelease Date: 23rd August 2024Distributor: CurzonCertification: 18Genre: ComedyRotten Tomatoes: 96%IMDb: 7.6 Top 15 Chart Run: 5-13-11-15 (4 weeks)Opening Weekend: £1,035,664 (#5) A musician-biopic like no other, 'Kneecap' makes the interesting decision to let the members of the band play themselves and it works a treat. That £1 million+ opening is very misleading as it opened in Ireland two weeks before the UK and that gross was was all included as previews in a very inflated opening weekend. I thought that Jessica Reynolds and Michael Fassbender both shone in supporting roles. Ireland had hopes for this to pick up a nomination at the Oscars but it wasn't to be.
March 1Mar 1 Author 60. Anora - £2.9 million Love is a hustle. Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled. Director: Sean BakerCast: Mikey Maddison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura BorisovRelease Date: 1st November 2024Distributor: UniversalCertification: 18Genre: ComedyRotten Tomatoes: 93%IMDb: 7.7 Top 15 Chart Run: 6-9-12-12-11 (5 weeks)Opening Weekend: £509,505 (#6) Depending on how tomorrow goes, I might be going to soon by posting this. 'Anora' won last year's Palme d'Or and is one of the three films that seem to be battling it out to become Best Picture at Sunday's Academy Awards. After earning her stripes with appearances in 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' and 'Scream', Mikey Maddison makes her leading breakthrough in a role which might just bag her an Oscar. If you haven't checked out Sean Baker's previous film, 'Red Rocket', I really recommend giving it a watch.I will update this list if this does do enough to climb a couple of positions in the coming weeks. EDIT: It did win the Oscar and has climbed up to #60. I'll keep it in this post but update the positions
March 1Mar 1 Author 64. The Apprentice - £2.2 million An American horror story. A young Donald Trump, eager to make his name as a hungry scion of a wealthy family in 1970s New York, comes under the spell of Roy Cohn, the cutthroat attorney who would help create the Donald Trump we know today. Cohn sees in Trump the perfect protégé—someone with raw ambition, a hunger for success, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win. Director: Ali AbbasiCast: Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria BakalovaRelease Date: 18th October 2024Distributor: StudioCanalCertification: 15Genre: DramaRotten Tomatoes: 83%IMDb: 7.1 Top 15 Chart Run: 3-5-14 (3 weeks)Opening Weekend: £749,149 (#3) Cruella, Joker, Maleficent, it feels like every villain gets their own origin story nowadays with the latest being the current US President, Donald J. Trump. Sebastian Stan takes on the role in the controversial film which was released during campaigning at last year's US elections. I've heard that Jeremy Strong steals the show with his ruthless portrayal of Roy Cohn. Seeming on the events of the most controversial scene in the film, it's ironic that director Ali Abbasi is currently going through a groping-scandal of his own.
March 1Mar 1 Author 63. The Outrun - £2.3 million Fresh out of rehab, Rona returns to the Orkney Islands—a place both wild and beautiful, right off the Scottish coast. Now 29 and after more than a decade of living life on the edge in London, where she both found and lost love, Rona attempts to come to terms with her troubled past. As she reconnects with the dramatic landscape where she grew up, memories of her traumatic childhood merge with more recent challenging events that have set her on the path to recovery. Director: Nora FingscheidtCast: Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu, Nabil ElouahabiRelease Date: 27th September 2024Distributor: StudioCanalCertification: 15Genre: DramaRotten Tomatoes: 82%IMDb: 6.9 Top 15 Chart Run: 3-5-10-12 (4 weeks)Opening Weekend: £449,591 (#3) The second Saoirse Ronan film of the year, 'The Outrun' is adapted from Amy Liptrot's 2016 memoir and sees Ronan star as a recovering alcoholic who heads to her childhood home to try to get better. Filmed on location in the Orkney Islands I've heard that this film has some brilliant visuals but a meandering plot. It's a performance piece for Ronan who earned a lot of praise for her moving performance.
March 1Mar 1 Author 62. Monkey Man - £2.5 millionOne small ember can burn down everything. Kid is an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him. Director: Dev PatelCast: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, PitobashRelease Date: 5th April 2024Distributor: UniversalCertification: 18Genre: ActionRotten Tomatoes: 89%IMDb: 6.9 Top 15 Chart Run: 5-7-8-10 (4 weeks)Opening Weekend: £810,253 (#5) Dev Patal makes his directorial debut in this (co)self-penned and self-starring in this India-set action thriller with hard-hitting set pieces and biting political commentary. Originally funded by Netflix, fearing a negative reaction to the politics by an Indian audience, they got cold feet and nearly cancelled the project. However, Jordan Peele stepped in and convinced Universal to but it off Netflix for $10 million. Patel might be a director to watch out for as this was adored by critics with the hyper-violent John Wick-esque action scenes being deemed some of the best in a long while.
March 2Mar 2 Author 61. The Iron Claw - £2.6 millionSons. Brothers. Champions. The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports. Director: Sean DurkinCast: Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris DickinsonRelease Date: 9th February 2024Distributor: LionsgateCertification: 15Genre: DramaRotten Tomatoes: 89%IMDb: 7.6 Top 15 Chart Run: 3-6-9-12 (4 weeks)Opening Weekend: £754,152 (#3) Zac Efron earned the best reviews of his career playing real life-wrestler Kevin Von Erich, who's whole family were professionals in the sport and suffered countless tragedies. The A24 produced film was deemed by many to be the biggest snub at last year's Oscars with Efron, in particular, being called out as someone who deserved a nomination. For a film with a $16 million budget, this ended up doing well, making $45 million+ worldwide.
March 2Mar 2 Last year I fell off a bit with checking out new movies, so still playing catch-up and Anora is the first to depart so far that I’ve seen. Really rooting for it at the Oscars tonight! The lead actress race feels pretty exciting.
March 2Mar 2 Author 59. Harold And The Purple Crayon - £3.1 millionEverything he draws is about to get real. Inside of his book, adventurous Harold can make anything come to life simply by drawing it. After he grows up and draws himself off the book’s pages and into the physical world, Harold finds he has a lot to learn about real life. Director: Carlos SaldanhaCast: Zachary Levi, Lil Rel Howery, Zooey DeschanelRelease Date: 2nd August 2024Distributor: SonyCertification: PGGenre: KidsRotten Tomatoes: 27%IMDb: 5.7 Top 15 Chart Run: 5-8-12-13-11-15 (6 weeks)Opening Weekend: £641,549 (#5) Based on a beloved children's book in America, I don't think it really made it over here because I had never heard of the book before this film was released. After the second 'Shazam!' film flopped, Zachary Levi made one last attempt at making people love his 'quirky man-child' acting-schtick before giving up and going full Trumpite on Twitter after this flopped too making $32 million worldwide on a $40 million budget.
March 2Mar 2 Author 58. Priscilla - £3.2 millionWife to the King. Icon to the world. Destined for more. When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend. Director: Sofia CoppolaCast: Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Ari CohenRelease Date: 1st January 2024Distributor: MUBICertification: 15Genre: DramaRotten Tomatoes: 84%IMDb: 6.5 Top 15 Chart Run: 3-6-11 (3 weeks)Opening Weekend: £1,326,326 (#3) Released on 1st January, we're going right back to the start of the year with 'Priscilla'. We obviously got the big-budget Elvis Presley biopic in 2022 where Priscilla got a bit short shrift so I'm happy that we got something from her perspective and Sofia Coppola seems like the perfect fit to direct it. I haven't seen this one yet but Cailee Spaeny is killing it recently so I will get round to it at some point. This is actually the first of three starring roles for Spaeny in this list so she might just be the under-the-radar star of the year!
March 2Mar 2 Author 57. Blink Twice - £3.3 millionAre you having a good time? When tech billionaire Slater King meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, he invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. But despite the epic setting, beautiful people, ever-flowing champagne, and late-night dance parties, Frida can sense that there’s something sinister hiding beneath the island’s lush façade. Director: Zoë KravitzCast: Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian SlaterRelease Date: 23rd August 2024Distributor: Warner Bros.Certification: 15Genre: ThrillerRotten Tomatoes: 75%IMDb: 6.5 Top 15 Chart Run: 6-7-7-12 (4 weeks)Opening Weekend: £746,328 (#6) Zoë Kravitz made her directing debut with this thriller starring Channing Tatum in an against-type villainous role as a tech-billionaire hosting a party on his private island after going through a scandal. This was an Amazon film in the US and with it making back over double it's budget, it's a rare success for them a streamer in the theatrical market. When this was announced, the original title was 'Pussy Island' which they ended up changing. Cowards!
March 2Mar 2 Author 56. Terrifier 3 - £3.4 millionPrepare to be terrified again. Five years after surviving Art the Clown’s Halloween massacre, Sienna and Jonathan are still struggling to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches, they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the past behind. But just when they think they’re safe, Art returns, determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare. The festive season quickly unravels as Art unleashes his twisted brand of terror, proving that no holiday is safe. Director: Damien LeoneCast: David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera, Samantha ScaffidiRelease Date: 11th October 2024Distributor: Signature EntertainmentCertification: 18Genre: HorrorRotten Tomatoes: 78%IMDb: 6.3 Top 15 Chart Run: 3-5-7 (3 weeks)Opening Weekend: £1,049,416 (#3) In a time where it feels like you have to be part of a massive franchise to do well at the box office, 'Terrifier 3' was a huge win for independent cinema making over $90 million on a $2 million budget, Becoming a massive word-of-mouth hit, the 'Terrifier' franchise has grown with each release, creating an already all-timer, iconic horror villain in Art the Clown. This was smartly released on the same day as the second Joker movie and, while it didn't make as much money as it's DC clown counterpart, it's definitely still won the war. Damien Leone is now the envy of Hollywood with Part 4 on it's way.
March 2Mar 2 Kneecap was a really great film, I was hoping it would get more awards attention but still an impressive feat for a relatively unknown act in a very niche genre. Anora obviously I'm hoping can have a great Oscars night, it does feel a lot more accessible than a lot of Palme D'or winners so I'm not surprised to see it do fairly well.Terrifier 3 is gory, unabashed fun and it's great to see independent cinema do so well, even if I did prefer Part 2.
March 4Mar 4 Author 55. The Zone Of Interest - £3.5 million The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp. Director: Jonathan GlazerCast: Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller, Johann KarthausRelease Date: 2nd February 2024Distributor: A24Certification: 12AGenre: DramaRotten Tomatoes: 93%IMDb: 7.3 Top 15 Chart Run: 5-9-11-x-8-14-8-12 (7 weeks)Opening Weekend: £585,855 (#5) British director Jonathan Glazer released his first film in other 10 years (since 2013's 'Under The Skin') and won the Best Director Oscar in the process. Shot on location at a building that really is just outside Auschwitz by planting cameras around the house and just letting them run while the cast live in the characters ordinary lives (described as 'Big Brother in the Nazi house by Glazer), the film certainly has a very naturalistic feel which makes the off-screen atrocities feel all the more real. It's a film that relies a lot on it's sound design to tell the story and I feel that it's probably a film that benefits from being seen on the big screen. Unfortunately, I missed it in cinemas and had to watch on Amazon Prime which I think did lessen the impact. For a film in the German language, £3.5 million is a brilliant result. This puts it as the 8th biggest foreign-language film of all-time in the UK, just pushing it above 'Life Is Beautiful'. With how all of the traditional horrors flopped, there's an argument to be made that this was the most successful horror film from the first half of 2024.
March 4Mar 4 Great result for The Zone of Interest. The storytelling through sound was so harrowing, from the music to even day-to-day background noise. Brilliant film.
March 4Mar 4 Author 54. Small Things Like These - £3.8 million In 1985, while working as a coal merchant to support his family, Bill Furlong discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent and uncovers truths of his own; forcing him to confront his past and the complicit silence of a small Irish town controlled by the Catholic Church. Director: Tim MielantsCast: Cillian Murphy, Eileen Walsh, Emily WatsonRelease Date: 1st November 2024Distributor: LionsgateCertification: 12AGenre: DramaRotten Tomatoes: 93%IMDb: 6.8 Top 15 Chart Run: 4-6-7-7-10 (5 weeks)Opening Weekend: £890,105 (#4) Beating 'Kneecap' to be the biggest Irish film of the year was 'Small Things Like These'. I don't think it's unfair to say that the reason why this film did so well is Cillian Murphy. He was already a big star thanks to 'Peaky Blinders', but you just felt that his Oscar-winning role in 'Oppenheimer' pushed him to another level of stardom and I think this film's £3.8 million take proves it. Adapted from the 2021 novel of the same name, this feels like a film that would have just came and went without making a splash if anyone else was in the lead role.
March 4Mar 4 Author 53. The Bikeriders - £3.8 millionLegacies don't come easy. After a chance encounter at a local bar, strong-willed Kathy is inextricably drawn to Benny, the newest member of Midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals led by the enigmatic Johnny. Much like the country around it, the club begins to evolve, transforming from a gathering place for local outsiders into a dangerous underworld of violence, forcing Benny to choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club. Director: Jeff NicholsCast: Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom HardyRelease Date: 21st June 2024Distributor: UniversalCertification: 15Genre: DramaRotten Tomatoes: 80%IMDb: 6.6 Top 15 Chart Run: 2-5-5-8-11 (5 weeks)Opening Weekend: £1,085,530 (#2) Originally scheduled for a Christmas 2023 release by Disney, 'The Bikeriders' was removed from release schedules during the SAG-AFTRA strike with Disney deciding to sell the distribution rights to Focus (and it's parent group Universal) and it eventually reached cinema screens last Summer. Focus apparently paid half of the films $35 million production budget to acquire the film so with it grossing $36 million worldwide, they've probably made a small profit. However, with the hot-right-now pairing of Austin Butler and Jodie Comer alongside the ever-popular Tom Hardy, I think there was hopes for this to properly branch out a be a massive hit.
March 4Mar 4 Author 52. Trap - £3.8 million30,000 fans. 300 Cops. 1 serial killer. No Escape A father and teen daughter attend a pop concert, where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event. Director: M. Night ShyamalanCast: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Night ShyamalanRelease Date: 9th August 2024Distributor: Warner Bros.Certification: 15Genre: ThrillerRotten Tomatoes: 57%IMDb: 5.8 Top 15 Chart Run: 4-6-11-12 (4 weeks)Opening Weekend: £1,141,334 (#4) Comfortably winning the family battle, M Night's 'Trap' has been accused of just being a thinly-veiled piece of promo for another one of his daughters, 'Saleka' and her pop-star career. The film has a really fun premise; a serial killer has to evade capture while attending a Taylor Swift-esque concert with his daughter but I wish they hadn't decide to base the whole campaign around the fact that the main character is the killer. If they just shown that there was a killer at the concert in the trailer, this could have been a crazy twist when you saw the film. Former late 90s/early 00s teen-star 'Josh Hartnett' makes a Hollywood comeback after a small role in 'Oppenheimer' and is apparently really good in the role and brings some legitimacy to an otherwise silly tone. I do want to watch this one at some point.
March 4Mar 4 Author 51. The Beekeeper - £3.8 millionExpose the corruption. Protect the hive. One man’s campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as Beekeepers. Director: David AyerCast: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh HutchersonRelease Date: 12th January 2024Distributor: StudioCanalCertification: 15Genre: ActionRotten Tomatoes: 71%IMDb: 6.3 Top 15 Chart Run: 5-7-10-11-14 (5 weeks)Opening Weekend: £956,380 (#5) We got a new Jason Statham actioner last January and it was one with a suitably unserious concept. He plays a beekeeper with 'special skills' who teams up with a shadowy organisation (also called 'The Beekeepers') to track down and get revenge on those who committed a phishing scam (with tragic consequences) on his landlady. This was a Sky Cinema original in the UK (released by Amazon overseas) which usually sets alarm bells ringing but surprisingly, this one is rated fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. I definitely missed that fact when it was released Statham is definitely an actor who has carved out a niche for himself and knows what his audiences wants so I think he can continue to make films like these for however long he wants. There is already a sequel to this in the works. These last four films are all at about £3.8 million so could literally be in any order. I'm just guessing based on the last confirmed total I have and how far into their run they were at the time of that figure.
March 5Mar 5 Author 50. The Holdovers - £3.9 millionDiscomfort and joy. A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam. Director: Alexander PayneCast: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da'Vine Joy RandolphRelease Date: 19th January 2024Distributor: UniversalCertification: 15Genre: ComedyRotten Tomatoes: 97%IMDb: 7.9 Top 15 Chart Run: 6-6-9-12 (4 weeks)Opening Weekend: £689,771 (#6) Welcome to the top half of the countdown The best Christmas film of last year was released all the way back in January with Alexander Payne's 'The Holdovers'. This was the reteaming of said director with star Paul Giamatti 20 years after 'Sideways' became a classic. Remarkably, both films have ended up with a gross of £3.9 million in the UK so they might be the most consistent director/actor pairing imaginable. Da'Vine Joy Randolph went home with the Oscar for 'Best Supporting Actress' at last year's Oscars for her great performance. I love this one and I'm delighted that it did well.
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