Dutchman's Blog

Skyfall has shattered records in the UK to emerge as the number one film at the box office.

Daniel Craig’s third outing as James Bond delivered ticket sales north of £20 million, making it the highest-grossing opener of 2012 ahead of The Avengers (£15 million) and The Dark Knight Rises (£14 million).

Skyfall is also the highest-grossing bow for a Daniel Craig 007 film, besting Casino Royale‘s £13 million and Quantum of Solace‘s £15 million.

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted falls down a place to number two with £2.8 million, while Taken 2 charts at number three with £1 million. Paranormal Activity 4 and Hotel Transylvania round out the top five.

Elsewhere, the chart’s only other new entry is Ice Age: Continental Drift, which climbs back up to number ten with £102,952 as schools break for half-term.

The UK box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Skyfall – £20,180,369
2. (1) Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted – £2,803,874
3. (3) Taken 2 – £1,004,463
4. (2) Paranormal Activity 4 – £792,342
5. (4) Hotel Transylvania – £782,340
6. (7) Sinister – £310,408
7. (6) Frankenweenie – £274,780
8. (5) Looper – £221,768
9. (9) Beasts of the Southern Wild – £117,972
10. (-) Ice Age: Continental Drift – £102,952

Source: Rentrak

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted has beaten Paranormal Activity 4 to top the UK box office.

The DreamWorks animated sequel, featuring the voice talents of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith, earns north of £6 million to easily coast past Paranormal Activity‘s £2.5m earnings.

Taken 2, last week’s chart-topper, falls down to number three with £2.2m. The Liam Neeson-led action sequel has now grossed an impressive £18.5m from UK screens since opening on October 4.

Hotel Transylvania falls two places to number four, while Looper rounds out the top five.

Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie, which opened the BFI London Film Festival last week, debuts at number six with £741,683.

Elsewhere, the critically acclaimed Beasts of the Southern Wild enters the chart at number nine with £181,801.

The UK box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted – £6,030,904
2. (-) Paranormal Activity 4 – £2,544,701
3. (1) Taken 2 – £2,264,856
4. (2) Hotel Transylvania – £1,023,722
5. (4) Looper – £781,211
6. (-) Frankenweenie – £741,683
7. (3) Sinister – £711,918
8. (5) The Perks of Being a Wallflower – £213,091
9. (-) Beasts of the Southern Wild – £181,801
10. (11) Brave – £176,827

Source: Rentrak

Liam Neeson‘s action sequel Taken 2 has held onto the number one spot at the UK box office for the second consecutive weekend.

Taken 2‘s £3.7 million haul is enough to see off competition from new release Hotel Transylvania, which earns £1.7m from its 471 locations.

Ethan Hawke’s horror movie Sinister holds its position at number three, while Looper slips down two spots to number four.

Emma Watson’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower completes the top five.

Ruby Sparks and Kristen Stewart’s On the Road are the only other new releases to enter the top ten, debuting at numbers six and seven respectively.

The UK box office top ten in full:
1. (1) Taken 2 – £3,743,046
2. (-) Hotel Transylvania – £1,734,231
3. (3) Sinister – £1,259,405
4. (2) Looper – £1,175,220
5. (4) The Perks of Being a Wallflower – £397,869
6. (-) Ruby Sparks – £299,382
7. (-) On the Road – £218,738
8. (5) ParaNorman – £212,810
9. (6) The Campaign – £170,286
10. (9) Untouchable – £144,432

Source: Rentrak

Liam Neeson’s action sequel earns north of £7 million to easily secure first place ahead of the likes of Looper and horror film Sinister.

Taken 2‘s £7,378,048 haul is more than the entire UK box office earnings of its predecessor, which pulled in £6 million from UK cinemas in 2008.

Looper, which has spent the last fortnight at the chart summit, falls down a place to number two with £1,519,503 million.

Sinister occupies third place, while The Perks of Being a Wallflower only manages to make fourth spot despite the presence of Harry Potter star Emma Watson.

ParaNorman rounds out the top five with £797,754.

Elsewhere, the chart sees two movies climb from last week, as Brave ascends two spots to number seven and Untouchable climbs up from nine to ten.

The UK box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Taken 2 – £7,378,048
2. (1) Looper – £1,519,503
3. (-) Sinister – £1,435,722
4. (-) The Perks of Being a Wallflower – £827,983
5. (2) ParaNorman – £797,754
6. (4) The Campaign – £389,287
7. (9) Brave – £304,735
8. (3) Resident Evil: Retribution – £286,350
9. (10) Untouchable – £245,343
10. (7) Hope Springs – £190,860

Source: Rentrak

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Looper has topped the UK box office on its first weekend on release.

The time travel thriller, which also stars Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt, pulls in more than £2.4 million to knock last week’s number one movie ParaNorman off the top spot.

Resident Evil: Retribution, the fifth instalment in the video game horror franchise, bows at number three with £792,265. The total represents a significant dip from its predecessor Resident Evil: Afterlife‘s £1.69 million opening haul in 2010.

Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis comedy The Campaign debuts at number four, while Jennifer Lawrence’s House at the End of the Street completes the top five.

Elsewhere, French comedy Untouchable climbs into the top ten as it expands its location count. The worldwide box office smash earns £317,979 from 153 sites across the UK in its second weekend on release.

The UK box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Looper – £2,427,994
2. (1) ParaNorman – £1,080,197
3. (-) Resident Evil: Retribution – £792,265
4. (-) The Campaign – £772,102
5. (3) House at the End of the Street – £545,961
6. (2) Killing Them Softly – £470,712
7. (5) Hope Springs – £423,051
8. (4) The Sweeney – £410,578
9. (7) Brave – £400,511
10. (17) Untouchable – £317,979

Source: Rentrak