Frozen II Maintains Top Spot – UK Box Office Roundup 6-8th Dec 2019

This article was written exclusively for The Film Magazine by Charlie Gardiner of Funny Old World.


Frozen II continues to shine at the UK box office!

As we get closer to some of the biggest film releases of the year, with Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, Cats, Little Women and 1917 still to grace our screens, the UK box office continued to boom this week.

This was thanks in no small part to Frozen II which still stands strong in the top spot, taking another £4.3million this weekend (6-8th) alone and totalling in at a whopping £33.6million at the UK box office overall.

In contrast, the North American box office delivered a new record setter of a different kind with Playmobil: The Movie, the animated/live-action hybrid based on the popular toy brand, not dissimilar to that of The Lego Movie, being reported as the biggest US box office flop of all time; opening to more than 2,000 screens but only grossing £509,000 over its first three days of release. This brings the average takings per screen to the lowest number of all time for a wide release in North America and a certified box office bomb in the region.

Up and down the UK this week, cinemas have been showing traditional Christmas films for audiences of all ages to enjoy. Gremlins (1984) is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and thus getting multiple special screenings in cinemas to celebrate. Upon its original release, Gremlins opened as a box office hit, earning $12.5 million back in 1984, and still has fans worldwide today.

As well as Gremlins, other holiday classics such as; Elf, The Santa Clause, Home Alone and Miracle of 34th Street are showing all around the UK in the lead up to Christmas. Elf also made its way into the UK top ten this weekend, taking £148,489 – proving that the British audiences still love a classic Christmas flick.

Check your local cinema listings to see which of your Christmas favourites are showing near you!

“Les Miserables” live in concert was hugely popular with UK audiences too. The showcase of the sold out production from London’s West End earning a comfortable number 4 spot with an opening of £946,785, meanwhile number 11 in the UK Box Office this weekend was a celebration of 25 years of ‘Friends’; proving that it isn’t always high budget films that grab the biggest audiences.

The top 10 films at the UK Box Office for the weekend of 6-8th December 2019:

1. Frozen 2 (Walt Disney Studios) – 3 – £4,397,903 (£33.7m)
2. Knives Out (Lionsgate UK) – 2 – £1,637,525 (£6m)
3. Last Christmas (Universal Pictures) – 4 – £1,318,062 (£12.5m)
4. Event Cinema: Les Miserables (Universal Pictures) – 1 – £946,785 (£3.2m)
5. Blue Story (Paramount) – 3 – £378,589 (£3.7m)
6. Le Mans ’66 (Walt Disney Studios) – 4 – £184,898 (£5.6m)
7. Gremlins (4K) (Warner Bros.) – 1 – £162,528 (£163k)
8. Motherless Brooklyn (Warner Bros.) – 1 – £153,821 (£154k)
9. Elf (Park Circus) – 1 – £148,489 (£148k)
10. Charlie’s Angels (Sony Pictures) – 2 – £142,369 (£942k)

A new contender in the box office this weekend was Ed Norton’s crime thriller Motherless Brooklyn, which he both directs and stars in. Falling in nicely at number 8 in the top ten, grossing £153,821 in the UK against its US opening weekend $3.5mil, it’s safe to say that this one has had more appeal to US audiences – the film even being nominated for a Golden Globe.



This week is the first weekend since it’s release that Joker no longer graces the top 10, as it falls down to number 13 with takings of just £71,944 over the Friday to Sunday period.

The top 5 worldwide box office hits of 2019 to date: 

1. Avengers: Endgame (Walt Disney Studios) – 25th April 2019 – $2,797,800,564
2. The Lion King (Walt Disney Studios) – 19th July 2019 – $1,655,955,981
3. Spider-Man: Far From Home (Sony) – 2nd July 2019 – $1,131,928,519
4. Captain Marvel (Walt Disney Studios) – 8th March 2019 – $1,128,274,794
5. Toy Story 4 (Walt Disney Studios) – 21st June 2019 – $1,073,366,308

This weekend we see the release of the festive horror re-make Black Christmas, directed by Sophia Takal and starring Imogen Poots. Black Christmas follows a group of college students who find themselves caught up in a stalker situation during their Christmas break. All is uncovered when the sorority come together to discover the truth about their stalker. Undoubtably full of girl power moments, a bit of slapstick horror and jump scares galore, Black Christmas will likely be a hit with horror and Christmas fans alike. In cinemas from December 14th.

In a year where climate change is becoming the most important thing on everyones minds we are seeing lots of documentaries highlighting the wonders of our beloved Earth and this week’s next release is among them. Directed by Viktor Kosakovskiy, Aquarela makes its way into select cinemas this weekend. Opening on December 13th Aquarela showcases water and ice around the globe in its most powerful and mesmerising forms.

This week is a quiet one for box office openings with most studios looking to avoid 2nd weekend competition with Rise of Skywalker (released on the 18th), but hang on to your butts, because next week is a big one with exciting releases of some huge blockbusters, animated adventures and more.


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Twitter: @funnyoldworldx
Website: Funnyoldworld


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