UK Box Office 11 - 13 January 2013

Cinema continues to pull in the crowds and it is now thirteen consecutive weeks that the box office has been up on the equivalent weekend last year. Although a number of films delivered strong performances this weekend, by far the most impressive was blockbuster musical Les Misérables. It followed up its nine BAFTA nominations on Wednesday with an £8.1m opening. That’s the highest ever debut for a musical film and perhaps surprisingly, it’s Universal’s biggest opening weekend of all time. Last January the marquee theatre adaptation was War Horse but that could only manage a £3.9m opening.

Also boosted by its nine BAFTA nominations, Life Of Pi 3D once again continued its stunning performance easing just 30% to £2.3m and a cume of £21.9m. With the Oscars and BAFTAs both a few weeks away, expect that total to at least get very near £30m. Glossy crime drama Gangster Squad was in third place with £2.1m (including £275k from previews). That’s not far off from Public Enemies’ £2.2m debut in 2009. In fourth spot, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 3D edged even closer to £50m with £1.9m, taking its total to £48.5m. True life family drama, The Impossible rounded out the top five, continuing its strong run with another £1.9m taking its cume to £7.2m.  One other new entry landed just outside the top 5, with 3D horror sequel Texas Chainsaw 3D opening with £1.2m (including £584k from previews). The last Texas Chainsaw film only managed £1.5m over its entire run in 2006.

Overall the box office was up 5% from the same weekend last year and 55% from the same weekend last year. Next weekend also promises to be a barnstormer with continued strong business for Les Misérables and the return of Quentin Tarantino with Django Unchained.

In the US, Zero Dark Thirty expanded to a nationwide release and delivered $24m. After its limited release over the last few weeks it now sits on $29.5m. The audience was 59% male and 62% over the age of 30. Second spot was taken by spoof horror, A Haunted House with $18.8m and Gangster Squad opened in third place with $16.7m. In fourth place, Django Unchained fell 45% to $11.1m this weekend and now has an impressive cume of $125.4m, which makes it Quentin Tarantino's highest-grossing movie ever in the US. Les Misérables completed the top five with $10.1m. It's now the fifth-highest-grossing musical ever with $119.2m.

Source: Rentrak EDI