British Ghost Film Earns 2.4 Million Pounds in UK Debut

The UK and Ireland cinema market saw a British production claim the top position this weekend, marking a strong opening for a local horror comedy in a crowded release window. Lionsgate UK's release, Ghosts: The Possession of Button House, finished the three-day period as the highest grossing title in the territory.

The film collected 2.4 million pounds, equivalent to 3.2 million US dollars, from its opening weekend. Warner Bros. placed in second position with its DC horror thriller Clayface. That title opened with 2.6 million US dollars, a figure that exceeds the opening haul of the number one film when converted to the same currency.

Amazon MGM Studios held the third slot with the comedy feature Ali G: Who Iz I?, which generated 1.7 million US dollars. Black Bear's animated fantasy Wildwood, directed by Travis Knight, secured fourth place with an opening of 1.36 million US dollars. Paramount's Street Fighter moved from the top spot in the previous session to fifth in its second weekend. The title added 1.35 million US dollars to its cumulative total, bringing the running gross to 5.6 million US dollars.

Universal's animated feature Forgotten Island placed sixth in its second weekend. The film collected 1.2 million US dollars, raising its cumulative total to 3.7 million US dollars. Sony's psychological thriller Verity followed in seventh position during its fourth frame. The title added 857,067 US dollars, bringing the running total for the Colleen Hoover adaptation to 14.4 million US dollars.

Universal's Other Mommy took eighth place in its third session with 576,822 US dollars, bringing its gross to 6.2 million US dollars. Mubi's Fatherland debuted at number nine. The drama generated 264,083 US dollars from 86 locations over the three-day frame. This produced a screen average of 3,144 US dollars per site, the fourth highest average among new releases. Including preview screenings, the total opening reached 415,017 US dollars. This figure surpasses the launch for Cold War, marking director Pawel Pawlikowski's biggest-ever opening in the territory.

Studiocanal's animated holdover Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom rounded out the top ten in its sixth frame. The film collected 408,089 US dollars, lifting its cumulative total to 6.1 million US dollars. Mubi's documentary Making Marie Antoinette opened across six sites. It took 1,737 US dollars over the weekend for a cumulative total of 24,355 US dollars. This limited platform launch begins a staggered rollout ahead of Park Circus's re-release of Sofia Coppola's 2006 feature Marie Antoinette on November 13.

Mid-week event programming begins on Tuesday with Trafalgar Releasing's broadcast of the Royal Ballet's Manon. This is followed on Wednesday by the music documentary Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning. The film is directed by Ben Wainwright Pearce and shows across more than 100 locations. Wide commercial rollouts arrive on Friday across more than 300 locations. These include Disney's Everest: The Other Side, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. A24's dark comedy Primetime, directed by Lance Oppenheim and starring Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, and Phoebe Bridgers, also opens Friday. Black Bear's comedy Wicker, directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson and starring Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgard, Peter Dinklage, and Elizabeth Debicki, joins the release slate. Kaleidoscope Entertainment's family comedy Arnie & Barney, directed by Sean Heuston, completes the group of major wide releases.

Other Friday releases include Universal's comedy I Love Boosters, directed by Boots Riley and starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Demi Moore, and LaKeith Stanfield. Action Xtreme's Bad Day at the Office shows across more than 100 screens. Munro Films' documentary Peter Asher: Everywhere Man, directed by Dayna Goldfine and Daniel Geller, opens across more than 100 sites. The 20th Anniversary 4K Restoration of Pan's Labyrinth is also available across more than 100 locations. Specialized and international titles debuting Friday include BUFF Studios' City of Masks, directed by Andrea M. Catinella. Picturehouse Entertainment releases Nightborn, while Netflix brings Gentle Monster, directed by Marie Kreutzer and starring Lea Seydoux and Catherine Deneuve. Studiocanal releases Animol and Metis Films releases In the Shadows. BFI Distribution releases a 4K restoration of Ken Russell's The Devils, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed, across more than 25 screens. Studiocanal also bows the 25th anniversary 4K re-release of Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, across more than 25 locations. The weekend ends on Saturday with Trafalgar Releasing's event cinema presentation of BTS World Tour Arirang in Sao Paulo: Live Viewing.