Consistency the key for this week’s top three

British cinema goers show their love for Coogan and Dench.

Despite The Counsellor and The Butler entering the chart in their first week, both have been held back by decent support for British drama, Philomena. Philomena came in at number 3 and took just over £1m which is £200k more than its competition, even though it’s currently its third week. Consistency will be key for Philomena in the next week, as with the release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire this week’s top 2 are set to move down the table and lose a good percentage of their audience.

It’s been a poor first week for The Butler which, with such an impressive cast, would have hoped to be more of a draw for the British audience. Telling the story of a butler who served under several U.S. presidents was always going to thrive more popular across the pond, but the studio would have hoped to do better than the £800k it pulled in during its debut weekend.

There is a surprise return to the top 15 for animated adventure Justin and the Knights of Valour, which is up 356% on last week. Being in its tenth week, this popularity could see it get an Oscar nomination for best animation however it will face stiff competition.

Opening This Week

This coming week will dominated by the continuation of Katniss Everdeen’s story with the release of The Huger Games: Catching Fire; it’s expected to easily top the table but should also find plenty some competition from this week’s strong top 2.

Also looking to impress is The Family starring Robert Di Niro and Michelle Phifer. The Family tells the story of a mafia boss and his family who are placed in a witness protection program in a small village in France. It has all the ingredients to be a successful film, but needs good audience support to thrive among this week’s contenders.

Click here to view the latest Box Office Table