Godzilla smashes this weeks box office

The return of the monster sends shivers down the spines of the competition.

When blockbusters with the pedigree of Godzilla are released it’s never a surprise to see them land the top spot, however the destruction of its competitors is much more impressive than its ranking this week. Taking a staggering £6.3m (which is £3m more than the rest of the top ten combined) has given the movie a strong position to put up a decent fight against the mutants of the X-men: Days of Future Past. It has also shown it can compete against proven and popular superheroes by pushing the ageing The Amazing Spider-Man into 3rd and restricting its taking to a measly £449k.

The only other new film to make the top 10 was The Two Faces of January, which took £328k and was placed fifth in the table. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith, the novelist behind two well received adaptations: Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr Ripley. Unfortunately, this background meant nothing when it came up against the megalith that is Godzilla but that’s to be expected.

Bad Neighbours demonstrates how tactics can backfire with vastly diminished takings; it took a staggeringly low 15% of its previous week’s total, even though last week included a weeks worth of previews. Taking £1.4m it dropped like the proverbial stone and only managed to keep its place in the top two due to how badly every other film did in the wake of Godzilla, but it’s unlikely to be so lucky next week. Also on a serious downward slide are Tarzan and Pompeii which are in 7th and 8th place respectively with takings of £137k and £112k after only three weeks since their release.

Opening Next Week

Going head to head with Godzilla next week will be X-men: Days of Future Past. Combining the two eras of X-men into one big cast brings James MacAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Michael Fassbender, Sir Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman and Peter Dinklage to the screen together. With such a loyal fan base and a great cast this should easily take the top spot from Godzilla on its debut week and will most likely stay there for a couple of weeks, much like The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s success.

For those wanting to avoid action in the coming week consider two new choices for your delectation: Blended and Fading Gigolo. Blended is the third rom-com collaboration of Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. They play an onscreen couple once again after their exploits in The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates. Fading Gigolo sees writer/director/actor John Turturro, star as a newbie gigolo to make some money for his friend. Both of these are likely to make the top 10 however they could split the audience and restrict either from entering the top 5. Most likely to enter the top 5 is kids favourite Postman Pat who could use the start of half term to bring in young audiences.

 

Click here to view the latest Box Office Table