Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid” topped the UK and Ireland box office in its third weekend, grossing 3.5 million pounds ($4.7 million), raising its total box office to 17.8 million pounds ($24.1 million), according to ComScore.
A standout in January’s awards corridor, Focus Features’ “Hamnet” had the strongest debut of the year so far among awards contenders, taking second place in the UK and Ireland with a $4.2 million opening. This launch surpassed the openings of recent prestige titles such as “A Complete Unknown,” “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners” and “Marty Supreme.” Focus Features has worldwide rights and Universal Pictures International is releasing worldwide.
The result also placed the film ahead of highly rated dramas that premiered in the UK and Ireland, including Little Women, The Favourite, Belfast and A Little Thing, and more than doubled the opening box office gross of Conclave. This makes “Hamnet” the highest-grossing January drama opening since the pandemic, the fifth-biggest January drama opening of the past decade, and the second-biggest January drama opening so far in 2025 behind “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.”
The film was Jesse Buckley’s biggest opening weekend ever for a starring feature, and was the second-highest career debut for director Chloé Zhao and star Paul Mescal, behind “The Eternals” and “Gladiator II,” respectively. Ireland did particularly well, accounting for 12% of the total box office, with “Hamnet” alone accounting for more than 20% of the Irish market. In the UK, the Everyman cinema chain led the circuit performance, with Picturehouse also performing well with an 8.5% share. Across Everyman and Picturehouse combined, the film ranked #1 in 85% of places.
At Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, “Hamnet” won Buckley the award for Best Motion Picture or Drama and Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture or Drama.
Disney’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” moved into third place in the fourth slot, adding $3.5 million for a total of $48.4 million. Entertainment Film Distributors’ “Marty Supreme” followed in fourth place with $2.7 million, pushing its total to $12.7 million.
Rounding out the top five was Walt Disney’s “Zootopia 2,” which raked in $1.6 million in its seventh weekend of release for a total of $39.7 million.
Further down the chart, Paramount’s “The SpongeBob SquarePants” took sixth place with $836,000 and a total of $9.2 million, while Sony’s “Anaconda” came in seventh with $711,000 and a total of $6.4 million. Universal’s “Son Song Bleu” followed in eighth place with $590,000, bringing the total to $2.5 million.
True Brit Entertainment’s “Giant” debuted at No. 9 with $502,000, while Park Circus’ 40th anniversary reissue “Labyrinth” cracked the top 10 with $435,000.
Come mid-January, the franchise will combine powerhouses, family-friendly titles and event cinema, led by Sony’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the next chapter in the post-apocalyptic series that will be rolled out across more than 300 properties.
Disney is also bringing to market the heartwarming “Rental Family,” directed by Hikari, starring Brendan Fraser and co-starring Takehiro Hira and Mari Yamamoto. Family-friendly viewers will be treated to the Dutch animation “Miss Moxy” by Miracle Combs.
Altitude Film Distribution’s season nominee “The Voice of Hind Rajab” will be released in over 100 screens, while “State of Statelessness”, the Day for Night anthology film directed by Tenzin Tsetan Chokrei, Tsering Tashi Gyaltan, Ritu Sarin, Tenzin Sonam and Sonam Tseten, will be released in limited release.
Event Cinema also featured prominently with Trafalgar Releasing’s screening of La Traviata – ROH, London 2026, continuing its strong theatrical presence with Royal Opera House broadcasts. Warner Bros. has announced a major rerelease of the complete Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King), all of which will be shown in over 100 movie theaters.
Rounding out the week is Zee Studios International’s Bollywood fantasy comedy ‘Rahu Ketu’.
