Universal won a double at the UK and Ireland box office this weekend, with Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie opening at number one with 1.9 million pounds ($2.5 million), according to ComScore.
The popular pre-school’s big screen debut was a huge hit with family viewers starting the October half-term period.
In second place, Universal’s horror sequel “The Black Phone 2” took in $1.5 million, marking another strong showing for the studio. Studiocanal’s Tourette syndrome-themed drama “I Swear” continued its strong second weekend with $1.2 million, pushing its total to $3.9 million.
Disney’s sci-fi film Tron: Ares followed closely with $1.1 million for a total of $4.4 million, while Warner Bros.’ One Battle After Another added $1.06 million for a total of $13 million.
Paramount’s “The Roofman” came in sixth with $910,000. Britain’s Lionsgate’s “Good Fortune” debuted in seventh place with $410,000.
Universal’s Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale also earned another $310,000, bringing its total to $23.5 million. Sony’s “After the Hunt” came in ninth place with $278,000. Kazoo Films’ animated film Night of the Zoopocalypse finished in the top 10 with $223,000 and a two-week total of $659,000.
Among upcoming releases, Disney is leading the way with “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” a Bruce Springsteen biopic directed by Scott Cooper starring music legend Jeremy Allen White. Trafalgar Releasing revisits Laika’s stop-motion favorite ‘ParaNorman’ in a new remastered version.
For anime fans, one of the most anticipated genre releases this week is Sony Pictures’ Chainsaw Man: The Movie: Lesés. Paramount is releasing “Regretting You,” a romantic drama directed by Josh Boone and starring Allison Williams and Mckenna Grace, based on the novel by “It Ends With Us” author Colleen Hoover, and now in more than 300 locations.
Independent titles include MetFilm Distribution’s Hedda, Tessa Thompson’s Nia DaCosta’s reinterpretation of the Ibsen classic, photographer Lindsay Addario’s documentary on the Ukraine war in Dogwoof’s Love+War, and BFI’s reissue of Terrence Davies’ The House of Mirth. Kaleidoscope Entertainment is offering a family-friendly new animated comedy, “A Tooth Fairy Tale,” starring Fran Drescher and Jon Lovitz.
Elsewhere, Park Circus is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Neil Marshall’s cult horror The Descent with a 4K restored screening in over 100 theaters. CinemaLive’s ‘Grow’ joins the weekend’s program of events, with the National Theater hosting ‘Mrs Warren’s Occupation – NT Live 2025’ in select venues on Thursday.
In South Asia, Zee Studios International’s Godday Godday Chaa 2 and Yash Raj Films’ Thamma are both scheduled to release during Diwali. Tal Stories has one-day presentations of the horror “It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This” and the Trafalgar concert document “Mitski: The Land.”
Kova Releasing’s dark comedy “Sketch” will appear alongside Altitude Film Distribution’s family animation “Pets On A Train.”
