Cleaning House...once again

The UK box office held steady this weekend, with a mix of sharp drops, resilient holdovers, and a cluster of preview‑boosted new releases shaping the chart. Family fare, horror, and prestige titles all found space, while several films crossed notable all‑time milestones.

Weekend roundup

• The Housemaid — £2,038,034; Week 5; down 28%; 623 screens. A strong hold for the psychological thriller, now at £26,081,649. It has become the 217th highest‑grossing film of all time in the UK, sitting just behind High School Musical 3: Senior Year. It also ranks 10th for the year and is on track to overtake Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning within days.

Hamnet

£1,964,266; Week 3; down 25%; 751 screens. A steady third‑week performance brings the total to £12,063,898. Its adult‑skewing audience continues to show consistency across weekdays and weekends.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple £1,228,024; Week 2; down 64%; 660 screens. The headline drop is steep, but without previews the fall‑off is 49%, a more typical second‑week trajectory for a front‑loaded franchise sequel. Total now £5,748,977.

Avatar: Fire And Ash £1,100,722; Week 6; down 36%; 483 screens. With £40,168,960 to date, it has now become the 96th highest‑grossing film ever in the UK, sitting just behind Thor: Love and Thunder. Its long‑tail performance remains one of the strongest among major releases this year.

Zootropolis 2 £1,035,906; Week 9; up 5%; 615 screens. A rare late‑run increase pushes the animated sequel to £31,655,748. It now ranks as the 152nd top‑grossing film of all time, just behind Slumdog Millionaire, and has outperformed the original by 24%.

Marty Supreme

£1,016,923; Week 5; down 31%; 607 screens. Total now £13,612,449. A solid mid‑table performer with stable week‑to‑week drops.

New entries

Saipan £772,281 opening; 207 screens; Week 1; includes £688,143 from 142 previews. Despite the heavy preview contribution, this still ranks as the 4th best opening of the year. Its core weekend footprint was modest, but audience interest appears strong.

No Other Choice £621,340 opening; 209 screens; Week 1; includes £188,388 from 255 previews. A solid arthouse debut with a wide preview rollout that significantly boosted its headline figure.

Mercy £612,349 opening; 475 screens; Week 1; includes £9,754 from 84 previews. This lands as the 6th best opening of the year, a strong result for a mid‑budget thriller with broad appeal.

Return to Silent Hill £579,968 opening; 365 screens; Week 1. A horror relaunch with no preview uplift, performing in line with expectations for the genre.

Border 2 £285,853 opening; 119 screens; Week 1. A niche but respectable start for the sequel.

 H Is For Hawk £273,192 opening; 342 screens; Week 1; includes £30,240 from 201 previews. A gentle literary adaptation with a modest but targeted launch.

The History of Sound £198,419 opening; 292 screens; Week 1; includes £86,098 from 42 previews. A prestige‑leaning debut with strong preview density.

Holdovers and milestones

The Spongebob Movie: Search For Squarepants £377,888; Week 5; down 20%. Total now £7,873,524. A durable family performer with one of the softer drops in the top 15.

 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Re: 2026) £194,894; Week 2; up 11%. Total now £439,430. A healthy increase driven by fan screenings and premium formats.

 Wicked: For Good now out of the top 15 after ten weeks, finishing with £47,064,180. That places it 23% behind the original’s lifetime total, a strong result despite the sharper tail‑end decline.

Quick Take

Preview‑driven openings shaped much of the narrative this weekend, with Saipan, No Other Choice, and Mercy all posting inflated headline figures but showing clear audience interest beneath the surface. Holdovers like The Housemaid, Zootropolis 2, and Avatar: Fire and Ash continue to hit major milestones, with two of them entering the all‑time UK top 250. Meanwhile, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’s steep drop looks less dramatic once previews are removed from the equation.

Ones to watch next weekA varied slate arrives, with several titles poised to break into the top tier:

• Iron Lung

• Mardaani 3 • Rabbit Trap

• Primate • Lockdown • Melania • Another World • Nouvelle Vague • Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir • Shelter • Is This Thing On?

• Kangaroo • Valathu Vashathe Kallan • Gandhi Talks

• The Strongroom (Re: 2026)

Final Take

A weekend defined by previews, milestone‑crossing holdovers, and a surprisingly resilient family sector kept the UK box office lively. With a diverse set of new releases on the horizon, next week’s chart could see significant movement across the top 10.