Welcome back to the Wednesday Roundup from Burning Down the Cinema. In this week’s roundup, Barbenheimer remains on top at the box office. As usual, there is a summary of the latest films available to stream and a preview for the upcoming weekend at the cinema.
Box office update
For the second weekend in a row, Barbie and Oppenheimer dominated at the box office. Barbie grossed £13.2 million to retain the number one spot. After only two weeks, it has already become the third-highest grossing film of the year internationally. Oppenheimer earned £8.2 million to comfortably remain in second place.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is at number three. Four weeks since its release, the seventh instalment in the spy franchise grossed £1.8 million. Dead Reckoning Part Two is set to be released in June next year.
The highest-placed debut this week is Talk to Me. In fifth place, the supernatural horror earned £643,000. Directed by brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, it finished just behind Pixar animation Elemental.
Insidious: The Red Door is at number eight four weeks since release. The horror sequel grossed £337,000. Ukrainian animated fantasy Mavka: The Forest Song finishes in fourteenth place. In its opening weekend, the film earned £54,000.
Now streaming
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now streaming on Disney+. Released in cinemas earlier this year, it is the third film in the Guardians of the Galaxy series. Like the two previous films in the series, it centres on a superhero team who protect the galaxy. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña and Dave Bautista are among the returning members of the ensemble cast. At present, it is the second-highest grossing film of this year.
V for Vendetta (2005) is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, it is a dystopian thriller starring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. In the film, the UK is being governed by a fascist regime. Weaving plays an anarchist freedom-fighter who seeks to overthrow the regime.
Groundhog Day (1993) is available on Netflix. Bill Murray stars as a weatherman who becomes trapped in a time loop on Groundhog Day. Directed by Harold Ramis, the supporting cast includes Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliott. Since its release, the film has been widely acclaimed and was voted the greatest comedy film ever by Empire magazine in 2017.
Coming this weekend
Meg 2: The Trench is a sequel to the 2018 film The Meg. Jason Statham returns in the starring role. Like the first film, Meg 2: The Trench follows a group of scientists exploring the depths of the ocean when they encounter a giant shark. The supporting cast includes Wu Jing, Sophia Cai and Page Kennedy.
The comedy Joy Ride stars Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu. It follows an adopted woman searching for her birth mother. Joy Ride is directed by Adele Lim and written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was released earlier this week. In the animated film, Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu and Brady Noon form the principal voice cast. The narrative centres on the title characters when they are teenagers battling an army of mutants.
Final comments
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James
Burning Down the Cinema 