Steven Spielberg’s The BFG towers over UK box office as Star Trek Beyond crash lands
STEVEN SPIELBERG’S adaption of Roald Dahl’s The BFG starring Mark Rylance has beaten Chris Pine’s Star Trek Beyond at the UK box office.
Disney's The BFG official trailer
Both films were released last weekend with The BFG taking £5.2 million, while Star Trek Beyond only managed £4.7 million.
The success of Spielberg’s latest movie significantly beat the expected £1.9 million.
Box office experts believe The BFG worked in the UK and not the US because Dahl’s stories are particularly loved in Britain, which is also the setting of his tales.
Another factor is The BFG was screened in 680 cinemas compared to just 535 for Star Trek Beyond.
Related articles
Star Trek Beyond - Trailer #3 - Paramount Pictures International
The news of the Dahl adaptation’s success came as a shock after The BFG bombed at the US Box Office, being drowned by Finding Dory.
In another twist Star Trek Beyond, the third in JJ Abrams’ reboot series, topped the US Box Office at the weekend.
The sci-fi blockbuster failed to warp speed off the success of its first two entries with last film, Star Trek Into Darkness, making £8.43 million in its UK opening.
The failure is down to JJ Abrams' exit as director, after accepting the offer to helm Star Wars: The Force Awakens, rather than continue with the rival franchise.
Also, the new film’s baddie, played by Idris Elba, doesn’t quite have the same British villain gravitas as Benedict Cumberbatch in the last.
In other news from the UK box office, the female-led Ghostbusters reboot was beaten by a classical concert.
The live screening of Andre Rieu’s 2016 Maastricht Concert made £1.4 million, topping Ghostbusters’ £1.3 million.
Fifth place went to The Secret Life of Pets, as it enjoyed yet another week in the Top 5.
Ice Age: Collision Course, the fifth film in the animated franchise, was the big flop of the week, falling from second to eighth place.
With Finding Dory released on Friday, even The BFG will have to put up a fight to retain the top spot from Pixar’s beast.
