Actress Melissa McCarthy and director Paul Feig began their winning partnership with 2011’s unexpected smash hit rom-com Bridesmaids ($288 million) – also starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Chris O’Dowd and Jon Hamm – and they returned in Sandra Bullock-starring cop comedy The Heat ($229 million). They’re even behind next year’s Ghostbusters reboot but for now we have action caper Spy, whose cast of McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne and Jude Law have whipped up critical acclaim. The competition: horror sequel Insidious Chapter 3 and spin-off of HBO comedy show Entourage. Last week, we predicted Spy would top the box office.
US:
- Spy – Director: Paul Feig – $29.1 million
- San Andreas – Brad Peyton – $25.8 million
- Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell – $22.7 million
- Entourage – Doug Ellin – $10.3 million
- Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – $7.8 million
UK:
- Spy – Paul Feig – £2.6 million
- San Andreas – Brad Peyton – £2 million
- Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell – £1.4 million
- Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – £0.8 million
- Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks – £0.7 million
Spy has had a fine entry at $30 million where as Insidious pales in comparison to its more star-studded predecessors. Entourage has disappointed but that might be a reflection of HBO’s outrage-provoking risks now working in cinemas (their Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra – with Michael Douglas, Matt Damon and Rob Lowe – got a UK audience but was pulled off US screens). This might put a damper on those Game of Thrones movie rumours.
The UK release to watch out for is Secret Cinema’s screening of The Empire Strikes Back in an immersive experience recreating Hoth Echo Base. The company’s previous screenings include The Third Man, The Shawshank Redemption, Brazil and a Back to the Future themed recreation of Hill Valley. It took £300,000 from just one site. This week I’ve scored 5/10.
US:
- Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow
- Spy – Paul Feig
- San Andreas – Brad Peyton
- Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell
- Entourage – Doug Ellin
UK:
- Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow
- Spy – Paul Feig
- San Andreas – Brad Peyton
- Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell
- London Road – Rufus Norris
Melissa McCarthy in Spy, this week’s US and UK number one.
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