The total box office for August was £120,228,107, the highest monthly total since last year’s Barbenheimer July total of £160m. Year to date, we are now tracking 12% behind 2023, an improvement from -15% at the start of the month.

Husband & wife duo Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively lead the August box office. “Deadpool & Wolverine” was the No.1 film, adding £29.7m in August. Shawn Levy’s crossover sequel now has a total to date of £55.3m, becoming the third-biggest title among releases rated 15 or higher, behind only “Joker” (£58.2m) and “Oppenheimer” (£59.7m). In the Marvel franchise, it ranks as the fourth-biggest release, with only “Avengers: Infinity War” (£70.8m), “Avengers: Endgame” (£88.7m) and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (£97.1m) grossing more.

“It Ends With Us” follows at No.2 with a total of £19.4m. Justin Baldoni’s drama is the seventh-highest 2024 release so far, surpassing “Bob Marley: One Love” (£17.1m) and behind “Migration” (£21.3m). The romantic drama is the biggest release for Blake Lively, overtaking “Green Lantern” (£6.1m) and “A Simple Favour” (£5.1m), with the combined total of all her films now exceeding £43m.

“Despicable Me 4” sits at No.3, adding a further £16.9m in August. Illumination’s sequel has a running total of £45.2m, tracking only 5% behind the lifetime total of “Despicable Me 2” (£47.5m) and 6% behind “Despicable Me 3” (£47.9m). The animated hit is also the third-biggest release of 2024 so far, behind only “Inside Out 2” (£58.4m) and “Deadpool & Wolverine” (£55.3m).
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At No.4 is “Alien: Romulus” with £11.5m for the month. Fede Alvarez’s horror picture is the biggest release for the director ahead of “Don’t Breathe” (£3.8m), as well as the highest-grossing horror release of 2024 overtaking “A Quiet Place: Day One” (£9.9m).

Holding strongly for the third month in a row and currently the top release of the year, “Inside Out 2” charts at No.5 with £7.2m. Kelsey Mann’s Pixar sequel has a total of £58.4m, ranking as the third-highest animated film of all time, overtaking “Incredibles 2” (£56.1m) and behind only “Toy Story 4” (£66.2m) and “Toy Story 3” (£74.0m) for an all-Disney Top 4 in the genre.

“Twisters” follows at No.6, adding £5.2m this month to bring its total to £14.2m. Lee Isaac Chung’s action-adventure movie is the twelfth-best performing 2024 release so far, overtaking “IF” (£12.4m) and behind “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” (£14.6m). It is closing on original instalment “Twister’s” 1996 cume of £15.0m.

Another Warner title, “Trap”, is at No.7 for the month with £3.7m. M. Night Shyamalan’s horror picture has now surpassed his latest releases 2023’s “Knock At The Cabin” (£3.1m) and 2021’s “Old” (£3.3m).

The 15th Anniversary re-release of “Coraline” is at No.8 with £3.2m. Henry Selick’s acclaimed stop-motion picture originally opened with £3.4m and achieved a total of £8.6m. “Coraline” has passed the lifetime of two recent re-releases, “Titanic” (£2.4m) and “Avatar” (£2.6m), and is the biggest re-issue since 1998’s “Grease” (20th Anniversary) which grossed £4.2m.

Carlos Saldanha’s family picture “Harold And The Purple Crayon” is at No.9 with £2.9m.

Closing the chart at No.10 is Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, “Blink Twice”, with a total of £2.2m after two weeks on release.

September Preview

September begins with Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Warner) starring Michael Keaton and Jenna Ortega. Chiwetel Ejiofor writes and directs biographical drama “Rob Peace” (Elysian), and Alicia Vikander stars alongside Jude Law’s Henry VIII in “Firebrand” (Met Film). Horror remake “Speak No Evil” (Universal) starring James McAvoy opens on Thursday (12th), followed by Kate Winslet’s war biopic “Lee” (Studiocanal), “The Critic” (Lionsgate) starring Ian McKellen and Gemma Arterton, and the latest in the animated franchise “Boonie Bears: Time Twist” (Miracle/Dazzler) all opening on 13th. Animated sequel “200% Wolf” (Signature) and Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley body horror picture “The Substance” (MUBI) both open on 20th. The month closes with a variety of titles opening on 27th: animated fantasy “Dragonkeeper” (Vertigo), superhero horror reboot “Hellboy: The Crooked Man” (Icon), Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” (Entertainment), survival horror “Never Let Go” (Lionsgate), and Saoirse Ronan-led drama “The Outrun” (Studiocanal).