This weekend, Friday 5th November 2021, there are 5 new films released in the UK and where available looking to hit the box office chart, but can they challenge last weekends top movie, No Time to Die, for the number 1 spot?

Here are this weeks new releases

• Eternals
• Spencer
• Red Notice
• The Card Counter
• Finch

Eternals

• The movie is directed by Chloe Zhao, it is the directors 4th movie.
• Chloe Zhao also directed Nomadland in 2021 which grossed £2.2 Mil. in the UK.
• It stars Gemma Chan who also starred in Raya and the Last Dragon (2021).
• The film also stars Richard Madden who last appeared in 1917 (2020).
• Box Office prediction: Number 1

Spencer

• The movie is directed by Pablo Larrain, it is the directors 10th movie.
• Pablo Larrain also directed Post Mortem in 2011 which grossed £3.2K in the UK.
• It stars Kristen Stewart who also starred in Underwater (2020).
• The film also stars Timothy Spall who last appeared in The Obscure Life of the Grand Duke of Corsica (2021).
• They also appeared together in 9 Kisses (2014).
• Box Office prediction: Number 4

Red Notice

• The movie is directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, it is the directors 6th movie.
• Rawson Marshall Thurber also directed Skyscraper in 2018 which grossed £5.1 Mil. in the UK and grossed $304.1 Mil. globally.
• It stars Dwayne Johnson who also starred in Jungle Cruise (2021).
• The film also stars Ryan Reynolds who last appeared in Free Guy (2021).
• Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds have starred in 2 movies together.
• They also appeared together in Free Guy (2021).
• Box Office prediction: Number 6

The Card Counter

• The movie is directed by Paul Schrader, it is the directors 14th movie.
• Paul Schrader also directed Patty Hearst in 1988 which grossed £40K in the UK.
• It stars Oscar Isaac who also starred in Dune (2021).
• The film also stars Tiffany Haddish who last appeared in Here Today (2021).

Finch

• The movie is directed by Miguel Sapochnik, it is the directors 3rd movie.
• Miguel Sapochnik also directed Hieroglyph in 2014.
• It stars Tom Hanks who also starred in News of the World (2020).
• The film also stars Caleb Landry Jones who last appeared in The Forgiven (2021).

Check back on Monday to see what new movies made it onto the Weekend Box Office Chart.

Next week there are 4 new movies released

• Mandelas Gun, Friday, 12th November
• Cry Macho, Friday, 12th November
• Mothering Sunday, Friday, 12th November
• Becoming Cousteau, Friday, 12th November

Disney are causing a bit of a storm with cinema distributors because they want to release the forthcoming Tim Burton adaptation of Alice in Wonderland on DVD/Blu-ray only 13 weeks (about 3 months) after it hits the cinemas in the UK and Netherlands.

The usual window is between 4 and 6 months depending on the film, and as Alice in Wonderland is expected to be a big hit it will most likely be 6 months which would give the multiplexes more time to make money, so chains like Vue Entertainment Ltd are threatening to pull the film altogether.

Is this window too short? The cinema's argument is that this will reduce the number of bums on seats in theatres as the cinema goes will be aware they can buy the film soon and hence reduce the money taken for a film at the box office, which also could have a knock on effect on cinema ticket prices for all.

10 years ago the window was 6 months or more, and there was a time when the window was even up to a year, although the market back then was more leaned towards the rental market and the internet was not about, hence no digital downloads, and piracy although an issue wasn't by any means as big as it is now.

Why then does the likes of Disney want such a short window? Is it to tackle piracy? Is it to cash in on the hype of a film in such a fickle here today gone tomorrow market? Or is it simply that home cinema can fulfill the movie goers as readily as an expensive visit to the cinema these days?

Just think if Avatar has a 13 week window it would be scheduled for release around 15th March during a time which it will surely be still riding high at the cinema, or maybe that would be the best time to release it?

I can see the argument for and against this, but I must admit that I did prefer it in the days when you were unable to watch a film for a period of months after leaving the cinema and then enjoy it even more when the VHS of the film was available for rent.