‘The Housemaid’ Returns to No. 1 at U.K.-Ireland Box Office as ‘Hamnet’ Holds Strong

Lionsgate U.K.’s “The Housemaid” returned to the top of the U.K. and Ireland box office, adding £2 million ($2.8 million) in its fifth weekend for a cumulative £26.1 million ($35.3 million), according to Comscore.

Universal’s “Hamnet” held firm in second place, collecting $2.7 million in its third weekend and lifting its total to $16.3 million. Sony’s “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” moved to third in its sophomore frame with $1.7 million, taking its running total to $7.8 million.

Walt Disney’s “Avatar: Fire And Ash” continued its steady run in fourth place, adding $1.5 million in its sixth weekend for a cumulative $54.4 million. Disney also occupied fifth with “Zootopia 2,” which grossed $1.4 million in its ninth weekend, pushing its total to $42.9 million.

Entertainment Film Distributors’ “Marty Supreme” followed closely behind, earning $1.3 million in its fifth weekend for a $18.4 million cume.

New releases filled much of the lower half of the top 10. Vertigo Releasing’s “Saipan” debuted in seventh place with $1 million, while Mubi’s “No Other Choice” opened in eighth on $841,000. Sony’s ‘Mercy’ landed ninth with $829,000, and Entertainment Film Distributors’ ‘Return To Silent Hill’ rounded out the top 10 on $785,000.

Leading the new arrivals is Studiocanal’s family-friendly adventure “Kangaroo,” directed by Kate Woods and starring Ryan Corr and Deborah Mailman, which rolls out on more than 300 screens. The same scale of release is reserved for Black Bear’s action thriller “Shelter,” from Ric Roman Waugh, toplined by Jason Statham alongside Bill Nighy and Naomi Ackie.

Paramount also goes wide with horror entry “Primate,” directed by Johannes Roberts, while Disney adds Bradley Cooper’s “Is This Thing On?” to the marketplace.

Picturehouse Entertainment releases Bryn Chainey’s “Rabbit Trap,” starring Dev Patel and Rosy McEwen, while BFI Distribution opens beloved 1962 British B-movie “Strongroom,” directed by Vernon Sewell. Altitude Film Distribution’s “Nouvelle Vague” by Richard Linklater adds further weight to the arthouse lineup, alongside Central City Media’s Golden Horse-winning Cantonese-language animation “Another World.”

Bollywood continues to maintain a visible theatrical footprint with Yash Raj Films’ “Mardaani 3” and Zee Studios International’s “Gandhi Talks,” while Amazon-backed FLOTUS documentary “Melania” lands on more than 100 screens. Rounding out the week are event-led offerings, including MusicScreen’s operatic presentation “Evgenij Onegin – Tchaikovsky” and CinemaLive’s Paris Hilton documentary “Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir.”