The U.K. may have just had the hottest August since records began but, in more positive news, it also had the hottest August at the box office in almost a decade.
Thanks to the incredible performances of both “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey” a total of $161.3 million was earned at the box office that month, according to new figures from Rentrak, the highest since 2018’s record-breaking August with $201.7 million.
Of course, three recent years were hit by the pandemic and its impact on production, with 2020’s August sitting at a paltry $22 million, 2021’s at $87.9 million and 2022’s at $85.4 million. But as the world burned outside, this year’s bumper summer was clearly a major relief for cinemas and the industry at large as it still looks to recover following recent seismic shifts.
(Comscore’s official numbers do state that 2024’s August reached $163.1 million and 2019’s $167.9, those were counted as five-week periods as the company’s months run from the first Friday to the last.)
“The Odyssey,” which released July 17, ended August with U.K. earnings of $108.6 million, easily Christopher Nolan’s most successful film on home soil by some margin and still number 2 in the box office after seven weeks. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” meanwhile, released on July 29 and, five weeks on, still sits atop the box office with total earnings of $126.8 million. It’ll likely top “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($131. 7 million) as the highest-earning Marvel film in the U.K. by the end of September.
