Welcome to the Admissions Report for June 2022
A milestone month as admissions surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time since Bond.
Blockbusters Top Gun: Maverick and Jurassic World: Dominion helped admissions boom in June, taking the total to a very healthy 11.9m, which was evidently a massive increase on 2020 and 2021 (+70.2%), but also achieved a small, but significant uplift of +3% on the average last three years pre-pandemic (June ‘17, ’18 and ’19). Happily, the month even exceeded our expert in-house monthly prediction by +4%.
In addition, the MAT increased further to 125.2m (+572.9%) with multiple solid months predicted ahead, meanwhile the YTD figure grew to 61.7m (+488.2% on 2021), which is now tracking just -26.4% behind 2019, which, in turn, has slightly shrunk the gap on last month.
It came as no surprise that the return of eighties classic Top Gun: Maverick (#1), together with Tom Cruise and Jennifer Connelly, came out on top this month as it pulled a punchy £44.0m into June, and became the biggest box office film of 2022 with a whopping £72.7m so far (20/7/22). The other major contributor was the ever-popular fossil franchise Jurassic World: Dominion, which stormed into #2 as it scooped a terrific £28.6m. In #3 place, well behind the two frontrunners, but still scoring a sizeable £7.7m, soared intergalactic Toy Story spin-off Lightyear with Chris Evans as the latest Buzz. Following the top-three this month was glitzy biopic Elvis, starring Austin Butler as The King, which rose to #4 with a weighty £7.2m, as it raced in front of Marvel Comics’ space crusader Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness, which fell from the no. #1 spot to #5 with £3.4m. Next, Ethan Hawke played serial killer The Grabber in blood-chilling Blumhouse horror The Black Phone (#6), which overtook A24’s much-talked-about psychological dramedy Everything Everywhere All at Once (#7), drawing in £2.1m and £1.6m respectively. Lastly, April openers completed the top ten this month, showcasing much-loved family sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in #8 with £1.3m, alongside the next chapter of the Crawley family in period piece Downton Abbey: A New Era in #9 having taken just under £1.3m. Kids’ quirky criminal gang The Bad Guys stole #10 place with £1.1m.
Although lacking a tentpole release this year, August will feature a broad and diverse roster of worth-a-watch titles, covering everything from high-octane action and hell-raising horror to mind-messing sci-fi and enthralling drama. Most likely to pull in the most punters will be Jordan Peele’s (director of Get Out and Us) much-anticipated sci-fi thriller Nope, starring Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer, which, together with assassin-crawling action Bullet Train and wild lion chase Beast will sweep up that key youth audience. What’s more, horrors tend to prove attractive to the teen and twenty-somethings, such as gothic conspiracy feature The Invitation, alongside psychological terror sequel Orphan: First Kill. Considering the middle-older-aged audiences, August will play host to the return of popular, warm-hearted dramedy Fisherman’s Friends: One and All, as well as inspiring indie releases Where is Anne Frank, Eiffel and Mr. Malcolm’s List. Finally, for animé aficionados, both young and old, Goku is back in the latest instalment of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.