UK Box Office: Avengers Returns to No. 1 as Autumn Releases Shake Up the Chart

Avengers: Endgame Encore storms back to the top of the UK box office, while Resident Evil holds strongly, Brad Pitt and Jane Austen enter the top four, and Spider-Man edges ever closer to the £100 million mark.

The UK box office received a significant autumn refresh over the weekend of 25 to 27 September, with new releases occupying three of the top four positions and seven fresh entries appearing across the Top 15. Yet the weekend’s biggest film was, unusually, one audiences already knew extremely well. Avengers: Endgame Encore returned Marvel’s 2019 epic to cinemas and immediately claimed first place, demonstrating again just how commercially powerful nostalgia, franchise loyalty and event-style re-releases can be.

The Top 15 generated approximately £13.8 million over the Friday-to-Sunday period, with the five highest-ranked films accounting for close to four-fifths of that total. Beneath the headline-grabbing arrivals, several long-running releases continued to accumulate impressive numbers. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey pushed beyond £86 million, while Spider-Man: Brand New Day moved to within touching distance of the £100 million milestone.

At number one, Avengers: Endgame Encore opened with £4.12 million. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the film reunites Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Don Cheadle and Josh Brolin in the climactic chapter of Marvel’s Infinity Saga. The surviving Avengers attempt to reverse the devastation caused by Thanos and restore those lost during the events of Infinity War. The Encore presentation runs at around 185 minutes and adds further material around the original feature, turning a familiar film into something closer to a new Marvel theatrical event.

Its performance is particularly striking because this is not simply a repertory reissue playing quietly to established fans. Disney has successfully repositioned Endgame as a major cinema occasion once again, suggesting that studio back catalogues are increasingly becoming active commercial assets rather than films that simply disappear into streaming libraries.

Resident Evil slipped from first to second but remained one of the weekend’s biggest attractions, earning £2.23 million and taking its cumulative UK gross to £8.63 million. Zach Cregger’s reboot stars Austin Abrams as Bryan, a medical courier who becomes caught in a rapidly escalating outbreak, alongside Paul Walter Hauser, Zach Cherry, Johnno Wilson and Kali Reis. Rather than directly retelling one of the games, the film uses the Resident Evil world as the foundation for a new survival-horror story in which an isolated community is overwhelmed by a mutagenic virus. The running time is around 94 minutes.

The film’s second-weekend decline was substantial but not unexpected for horror, a genre that often attracts its most committed audience early. An £8.6 million cumulative total nevertheless represents a strong UK performance for the revived franchise and confirms that Resident Evil still has considerable recognition among both gamers and horror audiences.

Brad Pitt entered the chart at number three with Heart of the Beast, a survival thriller directed by David Ayer. The film stars Pitt as former Special Forces soldier James Belmont, alongside J.K. Simmons and Anna Lambe, and follows Belmont and his combat dog Odin after a plane crash leaves them stranded in the Alaskan wilderness. Faced with brutal terrain, dangerous wildlife and their own physical limitations, the pair must somehow make their way back to civilisation. The film runs approximately 101 minutes.

The chart records just over £2 million against the film for its opening, although reporting around previews means the pure Friday-to-Sunday figure appears to be somewhat lower. Either way, the result gives Pitt another substantial UK opening and provides audiences with a star-driven adventure sitting comfortably alongside the weekend’s franchise-heavy competition.

At number four, Sense and Sensibility demonstrated the enduring appeal of Jane Austen. The new adaptation stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor Dashwood and Esmé Creed-Miles as Marianne, with Caitríona Balfe as Mrs Dashwood and a supporting cast that includes George MacKay, Frank Dillane and Fiona Shaw. The story follows the Dashwood women after a change in family circumstances leaves them financially vulnerable, forcing Elinor and Marianne to navigate love, heartbreak, social expectation and the economic realities facing women in their position. The film runs around 132 minutes.

Its £1.54 million opening is a strong result for a literary costume drama and illustrates how recognisable source material can operate much like a franchise of its own. Austen’s stories continue to arrive with a built-in audience, particularly when paired with high-profile contemporary casting.

Aardman’s Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom dropped to number five, adding £816,652 and taking its cumulative total to £2.53 million. Justin Fletcher returns as Shaun and Timmy, John Sparkes voices the Farmer and Bitzer, and Kate Harbour once again contributes to the familiar Mossy Bottom ensemble. Set around Halloween, the story begins when the Farmer inadvertently causes problems for the farm’s pumpkin crop, leading Shaun into another chaotic adventure involving experiments, rumours and a supposed monster in the woods. The film runs approximately 80 minutes.

Despite losing ground in its second weekend, Shaun remains one of the chart’s strongest options for younger audiences. The franchise’s largely dialogue-free humour and compact running time continue to give it an unusually broad appeal both in Britain and internationally.

Practical Magic 2 fell to sixth place with £773,108, taking its UK cumulative total to just over £7 million. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as Sally and Gillian Owens, joined by Joey King, Lee Pace, Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing. Directed by Susanne Bier, the sequel brings the Owens family back together as they confront an old curse and a new supernatural threat. Running for roughly 130 minutes, the film blends romance, comedy, family drama and fantasy much as the original did.

Its appeal lies less in conventional franchise spectacle and more in the affection audiences still hold for the characters almost three decades after the first film. That £7 million total suggests there was real appetite for their return.

At number seven, Pressure continued to perform solidly, earning £577,063 and taking its cumulative gross to £5.65 million. Anthony Maras’s historical drama stars Andrew Scott as RAF meteorologist James Stagg and Brendan Fraser as General Dwight D. Eisenhower, with Kerry Condon, Chris Messina and Damian Lewis among the supporting cast. Set in the tense days immediately before D-Day, the film dramatises the enormous responsibility placed on Stagg as Allied commanders wrestle with uncertain weather forecasts and the decision of whether to launch the invasion. Its running time is around 100 minutes.

Pressure has quietly become one of the chart’s more interesting adult dramas. Rather than relying on large-scale battlefield action, the film builds tension from conversation, risk and decision-making, demonstrating that serious historical material can still hold its own among much larger commercial releases.

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey remained in the Top 10 at number eight, adding £365,742 and taking its UK total to an extraordinary £86.57 million. Matt Damon leads as Odysseus, joined by Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o and Charlize Theron. Nolan’s adaptation of Homer follows Odysseus on his long and dangerous journey home following the Trojan War, encountering monsters, temptations and divine interference while his family waits in Ithaca. The film runs approximately 173 minutes.

Eleven weeks into release, its continuing presence in the chart is remarkable. The Odyssey has developed into one of the defining UK theatrical successes of the year, showing once again that Nolan’s name alone can turn an ambitious, lengthy production into mainstream event cinema.

At number nine, Spider-Man: Brand New Day added £312,049, lifting its cumulative UK gross to £99.52 million. Tom Holland returns as Peter Parker, with Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Mark Ruffalo and Jon Bernthal also appearing. The film picks up after Peter’s identity has effectively been erased from the memories of those closest to him, leaving him to rebuild his life while continuing to operate as Spider-Man. New threats and shifting alliances soon draw him into another crisis. The film runs approximately 139 minutes.

The story surrounding its box office is now simple: the £100 million mark is almost certain to fall. Fewer than half a million pounds separate the film from a milestone reached by only a small number of modern UK releases.

Telugu-language action drama The Paradise entered at number ten with £265,303. Directed by Srikanth Odela, the film stars Nani alongside Kayadu Lohar, Raghav Juyal, Mohan Babu and Sonali Kulkarni. Set amid the social tensions of 1980s Secunderabad, the story follows Jadal and a marginalised community battling discrimination while seeking recognition and legal rights. The narrative also places a strong emotional emphasis on the relationship between a mother and son. The running time is around 169 minutes.

Its Top 10 debut is another example of the increasingly international nature of the British box office. Indian cinema no longer needs to become a crossover curiosity to register meaningfully in the UK chart. A strong diaspora audience can now propel a regional-language production directly into competition with Hollywood studio titles.

Bad Apples dropped to number eleven with £263,135, taking its cumulative total to £1.08 million. Saoirse Ronan stars as Maria, an exhausted primary-school teacher struggling to deal with a severely disruptive pupil whose behaviour overwhelms her classroom and the support systems around her. When an altercation leads to the child being confined at Maria’s home, she finds herself caught between correcting an increasingly dangerous situation and confronting the uncomfortable fact that her classroom functions dramatically better without him. Jacob Anderson and Robert Emms appear in supporting roles, and the film runs around 101 minutes.

The dark comedy may be operating at a much smaller commercial scale than the chart leaders, but its continued presence in the Top 15 gives a distinctive British production valuable national visibility.

At number twelve, Korean science-fiction thriller Hope opened with £220,397. Directed by Na Hong-jin, the film brings together Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Hoyeon, Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. The story follows residents of a remote town confronting a mysterious creature and the escalating chaos that follows its arrival. Combining monster-movie spectacle with psychological tension, the film runs approximately 157 minutes.

A Top 15 opening for a lengthy Korean genre film featuring an international cast demonstrates just how much the UK theatrical market has broadened. Audiences accustomed to streaming content from around the world are increasingly willing to seek that same international variety in cinemas.

National Theatre Live’s The Misanthrope entered the chart at number thirteen with £105,856 across the weekend and a cumulative total of £466,493 from its event screenings. Sandra Oh stars as Alice in Martin Crimp’s contemporary adaptation of Molière, alongside Paul Chahidi, Abigail Cruttenden, Imogen Elliott, Rina Fatania, Freddie MacBruce, Tom Mison and Jemima Rooper. Alice is a successful novelist whose determination to speak plainly and reject social hypocrisy increasingly alienates her from friends, colleagues and lovers. The cinema presentation runs around 150 minutes.

Its inclusion is another reminder that event cinema now forms a genuine part of the UK theatrical economy. Recorded theatre, opera and concert performances can generate meaningful national box office while bringing productions to audiences far beyond their original venues.

Insidious: Out of the Further slipped to number fourteen with £75,365, taking its cumulative total to £7.94 million. Amelia Eve stars as Gemma, a young mother who discovers that she can enter the supernatural realm known as The Further and, more dangerously, bring entities back with her. Brandon Perea and Lin Shaye also star, with Shaye returning as franchise favourite Elise Rainier. Directed by Jacob Chase, the film runs approximately 106 minutes.

Its theatrical run is clearly entering its latter stages, but close to £8 million in the UK is another strong result for a horror series that has proved remarkably durable over more than a decade.

Completing the Top 15, The Lost Children of Tuam opened with £69,846. Frank Berry’s drama is based on the investigation into the deaths of children at the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway. Monica Dolan plays historian Catherine Corless, with Ian McElhinney, Andrew Bennett, Ruth McCabe and Lalor Roddy among the supporting cast. The film follows Corless’s research and the campaign for recognition that developed as evidence emerged concerning the hundreds of children who died at the institution. The running time is approximately 84 minutes.

Its box-office number is modest, but its presence in the national Top 15 is significant. In a chart dominated by franchise filmmaking and major stars, a serious historical drama reaching a broad theatrical audience helps underline the continuing importance of cinemas as places for cultural as well as commercial storytelling.

Taken together, the weekend presents an unusually diverse picture of British cinema-going. Marvel can still turn a seven-year-old blockbuster into the country’s number-one film, yet the same chart also accommodates Jane Austen, Korean science fiction, Telugu action cinema, National Theatre Live, family animation and politically charged drama.

Perhaps the most striking theme is the growing importance of event status. Audiences are increasingly choosing films that feel worth leaving home for, whether that means a giant Nolan production, the return of beloved Marvel characters, the revival of a familiar franchise or a one-off theatre broadcast. In that environment, recognisability matters, but so does distinctiveness. The UK box office remains competitive, fragmented and unpredictable, yet this particular weekend shows that audiences are still willing to turn out when a film gives them a compelling enough reason.

Sources: British Film Institute weekly UK box office reporting; Film Distributors’ Association / Comscore UK box office chart; British Board of Film Classification; Screen Daily; National Theatre Live; official distributor and production information for the films covered.