Shrek Tops July Box Office

The opening of Shrek, this year’s big family success in the States, failed to prevent the UK’s cinema admissions from seeing a year on year decrease of 1.8%, despite being the top box office draw of the month. The total of 13.8m admissions for the month was nevertheless an improvement of 48% on June’s.

In fact, most of the top films in terms of box office takings during July, including sequels Doctor Dolittle 2 and Jurassic Park 3, appeal to the growing number of children going to the cinema (see Feature: Will Little Kids Be The Next Big Thing For Cinema Advertising?), up 27% over the last decade, according to CAVIAR research.

Shrek opened in this country at the end of June, and during the following month took a total of £17.3m, putting it among the top ten earners of the year so far.

Debbie Chalet, president of the CAA commented: “Cinema offers a guaranteed dual viewing vehicle. Parents and children in large numbers go and see blockbuster films together in an environment where they cannot switch or zap. Increasing numbers of advertisers are taking advantage of this.”

A lot more hype surrounded the launch of Playstation game spin off Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, however the film was beaten into second place in the box office charts by Shrek, taking a more modest £11.3m during the month.

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