Sony Pictures’ Verity opened at No. 1 in the U.K. and Ireland with £3.3 million ($4.5 million), turning Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel into the weekend’s only £3 million-plus debut, Variety reports.
Resident Evil held second in its third frame with $1.8 million, lifting its running total to $15.2 million. Paramount’s Heart of the Beast, starring Brad Pitt and J.K. Simmons, added $1.5 million in week two for a $5.5 million cume.
Tom Cruise’s Digger opened fourth with $1.4 million. Universal’s Sense and Sensibility rounded out the top five with $1.3 million and a $7.9 million total.
The rest of the chart
- Disney’s Avengers: Endgame Encore: $962,425 in weekend two, $9.5 million cume.
- Studiocanal’s Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom: $745,957 in week three, $4.3 million cume.
- Zee Studios International’s Drishyam: The Conclusion: $637,457 opening, eighth place.
- Warner Bros.’ Practical Magic 2: $504,663 in week four, $10.6 million cume.
- Studiocanal’s Pressure: $380,664 in week four, $8.7 million total.
What the chart tells marketers
For entertainment marketers, Verity and Digger are a clean A/B test. Verity arrived with a built-in audience: readers already know the title, and the film converted that awareness into a No. 1 frame. Digger came with a marquee name but landed behind a third-week holdover. Cruise’s $1.4 million start is less than a third of Verity’s $4.5 million opening.
The chart also shows that depth, not just rank, matters. Resident Evil’s $15.2 million cume from second place and Practical Magic 2’s $10.6 million total in ninth are stronger commercial positions than a one-weekend headline. For planners, the takeaway is to track cume trajectory as closely as opening position.
What to do about it
When marketing an adaptation, treat the title as pre-sold media. Lead campaigns with reader communities, book clubs and the novel’s most recognisable scenes; the built-in awareness is the first media layer, not an afterthought.
For star-led releases, do not let casting carry the entire brief. A famous name can secure screens, but this chart shows it does not automatically produce a chart-topping first frame.
The week ahead
Friday widens the slate: Sony’s Aaron Sorkin drama The Social Reckoning and Entertainment Film Distributors’ The Uprising, directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Andrew Garfield, both open across 300-plus locations. Universal’s Other Mommy, with Jessica Chastain and Jay Duplass, starts at 100-plus sites.
Specialized releases include Apple Original Films’ Tenzing and Netflix’s The Disciple. Trafalgar Releasing’s music documentary Always Lalisa follows on Monday.
Source: Variety
