The winner: Avengers: Infinity War

Mixed weather across the UK at the weekend saw most titles post decent holds. Avengers: Infinity War, which fell a steep 57% in its second session, declined a gentler 44% in its third weekend of play. Takings of £5.71m for the period push the 18-day total to a mighty £60.4m at UK cinemas.

Disney was quick to boast that Infinity War is now the biggest superhero film of all time in the UK market, ahead of The Dark Knight Rises (£56.3m). This comparison is not adjusted for ticket-price inflation. Infinity War ended the weekend as the fifth-biggest hit worldwide, with $1.61bn, behind Avatar ($2.79bn), Titanic ($2.19bn), Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2.07bn) and Jurassic World ($1.67bn).

Infinity War experienced the biggest drop of any film in the UK Top 10. Rampage fell 26% from the previous session, I Feel Pretty declined 22%, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was down just 14%, A Quiet Place held well with a fall of 9%, and Secret Cinema’s Blade Runner event held steady as usual, with a decline of 1%. The other spots in the lineup are taken by new arrivals.

The runner-up: Sherlock Gnomes

While Gnomeo and Juliet (2011) proved there was an audience for a gnome-themed animated comedy powered by Elton John hits (it grossed £16m at UK cinemas), the specificity of the concept made commentators wonder whether a sequel was required. Still, Sherlock Gnomes posted a decent debut of £1.61m, or £2.52m including previews. Those numbers are down on Gnomeo and Juliet, which began with £2.95m, without benefit of previews, .

The also-rans: Life of the Party and Breaking in

Films produced by Melissa McCarthy and directed by her husband, Ben Falcone – namely Tammy and The Boss – have fared less well at the box office than McCarthy vehicles directed by Paul Feig, such as The Heat and Spy. This trend continues with McCarthy and Falcone’s Life of the Party, which debuts in the UK with a middling £540,000 from 449 cinemas, and £618,000 including previews. The Boss began with a similar £595,000 in June 2016, while the poorly received Tammy kicked off with £471,000 in July 2014. Including previews, The Heat and Spy opened north of £2.5m at UK cinemas.

Home-invasion thriller Breaking In landed in the chart behind Life of the Party, although it achieved a higher site average. The generic-looking title began with £425,000 from 320 venues. Universal’s film faced robust competition from Paramount’s A Quiet Place, which is in its sixth week of release. Weekend takings of £361,000 push Quiet Place’s total to £11.4m.

The indie scene: Lean on Pete and Beast

Two titles delivering notably strong holds are Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete, up 6% from its opening session, and Michael Pearce’s Beast, down just 2% from last weekend. Lean on Pete now stands at £198,000 after 10 days, and Beast is at £349,000 after 17 days. Funny Cow, starring Maxine Peake, is also in the mix, and is continuing to do well in the north of England, with £409,000 for the UK so far.

Meanwhile, spare a thought for How to Talk to Girls at Parties, which premiered at the Cannes film festival in 2017. Credentials include director John Cameron Mitchell (Shortbus), source author Neil Gaiman, producer Iain Canning (The King’s Speech) and a cast including Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman. The punk-era sci-fi fable has posted an official UK opening of £23,300 from 12 cinemas, but more than half of that total is from previews.

The market

Despite the lack of commercially potent new releases, takings overall slid a relatively mild 12% from the previous session, and they are up 3% on the equivalent weekend from 2017, when Alien: Covenant landed at the top spot. Cinema operators are instead focusing on today’s arrival of Deadpool 2. A cash bonanza is anticipated, one that should become even richer with the release on 24 May of Solo: A Star Wars Story. Alternatives this weekend include Lady Bird star Saoirse Ronan in On Chesil Beach, and the French indie-drama Jeune Femme.

Top 10 films May 11-13

1. Avengers: Infinity War, £5,706,170 from 636 sites. Total: £60,353,842 (three weeks)

2. Sherlock Gnomes, £2,522,342 from 571 sites (new)

3. I Feel Pretty, £931,614 from 531 sites. Total: £3,097,220 (two weeks)

4. Life of the Party, £618,311 from 449 sites (new)

5. Breaking In, £424,675 from 320 sites (new)

6. A Quiet Place, £361,029 from 386 sites. Total: £11,402,134 (six weeks)

7. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, £305,925 from 491 sites. Total: £5,003,040 (four weeks)

8. Blade Runner: The Final Cut – Secret Cinema, £230,016 from one site. Total: £2,755,199 (8 weeks)

9. Rampage, £189,221 from 307 sites. Total: £8,695,722 (five weeks)

10. Raazi, £150,360 from 62 sites (new)

Other openers

Entebbe, £138,390 from 124 sites

Redoubtable, £39,043 (including £18,948 previews) from 26 sites

Mahanati, £35,877 from 15 sites

Revenge, £27,231 from 39 sites

How to Talk to Girls at Parties, £23,311 (including £15,127 previews) from 12 sites

Anon, £19,108 from 61 sites

A Wizard’s Tale, £13,271 from 85 sites

Irumbu Thirai, £11,333 from five sites

That Good Night, £7,938 from 19 sites

Kande, £1,723 from eight sites

Mansfield 66/67, £1,078 from three sites

Iruttu Araiyil Murattu Kuthu, £378 from two sites

Uncle, £212 from two sites

• Thanks to comScore. All figures relate to takings in UK and Ireland cinemas.