The winner: the weather

A combination of sizzling temperatures and World Cup football saw box office receipts plummet in the UK, as audiences shunned the cinema in favour of TV screens and outdoor pursuits. The market delivered its second worst weekend for cinemagoing so far this year. The only session that performed worse in 2018 was the weekend prior to the release of Avengers: Infinity War, which was notably weak for new releases, and was also hit by sunny weather.

The top title at the weekend was once again Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which is one of three films this year – along with Black Panther and Peter Rabbit – to have spent four weeks at the top spot. Gross for Fallen Kingdom so far is £34.5m, which compares with £53.8m for 2015’s Jurassic World at the same stage of its run. Jurassic World went on to achieve £64.3m.

The challenger: Sicario 2: Soldado

Four wide releases, each released into more than 400 cinemas, delivered a mediocre collective gross of £1.88m. Best of the bunch was Sicario 2: Soldado, with £614,000 from 532 sites, or £698,000 including previews. Despite some positive reviews, Including a five-star rave from the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, distributor Lionsgate faced the challenge of releasing a sequel for which audiences didn’t seem to be clamouring. The original Sicario grossed just under £5m in the UK, back in 2015. Soldado’s opening number compares with a £1.38m debut for the original film, or £1.60m including previews.

The chasing pack

Of the other three wide releases, Tag was the only one to deliver a site average above £1,000. The ensemble comedy began with £475,000 from 446 venues. Tag opened in the US in mid June with $15m, and based on that result we might have expected a UK debut around £1.5m, by industry rule of thumb.

Adrift, in which Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin sail a yacht into a Pacific storm, did worse than Tag, with a debut of £405,000 from 463 sites. Adrift began in the US with $11.6m, so the UK result is well off the Stateside pace. Disney’s Patrick, a comedy in which the titular pug plays cupid for its reluctant new owner, did worst of all, with just shy of £300,000 from an ambitious 511 cinemas.

The niche success: Sanju

With £449,000 from 115 venues, Hindi-language title Sanju achieved the highest site average of any film in the UK market at the weekend (£3,901). It also beat Adrift and Patrick – new titles released far more widely – in pure box office terms. Sanju tells the life story of colourful Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, who was born into acting royalty, found fame in action and crime dramas, but was then arrested on suspicion of terrorism and eventually served a jail sentence for illegal possession of weapons.

The market

The challenging conditions for cinema operators saw box office fall by 34% from the previous session, and takings were also down a very troubling 66% on the equivalent weekend from 2017, when Despicable Me 3 arrived at the top spot. In other words, UK cinemagoing is currently one third of the level it was at a year ago. Salvation does not appear to be readily at hand, since the coming weekend offers few sure-fire box office winners. The likely best of the bunch is prequel The First Purge, arriving in cinemas on Wednesday. Kevin Macdonald’s documentary Whitney is also in the mix, as is the Britcom Swimming With Men, which closed the Edinburgh international film festival on Sunday.

Top 10 films June 29–July 1

1. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, £2,001,876 from 633 sites. Total: £34,498,111 (four weeks)

2. Ocean’s 8, £1,283,488 from 646 sites. Total: £6,861,607 (three weeks)

3. Sicario 2: Soldado, £698,466 from 532 sites (new)

4. Tag, £475,373 from 446 sites (new)

5. Sanju, £448,659 from 115 sites (new)

6. Hereditary, £433,422 from 493 sites. Total: £4,578,526 (three weeks)

7. Adrift, £405,240 from 463 sites (new)

8. Patrick, £299,862 from 511 sites (new)

9. Deadpool 2, £241,659 from 315 sites. Total: £32,049,598 (seven weeks)

10. Solo: A Star Wars Story, £192,050 from 378 sites. Total: £19,098,765 (six weeks)

Other openers

The Bookshop, £65,558 (including £22,660 previews) from 95 sites

Leave No Trace, £50,445 from 97 sites

Dublin Oldschool, £29,381 from 35 sites (Ireland only)

The Endless, £16,817 (including £14,871 previews) from 3 sites

Time Trial, £13,760 from 6 sites

Zoo, £12,516 from 30 sites

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda, £11,373 (including £7,035 previews) from 13 sites

Animal World, £8,766 from 15 sites

The Opera House, £3,904 from 34 sites

Habit, £1,080 from 5 sites

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