The winner: Ralph Breaks the Internet

A dearth of major releases meant Ralph Breaks the Internet faced no serious challenge retaining the top spot at the UK box office. Takings declined by 39% from its opening weekend, and the tally after 10 days is £7.4m.

Disney has now spent 17 weeks at No 1 in the UK this year, with Coco, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Incredibles 2, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Christopher Robin and now Ralph Breaks the Internet. Mary Poppins Returns, out on 21 December, is likely to add to the tally.

Ralph is facing competition from The Grinch, up from fourth to second place and declining just 14% at the weekend with takings of £2m – which was just £445,000 below Ralph. Families may be calculating that The Grinch, with its festive theme, has to be seen in the runup to Christmas, whereas Ralph can wait until later. The Grinch is now at a sturdy £19.5m. Both films face tough competition in the coming weeks.

The new contenders: Sorry to Bother You v The Old Man & the Gun

Two titles straddling multiplexes and indie cinemas arrived at the weekend. David Lowery’s The Old Man & the Gun, featuring what is said to be Robert Redford’s last screen performance, edged out Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You – although it benefited from a slightly wider release. Respective grosses are £247,000 from 206 sites (£318,000 including previews); and £187,000 from 147 sites (£250,000 including previews). Stripping out the previews, screen averages were in the £1,200-£1,300 ballpark, which is no disaster, but nothing special.

The disappointments: White Boy Rick and Tulip Fever

Yann Demange’s White Boy Rick, starring Matthew McConaughey, began with a poor £30,100 from 103 venues. It suffered from weak bookings from indie cinemas – the film’s primary audience is unlikely to find it at the plexes where it is playing.

Tulip Fever, adapted from the acclaimed novel by Deborah Moggach, began a bit better, with £49,500 from 122 sites. The Amsterdam-set period romancewas released in the US in July 2017 via the Weinstein Company – one of the ill-fated company’s last ever releases. The impressive cast list includes Alicia Vikander, Dane DeHaan, Christoph Waltz, Jack O’Connell, Holliday Grainger, Judi Dench, Zach Galifianakis, Cara Delevingne, Joanna Scanlan and Tom Hollander.

The festive revivals

Cinemas are reviving classic festive titles to lure audiences, and there are no fewer than nine in the Top 50: Die Hard, Elf, Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, The Muppet Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Polar Express, Love Actually and a special package of animated shorts The Snowman and The Snowman and the Snowdog, based on the Raymond Briggs characters. Also playing at the weekend were White Christmas, Santa Claus: The Movie, Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas, Bad Santa, Arthur Christmas and more besides.

The market

The month of November (technically the period 2 November – 6 December) delivered a handy 8% rise on the equivalent period from 2017. For the first 11 months of the year, takings are 3% up on the same period of 2017.

Despite the lack of new releases at the weekend, takings were 75% up on the equivalent session from 2017. A year ago, the following weekend greeted Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which powered the market to its top-grossing session of the year. This coming weekend, there is nothing in that league, but hopes are pinned on DC Comics’ Aquaman, animation Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (both arriving in UK cinemas on Wednesday) and the Peter Jackson-produced Mortal Engines. Alternatives include documentary Free Solo – hoping to repeat the success of current doc hit Three Identical Strangers. Both titles cracked $10m in the US.

Top 10 films, 7-9 December

1. Ralph Breaks the Internet, £2,446,583 from 619 sites. Total: £7,404,787 (two weeks)

2. The Grinch, £2,001,599 from 614 cinemas. Total: £19,491,601 (four weeks)

3. Creed II, £1,717,275 from 563 sites. Total: £5,990,120 (two weeks)

4. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, £1,468,736 from 619 sites. Total: £29,271,816 (four weeks)

5. Bohemian Rhapsody, £978,075 from 601 sites. Total: £42,988,347 (seven weeks)

6. Nativity Rocks!, £331,701 from 472 sites. Total: £1,905,067 (three weeks)

7. The Old Man & the Gun, £317,831 from 206 sites (new)

8. Sorry to Bother You, £250,453 from 147 sites (new)

9. The Nutcracker – Royal Opera House, £191,828 from 167 sites (new)

10. Robin Hood, £146,557 from 340 sites. Total: £2,608,701 (three weeks)

Other openers

Die Hard (30th Anniversary), £86,628 (including £3,255 previews) from 190 sites

Kedarnath, £56,039 from 32 sites

Tulip Fever, £49,539 from 122 sites

White Boy Rick, £30,090 from 103 sites

The Snowman and the Snowdog, £18,135 from 87 sites

Banjara, £14,444 from nine sites

The Belly of the Whale, £7,551 from six sites (Ireland only)

Mug, £5,037 from 19 sites

Return of the Hero, £4,588 from one site

Hedefim Sensin, £4,173 from three sites

Merry Men: The Real Yoruba Demons, £3,385 from four sites

A Cool Fish, £3,274 from four sites

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, £1,375 from three sites

Await Further Instructions, £836 from one site

Kafalar Karisik, £413 from one site

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