New British Horror Tops U.K. Box Office

A new horror-comedy centered on a haunted British manor outperformed major studio titles in its opening weekend. Lionsgate U.K. released Ghosts: The Possession of Button House, which collected £2.4 million, or $3.2 million, across the three-day period. This result placed the film at the top of the U.K. and Ireland box office chart.

The film’s debut demonstrates strong consumer demand for domestic productions in the genre. Warner Bros. released the DC horror thriller Clayface in second position, generating $2.6 million. Amazon MGM Studios’ comedy Ali G: Who Iz I? secured the third spot with $1.7 million in its first session.

Several established titles continued to draw audiences as the new releases arrived. Black Bear’s animated fantasy Wildwood, directed by Travis Knight, opened at fourth with $1.36 million. Paramount’s Street Fighter, which led the previous week’s chart, moved to fifth place in its second outing, adding $1.35 million to reach a cumulative total of $5.6 million.

The top ten also included long-running holdovers and limited releases. Universal’s Forgotten Island placed sixth with $1.2 million, bringing its total to $3.7 million. Sony’s Verity ranked seventh in its fourth week, adding $857,067 to its running total of $14.4 million. Mubi’s Fatherland debuted at ninth, earning $264,083 from 86 locations.

The performance of Fatherland marks a specific milestone for director Paweł Pawlikowski. The drama’s opening total, including previews, reached $415,017. This figure surpasses the launch numbers for his earlier film Cold War, representing his biggest opening in the territory. The film achieved a screen average of $3,144, the fourth highest among new releases.

The upcoming week brings a mix of event screenings and wide commercial releases. Trafalgar Releasing presents the Royal Ballet’s Manon on Tuesday, followed by the music documentary Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning on Wednesday. Disney’s Everest: The Other Side leads a group of wide releases opening Friday across more than 300 locations.

Other Friday releases include A24’s dark comedy Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson, and Black Bear’s comedy Wicker, which features Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård. The weekend concludes with a live viewing event for the BTS World Tour concert in Sao Paulo.

These releases join a crowded schedule that includes restorations of classic films. BFI Distribution is showing a 4K restoration of The Devils, while Studiocanal is re-releasing the 25th anniversary edition of Donnie Darko. The diverse lineup reflects a steady pace of theatrical content throughout the autumn season.