Star Wars: The Force Awakens

With the pandemic ending the UK box office for the second time take a look back at what films were making the headlines over the years.

A year ago (2020)

No. 1 and highest debut:
1917 starring Dean-Charles Chapman and George MacKay and directed by Sam Mendes

Longest run:
Frozen II which had been on the box office for 8 weeks.

Top total grossing:
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker which had taken £54.9 Million after 4 weeks of release.

Five years ago (2016)

No. 1 movie:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens which had been at the top for 4 weeks and with a total gross of £108.4 Million it was also the top total grossing film.

Highest Debut:
The Hateful Eight directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell which entered the box office at number 2.

Longest run:
Spectre which had been on the box office for 11 weeks.

Ten years ago (2011)

No. 1 and Highest debut:
The Kings Speech starring Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter and directed by Tom Hooper

Top total grossing and longest run:
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 which had taken £50.6 Million over 8 weeks of release.

Fifteen years ago (2006)

No.1 movie:
King Kong which had been at the top for 2 weeks.

Highest debut:
Just Friends directed by Roger Kumble and starring Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart which entered the box office at number 3.

Longest run:
The Constant Gardener which had been on the box office for 9 weeks.

Top total grossing:
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire which had taken £47.6 Million after 8 weeks of release.

Twenty years ago (2001)

No.1 movie:
Unbreakable which had been at the top for 2 weeks.

Highest debut:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon directed by Ang Lee and starring Yun-Fat Chow and Michelle Yeoh which entered the box office at number 4.

Top total grossing and longest run:
Billy Elliot which had taken £17 Million over 15 weeks of release.

Twenty five years ago (1996)

No. 1 and highest debut:
Seven starring Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt and directed by David Fincher

Top total grossing and longest run:
Goldeneye which had taken £17.2 Million over 7 weeks of release.

Star Wars fans around the world have their opinion of what is the best lighsaber battle in the Star Wars movie franchise, so on this Star Wars day at 25thframe.co.uk we though we would give our opinion of what we think is the best battle seen on screen in the ever growing list of movies.

5. Rey Vs. Kylo Ren (with help from Finn) from Star Wars: The Force Awakens

There had been a Star Wars drought for a number of years (10 years) and with the buyout of Lucasfilms still fresh in everyones minds as well as the (at the time) badly received prequel trilogy the fan base wanted a good Star Wars movie.

JJ Abrahams was put in charge of directing the film, a life long fan of the series, and he delivered in spades, bringing arguably the best Star Wars film to date.

We instantly took to the new characters of the Rebel Alliances Rey and the First Orders Kylo Ren, and with Rey's force powers hinted at throughout, the dual between the two was inevitable, and at the end of the film Abrahams delivered, set within a forest of the Star Killer Base while the planet explodes around them.

4. Yoda Vs. Count Dooku from Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones

We knew Yoda was a Jedi Master and that he had fought in the Clone Wars that started at the end of the second part of prequel trilogy, and George Lucas knew he had to deliver.

As Yoda walks into the hanger where Count Dooku was trying to board his ship you simply knew what was about to happen, and as he pulls across his robes to reveal a small lightsaber this was the moment, he force pulls his weapon to his hand and turns it on.

The battle doesn't last long, but seeing the small green Jedi Master who usually finds it hard to walk bouncing around the walls during the fight is a joy.

3. Obi Wan Kenobi Vs. Darth Vader from Star Wars

The original movie introduces us to the legendary weapon, something not really seen on the big screen before but throught the stories Ben Kenobi tells Luke during the movie we know that the weapon is elegant and the Jedi are lethal with it.

We also believe at this time that Darth Vader is the arch enemy of Ben Kenobi, and by the end of the movie there has to be a metting of the two, and while trying to escape the Death Star the two come face to face.

Despite the technological abilities in special effects at the time this thrilled fans of a generation and when the inevitable happens at the end we are shocked at the loss of our new hero.

2. Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader on Cloud City from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

This battle comes as no surprise, we have seen Luke go through the training, and go off to rescue his friends, and we get the foreshadowing fof things to come on Dagobah.

When Luke goes into the carbon freeze chamber and the two enemies ignight their sabers in low light we get the almighty battle between the two enemies.

The style and technology used in this film is so much greater than that of the original Star Wars that it feels fresh and thrilling, and at the end of the battle we get one of cinemas greatest reveals, so good to this day it is celebrated as THE movie twist of all times.

1. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi Vs. Darth Maul from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

The movie gets a lot of criticism, but over the last 20 years time has been kind and in the grander scheme of the saga the fan base is looking at this film more favourably, and it has the best lighsaber battle of all time.

It had been 16 years since we'd had any proper Star Wars to enjoy and despite the film not getting the critical reaction Lucas wanted the Dual Of Fates was spectacular.

The highlight is at the start of the battle as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan face the Sith Lord Darth Maul, as the John Williams music 'Duel Of Fates' starts to get more intense Maul ignites a single blade on his lightsaber, then the money shot happens and another blade appears from the other side, every Star Wars Fan looked on in amazement as the incredible battle unfolds between the 3 warriors.

The only real shame is that, inevitably, Darth Maul dies at the end of the movie, although in quiet spectacular style, but with little screen time fans wanted more, although as seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story they have brought him back and who knows if he'll appear in another movie or not?

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker makes its UK box office debut at the top of the chart while Cats makes its debut at number 2 despite being panned by critics and movie goers alike.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker

After 44 years the series of movies that started with Star Wars in 1977 comes to an end, and as with all the other movies in the saga the new films makes its debut at the top, this time with a gross of £14.4 Million.

There is an element of disappointment here as Star Wars: The Last Jedi took £28 Million on its debut and Star Wars: The Force Awakens £34 Million.

This could be because the film has not had good reviews from many critics or it could be because the fans have become a little tired of Star Wars films, this is the 5th movie since Disney bought Lucasfilms.

When George Lucas was making Star Wars movies he released each movie 2 - 3 years apart and each movie felt like an event and the fans were hungry for more, Disney have had a far more agressive release schedule and the sequel trilogy has only taken 4 years to complete.

Unlike the Marvel movies it would seem the Star Wars fans need far longer between movies, saying that this is a good film to finish of the saga and it could well have a long run and make its money in the new year.

Cats

The writing was on the wall for this movie after the criticism the first trailer got, and hence the movie makes its debut at number 2 but with a relatively low £3.2 Million.

Jumanji: The Next Level

The sequel movie starring Karen Gillan and Dwayne Johnson falls to number 3 this week, after making its debut at the top last week, with £2.9 Million.

This gives the movie a 2 week total of £14.7 Million which is a couple of million lower than its predecessor.

Frozen II

Disney's sequel movie drops to number 4 this weekend with a gross of £2.2 Million.

This gives the film a total gross of £41.7 Million after 5 weeks of release which is over £10 Million higher that its predecessor.

Last Christmas

The festive movie has proved to be a bigger films in the UK than many other parts of the world and while it falls to number 5 this weekend with £803,948 it has still taken a quite respectable £16.9 Million over 6 weeks.

Joker

The mega smash hit DC superhero villain movie climbs back onto the box office this weekend spending its 11th in total and has now taken £57.9 Million.

With the release of a new Star Wars film we get a new number 1 film, but The Rise Of Skywalker disappoints a bit on its debut weekend while Cats is a major disappointment at 4.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker

The last of the sequel trilogy and the last of the Skywalker saga for arguably the best series of films ever created makes its way to the top of the US box office with ease, but its $175.5 Million debut of far lower than expected.

The film is the 12th highest opening film ever in the US, but its lower than Star Wars: The Last Jedi which has a bad reception from fans and far lower than Star Wars: The Force Awakens which is loved by fans.

The road ahead could be good for the movie though as films released around Christmas tend to have good legs, but critical reviews and fans alike have given the movie a mixed reception, in truth are we fed up with Star Wars movies?

Jumanji: The Next Level

The sequel to the 2017 mega smash falls to number 2 this weekend from its debut last week at the top with a gross of $26.1 Million which brings its total to $101.9 Million after 2 weeks.

Frozen II

Disney continue to push their sequel movie which can not officially be called a smash hit, the film falls to number 3 this week with $12.3 Million but ots total gross os $385.5 Million after 5 weeks of release.

Cats

There were high expectations for this big screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webbers hit stage musical but the film nearly died the moment the first trailer hit.

The movie ends up at number 4 this week with a total debut gross of $6.5 Million, and with critics panning the film as well as the movie going public the future looks grim for the Tom Hooper directed feature.

Knives Out

Rian Johnsons star studded murder mystery has done well on the box office, it falls to 5 this weekend with $6.1 Million for a 4 week total of $89.5 Million.

Parasite

Notching up 11 weeks on the box office now the Chinese hit movie is the longest running film on the US box office, while Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker instantly becomes the highest grossing movie on its debut.

It has taken Avengers: Endgame 13 weeks, and in that time it has broken almost every box office record, but this weekend it gets the biggest prize of all and beats Avatar to become the highest grossing movie of all time.

Avatar released in 2009 has held the honor for the last 10 years with a total gross of $2.789 Billion from its initial release and all subsequent releases but Avengers: Endgame hits a gross of $2.790 Billion this Saturday.

There was a time when it was thought the gross would never be beaten and despite the former top grossing movie Titanic getting a re-release and pushing its gross over $2 Billion and Star Wars: The Force Awakens having a good go back in 2015 neither were good enough.

There is every possibility that the total global gross will continue to grow and although it seems unlikely now who knows it could be the first film to get to $3 Billion.

Although the gross of the film has beaten Avatar the ticket sales, or adjusted for inflation as its often known as, is still a way from Avatar which would have grossed $3.273 Billion were it released today, although Gone With The Wind from 1939 is still on top of that list.

It is only a matter of time before we get the first $3 Billion film, and hence beating Avenger: Endgame but for the time being Disney and Marvel can enjoy this mighty task.