British Ghost Comedy Earns £2.4 Million to Lead UK Weekend

A British horror-comedy captured the top spot at the U.K. and Ireland box office this weekend with a haul of £2.4 million, or $3.2 million.

The film, titled Ghosts: The Possession of Button House, was distributed by Lionsgate U.K. It opened ahead of Warner Bros.' DC horror thriller, Clayface, which earned $2.6 million to finish in second place.

The performance marks a strong debut for the ghost story in a market often dominated by major studio franchises. Amazon MGM Studios' comedy, Ali G: Who Iz I?, placed third with $1.7 million in its first session. Black Bear's animated fantasy, Wildwood, directed by Travis Knight, took fourth with $1.36 million.

Paramount's Street Fighter moved down to fifth in its second weekend, adding $1.35 million to a cumulative total of $5.6 million. Universal's Forgotten Island sat at sixth in its second frame, earning $1.2 million for a lifetime gross of $3.7 million. Sony's psychological thriller, Verity, ranked seventh in its fourth week, pulling in $857,067 to reach a total of $14.4 million.

Universal's Other Mommy finished eighth in its third session with $576,822, bringing its gross to $6.2 million. Mubi's drama, Fatherland, debuted at ninth. The film made $264,083 from 86 locations, yielding a per-screen average of $3,144. That figure placed it fourth among new releases in site averages. Including preview screenings, the film's total opening reached $415,017. This surpasses the previous record for director Paweł Pawlikowski in the territory, a mark previously held by Cold War.

Studiocanal's animated holdover, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, rounded out the top ten in its sixth week. It collected $408,089 to lift its cumulative total to $6.1 million. Mubi's documentary, Making Marie Antoinette, opened on six sites. It grossed $1,737 over the weekend for a total of $24,355. This limited release serves as a precursor to Park Circus's re-release of Sofia Coppola's 2006 feature on Nov. 13.

Upcoming mid-week events begin Tuesday with Trafalgar Releasing's broadcast of the Royal Ballet's Manon. On Wednesday, the music documentary Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning, directed by Ben Wainwright-Pearce, arrives at more than 100 locations.

A wave of wide commercial releases hits theaters Friday across more than 300 locations. Disney's Everest: The Other Side, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, leads the group. A24's dark comedy, Primetime, stars Robert Pattinson, Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, and Phoebe Bridgers. Black Bear's Wicker features Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage, and Elizabeth Debicki, while Kaleidoscope Entertainment releases the family comedy Arnie & Barney.

Also arriving Friday are Universal's I Love Boosters, directed by Boots Riley and starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Demi Moore, and LaKeith Stanfield. Action Xtreme's Bad Day at the Office, Munro Films' Peter Asher: Everywhere Man, and a 4K restoration of Pan's Labyrinth all open on more than 100 screens. Specialized titles include Netflix's Gentle Monster, starring Léa Seydoux and Catherine Deneuve, and Metis Films' In the Shadows. BFI Distribution releases a 4K version of Ken Russell's The Devils, while Studiocanal re-releases the 25th anniversary 4K edition of Donnie Darko on 25 or more screens. The weekend concludes Saturday with Trafalgar Releasing's live viewing of the BTS World Tour 'Arirang' in Sao Paulo.