Black Bear’s romantic fantasy period comedy Wicker, starring Academy Award winner Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård, debuted at No. 1 at the United Kingdom and Ireland box office over the October 30 to November 1 weekend. Written and directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, the independent feature secured Black Bear’s first-ever chart-topping opening in the territory, holding off A24’s psychological thriller Primetime and out-earning major studio releases including Paramount’s Street Fighter in weekend ticket sales.

Based on Ursula Wills’s short story The Wicker Husband, Wicker centers on a solitary fisherwoman who commissions a basket weaver to construct her a husband. Alongside Colman and Skarsgård, the ensemble cast features Peter Dinklage and Elizabeth Debicki. Launched across 676 locations in the UK and Ireland—marking Black Bear’s widest theatrical footprint in the market to date—the film posted a per-site average of £2,515, according to Screen Daily.

A Razor-Thin Contest at the UK and Ireland Box Office

While industry trackers agree that Wicker claimed the weekend crown, publications reported differing chart positions for its closest competitor due to how early preview screenings were calculated into the weekend totals.

According to Variety, Wicker opened at No. 1 with £1.76 million ($2.34 million), narrowly edging out A24’s Primetime, which finished in second place with £1.75 million ($2.33 million)—a margin of just £10,141. Directed by Lance Oppenheim, Primetime stars Robert Pattinson as To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen, alongside Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, and Phoebe Bridgers.

However, Screen Daily reported pure Friday-through-Sunday weekend figures separately from previews, placing Wicker first with £1.7 million (£1.8 million including previews) and ranking Primetime in third place with £1.3 million across 560 locations (averaging £2,321 per site, and reaching £1.7 million only when including previews). Exhibitor DCM noted that Wicker’s £1.8 million cumulative total included £98,000 from previews, whereas Primetime’s £1.7 million haul relied heavily on £459,000 generated during Wednesday preview screenings that began on October 28.

Splitting the two debuts on the pure weekend chart was Lionsgate UK’s horror-comedy Ghosts: The Possession of Button House. Directed by Simon Hynd and adapted from the BBC television series, the previous weekend's chart-topper benefitted from Halloween moviegoing, dropping 38% to earn £1.5 million ($2 million) in its second frame for a cumulative total of £6.3 million ($8.45 million).

North American Momentum and Global Earnings

Wicker’s strong overseas debut mirrors its sustained momentum in North America, where it initially opened on October 23. In its second weekend in U.S. and Canadian theaters, the quirky indie title rose from fifth to fourth place, earning $4.1 million, according to the Associated Press, while preliminary estimates from UPI placed the weekend haul at $4 million.

Following a $5.7 million domestic opening, the second-weekend performance represented a modest 28% decline as its footprint expanded by 61% from 1,471 to 2,374 theaters, according to Screen Daily. After ten days in release, Wicker’s North American total stands at $13.3 million. While Collider reported a $13.4 million global total prior to factoring in the UK opening, Screen Daily’s global report estimates the film’s worldwide cumulative haul at $16.4 million. That global figure includes $3.1 million from international territories, driven by a $2.6 million international weekend across nine markets, with the UK and Ireland serving as the top overseas territory at an estimated $2.3 million.

Critical reception has fueled word-of-mouth for the independent release. The film holds a 94% average score on Rotten Tomatoes, with Collider’s Therese Lacson describing it as "an immensely entertaining watch" and "a fun and quirky story about love and overcoming loneliness." In North America, Wicker trailed A24’s viral documentary You Can See Everything—co-directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim—which rose to No. 1 domestically and has crossed $60 million.

Outperforming Studio Tentpoles and Holdovers

In both the UK and North America, Wicker outpaced Kitao Sakurai’s live-action video game adaptation Street Fighter during the weekend session. After a strong initial debut, the Paramount release has struggled amid poor critical reviews. In the UK and Ireland, Street Fighter tumbled 52% in its third weekend to seventh place, bringing in £478,000 (reported by Variety as $637,615) for a regional cumulative total of £5.7 million ($7.6 million), though its cumulative worldwide total stands higher at $91.9 million.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. and DC Studios’ body-horror thriller Clayface, directed by James Watkins, finished fourth in the UK and Ireland in its second session. The DC villain picture dipped 37% locally to £1.2 million ($1.6 million), bringing its UK and Ireland running total to £4.7 million ($6.2 million). Globally, Clayface retained the No. 1 worldwide spot during a quiet Halloween frame with $22.8 million, lifting its cumulative total to $44.1 million in North America and $83.0 million worldwide against a reported $44 million production budget.

Black Bear celebrated a double victory in the UK and Ireland top five, as its distribution of Laika Studios’ stop-motion animated feature Wildwood held fifth place in its second weekend. Directed by Travis Knight and adapted from the 2011 novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, Wildwood added £646,000 ($863,082) locally to reach £2.8 million ($3.7 million to $3.8 million). Carrying a $100 million budget and Laika's first PG-13 (12A in the UK) rating, Wildwood expanded into 36 additional international markets to reach second place on the global weekend chart with $11.5 million, bringing its worldwide total to $35.2 million—already surpassing the $26.6 million lifetime global gross of Laika's 2019 release Missing Link.

Broader UK Chart Movements and Specialty Releases

Rounding out the UK and Ireland top ten were several resilient studio holdovers and specialty titles:

  • Forgotten Island: Universal’s animated feature placed sixth in its third session with £620,000 ($829,708), reaching a cumulative £5.2 million ($6.8 million).
  • Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom: Studiocanal’s family animation dipped just 8% in its seventh week to take eighth place with £281,000 ($376,460), bringing its total to £5.7 million ($7.6 million).
  • Verity: Distributed by Sony for Amazon MGM, the Colleen Hoover psychological thriller adaptation placed ninth in its fifth frame, adding £263,000 ($353,635) for an £11.6 million ($15.5 million) total.
  • Other Mommy: Universal’s supernatural horror took tenth place, dropping 40% to £258,000 ($344,882) for a £5.4 million ($7.1 million) cumulative haul.

Outside the top ten, Mubi’s specialty drama Fatherland added £107,400 ($143,327) in its second weekend to reach £606,000 ($808,453), overtaking Ida to become director Paweł Pawlikowski’s second-highest-grossing UK and Ireland release behind 2018’s Cold War (£1.1 million). Additionally, BFI Distribution’s 4K restoration of Ken Russell’s 1971 classic The Devils opened to £220,000 (£255,000 with previews), achieving the weekend’s highest screen average at £2,972 across 73 venues, while Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey added £85,700 in its 16th week for an £88.3 million total.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do box office reports differ on Primetime’s UK and Ireland chart ranking?

The discrepancy stems from how preview screenings are counted. Variety included £459,000 of mid-week preview grosses in its weekend chart, placing A24’s Primetime in second place with £1.75 million, just £10,141 behind Wicker (£1.76 million). Screen Daily ranked films strictly by their Friday-to-Sunday ticket sales, placing Wicker first (£1.7 million) and Primetime third (£1.3 million), behind second-week holdover Ghosts: The Possession of Button House (£1.5 million).

How has Wicker performed at the North American and global box office?

In North America, Wicker earned $4.1 million in its second weekend to finish in fourth place, bringing its ten-day domestic total to $13.3 million across 2,374 theaters. Including its initial international rollout across nine overseas markets, Screen Daily estimates the film's worldwide total at $16.4 million.

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