New Bridget Jones film surpasses Barbie in advance UK box office sales
According to data shared by two major UK cinema chains one week ahead of the film's 13 February release, the film was already outselling Barbie in the comparative pre-sale period.
Odeon has reported sales of around 70,000 tickets, outselling Barbie in the same period.
The company told Screen Daily that 20 per cent of tickets had been sold for the Thursday preview day, and around a third for Valentine's Day (14 February).
Curzon has said that advance sales of the film were 20 per cent ahead of Barbie's sales in the same period.
Damian Spandley, managing director of programming and sales at Curzon, has credited the film's pre-release sales due to the smart Valentine's Day scheduling.
Digital Cinema Media projects the film to rank third at the UK and Ireland box office this year, behind Disney's Avatar: Fire And Ash (19 December release) and Universal's Wicked: For Good (21 November release).
However, it's unlikely that the film will surpass total UK and Ireland box office sales of Gerwig's Barbie, which saw huge fanfare at the time of release, with fans arriving at cinemas dressed in Barbie pink. During its opening weekend in the UK and Ireland, Barbie made £18.4 million at the box office, and £95.7 million in total.
Forecasts for UK and Ireland opening weekend box office for Mad About The Boy are in line with the £8.1 million achieved by the third film, Bridget Jones's Baby in 2016.
The promising early sales for Mad About The Boy could be explained by the anticipation that comes with the nine-year gap from the last film, with the Valentine's Day timing drawing in 'Galentine's' audiences – groups of female friends celebrating 14 February together.
The fourth film in the franchise, based on Helen Fielding's 2013 book, sees Bridget navigate 'life as a widow and single mum with the help of her family, friends, and former lover Daniel. Back to work and on the dating apps, following the death of her husband and father of her children, Mark Darcy'.
Uproar over the death of Colin Firth's Mark Darcy made front page news when Fielding's novel was published in 2013. Early film viewers have been left similarly distressed, with many leaving the cinema in tears.
Speaking to The Guardian, Zellweger – who has played the titular character since 2001 – admitted Darcy's death had a huge emotional impact on her, too, leaving her feeling 'rotten'.
'I was a crazy person mourning this fictional character,' she said. 'I was weeping.'
'It was also for that shared experience with Colin,' the Oscar-winning actor added. 'Seeing him in his suit and beautiful coat, with his briefcase, looking dapper and very Mark Darcy.
'This is the end…we don't get to do this anymore,' Zellweger said.
Following Darcy's death, Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays her son's science teacher, and Leo Woodall are in the film as love interests for Bridget.
Speaking at the movie's London premiere this week, Zellweger addressed the age gap between her 51-year-old Bridget and Woodall's 29-year-old Roxster.
'I mean, I think it's nothing new,' she told Variety. 'But maybe the social taboos are melting away… it's never a bad thing. There's certain things that we probably don't need to have opinions about, and where people find love… why would that ever be a problem?'
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