Oz the Great and Powerful holds onto first place at the UK box office

UK box office top ten and analysis for the weekend of Friday 15th to Sunday 17th March 2013...

The British action thriller Welcome to the Punch was the highest new entry at the UK box office this past weekend, but a debut haul of £460,250 was only enough to claim third place in the chart. Sam Raimi's Oz the Great and Powerful led an unchanged top two, pulling in a second weekend take of £2.61m, followed by the Steven Soderbergh-directed psychological thriller Side Effects on £759k, while Wreck-It Ralph and Parker both fell one place apiece to fourth and fifth.

Despite the inclusion of comedy stars Steve Carell and Jim Carrey in its cast, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone suffered a hugely disappointing debut, earning just £305,936 to open in sixth place. The 80s action remake Red Dawn also failed to ignite the box office, banking £255,448 to finish in eighth behind Mama, while Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and The Guilt Trip both dropped three places to fill out the remaining spots in what ultimately proved to be one of the miserablest weekends at the UK box office across the past twelve months.


1. Oz the Great and Powerful - £2,609,465 weekend; £7,683,699 total  (2 weeks)
2. Side Effects - £759,363 weekend; £2,277,861 total (2 weeks)
3. Welcome to the Punch - £460,250 weekend (New)
4. Wreck-It Ralph - £426,343 weekend; £21,995,949 total (6 weeks)
5. Parker - £308,335 weekend; £1,229,889 total (2 weeks)
6. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone - £305,936 weekend (New)
7. Mama - £266,521 weekend; £5,054,683 total (4 weeks)
8. Red Dawn - £255,448 weekend (New)
9. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters - £221,452 weekend; £3,178,317 total (3 weeks)
10. The Guilt Trip - £157,016 weekend; £814,530 total (2 weeks)

Incoming...

Having enjoyed two days of preview screenings this past weekend (and collected around £1.5m in preview takings), Fox's animated caveman comedy The Croods (cert. U) looks to be a good shout for first place this weekend when it opens on Friday, but it could face some competition from Bryan Singer's fairytale fantasy Jack the Giant Slayer (cert. 12A) - could being the operative word. Comedy Identity Thief (cert. 15) could also make an impact, while Nicolas Cage's Stolen (cert. 12A) [read our review here] will be hoping the play on Taken helps it to crack the top ten.