The Jungle Book Still 6 - H 2016
Courtesy of DisneyThe U.K. box office has raced to £1 billion ($1.23 billion) faster than ever before.
According to comScore, the figure was reached on the night of Oct. 8 after just 281 days, 17 days faster than in 2015. In 2009, it took almost the full year — 352 days — to hit the same amount.
Disney has played a significant role in this achievement, currently holding the top three slots in the annual box office with The Jungle Book ($60 million), Finding Dory ($54.1 million) and Captain America: Civil War ($53.8 million). Elsewhere, the U.K. gave Bridget Jones’s Baby a far bigger welcome than in the U.S. with $40.6 million so far, while Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie ratcheted up $20.8 million. This weekend saw The Girl on the Train claim the crown with an impressive opening haul of $8.5 million.
Upcoming blockbusters likely to give the British box office another boost this year include the first Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and, of course, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
