As I'm only a few days away from my first trip abroad since before the pandemic, I've not actually made it to the cinema in the last seven days. Since life has got in the way this week, I thought we'd take a quick look this week at the top ten highest grossing movies of all time in the UK, and see how many you'd seen. The data is thanks to a website called "Salty Popcorn"...definitely the best kind of popcorn, incidentally.
It's interesting that the critics' favourite at every awards ceremony this year, Oppenheimer, is at number 28, just above Star Wars : The Rise Of Skywalker. The tasty Wonka is at number 24, which I've seen twice on the big screen and far surpassed my expectations. Nicer than a much missed red Bounty.
Just outside the top ten is Titanic, fresh from the news that an Australian mining billionaire is planning to rebuild a replica of the most famous cruise ship in history. It will even retrace the original vessel's course, from Southampton to New York City. I think I'll give it a miss, even though he's promised to add more lifeboats. So here are the Top 10:
10 - Star Wars : The Last Jedi. This is probably the moment to tell you I've never watched a Star Wars movie. I've got to almost 47 without them in my life, and I'm quite alright, thank you. It's quite amusing when folk try to come up with new ways of persuading me to watch them.
9 - Top Gun - Maverick. I just have one question at this stage...why has Tom Cruise never won an Oscar? Arguably the biggest movie star of the last 20 years, he's had several nominations, but never walked away with one. This seems a shocking omission to me, and I enjoyed Top Gun - Maverick far more than I enjoyed Oppenheimer, if I'm being brutally honest.
8 - Avengers - Endgame. A lot of superhero films do tend to blend into one for me a bit, but I seem to recall quite enjoying this 2019 effort.
7 - Avatar. Sofia, now my wife (we've been married for twelve years this August) arranged for me to watch this with her at the Media Museum in Bradford, where she worked at the time, but then cancelled as it was a Midnight screening! Luckily, things went a bit better at our next cinema date. As for the film, pretty decent.
6 - Spectre - Can't beat a Daniel Craig 007 film, although this wasn't my favourite.
5 - Barbie - deserved more love at the Oscars. Mainstream snobbery is surely to blame. Sharp, clever, and great fun.
4 - Spider-Man : No Way Home - see my earlier comment about superheroes blending in.
3 - No Time To Die - this was my 007 favourite.
2 - Skyfall - good Adele song and Dame Judi Dench action
1 - Star Wars : The Force Awakens - still not watching it.
Next week, I'll be reviewing Back To Black and the new Alex Garland creation Civil War, pinky promise. Happy film watching!
