The central quest in Paddington in Peru involves a treasure map to a stash of Inca gold. Fittingly, the film is already fulfilling a similar role for the UK’s cinemas.
The little bear’s latest adventure, his third in the franchise, has opened with a whopping £9.65 million at the UK and Irish box office since opening on Friday.
That makes it the biggest British and Irish film opening of 2024 – and the largest opening weekend haul since No Time To Die back in 2021. Only Deadpool & Wolverine (£17.2m) and Inside Out 2 (£11.3m) have outstripped its opening this year.
Paddington in Peru may not have received quite the same levels of critical acclaim as Paddington 2 – although it’s still sitting on a very healthy 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes – but that it’s opened even more strongly than its predecessor. (Paddington 2’s opening weekend take was £8.2 million back in 2017.)
And for added context, the little adopted Londoner has take a marmalade-coated hammer to the opening weekends of some other monster family films, including Wonka (opening weekend £8.9m), Mary Poppins Returns (£8.2m), and even the latest in the relentless Despicable Me franchise (£8.8m).
It’s great news for anyone hoping to see a Paddington 4 one day, and even better news for cinema lovers, with UK and Irish multiplexes and picture houses desperate for a blockbuster November.
And with Gladiator II and Wicked are still to come, the picture could get even rosier.
Paddington 3 Filming locations: Where were the movies shot?
A Paddington pop-up shop has just opened in a major London train station.