Here we go again: Mamma Mia tops summer blockbusters

Mamma Mia: Here we go again! has officially become the smash-hit movie of the year — after bumper takings of nearly €1m every week helped it soar to the top of the Irish box office charts.

Wed, 29 Aug, 2018 - 05:30

By Nick Bramhill

Mamma Mia: Here we go again! has officially become the smash-hit movie of the year — after bumper takings of nearly €1m every week helped it soar to the top of the Irish box office charts.

The star-studded singalong sequel has taken in €4,824,966 since it was released just five weeks ago, and is now on course to become one of the most successful films of all time at the box office here.

Industry sources have attributed “repeat cinema visits” to the feelgood musical’s success, with many enthusiastic movie-goers returning to watch it twice or even three times.

It’s now almost certain that the sequel — which stars Cher, as well as reuniting A-listers Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, and Colin Firth — will break the €5m mark in a matter of weeks and be the top-grossing film of 2018 by the end of the year.

The nostalgic picture, which is crammed with a string of ABBA’s greatest hits, could yet match the phenomenal success of the original 2008 summer blockbuster — which pulled in over €6.3m in takings to become the fourth-biggest earner of all-time at the Irish box office.

Eoin Wrixon, chief executive of Wide Eye Media, said: “The sequel to Mamma Mia! has dazzled Irish audiences and danced its way to the top of the box office charts. It’s now the number-one film in the Republic of Ireland, and looks likely to join its predecessor on the list of the top ten highest-grossing films of all-time in Ireland.

There hasn’t been a new entry to this list since Star Wars: The Force Awakens broke box-office records in 2015.

“Irish fans are going to see this film not just once, but twice or even three times. It demonstrates how much Irish audiences have missed Mamma Mia! and how we cannot resist a feelgood movie and the lure of the big screen.”

Meanwhile, fans of musicals can look forward to a string of hotly tipped pictures between now and the end of the year, beginning in early October with A Star Is Born, a remake of one of Hollywood’s most enduring love stories, starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.

Later the same month cinema-goers have been told to expect to be “rocked” by Bohemian Rhapsody, which chronicles Freddie Mercury’s and Queen’s rise to fame, and which will feature one of the largest-ever sets in the form of a replica of the famous 1985 Live Aid gig at Wembley Stadium.

And perhaps the biggest attraction of them all will be the keenly anticipated Mary Poppins Returns, a new musical adventure which will be released shortly before Christmas, and which is said to capture the spirit of the iconic original.

All of these hits will have Irish cinema-goers singing and dancing in the aisles, as well as their seats,” said Wrixon.

Irish people are still officially Europe’s most enthusiastic movie fans, with an average of 3.4 cinema visits per capita made last year — more than anywhere else in the EU.