La La Land beats Hunger Games opening as it takes box office top spot in UK

Damien Chazelle's Hollywood-set musical broke records during its opening weekend 
Jennifer Ruby16 January 2017
The Weekender

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La La Land has taken the top spot at the UK box office and beaten fellow Lionsgate-produced The Hunger Games in opening weekend figures.

Damien Chazelle’s Hollywood-set musical has taken £6.8 million from the UK market alone in its opening weekend, according to Lionsgate's provisional figures, compared to The Hunger Games' £4.9 million.

The eagerly-awaited film, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, knocked Assassin’s Creed off of the number one spot after opening at 606 cinemas over the weekend.

This marks Liongate’s fourth-biggest UK debut of all time, just behind the three Hunger Games sequels.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, produced by Warner Bros, had the biggest opening weekend of 2016, making £15.3 million.

Zygi Kamasa, the CEO of Lionsgate’s European office said: “La La Land has touched audiences in a way that no one could see coming.

“With sell-out screens country wide, 5-star reviews across the board and unprecedented exhibitor support, our results show that this weekend everyone wanted to escape to the ‘city of stars’ that Damien Chazelle and his filmmaking team created so superbly.

“We couldn’t be happier with what the film has delivered and how UK cinema-goers have responded.”

Speaking to the Standard last week, Gosling said: “I was just gearing up to defend it. I knew that I loved it and we were very proud of it but I had no idea there would be this kind of reaction. It’s obviously a very nice alternative to what I was preparing for.

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“When I meet people who have seen it they rarely say that they have seen it once. They’ve seen it like three times, four times. I’m so shocked by that.

“But there seems to be something about the world of the movie that people want to keep revisiting. It’s just been a wonderful surprise.”

La La Land tells the story of aspiring actress Mia and frustrated jazz pianist Seb, who meet and fall in love as they struggle to achieve their dreams.

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