The romcom Me Before You, about a woman who takes care of a disabled man, has unexpectedly topped the UK box office on its second week of release. The film, which stars Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin, dethroned last week’s leader, Warcraft: The Beginning, and fought off competition from the first round of matches at Euro 2016.
Me Before You – adapted by Jojo Moyes from her novel and directed by Thea Sharrock – posted £1.45m on its second weekend, according to Screen International. That’s a relatively small decline of 20% on its opening figures. It finished ahead of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and Alice Through the Looking Glass. Warcraft, which was bolstered by previews in its first week, dropped by 50% to finish in fourth place with £728,014.
Football tournaments in which England participate are known to have a dramatic impact on UK box office prospects, but Me Before You’s presumed key demographic – teenagers and women in their 20s and 30s – are considered by the film industry to be the least affected by Euro 2016. However, other films that were seen as alternatives to live football – notably Garry Marshall’s Mother’s Day – have fared badly on the back of negative reviews.
Me Before You has also attracted considerable criticism from disability campaigners, who are concerned about what the movie appears to say about the subject of assisted dying.
