The Official Film Chart | The UK Top Ten (4th November)
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Carl Roberts 
This week – Ghostbusters makes a welcome return to the chart, but nothing can stop the bewitching spell of Hocus Pocus!
“We sail into history!”, “Welcome to The Rock!”, “You’re going to be missing some teeth in a minute if you don’t eat your breakfast!”, ‘Bond…James Bond”. All of those memorable quotes were uttered by the late, great Sir Sean Connery. After his sad passing at the weekend at the age of 90, it is only fitting to open this week’s chart run down with quotes from the legendary actor in tribute to his legacy, his many great performances, and for the enjoyment, he gave us throughout his distinguished career.
Not only will he live on in many people’s memories as probably the best Bond out of them all but he will be remembered for Marko Ramius in ‘The Hunt For Red October‘, As King Richard in an uncredited cameo in ‘Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves‘, as Jimmy Malone in his Oscar-winning turn in ‘The Untouchables‘ and of course for his wonderful appearance as Henry Jones Sr in ‘Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade‘ among other roles he played. Although he retired from the screen back in 2003, he will be sadly missed.
Welcome once more to the official top ten charts, documenting what we have all been buying for our collections over the past week. We knew that a second lockdown was on the horizon and I hope that you all grabbed enough entertainment on whatever format you choose to keep you sane while we are restricted for at least the next four weeks and possibly beyond. As any cinemas that decided to remain open are now forced to close, we will need to turn to our movie and TV show collections to keep us entertained. Forget the terrestrial channels, they are starting to show more repeats now as they try to preserve the new content they have in their lockers ready for the build-up to Christmas and probably beyond. This week sees a significant change in the chart as we lose last week‘s bottom five titles from the chart completely. The top five from last week are the same but have shifted positions around as we come off the back of Halloween. The new bottom five titles are comprised of one new entry and four titles that have moved back up the chart to make themselves known. As such and in a surprising way, we say goodbye to ‘The Tax Collector‘, ‘Sonic The Hedgehog‘, ‘Trolls: World Tour‘, ‘The Greatest Showman‘ and ‘1917‘, at least for this week. Why for this week, you ask? Let’s see what has replaced them and we will get a clearer view.
The new number one title for the week is one that, to be honest, we could have predicted. As we have just celebrated Halloween and have had to celebrate inside our homes instead of taking the little one’s trick or treating, it is completely understandable to see the classic Disney film ‘Hocus Pocus‘ speed up the chart on its broomsticks by three places to become the official chart-topper for this week. The Bette Midler led comedy spooky tale has become a family favorite and always manages to make an appearance on TV and home entertainment. With the Pop Vinyl figures recently released and the confirmation from Bette Midler herself that a belated sequel is incoming, the film will continue to entertain families and small children (and my 17-year-old niece) for many years to come.
Tim Burton’s classic animated tale ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas‘ also rides the Halloween wave as it also rises three places to become this week’s second favorite title. The film, as I have said before, always manages to make itself known at Halloween as well as Christmas, giving it a two-handed chance of appearing in the charts. The animation style is a throwback to many years ago instead of being CGI and is wonderful to see. It brings back memories to the older generations like myself of animated fare from many years ago and of a style that we grew up with. And, of course, the film itself is wonderful.
The Mystery Machine has parked up this week, ready to do battle with some ghost or other while Shaggy and his canine best friend stock up and fill themselves up on Scooby snacks as ‘Scoob!‘ holds firm in the third place for this week. The animated prequel/sequel has kept families entertained up and down the country and continues to give the masses the giggles.
Five months after it first hit the charts, the Disney animated film ‘Onward‘ managed to hit the number one spot, holding it for a few weeks. Well, their run has come to an end as they tumble three places to become the fourth best-selling title for the past seven days. The film is available on Disney+ as well as home entertainment formats and although it has fallen this week, continues to be a top title.
Completing this week’s top five titles comes another Disney title. And it is still chilly but it seems to have got colder as ‘Frozen II‘ slips on its ice and falls three places to end the week down in the fifth position. However, the film cannot feel sorry for itself as it has sold hundreds of thousands of copies across all formats as well as being available on Sky Movies and Disney+ and is almost certain to have a top-three place in the charts of the year.
Halloween has made a huge significance on the charts this week. Outside the top ten, films such as ‘The House With A Clock In Its Walls‘ (13th), ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show‘ (15th), ‘Beetlejuice‘ (16th), ‘Halloween‘ (17th) and ‘Scream (20th) have flown in to grab positions, sending more up to date fare running for their lives in fear. And it is hardly a surprise to learn that the bottom five titles in the top ten are all horror-related in some form or other.
Our new number six title is our only new entry this week. Thirty-six years after making its successful box office bow, becoming one of the world’s favorite comedies ever made and launching a franchise that would have seen an official third film in the saga open in cinemas this year if it wasn’t for the pandemic making it be pushed back until next summer, we welcome, for the first time into the top ten charts, the superstars of the supernatural as the original 1984 ‘Ghostbusters‘ manifests itself. The film is, without a doubt, one of my favorite films of all time and one of my favorite films from the 1980s. I don’t need to tell you what the film is about or what it contains but if you are one of those who haven’t seen it (and I can’t imagine there is anyone who hasn’t) or don’t have it in your collections, then grab it with both hands at the earliest opportunity.
Rising seventeen places up the chart, twenty-five years after making its cinematic bow, the delightful and moving family film ‘Casper‘ flies in to grab the seventh place. Starring Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci, the movie is a family favorite, boasting great special effects, great comedic turns from Pullman and co-star Eric Idle and a masterful score from the late James Horner. And the film contains some famous name cameos that the older viewers will gasp and smile at.
Rising twenty places up the chart to hit the top ten in the eighth-placed position, possibly ahead of the release of the remake that was due to hit cinemas this year but will now make its bow on PVOD instead, the 1990 film version of Roald Dahl’s ‘The Witches‘ swoops in. Boasting a wonderfully evil performance from Anjelica Huston, the film is a darker but still family-friendly one that will keep the family entertained.
Silently entering the chart unseen and rising by four places to occupy a top ten position once again, the enjoyable and frightening remake of ‘The Invisible Man‘ appears in the ninth place.
And finally, floating back up the chart by seven places, still clutching his balloons as he lands in the tenth position in the chart, we once again welcome back Pennywise the clown as the inferior sequel ‘IT-Chapter Two‘ returns again.
Next week, we will inevitably see most of these titles vanish once again, possibly to be replaced by at least one Sean Connery film as well as a few of the titles that have dropped out of the chart this week making their returns. But hitting the disc format once again, this time in a 4K version from November 9th, the classic 1955 Ealing comedy ‘The Ladykillers‘ becomes available. The film features legendary stars such as Sir Alec Guinness, Herbert Lom, Jack Warner, Danny Green, and Peter Sellers in one of the finest black comedy crime films ever written and filmed. For those of you who only know the completely inferior Tom Hanks remake from 2004, then you are in for a complete treat with this original version. For those of us who have seen and remember this version, then I recommend getting hold of this 4K version as the film looks and sounds better than it has ever had before.
And with that, I shall take my leave for another week. My thanks for joining in on our journey through the best-selling titles of the week. And, in a change to what is usually asked, what do you think will be returning to the chart next week? Will we be seeing films such as ‘Bad Boys For Life‘ and ‘1917‘ take their places inside the top ten once again? Why not drop us a line and let us know your thoughts.
Until then, whatever you decide, whatever you buy, have fun, stay safe, be kind and happy viewing!
Anyone wishing to buy any of the titles featured in the chart can do so via FindAnyFilm.com
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Carl Roberts is a Senior Staff Writer and Books and Literature Correspondent for Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter @CarlRoberts2 where he uses the force frequently!
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Editor’s Note | All videos and information have been supplied by Find Any Film and used under authorization.
Future of the Force News Editor,Liverpool F.C fan,Halloween Movie Fan, Friday The 13th movies fan, Star Wars Fan, Star Trek Fan.
