"Paddington in Peru" Earns Biggest U.K. Opening for British Film since 2021

A little bear goes a long way, especially at the U.K. box office, where “Paddington in Peru,” the third adventure about the lovable bear with a fondness for marmalade, has scored a record-breaking opening weekend.

The third installment proved that the seven-year wait from the second didn’t matter, becoming the biggest opening of the three to date.

The three-day result of £9.65 million ($12.4) was also the biggest opening of the year for the British-produced film, and the biggest since “No Time to Die” in 2021. 

For StudioCanal, which financed the feature (its most expensive investment in a film to date), it also marked the company’s biggest opening in the U.K. of all time. Not bad for a plucky CGI bear with a penchant for marmalade sandwiches.

By contrast, the first “Paddington” feature opened to £5.1 million in 2014, while the 2017 sequel earned £8.2 million. The two would go on to earn more than $600 million globally, creating the most successful independent family franchise. While there’s hope “Paddington in Peru” will cement this status and power it towards the $1 billion mark, the film doesn’t release in the U.S. — which Sony — until January 17.

Among its other box office stats, “Paddington in Peru” — which opened in 732 cinemas (the widest site count of the year) — is the third biggest opening of the year to date, behind only “Deadpool & Wolverine” (£17.2m) and “Inside Out 2” (11.3m). It also opened higher than “The Super Mario Bros Movie” [£8.7m exl. previews] and ahead of “Incredibles 2” (£9.4m), “Wonka” (opening weekend £8.9m) “Despicable Me 4” (£8.8m) and “Mary Poppins Returns” (£8.2m).

Based on the bestselling series of children’s stories by British author Michael Bond, “Paddington in Peru” sees Paddington receive a letter from Peru telling him that his beloved Aunt Lucy has inexplicably gone missing from her jungle cabin at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown family in tow, adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey through the Amazon rainforest and to the mountain peaks of Peru.

Alongside Ben Whishaw voicing Paddington, the returning cast includes Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Madeleine Harris, and Samuel Joslin, while Olivia Colman, Emily Mortimer, Carla Tous, and Antonio Banderas are new additions.