Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy has achieved the highest-ever opening for a romcom in the UK and Ireland, according to Universal.
The fourth movie in the franchise, set around the titular unlucky-in-love heroine, took $14.9m, (£11.m) in its first weekend, beating Marvel’s first release of the year, Captain America: Brave New World.
Zellweger and Leo Woodall in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Pic: Universal Pictures
It overtakes the second film in the franchise, Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason – the previous record holder.
Less of a household name in the US, Bridget’s latest adventure didn’t get a cinema release in the US, going straight to Universal’s streaming service Peacock.
The film’s success in the UK follows impressive pre-sales, which were better than those of the record-breaking Margot Robbie movie Barbie – one-half of last year’s « Barbenheimer » phenomenon.
Produced by Working Title – the production company behind British hits including Four Weddings And A Funeral, Love Actually and Notting Hill – Bridget Jones 4 is now their highest-ever opening.
It was also the franchise’s biggest opening in Poland, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
With hit-and-miss reviews from critics, audiences seem to be enjoying the show, rating the movie 86% fresh on film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
The character first appeared in 1995 as anonymous columns in The Independent written by journalist Helen Fielding. A word-of-mouth hit, Fielding’s four subsequent books about Bridget were bestsellers.
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Sky’s Bethany Minelle explains how Bridget Jones came to be
Speaking ahead of the film’s release, the film’s star, Renée Zellweger told Sky News playing Bridget was « the best job in the world ».
Starring in the latest instalment alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor and Leo Woodall, Zellweger went on: « I love her. I love her humour. I love her vulnerability. I love her imperfection. I love the opportunity to play out her miscalculating a plan and it maybe, surprising her in her execution. I love all of it. »
Bridget Jones – new era, new pants. Pic: Universal Pictures
The first film earned Zellweger an Oscar nod for her portrayal of Bridget, and the character’s name has gone into the lexicon to describe a 30-something single woman on the lookout for love.
A polarizing character, while some loved the character’s relatability, others felt her obsession with her appearance and finding a man flew in the face of what it meant to be an independent woman.
Fielding has said the key to Bridget’s appeal lies in her revealing « the gap between how you feel you are supposed to be and how you really are inside ».
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is in cinemas now.
