As the UK goes back into lockdown in 2020 what were the big movies at the box office over the last 30 years.

Each week we present a rundown of the UK box office chart headlines on this same week from last year to 1990.

A year ago (2019) -

No. 1 movie: - Joker which had been at the top for 5 weeks and with a total gross of £51.6 Million it was also the top total grossing film.

Highest Debut: - Doctor Sleep directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson which entered the box office at number 4.

Longest run: - Downton Abbey which had been on the box office for 8 weeks.

Five years ago (2015) -

No. 1 and highest debut: - Spectre starring Daniel Craig and Christoph Waltz and directed by Sam Mendes

No. 1 and top total grossing: - Minions which had taken £47.1 Million over 16 weeks of release.

Ten years ago (2010) -

No. 1 and Highest debut: - Saw 3D starring Tobin Bell and Costas Mandylor and directed by Kevin Greutert

Longest run: - Made In Dagenham which had been on the box office for 5 weeks.

Top total grossing: - Despicable Me which had taken £15.1 Million after 3 weeks of release.

Fifteen years ago (2005) -

No. 1 movie: - Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit which had been at the top for 3 weeks and with a total gross of £25.8 Million it was also the top total grossing film.

Highest Debut: - Saw II directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and starring Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith which entered the box office at number 3.

Longest run: - Pride And Prejudice which had been on the box office for 7 weeks.

Twenty years ago (2000) -

No.1 movie: - Dinosaur which had been at the top for 2 weeks.

Highest debut: - Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 directed by Joe Berlinger and starring Kim Director and Jeffrey Donovan which entered the box office at number 3.

Longest run: - Hollow Man which had been on the box office for 5 weeks.

Top total grossing: - Billy Elliot which had taken £11.4 Million after 5 weeks of release.

Twenty five years ago (1995) -

No.1 movie: - Pocahontas which had been at the top for 3 weeks.

Highest debut: - To Die For directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Nicole Kidman and Matt Dillon which entered the box office at number 3.

No. 1 and top total grossing: - Batman Forever which had taken £21 Million over 15 weeks of release.

Thirty years ago (1990) -

No. 1 movie: - Ghost which had been at the top for 5 weeks and with a total gross of £21.9 Million it was also the top total grossing film.

Highest Debut: - Young Guns II directed by Geoff Murphy and starring Emilio Estevez and Kiefer Sutherland which entered the box office at number 2.

Longest run: - Hardware which had been on the box office for 5 weeks.

At the UK box office this weekend, Friday, 28th February 2020, there are 6 new releases looking to take your attention at the local multiplex and knock Sonic The Hedgehog from the top of the UK box office chart next week.

The Invisible Man

First up at cinemas this week is The Invisible Man, a movie directed by Leigh Whannell who also directed Insidious Chapter 3 in 2015 which grossed £3.9 Million in the UK.

It stars Elisabeth Moss who last starred in Shirley (2020).

The film also stars Oliver Jackson-Cohen who last appeared in The Healer (2017).

Dark Waters

Next on this weeks new release schedule is Dark Waters.

This new movie stars Mark Ruffalo who's last film was Avengers: Endgame (2019)

It also stars Anne Hathaway who appeared in The Hustle (2019).

The film is brought to us by Todd Haynes.

Wendy

Next up this week is Wendy which is directed by Benh Zeitlin who directed Beasts Of The Southern Wild in 2012.

It stars Yashua Mack and Devin France.

True History Of The Kelly Gang

Also this week there is True History Of The Kelly Gang from director Justin Kurzel who also directed The Assassin in 2016.

The film features George MacKay and Essie Davis in starring roles.

Downhill

The long list of new releases continues with Downhill which is directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash directing together.

It stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell.

Color Out Of Space

Finally there is Color Out Of Space from director Richard Stanley who also directed Hardware in 1990, the film stars Nicolas Cage and Joely Richardson.

Check back on Monday to see if these new releases enter the UK Weekend Box Office Chart.

Come back next week when there are 3 new releases. -

• Onward, Friday, 6th March
• Military Wives, Friday, 6th March
• Fantasy Island, Friday, 6th March

This week is a big week in the gaming world, the annual E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) conference is taking place in LA, a conference when all the big players in the gaming industry boast about their year and give loose forecasts of new games coming to their platforms for the following year.

The Expo is also a platform for new hardware, and although 2 of the big players, Microsoft and Sony, only had hardware to show off in the form of additions to existing hardware or revamped current hardware, industry leader Nintendo had a small ace up it's sleeve.

Nintendo by far has and does rule the hand held market and this year they are releasing a sequel to their best selling Nintendo DS handheld gaming console. The new twist on the console it that it has a 3 inch 3D top screen as well as the small bottom touch screen, and adding another twist the 3D screen does not require glasses.

All's well so far, all game news so far, what makes this even more interesting is that Nintendo has signed a deal with the likes of Warner Bros. and Disney to release movies in 3D on the device, not that raises the game even more.

On display in LA at the expo in form of a demonstration of this is Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon, a recent 3D animated film, and although the 3D effect takes a little getting used to it works, but only for depth, which as James Cameron, director of Avatar, says is a large part of 3D, it's not all about things flying out of the screen at you.

This is exciting news, one which I expect will be used mainly by kinds, hence the studios involved and the kinds of films they are releasing. If proved successful this could pave the way for greater things, another example of the games industry leading the way of the films industry.

It's an old trick used by the film distribution companies to keep a steady flow of cash coming in by re-releasing old films, and each time in a different way, whether it be in the VHS days of suddenly discovering some new footage and releasing longer or directors cuts, or the more modern way of an improved picture and more extras. When a new format come along, like Blu-ray it give a whole new life to old films, just askGeorge Lucas, he's made a mint from the idea.

Studios are now suggesting that with some of the older films it isn't financially viable to re-release them again on Blue-ray, as Bill Hunt from The Digital Bits website writes in his daily “My Two Cents” column on his site.

It seems that the public these days expecting so much from High Definition that the amount of time and money spent on the disk production doesn't justify the return resulting in many a catalogue title maybe never seeing a release in high definition.

I think many of us are in this situation, you bought the VHS version of your favourite film say, The Breakfast Club. That version cant be played with your current hardware (who has a VHS player anymore?) so you bought the DVD version and enjoy it over and over again, the pictures as crisp today as the day it was bought. You now decide to buy an HDTV and Blu-ray player and find the Blu-ray version of the film, but is it really worth another purchase when your current disk will still play in your new player, and maybe even improve it?

It's an old argument, and when it comes to big Hollywood blockbuster a really good HD remastered transfer will make a huge difference, and I as much as anyone else will be lining the pockets of Lucasfilms when the virtually announced Star Wars Blu-ray films are released, but relatively speaking the list of film I need in HD is probably quite small, although my Blu-ray collection is growing at an alarming rate.

Apple and their iTunes store has in recent years become a hot spot for renting and buying movies, mainly for playing on your portable device (iPhone or iPod Touch recommended) but these can with the right hardware be played on the TV.

Today is the start of the Apple WWDC, which traditionally kick off with a huge presentation from Apple where they announce lots of new hardware and software.

Imagine the scenario, your on a long car journey, or about to board a plane and you want a god movie for the journey, well soon you'll be able to get our iPhone wherever you are and buy a movie for the journey.

No great shakes but a nice addition to the mobile device.