V. V. SURPRISING
Bridget Jones film set to be a huge hit as it beats best film of last year to sell staggering number of presale tickets
Fans will be shocked to learn that a popular recurring character has been dramatically killed off
THE latest Bridget Jones movie has beaten Barbie in pre-sale tickets ahead of its release today.
More than 150,000 seats have already been booked in the UK by cinema chain Odeon, with more than half of those sold for Valentine’s Day.
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It is set to be the busiest weekend at the box office so far in 2025 — with Marvel superhero movie Captain America: Brave New World also hitting the big screen.
Bridget’s previous outing — Bridget Jones’s Baby in 2016 — made £8.1million in its opening weekend.
Fourth and supposedly final film Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is expected to far exceed that.
Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, made £18.4million in British cinemas from its first weekend in July 2023.
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Robert Mitchell, of film industry experts Gower Street Analytics, said: “We’re anticipating it to be one of the biggest titles of the year in the UK, the biggest British film of the year, and the biggest box office for the first half of 2025.”
Eduardo Leal, of Vue cinemas, said: “Pre-sales are even higher than for blockbusters like Barbie. It is tracking to be the biggest ever Bridget Jones film.”
Renee Zellweger, 55, is reprising her role as the granny pants-wearing character, in a story based on a 2013 novel by Helen Fielding.
Odeon boss Suzie Welch said: “We are eagerly anticipating a fantastic opening weekend. It’s lovely to see how excited fans are to welcome Bridget back.”
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The chain has also launched a Bridget-themed Flirty Fizz cocktail at selected cinemas.
The movie will see Bridget as a single mother-of-two, following the death of her partner Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth.
Bridget Jones's greatest moments
She ends up in a relationship with a young park supervisor, played by Leo Woodall, 28.
But the movie faces tough competition at the box office against Marvel’s latest offering, starring Harrison Ford and Anthony Mackie.
Mr Mitchell added: “We’re anticipating a bumper Valentine’s weekend. I think Bridget is perfectly placed counter-programming to Captain America.”
The Sun first revealed in July 2022 how the latest Bridget film was in the works.
Shooting lasted from May until August last year in London.
Renee, who first played Bridget in 2001, said: “I love this character. It’s such a unique experience to have the opportunity to revisit a character, to get to know her in a different stage of her life as she evolves and grows. I feel great warmth for her.
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“I’m also really protective over her and so the quality of the project is always at the forefront.”
- A PIZZA delivery scooter used in Bridget Jones’s Baby to rush her to hospital when she goes into labour is expected to fetch £12,000 in a sale at Ewbank’s Auctions, in Woking, Surrey, on April 4.
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RETURN TO FORM AND SO LIKELY TO RETURN
FIRST REVIEW BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY
4 stars
ROSES are red, violets are blue, this is supposed to be the final Bridget Jones, I don’t believe it, do you?
Released in time for Valentine’s Day tomorrow, Renee Zellweger’s fourth turn as the diary-keeping Brit is sure to be a box office smash.
Those many fans who pre-ordered tickets will be rewarded with all the ridiculous humour that made the original film a hit 24 years ago.
There are double entendres’ about an “essential tool” and lots of F-bombs.
And there is a perfectly timed gag where Bridget’s toyboy lover strips off to save a pet pooch from a pool in front of her pals.
In Mad About the Boy, our heroine, with kids in tow, is a widow being urged to find a new man following the death of her husband Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) four years ago.
She dives into a relationship with twentysomething Roxster (One Day’s Leo Woodall) and then finds herself drawn to her children’s new teacher Mr Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor).
Not all the gags land well and towards the end the tear-jerking plot about grief takes centre stage.
But on the evidence of this movie, fiftysomething Bridget is still a long way from retirement.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is in cinemas today.
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