15/09/2015 - Best ever opening for StudioCanal, surpassing Paddington

Legend by Brian Helgeland

Legend [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile], directed by L.A. Confidential Oscar winner Brian Helgeland, has opened at top spot at the British and Irish box office following its 9 September bow. It opened across 522 screens, making it the widest ever September release, and scored £5.18 million over the weekend, thus establishing it as the highest opener for a British production with a BBFC 18 rating. Legend is the true story of the rise and fall of London’s most notorious gangsters, Reggie and Ron Kray, both portrayed by Tom Hardy. It is a crime thriller that explores the secret history of the 1960s and the events that secured the infamy of the Kray twins.

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For producers StudioCanal, Legend is their widest release to date and also their biggest opener, surpassing Paddington [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile] that opened with £5.11 million in 2014. StudioCanal chief executive Danny Perkins said, “We worked closely with the film-making team as they crafted a superb film around a truly unique central performance and it has been fantastic to see this inspire such an incredible amount of excitement and appreciation from UK audiences.”

The film enjoyed a successful North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September. The film is a Working Title production, in association with Anton Capital and Amazon Prime Instant Video, financed by StudioCanal and Working Title and distributed by StudioCanal. The film also stars Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Christopher Eccleston and Taron Egerton.