London cinemas are hoping for a repeat of the 2023 Barbenheimer craze this autumn with Gladiator II and Paddington in Peru getting similar release dates to create… Gladdington.
Picturehouse coined the term after a poll on Twitter found the blend was preferred to Paddiator. And cinemas will once again flock to an unlikely pairing of films which has the potential to become the box office hit of 2024.
Paddington in Peru is released on November 8 in the UK, with Gladiator II set to come out one week later on November 15.
It follows Barbie and Oppenheimer being released on the same day last summer, which saw a record-breaking weekend for UK cinemas.
While Barbie was the higher-grossing - becoming the best performing film at the box office ever directed by a woman - the hype and memes of both were mutually beneficial.
A spike in box office figures would be a welcome relief for cinemas following a disappointing summer of blockbusters that saw The Fall Guy, Joker 2 and Furiosa all miss expectations.
Louanne Honey, who heads up marketing for Picturehouse’s Norwich Cinema City, is credited for coming up with the initial blackboard drawing of Paddington in Gladiator armour.
She said: "Both franchises, Gladiator and Paddington, are titans of cinema and their previous instalments have been immensely popular here at Cinema City. The excitement for these films has been building for months with customers (grown adults) squealing at the sight of the Paddington In Peru poster.
“There really is no doubt that our audience will definitely be 'entertained' come November.”
Paddington in Peru, the third film in the series, will see the bear travel to South America to find his aunt Lucy - with his Brown family along for the ride.
Gladiator II, meanwhile, is a sequel to the 2000 film. Ridley Scott is once again directing although Paul Mescal has been cast in the titular role to replace Russell Crowe.
Hope Hopkinson, of Picturehouse’s marketing department, said that she hopes the nostalgia factor around both films can woo audiences.
“As soon as our Norwich team brought the unconventional double bill to our attention, we knew we needed to make Gladdington happen,” she said.
“It's a really special opportunity to bring older and younger generations together, whether through nostalgia or experiencing these worlds for the first time. Whilst the genres couldn't be more worlds apart which is the initial appeal, they're united by a sincerity and love for cinema that makes it feel like a real special event.”
