British and Irish Box Office Revenue Reach a Post-Covid Peak as A Minecraft Movie Tops the Year's Box Office
The UK and Irish box office has posted its strongest annual performance after the pandemic, with A Minecraft Movie closing out 2025 as the number one film of the year.
A Steady Climb in Earnings
Data from industry analysts show that ticket sales in the UK and Ireland reached £1.07bn. This represents an increase of 1% on 2024’s total of £1.06bn. At the same time, there was a slight decrease in the number of films released: 1,092 in 2025, versus 1,124 in 2024.
This result marks the best figure since 2019, which saw £1.35bn in total revenue. That was just prior to the steep decline of the physical cinema box office the following year, to £323.7m, as Covid restrictions had a devastating impact. Cinema revenues climbed to £595.5m in 2021, and £980.7m in 2022, only surpassing £1bn in 2023, with a total of £1.06bn.
Industry Rebound and Changing Tactics
The numbers of films on release suggest that the production pipeline, impacted by the pandemic and subsequent film industry strikes in 2023, has regained strength. It is, in fact, exceeding pre-pandemic levels; in 2019, 938 films were released.
Notably, though, a change in approach appears to be underway. In 2025, 224 films were recorded as “saturation” releases (playing in over 250 venues simultaneously), against 200 in 2024 and 188 in 2019. According to reports that Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale had the widest opening in the UK in 2025, in more than 750 cinemas.
The Year's Box Office Champion
The highest grossing film of 2025 in the UK and Ireland was the game-to-screen translation A Minecraft Movie. Its online buzz, notably from the “chicken jockey” scene, has resulted in box office supremacy, with a total of £56.88m.
“Despite only a slight annual rise in box office, 2025 was certainly a major milestone in the sector’s recovery after the challenges of recent years. There is great optimism that the coming months will see substantial more growth.”
The film also dominated the 2025 North American box office but finished fifth at the worldwide box office, trailing the global leader, the Chinese animation Ne Zha 2.
British Productions and Specialty Releases
Among domestic features, the fourth Bridget Jones film, Mad About the Boy, finished the year as the most successful at the UK and Irish box office, taking £46.4m. It came far in front of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale and 28 Years Later in second and third place.
The figures also highlighted the continuing strength of “event cinema” releases, which took a total of £44m (4.1% of the total). This category included 10 films earning more than £1m. Among these was the record-breaking showing for a stage production; the film of the West End production Six the Musical amassed £6.2m.
