UK and Ireland Cinema Takings Reach a Post-Covid Peak as The Minecraft Film Tops 2025 Charts

The UK and Irish box office has posted its strongest annual performance in the post-Covid era, with A Minecraft Movie finishing 2025 as the number one film of the year.

A Steady Climb in Revenue

Data from industry analysts show that ticket sales in the UK and Ireland amounted to £1.07bn. This shows growth of 1% on 2024’s total of £1.06bn. Meanwhile, there was a slight decrease in the amount of films released: 1,092 in 2025, compared with 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 collapse of the physical cinema box office the following year, to £323.7m, as Covid restrictions hit hard. Cinema revenues recovered to £595.5m in 2021, and £980.7m in 2022, only exceeding £1bn in 2023, with a total of £1.06bn.

Industry Rebound and Strategic Shift

The numbers of films on release suggest that the production pipeline, hit both by the pandemic and subsequent film industry strikes in 2023, has rebounded. It is, in fact, exceeding pre-pandemic levels; in 2019, 938 films were released.

Notably, though, a strategic shift appears to be underway. In 2025, 224 films were recorded as “saturation” releases (playing in over 250 venues simultaneously), compared with 200 in 2024 and 188 in 2019. According to reports that Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale had the largest launch in the UK in 2025, across 750 cinemas.

The Year's Top Film

The most successful film of 2025 in the UK and Ireland was the video game movie A Minecraft Movie. Its cultural phenomenon, including the “chicken jockey” scene, has led to box office dominance, with a total of £56.88m.

“Despite only a slight annual rise in box office, 2025 was certainly a key advance in the sector’s recovery after the challenges of recent years. There is considerable hope that the coming months will see significant further progress.”

The film also topped the 2025 North American box office but finished fifth at the worldwide box office, far below the global leader, the Chinese animation Ne Zha 2.

Homegrown Hits and Event Cinema

Among UK-made films, the fourth Bridget Jones film, Mad About the Boy, was the most successful at the UK and Irish box office, taking £46.4m. It came significantly before 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 best ever performance for a stage production; the film of the West End production Six the Musical amassed £6.2m.