British and Irish Cinema Earnings Reach a Post-Pandemic Peak as A Minecraft Movie Leads 2025 Box Office
Cinema revenue across Britain and Ireland has seen its highest annual performance since the Covid pandemic, with A Minecraft Movie finishing 2025 as the top-earning film of the year.
A Steady Recovery in Earnings
Figures released by box-office analysts show that ticket sales in the UK and Ireland amounted to £1.07bn. This represents an increase of 1% on 2024’s total of £1.06bn. Meanwhile, there was a minor decline 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 shortly before the steep decline of the physical cinema box office the following year, to £323.7m, as Covid restrictions had a devastating impact. Box office takings bounced back to £595.5m in 2021, and £980.7m in 2022, only exceeding £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, affected by the pandemic and subsequent film industry strikes in 2023, has regained strength. It is, in fact, surpassing pre-pandemic levels; in 2019, 938 films were released.
Significantly however, a change in approach appears to be occurring. In 2025, 224 films were recorded as “saturation” releases (playing in over 250 venues simultaneously), compared with 200 in 2024 and 188 in 2019. Figures show that Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale had the widest opening in the UK in 2025, with over 750 cinemas.
2025's Top Film
The highest grossing film of 2025 in the UK and Ireland was the video game movie A Minecraft Movie. Its online buzz, notably from the “chicken jockey” scene, has led to box office dominance, with a total of £56.88m.
“While growth was modest year-on-year 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 significant further progress.”
The film also led the 2025 North American box office but came in fifth at the worldwide box office, well behind 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, ended 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 underscored 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.
