British and Irish Cinema Revenue Hit a Post-Covid High as A Minecraft Movie Tops the Year's Charts

The UK and Irish box office has recorded its best annual performance after the pandemic, with A Minecraft Movie ending 2025 as the number one film of the year.

A Steady Climb in Earnings

Figures released by box-office analysts show that ticket sales in the UK and Ireland amounted to £1.07bn. This marks a rise of 1% on 2024’s total of £1.06bn. Meanwhile, there was a small drop in the volume of films released: 1,092 in 2025, against 1,124 in 2024.

This result constitutes the peak since 2019, which saw £1.35bn in total revenue. That was just prior to the precipitous drop of the physical cinema box office the following year, to £323.7m, as Covid restrictions had a devastating impact. Box office takings climbed to £595.5m in 2021, and £980.7m in 2022, only exceeding £1bn in 2023, with a total of £1.06bn.

Pipeline Recovery and Changing Tactics

The volume of cinematic releases suggest that the production pipeline, affected by the pandemic and subsequent film industry strikes in 2023, has recovered. It is, in fact, exceeding pre-pandemic levels; in 2019, 938 films were released.

Importantly, however, a strategic shift 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 largest launch in the UK in 2025, with over 750 cinemas.

2025's Top Film

The most successful film of 2025 in the UK and Ireland was the video game movie A Minecraft Movie. Its viral impact, featuring the “chicken jockey” scene, has translated into box office the top spot, with a total of £56.88m.

“Despite only a slight annual rise in box office, 2025 undoubtedly marked a major milestone in the sector’s recovery following the challenges of recent years. There is strong confidence that the coming months will see significant further progress.”

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

British Productions 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 well ahead of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale and 28 Years Later in second and third place.

The figures also highlighted the enduring appeal 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 highest-grossing run for a stage production; the film of the West End production Six the Musical amassed £6.2m.