British and Irish Cinema Takings Hit a Post-Pandemic Peak as The Minecraft Film Tops the Year's Charts

The UK and Irish box office has seen its highest annual performance since the Covid pandemic, with A Minecraft Movie closing out 2025 as the highest-grossing film of the year.

A Steady Recovery in Earnings

Data from industry analysts show that cinema takings in the UK and Ireland reached £1.07bn. This marks a rise of 1% on 2024’s total of £1.06bn. At the same time, there was a slight decrease in the amount of films released: 1,092 in 2025, compared with 1,124 in 2024.

This result is the highest total since 2019, which saw £1.35bn in total revenue. That was shortly before the collapse of the physical cinema box office the following year, to £323.7m, as Covid restrictions hit hard. Cinema revenues bounced back to £595.5m in 2021, and £980.7m in 2022, only returning above £1bn in 2023, with a total of £1.06bn.

Industry Rebound and Strategic Shift

The numbers of films on release suggest that the film production cycle, impacted by the pandemic and subsequent film industry strikes in 2023, has recovered. It is, in fact, topping 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), 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.

2025's Top Film

The most successful film of 2025 in the UK and Ireland was the gaming adaptation A Minecraft Movie. Its online buzz, featuring the “chicken jockey” scene, has resulted in box office supremacy, with a total of £56.88m.

“While growth was modest year-on-year in box office, 2025 clearly represented a major milestone in the sector’s recovery after the challenges of recent years. There is strong confidence that the coming months will see notable additional gains.”

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 British productions, 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 underscored the ongoing popularity 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.