UK and Ireland cinema takings on post-pandemic high as A Minecraft Movie tops 2025 box office | Film
A Minecraft Movie has become the highest-grossing film of the year in 2025 as the UK and Ireland box office recorded its best annual performance since the Covid outbreak.
Figures released by box office analysts Comscore show box office revenue in the UK and Ireland is £1.07bn, up 1% on a 2024 total of £1.06bn. There was also a slight decrease in the number of films released: 1,092 films in 2025 compared to 1,124 films in 2024.
The result was the highest total since 2019, when total revenues of £1.35bn reached £323.7m shortly before the physical cinema box office collapsed the following year as Covid restrictions hit hard. Cinema revenues rose to £595.5 million in 2021 and £980.7 million in 2022, but rose above £1 billion in 2023, reaching a total of £1.06 billion.
The number of films released shows that the pipeline, hit by both the pandemic and the film industry strikes of 2023, is recovering and is actually exceeding pre-pandemic levels; 938 films were released in 2019. However, a significant recalibration of strategy appears to be taking place, with 224 films recorded as “saturation” releases (i.e. playing in more than 250 venues simultaneously) in 2025, compared to 200 films in 2024 and 188 films in 2019. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale had the widest opening in the UK in 2025, with more than 750 cinemas, according to Comscore.
The highest-grossing film of 2025 in the UK and Ireland was game adaptation A Minecraft Movie, whose viral impact, including the “chicken jockey” scene, turned it into box office dominion with a total of £56.88 million. Film also topped the 2025 North American box officeIt grossed $423.9 million but only finished fifth at the worldwide box office with $958.3 million; It fell far behind the world-leading Chinese animation Ne Zha 2. Reported returns of $2.24 billion.
Among British productions, the fourth Bridget Jones film, subtitled Mad About the Boy, finished the year as the most successful film at the UK and Irish box office, taking in £46.4 million, placing it in second and third place, well ahead of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale and 28 Years Later, with £18.4 million and £15.6 million respectively.
The figures also revealed the continuing strength of “event cinema” releases, which totaled £44 million (4.1% of the total) and included 10 films that took in more than £1 million. Among them was the best performance ever for a stage production; The West End production of Six the Musical collected £6.2 million; but this is well below Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’s record ‘event cinema’ total of £12.3 million in 2023.
Phil Clapp, Chief Executive of the UK Cinema Association, said: “Although 2025 has seen only a small year-on-year increase in the box office, it has undoubtedly marked another important step in the industry’s recovery following the challenges of recent years. There is great optimism that significant progress will be made in the coming months.”
