British and Irish Box Office Takings Hit a Post-Covid High as A Minecraft Movie Tops 2025 Charts

Cinema revenue across Britain and Ireland 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 Revenue

Data from industry analysts show that cinema takings 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 minor decline in the number of films released: 1,092 in 2025, against 1,124 in 2024.

This result is the highest total 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 took a severe toll. Cinema revenues climbed to £595.5m in 2021, and £980.7m in 2022, only returning above £1bn in 2023, with a total of £1.06bn.

Pipeline Recovery and Strategic Shift

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

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

The Year's Top Film

The top-earning film of 2025 in the UK and Ireland was the video game movie A Minecraft Movie. Its online buzz, including the “chicken jockey” scene, has resulted in box office dominance, with a total of £56.88m.

“While growth was modest year-on-year in box office, 2025 was certainly a significant further step in the sector’s recovery following the challenges of recent years. There is strong confidence that the coming months will see substantial more growth.”

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

Homegrown Hits and Event Cinema

Among British productions, the fourth Bridget Jones film, Mad About the Boy, finished 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 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.