British and Irish Cinema Earnings Reach a Post-Covid Peak as The Minecraft Film Tops 2025 Box Office

The UK and Irish box office has recorded its best annual performance in the post-Covid era, with A Minecraft Movie ending 2025 as the highest-grossing film of the year.

A Gradual Climb in Revenue

Figures released by box-office analysts show that cinema takings in the UK and Ireland amounted to £1.07bn. This marks a rise of 1% on 2024’s total of £1.06bn. At the same time, there was a minor decline in the number of films released: 1,092 in 2025, compared with 1,124 in 2024.

This result marks the best figure since 2019, which saw £1.35bn in total revenue. That was just prior to the steep decline 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 exceeding £1bn in 2023, with a total of £1.06bn.

Industry Rebound and Strategic Shift

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

Notably, though, a recalibration of strategy appears to be underway. In 2025, 224 films were recorded as “saturation” releases (playing in over 250 venues simultaneously), versus 200 in 2024 and 188 in 2019. Figures show that Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale had the largest launch in the UK in 2025, across 750 cinemas.

The Year's Top Film

The highest grossing film of 2025 in the UK and Ireland was the game-to-screen translation A Minecraft Movie. Its viral impact, notably from the “chicken jockey” scene, has translated into box office dominance, 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 following the challenges of recent years. There is strong confidence that the coming months will see substantial more growth.”

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

British Productions and Event Cinema

Among domestic features, 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 significantly before 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.