British and Irish Cinema Earnings Hit a Post-Covid High as The Minecraft Film Tops 2025 Charts

Cinema revenue across Britain and Ireland has recorded its best annual performance after the pandemic, with A Minecraft Movie ending 2025 as the highest-grossing film of the year.

A Gradual Climb in Earnings

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

This result constitutes the peak 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. Industry earnings bounced back to £595.5m in 2021, and £980.7m in 2022, only surpassing £1bn in 2023, with a total of £1.06bn.

Pipeline Recovery and Strategic Shift

The count of movies in theaters suggest that the production pipeline, hit both 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.

Importantly, however, a recalibration of strategy 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. Figures show that Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale had the widest opening in the UK in 2025, across 750 cinemas.

2025's Top Film

The highest grossing film of 2025 in the UK and Ireland was the game-to-screen translation A Minecraft Movie. Its online buzz, featuring the “chicken jockey” scene, has led to box office dominance, with a total of £56.88m.

“Although it saw only a small year-on-year increase in box office, 2025 clearly represented a major milestone in the sector’s recovery following the challenges of recent years. There is considerable hope that the coming months will see significant further progress.”

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

Homegrown Hits and Specialty Releases

Among UK-made films, the fourth Bridget Jones film, Mad About the Boy, ended 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 continuing strength 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.