![[Clockwise from top left]: 'The Voice Of Hind Rajab', 'A House Of Dynamite', 'Jay Kelly', 'After The Hunt', 'The Smashing Machine'](https://d1nslcd7m2225b.cloudfront.net/Pictures/274x183/1/7/0/1459170_veniceawards_837515.jpg)
The UK-Ireland box office market share for UK-qualifying films was up by almost 12% in the first three quarters of 2025 (January to September) compared to 2024, while market share for UK independent films was down by 1.2%.
The total market share of all UK qualifying films was 43%, compared to 31.4% in 2024, according to statistics published today by the BFI. This is above the level in the equivalent period of the last full pre-pandemic year of 2019, which was 35%.
Market share of UK independent films in 2025 is 7.5%, compared with 8.7% in Q1-Q3 2024.
The top-performing UK qualifying film of the year so far remains Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, with £46.4m for Universal from a February release.
US filmmaker Jay Roach’s Searchlight comedy The Roses, which shot in the UK and was produced out of the UK by South Of The River Pictures and SunnyMarch and distributed by Disney, is deemed by the BFI as the highest-grossing UK independent release of Q1-Q3, earning £10.1m after an August 29 release. It is the only UK independent film from the third quarter to enter the UK independent film top 10.
The market share of UK independent films is still down on the equivalent period in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, which was 15%.
UK-Ireland January-September top 10 UK qualifying titles
| Rank | Title (origin) | Distributor | Release date | Jan-Sep total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (UK) | Universal | 13/2/25 | £46.4m |
| 2. | Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (US-UK) | Paramount | 21/5/25 | £26.1m |
| 3. | The Fantastic Four: First Steps (US-UK) | Disney | 24/7/25 | £23.9m |
| 4. | How To Train Your Dragon (US-UK) | Universal | 13/6/25 | £19.3m |
| 5. | The Conjuring: Last Rites (US-UK) | Warner Bros | 5/9/25 | £17.8m |
| 6. | Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (UK-US) | Universal | 12/9/25 | £16.9m |
| 7. | F1 The Movie (US-UK) | Warner Bros | 25/6/25 | £15.9m |
| 8, | Dog Man (UK-US) | Universal | 7/2/25 | £13.8m |
| 9. | 28 Years Later (UK-US) | Sony | 20/7/25 | £13.7m |
| 10, | Jurassic World Rebirth (US-UK) | Warner Bros | 2/7/25 | £12.5m |
UK-Ireland January-September top 10 UK independent titles
| Rank | Title (origin) | Distributor | Release date | Jan-Sep total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Roses (UK-US) | Disney | 29/8/25 | £10.1m |
| 2 | We Live In Time (UK-Fr) | Studiocanal | 1/1/25 | £8.8m |
| 3 | The Salt Path (UK) | Black Bear | 30/5/25 | £7.9m |
| 4 | The Brutalist (UK) | Universal | 24/1/25 | £3.8m |
| 5 | The Penguin Lessons (UK-Sp) | Lionsgate | 18/4/25 | £3.3m |
| 6 | Marching Powder (UK) |
True Brit | 7/3/25 | £3.1m |
| 7 | Warfare (UK-US) | A24 | 18/4/25 | £2.2m |
| 8 | The Ballad Of Wallis Island (UK) | Universal | 30/5/25 | £1.8m |
| 9 | Becoming Led Zeppelin (UK-US) | Sony | 2/2/25 | £1.1m |
| 10 | Mr Burton (UK) |
Icon | 4/3/25 | £1.1m |
The BFI’s definition of a UK independent film was revised in 2023: “Where previously a film only needed to be UK qualifying and not directly made by a major US studio to be considered a UK independent, the BFI Research and Statistics Unit now also looks at where a film has been made with inward investment, whether it is either demonstrable or reasonable to assume that UK talent had substantial creative control or input (e.g., by having a UK director or writer).”
A UK-qualifying film is certified as such by the BFI’s cultural test; under one of the UK’s official co-production agreements or the European Convention on Cinematographic Coproduction; or a film which has not applied for certification but which is obviously British on the basis of its content, producers, finance and talent.
UK box office revenue up 10%
The UK’s box office revenue hit £750.8m for the first three quarters of 2025 (excluding Ireland), up 10% on the equivalent period in 2024. This is still down 18% on the equivalent pre-pandemic year of 2019.
A Minecraft Movie was the highest-grossing film release with a UK-Ireland box office of £56.7 million.
September 2025 saw eight million ticket admissions (for all titles on release in the UK only, including event cinema), the second lowest monthly total of the year to date – and down 2% on September 2024 and 27% on September 2019.
UK-Ireland January-September top 10 titles
| Rank | Title (origin) | Distributor | Release date | Jan-Sep total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | A Minecraft Movie (UK-Swe) | Warner Bros | 4/4/25 | £56.7m |
| 2. | Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (UK-US) | Universal | 13/2/25 | £46.4m |
| 3. | Lilo & Stitch (US) | Disney | 21/5/25 | £36.1m |
| 4. | Superman (US) | Warner Bros | 11/7/25 | £28.1m |
| 5. | Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (US-UK) | Paramount | 21/5/25 | £26.1m |
| 6. | The Fantastic Four: First Steps (US-UK) | Disney | 24/7/25 | £23.9m |
| 7. | How To Train Your Dragon (US-UK) | Universal | 13/6/25 | £19.3m |
| 8, | Captain America: Brave New World (US) | Disney | 14/2/25 | £18m |
| 9. | The Conjuring: Last Rites (US-UK) | Warner Bros | 5/9/25 | £17.8m |
| 10, | Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (UK-US) |
Universal | 12/9/25 | £16.9m |
No comments yet