The UK-Ireland box office rose 6% year-on-year to £199.3m, in the first quarter of 2026, led by book-to-screen adaptations including Sony’s Project Hail Mary and Entertainment Film Distributors’ The Magic Faraway Tree.
Project Hail Mary, adapted from Andy Weir’s 2021 novel, was the highest-grossing release in the UK-Ireland with £27.1m, while Enid Blyton-inspired The Magic Faraway Tree was the highest-grossing UK independent release in the territory in the period, grossing £11.6m for Entertainment Film Distributors, according to figures published by the BFI.
In the equivalent period in 2025, Universal’s Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy was the highest-grossing film, with £46.2m, while Studiocanal’s original drama We Live In Time was the top UK independent performer, with £8.8m.
In Q1 2026, six of the top 10 films at the UK-Ireland box office were book-to-screen adaptations. As well as Project Hail Mary and The Magic Faraway Tree, there was Warner Bros’ Wuthering Heights, Universal’s Hamnet, Sony’s Crime 101 and Universal’s Reminders Of Him. In Q1 2025, five of the top 10 releases were sequels, parts of pre-existing franchises or remakes, compared with two in Q1 2026 (Paramount’s Scream 7 and Sony’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple).
The BFI statistics are based on Comscore-reported box office figures for UK-Ireland releases that opened between January and March 2026, excluding event cinema, and include figures for films still on release up to April 12.
Top 10 films at Q1 2026 UK-Ireland box office
| Rank | Title (origin) | Distributor | Release date | Q1 total |
| 1. | Project Hail Mary (UK-US-Can) | Sony | 20/3/26 | £27.1m |
| 2. | Wuthering Heights (UK-US) | Warner Bros | 13/2/26 | £25.2m |
| 3. | Hamnet (UK-US) | Universal | 9/1/26 | £19m |
| 4. | Hoppers (US) | Disney | 6/3/26 | £13.5m |
| 5. | Goat (US) | Sony | 13/2/26 | £13.2m |
| 6. | The Magic Faraway Tree (UK-US) | EFD | 27/3/26 | £11.6m |
| 7. | Scream 7 (US) | Paramount | 27/2/26 | £8m |
| 8, | 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (UK-US) | Sony | 16/1/26 | £7.9m |
| 9. | Crime 101 (UK-US) | Sony | 13/2/26 | £4.4m |
| 10, | Reminders Of Him (US) | Universal | 13/3/26 | £4.4m |
The market share of UK independent films was up 14.4% year on year, compared with 10.7% in 2025. The BFI defines an independent film as produced without creative or financial input from major US studio companies. For example, Hamnet is not categorised as a UK independent feature as it was produced by the UK’s Neal Street Productions and Hera Pictures, and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, a US company in which Universal has a stake and does not have a UK-specific remit (according to the BFi). It was also fully financed by Universal-owned Focus Features.
The BFI said there is flexibility with productions that are backed by US studio subsidiaries, taking into account the film’s budget level, the filmmaker and the independent production companies that have propelled the project.
Top 10 UK independent films at Q1 2026 UK-Ireland box office
| Rank | Title (origin) | Distributor | Release date | Q1 total |
| 1 | The Magic Faraway Tree (UK-US) | EFD | 27/3/26 | £11.6m |
| 2 | Mother’s Pride (UK) | EFD | 6/3/26 | £3.6m |
| 3 | Shelter (UK-US) | Black Bear | 30/1/26 | £2.5m |
| 4 | How To Make A Killing (UK-US-Fr) | Studiocanal | 11/3/26 | £2m |
| 5 | H Is For Hawk (UK-US) | Lionsgate | 23/1/26 | £1.5m |
| 6 | Return To Silent Hill (UK-Serb-Ger) | EFD | 23/1/26 | £1m |
| 7 | Giant (UK-US) | True Brit | 9/1/26 | £1m |
| 8 | Saipan (UK-Ire) | Vertigo/Wildcard | 23/1/26 | £1m |
| 9 | Wasteman (UK) | Lionsgate | 20/2/26 | £0.9m |
| 10 | The Moment (UK-US) | Universal | 20/2/26 | £0.6m |
UK admissions hit pre-pandemic level
The number of cinema admissions in the UK only for all films on release in Q1 2026 was 30.2 million, 7% higher than for Q1 2025’s 28.3 million. Q1 2026 is the first time since 2020 that Q1 admissions have exceeded 30 million. The admissions figure includes event cinema releases and films already on release prior to January.
Admissions for Q1 2026 were up 1% against the previous quarter, October to December 2025.
Films categorised by Comscore as drama releases accounted for the largest share of the UK box office by genre at 23%, compared with 16% in Q1 2025. In Q1 2025, comedy films accounted for the largest share of box office (23%), driven primarily by the success of Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, which alone accounted for 18% of the quarter’s total box office.
March was a particularly strong month for admissions – up 45% year-on-year, the highest March admissions since 2019, driven by Project Hail Mary’s success.
The BFI’s box office reporting excludes cinema releases of Netflix-produced titles, which are not reported by Comscore. Two Netflix-produced films – Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man and The Swedish Connection – had a UK-Ireland theatrical release in Q1 2026. There were no Netflix releases in Q1 2025.
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