A strong December boosted the total UK-Ireland box office for 2024 to £1.06bn – almost exactly level with that of 2023 and 8% up on 2022.
December 2024 was 21% up on the year before, with a £115.6m total (up from £95.5m).
Overall for 2024, the UK and Ireland was down just £3m (0.2%) down. This represented an impressive recovery from the start of August, when year-on-year box office was down 15%; and was still 10% down as recently as the start of November.
Universal’s Wicked provided around one-fifth of the December total, with £23.2m across the month. Starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the musical blockbuster is now up to £55.7m as the third highest-grossing 2024 release, behind just Inside Out 2 (£59.2m) and Deadpool & Wolverine (£57.5m).
Disney’s Moana 2, another title to debut in late November then run through December, took £21.8m in the month, and has £36.4m to date – well clear of the £20.6m of Moana.
The month saw 62 new films – the second-lowest month of the year, ahead of only the 60 films in July; with holdovers providing most of the box office takings in December.
| Title (origin) | Distributor | Release date | 6/12/24-2/1/25 total | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wicked (US) | Universal | 22/11/24 | £23.3m | £55.7m |
| 2 | Moana 2 (US) | Disney | 29/11/24 | £21.9m | £36.4m |
| 3 | Mufasa: The Lion King (US) | Disney | 20/12/24 | £17.4m | £17.4m |
| 4 | Sonic The Hedgehog 3 (US) | Paramount | 27/12/24 | £16m | £16.1m |
| 5 | Paddington In Peru (UK-Fr-US) | Studiocanal | 8/11/24 | £6.4m | £34.2m |
| 6 | Gladiator II (UK-US) | Paramount | 15/11/24 | £6m | £31.1m |
| 7 | Conclave (UK-US) | Black Bear | 29/11/24 | £3.9m | £5.9m |
| 8 | Better Man (Aus) | EFD | 27/12/24 | £2.9m | £2.9m |
| 9 | Pushpa 2 - The Rule (India) |
AA Films UK | 6/12/24 | £1.9m | £1.9m |
| 10 | Kraven The Hunter (US) |
Sony | 13/12/24 | £1.5m | £1.5m |
US titles dominated the top films for the month, with nine of the 10 top films being produced in the country. Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic The Hedgehog followed the aforementioned top two; with UK-US productions Paddington In Peru (£6.4m for the month; £34.2m total) and Conclave (£3.9m; £5.9m) also featuring.
In a further indication of the durability of Bollywood cinema, AA Films UK’s action title Pushpa 2- The Rule took ninth place in a strong month, with £1.9m – with the Telugu title also the only film not in the English language in the top 10.
Four November releases – Wicked, Moana 2, Paddington In Peru and Gladiator II - made it into the 2024 top 10, in a sign of the strong slate at the end of the year compared to a mild summer that suffered a hangover from the 2023 US strikes.
| Title (origin) | Distributor | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inside Out 2 (US) |
Disney | £59.2m |
| 2 | Deadpool & Wolverine (US) | Disney | £57.6m |
| 3 | Wicked (US) | Universal | £55.7m |
| 4 | Despicable Me 4 (US) | Universal | £48.2m |
| 5 | Dune: Part II (US) | Warner Bros | £39.6m |
| 6 | Moana 2 (US) | Disney | £36.4m |
| 7 | Paddington In Peru (UK-Fr-US) | Studiocanal | £34.2m |
| 8 | Gladiator II (UK-US) | Paramount | £30.8m |
| 9 | Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (US) | Warner Bros | £26.3m |
| 10 | Kung Fu Panda 4 (US) | Universal | £22m |
While still not back to its 2019 heights, Disney emerged as the leading studio for the year, with three of the top six titles, including Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine in first and second place, plus Moana 2 in sixth. Wicked and fourth-placed Despicable Me 4 flew the flag for Universal, as well as Kung Fu Panda 4 in 10th.
US titles also dominated the 2024 top 10, with all 10 films hailing from the country. Only Studiocanal’s Paddington In Peru, a France-UK-US co-production, and Paramount’s UK-US co-production Gladiator II originated outside of the US too.
The UK and Ireland’s world market share ended at 5%, having flickered between that and 4% across the year. Excluding North America, international market share flickered between 6 and 7%, ending on the latter.
All figures provided by Comscore.
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