2025
9
UK Film and Cinema Market Report 2025
2025-12-18T14:02:45+00:00
REP201BAA09_0F1C_4174_8838_AB4584684F58
2195
189808
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Report
en_GB
Cinema attendance is gradually recovering after the pandemic and Hollywood writers strike, but total admissions are still a quarter below 2019 levels. However, there has been dramatic growth in boutique/luxe…
UK
Leisure and Entertainment
simple

UK Film and Cinema Market Report 2025

"Cinemas should lean into the growing demand for social spaces and immersive leisure experiences which offer an escape from 24/7 online distractions."

John Worthington, Senior Analyst

John Worthington, Senior Analyst

Market Intelligence ReportsLeisure and EntertainmentUK

UK Cinema Industry – Trends and Insights

  • Cinema attendance is gradually recovering after the pandemic and Hollywood writers strike, but total admissions are still a quarter below 2019 levels.
  • There has been dramatic growth in boutique/luxe cinemas. Attendance in this segment rose nine percentage points in 2025, and has doubled over the last two years from 12% to 24% of adults.
  • The COVID pandemic permanently accelerated the growth of TV film streaming. Cinema-goers increasingly pick and choose which films to watch in and out of home. Even those who enjoy the cinema viewing experience more than watching at home say they often wait for films to be streamed.
  • Cinemas can thrive in this challenging environment by offering consumers something they cannot replicate at home. This embraces the immersive, sensory experience offered by new technology, and the broader context of food, drink, comfort and events/other add-ons.

This Report Looks at the Following Areas:

  • Cinema brands and types of cinema visited in the last 12 months, frequency of visit and demographics
  • Cinema behaviours including food and drink purchase, membership usage, VIP seating and live event attendance
  • Cinemas satisfaction levels, strengths and weaknesses
  • Opportunities for increasing customer engagement, including comfort, food & drink and events
  • Attitudes to pricing, membership potential and watching films in the cinema versus at home

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  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • Opportunities for the film and cinema market
    • Engage with a new generation of film lovers
    • Create shared cultural experiences around must-see TV
    • Protect and promote cinemas as distraction-free spaces – while creating opportunities for interaction
    • Market dynamics and outlook
    • Market size & forecast
    • Market predictions for film and cinema
    • Box office is forecast to reach £1.14 billion in 2030, with annual fluctuations likely
    • What consumers want and why
    • Cinema attendance levels rose four percentage points in 2025, led by the luxe trend
    • Graph 1: percentage of adults who have visited the cinema in the last 12 months, by cinema type, 2024-25
    • Membership more than doubles the rate of frequent attendance
    • Graph 2: cinema behaviours in the last 12 months, 2025
    • Extra comfy seats, previews and big screen classics would most encourage people to go to the cinema
    • Graph 3: top three features that would most encourage people to visit the cinema, 2025
    • Cinema-goers increasingly pick and choose between in- and out-of-home viewing
    • Graph 4: attitudes towards watching films in the cinema and at home, 2025
    • Membership drive can help raise the value-for-money perception
    • Graph 5: attitudes towards cinema ticket prices and membership, 2025
    • Innovation and marketing
    • New boutique/luxe cinema openings
    • Mainstream luxe
    • Interactive and themed events

  2. MARKET DYNAMICS

    • Market size
    • Cinema admissions are estimated to have increased 4% in 2025…
    • Graph 6: cinema admissions, 2016-25
    • …while box office value is estimated to have increased 7%…
    • Graph 7: market value of cinema box office, 2016-25
    • …and ticket prices are estimated to have risen 3%
    • Graph 8: average cinema ticket price, 2016-25
    • Rise in ticket prices and luxe trend have helped to boost revenue
    • Market forecast
    • Cinema box office value is forecast to grow 9% by 2030
    • Market is expected to trend upwards, but increasing visit frequency remains a challenge
    • Leading players
    • UK cinema venues have fallen 6% since COVID-19, but screen numbers have remained stable
    • Graph 9: number of cinemas and screens, 2015-24
    • Vue and Odeon are the largest UK cinema chains
    • Boutique/Luxe cinemas are posting double-digit revenue rises
    • Multiplexes are also developing their luxe offer
    • Everyman has the highest customer spend growth on Snoop SpendMapper over the past 12 months
    • Market drivers
    • Perceptions of the cost-of-living crisis have worsened again during H2 2025
    • Graph 10: consumer perceptions of the cost of living crisis, 2024-25
    • Financial wellbeing also remains below pre-crisis levels
    • Graph 11: financial wellbeing index, 2016-25
    • The mood of consumer caution is likely to continue
    • Audience participation presents challenges, but also opportunities

  3. WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY

    • Cinema visits
    • Cinema attendance levels are up four percentage points in 2025…
    • Graph 12: percentage of adults who have visited the cinema in the last 12 months, 2019-25
    • …and boutique/luxe attendance increased nine percentage points
    • Graph 13: adults who have visited the cinema in the last 12 months, by cinema type, 2022-25
    • All cinema chains saw a rise in attendance levels in 2025, led by Picturehouse, Showcase and Curzon
    • Cineworld was the most recently visited cinema, followed by Vue and Odeon
    • Graph 14: cinema visited on the most recent trip to the cinema, 2025
    • 16-34s are the largest cinema-going demographic
    • Graph 15: age profile of cinema-goers, by cinema type, 2025
    • Over-55 attendance remains well below pre-COVID levels
    • Graph 16: adults who have visited the cinema in the last 12 months, by age group, 2019, 2024 and 2025
    • Frequency of cinema visits
    • Almost half of cinema-goers went at least once a month in 2025
    • Graph 17: frequency of visits to the cinema in the last 12 months, 2025
    • Frequency of visits is gradually improving
    • Graph 18: frequency of cinema visiting, 2022-25
    • Men are more likely than women to visit the cinema frequently
    • Graph 19: frequency of cinema visiting, by gender, 2025
    • Graph 20: frequency of cinema visiting, by age, 2025
    • Cinema behaviours
    • Four out of five cinema-goers have bought food and drink at the venue
    • A third of those who go to the cinema more than once a month buy sit-down meals at the venue
    • Graph 21: purchase of food and drink in the cinema in the last 12 months, 2025
    • A third have also brought in their own food and drink
    • 14% of cinema-goers have used a membership in the past 12 months
    • Graph 22: other behaviours in the cinema in the last 12 months, 2025
    • Those who attend disability-friendly screenings are often highly engaged customers
    • Membership more than doubles the rate of frequent attendance
    • Graph 23: frequency of cinema visiting, by those who have used membership versus all visitors, 2025
    • 55-64s more likely to buy premium seating
    • Cinema satisfaction levels
    • Overall satisfaction levels are generally high
    • Graph 24: overall satisfaction levels with most recent trip to the cinema, 2025
    • Sound and image quality have the highest satisfaction rates
    • Graph 25: satisfaction levels with most recent trip to the cinema, by factor, 2025
    • Boutique/luxe cinemas have significantly higher satisfaction levels for picture, sound and seating, but food and drink still under-performs
    • Promoting the cinema environment and seating quality will raise satisfaction
    • Cinema opportunities
    • Extra comfy seats, previews and classics on the big screen are the three top draws
    • Other features include interactive screenings, cinema clubs and Q&As
    • Graph 26: top three features that would most encourage people to visit the cinema, 2025
    • Ultra comfort, bragging rights and screen classics
    • Event TV appeals to one in five cinema-goers
    • Cinemas should pair food and drinks with major releases served to seat
    • F&B served to seat, film clubs, interactive screenings and Q&As offer the strongest opportunities for boutique/luxe cinemas
    • Graph 27: other features that would most encourage people to visit the cinema, by cinema type, 2025
    • Create communities of shared interest among frequent film-goers
    • Graph 28: interest in special events, by frequency of cinema attendance, 2025
    • Cinema attitudes
    • Contradictory impulses will continue to shape the market
    • Graph 29: attitudes towards watching films in the cinema and at home, 2025
    • Cinemas must offer a unique experience and a distraction-free environment
    • Price is seen as a barrier, but cinema-going could be positioned as an affordable treat
    • Graph 30: attitudes towards cinema ticket prices, 2025
    • Interest in membership is five times higher than current usage
    • Me-time movies
    • Silent movies versus talkies

  4. INNOVATION AND MARKETING TRENDS

    • Launch activity and innovation
    • Omniplex brings new luxe concept to the north east
    • Everyman’s new flagship cinema at The Whiteley
    • Interactive cinema: K-Pop Demon Hunters
    • Interactive cinema: Wicked & The Devil Wears Prada
    • Mad about the marketing
    • Downton drinks
    • Event TV at the cinema
    • Cinema tech trends
    • Back to the future
    • Advertising and marketing activity
    • Online social accounts for most marketing spend by cinemas
    • Graph 31: total advertising expenditure for cinemas across the channels tracked by Nielsen Ad Intel, 2022-25
    • Everyman has ramped up adspend to capitalise on growing luxe demand
    • Superman and Bridget Jones top the film adspend chart in 2025 to date
    • Graph 32: top 10 spending studios – cinema advertising, January-September 2025
    • Graph 33: top 10 cinema films that attracted ad spending, January-September 2025

  5. APPENDIX

    • Market forecast data and methodology
    • Market forecast and prediction intervals (value) for the cinema box office
    • Forecast methodology
    • Report scope and definitions
    • Market definition
    • Abbreviations and terms
    • Consumer research methodology
    • Key driver analysis
    • Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
    • Snoop SpendMapper methodology

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