1
The UK box office in 2018
BFI Research and Statistics Unit
31 January 2019
1. Key points
• UK cinema admissions in 2018 were 177 million, the highest level of admissions since 1970 and
3.7% up on 2017.
• The total box office in the UK and Republic of Ireland was £1,387 million, up 0.6% on 2017. The
UK-only figure for the calendar year was £1,282 million up by 0.2% on the previous year.
• The highest grossing film released in 2018 was Avengers: Infinity War, with earnings of almost
£71 million followed by Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (£66 million) and Incredibles 2 (£56
million).
• The top 20 films earned £711 million at the box office, accounting for 55% of the total box office.
• Darkest Hour was the highest grossing independent UK film of 2018 with takings of £24 million.
This was followed by Johnny English Strikes Again (£18 million) and Three Billboards Outside
Ebbing, Missouri (£15 million). The Top 20 independent UK films accounted for 85% of the gross
box office for all independent UK films.
• The market share of independent UK films was 12% (2.2% points higher than 2017), with the
share of US studio-backed and other inward investment UK films at 33%. The market share of all
UK films, at 45%, was the highest since records began in 2002.
2
2. UK cinema admissions
UK cinema admissions in 2018 were 177 million, the highest since 1970, when admissions were 193
million. Figure 1 shows the level of and change in admissions for the UK only box office since 2009.
Admissions have stayed at around 170 million for most of the period, seeing a fall in 2014 to 158
million in 2014 and an increase of 3.7% from 171 million in 2016 to the high in 2017. The gross value
of ticket sales in the UK and Republic of Ireland was £1,387 million, up slightly (0.6%) from £1,379
million on 2017. The UK-only figure for the calendar year was £1,282 million, again slightly up (0.2%)
on 2017 (£1,279 million). The average ticket price in 2018 was £7.24, a drop of 26p (3.4%) from
£7.50 in 2017.
Figure 1 Annual UK admissions and UK only box office, 2009-2018
Source: CAA, comScore
Data for the calendar year and the UK Only
Looking at admissions throughout 2018, the third quarter saw the highest and lowest admissions. At
19.2 million, August had the largest admissions of any month since August 2011 (which had
admissions of 21 million). The month also had the largest increase in admissions (both in numbers
and percentage terms) from the same month in the previous year, up by 32.8% from 14.5 million in
2017. This is due to the continued success of the top 20 films Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, The
Incredibles 2, Mission Impossible: Fallout and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation. The following
month, September, saw the lowest admissions of the year, at 10.1 million. This is the lowest level of
monthly admissions since 2014 (when admissions were 8.5 million) and the third consecutive year
when there has been a decrease in admissions in this month. Trends usually show September to
have lower admissions than other months.
The year started off with January showing an 8% uplift to over 16 million admissions compared to
the same month in 2017. This was due to the on-going success of the Christmas 2016 and New Year
2017 releases of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Greatest Showman and Jumanji: Welcome to the
Jungle. However, over the first quarter of the year admissions were down nearly 4% on 2017
despite the release of Black Panther, the fifth biggest film at the UK box office in 2018, and top
earning independent UK films, Darkest Hour and Three Billboards in Ebbing, Missouri. The higher
944.0
988.0
1,040.0
1,099.0
1,083.0
1,063.3
1,242.1
1,228.1
1,279.4
1,282.1
173.5
169.2
171.6
172.5
165.5
158
171.9
168.3
170.6
177.0
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
2,000
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
£ million
Number of admissions (million)
Box office Total admissions
3
admissions in the same months in 2017 were driven by The LEGO Batman Movie, Beauty and the
Beast and Fast and Furious 8, all top performing films for that particular year.
May saw admissions increase by 21% on the same month in 2017, due to the release of Avengers:
Infinity War, Deadpool 2 and Solo: A Star Wars Story. June saw a fall in admissions from May,
coinciding with the start of the heatwave and the FIFA World Cup. However, admissions were still
nearly 9% higher than in June 2017, primarily due to the release of the sequel Jurassic World: Fallen
Kingdom. July figures were down 12% on 2017 despite the release of the second and third highest
grossing films of the year Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! and Incredibles 2.
The final quarter of 2018 saw an increase in admissions to over 16 million in October; this was the
second largest month on month increase in 2018. This is in part due to the release of the Academy
Awards
® nominated A Star Is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody, but also the same month in 2017 saw
no releases make the Top 20 films released in the year. November saw a fall in admissions, even
though this month saw the release of the latest instalment of the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise.
Compared to the same month last year, admissions in December were down nearly 9%. The top
films of the month, Mary Poppins Returns and Aquaman did not quite match the strength of appeal
of Star Wars: The Last Jedi released in December 2017.
Table 1 Monthly cinema admissions 2016-2018
2016
(million)
2017
(million)
2018
(million)
% change
on 2017
January
14.03
15.00
16.20
+8.0
February
15.35
16.48
16.10
-2.3
March
13.39
16.15
13.53
-16.2
April
13.13
15.64
15.50
-0.9
May
12.50
11.34
13.72
+21.0
June
10.71
9.58
10.41
+8.6
July
16.59
17.80
15.61
-12.3
August
18.09
14.47
19.22
+32.8
September
11.66
10.78
10.13
-6.0
October
15.19
12.11
16.05
+32.6
November
12.40
14.09
14.85
+5.4
December
15.22
17.16
15.67
-8.7
Total
168.26
170.62
177.00
3.7
Source: CAA, comScore
4
3. Top films released in 2018
The following analysis covers films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2018, based on box
office data up to and including 27 January 2019. The top 20 is dominated by sequels, franchises and
re-makes with these films taking up 16 places (Table 2). The three highest grossing films released in
2018 were sequels: Avengers: Infinity War
which earned almost £71 million, followed by Mamma
Mia: Here We Go Again! (£66 million) and Incredibles 2 (which earned 75% more than the first
Incredibles). The top 20 films earned £711 million at the box office, accounting for 55% of the total
box office. Seventeen of the top films earned £20 million or more; by contrast, all of the top 20 films
in 2017 achieved this.
Table 2 Top 20 films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2018
Country of
origin
Box office
Gross (£m)
Distributor
1
UK/USA
70.8
Walt Disney
2
UK/USA
65.5
Universal
3
USA
56.2
Walt Disney
4
UK/USA
52.0
20th Century Fox
5
USA
50.6
Walt Disney
6
UK/USA
42.1
Walt Disney
7
UK/USA
41.6
Universal
8
Aus/USA/UK
41.1
Sony Pictures
9
UK/USA
34.0
Warner Bros
10
USA
32.7
20th Century Fox
11
USA
29.9
Warner Bros
12
USA
27.8
Universal
13
UK/USA
24.4
Paramount
14
UK
24.1
Universal
15
USA
22.1
Warner Bros
16
UK/USA
20.2
Sony Pictures
17
USA
20.1
Sony Pictures
18
UK/USA
19.4
Walt Disney
19
USA
18.9
Walt Disney
20
USA
17.8
Universal
Source: comScore
Notes:
Box office gross = cumulative gross up to 27 January 2019.
* Film still being exhibited on 27 January 2019.
Data is for UK and the Republic of Ireland. UK and Republic of Ireland are a single “territory” for film distribution purposes.
5
4. Top UK qualifying films released in 2018
The following analysis covers films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2018, based on box
office data up to and including 27 January 2019. The top 20 UK films are dominated by UK/USA
productions (18 films) with the top two films repeating the top films of year: Avengers: Infinity War
and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (Table 3). The Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody
(£52 million) is in third place, followed by Mary Poppins Returns (£42 million), the sequel to the 1964
classic. The total box office of the top 20 UK qualifying films accounted for 87% of the gross box
office for all UK qualifying films released in 2018.
Table 3 Top 20 UK qualifying films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2018
Country
of origin
Box office
Gross (£m)
Distributor
1
UK/USA
70.8
Walt Disney
2
UK/USA
65.5
Universal
3
UK/USA
52.0
20th Century Fox
4
UK/USA
42.1
Walt Disney
5
UK/USA
41.6
Universal
6
UK/USA
34.0
Warner Bros
7
UK/USA
24.4
Paramount
8
UK
24.1
Universal
9
UK/USA
20.2
Sony Pictures
10
UK/USA
19.4
Walt Disney
11
UK
#
17.7
Universal
12
UK/USA
16.1
Warner Bros
13
UK/USA
#
15.3
20th Century Fox
14
UK/USA
14.9
Walt Disney
15
UK/Fra
11.2
StudioCanal
16
UK/USA
9.5
Paramount
17
UK/USA
7.7
Warner Bros
18
UK/USA
#
6.4
20th Century Fox
19
UK/USA
#
6.3
20th Century Fox
20
UK
6.1
StudioCanal
Source: comScore, BFI RSU analysis
Notes:
Box office gross = cumulative gross up to 27 January 2019.
* Film still being exhibited on 27 January 2019.
# Film made with independent (non-studio) US support or with the independent arm of a US studio.
Data is for UK and the Republic of Ireland. UK and Republic of Ireland are a single “territory” for film distribution purposes.
6
5. Top independent UK films released in 2018
This analysis covers films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2018, based on box office data
up to and including the 27 January 2019. Darkest Hour, grossing £24 million, was the highest earning
independent UK film of 2018 followed by Johnny English Strikes Again (£18 million) and Three
Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri with £15 million (Table 4). The total box office for the top 20
independent UK films accounted for 86% of the gross box office of all independent UK films released
in 2018.
Table 4 Top 20 independent UK films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2018
Country of
origin
Box office
Gross (£m)
Distributor
1
UK
24.1
Universal
2
UK
#
17.7
Universal
3
UK/USA
#
15.3
20
th
Century Fox
4
UK/Fra
11.2
StudioCanal
5
UK/USA
#
6.4
20th Century Fox
6
UK/USA
#
6.3
20th Century Fox
7
UK
6.1
StudioCanal
8
UK/USA
#
6.0
20th Century Fox
9
UK/USA
#
5.9
StudioCanal
10
UK
5.9
eOne Films
11
UK/USA
#
4.0
StudioCanal
12
UK
3.4
Entertainment
13
UK
3.1
eOne Films
14
UK/USA
#
2.9
eOne Films
15
UK/USA
#
2.8
Univeral
16
UK/USA
#
2.8
Lionsgate
17
UK/Swe/USA
#
1.7
Picturehouse
Entertainment
18
UK
1.6
Lionsgate
19
UK
1.2
eOne Films
20
UK
1.2
Disney
Source: comScore, BFI RSU analysis
Notes:
Box office gross = cumulative gross up to 27 January 2018.
* Film still being exhibited on 27 January 2018.
# Film made with independent (non-studio) US support or with the independent arm of a US studio.
Data is for UK and the Republic of Ireland. UK and Republic of Ireland are a single “territory” for film distribution purposes.
7
6. Market share of UK films
The market share of independent UK films in 2018 was 11.7%, up from 9.5% in 2017 (Figure 2). The
market share of US studio-backed, UK-made, qualifying titles was 33.1%, an increase from 27.9% in
2017. The market share of all UK films, at 44.8% (being slightly greater than the high in 2015) was
the highest market share since records began in 2001.
Figure 2 shows the fluctuating patterns of UK market share with the annual figure dependent on a
small number of high-grossing titles. The large increase in market share for US studio-backed, UK-
made, qualifying titles in 2015 was due to the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and
SPECTRE. In 2014, owing to the performance of Paddington and The Inbetweeners 2 and the low
number of US studio-backed, UK-made, qualifying titles released, the independent UK film market
share was a record high. The average independent UK market share for the 10 year period from
2009-2018 was 9.8%.
Figure 2 UK qualifying films’ share of the UK theatrical market 2014-2018
Source: BFI
2018 market share calculation based on grosses up to and including 27 January 2018; market share for previous years based on grosses up
to and including the third weekend in February of that given year.
8.5
18.6
22.6
22.8
15.5
10.7
34.2
28.5
27.9
33.1
8.2
5.4
13.1
9.3
6.6
16.1
10.5
7.4
9.5
11.7
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
% of total UK box office
UK/US Studio backed UK Independent
8
Notes
1. Data
Admissions data supplied by the Cinema Advertising Association/comScore. Box office data supplied
by comScore.
The value of the UK box office in 2018 (£1,282.1 million) refers to the gross value of UK ticket sales in
the calendar year. Subsequent analysis of individual titles and market shares includes box office
gross in the UK and Republic of Ireland up to and including 27 January 2018 for films released in the
calendar year.
2. Definitions
Country of origin is allocated by the BFI Research and Statistics Unit. For the purposes of this
analysis, a UK film is one which is certified as such by the UK Secretary of State for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport under Schedule 1 of the Films Act 1985, via the Cultural Test, under one of the UK’s
official co-production agreements or the European Convention on Cinematographic Coproduction; a
film which has not applied for certification but which is obviously British on the basis of its content,
producers, finance and talent; or (in the case of a re-release) a film which met the official definition
of a British film prevailing at the time it was made or was generally considered to be British at that
time. Most UK films in the analysis (including the major UK/USA films) fall into the first group – films
officially certified as British.
An independent film is produced without creative or financial input from the major US studio
companies. These are Fox Entertainment Group, NBC Universal, Paramount Motion Pictures Group,
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group and Warner Bros Entertainment.
3. Feedback
We welcome feedback from users of our statistics releases to help us improve what we do. If you
have any feedback on these statistics, or if you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance please
contact us using the named contact details shown below.
4. Statistical contact details
This release was prepared by Alex Tosta and Ian Cade, Research and Statistics Unit, BFI,
tel + 44 (0)20 7173
3279
(end)