UK box office bounces back as cinema spend sees four months of consecutive growth
- Blockbusters such as Wicked, Gladiator II and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy have contributed to a 25.9 per cent boost for cinemas
- The category has enjoyed four consecutive months of growth, peaking at 52.1 per cent year-on-year in December
- The increase in cinema spending is outpacing non-essential categories including Digital Content & Subscriptions and Retail
- The Barclays Consumer Spend report combines hundreds of millions of customer transactions with consumer research to provide an in-depth view of UK spending
UK cinemas are enjoying a resurgence with highly anticipated releases luring viewers back to the big screen, according to new data from the Barclays Consumer Spend report.
Over the past four months (November 2024-February 2025) cinema spending has jumped 25.9 per cent year-on-year1 (in comparison to November 2023-February 2024).
The demand for entertainment and experiences continues to be an outlier when compared to other non-essential categories, despite almost half of consumers2 (48 per cent) consciously cutting back on discretionary spending over the winter months.
Cinema spend increased 9.0 per cent in February, with growth outpacing Digital Content & Subscriptions (up 5.1 per cent). Spending in the month peaked on Saturday 15th February, just after Valentine’s Day and the premiere of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.
November 2024 marked the turning point for the industry, with spend climbing 22.8 per cent year-on-year, boosted by bookings for blockbuster hits Gladiator II, Paddington in Peru and Wicked. A bumper December followed, when cinema spend jumped 52.1 per cent – far greater than the 7.5 per cent uptick in Digital Content & Subscriptions. January, typically a quieter month for growth in spending, was no exception, up 15.1 per cent as A Complete Unknown hit the big screen.
Sluggish growth at the start of the year could be attributed to the delayed release of major films following Hollywood labour disputes, which consequently led to a concentration of big launches happening later than planned.
While recently outpaced by cinema spend, the demand for streaming services remains strong – up 13.2 per cent in 2024 – and spending on entertainment overall was up 5.8 per cent.
Rich Robinson, Head of Hospitality & Leisure at Barclays, said: “Competition for consumer leisure time has never been fiercer. Cinemas are adapting by making the experience of going to see a film more enjoyable, such as by installing sofas and reclining seats, and improving food and drinks menus – even offering in-seat service.
“With new and enhanced locations, an exciting 2025 release schedule, and a revived public appetite, I’m hopeful that cinema takings will exceed last year’s total, and that we will see the return of the billion-pound UK box office.”
Year-on-year spend growth
November |
December |
January |
February |
|
Overall |
-0.5% |
0.8% |
1.9% |
1.0% |
Essential |
-3.1% |
-2.2% |
0.1% |
-1.0% |
Non-essential |
0.8% |
2.2% |
2.7% |
2.1% |
Retail |
-2.0% |
0.5% |
1.2% |
0.6% |
Hospitality & Leisure |
4.7% |
3.9% |
5.3% |
2.9% |
Digital Content & Subscriptions |
8.3% |
7.8% |
8.3% |
5.1% |
Entertainment |
10.8% |
6.5% |
8.1% |
4.0% |
|
3.5% |
-2.4% |
2.5% |
-2.6% |
|
22.8% |
52.1% |
15.1% |
9.0% |
Notes to Editors
1Across its issuing and acquiring businesses, Barclays sees nearly 40 per cent of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, which provides us with unique insight into UK consumer spending. Unless stated otherwise, this press release is based on consumer card spending data from Barclays’ issuing business – i.e. Barclays debit card and Barclaycard credit card transactions.
2The Barclays Consumer Spend research in this press release was carried out by Opinium Research on behalf of Barclays. There were 2,000 respondents in each round of research, providing a representative sample of UK consumers by age, gender, region, and income group.
For more information, please contact Dee Fallon at deirdre.fallon@barclays.com
About Barclays
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