UK-Ireland box office takings were up 50% in May compared to last year; with year-to-date takings now up 20%, as cinemas continue the post-pandemic and post-strikes recovery.
Total revenue for May 2025 was £109.1m, 50% higher than the £72.7m from May 2024. Figures are from Comscore.
Cumulative gross for the year is now £455.5m, up 20% on £380.4m at the same point in 2024; and up 8% on the same stage in 2023.
Six of the last seven months have now shown year-on-year growth, giving further evidence of audiences returning to cinemas after a rocky few years.
After A Minecraft Movie dominated the April chart, there was a more even spread in May, with three films each taking over £15m.
| Rank | Title (origin) | Distributor | Release date | May total | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lilo & Stitch (US) |
Disney | 23/5/25 | £27.6m | £27.6m |
| 2 | Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (US) |
Paramount | 23/5/25 | £19.2m | £19.2m |
| 3 | Thunderbolts* (US) | Disney | 2/5/25 | £16m | £16m |
| 4 | Final Destination: Bloodlines (US) |
Warner Bros | 16/5/25 | £10m | £10m |
| 5 | Sinners (US) |
Warner Bros | 18/4/25 | £7m | £15.8m |
| 6 | A Minecraft Movie (Swe-US) | Warner Bros | 4/4/25 | £4.4m | £56.5m |
| 7 | Karate Kid: Legends (US) | Sony | 30/5/25 | £3.2m | £3.2m |
| 8 | The Salt Path (UK) |
Black Bear | 30/5/25 | £3m | £3m |
| 9 | The Phoenician Scheme (Ger-US) | Universal | 23/5/25 | £2.3m | £2.3m |
| 10 | Ocean With David Attenborough (UK) | Altitude | 9/5/25 | £1.5m | £1.5m |
Disney’s Lilo & Stitch was the clear frontrunner, with £27.6m from just two weeks on release – more than double the £13.1m total of the original 2002 animated film. The new Lilo & Stitch is already the third-highest grossing release of 2025, behind only A Minecraft Movie (£56.4m) and Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (£46.3m).
It is also ahead of several Disney live-action remakes, including this year’s Snow White (£11.5m), 2019’s Dumbo (£25.1m) and 2023’s The Little Mermaid (£27.4m).
Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning took second spot with £19.2m for the month, the fourth-highest grossing 2025 release so far. It is also fourth of eight titles in the franchise, although will expect to overtake Rogue Nation (£21.2m) and Fallout (£24.4m) before its end, and perhaps even Dead Reckoning Part One (£26.6m).
Disney’s Thunderbolts* made £16m in May, and is currently the 32nd of 36 Marvel Cinematic Universe titles by box office.
Disney holds four of the highest-grossing films of the year so far, with Lilo & Stitch, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts* and 2024 release Mufasa: The Lion King.
Universal has three with Bridget Jones, Dog Man and Nosferatu; while Warner Bros has two with top title A Minecraft Movie and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners – the latter making it into the monthly top 10 for a second consecutive month, with £7m in May.
| Rank | Title (origin) | Distributor | Release date | 2025 gross to date | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Minecraft Movie (Swe-US) | Warner Bros | 4/4/25 | £56.5m | £56.5m |
| 2 | Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (Fr-UK-US) | Universal | 14/2/25 | £46.4m | £46.4m |
| 3 | Lilo & Stitch (US) | Disney | 23/5/25 | £27.6m | £27.6m |
| 4 | Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (US) | Paramount | 23/5/25 | £19.2m | £19.2m |
| 5 | Captain America: Brave New World (US) |
Disney | 14/2/25 | £18m | £18m |
| 6 | Thunderbolts* (US) |
Disney | 2/5/25 | £16m | £16m |
| 7 | Mufasa: The Lion King (US) |
Disney | 20/12/24 | £15.9m | £33.4m |
| 8 | Sinners (US) |
Warner Bros | 18/4/25 | £15.8m | £15.8m |
| 9 | Dog Man (US) | Universal | 7/2/25 | £13.7m | £13.7m |
| 10 | Nosferatu (US) |
Universal | 3/1/25 | £13m | £13m |
In June, Lionsgate’s Ballerina starring Ana de Armas will look to continue the John Wick franchise trend of each film making more than the last. Universal opens live-action adaptation How To Train Your Dragon from Friday 13; while the end of the month is packed with films holding high-gross potential: Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later (Sony, June 19), Elio (Disney, June 20), F1 The Movie (Warner Bros, June 25) and M3GAN 2.0 (Universal, June 27).