UK cinema admissions total 176.1m in 2019!

Cinema admissions in December increase by 18.1% – the highest since 2003 – as overall yearly admissions remain steady

UK cinema admissions reached a total of 176.1m in 2019.

Following on from the success of 2018, in which admissions peaked at 177m, the highest since 1970, 2019 closes the year-on-year gap to just -0.5%. Moreover, December admissions skyrocketed to an astronomical 18.5m, a growth of +18.1% on 2018, the best December since 2003.

In terms of film performance in December, the latest in the Star Wars multiverse, The Rise of Skywalker led the month’s box office with £43.9m, whilst jungle adventure sequel Jumanji: The Next Level achieved £23.6m, closely followed in third place by the highly anticipated Disney sequel, Frozen 2, which took in £23.4m.

Ranking Film (December 2019) December Box office performance
1 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker £43.9m
2 Jumanji: The Next Level £23.6m
3 Frozen 2 £23.4m
4 Knives Out £8.7m
5 Last Christmas £8.4m
6 Cats £8.3m
7 Little Women £5.1m
8 Les Misérables £3.3m
9 Spies in Disguise £2.3m
10 Blue Story £1.7m

 

Kathryn Jacob, Chair of the Cinema Advertising Association and CEO of Pearl & Dean, said: “Following the monumental success of cinema in 2018, it is fantastic to see a strong 2019, and such significant year on year results (+18.1%) in December, which have not been this high in sixteen years. 2020 is set to be another great year for cinema, with an exciting slate consisting of some serious showstoppers, including the highly anticipated return of Daniel Craig’s final stint as James Bond in No Time To Die. This will no doubt be another huge opportunity to showcase the universal appeal of cinema, with the potential to attract big audiences across demographics worldwide.”