UK and Irish cinema box office reached £35.8m over the weekend, the second highest 3-day weekend total ever in the territory, behind only 26-28 April 2019 (£36.1m), when Avengers: Endgame released to record-breaking acclaim. Cinemas reported legions of sold out shows across the weekend and beyond, and despite the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, a visit to the local cinema clearly remains one of the most affordable and attractive out-of-home leisure choices.

Cinemas across the home nations enjoyed their greatest levels of footfall since before the pandemic thanks to a broad range of releases on offer, led by Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (£18.5m opening) and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (£10.9m opening). Cinemagoers also sought out Tom Cruise action thriller Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One, family friendly animated picture Elemental and franchise swan song Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny among others.

Occupying opposite ends of the cinematic scale in both tone and content, Gerwig’s whip-smart comedy and Nolan’s weighty biopic examine various facets of the human condition and have struck a strong chord with the wider public. Audiences flocked to enjoy the two biggest blockbusters of the summer season, with many choosing to see them as part of a ‘Barbenheimer’ double bill, propagating a common cultural moment which demonstrates the enduring reach of cinema.

Sector recovery has been steady in the territory throughout the post-pandemic period with audiences returning in good numbers after cinemas began to reopen for business in May 2021. Since then, three releases have entered the all-time UK and Ireland top 10 – No Time to Die at no.3 (£98.0m), Spider-Man: No Way Home at no.4 (£97.2m) and Top Gun: Maverick at no.8 (£83.7m). With a strong, diverse slate of releases still to come, 2023 looks set to deliver a healthy improvement on last year’s already impressive results.