FDA YEARBOOK 2025 launch

Earlier this week, the FDA published its 2025 YEARBOOK with a breakfast reception at L’oscar London, attended by FDA member companies and key industry partners.

Entering its 23rd year of publication, the annual FDA YEARBOOK offers essential insight into the UK and Irish theatrical market. The event was hosted by FDA Chief Executive Andy Leyshon, alongside broadcaster and BBC Radio 6 Film Critic Rhianna Dhillon, who officially launched the newest edition of the Yearbook.

Speaking passionately of cinema’s ongoing resilience as part of the cultural makeup of the UK and Ireland, Rhianna Dhillon said:

“I’m sure that you’ve all been part of or privy to conversations about the ‘death of cinema’, how audiences no longer have the attention spans, the wherewithal, the money, the interest, to keep going out to watch films, when they have plenty of ‘content’ to watch at home. Thankfully, reading 2025’s Yearbook, it’s a delight to know that the myth of people not wanting to go to the cinema remains just that, a myth! We’re not quite at pre-pandemic levels just yet but we’ll get there!

If you didn’t already know, the FDA Yearbook is THE definitive resource on the UK & Irish theatrical market, it’s got a gazillion useful statistics and has so many useful facts and figures. It’s also a great physical reminder of how all of the hard work that we’ve put into celebrating and boosting cinema is having the desired effect, people are going to movie theatres, they are watching films, they are discovering new stories and characters and that’s all we can ask.”

The latest iteration of the Yearbook takes the 2024 UK and Irish theatrical market as its primary focus, offering box office data and extensive analysis on cinemagoing by day, week, month and nation; an in-depth review of key genre categories; insight into audience attitudes and behaviour; and a wider look at the leading global box office markets.

Featured alongside coverage of home nations’ and worldwide cinemagoing are bespoke reports on areas including accessibility, charity, diversity, education and piracy; a dive into the home entertainment sector via streaming, television, video, games, music and books; and a handy almanac section containing a wealth of useful distribution sector information.

2024 saw the UK and Irish theatrical box office break the £1bn barrier (£1.065bn) for the second consecutive post-pandemic year (+0.2% vs. 2023), with admissions exceeding 138m (vs. 135m in 2023, +2.3%). The top three films were musical adaptation Wicked, animated sequel Inside Out 2 and comic book satire Deadpool & Wolverine. A record 1,114 titles were released into cinemas.

Andy Leyshon, FDA Chief Executive, said:

“We’re delighted to publish the 23rd edition of the FDA Yearbook today, it’s quite an undertaking to put it together but a continually worthwhile one. We hope the book stands as a valuable resource for those who work in our sector or even wish to join it, whilst acting as a useful compendium for anyone with an ongoing interest in film and the UK and Irish theatrical market.”        

Box office data for the Yearbook was generously supplied by Comscore, with further information provided by Gower Street Analytics and MetrixLab.

The 2025 Yearbook can be read or downloaded HERE free of charge, with a limited number of physical copies available on request.