According to latest Comscore data, the UK box office reached £323m in 2020.
The UK and Ireland box office fell 76% in 2020, according to latest data from Comscore.
The data shows that the UK box office reached £323 million in 2020 (technically the 52-week period beginning January 3).
Screen Daily reported that the first two months of 2020 ended with the UK and Ireland box office up 19% on the same period for 2019, thanks to First World War film 1917 (which ended up being the top title of the year, followed by the Sonic the Hedgehog movie at number two and Tenet at three).
However, by the end of the first official lockdown period for England, the 2020 box office was trailing the previous year by 59% in the UK and Ireland.
Phil Clapp, chief executive of trade body UK Cinema Association, told Screen Daily that the year was “an ongoing story of local and regional lockdowns massively disrupting the sector”.
He added: “The continual moves of major films out of 2020 into 2021 and beyond was a huge frustration to UK cinema operators during the period in the late summer when sites were open, and a more regular supply of even mid-budget films from US studios would have put exhibitors in a better place than is now the case.”
A big omission in UK cinemas during the summer was strong family product, with Mulan premiering instead on Disney+.
Notably, when it comes to distributor market share, Disney – which has topped the ranking in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 – stood at number three for 2020 (13.9% share), behind eOne (15.4%) and Sony (15.1%).
Want to read more news like this? Simply sign up to our daily digest by clicking here. You can also follow @LicensingSource on Twitter and @licensing_source on Instagram.
