Thank you Barbenheimer.
The twin-tentpole counterprogramming success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer helped the U.K. box office top £1 billion for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to figures released by Comscore Friday.
The final tally landed at £1.06 billion ($1.35 billion), an 8.3 percent jump over 2022, though still well below pre-pandemic figures. Annual U.K. box office exceeded £1.3 billion in each of the five years up to 2019.
Barbie was the clear number one, earning £95.5 million ($122 million) for Warner Bros. in the U.K. and Ireland, ahead of Universal’s Oppenheimer ($75 million) and The Super Mario Bros. ($70 million). Warner’s Wonka came in at number 4 with a $62.8 million (£49.2 million) take in 2023 but as the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory prequel is still on release, it could jump past Super Mario by the end of its run.
Comscore did not have the final admissions figure for 2023 but estimated ticket sales likely exceeded 130 million in the territory last year, slightly up from 2022’s 127 million.
The first full year since 2019 with no COVID-19 restrictions saw a “significant improvement in the number of blockbuster releases” Comscore said, noting that so-called “saturation releases,” defined as films playing in 250+ cinemas across the U.K. jumped from 135 in 2022 to 174 last year, nearly up to pre-COVID levels.
Despite a sharp rise in inflation over the past year, Comscore said there was “no strong sign” that the U.K.’s cost-of-living crisis was impacting cinemagoing. “The price of a ticket remains seemingly affordable to the majority with exhibitors offering a range of special offers and discounts…helping to maintain the cinemagoing habit.”
Andy Leyshon, Chief Executive of the Film Distributors’ Association, called crossing the £1 billion box office threshold “was a major landmark for our industry, and with an exciting line-up of releases set for the next few years, hopefully we can continue the good momentum.”
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