UK and Ireland box office totalled £100.6m in October, 35% higher than the equivalent total last year, according to the latest figures from Rentrak (formerly known as Comscore).
Year-to-date box office surpassed £1bn during the month to reach £1.07bn. It is currently running 22% ahead of 2025 and 31% ahead of 2024 as the best post-pandemic year for cinemagoing has not faltered apart from February.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day becomes the year’s first £100m film
The top film of October was Colleen Hoover adaptation Verity, which grossed £11.8m. This was followed by British comedy Ghosts: The Possession of Button House (£7m), video game adaptation Street Fighter (£5.9m) and Halloween horror titles Other Mommy (£5.5m) and Clayface (£5.4m).
While only one film earned more than £10m in October, eight of the top 10 titles earned over £4m, suggesting a “good, consistent film slate”, according to Tom Linay, head of film at UK cinema ad sales house Digital Cinema Media (DCM).
“What I think is quite interesting about this month is the film in 10th place has the highest box office of any of the 10th-placed films this year, which I think shows how a number of films are doing well at the moment,” he added.
Verity tops October with £11.8m as monthly takings pass £100m
The only film that didn’t meet or exceed expectations in October was Digger, which earned a disappointing £3.1m and failed to crack the top 10, following polarised critical reception and a marketing campaign that failed to capture the movie’s message.
According to Linay’s estimates, October admissions climbed 30% year on year (official admissions figures are released later in the month). Assuming this is accurate, year-to-date admissions would be 16.5% ahead of this time last year.
The strong growth has translated into double-digit sales growth for DCM. Linay shared that the company’s Q1-Q3 revenue is currently running 10% ahead of 2025 as it heads into a packed Q4.
November preview: Everything to see, including You Can See Everything
While blockbusters Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday are set to dominate December, November is set to see a variety of titles that will attract diverse audiences.
The biggest film of the month is likely to be The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, which debuts on 20 October.
Martin McDonagh comedy Wild Horse Nine opened this week (4 November), while Godzilla Minus Zero and George Michael: The Faith Tour both open today (6 November).
Other notable films in November include A Christmas Carol adaptation Ebenezer (13 November), comedy sequel Focker-In-Law (25 November) and David Fincher’s take on a Quentin Tarantino sequel The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth (25 November). Potential Best Picture nominees La Bola Negra (6 November) and Fjord (13 November) are also in the mix.
“I’m struggling to see everything I want to see,” Linay admitted.
That’s without accounting for the UK release of You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s documentary of Elizabeth Holmes that has grossed $64m in the US so far.
The late UK release date is down to distributor A24 scurrying to line up partners in international markets after the film’s screening at Telluride Film Festival in September and the subsequent buzz around the film.
Linay predicted that You Can See Everything could surpass £10m in the UK, with DCM managing to book gold spots against it despite the film coming on to the schedule unexpectedly and so late in the year.
With such a packed film slate, ad inventory in November has been inflated, meaning ad pricing has been more favourable to brands.
