Screen sector statistics to June 2026
August 19, 2026
- There were 67 million cinema admissions, up 9% on H1 2025.
- Figures are for all films on release, including event releases and those that started their release prior to the H1 period.
- May recorded H1 2026’s highest monthly admissions, at 13 million.
- The Devil Wears Prada 2, Michael, Obsession and Backrooms were among the highest earning releases of that month.
At the UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI) box office:
- Revenue for films released in H1 2026 was £517 million, up 11% on H1 2025.
- This excludes event releases.
- The total market share of all UK qualifying films was 30%, which is around 15 percentage points lower than H1 2025’s UK qualifying share.
- Note: Figures in chart may not sum to quoted value due to rounding.
In the UK, in the 12 months to June 2026:
- The combined total spend on film and high-end television (HETV) production was £6.1 billion, up 6% on the previous 12-month period.
- This graph shows the figures that were ‘first reported’ for production spend in each 12-month period.
- Production data is revised every period to account for lags in obtaining complete data across all types of productions.
- Combined spend for the 12 months to June 2026 was down 6% on revised figures for the previous 12-month period.
- HETV accounted for 56% of UK production spend in the 12 months to June 2026.
- UK spend on film production was £2.7 billion for the 12 months ending June 2026, up 11% compared with revised figures for the 12 months ending June 2025.
The BFI assigns productions to one of three categories:
- Inward investment features (INW)
- Domestic UK features (DOM)
- Co-productions (COP)
See notes to statistics releases for full definitions.
- These graphs plot first reported data against revised data for all productions (ALL) and INW, DOM and COP projects.
- Note: Scales on the vertical axes vary by panel to preserve detail within each production category. Panels are not directly comparable by eye – check axis labels.
- UK spend on HETV projects was £3.4 billion in the 12 months to June 2026, down 16% on revised figures for the previous 12-month period.
- Spend on co-productions more than doubled compared with revised figures for the 12 months to June 2025.
- Individual spend figures for first reported INW and COP projects are not shown for the 12 months to June 2022 and 2023 for reasons of disclosure control.
- Note: Scales on the vertical axes vary by panel to preserve detail within each production category. Panels are not directly comparable by eye – check axis labels.
In the UK, in the 12 months to June 2026:
- Combined production starts were up 0% on first reported figures for the 12 months to June 2025.
- Production count for the 12 months to June 2026 is lower than for the other periods shown here. However, as previously noted, figures are likely to be revised upward in subsequent statistical releases as more data becomes available.
- We saw earlier that HETV accounted for the majority of UK production spend in the 12 months to June 2026. In terms of number of productions, however, film accounted for the majority: 54%.
- 192 films were recorded as starting principal photography in the UK in the 12 months to June 2026.
- Lags in obtaining complete data on production activity tend to disproportionately affect counts for domestic UK feature films (DOM), particularly those with budgets of less than £500,000.
- The lag affecting DOM projects can be clearly seen in these graphs, which compare first reported project counts to revised project counts across all categories of production.
- 164 HETV programmes were recorded as starting principal photography in the UK in the 12 months to June 2026.
- HETV programme starts in the 12 months to June 2026 included 11 feature-length single episode productions.
- Individual counts for first reported INW and COP projects are not reported for the 12 months to June 2022 and 2023 for reasons of disclosure control.
In the 12 months to June 2026:
- A total of 696 films received final certification, either under the cultural test or as an official co-production.
- Certification is required to access UK tax reliefs and credits for audiovisual and video game expenditure.
- Films achieving final certification in the 12 months to June 2026 had an associated UK production spend of £2.69 billion.
- Films and other productions can apply for final certification when they have completed production and are ready to be released.
- 271 HETV titles received final certification through the cultural test in the 12 months to June 2026.
- There were three co-productions with final certification but details are not included for disclosure control reasons.
- HETV productions receiving final certification under the cultural test in the 12 months to June 2026 had a UK production spend of £4.73 billion.
- 64 animation television programmes received final certification under the cultural test in the 12 months to June 2026.
- There were two co-productions with final certification but details are not included for disclosure control reasons.
- Animation TV productions receiving final certification under the cultural test in the 12 months to June 2026 had a UK production spend of £151 million.
- 83 children’s television programmes received final certification under the cultural test in the 12 months to June 2026.
- There was one co-production with final certification but details are not included for disclosure control reasons.
- Children’s TV productions receiving final certification under the cultural test in the 12 months to June 2026 had a UK production spend of £207 million.
- 363 video games received final certification in the 12 months to June 2026.
- Video games can only be certified under the cultural test.
- Video games receiving final certification in the 12 months to June 2026 had a UK production spend of £1.11 billion.
