The 2023 UK and Ireland cinema box office received a boost from the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon, but not enough to return it to pre-pandemic levels.

A total of £1.06 billion was taken across the year, according to numbers released by Comscore (via Variety). That represents an 8.3 per cent increase on 2022’s total of £980.5 million.

However, the number remains 23.5 per cent below 2019, the final year before COVID-19 shut down cinemas. That year, the box office totalled £1.35 billion.

2023 was the first year not to be faced with any pandemic-related restrictions since the initial outbreak, with a total of 1,013 new films being screened at cinemas around the UK and Ireland.

The effect of the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes may have also had some impact on 2023’s total, with titles such as Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Dune: Part II being delayed until 2024.

Barbie and Oppenheimer, which were famously released on the same day, were the two most profitable films of the year in the country, bringing in £95.5 million and £58.7 million respectively.

Phil Clapp, the chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, said: “Given the range of challenges UK exhibitors faced during the year, not least in terms of significantly increased operating costs, these positive box office figures for 2023 are welcome, representing a further step on the road to recovery.”

Andy Leyshon, chief executive at the Film Distributors’ Association, added: “To cross the £1 billion box office threshold again 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.”

Also in the top ten highest-grossing films of the year in the UK/Ireland were Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, alongside family favourites such as Wonka, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Little Mermaid.