Inside Out 2 was officially Northern Ireland’s top-performing movie last year, as the cinema industry recorded its highest box office returns in five years.
Total cinema takings in Ireland rocketed to £29,219,549 last year – a 1.6% increase from the previous year’s figure and the highest since 2019.
Unsurprisingly, it was global blockbuster Inside Out 2 which topped the charts here, pulling in £1,819,039 at the Northern Irish box office.
Worldwide, Pixar’s smash-hit sequel has taken in over £1.3bn, making it the most successful animated picture of all time and the fourth biggest-ever global blockbuster.
And its runaway success in Northern Ireland saw it make over £200,000 more than second-placed Deadpool & Wolverine, while Despicable Me 4 and Wicked were the only other pictures to break the £1m barrier.
Meanwhile, experts have predicted that 2025 will prove to be another lucrative period for the resurgent industry, with an impressive and diverse slate lined up for cinemas throughout the year.
Some of this year’s predicted hits include Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy and Captain America: Brave New World, which are both releasing on Valentine’s Day, and which analysts believe could prove to be the ‘Barbenheimer’ rivals of 2025, when Barbie and Oppenheimer went head to head in the summer blockbusters.
Other anticipated hits include Disney’s Snow White, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, Superman and F1, starring Brad Pitt.
Later in the year fans can look forward to a sequel to Wicked, while Avatar: Fire and Ash is scheduled for a pre-Christmas release.
Cassandra Joyce, group sales director at Pearl & Dean Ireland cinema advertisers, said that “2024 continued to see growth in Irish cinema, but this year is set to be even better with a huge slate of films for all audiences”.
“With the buzz of awards season already upon us, cinema-goers are already building up for Valentine’s weekend with the return of Bridget Jones and Captain America,” she added.
Northern Ireland Box Office Top 10 Movies of 2024:
1. Inside Out 2 – £1,819,039
2. Deadpool & Wolverine – £1,588,716
3. Despicable Me 4 – £1,497,965
4. Wicked – £1,394,948
5. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – £949,422
6. It Ends With Us – £936,394
7. Gladiator II – £855,756
8. Moana 2 – £830,210
9. Dune: Part II – £770,621
10. Paddington In Peru – £702,188
(Source: Pearl & Dean):