Box office takings in the UK and Ireland are up 11% year-on-year, after May brought a 19% increase on the year before.
Blockbuster releases including Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2 brought May 2026 to a £130.4m total, up on the £109.4m of last year, and 79% up on the £72.7m from May 2024.
The year-to-date is now at £505m, 11% up on the £455.5m at the same stage last year and 33% up on £380.4m at the same point in 2024, according to figures provided by Comscore.
| Rank | Film (origin) | Distributor | Release date | 1/5/26-4/6/26 total | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael (US) | Universal | 24/4/26 | £32.9m | £49m |
| 2 | The Devil Wears Prada 2 (US) |
Disney | 1/5/26 | £32.8m | £32.8m |
| 3 | Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu (US) | Disney | 22/5/26 | £12.6m | £12.6m |
| 4 | The Sheep Detectives (US-UK) |
Sony | 8/5/26 | £8.7m | £8.7m |
| 5 | Obsession (US) | Universal | 15/5/26 | £8.4m | £8.4m |
| 6 | Backrooms (US) | A24 | 29/5/26 | £6.4m | £6.4m |
| 7 | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (US) | Universal | 3/4/26 | £3.4m | £38.1m |
| 8 | Mortal Kombat II (US) |
Warner | 8/5/26 | £3.4m | £3.4m |
| 9 | Project Hail Mary (US) | Sony | 20/3/26 | £2.1m | £34.5m |
| 10 | Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour Live In 3D (US) | Paramount | 8/5/26 | £2m | £2.1m |
Universal’s Michael rose to the number one spot in May, having been the number two title in April from just seven days of play.
It added £32.9m in May, and is the highest-grossing film of the year with £49m, almost £11m ahead of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Michael could yet overtake Bohemian Rhapsody (£55.4m) to become the highest-grossing music biopic ever in the territory, and is currently tracking 14% ahead at the same stage of release.
The Michael Jackson film just pipped Disney’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 in May. The fashion sequel brought in £32.8m, demonstrating a strong interest in the core four characters 20 years after the first film. It is a fourth-highest-grossing film for star Meryl Streep behind Mary Poppins Returns and both Mamma Mia! films, and also a fourth for Anne Hathaway, behind Les Miserables, Alice In Wonderland and The Dark Knight Rises.
Disney also took third spot with Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu bringing in £12.6m in the month, since its May 22 release. It is in the top 10 for titles released in 2026 after just two weeks.
Buzzy horror titles Obsession and Backrooms landed in fifth and sixth place for the month, with £8.4m for Universal and £6.3m for A24 respectively. Obsession has held better than horror titles with comparable openings including Bring Her Back and The Black Phone; while Backrooms achieved the biggest opening ever for an A24 film in the territory and should become the second-highest-grossing horror release of the year in the next fortnight, behind only Obsession.
Amazon MGM Studios’ The Sheep Detectives was the sole UK production in the top 10, co-produced with the US. It took £8.7m to land in fourth place for the month, with distribution handled by Sony.
Universal was the top distributor for the month, with three of the top 10 titles including the number one, with two each for Disney and Sony, and one for A24, Warner Bros and Paramount.
US titles also dominate the year-to-date top 10, with Michael (£49m) and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (£38.1m) followed by Project Hail Mary (£34.5m) and The Devil Wears Prada 2 (£32.8m). Only two 2025 release, Lionsgate’s The Housemaid with £23.5m and Disney’s Avatar: Fire And Ash with £15.5m, remain in the year’s top 10, in sixth and eighth place respectively.
Universal also leads the year-to-date chart, with three of the top 10 including the top two. Disney also has three titles, with one each for Sony, Warner Bros, Lionsgate and Entertainment Film Distributors.
| Rank | Film (origin) | Distributor | Release date | 2026 gross | Total to date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael (US) | Universal | 24/4/26 | £49m | 49m |
| 2 | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (US) | Universal | 3/4/26 | £38.1m | £38.1m |
| 3 | Project Hail Mary (US) | Sony | 20/3/26 | £34.5m | £34.5m |
| 4 | The Devil Wears Prada 2 (US) | Disney | 1/5/26 | £32.8m | £32.8m |
| 5 | Wuthering Heights (US) | Warner Bros | 13/2/26 | £25.3m | £25.3m |
| 6 | The Housemaid (US) | Lionsgagte | 26/12/25 | £23.5m | £32.2m |
| 7 | Hamnet (UK-US) | Universal | 9/1/26 | £19.1m | £19.2m |
| 8 | Avatar: Fire And Ash (US) | Disney | 19/12/25 | £15.5m | £42.8m |
| 9 | The Magic Faraway Tree (UK) | EFD | 27/3/26 | £15m | £15m |
| 10 | Hoppers (US) | Disney | 6/3/26 | £14.1m | £14.1m |
UK-Ireland box office has now been up in four of the five months of the year to date, in the latest sign of cinema health returning towards pre-pandemic levels. A selection of blockbusters are looking to keep the momentum going in June, starting with franchise titles Scary Movie from Paramount and Amazon MGM Studios’ Masters Of The Universe, distributed by Sony, both from today (June 5).
Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi Disclosure Day opens for Universal from June 10, while Disney starts Toy Story 5 from June 18, with two of the four previous films in the all-time top 20. Supergirl is Warner Bros’ flagship title for the month, opening on June 25, while silliness reigns for a final time in Paramount’s Jackass: Best And Last from June 26.
