The UK-Ireland box office continues to show strong momentum heading into the summer season. Paramount’s Scary Movie led the latest weekend with £4.1 million ($5.6 million), while The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act, Masters of the Universe, Backrooms, and Obsession all delivered solid performances, highlighting the depth of the current marketplace.
The strong weekend performance comes as new industry figures reveal that the UK-Ireland box office is running 11% ahead of last year, thanks largely to the success of Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2 during May.
The Momentum Continues Into June
The latest UK-Ireland weekend box office reflected a healthy and competitive marketplace. Scary Movie secured the top spot with a £4.1 million ($5.6 million) debut, continuing the franchise’s successful comeback and delivering the biggest opening in the series’ history.
Piece Of Magic Entertainment’s The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act opened in second place with $3.6 million, narrowly ahead of Sony’s Masters of the Universe, which launched with $3.5 million.
Meanwhile, recent horror successes continued to perform strongly. A24’s Backrooms added another $3 million during its second weekend, pushing its UK-Ireland total to $11.6 million. Universal’s Obsession followed with $2.5 million in its fourth weekend, lifting its cumulative total to $13.8 million.
Disney’s The Mandalorian and Grogu crossed $18.8 million in the territory, while Michael added another $1.8 million in its seventh weekend of release, pushing its cumulative UK-Ireland haul to $67.7 million.
The diversity of successful titles has been particularly encouraging for exhibitors. Comedy, animation, fantasy, horror, science fiction, and music-driven dramas are all finding audiences, demonstrating a marketplace that is not dependent on a single blockbuster.
May Delivers Strong Growth for the Market
According to reports from Screen Daily, May 2026 generated €130.4 million across the UK-Ireland box office, compared to €109.4 million during the same month last year. The figure also represents a remarkable 79% increase over the €72.7 million recorded in May 2024.
The year-to-date cumulative total now stands at €505 million, up 11% from €455.5 million at the same stage in 2025 and 33% ahead of the €380.4 million recorded during the equivalent period in 2024, according to figures provided by Comscore.
Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2 Lead the Charge
Michael topped the monthly chart after securing the No. 2 position in April from only seven days of play. The Michael Jackson biopic added €32 million during May alone, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year in the territory with a cumulative €49 million.
The film currently sits €11 million ahead of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and is now chasing Bohemian Rhapsody’s €55.4 million record as the highest-grossing music biopic ever released in the territory. Reports indicate that Michael is tracking 14% ahead of Bohemian Rhapsody at the same stage of release.
The Michael Jackson drama narrowly outperformed Disney’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 during the month. The long-awaited fashion sequel generated €32.8 million, benefiting from strong audience enthusiasm for the return of its iconic characters nearly two decades after the original film’s release.
The sequel has become one of the strongest performers in Anne Hathaway’s filmography, joining titles such as Les Misérables, Alice in Wonderland, and The Dark Knight among her biggest box office successes.
Together, Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2 generated nearly €65 million, accounting for almost half of May’s total box office revenue and playing a major role in the territory’s impressive growth.
Horror and Franchise Films Continue to Deliver
Disney secured another major success with The Mandalorian and Grogu, which generated €12.6 million during May despite opening late in the month. The film has already entered the list of the territory’s top-grossing releases of 2026.
Horror also remained one of the market’s strongest genres. Universal’s Obsession earned €8.4 million during May, while A24’s Backrooms generated €6.3 million. Both titles have continued to build momentum through strong word-of-mouth and have become major contributors to the year’s box office landscape.
US productions continue to dominate the year-to-date top ten, with Michael (€49 million), The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (€38.1 million), Project Hail Mary (€34.5 million), and The Devil Wears Prada 2 (€32.8 million) among the market leaders.
Only two 2025 releases remain in the annual top ten chart: Lionsgate’s The Housemaid with €23.5 million and Disney’s Avatar: Fire and Ash with €15.5 million.
A Positive Sign for Theatrical Recovery
The UK-Ireland market has now recorded growth in four of the first five months of 2026, providing another encouraging sign that theatrical exhibition continues to strengthen.
With Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day arriving this week and several major summer releases set to follow, exhibitors will be hoping the momentum generated by Michael, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Scary Movie, Backrooms, and Obsession can carry the market through what is shaping up to be a busy blockbuster season.
For now, the latest figures suggest that the UK-Ireland box office is not only recovering but continuing to grow, supported by a wide range of successful films across multiple genres.
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