With the UK-Ireland box office currently up 21% year-on-year, UK programmers are rejoicing at a steady flow of non-franchise titles keeping audiences engaged with their cinemas throughout the year.
However, speaking today (October 8) during a BFI London Film Festival industry session, Curzon’s head of cinema programme Ben Lyndon and Picturehouse Cinemas director of programming Carol McKay admitted it has been a weak year for documentaries and non-English-language titles at their venues.
Of overall programming, McKay said, “There’s been choice throughout the year. We haven’t suffered the awards bunching quite as much as we normally do. We’ve had content that has worked for us throughout the year.”
Lyndon noted that, in the past five years, the top 20 best performers of the year have included fewer than five ‘original’ – or non-franchise – films. This year, there are currently 12 ‘original’ films in the top 20.
As well as big numbers in the summer from Universal’s The Odyssey (£87.1m), Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day (£99.8m) and Universal’s Obsession (£20m), A24 titles such as The Drama, The Invite (released by Black Bear in UK-Ireland) and Backrooms have performed particularly well.
“We have to give them credit where it’s due, they [A24] have rejuvenated a space that was struggling after the pandemic, which is mid-range films [that] were going to streaming,” said Lyndon.
He also revealed a dramatic shift in Curzon’s main demographic: whereas pre-pandemic, it was aged 65 and over, now it is 25 and under.
Challenges
On the documentary front, box office results are far more mixed. BFI Imax programme manager Madeleine Mullett, who was also speaking on the panel, noted that BFI Imax’s immersive sound system is helping drive success for music documentaries such as Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger and Epic: Elvis Presley In Concert. Both are among the top 10 best performers at the one-screen venue this year.
For Curzon and Picturehouse, however, these types of films have not worked so well, with audiences opting to see them on large-screen formats. One music doc that did work for Curzon was Mubi’s Pulp: What Would You Do For An Encore, which had the added boost of a livestream Q&A with the band and the director.
McKay also noted that Dogwoof’s Gaza documentary NAZA is “selling very well” ahead of its theatrical release on October 15, while Lyndon expressed high hopes for A24’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything.
“If anyone can turn the tide with documentary releases, they can,” he said.
Non-English-language titles have also posed challenges. “There has been some great content this year – just not enough of it,” said McKay.
“It used to be our bread and butter [but] our brand has changed now,” added Lyndon, who noted a re-release of Amelie performed this year on a level with new non-English-language releases.
He also noted that some stronger non-English-langauge titles are due to come out before the end of 2026, including Altitude’s La Bola Negra, Picturehouse’s Palme d’Or winner Fjord and Mubi’s Minotaur.
Creators
Off the back of a strong year for YouTube content creator-led films at the box office (The Iron Lung, Obsession, Backrooms), Picturehouse has been exploring partnerships with these creators.
In August, Picturehouse Central hosted an all-day event with YouTube sensation Jet Lag, which included the world premiere of the first episode of the 19th season, and a post-show Q&A with the Jet Lag creators, which was livestreamed at Picturehouse venues across the UK.
“We had people coming in from New Zealand, America, Amsterdam, and it was a completely different audience – they weren’t ‘cinema’ people,” noted McKay.
Mullett noted that non-English-language cinema is an area of growth for Imax. Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus Zero is the first-ever Japanese film shot for Imax, to be released by Anime in UK-Ireland in November, while SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi is the first Indian film shot for Imax format, slated for release in 2027.
“Imax has put a lot of investment into expanding that Imax footprint,” she said.
LFF continues until October 18.
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