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BASE REVEALS YEAR-END FIGURES
WICKED LEADS THE WAY…
…AS PREMIUM RELEASES GROW
BLU-RAY THRIVES IN 2025
STREAMING THE TOPS FOR AT-HOME VIEWING
BASE COMMENT ON FIGURES
CO-CHAIR: “2025 A STANDOUT YEAR FOR HE"
THE HOUSEMAID CLEANS UP AT CINEMAS…
…AS ANGELS LAND ON DISC
"GOOD" NEWS FOR WICKED FANS
DRACULA RIDES AGAIN
AWARDS NODS GIVE NEW LIFE TO SINNERS
ZOOTROPOLIS SEQUEL IS A MONSTER
BULK DIRECTOR EXPLAINS STRATEGY…
SELL A BLU-RAY – MAKE MORE FILMS
GOING APE FOR PRIMATE
STATHAM RULES
EUREKA UNVEILS MARCH SLATE
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It was a good week for… Loads more positive year-end figures for home entertainment and the wider industry…
It was a bad week for… While many of the figures are looking good including the rise in box office receipts, cinema admissions were actually down three per cent in 2025 (134 million versus 138 million in 2024). And games retailer Game, reportedly going into administration… More on both next week…
We have been watching… We've been to a couple of cracking – and very popular screenings (Primate and Shelter, see below) and catching up with loads for our FIlm Stories reviews, including Signature's excellent We Bury The Dead, a genuinely original zombie film…
And as sure as night follows day, so the British Association for Screen Entertainment, Peter known to Raygun readers as BASE, has unveiled its figures for 2025, following on the back of the preliminary stats for the year just gone announced by ERA. And, the organisation said, the figures, released in conjunction with the Official Charts Company, took home entertainment to new heights and showed that consumers “loved” watching films and TV programmes at home more than ever. That love helped propel the value of the UK home entertainment market to £5.7 billion in 2025, the highest figure since records began. This represents a 10 per cent rise in value. The figure, BASE point out took in “streaming, buying and renting films digitally or on DVD or Blu-Ray”. BASE added that the figure was a key component in the media and entertainment industry, taking in cinema, games and video, with visual entertainment being the top choice for audiences ahead of music and games, with visual home entertainment accounting for 17 per cent of the sector’s £34 billion value. This overall sector grew by eight per cent from the previous year’s £30 billion value, another record figure. The growth in the industry was driven not least by the huge success of Wicked, top of the sales charts for 2025, which sold and rented 1.4 million times, generating £17.7 million. The BASE announcement added: “This figure includes all sales and rentals of the film across Digital and Disc (EST, VOD, Blu-ray and DVD).” These revenues added to the film’s total box office of more than £61 million.
The number two title in the Official Video Chart for 2025 was the 25-years-in-the-making sequel Gladiator II, which earned more than £7 million in home ent sales and rentals, while its predecessor achieved almost £200,000 in sales and rentals, no mean feat for a film that is quarter of a century old The third biggest title of the year was Conclave, another title with strong homegrown elements, which was also the biggest renter of the year, earning £4 million in the process. BASE noted that premium titles continued to grow – with 79 premium vod titles released fresh from the cinema and at a higher price last year compared with 62 the year before. The premium rental market, alongside the “ease of digital rental” was cited by the association as helping the UK rental market rise by £137 million in 2025, a rise of 1.7 per cent. Other titles mentioned in dispatches includes the year’s biggest box office earner A Minecraft Movie (£56.9 million at cinemas and £7.5 million in sales and rentals); the fourth biggest seller of the year on the 2025 Official video Chart, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (£7.4 million in sales and rentals) and another Universal title, Jurassic Park Rebirth, which achieved sales and rentals of £598,000 worth £7.1 million.
On the physical side, Wicked was the bestseller across Blu-ray and DVD, while on Blu-ray alone – a category which grew 3.1 per cent year on year – the biggest title was Superman. The BASE statement added: “The higher price of the three-film Lord Of The Rings Trilogy achieved sales totalling 13.8k, with a value of £804.1k, showing the ongoing love for the films with fans, and the importance of older titles remaining available to audiences to own at home.” The biggest DVD of the year was Downton Abbey: The Finale, which racked up sales of 56,500 units in just two weeks from December 15, which, BASE said, proved “the ongoing popularity of the format for audiences who still value a physical copy of a film or TV show”. Meanwhile, the final week of 2025 saw a welter of home entertainment activity, as Avatar: Fire And Ash pulled punters in at cinemas, Stranger Things did the business on streaming services (and also at cinemas) and there were unit sales and rentals of 2.2 million units in the last few days of the year. This included 120,100 sales of Will Ferrell contemporary Christmas classic Elf and 77,500 for The Polar Express.
The BASE report – further detailed figures were issued as the Raygun was about to be sent out and we’ll feature these next week – also outlined big streaming wins of 2025. It’s still the top choice for consumers to watch at home, with 20.5 million homes using at least one service and almost 70 per cent of the public viewing streaming channels. Ad tiers have also boosted the value of the streaming business. Netflix, thanks to the aforementioned Stranger Things, as well as the likes of Adolescence and K-Pop Demon Hunters, was the most popular SVoD service, with 17.6 million subscribers in the UK, followed by Amazon’s Prime Video, which boasted 13.6 million subscribers. Disney+ was in 7.5 million homes, Paramount+ in 3.5 million. The year-end BASE statement concluded: “Smaller streaming channels also saw growth, as fans embraced variety of content across Discovery, which grew to 3.2 million homes, Apple TV which grew to 2.8 million homes, and NOW which grew to 2 million homes. Four of the five top selling TV Titles in 2025 first aired on streaming channels in the UK, where HBO’s House Of The Dragon dominated for the third year running, and fan favourite Doctor Who took the number two spot, with the classic Doctor Who: The Savages, which first aired in 1966, demonstrating the continuing thirst of fans for classic TV to own at home.”
Comment came from BASE chief executive Liz Bales who said: “The UK entertainment industry is a globally admired powerhouse of talent and innovation that has excelled in 2025. Whether it is buying, renting, streaming or in cinemas: UK supported and created film and TV shows continue to deliver for audiences. The strength of the UK entertainment industry is bolstered by the diversity of channels and choices for consumers who, alongside the array of streaming services being embraced, are flocking to buy and rent options, in growing numbers. As we move to embrace exciting new partnerships across the industry, and welcome Government’s recognition and support for the economic contribution of the Creative Industries, 2026 is set to offer exciting change, further growth and a wealth of brilliant and beautiful new stories for audiences to embrace in all the ways they know and love.”
Further comment for The Raygun came from BASE co-chair and EVP, head of Motion Picture Group at Lionsgate Marie-Claire Benson who said: “2025 was a standout year for home entertainment, with record growth driven by audiences engaging across streaming, digital and physical formats. In particular, the strong performance of premium titles shows that when content connects, audiences are willing to invest more in how they watch at home. For BASE, the focus now is on sustaining that momentum through innovation, collaboration and consumer choice as we move into 2026.”
Talking of Lionsgate, the company is currently sitting pretty at number one in the UK box office listings with one of the most talked about films of the past year, The Housemaid. The thriller starring Sydney Sweeney, who seems to be everywhere you look at the minute, has had a hugely impressive five-week run at cinemas and has passed more than £26 million in box office receipts. We caught up with it at the weekend and it’s oodles of fun and a hugely commercial proposition both in cinemas and when it comes to home entertainment. Commenting on its success, Lionsgate’s Marie-Claire Benson said: “The response to The Housemaid has been incredibly encouraging. The book was a best-seller, and audiences seem to have really enjoyed the film, which translated into a strong box office performance. It’s exciting that a sequel is already lined up. It’s a great reminder that when a story grabs people, they want to spend more time in that world.”
And finally from Lionsgate, one of our favourite experiences of 2025 was seeing Good Fortune, the directorial debut from Aziz Ansari, which also stars the comic alongside Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen, in the Prince Charles Cinema at a special launch screening event. And the film has this week been released on Blu-ray by Lionsgate. Comment on the release came from the company’s Imogen Dodds, who said: “This past Monday saw the packaged release of Good Fortune exclusively on Blu-ray, a heavenly addition to any Keanu Reeves collection. We are supporting the release with a targeted media push that will set the title up as audience’s perfect comedy cure to the rainy days ahead.
As noted above, the first Wicked film was the biggest of 2025 on home entertainment, and the home entertainment potential for its sequel Wicked For Good look equally mouth-watering. The second film ended December as the third biggest title of the year with £45.9 million in box office receipts at UK cinemas, a figure that now stands at more than £47 million. January 2 saw the film make its home entertainment debut to buy or rent on digital, backed with a raft of bonus content taking in an exclusive sing-along, deleted scenes (with one as a digital exclusive), a 50-minute Making Of, commentary from director Jon M Chu and more. The first film’s release scooped a BASE Campaign of the Year Award at the 2025 ceremony, and its strong start – it’s been sitting pretty at number one in the Official Film Chart, and is at number three this week, after entering the chart in the top slot – bodes well for Wicked For Good’s success this year. The original is also back near the top of the chart. Commenting on the release, A Universal spokesperson told The Raygun: “Wicked has always inspired extraordinary connection, and that spirit is very much alive with Wicked: For Good. Now that the film is available to buy or rent, we’re thrilled to see the early excitement across home entertainment and expect fans old and new to continue wholeheartedly celebrating this world — it’s a testament to the film’s place in the cultural landscape and the joy it continues to spark.
Wicked: For Good has recently made an appearance in the Official Film Chart, where it sat at number one before being deposed by Sinners (more on that below), but another strong performer in recent weeks in the listings has been the new take on an old favourite, Dracula, directed by Luc Besson, with the Signature release giving a new stylish vision of Bram Stoker’s vampire tale which, like the count, refuses to die. Comment on its performance came from Signature sales manager Jack Sanderson who said: “The success of our release of Dracula has once again demonstrated the Count’s remarkable immortality. Luc Besson’s take on Bram Stoker’s classic made it clear that film fans were very much in the mood for a bit of gothic seduction with bite this winter. From our exclusive trailer launch with Letterboxd, through a sold-out Soho Horror Film Festival screening with a bespoke video intro from Besson himself, extensive positive reviews across print, feature interviews with the acclaimed director, and tens of millions of views across social platforms that continue to this day, the response to the film has been loud and sustained. Thanks to the support and belief shown by our digital platforms and physical retail partners, that early momentum translated quickly into an appearance in the upper reaches of the Official Charts Company’s charts and, helped by early inclusion BASE’s Mega Movie Weekend promotion, the film has continued performing incredibly well throughout the festive period and beyond.”
Sticking with the Official Film Chart and it’s interesting to note that this week’s listing saw Sinners making the top spot after a mammoth 33 weeks spent in the upper echelons of the chart. Its return came on the back of its record-breaking Academy Awards nominations. The film scored 16 in all, a record for the Oscars, besting the previous record number jointly held by All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land. It’s a one-two for Warner titles, as One Battle After Another, released this week on physical formats by Elevation, earned the next highest number of nominations, with 14 in total. The BAFTA nominations followed soon after the Oscars (it’s normally the other way round), with One Battle After Another outdoing Sinners by 14 nods to 13. It’s rare that consumers get to enjoy digital and physical releases of potential big Oscar and BAFTA winners in the run-up to the ceremony, with another title that received nominations, Bugonia, due on February 9. For full nominations see here and here. And while you’re watching the BAFTAs, keep an eye out for one of our favourite films of 2025, The Ballad Of Wallis Island, which deserves to win every award going.
Meanwhile, nominated in the best animated film category at the Oscars is Zootropolis 2, aka Zootopia 2, and since we were last here the film has become the most successful animated film ever, surpassing Inside Out 2, and currently sits as the ninth highest grossing film of all time. As of last week, it had earned more than $1.7 billion worldwide. Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman said: “This milestone belongs first and foremost to the fans around the world whose enthusiasm made it possible. We’re incredibly proud of our filmmakers Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Yvett Merino and the entire team at Walt Disney Animation Studios for creating a film that connects so deeply with audiences everywhere. Zootropolis 2 is an extraordinary achievement, and we’re grateful to everyone who helped bring it to life.”
Next week sees the new issue of one of our favourite magazines Shindig hitting the shelves at newsstands and the title features a two-page spread by The Raygun’s very own Tim Murray looking at Ben Wheatley’s new film Bulk, currently touring the UK and Ireland ahead of a March release on Blu-ray and 4K from new imprint Anti-Worlds Originals, an offshoot of indie distributor Anti-Worlds. For the time being, it’s eschewing streaming and vod, going physical only after the Q&A tour. We spoke at length to the director alongside producer and Anti-Worlds’ Andy Starke about the film and its release strategy. Wheatley said: “It's about protecting the film. It's saying that the experience – the Q&A experience and the screening experience – is special. Because the audience has made an effort to go and see it, we’re keeping it back from being just thrown into the pile of content online. It doesn't really make any difference to us on the long run for it not to be on streaming for another six months or so, We’ll just keep pushing the live experience and the physical media experience, until we're worn out, we can’t do it anymore. The audiences we're getting for this tour are really good, there’s definitely a way we could do a second tour, if we've got time. It's a different way of looking at it.” As well as traditional retail, Anti-Worlds is selling it through its website and Wheatley added: “When you’re your own distributor as well, then you're selling the physical media, you're keeping all the money as well. It's between you and the financier. You might sell more with a distributor, the distributor of the physical, but you will get hardly any of it back, you’d have to sell so many units. It doesn't really make much sense.”
This week saw the first release on the aforementioned Anti-Worlds Originals, Mismantler, a film directed by Andrew Keogh with music by Nurse With Wound, which grew out of the director making films to accompany the industrial band live in concert. Andy Starke, one half of Anti-Worlds alongside publicist Zoe Flower, produced this as well as Bulk and outlined some of the thinking behind the imprint. He said: “Anti-Worlds Originals is stuff that we've all been sort of intimately involved with, I think it's fair enough to say it's an original that's not too much of a blah. With something like Mismantler, the Nurse With Wound film, we literally gave some money to someone, a very small amount of money, and they went away and made something. They've not been paid, which they should be, but it's a way of creating new. The reality is – and this is why we've priced them at the level we have – that with 2,000 or 3000 sales, you can actually make films on some level. That, to me, is interesting, it’s the start of something, and I think a lot of people are interested in doing it. We’re saying to people, sign up, If you pay me 25 quid directly, we could make another one. I'm not going to put it into my sports car, it's going to go back into making more films. I’m really realistic about what it is, and it's tiny, and it's not for everybody, but, but that's the point, isn't it? I get it. If you’re going to make a film for everyone, you’re going to need a hell of a lot of money, and that's fine. I’ve got nothing against those films at all. But this is just about the reality of being an independent producer or independent distributor.”
We’ve been getting back on the screening trail after our severe bout of pneumonia at the end of 2025 prevented us getting into the West End too much, and have been to a couple of corkers in recent weeks, both offering up real commercial potential at theatrical and, perhaps more pertinently for the majority of The Raygun readers, on home entertainment too. First up was Primate, Paramount’s cautionary teen-friendly horror about a pet chimp gone wild, which has a few shocking, audience-squealing moments and went down a storm with a mixed crowd at our screening. As The Guardian’s review noted: “At 89 minutes and paced like a rollercoaster, there’s little room for life lessons, although the film does make for a stern, grisly reminder of why chimps should not be considered part of the family… once we’re off to the races, it’s a thrilling sprint to the finish. [It has] more jaw-snapping, head-smashing, bone-crunching violence than we’ve seen in a studio horror for a while. It’s inventively, memorably nasty… After a lacklustre year for horror, Primate makes for a wildly entertaining start to 2026.”
We were also lucky enough to get to the premiere of Shelter, Black Bear’s latest offering, starring the ever-reliable Jason Statham is, as reviews have noted, offering up the very best a Statham film can offer, throwing in some quality supporting cast too, including Bill Nighy. Again, the audience reaction at the premiere (and the reaction to Statham himself) highlights its commercial potential, and as well as being dependable at the box office, he is home entertainment gold giving this a long shelf life. The Hollywood reporter said: “Shelter reliably provides plenty of the action that Statham fans crave, not to mention his trademark charisma and low-key underplaying that makes Charles Bronson look overly demonstrative. But the film also adds a strong emotional component that gives it more gravitas than his usual vehicles. And it boasts some top-flight British actors in the cast, including Bill Nighy, Harriet Walter and Naomi Ackie, who give it some class. […it] could well expand the action star’s fan base.” The Financial Times added: “I’ll let you find out the plot details yourself, but if you ever felt Jason Bourne could be improved by an English accent and less hair, Shelter is the movie for you… just as important for a wham-bam action movie, the aggro is well choreographed, and slightly mad.” Both films are at cinemas now.
More boutique label announcements and Eureka has unveiled its slate for March, with the company’s national account manager Marcus Garwood talking is through the company’s raft of titles due in the month. He said: “We have three superb additions for your collections this coming March. We start off with Maurice Tourneur's 1943 horror gem The Devil’s Hand. Widely regarded as one of the finest horror films ever produced in France, it delivers a distinctly French twist on the likes of Faust and The Monkey’s Paw. Adapted from the short story of the same name by Gérard de Nerval and produced under German occupation at the height of World War II, The Masters of Cinema Series presents this extraordinary film on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK. The release will feature a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring stunning new artwork by John Dunn and a limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on director Maurice Tourneur by film historian Imogen Sara Smith. Lo Wei's 1971 wuxia tale The Invincible Eight is up next. Featuring a stellar cast including Nora Miao (The Way of the Dragon), Angela Mao (Hapkido), Paul Chang Chung (Police Story) and James Tien (Yes, Madam!) The Invincible Eight is a significant film in the history of Hong Kong cinema, notable for helping to establish Golden Harvest as an industry force to be reckoned with. Our Eureka Classics imprint is proud to present the film on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Asia. The release comes in a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré, a limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on The Invincible Eight and Golden Harvest by East Asian cinema expert Camille Zaurin will also be included. Disc extras feature a new appreciation of the film by Wayne Wong, author of Martial Arts Ecology; plus a new audio commentary by East Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng and martial artist and filmmaker Michael Worth. Our third release for the month is Tadashi Imai's 1963 masterpiece Cruel Tale Of Bushido. Winner of the Golden Bear Award at the 1963 Berlin Film Festival, Cruel Tale Of Bushido blends high drama and brutality as it traces history across 350 years of the moral code of the samurai. The release will feature limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Tony Stella, plus a limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Japanese cinema expert Hayley Scanlon. Disc extras include a new interview with film critic Tony Rayns, and a new video essay by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of Japan.”
 The Raygun, is 15 years old and continues to report on the home entertainment industry and its ever-changing face. To ensure we can continue to bring you the latest news, opinion and analysis from a business we love and care passionately about, you can support our independent journalism by donating to us via Ko-fi… Thank you.
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Peking. Duck…
How did this slip through the net? Incredible…
Pirate movie…
We’ll be hard-pushed to find a better title for a film this year…
EPIC stands for Elvis Presley in Concert
Someone’s on the phone…
From the studio that brought you Weapons…
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