Base confirms audience engagement with streaming, PVOD and 4K helps UK visual home entertainment surpass £5bn for the first time ever.
Today, full market data for 2024 released by the British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) in association with the Official Charts Company confirms that Video is officially the most popular form of entertainment in the UK. The total value of the media and entertainment industry in the UK in 2024 was a staggering £30bn which includes transactional and Pay TV Home Entertainment, Cinema, Games, and Music. The value of the UK Home Entertainment Category accounted for 17% of that number and grew to £5.1bn in 2024 inclusive of all SVoD, PVoD and VOD, PEST and EST, DVD, BLU-RAY, 4K UHD, and BOXSETS. The total value of the UK Screen sector rose to £12.4bn.
GROWTH DESPITE STRIKES AND DELAYS
This growth is despite the impact of the 2023 Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) strikes on the film slate at the beginning of 2024. And the subsequent delays on film and TV production. A resurging slate throughout the year ensured the UK Box Office rose in the final quarter of 2024. Delivering a value of £145m in November 2024 across films such as WICKED. PADDINGTON IN PERU. MOANA 2. GLADIATOR 2, and MUFASA: THE LION KING. The strength of the 2025 slate, which includes BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FINAL RECKONING. SUPERMAN. WICKED: FOR GOOD, and AVATAR: FIRE and ASH, plays a huge part in the prediction that Home Entertainment will grow by 2.4% in value in the UK in 2025.
TOTAL NUMBER OF FILMS RELEASED ACROSS HOME ENTERTAINMENT
The total number of films released across transactional Home Entertainment was 1605. Where consumers understand they can take advantage of ad-free entertainment, complementing the 1114 films released in cinemas across the year. The total number of films released to buy or rent at home at a premium price (Premium Video on Demand (PVOD) and/or Premium EST (PEST) went up to 62 in 2024. Audiences chose to watch fresh-from-cinema films at home as soon as they were released on Digital Service Providers (DSPS).
LIZ BALES
Liz Bales, Chief Executive, BASE said:
“Visual Entertainment is the most popular entertainment pastime in the UK and audiences make savvy choices across the spectrum of Home Entertainment formats available to them, spending in excess of £5bn. Premium digital formats have already set records in 2025, just a few weeks into the year: WICKED was released on PVoD and PEST on January 3rd and became the most popular Premium title since records began in the UK. Ad revenue has added £1.7bn across the range of online video services in the UK, and £400mn to consumer spend on SVoD, while simultaneously there were 73 more FAST channels launched across all FAST services in the UK since the beginning of the year, where the total number is now well over 700, enabled by the likes of Samsung, LG, Roku and others to bring the digital high-street directly to consumers living rooms. While audiences love film and TV shows the industry will continue to grow and evolve, to offer more and better.”
CONSUMER UPTAKE
Consumer uptake of streaming services (Subscription Video on Demand or SVoD) in 2024 rose to 54.1m (+2% YoY). With 70% of UK subscribers choosing services that include ads for a reduced subscription fee. The value of the sector rose to £4.5bn (+8% YoY) supported by the introduction of advertising. And the additional tiers available to consumers, who can still choose to watch without advertising for a higher fee. The addition of advertising contributed to a 36% YoY growth for UK premium advertising-supported online video revenue (incl. hybrid SVOD advertising, Premium AVoD and FAST) which rose to £1.7bn.
THE DIGITAL HIGH STREET
The Digital High Street continued to evolve. With the ‘bundling’ of multiple streaming services under one offer from hardware suppliers such as SKY, LG, and SAMSUNG, proving popular with audiences. And driving growth for the industry, where 1 in 5 global online video subscriptions are now part of a ‘bundle’ of services. The most popular individual streaming service in the UK in 2024 was Netflix, followed by Amazon Prime Video and Disney+. The revenue from free channels to view supported by ads (Free Ad Supported Television or FAST) is predicted to double in the next five years. Rising to £9.7bn by 2029. Monthly Average Users (MAU’s) for services offering FAST channels have more than doubled from 5% in Q3 2021 to 13% in Q3 2024. Driven primarily by PLUTO, SAMSUNG TV+, LG Channels, and FREEVEE, which has now moved its FAST channels to Amazon Prime.
TOP TITLE OF 2024
The top title of 2024 in the UK across all transactional formats was Warner Bros. Discovery’s WONKA with 821k individual purchases or rentals of the film by audiences across Home Entertainment. This figure includes all sales and rentals of the film across Digital and Disc (EST, VOD, Blu-ray and DVD). (Official Charts Company measures individual content purchases on disc and digital, to rent, buy or own in the UK, unlike multi-content SVoD services.) Another Warner Bros. Discovery title, DUNE: PART TWO, took the second spot on the top titles of 2024 chart. Selling 817k units to buy or rent on digital or disc. DUNE: PART TWO was also the top-selling title on disc, selling 132k copies on Blu-ray and DVD combined. With a value of £2m, playing a part in the continuing £156.3m value of the UK market for films and TV on disc in 2024.
OPPENHEIMER
Following its success as the biggest disc title of 2023, OPPENHEIMER was the biggest-selling VOD title in the UK in 2024. Selling 487k units. This continued popularity for the Christopher Nolan epic helped OPPENHEIMER grab the number three spot in the overall chart, with total sales of 713k across all formats.
EST
Disney’s DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE was the biggest-selling title on EST with 465k units sold since its UK Home Entertainment digital release on October 1st 2024, following its £60m performance at the UK Box Office in July 2024, before its Disney+ premiere in the UK on November 12th 2024. This helped DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE snatch the number four spot in the overall chart, with a total of 621k purchases across all formats. Buying at home (EST) proved incredibly popular with families, in a fantastic year for children’s films: INSIDE OUT 2 followed an impressive Box Office performance of £61m to become the fourth biggest-selling title to buy at home (EST) with 253k units sold before it’s Disney+ debut on September 25th.
Followed closely into fifth spot by DESPICABLE ME 4, with 191k download sales, following a UK Box Office of £51mn. Family films also ended the year on a high at the UK Box Office, with PADDINGTON IN PERU. WICKED. MOANA 2. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3, and MUFASA: THE LION KING all ensuring families had lots to watch and enjoy on the big screen. Titles which will premier to buy or rent at home in the first half of 2025.
FEMALE-LED FILMS
Following the huge success of BARBIE in 2023, female-led films continued to break out at the Box Office and at home. With 562k more sales in 2024, BARBIE secured the 5th spot in the overall chart. Making its total sales to date 1.3m. Sydney Sweeney was both the lead and Executive Producer of romantic comedy ANYONE BUT YOU which followed a UK Box Office of £11.5mn with total sales of 445k on Home Entertainment. And proved particularly popular with renters, helping it grab the number five spot on the rental (VoD) chart in 2024 with 285k transactions.
ROBERT MARSH
Robert Marsh, Vice President, International Account Management & Sales and UK Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Co-Chair DEGI: Digital Entertainment Group International said:
“2024 was a good year for Digital Transactional with more Premium window titles availing than ever, a plethora of strong new releases at home and diverse genres hitting the UK’s top selling titles. A great example is ANYONE BUT YOU a romantic comedy which took cinemas and audiences at home by storm, becoming a viral phenomenon and delighting consumers. The title went on to become a Top 5 rental title of the year. This was followed later by IT ENDS WITH US the film based on the Colleen Hoover best-selling book. This title ended up maintaining its #1 VOD chart position for eight weeks at the end of the year, including through the busy Christmas period, as consumers were captivated by the story of Lily Bloom. These two titles show that the digital market is for everyone, from DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE and DUNE: PART TWO to ANYONE BUT YOU and IT ENDS WITH US, there is so much choice available.”
FAN FAVOURITE
The fan favourite 4K format delivered YoY growth of 21% YoY where the top ten films included 4K re-releases of catalogue titles ALIENS, THE TERMINATOR, THE CROW, THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY, and DUNE (2021). The top ten 4K titles in the UK in 2024 generated a combined value of £4.4mn, where Sci-fi as a genre is particularly popular with fans, occupying multiple spots in the top ten.
The TV on the disc market was once again led by GAME OF THRONES: HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, with the first and second seasons occupying the number and two spot on the chart. Elsewhere, the DOCTOR WHO franchise continued to prove hugely successful for BBC, earning a combined total of £200mn across all DOCTOR WHO transactional releases across the year.
ROBERT CALLOW
Robert Callow, Managing Director, Spirit Entertainment, said:
“The continued resilience of the physical market has been extraordinary, catalogue performance has been particularly noteworthy with high-value classic TV box sets and a multitude of wonderful back catalogue film special editions being bought to life. With a highly engaged physical retailer base, very strong new release slate and many more innovative catalogue opportunities being planned, 2025 is looking incredibly positive.”
HORROR
The leading horror title of the year was Paramount Pictures A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE, selling 232k units across all formats. The horror genre continued to prove a hugely popular choice with audiences in the UK, where Universal Pictures dominated the rest of the Horror top five, with FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S, ABIGAIL, and THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER taking the 2nd, 4th, and 5th spots respectively in the top unit sales in the Horror Chart.
The number three spot was taken by independent distributor BLACK BEAR, with LONGLEGS, with 141k units sold across all formats. LONGLEGS also took the number seven spot on the chart of the top ten Independently distributed titles of the year, where Lionsgate’s THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES claimed the top spot, with 347k sales across all formats, at a value of £3.5mn. This was followed by the STUDIOCANAL Amy Winehouse biopic BACK TO BLACK, which sold 267k units across all formats.
MARIE-CLAIRE BENSON
Marie-Claire Benson, EVP/ Head of Motion Picture Group, Lionsgate UK and BASE Co-Chair, said:
“Following a buoyant 2024 marked by increased cinema admissions, exceptional results from premium windows, and continued resilience in the physical market, UK entertainment momentum shows no signs of slowing. We saw 22% of the 2024 box office generated in the final seven weeks of 2024, and this success is already translating to digital platforms. The WICKED premium Home Entertainment success has been outstanding, and Lionsgate’s own SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE is outperforming comparable titles, demonstrating the continued growth potential of premium digital formats. The 2025 calendar is robust and diverse: Lionsgate’s upcoming slate includes Mark Wahlberg’s action film FLIGHT RISK, the Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated Iranian drama THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG, and the future British classic and April 2025 release THE PENGUIN LESSONS, starring Steve Coogan. With something for everyone available across all formats and options, entertainment will continue to deliver this year, and beyond.”
The British Association for Screen Entertainment has represented the UK Visual Home Entertainment category for 45 years. The primary objective of BASE is to champion the growth of screen entertainment. While maintaining a business environment with the fewest regulatory burdens. Our members are represented within the £5.1 billion Home Entertainment market alongside Affiliate and Associate members from a host of critical industry stakeholders.
OFFICIAL ALL-VIDEO CHART 2024 (Top five charts for each video format and genre, not including box sets)
Official Video Chart 2024 (All Digital; Blu-ray and DVD, EST, TVOD)
1 WONKA
2 DUNE: PART TWO
3 OPPENHEIMER
4 DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
5 BARBIE
© OFFICIAL CHARTS COMPANY
Official Film Chart 2024 (All Digital Retail; Blu-ray and DVD, EST)
1 DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
2 WONKA
3 DUNE: PART TWO
4 INSIDE OUT 2
5 OPPENHEIMER
© OFFICIAL CHARTS COMPANY
Official Video Chart 2024 (All Blu-ray & DVD)
1 DUNE: PART TWO
2 WONKA
3 OPPENHEIMER
4 DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
5 AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM
© OFFICIAL CHARTS COMPANY
Official Blu-ray Chart 2024
1 DUNE: PART TWO
2 DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
3 ALIEN: ROMULUS
4 OPPENHEIMER
5 FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
© OFFICIAL CHARTS COMPANY
Official DVD Chart 2024
1 WONKA
2 OPPENHEIMER
3 BARBIE
4 DUNE: PART TWO
5 AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM
© OFFICIAL CHARTS COMPANY
Official Film Download Chart 2024 (EST)
1 DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
2 WONKA
3 DUNE: PART TWO
4 INSIDE OUT 2
5 DESPICABLE ME 4
© OFFICIAL CHARTS COMPANY
Official Film Digital Rental Chart 2024 (VOD):
1 OPPENHEIMER
2 WONKA
3 DUNE: PART TWO
4 BARBIE
5 ANYONE BUT YOU
© OFFICIAL CHARTS COMPANY
Official TV on Video Chart 2024
1 GAME OF THRONES: HOUSE OF THE DRAGON – SEASON 1
2 GAME OF THRONES: HOUSE OF THE DRAGON – SEASON 2
3 THE LAST OF US – SEASON 1
4 DOCTOR WHO: THE CELESTIAL TOYMAKER
5 WEDNESDAY – SEASON 1
© OFFICIAL CHARTS COMPANY
Home entertainment on all formats continues to go from strength to strength. Thank you to you all for supporting the industry.
Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.
