British talent fuels rise in value of home entertainment market

People buying, streaming and renting TV shows and films led the value of the home entertainment market to rise by 10% last year, fuelled by the popularity of Wicked and its sequel, which were both filmed in the UK.

Figures released by the British Association for Screen Entertainment (Base) in association with the Official Charts Company reveal that the value of the UK home entertainment sector rose to £5.7 billion in 2025 – an all-time high.

They said the total value of the UK media and entertainment industry last year reached £34 billion, up 8% from £30 billion in 2024.

Describing Wicked as the hit of the year, with sales and rentals totalling £17.7 million, they said its sequel, Wicked: For Good which also starred British actors Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey, was also among the top five films of the year on the Official Video Chart.

Conclave, based on the novel by British author Robert Harris and starring British actor Ralph Fiennes, was the top rental title of 2025, worth £4 million, while Gladiator II, directed by Briton Sir Ridley Scott and partly filmed in the UK, was in second place on the Official Video Chart.

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, based on the best-selling book by British writer Helen Fielding, also placed highly among the most sold and rented films.

Streaming remains the audience’s top choice for watching at home, with 20.5 million homes using at least one service in the UK, and 69.5% of the population watching.

Netflix is the most popular service for UK consumers with 17.6 million subscribers in the autumn, bolstered by the success of titles such as the multi-award winning Adolescence and animated hit K-Pop Demon Hunters.

Amazon Prime Video was the second biggest channel, present in 13.6 million homes, while Disney+ was in 7.5 million UK homes.

Smaller streaming channels also saw growth, with Discovery growing to 3.2 million homes, Apple TV to 2.8 million homes, and Now in two million homes last year.

The figures show that more titles than ever were released fresh from cinemas, meaning they are available for a higher price.

There were 79 in 2025 compared with 62 in 2024.

As well as consuming TV shows and films digitally, the numbers also include data for DVD and Blu-ray sales, and show that Blu-ray and DVDs are still the first choice for many customers.

Downton Abbey: The Finale enjoyed huge DVD sales success at the end of the year with 56,500 units sold in just two weeks to secure the third top-selling spot on the end-of-year Official DVD Chart.

Meanwhile Superman was the number one title on the Blu-ray chart, contributing to the value of the Blu-ray market rising by 3.2% in 2025.

Liz Bales, Base chief executive, 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.”