Family films delivered a 13% lift in cinema admissions to 13.36 million across the December festive quarter in Australia.
The jump was fueled by Moana 2, Wicked, Gladiator II, Venom: The Last Dance and Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
And the first weekend of 2025 marked a strong start to the year, with admissions up 8% to 1.08 million.
Topping the weekend audience was Sonic the Hedgehog 3 with 230,000 admissions, followed by Paddington in Peru, which delivered 180,000 and achieved the franchise’s biggest box office opening weekend result of $3 million, more than double the opening of the original Paddington from 2014.
Total 2025 admissions are forecasted to deliver +5%, driven by a strong slate of content.
Since releasing on November 28, Moana 2 has smashed records as the biggest movie of the summer, grossing $40.8 million at the box office and is the eighth highest grossing animation of all time.
Over the December quarter, it delivered 2.42 million admissions and continues to attract strong audiences.
Wicked had more than 2.06 million admissions and almost $40 million at the box office. Globally, the film has broken the record of the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation in history, overtaking Mamma Mia which was released in 2008.
Venom: The Last Dance and Gladiator II both drove strong box office and admissions results, while Bollywood film, Pushpa: The Rule - Part 2 set records with the biggest opening weekend ever for an Indian film, both globally and in Australia. It is now the fourth highest grossing Indian film of all time in Australia.
Boxing Day release, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, has had an impressive start to its run, delivering $15.7 million at the box office and 894,000 admissions in less than two weeks. It opened to a franchise high, delivering nearly double of the first film and is set to become the biggest film in the franchise.
“The success of Q4 and last weekend’s box office results by Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Paddington in Peru, and Mufasa: The Lion King, has created solid momentum heading into the new year and will continue to attract strong audiences throughout the remainder of the school holidays,” said Val Morgan Cinema managing director Guy Burbidge.
Burbidge noted that with the absence of major global sporting events throughout 2025, brands have the opportunity to leverage cinema as the key channel to tap into cultural moments.
“2025 is set to have some big moments across key audiences like Family, Youth & NEOs with Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy on Valentine’s Day, A Minecraft Movie in April, the final instalment of Mission Impossible 8 in May, the third film in the cult classic 28 Years Later in mid-June, and then F1 at the end of June.
“With Avatar 3 rounding out the year, it’s clear the slate promises to deliver a range of huge, bankable
moments for brands to own” he added.
The first half of 2025 slate:
- Captain America: Brave New World – February 13
- Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy – February 13
- Mickey 17 – March 6
- Snow White – March 20
- A Minecraft Movie – April 3
- Thunderbolts* – May 1
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – May 22
- Lilo & Stitch – May 22
- How to Train Your Dragon – June 12
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