Kneecap and Small Things Like These break into top 25 box office performers
Gordon Deegan
Two Irish movies, Small Things Like These and Kneecap, last year broke into the top 25 box office performers at the cinema here.
That is according to the 2024 annual report for the Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO), which shows that the biggest movie at the Irish box office last year was Disney’s Inside Out 2, which grossed €6.2 million.
Inside Out 2 was well ahead of the second biggest hit at the box office last year, Despicable Me 4, which grossed €4.83 million.
Paul Mescal’s much anticipated Gladiator II opened in November to mixed reviews and recorded the 5th highest box office of the year at €3.67 million and was edged out of the top four by Deadpool & Wolverine which grossed €4.36 million and Wicked, which enjoyed a box-office of €3.83 million.
No Irish movie broke into the top 25 top box office movies for 2023 but last year, two did with Small Things Like These ranked 11th and had a box office of €2.4 million, while Kneecap had a box office of €1.14 million and was ranked 25th.
The report states that total box office revenue in 2024 at the Irish cinema was €102.5 million, up €1.5 million on 2023 while total box office admissions in 2024 was 11.62 million, up one per cent on 2023.
In his report, Director at the IFCO, Dr Ciarán Kissane said: “It is great to see Irish titles, Kneecap and Small Things Like These, in the top 25 box office earners in 2024.”
Small Things Like These stars Cillian Murphy and Emily Watson and was adapted for the screen by Enda Walsh from the best-selling Claire Keegan 2021 novel.
The comedy drama Kneecap movie depicts the rise of Kneecap, the hip-hop trio from Belfast. The movie premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and was the first Irish language movie to do so where it won the NEXT Audience Award.
Dr Kissane said: “Films originating from Ireland accounted for 17pc of features and shorts classified for Irish cinema in 2024. This is a significant increase on 2023 figures, where Irish features accounted for just 10pc."
The report states that "the increase in Irish material is linked to the increase in the number of shorts classified and this reflects IFCO’s increased engagement with Irish film festivals and producers".
Dr Kissane said that “while box office revenue is back to the pre-pandemic peak, admissions are still over 3.5 million lower than 2019”.
He said: “This indicates that there remains significant room for growth and this is supported by independent analysis.
He pointed out that PWC’s Ireland Entertainment Media Outlook 2024-2027, total cinema revenue in Ireland is projected to grow to €161 million by 2027.
He said: “This would be a significant increase on the pre-pandemic 2019 figure of €124 million.”
He said that the majority of the top 25 grossing films in 2024 were US releases and these accounted for over 55 per cent of total box office revenue.
Concerning complaints received in 2024, IFCO received correspondence about 13 different films and the report states that “all were dealt with and closed within specified timeframes”.