UK cinema is booming. CINEMATIX helps brands tap into the rising demand for cinema rewards through a seamless promotional activation platform.
80% of UK adults visit the cinema, and 16–34yr olds are driving predicted annual growth of 3%
Cinema isn’t just holding steady in the UK and Ireland, this region is one of the world’s top five box office markets, with steady annual growth forecast at 3%**, led by highly engaged 16–34 year olds. More than 80% of UK adults visit the cinema, making it significantly more popular than other cultural activities like theatre or musicals.
For brands, that means one thing: cinema is a mainstream, scalable channel for meaningful engagement, not a niche add-on.
As announced in our recent news article, 2026 is shaping up to be a landmark year for film, packed with family favourites, franchise moments and culturally defining releases.
And if the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards proved anything, it’s that cinema continues to dominate cultural conversation in the UK. From emotional acceptance speeches to viral red-carpet moments, the awards once again reminded us how powerful the big screen is in bringing audiences together, not just in cinemas, but across social feeds and group chats nationwide.
At SPARK, we saw the opportunity: if audiences are showing up in record numbers, and cinema experiences were ranked among the top five most desired rewards by British consumers in 2025*, brands need a smarter, faster way to activate around those Moments That Matter.
That’s why we created CINEMATIX.
CINEMATIX is our ready-to-launch cinema activation platform, built specifically for promotional code redemption, the UK’s leading promotional entry method*, with 50% of consumers preferring to enter a code over other forms of entry to promotional campaigns. Whether delivered on-pack, via retail, or digital campaigns, CINEMATIX is designed to flex around how your brand chooses to distribute codes, with multiple layout templates and customisable campaign journeys.
But it goes beyond simple code entry. From receipt upload with OCR to instant wins and winning moments, the platform gives you the tools to scale engagement while keeping participation effortless for consumers.
And importantly, it’s built for repeat success. Research shows average engagement rates double when promotions run more than once, and 24% of Brits say they expect promotions to repeat*. With CINEMATIX, once you’ve launched one successful campaign, everything is ready to go again, switch the templates, tweak the incentive, and relaunch.
In a market where cinema is thriving, rewards are highly sought after, and audiences are actively looking for brand-led promotions, CINEMATIX gives you a seamless way to turn cultural moments into brand moments.
2026 is set to be a huge year for film. The question is: how will your brand show up on the big screen?
**Source: PwC forecast 2025
*Source: What Brits want From Promotions, Mando, 2026
CINEMATIX, SPARK’s new cinema promotion platform, helps brands run cinema prize promotions and tap into 2026’s biggest big-screen cultural moments.
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