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UK Independent Films Enjoy Best Year Since 2001
Thursday 26th July 2012 | Osh
The UK film industry enjoyed its best success for more than a decade last year with overall box office records breaking the £1bn mark.
The BFI yearbook shows British films took 13.3% of UK box office, which was helped by the success of The King’s Speech and The Inbetweeners Movie.
The British Film Institute published its 10th statistical handbook, which is a 200-plus-page book containing a variety of facts and trends about film production, watching and the effect on the whole economy.
Amanda Nevil, the chief executive of BFI said the UK film industry is pushing above its weight on the world stage. She said “it provides compelling evidence of UK film’s increasing importance to our economy with a direct contribution of £3.3bn to UK GDP”.
In 2011, the UK independent films took 13.3% of the UK box office, compared to 3.8% in 2001. That decreased the percentage of American films. In 2011, the US took 60.1% at the box office, down from 72% in 2001 and down from their peak year in 2009, where they took in 81%.
The King’s Speech and The Inbetweeners Movie were the most successful UK independent films by a mile. The King’s Speech grossed £46m while The Inbetweeners grossed £45m. They went to the top of the charts of the 20 independent films since 1989, over taking Slumdog Millionaire and Four Weddings and A Funeral.
Here’s an incredible fact. Britain has less than 1% of the world’s population, but it’s the third largest consumer brand of film based on value in the world.
Ed Vaizey, the culture minister said the UK was home to some of the most talented and creative people in the global film industry. He said “This dynamic industry continues to create jobs and attracts significant overseas investment and the government is committed to ensuring this sector continues to flourish and survive.”
However, it wasn’t all great news. The number of films produced in the UK was down from 343 in 2010 to 274, although total spend on production was up to £1.27bn.
So, what challenges lay ahead for the UK film industry? Well, the fact that the Harry Potter franchise – the most successful franchise ever – has come to an end. There’s no doubt that the end of the franchise will have financial implications on the UK film industry. It can’t rely on anymore Harry Potter films to bring in revenue.
The yearbook quantifies the major success of Harry Potter. It was grossed at £442m at the UK box office and an astonishing $7.7bn worldwide! It has sold more than 30m on all video formats in the UK and has been viewed more than 212m times on UK television.
By Hiten Mandalia
