Highest ever recorded market share of UK box office for independent British films in 2011
Total UK production spend up, even though fewer films made
UK co-productions up by a third
Independent figures published today by the BFI, the UK’s lead body for film, show UK audiences embraced independently made British films as never before in 2011.
According to information tracked by the BFI Research and Statistics Unit, which provides unique research data and market intelligence about the UK’s film industry and culture, films such as The King’s Speech, The Inbetweeners Movie and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy helped drive the market share of UK box office for British independent films up to 13.5% - the highest ever recorded.
This increased audience appetite for independently made British films came within a strong year for UK cinemas generally, with total admissions at 171.6m in 2011, up 1.4% on 2010 and the third highest total of the last decade. The gross value of box office for the year was £1.04bn, up 5% on 2010 and the first time that UK takings UK only figures for the calendar year, excluding Republic of Ireland have broken through the £1bn barrier.
Within this total, the market share for all British films at the UK box office, including both independents and those shot in the UK but financed from abroad, reached 36.2%, up from 24.0% in 2010. This strong performance was driven by the popularity of both British independents and blockbusters made in the UK with British talent, crew and services, such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.
Amanda Nevill, CEO of the BFI, said: “Film is at the very core of Britain’s cultural life and today’s figures show that the appetite for cinema-going across the UK is as healthy as ever. 2011 was a phenomenal year, with the box office results showing that independently produced British films captivated audiences. That said, we are pragmatic; it’s still a challenging time for filmmakers trying to raise finance to make independent British films in this tough economic climate. As we enter 2012 many challenges remain, but today’s figures clearly show that keeping audiences at the heart of everything we do will help the British film industry to enjoy even greater success in the future and continue to be an important contributor to the UK economy.”
Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, Ed Vaizey, said: “2011 was an amazing year for British film and for audiences, but it’s vital that we make sure this success continues throughout 2012 and beyond. Lord Smith’s recent review of film policy highlighted ways to remove barriers to production and ensure that film plays an important role in driving economic growth. I look forward to working with the BFI and the industry on the review’s recommendations and ensuring that we continue to nurture and grow this thriving sector of industry.”
Total investment in UK-based film production reached £1.26 billion in 2011, a new record for the British film industry. Films of different genres and budget levels including Streetdance 2 3D, Welcome to the Punch, Skyfall, Great Expectations, Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, The Sweeney, 360, Snow White and the Huntsman, Shadow Dancer, Now Is Good and World War Z increased film production spend in the UK on 2010’s £1.25bn.
International investment from films made in the UK using facilities, services and crew, in turn creating jobs and driving growth in both the UK film industry’s infrastructure and the economy as a whole, helped drive overall production spend. In 2011 these international productions spent just over £1.0bn in the UK on making 28 films, the highest ever recorded and an increase in spend of 2.8% from 2010’s £979.7m.
While spend on film production in the UK overall was up in 2011, the total number of UK films produced with budgets of £500k and more fell to 71, down from 78 in 2010. 98 films were made on budgets of less than £500k, bringing the total number of domestic UK feature films produced in 2011 to 169, again down on 2010’s 262 films.
The expenditure on making UK domestic feature films in 2011 – £194m – is a 9.4% fall on 2010’s £214m. While fewer domestic UK films were made, the number of UK co-productions with other countries, the majority with other EU member states, increased by one third to 40 in 2011 from 30 in 2010. Co-productions recorded a UK spend of £59.0m, up from £56.3m in 2010.
The UK box office in 2011
Annual UK cinema admissions increased by 1.4% to 171.6 million, the third highest total of the last decade. The gross value of those ticket sales was £1,040 million, up 5% on 2010. The strong performance of a number of independent British films such as The King’s Speech and The Inbetweeners Movie was a major factor behind the growth in box office revenue. Seven of the Top 20 films released were made in the UK.. Of the top 20 independent British films at the UK box office 10 were developed and/or produced with Lottery funding from the BFI’s Film Fund.
Table 2 Top 20 films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2011
| |
Title |
Country
of origin |
Box office
Gross (£m) |
Distributor |
| 1 |
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 |
UK/USA |
73.09 |
Warner Bros |
| 2 |
The King’s Speech |
UK |
45.68 |
Momentum |
| 3 |
The Inbetweeners Movie |
UK |
45.03 |
Entertainment |
| 4 |
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides |
UK/USA |
32.92 |
Walt Disney |
| 5 |
The Hangover 2 |
USA |
32.83 |
Warner Bros |
| 6 |
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1* |
USA |
30.73 |
eOne Films |
| 7 |
Transformers: Dark of the Moon |
USA |
28.11 |
Paramount |
| 8 |
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows* |
UK/USA |
23.11 |
Warner Bros |
| 9 |
Bridesmaids |
USA |
23.02 |
Universal Pictures |
| 10 |
Arthur Christmas* |
UK/USA |
20.79 |
Sony Pictures |
| 11 |
Rise of the Planet of the Apes |
USA |
20.77 |
20th Century Fox |
| 12 |
Johnny English Reborn* |
UK/USA |
20.62 |
Universal Pictures |
| 13 |
Tangled |
USA |
20.47 |
Walt Disney |
| 14 |
Fast & Furious 5 |
USA |
18.52 |
Universal Pictures |
| 15 |
The Smurfs |
USA |
17.25 |
Sony Pictures |
| 16 |
Kung Fu Panda 2 |
USA |
16.87 |
Paramount |
| 17 |
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn* |
USA/NZ |
16.20 |
Paramount |
| 18 |
Black Swan |
USA |
16.19 |
20th Century Fox |
| 19 |
Gnomeo & Juliet |
UK/USA |
15.82 |
eOne Films |
| 20 |
Cars 2 |
USA |
15.62 |
Walt Disney |
Source: Rentrak EDI
Box office gross = cumulative gross up to 15 January 2012.
Films with an asterisk (*) were still being exhibited on 15 January 2012.
UK and Republic of Ireland are a single “territory” for film distribution purposes.
Table 2 Top 20 independent UK films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2011
| |
Title |
Country
of origin |
Box office
Gross (£m) |
Distributor |
| 1 |
The King’s Speech |
UK |
45.68 |
Momentum |
| 2 |
The Inbetweeners Movie |
UK |
45.03 |
Entertainment |
| 3 |
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy* |
UK/Fra |
14.14 |
Studiocanal |
| 4 |
Horrid Henry |
UK |
6.62 |
Vertigo |
| 5 |
Jane Eyre |
UK |
5.07 |
Universal Pictures |
| 6 |
The Three Musketeers |
UK/Fra/Ger |
3.48 |
eOne Films |
| 7 |
My Week with Marilyn* |
UK/USA |
3.05 |
Entertainment |
| 8 |
The Eagle |
UK/USA |
2.88 |
Universal Pictures |
| 9 |
West is West |
UK |
2.69 |
Icon |
| 10 |
Attack the Block |
UK |
2.47 |
Studiocanal |
| 11 |
We Need to Talk About Kevin* |
UK/USA |
2.19 |
Paramount |
| 12 |
Anuvahood |
UK |
2.08 |
Revolver |
| 13 |
Chalet Girl |
UK |
1.83 |
Paramount |
| 14 |
Submarine |
UK |
1.46 |
Studiocanal |
| 15 |
TT3D |
UK |
1.26 |
Cinema NX |
| 16 |
Brighton Rock |
UK |
1.04 |
Studiocanal |
| 17 |
NEDS |
UK/Fra/Ita |
0.97 |
eOne Films |
| 18 |
Patiala House |
UK/Ind |
0.71 |
B4U Network |
| 19 |
The Awakening |
UK |
0.66 |
Studiocanal |
| 20 |
Blitz |
UK |
0.62 |
Lionsgate |
Source: Rentrak EDI, BFI RSU analysis
Box office gross = cumulative gross up to 15 January 2012.
Films with an asterisk (*) were still being exhibited on 15 January 2012.
UK and Republic of Ireland are a single “territory” for film distribution purposes.
Production
Total film production in the UK
The total UK spend of features that started principal photography in 2011 was £1,260 million, the highest figure recorded Including the years before 2008. See page 147 of the BFI 2011 Statistical Yearbook.. Inward investment films contributed £1,007 million, also the highest total recorded. Co-productions contributed £59 million, up from £56.3 million in 2010, and domestic UK films £193.8 million, down from £213.9 million in 2010 and £250.2 million in 2009. Films produced with budgets under £500,000 are included in this analysis for the first time.
Table 1 UK spend of features produced in the UK, 2008 - 2011, £ million
| |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
| Co-productions |
51.0 |
38.6 |
56.3 |
59.0 |
| Domestic UK features |
231.0 |
250.2 |
213.9 |
193.8 |
| Inward investment feature films |
432.9 |
834.6 |
979.7 |
1,007.1 |
| Total |
714.9 |
1,123.3 |
1,249.8 |
1,259.9 |
Source: BFI
Data are rounded to the nearest £0.1m so may not sum exactly to the totals shown.
Films are allocated to the calendar year in which principal photography started.
Films with budgets under £500,000 are included in this analysis. For pre-2008 data on films with budgets over £500,000 see BFI 2011 Statistical Yearbook.
Table 2 Number of features produced in the UK, 2008 - 2011
| |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
| Co-productions |
27 |
37 |
30 |
40 |
| Domestic UK features |
204 |
225 |
262 |
169 |
| of which budgets under £500,000 |
122 |
136 |
184 |
98 |
| Inward investment feature films |
29 |
37 |
30 |
28 |
| Total |
260 |
299 |
322 |
237 |
Source: BFI
See notes to Table 1.
Inward Investment
UK and non-UK Films
In 2011, UK films accounted for £1,218 million out of a total UK spend of £1,259.9 million, as shown in Table 3. This reflects the fact that most inward investment titles are UK-qualifying films.
Table 3 UK spend of UK and non-UK features produced in the UK, 2008 - 2011, £ millions
| |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
| Non-UK films |
24.2 |
47.6 |
10.5 |
41.9 |
| UK films |
690.7 |
1 075.7 |
1,239.3 |
1,218.0 |
| Total |
714.9 |
1,123.3 |
1,249.8 |
1,259.9 |
Source: BFI
Data are rounded to the nearest £0.1m so may not sum exactly to the totals shown.
UK films are those that are certified as UK or are de facto UK films by virtue of being made in whole or part in the UK by UK production companies.
Non-UK films are films that are made or partially made in the UK but are produced and financed by overseas companies and, therefore, are not certified as UK films.
Table 4 shows the production numbers for UK and non-UK films over the period 2008-2011. In 2011, 224 of the 237 films tracked were UK films; 13 were non-UK films.
Table 4 Number of UK and non-UK features produced in the UK, 2008 - 2011
| |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
| Non-UK films |
14 |
24 |
6 |
13 |
| UK films |
246 |
275 |
316 |
224 |
| Total |
260 |
299 |
322 |
237 |
Source: BFI
See notes to Table 3.