Welcome to the 2011 BFI Statistical Yearbook.
This Yearbook is a rich source of industry
data and analysis on film in the UK. Thispublication is one of the ways we deliveron our commitment to evidence-based film
policy. We hope you enjoy this Yearbook
and find it useful.

ç$0"$06
Chief Executive’s foreword ............................................52010 – the year in review ...............................................6
Chapter 1: The box office ...............................................8
1.1
Admissions............................................................ 9
1.2
Box office earnings ............................................. 11
1.3
Film releases and box office revenues................ 12
1.4Country of origin of film releases....................... 14
Chapter 2: Top films in 2010 ........................................16
2.1
The top 20 films ................................................. 17
2.2
The top 20 UK films............................................ 18
2.3
The top 20 UK independent films ...................... 19
2.4
The top 3D films ................................................. 19
2.5Best weekend performances of UK films........... 20
Chapter 3: Top films of all timeat the UK box office ........................................22
3.1
All time top 20 films at the UK box office ......... 23
3.2
Inflation-adjusted top 20 films at the
UK box office ...................................................... 24
3.3
All time top 20 UK films at the UK box office ... 25
3.4
All time top 20 independent UK films
at the UK box office............................................ 26
Chapter 4: Genre and classification ............................27
4.1
Genre .................................................................. 28
4.1.1
Genre of all film releases .................................... 28
4.1.2
Genre of UK and UK independent film releases 31
4.2
BBFC classification .............................................. 34
4.2.1
Releases and box office by classification ........... 34
4.2.2
Top films by classification ................................... 37
Chapter 5: Specialised films .........................................40
5.1
Specialised films at the UK box office in 2010 .. 41
5.2
Foreign language films....................................... 44
5.3
Documentaries ................................................... 47
5.4
Re-releases of classic and archive films .............. 48
Chapter 6: UK films internationally .............................50
6.1
UK films worldwide ............................................ 51
6.2
UK films in North America.................................. 52
6.3
UK films in Europe .............................................. 54
6.4
UK films in Latin America ................................... 55
6.5
UK films in Asia................................................... 56
6.6
UK films in Australasia........................................ 56
Chapter 7: UK talent and awards ................................57
7.1
UK story material ................................................ 58
7.2
UK actors............................................................. 59
7.3
UK directors ........................................................ 60
7.4Awards for UK films and talent.......................... 62

2 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Chapter 8: Theatrical release history andcomparative performance of UK films ..........64
8.1
Theatrical release of UK films ............................. 65
8.2
UK films defined ................................................. 65
8.3
Time to first theatrical release ............................ 66
8.4
Release rate of UK films in the UK
and Republic of Ireland ...................................... 66
8.5
Release rate of different types of UK
production in the UK and Republic of Ireland ... 67
8.6
Box office performance of different types of UK
production in the UK and Republic of Ireland ... 68
8.7International release rates of UK films(19 territories) ..................................................... 68
8.8International release rates of different typesof UK productions .............................................. 69
8.9International box office performance ofdifferent types of UK production ....................... 70
8.10
Release opportunities analysis............................ 71
8.11
Local and overseas share of box officeof UK films .......................................................... 72
8.12
Financial success analysis ................................... 74
Chapter 9: Distribution .................................................76
9.1
Distributors in 2010............................................ 77
9.2
Distributors 2004–2010 ..................................... 78
9.3
Weekend box office............................................ 79
9.4
Release costs ....................................................... 80
Chapter 10: Exhibition ..................................................82
10.1
UK cinema sites................................................... 83
10.2
UK screens........................................................... 83
10.3
Screen location ................................................... 84
10.4
Screen density and admissions per person –international comparisons ................................. 85
10.5
Screen density and admissions per personin the UK ............................................................. 85
10.6Type of cinema screens by nation and region ... 88
10.7
Mainstream, specialised andSouth Asian programming................................. 89
10.8
Exhibitors ............................................................ 90
10.9
Exhibitor revenues .............................................. 91
10.10 Digital projection ................................................ 91
10.10.1 Digital screens worldwide and in the UK........... 91
10.10.2 3D and alternative content programming ........ 93
10.11 Community cinema in the UK ............................ 95
Chapter 11: Film on video ............................................98
11.1
Film in the retail video market ........................... 99
11.2
Film in the video rental market ........................103
11.3
Hardware ..........................................................104
Chapter 12: Film on UK television .............................105
12.1
Programming on the terrestrial channels ........106
12.2
Peak time on terrestrial television ....................107
12.3
Audiences for film on terrestrial television ......108
12.4
Top films on terrestrial television......................108
12.5
Films on multi-channel television.....................110
12.6
The audience for film on all
television channels, 2000–2010 .......................113
12.7
The value of feature film to broadcasters........114

Chapter 13: Video on Demand ..................................115
13.1
The television-based VoD and nVoD market ...116
13.2
Online VoD........................................................116
13.3
Future prospects for the VoD market ..............117
Chapter 14: The UK film market as a whole .............119
14.1
The UK filmed entertainment market
as a whole.........................................................120
14.2
The UK market in the global context ...............121
14.3
The evolution of UK film revenues,
1998–2010 .......................................................123
Chapter 15: Audiences ...............................................125
15.1
Cinema audience by gender ............................126
15.2
Film preferences by gender ..............................126
15.3
Cinema audience by age ..................................127
15.4
Film preferences by age....................................129
15.5
Cinema audience by social group ....................130
15.6
Film preferences by social group......................131
15.7
Film audiences by ethnicity ..............................132
15.8
Film audiences by disability ..............................133
15.9
Comparative profiles of cinema audiences
and audiences for film on television ................133
15.10 How films are consumed by age .....................134
15.11 Total size of the UK film audience ....................135
Chapter 16: Films certified as British 1998–2010 .....136
16.1
Qualifying as an official British film .................137
16.2
Schedule 1 cultural test certifications,2009 and 2010 .................................................137
16.3
Co-production certifications, 2009 and 2010 .138
16.4
Finally certified British films, 1998–2010 .........138
16.5
Median budgets, 1998–2010 ..........................140
16.6
Final certifications by budget band,
1998–2010 .......................................................141
Chapter 17: Film production in 2010 ........................144
17.1
The value of UK production in 2010 ................145
17.2
Inward, domestic and co-production
features, 1994–2010 ........................................146
17.3
Productions by genre, 2008–2010...................149
17.4
Budget trends ...................................................150
17.5
Size distribution of budgets .............................151
17.6
Big budget productions, 2007–2010...............152
17.7
UK spend as percentage of total
production budget ...........................................152
17.8
UK domestic productions by territoryof shoot ............................................................153
17.9
Co-productions by territory of shoot ...............153
17.10 Production company activity levels ..................154
17.11 US studios’ involvement in film productionin the UK ...........................................................154
17.12 Low and micro-budget film productionin the UK, 2008–2010 ......................................155

Chapter 18: Public investment in film in the UK ......157
18.1
Public funding for film in the UK by source.....158
18.2
Film spend by organisation ..............................161
18.3
Activities supported by public spend on film ..162
18.4
Large film production awards by agency
2009/10.............................................................162
18.5
Leading public investors in British film
production, 2008–2010 ...................................163
Chapter 19: Film education........................................165
19.1
Introduction ......................................................166
19.2
Film education in formal education settings ...166
19.3
National and regional film
education providers..........................................168
19.4
Public investment in film education.................170
19.5
Moving image education providers in the UK..171
Chapter 20: Film industry companies .......................175
20.1
Number of companies in the film andvideo industries.................................................176
20.2
Size distribution of film companies .................177
20.3
National/regional distribution of film
companies in the UK ........................................179
20.4
Leading film companies in the UK
and Europe .......................................................181
20.5
Leading film production companies in the UK
and Europe .......................................................182
Chapter 21: The UK film economy.............................185
21.1
Film industry turnover, 1995–2009..................186
21.2
Film industry contribution to GDP,
1995–2009 .......................................................188
21.3
Film exports, 1995–2009..................................190
21.4
Film imports, 1995–2009 .................................190
21.5
The film trade balance, 1995–2009 .................191
21.6
Film export markets ..........................................192
21.7
UK film exports compared with theglobal market for filmed entertainment..........192
21.8
The geographical distribution of the UK’s film
trade surplus .....................................................193
Chapter 22: Employment in the film andvideo industries .............................................19422.1
The workforce...................................................195
22.2
The gender of writers and directorsof UK films ........................................................198
22.3
The workplace location ....................................200
22.4
The scale of the workplace...............................201
Glossary .......................................................................205
Acknowledgements ....................................................209
Sources ........................................................................210

Contents – 3

The British Film
Institute is thelead body for filmin the UK with theambition to create
a flourishing film
environment inwhich innovation,
opportunity andcreativity can thrive.

We want to ensure that there are no barriers toaccessing our publications. If you, or someone you
know, would like a large print version of this report,
please contact:
Research and Statistics Unit
British Film Institute
21 Stephen Street
London W1T 1LN
Email: rsu@bfi.org.uk
T +44 (0)20 7173 3248
www.bfi.org.uk
The British Film Institute is registered in England
as a charity, number 287780.
Registered address:
21 Stephen Street
London W1T 1LN
4 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

We do this by:• Connecting audiences to the widest choiceof British and World cinema• Preserving and restoring the most significant
film collection in the world for today andfuture generations• Investing in creative, distinctive andentertaining work
• Promoting British film and talent to the world• Growing the next generation of filmmakers
and audiences

Chief Executive’s foreword
The publication of the Statistical Yearbook, now
in its ninth edition, is always an event muchanticipated by the film and creative industries.
The Yearbook is undoubtedly the mostauthoritative and complete snapshot of the film
landscape in the UK over the previous 12 months
and with each new analytical view of the past
year’s performance, another valuable layer ofintelligence is added as we track the trends.

The wealth of data and knowledge captured
within the pages that follow is vital to all ourunderstanding of the health of film in the UK
and what the key influences are. Without thissolid, evidence-based research, uniquely collected
and available in a single online source, accessible
to all for free, the hard work in building andgrowing a vibrant creative industry for everyone
would be so much harder.

Although the wider economic environment
remains testing, the outlook for film is still
generally positive with much to be optimistic about,particularly in terms of Britain’s wealth of talentand creativity in filmmaking and people’s appetite
to watch both new and classic films on the big andthe small screen. Also, whilst inward investment
was at its healthiest last year, home-grown film
is equally successful at promoting British culture
abroad. But there are still challenges to address
and the BFI looks forward to working closelywith the industry and with Government to addressthese, particularly in the context of the Chris Smith
UK film policy review.

We must acknowledge the fact that the publicationof this year’s Statistical Yearbook marks a particularwatershed in film history as responsibility for its
production passed from the now-closed UK Film
Council to the BFI. Going forward, continued deliveryof the Yearbook will require new partnership funding
models to secure the future. We are in no doubt
about the tremendous value and importance of
the work of the Research and Statistics Unit, andworking with industry partners we are committed
to help ensure it can carry on its great work.
Amanda Nevill
Chief Executive

Chief Executive’s foreword – 5

2010 – the year in review
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the peakof British cinema-going, when an astonishing
1.6 billion tickets were sold – the equivalent ofapproximately 36 cinema visits per person per year.
Of course, back in 1946 the cinema was the only
place in which the British public could watch
feature films. Television was still in its infancy(the limited London service was re-introduced thatyear following its wartime hiatus) and the first trialsof videotape recording at the BBC was another six
years away. Both television and the VCR had a huge
impact on cinema-going in the years that followed,
and yet, as this Yearbook shows, our appetite forfilm has not diminished – in fact, it has increased.

In terms of home entertainment, sell-through DVD
and Blu-ray represented the largest single revenue
source for film in the UK market, worth £1.3 billion in
2010, although sales of film on video were down 11%
on 2009 and Blu-ray has yet to meet expectations.
Major shifts in home film consumption are likely
with the increased uptake of internet-enabled
television unlocking the potential for direct online
delivery of films to the television set. The vast
majority of film viewings (80%) in 2010 were via
television and combining the most popular film
viewing medium with direct access to on-demand
services will surely be the long-awaited catalyst forVideo on Demand.

In 2010, we watched feature films on 4.6 billion
occasions, that’s around 81 films per person. We
now inhabit a far more complex multi-platformworld of digital film consumption and we canexperience film through DVD, Blu-ray, on free-to-air
and pay television, online, on mobile devices andof course at the cinema, which remains the crucial
first step in the lifecycle of a film.

The UK is the third largest film market in the world
and the industry makes a substantial contribution toGDP. In 2009, the UK film trade surplus was a record£929 million as the industry exported £1,476 million
worth of services, of which £935 million came fromroyalties and £541 million from film production
services. The film and video industries employed
48,500 people in 2010, of whom 30,500 worked infilm and video production.

UK cinemas had another strong year, achieving
record box office receipts (£988 million) despite
the impact of the FIFA World Cup in the summer
and the winter’s big freeze. As in 2009, a 3D release
led the way with Toy Story 3 becoming the second
highest grossing film of all time at the UK box officewith earnings of £74 million. UK films attracted a
24% share of the box office, up from 17% in 2009.
The audience demand for UK film was evident
across the range of platforms. Harry Potter andthe Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was the second highest
grossing film of the year while independent UK
films StreetDance 3D and Kick-Ass both earned over
£11 million. Christopher Nolan’s Inception featured
in the top 10 box office and video charts while sixof the top 10 films on terrestrial television were UK
titles, including Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire.

It was a record year for inward investment in the UK,with Captain America: The First Avenger, Harry Potter
and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Invention of Hugo
Cabret, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,
Sherlock Holmes 2, War Horse and X-Men: First Classshooting here. However, the value of domestic
production fell by 22% reflecting the tougher
economic conditions facing the independent UK
production sector. We have seen a large fall inthe median budget of UK films (to £1.2 million
for interim Cultural Test certifications) so this year
we have extended production tracking to include
feature films with budgets under £500,000. This
has revealed a huge amount of activity (147 films
in 2010 alone) which not only reflects the pressure
on budgets but also the impact of digital filmmaking
and the wider value of these films in nurturing thefilmmaking talent of the future.

UK films’ share of the
UK box office

UK box office£988m
6 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 201124%

Public investment, through the Film Tax Relief,
Lottery support and broadcasters is of vital
importance here – 15 of the top 20 independentfilms of all time at the UK box office received
public money through the Lottery or a broadcaster.
Public funding for the UK film sector increasedslightly in 2009/10 to £266 million from £256 million
the previous year. Within this total, tax relief for
UK film production again made the single biggest
contribution, at £95 million.
Last year we included information for the first timeon an increasingly important film activity supported
by public investment, film education. There wereover 7,000 candidates for A Level film studies in2010 (up from 6,674 in 2009) and 4,252 students
enrolled in higher education film studies courses(up from 3,815 in 2009). By the end of the year there
were 6,612 school film clubs across the UK involving
204,972 pupils (up from 2,978 and 92,000 respectively
in 2009) and 392 moving image education providers(up from 355 in 2009). The growing reach of film
education means more children and young people
have an opportunity to watch a wide range of film –encouraging learning, critical understanding andstimulating creativity.

Regular readers of the Statistical Yearbook will
notice some additions this year:• A 10-year analysis of market share by countryof origin (Chapter 1);• An updated analysis of the theatrical releasehistory and international box office performanceof UK films (Chapter 8);• Findings from a major survey of film audiences(Chapters 13 and 15);
• New research on low and micro-budget featurefilm production activity in the UK (Chapter 17).
We welcome feedback on the Yearbook and we
thank those who gave us their ideas in 2010/11.
We can be contacted at rsu@bfi.org.uk.
Sean Perkins
Acting Head of Research and Statistics Unit
Nick Maine
Research Executive
Stéphanie Little
Research and Database Executive

UK filmmaking has an impressive global profile,
taking our culture and identity to the world. Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 earned almost$1 billion at the worldwide box office in 2010 with
Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass the highest grossing
independent title. Films based on UK story material
have earned almost $20 billion at the global box
office since 2001 and more than half of the top 200
films released worldwide since 2001 have featured
UK actors in lead or prominent supporting roles.
Of course, another measure of a film’s impact beyond
the box office is success at major internationalfilm festival and award ceremonies. UK films andtalent won 24 major film awards in 2010 including
Academy Awards® for Sandy Powell (Costume
Design for The Young Victoria) and Ray Beckett(Sound Mixing for The Hurt Locker). The King’s Speech
won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto
Film Festival in September 2010, the first major
recognition for a film which in 2011 would gross£45 million in the UK, £256 million worldwide
and win seven BAFTA Awards and four Oscars®.

2009 UK film trade surplus£929m

2010 – the year in review – 7ç#)0"29L
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Facts in focus• UK cinema admissions reached 169.2 million, down
2% on 2009.
• Box office receipts were £988 million, up 5% on 2009.
• 557 films were released for a week or more in the UK
and Republic of Ireland.
• UK films, including co-productions, accounted for 21%
of releases and 24% of the market by value.
• The top 100 films earned 90% of the gross box office.
• 3D films accounted for 24% of UK and Republic of
Ireland box office revenues in 2010 (£242 million),up from 16% in 2009 and just 0.4% in 2008.

1

2

1.1 Admissions
Over 169 million cinema tickets were sold in the UK
in 2010, which was slightly down (–2.4%) on the 2009
admissions figure. It was the fourth highest total of thelast decade and maintains the plateau in admissions
which has been apparent since 2002 (Figure 1.1).
It was a mixed picture across other major international
territories – admissions were also down in the USA(–5.2%), Germany (–13.5%) and Spain (–11.7%) but
increased in France (2.7%), Italy (11%) and Russia (19.5%).
Figure 1.1 Annual UK admissions, 2001–2010
Million
200

150

100

50

0

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

Source: CAA, Rentrak EDI.

Year

Total
admissions(million)

2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

155.9
175.9
167.3
171.3
164.7
156.6
162.4
164.2
173.5
169.2

Source: CAA, Rentrak EDI.

Admissions in January and February 2010 remainedroughly consistent with 2009’s strong figures, thankslargely to the continuing pull of two films released
in 2009, Avatar, which was to become the highest
grossing film of all time, and UK film Sherlock Holmes.
The arrival in March of Tim Burton’s 3D version of
Alice in Wonderland helped to increase ticket sales
by 22% compared with March 2009.

More 3D releases followed in April with Clash of the
Titans and How to Train Your Dragon while May saw
the release of several blockbusters including Iron Man 2
and Robin Hood as studios cleared their June release
schedules in anticipation of the impact of the FIFA World
Cup in South Africa. The most successful release at thistime was Sex and the City 2, an example of counterprogramming aimed at attracting female audiences tothe cinema during the World Cup season. The dearthof other films with large appeal led to low box officereturns in June and monthly admissions figures whichwere 30% down on the same month in 2009.
Nevertheless, with England’s early exit and a new raftof major new releases including Shrek Forever After,
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Inception and Karate Kid
admissions recovered to over 20 million in July.
The year’s biggest hit, Toy Story 3, helped to increase
the level of cinema ticket sales in August by over 30%
compared with the same month in 2009. A low-key
series of releases in September gave way to a diverse
autumn release schedule which included significant
titles such as Despicable Me, The Social Network andHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. However,December admissions were severely affected by a spellof extremely cold weather and heavy snowfall. The factthat Christmas Day fell on a Saturday, the most popularcinema-going day of the week, also contributed to a
25% decline in December admissions.
Table 1.1 Monthly UK cinema admissions, 2009–2010
Month

2009
(million)

2010(million)% +/–on 2009

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
AugustSeptember
OctoberNovember
December
Total

14.5
15.0
11.9
13.8
15.8
12.5
20.0
15.5
9.7
13.5
14.9
16.3
173.5

14.6
14.9
14.5
14.7
12.8
8.7
20.3
20.2
10.1
12.9
13.5
12.2
169.2

+0.7
–0.7
+21.8
+6.5
–19.0
–30.4
+1.5
+30.3
+4.1
–4.4
–9.4
–25.2
–2.4

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

Source: CAA, Rentrak EDI.
Note: Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.
20

21

Image: The Ghost courtesy of Optimum Releasing

Chapter 1: The box office – 922Average weekly admissions ranged from 2 million
during the World Cup in June to 4.6 million in July andAugust (Table 1.2). August saw the largest increase inweekly admissions compared with 2009’s 3.5 million,
while June and December saw the largest decreases,
down from 2.7 million in June 2009 and from
3.7 million in December 2009 to 2.8 million.
Table 1.2 Average weekly admissions, 2009–2010

Month

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
AugustSeptember
OctoberNovember
December

2009
weeklyaverage(million)

2010
weeklyaverage(million)

3.3
3.7
2.7
3.2
3.6
2.9
4.5
3.5
2.3
3.1
3.5
3.7

3.3
3.7
3.3
3.4
2.9
2.0
4.6
4.6
2.4
2.9
3.1
2.8

Source: CAA, Rentrak EDI.

Table 1.3 shows how the 2009 admissions break down
by ISBA TV region, with London accounting for almost
a quarter of UK admissions (25%). The pattern ofnational and regional admissions has remained largely
unchanged over the last decade.

10 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Table 1.3 Cinema admissions by region, 2010
RegionLondonMidlands
Lancashire
SouthernYorkshire
Central Scotland
Wales and West
East of England
North East
Northern IrelandSouth West
Northern Scotland
Border
Total

Admissions(million)

%

41.6
23.8
18.1
15.7
14.0
12.1
11.9
11.1
6.4
5.6
4.2
3.6
1.3
169.2

24.6
14.0
10.7
9.3
8.3
7.2
7.0
6.5
3.8
3.3
2.5
2.1
0.8
100.0

Source: CAA, Rentrak EDI.
Note: Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Figure 1.2 puts UK admissions in a longer term
perspective. Cinema-going increased rapidly during
the Second World War, as audiences sought the latest
news as well as escapism from the conflict. Ticket sales
reached a peak of 1.64 billion in 1946 but thendeclined steeply throughout the late 1950s and early
1960s as television ownership became commonplace.
The introduction of the VCR in the early 1980s had afurther negative impact on admissions and the nadir
was reached in 1984 with cinema-going levels down toan average of one visit per person per year. However, theintroduction of multiplex cinemas to the UK from 1985
onwards reversed the trend and ushered in a decadeand a half of steady growth. After a pause from 2003
to 2006, admissions grew again in 2007 to 2009
returning to levels last seen in the early 1970s.

12

Figure 1.2 Annual UK admissions, 1935–2010

3

Admissions (million)
1,800.041,600.0
1,400.0
1,200.051,000.0
800.0

6

600.0
400.0

7

200.0
0.0

1935

1940

1955

1960

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

Admissions

912.3

1,027.0 1,585.0 1,395.8 1,181.8

500.8

326.6

193.0

116.3

101.0

72.0

97.4

114.6

142.5

164.7

169.2

1945

1950

Source: BFI, CAA, Rentrak EDI.
Admissions(million)Year

Admissions(million)Year

Admissions(million)Year

Admissions(million)Year

Admissions(million)

Year

1935

912.3

1946

1,635.0

1957

915.2

1968

237.3

1979

111.9

1936

917.0

1947

1,462.0

1958

754.7

1969

214.9

1980

101.0

1937

946.0

1948

1,514.0

1959

581.0

1970

193.0

1981

1938

987.0

1949

1,430.0

1960

500.8

1971

176.0

1982

1939

990.0

1950

1,395.8

1961

449.1

1972

156.6

1940

1,027.0

1951

1,365.0

1962

395.0

1973

1941

1,309.0

1952

1,312.1

1963

357.2

1974

1942

1,494.0

1953

1,284.5

1964

342.8

1943

1,541.0

1954

1,275.8

1965

1944

1,575.0

1955

1,181.8

1966

1945

1,585.0

1956

1,100.8

1967

Year

Admissions(million)Year

Admissions(million)

1990

97.4

2001

155.9

1991

100.3

2002

175.9

86.0

1992

103.6

2003

167.3

64.0

1993

114.4

2004

171.3

1983

65.7

1994

123.5

2005

164.7

134.2

1984

54.0

1995

114.6

2006

156.6

138.5

1985

72.0

1996

123.5

2007

162.4

1975

116.3

1986

75.5

1997

138.9

2008

164.2

326.6

1976

103.9

1987

78.5

1998

135.2

2009

173.5

288.8

1977

103.5

1988

84.0

1999

139.1

2010

169.2

264.8

1978

126.1

1989

94.5

2000

142.5

1.2 Box office earnings

Table 1.4 UK box office trends, 2001–2010

2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

9

10

11

12

13

According to the CAA/Rentrak EDI, the total UK box office for 2010 was £988 million, up 5% on 2009. This figure
covers all box office earnings during the calendar year 2010 for all films exhibited in the UK. The trends in box officetakings from 2001 are shown in Table 1.4 and indicate growth of 53% in the period.

Year

8

14

15
Box office gross(£ million)%+/–

Cumulative
%

645
755
742
770
770
762
821
850
944
988

–
17.0
–1.7
3.8
0.0
–1.0
7.7
3.5
11.1
4.7

–
17.0
15.0
19.4
19.4
18.1
27.3
31.8
46.4
53.2

16

17

18

19

20

Source: CAA, Rentrak EDI.
21

Chapter 1: The box office – 1122

1.3 Film releases and box office revenues
In the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2010, 557 films were released for a week or more, up 11% on 2009.
They generated £1,024 million in box office revenues, a fall of 9% on 2009. This figure differs from the £988 million
in paragraph 1.2 because it includes revenues generated in 2011 by films released in 2010 and covers the Republicof Ireland as well as the UK, which distributors treat as a single distribution territory. The subsequent analysis in thischapter includes all titles released in 2010 and includes revenue generated in 2011 up to 10 February 2011.
As can be seen in Table 1.5, the top 100 films took 90% of the box office, a slight fall from 2009’s figure.
The remaining 457 films (82% of all releases) accounted for just 10% of gross revenues. A total of 28 films werereleased in the 3D format, twice the number released in 2009, and these films accounted for 24% of the UK and
Republic of Ireland box office in 2010, up from 16% in 2009 and just 0.4% in 2008.
Table 1.5 Summary of results at the UK and Republic of Ireland box office, 2006–2010
Releases
Combined gross £ million
Top 20 films (% of box office)Top 50 films (% of box office)Top 100 films (% of box office)

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

505
845.3
48.1
71.1
88.6

516
933.8
51.2
75.7
91.0

527
934.5
49.6
72.4
90.3

503
1,126.7
48.6
72.9
91.1

557
1,023.6
48.2
71.9
89.7

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
Table 1.5 and all subsequent analysis of the theatrical market includes all titles released in 2010. The combined gross reflects the territorial gross (that is, including theRepublic of Ireland), and includes those titles released in 2010 but also making money into 2011, up to and including 10 February 2011.

Figure 1.3 shows that the share of the top 50 films released in 2010 fell from 84% in 2001 to 72% last year.
This reflects the increasing number of releases and a range of strong performances from specialised and domestic
films typically earning between £700,000 and £4 million.

12 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Figure 1.3 Market share percentage of top 50,
top 51–150 and rest of films, 2001–2010

Figure 1.4 Gross box office of top 50,
top 51–150 and rest of films, 2001–2010%£ million

100

1,200

3

4

1,000

80

5
800
60
600

6

40
400
7

20

200

0

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

% shareof rest

2

2

2

3

3

5

4

4

3

4

Gross box
office of rest

% share of
top 51–150

14

16

20

22

21

24

20

24

24

% share of
top 50

84

82

78

75

76

71

76

72

73

0

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

16

21

23

25

38

37

32

33

39

24

Gross box office 105
top 51–150

132

160

179

182

206

190

226

273

249

72

Gross box office 628of top 50

680

634

622

641

600

707

676

821

736

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.

Figure 1.4 depicts the increase in box office revenue overthe last decade, with the top 50 film releases of 2010
earning £736 million, up 17% since 2001, while thoseranked 51–150 earned £249 million in 2010, up 137%
since 2001. The 2009 figure includes all revenues for
Avatar, which was released in December 2009 but
made 71% of its total gross earnings in 2010.

The number of films released in the UK in 2010 by the
number of sites at the widest point of release (WPR) is
outlined in Table 1.6. A total of 177 films were released
at 100 sites or more (32%), while 215 films werereleased on fewer than 10 sites (39% of all films
released). Almost seven out of 10 films releasedin the UK went out on 99 prints or fewer.

Table 1.6 Number of releases and median box office gross by number of sites at widest point of release, 2010
Number of sites at WPR>500
400–499
300–399
200–299
100–199
10–99
<10
Total

Number% of releases

Average box office (£)

13
51
48
28
37
165
215
557

2.3
9.2
8.6
5.0
6.6
29.6
38.6
100.0

21,183,000
6,944,000
2,915,000
1,079,000
328,000
86,0006,000
1,838,000

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
Notes:Median box office rounded to nearest £1,000.
Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

19

20

21

Chapter 1: The box office – 1322

1.4 Country of origin of film releases
As Table 1.7 indicates, 38% of all films released in the UK were of USA origin (excluding UK co-productions)and these films accounted for 72% of the total box office earnings (down from 81% in 2009).
UK films, including co-productions, represented 21% of releases (down from 23% in 2009) and shared 24%of the box office, of which UK independent films earned 5% and UK studio-backed titles 19%.
Films whose country of origin lies outside the UK and USA accounted for 41% of releases (up from 35% in 2009)
but only 4.2% of earnings (up from 2.4% in 2009). European films represented 18.5% of all releases and 2.1% ofrevenues while films from India accounted for 1.3% of the box office from 12.7% of the releases. Films from therest of the world represented just 0.8% of the box office gross from 9.5% of releases.
Table 1.7 Country of origin of films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2010
Country of origin

USA
UK independent films
UK studio-backed films*
All UK
EuropeIndia
Rest of the world
Total

No. of releases
in 2010% of
all releases

2010 box office(£ million)

2010 box officeshare (%)

211
108
11
119
103
71
53
557

37.9
19.4
2.0
21.4
18.5
12.7
9.5
100.0

734.5
55.7
190.5
246.1
21.8
13.3
7.8
1,023.6

71.8
5.4
18.6
24.0
2.1
1.3
0.8
100.0

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
* ’Studio-backed’ means backed by one of the major US film studios.
Note: Box office gross = cumulative total up to 10 February 2011.

The changes in market share over time by country of origin of films are shown in Figure 1.5. The share of USA and UK
studio-backed films over the last decade has stayed around the 90% level, which has meant that the combined shareof UK independent films and films from international territories other than the USA has rarely climbed above 10%.

14 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 1.8 UK and non-UK releases by box office grossband, 2010

Figure 1.5 Market share by country of origin,
2001–2010%

Box office gross(£ million)

100

>30
20 – 29.99
10 – 19.99
5 – 9.99
1 – 4.99
0.1 – 0.99
Less than 0.1
Total

80

60

40

20

0

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

Rest ofthe world

0.5

0.5

0.8

1.8

0.8

0.7

0.5

0.3

0.2

0.8

India

1.2

1.0

1.0

1.1

1.5

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.0

1.3

Europe

1.3

0.7

0.9

0.6

1.6

1.2

1.8

2.3

1.2

2.1

UK
independent

3.8

6.5

3.4

3.9

6.9

4.7

6.8

5.7

8.2

5.4

21.2 16.1 12.5 19.5 26.2 14.4 21.8 25.4
UK
studio-backed*
USA

Non-UK releases

UK releases

Number% releases

Number% releases

3
3
14
24
71
96
227
438

0.7
0.7
3.2
5.5
16.2
21.9
51.8
100.0

2
1
6
3
10
21
76
119

1.7
0.8
5.0
2.5
8.4
17.6
63.9
100.0

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
Note: Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

8.5 18.6

72.0 73.4 81.6 73.2 63.1 77.1 67.7 65.2 81.0 71.8
12

Source: UK Film Council RSU.
* ‘Studio-backed’ means backed by one of the major US film studios.
13

Table 1.8 compares the number of UK films acrossseveral gross box office bands with the non-UK output
in 2010. The UK is better represented in the over £30
million gross category thanks to the success of Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Inception.
However, 64% of UK releases earned less than £100,000.

14

15

16

17

18

„

19

3 For more information about top films in 2010 see Chapter 2 (page 16)
3 For further details of film distribution in 2010 see Chapter 9 (page 76)
3 For information about weekend/weekday box office performance see Chapter 9, section 9.3 (page 79)
3 For a review of the exhibition sector in 2010 see Chapter 10 (page 82)

20

21

Chapter 1: The box office – 1522ç#)0"2FL×%-6&$F898

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Facts in focus• The biggest film of the year was Toy Story 3, whichearned £74 million to become the second highest
grossing film of all time at the UK box office. It also
topped the weekend box office charts for four weeks
in 2010, more than any other 2010 release.
• Nine UK films featured in the top 20 – most were
UK/USA collaborations, but independent UK films
StreetDance 3D and Kick-Ass appeared in the list withboth films earning over £11 million.
• There were nine sequels in the top 20, the same number
as in 2009.
• The top 20 UK films grossed £232 million at the UK box
office, up from £173 million in 2009.
• 3D film screenings accounted for 24% of the UK and
Republic of Ireland box office for films released in 2010(£242 million).

12

2.1 The top 20 films

3

In 2010 the top film of the year at the UK box office was Toy Story 3. This film grossed £74 million to become thesecond highest grossing film of all time, behind 2009’s Avatar. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, theseventh in the Harry Potter franchise, grossed £52 million to claim the runner-up spot in the 2010 chart. Nine films
earned more than £20 million, down from 14 in 2009, but four of the films in the top 20 which have earned lessthan £20 million are still on release, so their final grosses may exceed this amount (Table 2.1). Sequels and franchises
accounted for nine of the top 20 films, the same number as in 2009.
Nine UK titles featured in the top 20. Eight of these were UK/USA collaborations, produced, at least partly, in the UK
and mainly financed by inward investment from the major US studios. The highest placed independent UK film wasStreetDance 3D, which appeared at number 18 in the chart. Animation continued its success of recent years with2010 titles Toy Story 3, Shrek Forever After, Despicable Me, How to Train Your Dragon and The Princess and the Frog
earning more than £150 million between them.
Table 2.1 Box office results for the top 20 films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2010

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Toy Story 3
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:Part 1*
Alice in Wonderland
Inception
Shrek Forever After
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Sex and the City 2
Iron Man 2
Clash of the Titans
Despicable Me*
Little Fockers*
How to Train Your Dragon
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Robin Hood
Gulliver’s Travels*
The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader*
The Karate Kid
StreetDance 3D
Kick-AssThe Princess and the Frog

5

6

7

8

Countryof origin

Box officegross (£ million)

Numberof opening
cinemas

USA

73.79

562

21.19

Walt Disney

UK/USAUSA
UK/USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
UK/USA
USA
USA
USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA

52.38
42.54
35.81
32.38
29.75
21.65
21.18
20.20
19.90
19.07
17.26
16.53
15.44
15.00

579
533
452
539
523
530
521
446
522
488
471
512
537
497

18.32
10.56
5.91
8.96
13.76
6.14
7.66
5.68
3.66
3.04
4.85
2.59
5.75
7.03

Warner Bros
Walt Disney
Warner Bros
ParamounteOne Films
Warner Bros
Paramount
Warner Bros
Universal
Paramount
Paramount
Universal
Universal
20th Century Fox

UK/USA
USA/China
UK
UK/USA
USA

14.11
12.38
11.62
11.60
11.14

536
446
412
402
1

2.46
4.88
2.49
3.88
0.02

20th Century Fox
Sony Pictures
Vertigo Films
Universal
Walt Disney

Title

4

Opening
weekendgross (£ million)

Distributor
9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
Notes:
Box office gross = cumulative total up to 10 February 2011.
Films with an asterisk (*) were still on release on 10 February 2011.

19

20

21

Image: London Boulevard courtesy of Entertainment Film Distributors

Chapter 2: Top films in 2010 – 1722

2.2 The top 20 UK films
The top 20 UK films, shown in Table 2.2, had a combined gross of £232 million, which was 23% of the total UK box
office. This was up from £173 million in 2009 (15% of gross box office). There were more high earning UK films in2010 than in 2009 with nine films taking more than £10 million at the box office compared with three in 2009.
UK/USA collaborations dominated the top of the chart and accounted for 89% of the top 20 UK films’ combined box
office. At number eight in the chart, StreetDance 3D was the highest ranked independent UK film. Nine of the top 20
titles were independent films, compared with 15 in 2009. The top 20 UK films encompassed a wide range of genres
including action, animation, comedy, fantasy and war.
Table 2.2 Box office results for the top 20 UK films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2010
Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1*
Inception
Clash of the Titans
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Robin Hood
Gulliver’s Travels*
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the
Dawn Treader*
StreetDance 3D
Kick-Ass
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Green Zone
The Wolfman
The GhostMade in Dagenham
Four Lions
Tamara Drewe
Burke and Hare
Another Year
Cemetery Junction
London Boulevard

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
Notes:
Box office gross = cumulative total up to 10 February 2011.
Films with an asterisk (*) were still on release on 10 February 2011.
# Kick-Ass and London Boulevard were made with independent (non-studio) US support.

18 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Countryof origin

Box officegross (£ million)

Distributor

UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA

52.38
35.81
20.20
16.53
15.44
15.00

Warner Bros
Warner Bros
Warner Bros
Universal
Universal
20th Century Fox

UK/USAUK
UK/USA#
UK/USA
UK/Fra/USA/Spa
UK/USA
UK/Fra/Ger
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK/USA
UK/USA#

14.11
11.62
11.60
8.86
5.71
5.01
4.09
3.67
2.93
2.58
2.36
1.70
1.43
1.36

20th Century Fox
Vertigo Films
Universal
Walt Disney
Universal
Universal
Optimum
Paramount
Optimum
MomentumEntertainment
MomentumSony Pictures
Entertainment

12

2.3 The top 20 UK independent films

3

The top 20 UK independent films, shown in Table 2.3, had a combined gross of £45 million, which was 4% of thetotal UK box office. StreetDance 3D was the highest earning film of the UK independent films closely followed by
Kick-Ass and their joint gross accounted for nearly half (46%) of the combined gross of the top 20 UK independentfilms. Again, the top 20 UK independent films encompassed many genres and included six comedy films, and twocrime films, London Boulevard and 4.3.2.1.

4

5

Table 2.3 Box office results for the top 20 UK independent films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2010
Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

StreetDance 3D
Kick-AssThe GhostMade in Dagenham
Four Lions
Tamara Drewe
Burke and Hare
London Boulevard
Solomon Kane
It’s a Wonderful Afterlife
4.3.2.1
Monsters
The Illusionist
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
Wild Target
Mr. Nice
Housefull
Africa United
The Infidel
Shank

6

Countryof origin

Box officegross (£ million)

Distributor

UK
UK/USA#
UK/Fra/Ger
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK/USA#
UK/Fra/Czech
UK
UK
UK
UK/Fra
UK
UK
UK
UK/Ind
UK
UK
UK

11.62
11.60
4.09
3.67
2.93
2.58
2.36
1.36
1.32
1.02
0.99
0.95
0.92
0.89
0.80
0.77
0.68
0.68
0.59
0.55

Vertigo Films
Universal
Optimum
Paramount
Optimum
MomentumEntertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment
Icon
The Works UK
Vertigo Films
Warner Bros
Entertainment
Entertainment
eOne Films
Eros
Warner Bros
Revolver
Revolver

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
Notes:
Box office gross = cumulative total up to 10 February 2011.
# Kick-Ass and London Boulevard were made with independent (non-studio) US support.

16

2.4 The top 3D films
The development of digital 3D exhibition is having an increasing impact on the UK box office. In 2010, 28 3D films
were released (double the number for 2009), generating £241.8 million, up to 10 February 2011, from their 3Dscreenings (24% of the UK and Republic of Ireland box office). The top 20 3D releases are listed in Table 2.4. Twoof the 3D films, 3-D Jackass and Piranha 3D were shown only on 3D screens, but most films took around two-thirds
to three-quarters of their total box office gross at 3D screens.
Toy Story 3 was the highest grossing film of the year, and it also appears at the top of the 3D list. Its 3D takings of£53.3 million (72% of its total gross) were greater than the total gross of any other 2010 film. The top nine 3D films
all appear in the top 20 films of the year (compared with six in 2009), which indicates the increasing popularity of
3D films and their importance to the UK box office.

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 2: Top films in 2010 – 19

22

Table 2.4 Top 20 3D releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2010
Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Toy Story 3
Alice in Wonderland
Shrek Forever After
Clash of the Titans
Despicable Me*
How to Train Your Dragon
Gulliver’s Travels*
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyageof the Dawn Treader*
StreetDance 3D
Tron: Legacy
Megamind*
Saw 3D
Step Up 3
3-D Jackass
Piranha 3D
The Last Airbender
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls
of Ga’Hoole
Alpha and Omega

Total gross(£ million)

3D gross(£ million)

3D as % of
total grossNumber of
3D sites

Distributor

73.79
42.54
32.38
20.20
19.90
17.26
15.00

53.30
32.15
21.52
15.65
14.21
12.44
10.02

72
76
66
77
71
72
67

409
337
404
339
412
324
375

Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Paramount
Warner Bros
Universal
Paramount
20th Century Fox

14.11
11.62
10.33
10.10
8.65
7.81
5.64
5.30
5.02
4.79
4.77

9.48
11.03
7.70
6.63
8.15
6.87
5.64
5.30
3.94
2.72
4.46

67
95
75
66
94
88
100
100
78
57
94

351
345
400
398
383
366
372
354
346
339
355

20th Century Fox
Vertigo Films
Walt Disney
Paramount
Lions Gate
Universal
Paramount
Entertainment
Paramount
Warner Bros
Sony Pictures

3.20
3.08

2.09
1.69

66
55

299
299

Warner Bros
Warner Bros

Source: Rentrak EDI.
Notes:
Box office gross = cumulative total up to 10 February 2011.
Films with an asterisk (*) were still on release on 10 February 2011.
The 3D figures do not include IMAX screenings, although IMAX revenues contribute to the total gross.

2.5 Best weekend performances of UK films
A total of 32 films topped the UK weekend box office charts over the course of 2010 and eight of those were
UK titles, which spent a total of 11 weeks at number one (Table 2.5). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
spent three weekends at the top of the box office charts, a number beaten only by Avatar (released in 2009 but
which remained on release for many weeks in 2010), which was number one for eight weekends, and Toy Story 3,
which was number one for four weekends. (Avatar was the top grossing 2009 film and Toy Story 3 was the top
grossing 2010 film.)
StreetDance 3D was the only independent film of the eight UK films which topped the weekend box office charts
in 2010. Ignoring previews, its opening weekend gross was just under £1.8 million, which was 15% of its final box
office gross. In comparison, the opening weekend gross for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, at£18.3 million, was 35% of its total gross (to 10 February 2011).

20 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 2.5 UK films at number one in the weekend box office charts, 2010
Title

Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows: Part 1
Clash of the Titans
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Robin Hood
StreetDance 3D
Inception
The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Gulliver’s Travels

First week at top

Weekendgross (£ million)3

Box officegross (£ million)

Distributor

No. of weeks
at no. 1
4

19 November 2010
2 April 2010
26 March 2010
14 May 2010
21 May 201016 July 2010

18.3
5.7
2.6
5.8
2.5
5.9

52.4
20.2
16.5
15.4
11.6
35.8

Warner Bros
Warner Bros
Universal
Universal
Vertigo Films
Warner Bros

3
2
1
1
1
1

10 December 201031 December 2010

2.5
7.0

14.1
15.0

20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox

1
1

5

6

7

8

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

„

19

3 For more about the top films of all time see Chapter 3 (page 22)
3 For more on UK talent and awards see Chapter 7 (page 57)
3 For further information about film distribution in 2010 see Chapter 9 (page 76)
3 For information about weekend/weekday box office performance see Chapter 9, section 9.3 (page 79)
3 For an overview of the exhibition sector in 2010 see Chapter 10 (page 82)

Chapter 2: Top films in 2010 – 21

20

21

22

ç#)0"2AL×%-6*)%%0&-")00#"3*×!"

Facts in focus3(*(2#% 6$0&062"!2 N
top 20 highest grossing films at the UK box office
6"0%)604")2N)60#"0")2$&$. • The
include two films from 2010 – Toy Story 3 and Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
×%-*)%%0&-")00#"3
• Avatar remains in the top spot in the inflation-adjusted
*×!"N7#&%"0&0%"6)6" $
box office chart, with Titanic in second place.
!#)2)!0"26)$ 602&"6
• Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings films made up six and!$0&$/"0 -&$)0"0#"!#)20 three respectively of the top 20 films in the unadjusted alltime chart. James Bond titles scored two in the top 20.
7&0#9A*0#"0F8×%-6:
• Sequels and franchise films made up 16 of the top 20.

• Eleven of the top 20 films were UK/USA collaborations.
• Thirteen of the top 20 films were based on stories andcharacters created by UK writers.

1

2

3.1 All time top 20 films at the UK box office3

In the absence of admissions data on individual films, top films can only be measured in terms of earnings at thebox office. Inflation is a key factor affecting earnings and this needs to be borne in mind against some of the figures
quoted in this chapter (however, some figures are adjusted for inflation). Most of this chapter relates to actual box
office receipts from 1989 onwards so can be categorised as all time top films since it is unlikely that anything
produced before 1989 will have earned more in nominal terms.
Avatar remains the highest grossing film of all time at the UK box office, with a final gross of just over £94 million.
Two films released in 2010 are in the list of top 20 all time films at the UK box office – Toy Story 3, the highest
grossing film of 2010, and the seventh Harry Potter release, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. The list,
shown in Table 3.1, is dominated by franchise movies, including six of the seven Harry Potter titles, the Lord of theRings trilogy and two James Bond films. Only four of the top 20 are neither sequels nor franchise titles, namely
Avatar, Mamma Mia!, Titanic and The Full Monty. Eleven of the top 20 films are UK/USA collaborations andthe importance of UK creative talent to the global film industry is underlined by the presence of no fewer than
13 films based on stories and characters created by UK writers.

4

5

6

7

8

Table 3.1 All time top 20 films at the UK box office
Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

AvatarToy Story 3
Mamma Mia!
Titanic
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of
the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Casino Royale
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1*
The Full Monty
Quantum of Solace
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireThe Dark Knight
Shrek 2

Countryof origin

UK boxoffice total(£ million)

UK distributor

Year ofreleaseUSA
USA
UK/USAUSA
UK/USA

94.0
73.8
69.2
69.0
66.1

20th Century Fox
Walt Disney
Universal
20th Century Fox
Warner Bros

2009
2010
2008
1998
2001

USA/NZ
USA/NZ
USA/NZ
UK/USA/Czech
UK/USAUSA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USAUSA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
USA

63.0
61.1
57.6
55.6
54.8
52.5
52.4
52.2
51.2
51.1
50.7
49.9
49.2
49.1
48.2

Entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment
Sony Pictures
Warner Bros
Buena Vista
Warner Bros
20th Century Fox
Sony Pictures
20th Century Fox
Warner Bros
Warner Bros
Warner Bros
Warner Bros
UIP

2001
2003
2002
2006
2002
2006
2010
1997
2008
1999
2009
2007
2005
2008
2004

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
Notes:
Figures have not been inflation adjusted. Box office gross = cumulative total up to 10 February 2011.
Films with an asterisk (*) were still on release on 10 February 2011.
Based on box office data for 1989–2010. The table is titled all time because, with price inflation, it is unlikely that any films before 1989 will have earned more in
nominal terms.

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Image: Slumdog Millionaire courtesy of Pathé UK

Chapter 3: Top films of all time at the UK box office – 23

22

3.2 Inflation-adjusted top 20 films at the UK box office
Table 3.2 shows an inflation-adjusted box office chart based on films released in the UK since 1975 (when coverageof leading titles begins). Even after adjusting the figures for inflation, Avatar is the highest grossing film of all timeat the UK box office with £96 million in 2009/10 terms, with Titanic in second place with £90 million.
The first of three Harry Potter films is at number three, with the franchise’s first outing Harry Potter and thePhilosopher’s Stone earning the equivalent of £81.5 million. All three Lord of the Rings films make the chartwith The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in fourth place (£78 million). In fifth place is Toy Story 3,
the highest grossing film of 2010, with a gross of £74 million (as this is a 2010 film, no adjustment for inflation
has been applied). Three classic releases from the 1970s remain in the top 20: Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) is
at number seven with adjusted revenues of £71 million, the original Star Wars (1977) appears at number 12 with
£67 million and Grease (1978) is at 15 with £62 million.
Table 3.2 Top 20 highest grossing films at the UK box office (inflation adjusted1)

Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

AvatarTitanic
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of
the Ring
Toy Story 3
Mamma Mia!
Jaws
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Jurassic ParkThe Full Monty
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Star Wars
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
GreaseCasino Royale
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial
Toy Story 2
Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireCountryof origin

UK boxoffice total(2009/10£ million)

UK distributor

Year ofreleaseUSA
USA
UK/USA

95.6
89.9
81.5

20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Warner Bros

2009
1998
2001

USA/NZUSA
UK/USAUSA
USA/NZUSA
UK/USA
USA/NZUSA
UK/USAUSA
USA
UK/USA/Czech
USA
USA
USA
UK/USA

77.7
73.8
72.3
71.3
71.0
70.8
69.5
68.8
67.0
65.5
65.2
61.7
59.8
56.4
56.4
55.9
54.6

Entertainment
Walt Disney
Universal
UIPEntertainment
UIP
20th Century Fox
Entertainment
20th Century Fox
Warner Bros
20th Century Fox
UIPSony Pictures
Buena Vista
UIP
Buena Vista
Warner Bros

2001
2010
2008
1975
2003
1993
1997
2002
1977
2002
1999
1978
2006
2006
1982
2000
2005

Source: UK Film Council RSU analysis of Rentrak EDI data.
1
The 2009/10 £ calculated using the HMT UK GDP deflator (see http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/data_gdp_index.htm).

24 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

3.3 All time top 20 UK films at the UK box office3

The list of the all time top 20 UK films is dominated by inward investment features, with British talent, infrastructure
and locations supported by US studio investment, but one independent film, Slumdog Millionaire, is at number 20
in this list (Table 3.3). All seven Harry Potter films feature in the top 20, together with three titles from theJames Bond franchise.

4

5

Table 3.3 All time top 20 UK films at the UK box officeCountryof origin

UK boxoffice total(£ million)

UK distributor

Year ofrelease

Mamma Mia!
UK/USA
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
UK/USA
Casino Royale
UK/USA/Czech
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
UK/USA
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1*
UK/USAThe Full Monty
UK/USA
Quantum of Solace
UK/USA
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
UK/USA
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
UK/USA
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
UK/USAThe Dark Knight
UK/USA
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
UK/USA
Bridget Jones’s Diary
UK/USACharlie and the Chocolate Factory
UK/USA
Love Actually
UK/USADie Another Day
UK/USA
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
UK/USA
Inception
UK/USA
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
UK/USA
Slumdog Millionaire
UK

69.2
66.1
55.6
54.8
52.4
52.2
51.2
50.7
49.9
49.2
49.1
46.1
42.0
37.8
36.8
36.1
36.0
35.8
32.0
31.7

Universal
Warner Bros
Sony Pictures
Warner Bros
Warner Bros
20th Century Fox
Sony Pictures
Warner Bros
Warner Bros
Warner Bros
Warner Bros
Warner Bros
UIP
Warner Bros
UIP
20th Century Fox
UIP
Warner Bros
UIP
Pathé

2008
2001
2006
2002
2010
1997
2008
2009
2007
2005
2008
2004
2001
2005
2003
2002
2004
2010
2005
2009

Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
Notes:
Figures have not been inflation adjusted. Box office gross = cumulative total up to 10 February 2011.
Films with an asterisk (*) were still on release on 10 February 2011.
Based on box office data for 1989–2010. The table is titled all time because, with price inflation, it is unlikely that any films before 1989 will have earned morein nominal terms.

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 3: Top films of all time at the UK box office – 25

22

3.4 All time top 20 independent UK films at the UK box office
Table 3.4 highlights the all time top earning independent (that is, made without US major studio involvement) UK
titles. The highest grossing independent British film is Slumdog Millionaire (£31.7 million) followed by Four Weddings
and a Funeral (£27.8 million) and Trainspotting (£12.4 million). Two 2010 releases, StreetDance 3D and Kick-Ass
appear in the list at number six and number seven respectively with grosses of £11.6 million. Each of the top 11
independent UK films earned more than £10 million at the UK box office, and all the top 20 independent UK films
earned £6 million or over.
Table 3.4 All time top 20 independent UK films at the UK box office
Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Slumdog Millionaire
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Trainspotting
St Trinian’s
Gosford Park
StreetDance 3D
Kick-Ass
Bend it Like Beckham
Run, Fat Boy, Run
Kevin and Perry Go Large
East is East
The Queen
Valiant
The Duchess
St Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold
Waking Ned
Miss Potter
Stormbreaker
The Constant Gardener
The Magic Roundabout

Countryof origin

UK boxoffice total(£ million)

UK distributor

Year ofrelease

UK
UK
UK
UK
UK/USA#UK
UK/USA#
UK/Ger
UK/USA#
UK
UK
UK/Fra/Ita
UK/USA#
UK/Fra/Ita
UK
UK/Fra/USA#
UK/USA#
UK/Ger/USA#
UK/Ger/USA#
UK/Fra

31.7
27.8
12.4
12.3
12.3
11.6
11.6
11.6
11.0
10.5
10.4
9.4
8.5
7.1
7.1
7.1
6.9
6.8
6.2
6.0

Pathé
CarltonPolygram
Entertainment
Entertainment
Vertigo Films
Universal
Lions Gate
Entertainment
Icon
Film Four
PathéEntertainment
PathéEntertainment
20th Century Fox
MomentumEntertainment
UIP
Pathé

2009
1994
1996
2007
2002
2010
2010
2002
2007
2000
1999
2006
2005
2008
2009
1999
2007
2006
2005
2005

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
Notes:
Figures have not been inflation adjusted. Based on box office data for 1989-2010.
The table is titled all time because, with price inflation, it is unlikely that any films before 1989 will have earned more in nominal terms.
# Gosford Park, Kick-Ass, Run, Fat Boy, Run, Valiant, Waking Ned, Miss Potter, Stormbreaker and The Constant Gardener were made with independent (non-studio)
US support.

„
3 For top films in 2010 see Chapter 2 (page 16)
3 For more on UK talent see Chapter 7 (page 57)

26 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011ç#)0"2GL
è"$2")$ !%)66&×!)0&$

ç&$"-)O."26"$+4)7& "!#&!"*604%"6N."$2"6
)$ 6/+"!06:ç-" 4&6
!$6&60"$0%40#"g6*)1/2&0"
."$2"N0),&$.+/60/$ "2$"O
×*0#*0#"3*×!"&$F898:
2"×%-67"2"!%)66&×" h9Eg
0#)$)$40#"2!%)66&×!)0&$N/0h9Fg×%-60,0#"%)2."60
6&$.%"6#)2"*0#"3*×!":

Facts in focus• Comedy, which is traditionally popular with a broad
spectrum of audiences, accounted for 21% of releases
and 19% of the box office.
• Drama accounted for the highest proportion of releases(27%) but shared only 5% of the box office.
• Fantasy, including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:Part 1, took more money per site on average thanother genres.
• The genre pattern of UK films and UK independent films
was broadly similar to that of all films on release but there
were differences in the patterns of box office by genre.
• Amongst UK independent films action films took mostat the box office, mainly due to the box office successof Kick-Ass.
• More films were released with a ‘15’ classification thanany other category (37% of all releases) though ‘12A’
films took the largest share of the box office (38% of
total box office).

4.1 Genre
For statistical purposes, the Research and Statistics Unit assigned a primary genre to every film released in the UK in
2010. This is not meant to be prescriptive but helps gauge the relative popularity of different genres on a consistentbasis from year to year. The list of genres is based on conventions commonly used within the industry and by
published sources such as the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).

4.1.1 Genre of all film releases
Table 4.1 indicates the relative popularity of different genres at the box office in the UK and Republic of Ireland in
2010. Comedy was once again the top grossing genre (earning £196 million), followed by animation (£190 million)
and fantasy (£169 million). The top film at the UK box office in 2010, Toy Story 3, accounted for 39% of theanimation genre’s box office, while the second highest grossing film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
accounted for 31% of the box office for fantasy. The action genre is fourth in the list (£141 million) and romance ishigher than usual, at number five, largely due to the success of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, which took just over halfof this genre’s £58 million total box office. Drama films had the highest proportion of releases (27%) but only 5%of the box office gross.
Table 4.1 Films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland by genre, 2010, ranked by gross box office
Genre

Numberof releases% of allreleases

Gross box office(£ million)% of total
box office

119
27
12
57
19
7
153
31
5
10
20
13
22
4
58
557

21.4
4.8
2.2
10.2
3.4
1.3
27.5
5.6
0.9
1.8
3.6
2.3
3.9
0.7
10.4
100.0

195.9
190.1
168.9
140.5
58.4
56.0
54.5
54.1
21.5
20.6
19.3
18.6
17.5
5.8
1.9
1,023.6

19.1
18.6
16.5
13.7
5.7
5.5
5.3
5.3
2.1
2.0
1.9
1.8
1.7
0.6
0.2
100.0

ComedyAnimation
Fantasy
ActionRomance
Science fiction
Drama
HorrorMusical/dance
AdventureThriller
BiopicCrime
WarDocumentary
Total

Top performing title

Sex and the City 2
Toy Story 3
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Iron Man 2
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Inception
Up in the Air
Paranormal Activity 2
StreetDance 3D
Robin Hood
Shutter Island
The Social Network
The Town
Green Zone
Exit Through the Gift Shop

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.

No fewer than six of the top performing films by genre are UK films, demonstrating the variety of story typesof successful British films (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Inception, StreetDance 3D, Robin Hood,
Green Zone and Exit Through the Gift Shop).

28 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Image: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo courtesy of Momentum Pictures, an Alliance Films Company

1

2

The pattern of genres ranked by the average number of sites at the widest point of release (WPR) is shown in Table
4.2. The top genre by WPR in 2010 was fantasy, which was third in 2009’s list. Second in the present list is science
fiction (fourth in 2009) for which the average WPR is based on relatively few films (7) and which included Inception,
Predators and Skyline, all of which were shown at large numbers of sites (WPRs of 472, 397 and 381 respectively).
The film with the highest WPR (581) was the fantasy genre’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
Documentary continued to have a low average number of sites at WPR: 2010’s average of 10 is similar to 2008’s
average of 11, after increasing to 20 in 2009 largely due to the release of Michael Jackson’s This Is It.
Table 4.2 Films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland by genre, 2010,
ranked by average widest point of release
Genre

Fantasy
Science fiction
Animation
Musical/danceActionRomance
Adventure
HorrorComedyWar
Crime
BiopicThriller
Drama
Documentary
Total

3

4

5

6

Average numberof sites at widest
point of release

Number of
releasesGrossbox office(£ million)

373
287
261
239
177
163
157
150
146
111
96
90
73
46
10
115

12
7
27
5
57
19
10
31
119
4
22
13
20
153
58
557

168.9
56.0
190.1
21.5
140.5
58.4
20.6
54.1
195.9
5.8
17.5
18.6
19.3
54.5
1.9
1,023.6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 4: Genre and classification – 29

22

Table 4.3 demonstrates what the different genres generated in box office revenues per site, which gives a good
indication of performance in the market while controlling for the size of release. Fantasy tops this list, largely due
to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Despite including the majority of 2010’s 3D releases, which usuallyattract premium prices, animation is only third in the list behind fantasy and science fiction. Comedy, which took
the largest slice of box office overall, is much lower placed when the average WPR is taken into account, indicating
a long tail of less able performers.
Table 4.3 Films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland by genre, 2010,
ranked by average box office gross per site
Genre

Averagebox office
per site (£)

Grossbox office(£ million)

Total sites

Fantasy
Science fiction
Animation
RomanceMusical/danceBiopicActionAdventureThrillerWar
HorrorComedyCrime
DramaDocumentary
Total

37,75927,93926,993
18,861
18,00015,805
13,907
13,182
13,151
13,092
11,624
11,247
8,314
7,817
3,442
15,927

168.9
56.0
190.1
58.4
21.5
18.6
140.5
20.6
19.3
5.8
54.1
195.9
17.5
54.5
1.9
1,023.6

4,472
2,006
7,041
3,096
1,195
1,175
10,105
1,566
1,468
444
4,650
17,420
2,104
6,970
553
64,265

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.
Note: Total sites = number of releases multiplied by average number of sites at widest point of release.

30 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

12

4.1.2 Genre of UK and UK independent film releases

3

Looking at the genres of UK films and UK independent films released in 2010 we see similar rankings to those for
all films released for percentages of releases by genre, but differences in share of box office by genre (Figures 4.1
and 4.2). Comedy, drama and documentary occupied the top three places for numbers of releases for UK, UK
independent and all film releases. For all releases drama was the genre with the greatest proportion of releases,
followed by comedy, while for both UK and UK independent films drama had the greatest proportion of releases,
with documentary second. However, when looking at box office by genre, there are notable differences between thethree categories. For all films, comedy was the top earning genre (19% of the total box office for all films), while thebox office success of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 made fantasy (with 46% of the total box office for
UK films) the highest earning category for UK films, and action (26% of the box office for UK independent films) the
highest earning genre for UK independent films. Action heads the UK independent films’ ranking largely becauseof the success of Kick-Ass, which grossed 21% of the total box office. Comedy accounted for 11% of the box officefor UK films and 19% of the box office for UK independent films. For all films, animation was the second highest
grossing genre, taking 19% of the total box office. This was largely due to the success of Toy Story 3. Animationaccounted for just 0.4% of the total box office for UK films and 1.7% of the total box office for UK independentfilms (Tables 4.1, 4.4 and 4.5).
Table 4.4 UK films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland by genre, 2010, ranked by gross box office
Genre

Fantasy
Science fiction
ComedyAdventure
ActionMusical/dance
Drama
War
HorrorThriller
Crime
BiopicAnimation
Documentary
Romance
Total

Number of
releases%of all releases

Grossbox office(£ million)%of totalbox office

5
2
18
2
7
1
24
2
6
12
7
4
2
23
3
118

4.2
1.7
15.3
1.7
5.9
0.8
20.3
1.7
5.1
10.2
5.9
3.4
1.7
19.5
2.5
100.0

112.09
36.76
26.78
16.12
14.31
11.62
5.76
5.73
5.02
4.63
3.71
1.75
0.93
0.79
0.04
246.03

45.56
14.94
10.89
6.55
5.82
4.72
2.34
2.33
2.04
1.88
1.51
0.71
0.38
0.32
0.02
100.00Top performing title

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Inception
Gulliver’s Travels
Robin Hood
Kick-Ass
StreetDance 3D
Made in Dagenham
Green Zone
The Wolfman
The GhostLondon Boulevard
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
The Illusionist
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Chikku Bukku

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.
Note: Percentages may not add to 100.0 due to rounding.

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

Looking just at UK films, fantasy topped the box office by genre chart in 2010 (Table 4.4). Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows: Part 1’s gross of £52.4 million was itself more than the total gross for any other genre, and helped
the total gross for the fantasy genre to £112 million. Science fiction is second in the list with £37 million (15% of thebox office gross). Comedy was the third highest earning genre, mainly due to the success of the US studio-backed
film, Gulliver’s Travels, which took more than half of this genre’s box office. The success of another studio-backed
film, Robin Hood, pushed adventure to fourth in the chart, taking 96% of the genre’s total box office. Drama had
more releases than any other genre (20% of releases), but took only 2% of the total box office gross.

18

19

20

21

Chapter 4: Genre and classification – 31

22

Table 4.5 UK independent films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland by genre, 2010,
ranked by gross box office
Genre

ActionMusical/dance
ComedyDrama
Thriller
Crime
BiopicScience fiction
Animation
Documentary
Adventure
RomanceWar
Horror
Total

Number of
releases%of all releases

Grossbox office(£ million)%of totalbox office

7
1
16
24
12
7
4
1
2
23
1
3
1
5
107

6.5
0.9
15.0
22.4
11.2
6.5
3.7
0.9
1.9
21.5
0.9
2.8
0.9
4.7
100.0

14.31
11.62
10.36
5.76
4.63
3.71
1.75
0.95
0.93
0.79
0.68
0.04
0.02
0.01
55.6

25.76
20.92
18.65
10.36
8.33
6.68
3.16
1.72
1.67
1.42
1.22
0.07
0.04
0.01
100.00Top performing title

Kick-Ass
StreetDance 3D
Four Lions
Made in Dagenham
The GhostLondon Boulevard
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
Monsters
The Illusionist
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Africa United
Chikku Bukku
Went The Day Well?
Cherry Tree Lane

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.
Note: Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.

In 2010, 118 UK films were released, of which 107 were UK independent films. Because of the small numberof non-independent UK films there are only small differences in the proportions of releases by genre. However,
because some of the non-independent UK films, such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Inception
and Clash of the Titans, had considerable success at the box office, there are differences in the percentages ofbox office takings by genre.
Action was the most popular genre for UK independent films. The £14 million earned by action films represented
26% of the total box office of all UK independent films. This is largely due to the success of Kick-Ass which grossed£11.6 million. Musical/dance was the second highest earning genre with 21% of the total box office. The entire grossfor this genre (£11.6 million) is from one film, StreetDance 3D. The musical/dance genre contributed 5% of the total
gross for UK films and just 2% for all films (see Tables 4.1, 4.4 and 4.5).
Comedy was the third highest earning genre for UK independent films. Four Lions was the highest grossing
UK independent film in the category, which also included other popular films such as The Infidel, It’s a Wonderful
Afterlife and Tamara Drewe.
Action, musical/dance, crime and thrillers formed a higher proportion of UK independent film releases than of all
films and UK films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2010 (Figure 4.1). Fantasy and science fiction wereover-represented in UK films compared with all films and UK independent films whereas romance, horror and, inparticular, animation were under-represented in UK and UK independent films compared with all films. Of the 27
animations released in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2010 only two were UK films (The Illusionist and Jackbootson Whitehall) and both were independent films.

32 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Figure 4.1 Proportion of box office by genre for all films, UK films and UK independent films, 20103

% of box office
50
4
40
5

30
20

6
10

ar
W

e

Th
ril
le
r

fic
tio

n

ce

nc
e

an
m
Ro

en
c

8

Sc
i

Do
c

M
us

ic

al
/d
a

Ho

rr
or

y

a

as
nt
Fa

en
t
um

Dr
am

ar
y

e
Cr
im

ed
y
Co
m

ic
Bi
op

im
An

Ad

ve
nt

at

n

ur
e

io
n

7
Ac
tio

0

All films

13.7

2.0

18.6

1.8

20.1

2.3

0.2

5.3

14.9

5.3

2.1

5.8

5.5

1.9

0.6

UK films

5.8

6.6

0.4

0.7

10.9

1.5

0.3

2.3

45.6

2.0

4.7

0.0

14.9

1.9

2.3

25.76

1.22

1.67

3.16

18.65

6.68

1.42

10.36

–

0.01

20.92

0.07

1.72

8.33

0.04

UK independent
films

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.

910

Figure 4.2 Proportion of releases by genre for all films, UK films and UK independent films, 201011

% of releases
30

12

25
20

13

15
10

14

ar
W

r
le
Th
ril

tio
n
fic
nc

e

15

Sc

M

ie

us

ic

Ro

al

m

/d

an
ce

e
an
c

or
Ho

rr

as
y
nt
Fa

a
am
Dr

Do
cu

m

en

ta
ry

im
e
Cr

ed

y

c
op
i

Co
m

m

Bi

at
io

re

An
i

Ad
ve

nt
u

io
n
Ac
t

0

n

5

16
All films

10.2

1.8

4.8

2.3

21.4

3.9

10.4

27.5

2.2

5.6

0.9

3.4

1.3

3.6

0.7

UK films

5.9

1.7

1.7

3.4

15.3

5.9

19.5

20.3

4.2

5.1

0.8

2.5

1.7

10.2

1.7

UK independent
films

6.5

0.9

1.9

3.7

15.0

6.5

21.5

22.4

–

4.7

0.9

2.8

0.9

11.2

0.9

17

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
18

19

20

21

Chapter 4: Genre and classification – 33

22

4.2 BBFC classification
All films in the UK must carry a classification indicating their suitability for exhibition in premises licensed forcinematic exhibition by local authorities. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) classifies the majorityof films for theatrical release, although local authorities may grant their own classification if they decide to.
The symbols used by the BBFC, and their meanings, are given in Table 4.6.
Table 4.6 BBFC film classifications
U (Universal)
PG (Parental Guidance)
12A
15
18

Suitable for all
General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children
No-one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adultNo-one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema
No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema

Source: BBFC website.

4.2.1 Releases and box office by classification
Table 4.7 provides a picture of how 2010 releases were classified. It shows that, as in previous years, more ‘15’ films
were released than any other category, though the proportion of ‘15’ films released (37%) was lower than in 2009(44%). Although the ‘15’ classification accounted for almost two-fifths of films released, it accounted for a smaller
proportion of the gross box office (22%). The largest share of gross box office was earned by ‘12A’ films (38%).
This was slightly less than the proportion earned by ‘12A’ films in 2009 (42%). There was a slight increase in the
proportion of ‘12A’ certified films released, however, up from 24% to 26%.
Table 4.7 Releases in UK and Republic of Ireland by BBFC film classification, 2010
Number of
releases%of releases

Grossbox office(£ million)%of grossbox office

U
PG
12A

38
80
147

6.8
14.4
26.4

182.6
187.7
385.9

17.84
18.34
37.70

15
18
No classification
Total

208
59
25
557

37.3
10.6
4.5
100.0

232.3
34.9
0.2
1,023.6

22.69
3.41
0.01
100.00BBFC classification

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.
Notes:‘No classification’ means no classification issued for theatrical release. Some of these films have a classification for video release.
Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.

34 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Top performing title

Toy Story 3
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Sex and the City 2
Saw 3D
Late Autumn

1

2

Table 4.8 shows how 2010 releases of UK films were classified, and Table 4.9 shows how releases of UK independentfilms were classified. The proportions of films released by BBFC classification were broadly similar for all films, UKfilms and for UK independent films. The one notable difference was a higher proportion of ‘18’ films than ‘12A’ and‘PG’ films for UK and UK independent films, whereas the reverse was true for all films. However, because of the highearning international and UK non-independent films there were differences in box office takings by classification
between UK independent films and the others, all films and UK films (Figure 4.3). For all films and UK films thehighest earning classification was ‘12A’ (38% of the total box office for all films and 57% of the total box office for
UK films), whereas for UK independent films the highest earning classification was ‘15’ (60% of the total box office).
Five of the top 10 films at the UK box office in 2010 were ‘12A’ films (including Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows: Part 1, Inception and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) and none was an independent film. All three contributed
to the difference between all films and UK independent films while the first two had a major impact on the
difference between UK films and UK independent films (see Tables 4.7, 4.8 and 4.9).

3

4

5

6

7

Table 4.8 Releases of UK films in UK and Republic of Ireland by BBFC film classification, 2010
Number of
releases%of releases

Grossbox office(£ million)%of grossbox office

U
PG
12A

4
10
21

3.4
8.5
17.8

16.6
41.8
139.2

6.73
17.00
56.58

15
18
No classification
Total

52
22
9
118

44.1
18.6
7.6
100.0

45.3
3.1
0.1
246.0

18.41
1.25
0.02
100.00BBFC classification

8
Top performing title

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Gulliver’s Travels
Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Kick-Ass
London Boulevard
No Greater LoveBBFC classification

U
PG
12A
15
18
No classification
Total

Number of
releases%of releases

3
8
16
49
22
9
107

2.8
7.5
15.0
45.8
20.6
8.4
100.0

0.03
12.72
6.51
33.15
3.08
0.06
55.55

0.05
22.90
11.72
59.68
5.55
0.10
100.00

11

13

Table 4.9 Releases of UK independent films in UK and Republic of Ireland by BBFC film classification, 2010%of grossbox office1012

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.
Notes:‘No classification’ means no classification issued for theatrical release. Some of these films have a classification for video release.
Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Grossbox office(£ million)

914

Top performing title

Robinson in Ruins
StreetDance 3D
Another Year
Kick-Ass
London Boulevard
No Greater Love

15

16

17

18

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.
Notes:‘No classification’ means no classification issued for theatrical release. Some of these films have a classification for video release.
Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.

19

20

21

Chapter 4: Genre and classification – 35

22

Figure 4.3 Percentage of gross box office by BBFC film classification for all films, UK films and UK independent films, 2010
% of gross box office
60
50
40
30
20
10

0

U

PG

12A

15

18

All films

17.8

18.3

37.7

22.7

3.4

UK films

6.7

17.0

56.6

18.4

1.3

UK independent films

0.05

22.90

11.72

59.68

5.55

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.
Note: Category ‘12A’ includes those films that were given the ‘12’ classification before 2003. The ‘12’ classification was superseded by ‘12A’ for films showing at the cinema
in August 2002. The first film given a ‘12A’ classification was The Bourne Identity.

There has been some gradual change in the proportions of films by classification over the last 10 years, as shown in
Figure 4.4. The proportion of the most common ‘15’ classification fell slightly below its average 40% mark in 2008
then increased to 44% in 2009 but fell again (to 37%) in 2010. Until 2008 a slow decline in the ‘PG’ classification
was compensated for by the gentle rise of the ‘12A’ classification, then in 2009 the increase in the proportionof films released with a ‘15’ classification saw a compensating decrease in the proportion of ‘12A’ films. In 2010
the proportion of ‘15’ releases fell slightly with a compensating increase in the proportion of ‘12A’ films, while
the proportion of ‘PG’ releases has remained at about 14.5% for the last three years.
Figure 4.4 Percentage of releases in UK and Republic of Ireland by film classification, 2001–2010% of releases
50
40
30
20
10
2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

U

7.0

8.0

5.2

6.0

6.2

5.7

5.2

5.9

4.8

6.8

PG

19.0

23.0

16.1

18.0

17.1

14.9

15.9

14.6

14.3

14.4

0

2010

12A

18.0

20.0

26.0

26.4

24.8

27.5

25.4

28.5

24.3

26.4

15

40.0

40.0

40.4

39.0

37.3

38.8

40.1

36.6

44.3

37.3

18

15.0

9.0

12.1

8.6

10.7

9.1

9.1

9.7

9.7

10.6

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, RSU analysis.
See note to Figure 4.3.

The shares of box office by film classification vary widely from year-to-year as demonstrated in Figure 4.5. However,the box office ranking of the classifications has remained fairly constant over time, the top earner being ‘12A’, with‘U’ and ‘18’ consistently being the lowest earners (though the earnings of ‘U’ films has increased over the past two
years), and ‘PG’ and ‘15’ exchanging second and third places over the years. In 2007 and 2008 films in the ‘PG’
category earned more at the box office than those in the ‘15’ category, but this was reversed in 2009 with the ‘15’
films increasing their share of the box office to 22% and ‘PG’ films reducing their share to 18%. The box office sharesfor these two categories in 2010 are similar to those for 2009 (23% for ‘15’ and 18% for ‘PG’ in 2010).
36 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Figure 4.5 Percentage of gross box office of releases in UK and Republic of Ireland by film classification, 2001–20103% of gross box office
50
4
40
5

30
20

6
10
0

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010
17.8

U

10.2

13.4

10.4

16.6

16.7

13.9

11.8

8.4

11.6

PG

28.8

22.4

11.8

23.3

19.0

15.2

24.2

21.4

18.1

18.3

12A

30.3

39.8

42.4

28.2

40.0

43.9

34.7

44.8

41.6

37.7

15

23.5

21.1

29.2

26.6

19.9

21.2

23.7

20.0

22.1

22.7

18

7.3

3.6

6.3

5.2

3.8

5.7

5.5

5.4

6.5

3.4

7

8

9

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.
See note to Figure 4.3.

10

4.2.2 Top films by classification
Table 4.10 gives the top 10 ‘U’ classified films in 2010. Animation is the genre represented most in the table withseven out of 10 titles (traditionally aimed at the youngest audiences for which a ‘U’ classification is preferable). Six ofthe animations were shown in 3D (the exception was The Princess and the Frog) with the 3D gross for all but one of
the films being a significant percentage of the total gross (Animals United generated only 20% of its total gross from
3D screenings). Only one of the 10 films came from the UK, two fewer than last year.

Toy Story 3
Shrek Forever After
Despicable Me
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
The Princess and the Frog
Marmaduke
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
The Tooth Fairy
Alpha and Omega
Animals United

12

13

Table 4.10 Top 10 ‘U’ classified films, 2010
Title

11

Countryof origin

Grossbox office(£ million)

Distributor

Genre

USA
USA
USA
UK/USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA/Ind
Ger

73.8
32.4
19.9
16.5
11.1
5.7
4.8
3.9
3.1
2.5

Walt Disney
Paramount
Universal
Universal
Walt Disney
20th Century Fox
Warner Bros
20th Century Fox
Lions Gate
Entertainment

Animation
Animation
Animation
ComedyAnimation
ComedyAnimation
ComedyAnimation
Animation

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.

Fantasy, with four films, is the genre most represented in the top 10 performing ‘PG’ classified films (Table 4.11).
Only two films in the list (The Karate Kid and Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief) were not shownin 3D. The top 10 ‘PG’ films includes 2010’s top UK independent film, StreetDance 3D. This was one of three UK films
in the chart, two more than in 2009.

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 4: Genre and classification – 37

22

Table 4.11 Top 10 ‘PG’ classified films, 2010
Title

Alice in Wonderland
How to Train Your Dragon
Gulliver’s Travels
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage
Of The Dawn Treader
The Karate Kid
StreetDance 3D
Tron: Legacy
Megamind
Percy Jackson and the Olympians:
The Lightning Thief
The Last AirbenderCountryof origin

Grossbox office(£ million)

Distributor

Genre

USA
USA
UK/USA

42.5
17.3
15.0

Walt Disney
Paramount
20th Century Fox

Fantasy
Animation
ComedyUK/USA
USA/China
UK
USA
USA

14.1
12.4
11.6
10.3
10.1

20th Century Fox
Sony Pictures
Vertigo Films
Walt Disney
Paramount

Fantasy
ActionMusicalScience fiction
Animation

USA
USA

7.4
5.0

20th Century Fox
Paramount

Fantasy
Fantasy

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.

The top ‘12A’ film in 2010 was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, which was the second highest grossing
film of the year (and top UK film of the year). No single genre dominates this list, but action, comedy and fantasy are
all represented twice. Four of the top 10 films came from the UK, two more than last year (Table 4.12).
Table 4.12 Top 10 ‘12A’ classified films, 2010
Title

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:Part 1
Inception
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Iron Man 2
Clash of the Titans
Little Fockers
Robin Hood
The Social Network
The A-Team
Valentine’s Day

Countryof origin

Grossbox office(£ million)

Distributor

Genre

UK/USA
UK/USAUSA
USA
UK/USAUSA
UK/USA
USA
USA
USA

52.4
35.8
29.8
21.2
20.2
19.1
15.4
10.6
10.3
10.2

Warner Bros
Warner Bros
eOne Films
Paramount
Warner Bros
Paramount
Universal
Sony Pictures
20th Century Fox
Warner Bros

Fantasy
Science fiction
Romance
ActionFantasy
ComedyAdventure
BiopicActionComedySource: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.

By definition, ‘15’ classified films contain stronger material than the younger categories. Depending on the typeof film they are likely to involve more adult-oriented themes, comedy, crime and language. This is reflected in the
top 10, where the comedy, horror and thriller genres account for half of the films in the list (Table 4.13). The ‘15’
category films were topped by the comedy Sex and the City 2 followed by the UK action film Kick-Ass. Only oneof the 10 films came from the UK, the same number as last year.

38 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 4.13 Top 10 ‘15’ classified films, 2010
Title

Sex and the City 2
Kick-Ass
Paranormal Activity 2
Shutter Island
Due Date
The Expendables
It’s ComplicatedSalt
Get Him to the Greek
Up in the Air

3
Countryof origin

Grossbox office(£ million)

Distributor

Genre

USA
UK/USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA

21.6
11.6
11.0
10.7
10.7
10.6
9.3
7.1
7.0
6.5

Warner Bros
Universal
Paramount
Paramount
Warner Bros
Lions Gate
Universal
Sony Pictures
Universal
Paramount

ComedyActionHorrorThriller
ComedyActionRomance
ActionComedy
Drama

4

5

6

7

8

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.

Because of the challenging nature of ‘18’ classified films, which contain the strongest content, their audience appeal
is generally much narrower than other categories. The most popular genre of the top 10 titles in this category in2010 was crime, with four titles, followed by action and horror, with two titles each (Table 4.14). In 2009, two films,
Bruno and Inglourious Basterds broke the £10 million barrier, but it is unusual for ‘18’ films to take so much at thebox office, and none of the 2010 ‘18’ films did so. There is only one UK film among the top 10 of this classificationin 2010, compared with two in 2009.

9

10

11

Table 4.14 Top 10 ‘18’ classified films, 2010
Title

Saw 3D3-D Jackass
Daybreakers
Nightmare on Elm Street
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Brooklyn’s Finest
London Boulevard
A Prophet
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
The Secret in their Eyes

12

Countryof origin

Grossbox office(£ million)

Distributor

Genre

USA/CanUSA
Aus/USAUSA
Swe/Den/Ger
USA
UK/USA
Fra/ItaUSA
Argentina/Spa

8.6
5.6
4.6
3.6
2.1
1.4
1.4
1.3
1.2
0.8

Lions Gate
Paramount
Lions Gate
Warner Bros
Momentum
MomentumEntertainment
Optimum
Lions Gate
Metrodome

HorrorComedyActionHorrorCrime
Action
Crime
Crime
Crime
Drama

13

14

15

16

17

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
Figures as at 10 February 2011.

18

„

19

3 For cinema admissions and box office in 2010 see Chapter 1 (page 8)3 For top foreign language films of the last decade see Chapter 5 (page 40)
3 For a look at cinema audiences see Chapter 15 (page 125)
3 For information about film classification in the UK see www.bbfc.org.uk

20

21

Chapter 4: Genre and classification – 39

22ç#)0"2EL"!&)%&6" ×%-6

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• 355 specialised films were released in the UK in 2010)/ &"$!"6)$"3"2&"$!"*
(64% of the total) earning £66.2 million (6.5% of thetotal gross box office).
!&$"-)0#)0&61"24 &**"2"$0
• Films in 29 different languages (including English) were*2--)&$602")-!--"2!&)%
released in the UK in 2010.
*)2":#"4-)4**"2)$• 199 foreign language films made up 36% of total&$$1)0&1"!&$"-)0&!604%"N
releases, but shared just 3% of the UK box office.
"$.)."7&0#!#)%%"$.&$.
• 47 Hindi films were released, with My Name is Khan
and Dabangg being the two most popular.
6/+"!0-)00"2N"&$*2"&.$
documentary films were released, accounting for%)$./)."62202)4 &**"2"$0 • 58
10% of releases but only 0.2% of the gross box office.
!/%0/2"6: 1& "$!"6#760#)0 • 28 classic and archive films were re-released (5% of the
6"!&)%&6" ×%-6)2")1&0)%)20 total), accounting for 0.4% of the box office.
*/2×%-!/%0/2":

1

2

5.1 Specialised films at the UK box office in 2010

3

The Research and Statistics Unit’s definition of ‘specialised’ is broad and relates to those films that do not sit easily
within a mainstream and highly commercial genre. Many are from the independent production sector (although they
may be handled by a mainstream, studio-based distributor) or are made with a low production budget (comparedwith a studio production) and may focus more on script and character than on effects and star names. They may be
expected to appeal to a narrower audience segment than mainstream films.
Specifically, the Research and Statistics Unit considers most subtitled foreign language films, documentaries andarchive/classic films to be specialised. For films that do not fall into these categories, other criteria are applied andconsideration is given to films that are less easy to define as a particular genre or those that deal with challenging
and complex subject matter.

4

5

6

In total, 355 specialised films were released in 2010, representing 64% of the total number of UK theatrical releases
last year. These films grossed £66 million, a 6.5% share of total box office earnings (Table 5.1).

7

Table 5.1 Specialised films in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2010

8

Type

Foreign language
Documentaries
Re-releases
Other specialised films
All specialised films*
All films

Number of
releases

Share ofreleases (%)

Grossbox office(£ million)

Share ofgross box
office (%)

Averagewidest pointof release

199
58
28
88
355
557

36
10
5
16
64
100

30.3
1.9
4.0
30.5
66.2
1,023.6

3.0
0.2
0.4
3.0
6.5
100.0

19
9
29
46
25
115

Source: Rentrak EDI data, RSU analysis.
* Due to some overlap of categories (eg a film can be categorised as foreign language and as a documentary) the total refers to the number of specialised films, not the sum
total of the categories in the table.

An analysis of specialised film releases and market sharefrom 2000 to 2010 is shown in Figure 5.1. Applying the
Research and Statistics Unit definition of specialised film
retrospectively to films released prior to 2003 (whenthe UK Film Council’s Prints and Advertising Fund wasestablished) we can see that almost six in every 10 films
released at the UK box office from 2000 to 2003 were
specialised. The figure has grown steadily from a low
point of 51% in 2003 to 69% in 2009. Market share
increased from 8% in 2008 to over 15% in 2009, fallingback to 6.5% in 2010.

Figure 5.1 Specialised films 2000–2010:
percentage of releases and market share

9

10

11

12

13

Percentage
70
14
60
50

15

40
16
30
20

17

10
0

00

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

Specialised
57.7 58.2 58.0 50.5 55.4 55.7 58.8 64.4 66.6 69.0 63.7
films as % of
total releases
Market shareof specialised
films (%)

7.6

5.9

6.4

5.1

9.8

6.5

8.5

8.0

18

19

8.2 15.4 6.5
20

Source: UK Film Council analysis of Rentrak EDI data.
21

Image: The Leopard courtesy of BFI Distribution

Chapter 5: Specialised films – 41

22

By sorting specialised films into four separate types – documentaries, foreign language films, re-releases and films
with a distinctive genre, hook or style – we can better understand the patterns of specialised film distribution overtime. As Figure 5.2 shows, there has been a steady increase in the number of theatrically released feature
documentaries over the last decade – from a low point of four in 2001 to 58 last year. The number of re-released
films tracked by Rentrak EDI has remained largely the same, although this figure does not include all re-releases,
particularly limited or one-off screenings in independent cinemas. The number of foreign language films increased
from a low point of 96 releases in 2001 to a peak of 193 in 2005 and has since fluctuated. Finally, the more
subjective category of films with innovative or unconventional approaches, genre or style saw numbers decline from86 in 2000 to a low of 20 in 2005 before rising again to a peak of 117 in 2009.
Figure 5.2 Number of specialised releases, 2000–2010
Number of releases
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
00

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

Documentary

10

4

8

18

23

27

34

36

49

56

58

Foreign language

106

96

123

142

159

193

165

161

179

148

190

Re-release

19

25

25

17

21

20

25

29

26

26

19

Genre/hook/style

86

80

58

36

47

20

73

109

97

117

88

0

Source: UK Film Council analysis of Rentrak EDI data.

42 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

10

1

2

The box office performance of specialised films, again split into the four sub-categories of documentary, foreign
language, re-releases and films with a distinctive hook, genre or style, is shown in Figure 5.3. Box office revenues for
documentaries soared in 2009 with the release of Michael Jackson’s This Is It, but they declined to £1.9 million lastyear. Foreign language film grosses have more than doubled in 11 years, with fluctuations depending on individual
high grossing titles (such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Amélie in 2001 and The Passion of the Christ in2004). The combined revenues for re-releases are comparatively small and have only risen above £2 million on threeoccasions in the last decade, again depending on one or two high profile re-issues. However, it is better to judge
re-issues in terms of screen averages rather than overall grosses. Finally, the more subjective category of titles with
distinctive and non-mainstream genres or styles saw a huge increase in revenue in 2009 (£133 million) due to theperformance of films such as Slumdog Millionaire, Inglourious Basterds, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button andFantastic Mr. Fox but these grosses fell back to £30 million in 2010.
Figure 5.3 Box office gross (£ million) of specialised films, 2000–2010

3

4

5

6

7

£ million
200
180

8

160
140
120

9

100
80
60

10

40
20
00

0

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

Documentary

0.57

0.17

2.24

5.28

9.27

4.77

4.57

1.57

4.12

12.02

1.90

Foreign language

11.95

29.75

17.20

20.30

38.30

27.11

29.70

32.15

26.92

25.32

30.10

Re-release

2.95

2.29

1.40

1.34

0.55

0.30

1.24

1.74

0.97

2.68

3.67

Genre/hook/style

33.32

12.15

32.65

14.52

33.23

23.31

37.35

39.70

45.05

133.10

30.48

11

12

Source: UK Film Council analysis of Rentrak EDI data.
13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 5: Specialised films – 4322

5.2 Foreign language films
Films in 29 different languages (including English) werereleased in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2010,
compared with 28 in 2009 (Table 5.2). Hindi was again
the top non-English language at the box office, with a
1% share of revenues, followed by French (0.5%) andSwedish (0.4%).

The 28 foreign languages were spread over 199 releases
in the UK and Republic of Ireland (36% of all releases, up
four percentage points since 2009), earning £30 million
at the box office (Table 5.3). This represented 3% of thetotal UK gross box office for 2010, up from 2% in 2009.
Table 5.3 Foreign language films at the UK and
Republic of Ireland box office, 2002–2010

Table 5.2 Languages of films released, 2010
Main
language

EnglishHindi
FrenchSwedishSpanishTamil
ItalianEnglish with others*
Japanese
ArabicPunjabi
GermanTurkishGreek
FinnishHebrew
SilentThai
KoreanFarsi
Romanian
TeluguMandarin
Russian
Portuguese
Cantonese
Dutch
Afrikaans
Malayalam
Zulu
Indonesian
Total

Number Gross box office Box office shareof releases(£ million)
(%)

348
47
32
6
15
16
5
9
8
4
11
7
11
1
1
2
1
2
3
4
2
1
7
2
4
2
1
1
2
1
1
557

992.1
12.4
5.5
4.5
1.6
1.5
1.3
1.1
0.9
0.7
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
1,023.6

96.9
1.2
0.5
0.4
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
100.0

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
* ‘English with others’ includes films whose main language was English but withextensive use of other languages, such as London River in English and French.

44 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

Number% of
all releases

131
147
169
203
171
170
188
161
199

35.5
34.7
37.5
43.5
33.9
32.9
35.7
32.0
35.7

Box office % of total gross(£ million)box office

17.1
20.4
38.1
26.9
29.8
32.3
27.1
25.6
30.3

2.2
2.5
4.6
3.2
3.5
3.5
2.9
2.3
3.0

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
Note: Figures as at 10 February 2011.

Films in European languages other than English earned
1.6% of the gross box office from 15.6% of releases andSouth Asian subcontinent languages shared 1.4% of
the box office from 14% of releases (Table 5.4). Taken
together, foreign language films played on average atonly 19 sites at their widest point of release (up from 18
in 2009) compared with an average of 169 for English
language releases.

1

2

Table 5.4 Language of releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2010 (ranked by number of releases)
Main language

English and English with others*
European other than English
South Asian subcontinent
Other Asian
Other international
SilentTotal

3

Numberof releases% ofreleases

Gross box office(£ million)% of grossbox office

Average sites atwidest pointof release

357
87
79
21
12
1
557

64.1
15.6
14.2
3.8
2.2
<0.1
100.0

993.2
16.4
14.5
1.1
0.9
0.1
1,023.6

97.0
1.6
1.4
0.1
0.1
<0.1
100.0

169
18
23
15
8
44
115

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
* See note to Table 5.2.
Notes:
Figures as at 10 February 2011.
Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

4

5

6

7

8

The top foreign language film of 2010 was in Hindi (My Name is Khan) and Hindi films made up eight of the top
20 (Table 5.5). Four films earned over £1 million, including two films from the Millennium trilogy – The Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire. Oscar®-nominated French crime drama A Prophet also earned over
£1 million.

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 5: Specialised films – 45

22

Table 5.5 Top 20 foreign language films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2010
Title

Country of origin

Gross box office(£ million)

Distributor

Main language

2.6
2.1

20th Century Fox
Momentum

Hindi
Swedish1.6

Momentum

Swedish

1.3
0.9
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.7

Optimum
Metrodome
Eros
Metrodome
Optimum
MomentumFrenchItalian
Hindi
SpanishJapanese
Swedish

0.7

UTV Motion
Pictures
UTV Motion
Pictures
Revolver
Eros
Eros
Ayngaran
Optimum
Artificial Eye
Reliance Big
Pictures
UTV Motion
Pictures
UTV Motion
Pictures

1
2

My Name is Khan
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

3

The Girl Who Played with Fire

4
5
6
7
8
9

A Prophet
I Am Love
Dabangg
The Secret in their Eyes
Ponyo
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest

10

We Are Family

India
Sweden/Denmark/Germany
Sweden/Denmark/Germany
France/Italy
Italy
India
Argentina/SpainJapan
Sweden/Denmark/Germany
India/Australia

11

Tees Maar Khan

India

0.7

12
13
14
15
16
17
18

Heartbreaker
Housefull
Golmaal 3
Endhiran: The Robot
Gainsbourg
Of Gods and Men
Kites

FranceUK/India
India
India
FranceFrance
India

0.7
0.7
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.6

19

Raajneeti

India

0.5

20

I Hate Luv Stories

India

0.5

Hindi
Hindi
French
Hindi
Tamil
Tamil
FrenchArabic
Hindi
Hindi
Hindi

Source: Rentrak EDI, BBFC, IMDb, RSU analysis.
Note: Figures as at 10 February 2011.

Table 5.6 shows the 10 biggest foreign language films of the last decade. The top film is The Passion of the Christ(£11.1 million), followed by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (£9.4 million). There are three Mandarin and three
Spanish films in the top 10, but only one French language title.

46 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 5.6 Top 10 foreign language films, 2001–2010
Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

The Passion of the Christ
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
AmélieApocalypto
HeroHouse of Flying Daggers
Volver
The Motorcycle Diaries
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Lives of Others

3
Language

UK box office
total (£ million)

UK distributor

Year of releaseAramaic/Latin/Hebrew
Mandarin
FrenchMayan
Mandarin
Mandarin
SpanishSpanishSpanishGerman

11.08
9.37
5.01
4.11
3.82
3.78
2.88
2.75
2.72
2.70

Icon
Sony Pictures
Momentum
Icon
Walt Disney
Pathé
Pathé
Pathé
Optimum
Lions Gate

2004
2001
2001
2007
2004
2004
2006
2004
2006
2007

4

5

6

7

8

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.

9

5.3 Documentaries
In all, 58 feature documentaries were released at the UK box office in 2010, representing 10% of theatrical releases.
They earned £1.9 million in total, around 0.2% of the overall box office gross. The most successful documentary of
the year was Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop, which earned £317,000. This was followed by Irish filmmaker
Ken Wardrop’s His and Hers and US documentary Catfish.
Michael Jackson’s This Is It is the highest grossing documentary of all time at the UK box office (Table 5.7), the next
highest earning documentary, Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 grossed £6.5 million in 2004. French natural history
documentary March of the Penguins is in third place with £3.1 million and UK film Touching the Void is at number
four with £2.6 million.

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 5: Specialised films – 47

22

Table 5.7 Top 20 documentaries at the UK box office, 2001–2010
Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Michael Jackson’s This Is It
Fahrenheit 9/11
March of the Penguins
Touching the Void
Bowling for Columbine
Super Size Me
An Inconvenient Truth
Man on Wire
Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus:
Best of Both Worlds
U2 3D
Etre et Avoir
Shine a Light
Spellbound
The September Issue
Capturing the Friedmans
Sicko
Exit Through the Gift Shop
The Corporation
Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert
Of Time and the CityCountryof origin

Year ofreleaseBox officegross (£)

Widest point of
release (sites)

Distributor

USA
USA
France
UK
USA
USA
USA
UK/USA

2009
2004
2005
2003
2002
2004
2006
2008

9,795,960
6,545,552
3,084,616
2,643,252
1,667,625
1,111,093
935,770879,377

498
200
163
50
37
83
68
43

Sony Pictures
Optimum
Warner Bros
Pathé
Momentum
TartanParamount
Icon

USA
USA
France
USA/UK
USA
USA
USA
USA
UK/USA
Canada
USA
UK

2008
2008
2003
2008
2003
2009
2004
2007
2010
2004
2009
2008

799,109725,893
708,116
697,320484,540
427,767
388,238
378,669
317,335
296,234
249,534
245,189

65
Walt Disney
67
Revolver15
Tartan159 20th Century Fox
17
Metrodome
18
Momentum
26
Tartan166
Optimum
41
Revolver20
Metrodome
169
Walt Disney
25
BFI

Source: UK Film Council RSU analysis of Rentrak EDI data.
Notes:The table does not include IMAX-only documentaries and shorts.
Based on box office data for 2000–2010.
Michael Jackson’s This Is It is regarded as the highest grossing documentary of all time because, even with price inflation, it is unlikely that any documentary films before
1989 will have earned more in nominal terms.

5.4 Re-releases of classic and archive films
According to Rentrak EDI, 28 re-released classic and archive films accounted for 5% of theatrical releases in 2010
and generated £4 million (0.4% of the total gross box office). However, not all box office revenues for re-releases aretracked by Rentrak EDI, which primarily focuses on first-run films. Some additional revenue for films, which tend to
be booked for a limited time into specialised cinemas long after their initial release, is missing from this analysis, so
the actual box office share is likely to be greater.
Table 5.8 highlights the top 20 re-releases at UK cinemas over the last decade. Re-releases in 3D take four of the
top 20 places, with sizeable audiences for Toy Story in 2009 and its sequel Toy Story 2 in 2010 which both grossed
over £2 million. The 3D version of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas appears twice in the list: it grossed£647,000 during its 2006 re-release and £329,000 in 2007.
The highest earning re-release in the UK over the last decade was Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, whichgrossed £2.1 million from a wide release in 2000. The chart features an interesting mix of genres – Ridley Scott’s
Alien: The Director’s Cut grossed over £500,000 in 2003, while Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard earned £347,000
from its limited release in the same year and a further £106,000 in 2010. Also in 2010, the 25th anniversary
re-release of sci-fi comedy Back to the Future grossed over £1.1 million.

48 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 5.8 Top 20 re-releases at the UK box office, 2000–2010
Title (year of original release)

1
2
3
4
5
6

12
13
14
15
16
17

A Clockwork Orange (1972)
E.T. (20th anniversary) (1982)
Toy Story (3D re-release) (1996)
Toy Story 2 (3D re-release)
Back to the Future (1985)
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before
Christmas 3-D (1993)
Alien: The Director’s Cut (1979)
Apocalypse Now Redux (1979)
The Leopard (1963)
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before
Christmas 3-D (1993)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
A bout de souffle (1960)
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Amadeus (Director’s Cut) (1984)
Metropolis (1927)

18
19
20

The Wizard of Oz (1939)
White Christmas (1954)
The Conformist (1970)

7
8
9
10
11

3

Countryof origin

Year ofre-release

Box officegross (£)

UK
USA
USA
USA
USA

2000
2002
2009
2010
2010

2,067,302
2,063,690
2,017,464
2,000,829
1,108,766

Widest point of
release (sites)

Distributor

328
Warner Bros
313
UIP
251
Walt Disney
261
Walt Disney
273 Universal Pictures

4

5

6

USA
UK/USA
USA
Italy/France
USA

2006
2003
2001
2003
2007

646,798545,782455,335
346,807329,8915
Walt Disney
134 20th Century Fox
22Walt Disney
5
BFI
33
Park Circus

USA
UK/USAUSA
France
USA
USA

2007
2001
2001
2000
2000
2002

328,759
326,496
313,443
173,301
166,203145,234

44
4
5
5
22
8

Germany
USA
USA
Italy/France/
Germany

2010
2006
2008

128,671
118,033
117,80844
33
27

Walt Disney
Warner Bros
BFI
Optimum
Optimum
Warner Bros
EurekaEntertainment
BFIPark Circus

2008

111,202

6

BFI

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

Source: UK Film Council RSU analysis of Rentrak EDI data.
14

15

16

17

18

19

„

20

3 For more on the box office see Chapter 1 (page 8)3 For more on genre and BBFC classification see Chapter 4 (page 27)

21

Chapter 5: Specialised films – 49

22ç#)0"2CL
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Facts in focus• Worldwide the gross box office for films of all countriesof origin increased by 8% on 2009 to $32 billion.
• The UK share of the global theatrical market was 14%($4.5 billion), up from 7% ($2 billion) in 2009.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was thebest performing UK qualifying film at the worldwide box
office, earning over $950 million in 2010.
• UK films represented 9% of releases at the North
American box office (7% in 2009), and 14% of themarket (7% in 2009), at a value of $1,437 million.
• In Europe, the top UK qualifying film was Harry Potter
and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 with 24 million
admissions, followed by Inception with 21 million.

12

6.1 UK films worldwide

3

Global box office receipts reached $31.8 billion in 2010, up 8% on 2009 (Table 6.1). UK films had a 14% share ofthis market, earning $4.5 billion, compared with $2 billion in 2009. UK inward investment films (UK films whollyor partly financed and controlled by US studios but featuring UK cast, crew, locations, facilities, post-production
and often UK source material) earned 12.6% of the worldwide box office while UK independent films shared
1.6% of global revenues.

4

5

Table 6.1 UK films global market share, 2002–2010

Year

UK film
worldwide
gross(US$ billion)

Globaltheatricalmarket(US$ billion)

1.8
1.4
2.9
3.6
2.2
3.3
4.2
2.0
4.5

19.8
20.1
24.9
23.1
25.5
26.3
27.8
29.4
31.8

2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

6
UK share(%)

US studio-backed
UK films share(%)

UK independentfilms share
(%)

9.1
6.9
11.6
15.5
8.6
12.5
15.1
6.8
14.2

7.6
5.5
10.0
13.4
7.5
10.6
13.3
4.4
12.6

1.5
1.5
1.6
2.2
1.2
1.9
1.8
2.4
1.6

Source: MPAA, Screen Digest, Rentrak EDI, RSU.
* ‘Studio-backed’ means backed by one of the major US film studios.

7

8

9

10

11

The highest grossing UK film of 2010 was the seventh instalment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows: Part 1, which earned $952 million worldwide (Table 6.2). This was closely followed by Christopher
Nolan’s Inception which grossed $826 million and sword and sandal epic Clash of the Titans ($493 million).
Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, a late December 2009 release, grossed $372 million in 2010.

12

13

Table 6.2 Top 10 UK films worldwide, 2010
Title

1
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1*
2
Inception
3
Clash of the Titans
4
Sherlock Holmes
5
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
6
Robin Hood
7
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader*
8
The Wolfman
9
Kick-Ass
10
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Total top 10

Countryof origin

Worldwide gross(US$ million)

UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA

952
826
493
372
336
322
266
143
105
95
3,910

14

15

16

17

18

19

Source: RSU.
* Still on international theatrical release as of 10 February 2011.
Note: Table based on gross box office revenue in the 2010 calendar year.

20

21

Image: Another Year courtesy of Momentum Pictures, an Alliance Films Company

Chapter 6: UK films internationally – 51

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"The highest grossing UK independent film was Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass which earned $105 million worldwide
in 2010. This was followed by The Ghost ($62 million) and Nine ($44 million). StreetDance 3D grossed $42 million
while Oscar®-winning The King’s Speech earned $40 million in 2010 (by 15 April 2011 it had grossed $393 million
worldwide).
Table 6.3 Top 10 UK independent films worldwide, 2010
Countryof origin

Title

1
Kick-Ass
2
The Ghost3
Nine
4
StreetDance 3D
5
The King’s Speech*
6
The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus
7
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger*
8
Planet 51
9
Solomon Kane
10
Tamara Drewe
Total top 10

UK/USA**
UK/Fra/Ger
UK/USA**
UK
UK
UK/CanUK/USA**
UK/Spa/USA**
UK/Fra/Cze
UK

Worldwide gross(US$ million)

105
62
44
42
40
32
27
16
14
12
378

Source: RSU.
* Still on international theatrical release as of 10 February 2011. By 15 April 2011 The King’s Speech had earned $393 million.
** Made with independent (non studio) US support.
Note: Table based on gross box office revenue in the 2010 calendar year.

6.2 UK films in North America
Table 6.4 shows the country of origin of films released in the USA and Canada in 2010. The UK share of the gross box
office increased from 7% in 2009 to 14% in 2010 with UK films representing 9% of releases in the North American
market (up from 7% in 2009). The total revenue from these films stood at $1,437 million, up from $705 million
in 2009.
Table 6.4 Country of origin of films released in the USA and Canada, 2010
Countryof origin

UK independent films
UK studio-backed films*
UK films total
USA
Rest of world
Total
Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
* ‘Studio-backed’ means backed by one of the major US film studios.
Note: Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

52 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Numberof releases%of releases

Box office(US$ million)

Box office share
(%)

38
12
50
334
189
573

6.6
2.1
8.7
58.3
33.0
100.0

186
1,250
1,437
8,442
184
10,063

1.8
12.4
14.2
83.9
1.8
100.0

1

2

Table 6.5 UK market share in North America, 2002–20103
UK market share
%

Year

2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

7.2
5.7
11.0
15.8
9.2
11.8
16.3
6.6
14.2

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was the top performing UK qualifying film in 2010 in North America
with $292.9 million, followed closely by Inception with $292.6 million (Table 6.6).

4

5

6

7

8

9

Table 6.6 Top 20 UK films at the USA and Canada box office (including co-productions), 2010
Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Inception
Clash of the Titans
Robin Hood
The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader*Prince of Persia: The Sands of TimeThe King’s Speech*
The Wolfman
Kick-Ass
Gulliver’s Travels
Green Zone
Hereafter
Nanny McPhee Returns**
The Ghost Writer**
Exit Through the Gift Shop
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger*
Never Let Me Go
Another Year*
Harry Brown
Nowhere Boy

Countryof origin

Box office gross(US$ million)

Distributor

UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA

292.9
292.6
163.2
105.3

Warner Bros
Warner Bros
Warner Bros
Universal

UK/USA
UK/USAUK
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/Fra/Ger
UK
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK
UK
UK

102.7
90.8
86.4
62.0
48.1
41.7
35.1
32.7
29.0
15.5
3.3
3.2
2.4
1.8
1.8
1.5

20th Century Fox
Walt Disney
The Weinstein Company
Universal
Lions Gate
20th Century Fox
Universal
Warner Bros
Universal
SummitAbramorama
Sony Classics
Fox SearchlightSony Classics
IDP/Samuel Goldwyn
The Weinstein Company

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
* Still on release at 10 February 2011.
** Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang was released in the USA as Nanny McPhee Returns. The Ghost was released in the USA as The Ghost Writer.
Note: Table lists the gross box office for films released in the USA and Canada in 2010 and includes 2011 earnings up to 10 February 2011.

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 6: UK films internationally – 53

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"
6.3 UK films in Europe

Outside the UK and Republic of Ireland, the market share for UK films in Europe ranged from a high of 22% in Spain(including 5.4% for UK independent films) to 12% in Italy (Table 6.7).
Table 6.7 UK market share in selected European territories, 2010
Territory

Austria
FranceGermany
Italy
Netherlands
PortugalSpain

Box officefor UK films(€ million)

20.2
31.8m
(admissions)
156.6
87.4
36.0
12.2
135.5

UK share(%)

UK studio-backed
films share*(%)

UK independentfilms share
(%)

16.8

14.6

2.2

16.7
19.2
12.0
19.5
15.6
22.2

12.8
16.9
10.0
17.3
13.0
16.9

3.9
2.3
2.0
2.1
2.6
5.4

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
* ‘Studio-backed’ means backed by one of the major US film studios.
Note: Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

The top UK qualifying film in European countries (other than the UK and Republic of Ireland) in 2010 was Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 with 24 million admissions, followed by Inception with 21 million (Table 6.8).
The Ghost recorded the highest admissions total for UK independent films with over 2.5 million admissions.

54 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 6.8 Top 20 UK films in other European countries, 2010

3

Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Inception
Sherlock Holmes
Robin Hood
Prince of Persia: The Sands of TimeClash of the Titans
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
The Ghost
The Wolfman
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Planet 51
Green Zone
StreetDance 3D
Kick-AssNine
The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus
Tamara Drewe
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Bright StarCountryof origin

Europeanadmissions

UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/Fra/Ger
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/SpaUK/USAUK
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/CanUK
UK/USA
UK/Aus

24,092,095
20,837,721
11,191,864
11,166,989
10,124,628
8,861,888
7,118,629
2,740,051
2,589,546
2,478,948
2,254,860
2,144,565
2,119,853
1,836,825
1,518,297
1,284,536
1,211,617
700,144683,839
679,541

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory Lumière Database.
Note: Data based on admissions from 24 European countries (excluding the UK and Republic of Ireland) in the 2010 calendar year.

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

6.4 UK films in Latin America

14

UK films earned between 14% and 22% of the box office in the Latin American territories for which data are
available. The top performing films were Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Inception and Clash of
the Titans.

15

Table 6.9 UK market share in selected Latin American countries, 2010
TerritoryArgentina
BrazilChile
Colombia
MexicoVenezuela

Box officefor UK films(US$ million)

UK share(%)

UK studio-backed
films share*(%)

UK independentfilms share
(%)

39.8
112.1
15.7
24.5
152.4
34.0

17.3
15.7
20.2
21.9
20.1
14.3

16.0
14.6
19.5
21.1
18.9
13.4

1.3
1.1
0.7
0.8
1.2
0.9

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
* ‘Studio-backed’ means backed by one of the major US film studios.

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 6: UK films internationally – 55

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"
6.5 UK films in Asia

The highest grossing UK films in Japan were Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Inception, Sherlock
Holmes and Kick-Ass. Inception was the clear favourite in South Korea, followed by Clash of the Titans and Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
Table 6.10 UK market share in Japan and South Korea, 2010
Territory

Japan
South Korea

Box officefor UK films(US$ million)

UK share(%)

UK studio-backed
films share*(%)

UK independentfilms share
(%)

201.0
132.1

9.8
12.8

8.9
12.2

0.9
0.6

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
* ‘Studio-backed’ means backed by one of the major US film studios.

6.6 UK films in Australasia
In 2010, UK films accounted for 22% of the theatrical market in Australia and 21% in New Zealand. Once again,
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Inception and Clash of the Titans were the highest earning UK films
and The King’s Speech, a late 2010 release in Australia, also figured in the list of top UK films.
Table 6.11 UK market share in Australia and New Zealand, 2010
Territory

Australia
New ZealandBox officefor UK films(US$ million)

UK share(%)

UK studio-backed
films share*(%)

UK independentfilms share
(%)

177.4
22.5

21.9
20.8

17.5
17.1

4.4
3.7

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
* ‘Studio-backed’ means backed by one of the major US film studios.

Note: Definition of ‘UK film’
For the purposes of this chapter, a UK film is one which is certified as such by the UK Secretary of State for Culture,
Olympics, Media and Sport under Schedule 1 of the Films Act 1985, via the Cultural Test, under one of the UK’s
bilateral co-production agreements or the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production; a film which
has not applied for certification but which is obviously British on the basis of its content, producers, finance andtalent; or (in the case of a re-release) a film which met the official definition of a British film prevailing at the time it
was made or was generally considered to be British at that time. Most UK films in the analysis (including the major
studio-backed films) fall into the first group – films officially certified as British.

„
3 For more information on the UK and global market for filmed entertainment see Chapter 14 (page 119)
3 For more information about the UK film economy see Chapter 21 (page 185)

56 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011ç#)0"2@Lç#)0"29L
#"3*×!")7)2 6
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Facts in focus
#"#)6)$)60$&6#&$.
ç#)0"2&$02:• Of• Chapterthe topbullets.
200 global box office successes of 2001–!2")0&1"2"!2 &$×%-: 2
2010, 34 films are based on stories and characters•
created by UK writers. Together they have earned almost
0#")60984")26N)!026N
$20 billion (£12.2 billion) at the worldwide box office.
&2"!026N72&0"26)$ 0#"2
• Ten of the top 20 global box office successes of the last
×%-0)%"$0#)1"""$2-&$"$0 10 years are based on novels by UK writers.
&$0#".%)%3*×!"!#)206 • More than half of the top 200 films released worldwide
since 2001 have featured UK actors in lead or prominent)$ )7)2 !"2"-$&"6:024
supporting roles.
-)0"2&)%*2-72&0"26#)6
• UK directors have directed 21 of the 200 biggest filmsof the last 10 years with David Yates topping the box!$0&$/" 0×$ "$0#/6&)60&!
office league.
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• UK films and talent won 24 major film awards in 2010,0),"$/2!/%0/2")$ & "$0&04
with 12 of these awards being won at the BAFTAs.
The 265 awards received from 2001–2010 represented00#"72% :14% of the total of all major awards.

7.1 UK story material
The global box office performance of UK films and foreign films which draw on UK source material is a good
indicator of the international impact and exposure of British culture. Of the top 200 grossing films released
worldwide between 2001 and 2010, 31 are UK qualifying films, and UK-originated story material provided theinspiration for 34 films, a feat only bettered by US story material. Collectively these 34 films have earned justunder $20 billion at the global box office.
Novels by British writers have provided the source material for 10 of the top 20 grossing films worldwide since 2001.
The top 20 grossing films adapted from stories or characters created by UK writers are listed in Table 7.1. Eighteen
are adapted from novels, graphic novels and short stories written by UK authors, one is based on a successful stage
production and one is from an original screenplay.
Table 7.1 Top 20 grossing films worldwide based on stories and characters created by UK writers, 2001–2010
Rank

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Title

The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and thePhilosopher’s Stone
Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Harry Potter and theOrder of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and theHalf-Blood Prince
The Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets
The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring
Inception

Countryof origin

Grossbox office(US$ million)

US distributor

UK story material(writer)

USA/NZ
USA

1,119
1,024

New Line
Walt Disney

Novel by JRR Tolkien
Novel by Lewis Carroll

UK/USA

975

Warner Bros

Novel by JK Rowling

UK/USA

951

Warner Bros

Novel by JK Rowling

UK/USA

938

Warner Bros

Novel by JK Rowling

UK/USA

934

Warner Bros

Novel by JK Rowling

USA/NZ
UK/USA

923
896

New Line
Warner Bros

Novel by JRR Tolkien
Novel by JK Rowling

UK/USA

879

Warner Bros

Novel by JK Rowling

USA/NZ
UK/USA

868
823

New Line
Warner Bros

Novel by JRR Tolkien
Original screenplay by
Christopher Nolan

UK/USA

796

Warner Bros

Novel by JK Rowling

USA/NZUSA
UK/USA/Cze
UK/USA

749
596
595
585

Walt Disney
ParamountSony Pictures
Universal

Novel by CS Lewis
Novel by HG Wells
Novel by Ian FlemingMusical book and screenplay
by Catherine Johnson
Based on Ian Fleming novels
Based on Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle novels
Novel by Cressida Cowell
Novel by Roald Dahl

14
15
16

Harry Potter and thePrisoner of Azkaban
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion,
the Witch and the Wardrobe
The War of the Worlds
Casino Royale
Mamma Mia!

17
18

Quantum of Solace
Sherlock Holmes

UK/USA
UK/USA

546
523

Sony Pictures
Warner Bros

19
20

How to Train Your Dragon
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

USA
UK/USA

493
473

Paramount
Warner Bros

13

Source: UK Film Council RSU.

58 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Image: A Single Man courtesy of Icon Film Distribution

1

2

Of the 34 films from the top 200 based on UK stories and characters, the majority (76%) were based on novels byauthors such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Roald Dahl, Helen Fielding, Ian Fleming, CS Lewis, JK Rowling, JRR Tolkien and
HG Wells (Figure 7.1). A new entry to the list at number four was the top grossing UK film of 2010 Harry Potter andthe Deathly Hallows: Part 1, which was based on the novel by JK Rowling (to date the Harry Potter franchise has taken
a total of $6.4 billion at the worldwide box office). Other new entries, which are neither sequels nor franchise titles,
include two 3D films based on children’s novels, Alice in Wonderland and How to Train Your Dragon, and Inception
based on an original screenplay by Christopher Nolan.
Figure 7.1 Origin of UK story material in the top 200 films at the international box office, 2001–2010%

Novel
Computer game
MusicalComic book/graphic novel
Original screenplay

76
12
6
3
3

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

7.2 UK actors
UK acting talent is widely recognised as being among the best in the world and more than half (127) of the top
200 films at the international box office since 2001 have featured British actors in either lead/title roles (31) or in the
supporting cast (96). The prominent role played by UK actors in many of the major blockbusters of the last decadeis reflected in Figure 7.2 which shows the top 12 British actors based on appearances in the top 200 films. The actors
appearing in the highest earning films are the regular stars of the Harry Potter franchise (only the three main performers
are shown in Figure 7.2 but several others have appeared in all seven films). In last year’s chart Orlando Bloom was top
having appeared in eight films in the top 200, but with new 2010 releases entering the top 200 one of his films,
Kingdom of Heaven, has dropped out. Ian McKellen and Christopher Lee have featured in some of the biggest
franchises in cinema history such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Star Wars prequels and the X-Men films.
New entries in the chart include Bill Nighy (who appeared in two Pirates of the Caribbean films, Love Actually, G-Forceand the 2010 release Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1), Robert Pattinson (Harry Potter and the Goblet ofFire and the three Twilight films) and Sean Bean (two Lord of the Rings films, National Treasure and 2010’s Percy
Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief).

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 7: UK talent and awards – 5922ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Figure 7.2 Top 12 UK actors featured in the top 200 films at the worldwide box office, 2001–2010(number of appearances in brackets)
Total gross box office (US$ billion)
7.00
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00

4.53

4.13

2.98

)

)

(4
ne
ai
el
C
ha
ic

2.99

M

be

3.47

Be
an
Se
an

Pa
t
rt

th
na

(4

)
(4
n
tin

Pr
an

ad
Br
o

so

yc

e

be
nt

(4

(5

)

)

)
(5
y
gh
Ni
ll

Ro

6.09

Jo

6.36

Jim

Total grossbox office(US$ billion)

Bi

0

Da
n
Emiel
Ru maRad
pe W cli
rt a ffe
G tso /
rin n
t( /
O
7)
rla
nd
o
Bl
oo
m
(7
)
Ia
n
M
cK
el
le
n
(6
)
Ch
ris
to
ph
er
Le
e
(6
)

1.00

2.68

2.56

2.48

Source: UK Film Council RSU.
Criteria: based on four or more appearances, either in lead/title role or supporting role (not including voices in animated films).

7.3 UK directors
Twenty-one of the 200 highest grossing films at the worldwide box office have been directed by British directors(Figure 7.3 and Table 7.2). David Yates’s three Harry Potter films (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1) made him the British director
with the most commercial success in recent years, with total box office takings of $2.82 billion. Christopher Nolan
is second having directed Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and Inception which have combined box office takingsof $2.19 billion. In third place is Mike Newell who directed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Prince of Persia:
The Sands of Time which together grossed $1.23 billion. Ridley Scott is in fourth place, with three films (Kingdomof Heaven, Hannibal and American Gangster) in the top 200, grossing over $927 million between them. The successof The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum ensure that Paul Greengrass features twice in the top 200 list,
with a combined gross of $731 million. Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes grossed $523 million and Danny Boyle’s
Slumdog Millionaire, the only independent UK film in the list, grossed $362 million. Three women feature in the
top 200 list, Sharon Maguire and Beeban Kidron, for Bridget Jones’s Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
respectively and Phyllida Lloyd, who made the transition from West End stage to film with her 2008 debut feature,
Mamma Mia!.

60 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Figure 7.3 Top 10 UK directors based on top 200 grossing films at the global box office, 2001–2010(number of films in brackets)

3

Worldwide gross box office (US$ million)
3,000

4

2,250

5

1,500

6

750

927

523

(1
)

(1
)

ui

re

on

ag
ar

on

an
eb

8

M

Ki

y
nn
Da

uy
G

585

dr

yl
Bo

hi
Ri
tc

oy
Ll
a
lid
yl
Ph

731

Sh

1,231

(1
)
e

(1
)
e

(1
)
d

s(
gr
en
re
G

ul
Pa

2,193

Be

2,822

as

tt
Sc
o
ey
dl
Ri

Ch

Worldwide
gross box office(US$ million)

2)

(3
)

2)
l(
w
el
Ne
e
ik

M

ph
to
ris

Da

vi

er

d

No

Ya
t

la

es

n

(3
)

0

(3
)

7

362

261

254

10

Source: UK Film Council RSU.

Table 7.2 UK directors from the top 200 films at the global box office and their films, 2001–2010
Director

David Yates

Christopher Nolan
Mike Newell
Ridley Scott
Paul Greengrass
Phyllida Lloyd
Guy Ritchie
Danny Boyle
Beeban Kidron
Sharon Maguire
Simon West
Richard Curtis
Steve Bendelack9Film(s)Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Batman Begins, The Dark Knight,
Inception
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
American Gangster, Hannibal, Robin Hood
The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum
Mamma Mia!
Sherlock Holmes
Slumdog Millionaire
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Love Actually
Mr Bean’s Holiday

11
Total grossbox office(US$ million)
12

2,822
2,193
1,231
927
731
585
523
362
261
254
252
245
228

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

Source: UK Film Council RSU.

20

21

Chapter 7: UK talent and awards – 6122

7.4 Awards for UK films and talent
UK films and British talent, in front of and behind the camera, have enjoyed major award recognition since 2001.
Table 7.3 illustrates the number of awards won by UK films and individuals at two major international award
ceremonies (Academy Awards®, BAFTA Film Awards) and the major international film festivals (Berlin, Cannes,
Sundance, Toronto and Venice). In all, there were 265 award winners, representing 14% of the awards made.
Table 7.3 Awards for British films and talent, 2001–2010
Year

Number of UK award winners*

UK share %

25
24
22
22
23
25
32
32
36
24
265

14
15
13
13
14
14
15
15
17
12
14

2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Total
Source: UK Film Council.
* Awards include Academy Awards® and BAFTA Film Awards, and Berlin, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto and Venice festivals.

UK films and talent won 24 major academy and festival awards in 2010, 12% of the total number conferred(Table 7.4). The Hurt Locker was the most successful film at both the Academy® and the BAFTA awards and,
although it is an American film, some UK award winners were associated with it. Ray Becket won the Academy
Award® for Sound Mixing and the BAFTA for Sound (both awards were won jointly with Swede Paul NJ Ottosson)for his work on The Hurt Locker, and Barry Ackroyd won the BAFTA for Cinematography for the same film. British
costume designer Sandy Powell also won both an Academy Award® and a BAFTA for her work on the British film
The Young Victoria. The BAFTA awards for Best Actor and Best Actress also went to British talent. Colin Firth won
Best Actor for his role in A Single Man, and Carey Mulligan won Best Actress for An Education. At the festivals,
Lucy Walker was presented with three awards for her documentary Waste Land. This film won the World Cinema
Documentary Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, and at the Berlin Film Festival it won both the
Panorama Audience Award and the Amnesty International Film Award. Waste Land’s Amnesty InternationalFilm Award was shared with another UK film, Son of Babylon, which also won Berlin’s Peace Film Award.
Table 7.4 UK award winners, 2010
Award ceremony/festival

Academy Awards
7 March 2010®

62 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Award

Recipient

Title

Costume Design

Sandy Powell

The Young Victoria

Sound Mixing

Ray Beckett(with Paul NJ Ottosson)

The Hurt Locker

1

2Award ceremony/festivalAward

BAFTA Film Awards
21 February 2010

Outstanding British Film

Berlin InternationalFilm Festival
11–21 February 2010

Recipient

Title

Nick Laws and Andrea
Fish Tank
Arnold (with Kees Kasander)
Outstanding debut by a British writer, Duncan Jones
Moon
director or producer
Leading Actress
Carey Mulligan
An Education
Leading Actor
Colin FirthA Single Man
Cinematography
Barry Ackroyd
The Hurt Locker
Costume Design
Sandy Powell
The Young Victoria
Sound
Ray Beckett
The Hurt Locker(with Paul NJ Ottosson)
Make Up and Hair
Jenny Shircore
The Young Victoria
Short Animation
Sally Arthur andMother of Many
Emma Lazenby
Short Film
James Bolton
I Do Air(with Martina Amati)
Outstanding British contribution
Joe Dunton
to Cinema
Academy Fellowship
Vanessa Redgrave
Generation Kplus Crystal Bear
Jack Price
IndigoShort Film, Special Mention
Peace Film Award
Amnesty International Film Award(joint winner)
Amnesty International Film Award(joint winner)
Panorama Audience Award

Sundance Film Festival Honourable Mention in
21–31 January 2010 Short Filmmaking
Honourable Mention in
Short Filmmaking
World Cinema DocumentarySpecial Jury PrizeWorld Cinema Documentary
Audience Award
Toronto International Cadillac People’s Choice Award
Film Festival 9–19
September 2010

Mohamed Al Daraji
Lucy Walker (with KarenHarley and João Jardim)
Mohamed Al Daraji

Son of Babylon
Waste Land

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Son of Babylon
13

Lucy Walker (with KarenHarley and João Jardim)
Jim Owen

Waste Land

Eric Lynne

Rob and Valentyna in
ScotlandEnemies of the People

Can We Talk?

Rob Lemkin(with Thet Sambath)
Lucy Walker

Waste LandTom Hooper

The King’s Speech

14

15

16

17

18

Source: UK Film Council.
Note: No awards were made to UK talent or films at Cannes or Venice in 2010.

„19

3 For more details on the film distribution sector in 2010 see Chapter 9 (page 76)
3 For more information about the exhibition sector in 2010 see Chapter 10 (page 82)
3 For more background on film production in 2010 see Chapter 17 (page 144)

20

21

Chapter 7: UK talent and awards – 6322ç#)0"2?L#")02&!)%2"%")6"#&6024)$ !-)2)0&1""2*2-)$!"*×%-6

Facts in focus
×%-7#&!#"2*2-67"%%)0• Just under half (44%) of UK films shot between 2003
0#"!&$"-)#)6 &60&$!0
and 2007 were released in the UK and Republic of
Ireland within two years of principal photography.
) 1)$0)."6&$")2$&$.6)$ accounted for 73% of the total UK film production
2-0&$N)$ !-"0&0&$*2 They
budget over this period.
0#")1)&%)%"2"%")6"6%06&6
• Almost two-thirds (64%) of UK films shot between 2003
×"2!": 7"1"2N"07""$F88A and 2007 were released in at least one of 19 territories
within two years of principal photography, accounting)$ F88@)0%")60?El*0#"
for 85% of the total UK film production budget over00)%!60*2 /!&$.×%-6 this period.
• Overall, UK films exploited 18% of the international7)66"$0$×%-67#&!#
release opportunities within two years of principal
photography.
)!#&"1" 0#")02&!)%2"%")6"6:
• Using an international box office to budget ratio of
2 or more as an approximate measure of profitability,
overall 12% of UK films produced from 2003 to 2007
were profitable.

12

8.1 Theatrical release of UK films

3This chapter looks at the theatrical release performance of UK films in the UK and internationally. Knowing how
well the different categories of UK film have performed is important for understanding the film market and for
public policy.
It should be borne in mind that the number of effective theatrical release slots each year is tightly constrained, there
being only 52 weekends per year. Films can also be released on DVD/video, shown on terrestrial or multi-channel
television, or downloaded or streamed over different digital platforms.

UK films are defined as films that qualified as British under the Films Act 1985 (including official co-productions)or were capable of qualifying under the rules applicable in the year in question, even if they chose not to.
See Chapter 16 (section 16.1) for more on British film certification.
The films covered in the present analysis are feature films produced wholly or partly in the UK with budgets of£500,000 or over; this budget limit is the threshold budget level for the production statistics published in
Chapter 17 of this Yearbook.
The report compares the following four main types of UK production:
Type of production

Definition

100% UK national

An independent British film made by a UK production company without the financial
involvement of a US studio or its subsidiary in the UK or other overseas partner.
A UK co-production certified as British under one of the UK’s official bilateral treatiesor the European Convention on Cinematic Co-production, excluding those which
involved a US studio or its UK subsidiary in its financing. Co-productions with interim
as well as final certification are included.
A UK film made in collaboration with partners from other countries, excluding theUSA, but not certified as an official co-production. (Note: Unofficial co-productions
between the UK and India are excluded because we do not have data for the Indianbox office.)
A UK/USA film is a UK film made in whole or part in the UK with partners from theUSA. These are often high budget Schedule 1 and official co-production films madewith the US majors, but there are a number of UK/USA independent films as well.
(Note: on occasion UK/USA films involve additional third or fourth countries.)

Unofficial UK co-production(excluding USA)

UK/USA

These categories of UK films have different characteristics. For example, UK/USA films typically have higher budgets
and US studio distribution, which makes them more likely to achieve theatrical release and high box office results.
However, some UK/USA films are produced independently of the major US studios, and so the UK/USA films arefurther sub-divided into UK/USA independent films and UK/USA studio films.
The reference period is the production years 2003 to 2007. Production year is defined as the year in which principal
photography begins. We restrict our analysis to these years because comprehensive production tracking data are
only available from 2003 and 2007 is the latest production year included as it may take a number of years for a film
to be theatrically released, as Figure 8.1 shows.
The theatrical release territories included in this analysis are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, UK and Republic of Ireland (oneterritory), USA and Canada (one territory) and Venezuela. These 19 territories are covered because they account forthe majority (78% in 2009, according to Screen Digest Cinema Intelligence) of the world theatrical market, andbecause title-matched box office data for these territories are available1.
1

5

6

8.2 UK films defined

Official UK co-production(excluding USA)

4

For Colombia and Venezuela box office data are available only from early 2007, so it is possible that some of the earlier films were released in these territories but were
missed from the present analysis. The earliest box office data for Portugal, Netherlands and Japan are for August 2006, September 2004 and January 2004 respectively, so
it is also possible that some of the films produced before these dates are wrongly recorded as not having been released in these territories. For the other 14 territories thebox office data are available from before 2003.

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Image: Adulthood courtesy of Pathé UK

Chapter 8: Theatrical release history and comparative performance of UK films – 6522

8.3 Time to first theatrical release
Figure 8.1 shows the time taken from principal photography to first release in at least one of the above 19 territories
for 457 UK films shot in 2003, 2004 or 2005. Overall, two-thirds of these films were released within two years, but asignificant minority (10%) took longer than two years to get a first theatrical release. This means that the closer thetime of production is to the present day, the lower the proportion of films which have been released. For this reason,
the analysis of release history is limited to films shot up to the end of 2007 and ‘release’ is defined as a theatricalrelease within two years of principal photography. This will underestimate the final release rate by about 10%,but provides a common measure for comparing films produced in different years.

Figure 8.1 Elapsed time from principal photography to first international release of UK films shot in 2003–2005% of all films produced
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0

% of
all films
produced

10.9

54.3

se
ea
No

3

8.3

d

s
ye

el

<
to

tr

4

4+

ye

ar

s
ar

s
ar
ye
3
2

1

to

to

<

<

<

2

1

ye

ye

ar

ar

0

s

10.0

1.5

0.2

24.7

Source: Rentrak EDI, UK Film Council.
Note: Release rates up to September 2010. Here ‘international’ release means a release in any of 19 Rentrak EDI territories, including the UK.

8.4 Release rate of UK films in the UK and Republic of Ireland
Of the 695 UK films (all production types) shot between 2003 and 2007, 305 (44%) were released theatrically in the
UK and Republic of Ireland within two years of principal photography (Table 8.1). Films produced in 2004 had thelowest release rate (40%) while those made in 2007 had the highest release rate (54%). The overall release ratewould have been 55% without the two-year follow-up limit (see section 8.3).
Table 8.1 also shows that released films tend to have higher budgets than the unreleased ones. The median budgetof the released films over this period was £4.9 million which is 1.5 times the median for the unreleased films. Films
which were released theatrically accounted for 73% of the total film budget over this period. The lowest rate of 56%
in 2005 coincided with the fall in UK spend on inward investment films of that year (see chapter 16 of Statistical
Yearbook 2010). Fewer high budget inward investment franchise films were shot in 2005, for example, no Harry
Potter or James Bond films commenced principal photography in that year.

66 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 8.1 UK films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland by production years, 2003–2007
Number released within two years of principal photography% released within two years of principal photography
Number of films produced
Median budget of released films (£ million)
Median budget of unreleased films (£ million)
Median budget of all films (£ million)
Released films’ % of total budget

3

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Total

69
40.4
171
5.7
3.3
4.1
68.9

62
39.7
156
6.0
3.3
4.0
71.1

53
40.8
130
4.0
4.2
4.1
55.7

59
47.6
124
4.7
2.7
3.3
77.2

62
54.4
114
5.4
1.2
2.2
87.9

305
43.9
695
4.9
3.0
3.7
72.6

Source: Rentrak EDI, DCMS, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Release rates subject to two-year release limit (see section 8.3).
A film is considered to be released theatrically if it was recorded as such by Rentrak EDI.

4

5

6

7

8

8.5 Release rate of different types of UK production in the UK and Republic of Ireland
Table 8.2 shows that over the reference period UK/USA films were most likely to be released theatrically in the UK and
Republic of Ireland within two years of principal photography (67% of all UK/USA films). They were followed by
100% UK national films (51%), unofficial co-productions (40%) and official UK co-productions (25%).

10

The high release rate for UK/USA films is not surprising as the UK/USA studio films typically have high budgets andthe studios, as well as producing the films, also act as distributors, making a theatrical release more likely. Further,
the majority of UK/USA films are English language films, which makes them attractive to UK audiences. The 100%
UK national films are made by UK production companies and are filmed in the UK so their early release in the UK ismore likely than for co-productions which could get a first release in one of the co-producing countries rather thanin the UK.

11

12

The UK/USA films can be subdivided into those backed by the major US studios and those produced independentlyof the studios. The studio-backed films had a significantly higher release rate (89%) than the independent films(46%), whose release rate was lower than that for the 100% UK national films.

13

The difference in release rates between the independent and the studio films highlights the influence of the studios’
distribution networks in getting films released. The UK/USA independent films (which are, in effect, unofficial coproductions with the USA) have a similar release rate to that of the unofficial co-productions.
Table 8.2 Release rate of UK films in the UK and Republic of Ireland by type of production,
production years 2003–2007

Number released within two years
of principal photography% released
Number of films produced
Median budget of released films (£ million)

100%
UK national

Official
co-production(excluding USA)

Unofficial
co-production(excluding USA)

101
51.0
198
2.0

75
25.4
295
4.3

10
40.0
25
3.0

9

14

15

UK/USAOf which
UK/USA
independent

andUK/USA
studio

Total

119
67.2
177
14.8

41
46.1
89
7.6

78
88.6
88
25.5

305
43.9
695
4.9

Source: Rentrak EDI, DCMS, UK Film Council.
Notes: See notes to Table 8.1.

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 8: Theatrical release history and comparative performance of UK films – 6722

8.6 Box office performance of different types of UK production in the UK and Republicof Ireland
Table 8.3 shows that of the 305 UK films shot between 2003 and 2007 which had a theatrical release in the UK and
Republic of Ireland within two years of principal photography, UK/USA films were the highest earners of the different
types of UK productions with a median box office of £4 million. They were followed by unofficial co-productions at£316,000, then 100% UK national films (£184,000) and official UK co-productions (£132,000).
Again it is interesting to look at the studio-backed UK/USA films and the independent UK/USA films separately.
Both studio-backed UK/USA films and independent UK/USA films have higher median box office takings than theother categories, but the median box office, at £5.1 million, of studio films is significantly higher than that of
the independent films (£1.3 million).
Table 8.3 Box office performance of different types of UK production in the UK and Republic of Ireland,
production years 2003–2007 (ranked by median box office)

UK/USAOf which UK/USA studioand UK/USA independent
Unofficial co-production (excluding USA)
100% UK national
Official co-production (excluding USA)
Total

Median(£ 000)Mean(£ 000)

Number offilms released

3,959
5,100
1,272
316
184
132
612

8,473
11,651
2,425
643
1,084
893
3,906

119
78
41
10
101
75
305

Source: Rentrak EDI, DCMS, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Figures shown are of UK films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland within two years of principal photography (see section 8.3).
Box office figures valid to September 2010.
The median (the value at which equal numbers of films have higher and lower box office values) is a better representation of the ‘middle’ of the distribution of box officerevenues than the mean which tends to have an upward skew due to a small number of high box office films. Means are also shown in the table for reference.

8.7 International release rates of UK films (19 territories)
Table 8.4 shows that 64% of all UK films shot over the years of 2003 to 2007 were released theatrically in one ormore of 19 territories within two years of the start of principal photography. The international release rate remained
fairly stable over the period, the lowest being 60% in 2006 and the highest being 68% in 2005. The median budgetsof released films by year was also fairly stable, with the lowest being £4.1 million in 2007 and the highest being£4.8 million in 2004 and 2006.
Overall, the films which achieved an international release accounted for 85% of the aggregate budgets of all films
produced in the period. This, together with Table 8.1, provides some reassurance that a high proportion of the total
UK film budget and associated tax relief are devoted to films which gain theatrical releases.

68 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 8.4 International release of UK films, production years 2003–2007
Number released within two years of principal photography% released within two years of principal photography
Number of films produced
Median budget of released films (£ million)
Median budget of unreleased films (£ million)
Median budget of all films (£ million)
Released films’ % of total budget

3

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Total

111
64.9
171
4.9
2.9
4.1
83.9

99
63.5
156
4.8
2.9
4.0
84.9

88
67.7
130
4.6
2.2
4.1
83.3

75
60.5
124
4.8
2.5
3.3
84.6

70
61.4
114
4.1
1.1
2.2
89.4

443
63.7
695
4.8
2.3
3.7
85.2

Source: Rentrak EDI, DCMS, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Release rates are calculated two years after principal photography (see section 8.3).
A film is ‘internationally released’ if it was recorded as such in any one of the 19 Rentrak EDI territories monitored (see section 8.2 for the list).

4

5

6

7

8

8.8 International release rates of different types of UK productions
Table 8.5 shows that, as with UK releases, UK/USA films had the highest international release rate (80%) among
the different types of UK production over the reference period. They were followed by unofficial UK co-productions(60.0%), official co-productions (59.7%) and 100% UK national films (56%). Looking at UK/USA studio films and
UK/USA independent films separately we see that the studio-backed films had a significantly higher release rate(93%) than the independent films (66%), which in turn had a higher release rate than the films in the otherthree categories.

12

Table 8.5 International release of UK films by type of production, production years 2003–2007

Number released within two years
of principal photography% released
Number of films produced
Median budget of released films (£ million)

100%
UK national

Unofficial
co-production(excluding USA)

111
56.1
198
2.1

176
59.7
295
4.3

15
60.0
25
2.4

10

11

It is possible that the ‘true’ release rates, in particular of official co-productions, could be higher than indicated by
Table 8.5, due to the limitations of UK Film Council data coverage. For example, the Romanian theatrical release of
an official UK co-production made with Romania under the European Convention would not have been captured
in UK Film Council box office data.

Official
co-production(excluding USA)

913

UK/USAOf which
UK/USA
independent

andUK/USA
studio

Total

141
79.7
177
13.7

59
66.3
89
7.6

82
93.2
88
23.6

443
63.7
695
4.8

14

15

16

Source: Rentrak EDI, DCMS, UK Film Council.
See notes to Table 8.4.
17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 8: Theatrical release history and comparative performance of UK films – 69

22

Further investigation reveals that 38 of the 119 unreleased official UK co-productions involved exclusively coproducing partner countries that are not part of the Rentrak EDI coverage. Romania (10 films), Denmark (six),
Sweden and Luxembourg (four each) were the most common co-producing countries of these 38 films.
Lumiere, a searchable cinema admissions database for films released in Europe hosted by the European Audiovisual
Observatory, gives the European release history of films unreleased in the EDI territories on a title by title basis.
According to Lumiere, none of the UK/Romania films were released theatrically in any European country, andnor were any of the UK/Luxembourg co-productions. Five of the six UK/Denmark co-productions were releasedin Denmark within two years of the start of principal photography, and all four of the UK/Sweden films werereleased in Sweden within two years of principal photography.
If half of the 38 official co-productions unreleased in the 19 EDI territories were released in other European
territories, the release rate for official co-productions would have increased to 66.1%. However, release rates forother UK films might also have increased if other international release territories were included in the analysis.

8.9 International box office performance of different types of UK production
Of the four main types of UK production categories, the UK/USA films were the highest earners with a medianinternational box office of $28 million as Table 8.6 shows (the median international box office for UK/USA studiofilms released over the period is $64 million and the median box office for UK/USA independent films is $7 million).
They were followed by unofficial co-productions ($1.4 million), official UK co-productions ($1 million) and 100% UK
national films ($704,000). Note that the box office data cover only 19 international territories (including the UK and
Republic of Ireland). The global median box office for UK films would be higher than the figures presented here.
Table 8.6 Box office (US$) for UK films released in at least one of 19 territories by type of production, production
years 2003–2007 (ranked by median box office)

UK/USAOf which UK/USA studioand UK/USA independent
Unofficial co-production (excluding USA)
Official co-production (excluding USA)
100% UK national
Total

Median(£ 000)Mean(£ 000)

Number offilms released

28,07464,428
6,601
1,373
1,031
704
2,045

89,036
139,943
18,284
2,714
4,935
6,437
32,004

141
82
59
15
176
111
443

Source: Rentrak EDI, DCMS, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Figures shown are for UK films released in at least one of 19 Rentrak EDI territories within two years of principal photography (see section 8.3).
Box office figures valid to September 2010.

70 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

8.10 Release opportunities analysis

3

UK films are screened in cinemas across the globe. One way to compare their global reach is to look at how wellthese films are circulated in international territories. The higher the proportion of territories a film is able to reach,the larger its potential international audience. Here we calculate the number of release opportunities exploited by UKfilms for the production years 2003 to 2007.

4

The maximum number of release opportunities for any film is 19 in our analysis because our box office data cover 19
international territories, including the UK and Republic of Ireland. The total number of possible release opportunities
is then simply the total number of films multiplied by 19.
Table 8.7 shows that UK films were able to exploit 18% of the release opportunities within two years from principal
photography. The exploitation rates are all close to the average over the reference period. Without the two-year limit
on release dates (see section 8.3), the overall exploitation rate would have been 25%.

5

6

7

Table 8.7 Proportion of release opportunities exploited by UK films by year of production, 2003–2007
Number of films produced
Total number of release opportunities in 19 territories
Release opportunities exploited within two years ofprincipal photography% of opportunities exploited

Total

8

124
2,356

114
695
2,166 13,205

9

491
20.8

464
21.4

2003

2004

2005

2006

171
3,249

156
2,964

130
2,470

486
15.0

458
15.5

419
17.0

2007

2,318
17.6

Source: Rentrak EDI, UK Film Council.
Notes:
See notes to Table 8.6.
Territories in which a film was released more than two years after principal photography are not counted in the calculation above.

11

It is not surprising to see from Table 8.8 that UK/USA films, benefiting from extensive international theatrical
distribution networks, were the most successful type of UK production, exploiting 41% of the available international
release opportunities (51% without the two-year limit). They were followed by unofficial co-productions (12%),
100% UK national films (10%) and official UK co-productions (9%).
When looking at UK/USA studio films separately from UK/USA independent films the effect of the studios’
distribution networks is even more striking, as 61% of release opportunities were exploited by the studio films.
However, the UK/USA independent films also exploited a higher proportion of their release opportunities (22%)
than the films of the other three production categories.

100%
UK national

Official
co-production(excluding USA)

Unofficial
co-production(excluding USA)

UK/USAOf which
UK/USA
independent

198
3,762
368
9.8

295
5,605
510
9.1

25
475
56
11.8

177
3,363
1,384
41.2

89
1,691
368
21.8

and
UK/USA
studio12

13

14

Table 8.8 Release opportunities exploited by different types of UK production, production years 2003–2007

Number of films produced 2003–2007
Total release opportunities in 19 territories
Release opportunities exploited% of opportunities exploited

10

15

Total

16

88
695
1,672 13,205
1,016 2,318
60.8
17.6

17

Source: Rentrak EDI, DCMS, UK Film Council.
Notes:
See notes to Table 8.4.
Without the two-year limit, the exploitation rate would have been 51.4% for UK/USA films, 18.1% for unofficial co-productions, 16% for official UK co-productions and14.6% for 100% UK national films.

18

19

20

21

Chapter 8: Theatrical release history and comparative performance of UK films – 7122

8.11 Local and overseas share of box office of UK films
Figure 8.2 shows that overall 15% of the international box office for UK films (from 19 Rentrak EDI territories) camefrom the local (UK and Republic of Ireland) theatrical market. Local box office accounted for a much higher shareof the total for unofficial co-productions (29%) and 100% UK national films (28%). In contrast, higher proportionsof the total box office were generated from overseas (non-UK and Republic of Ireland) territories by UK/USA films(both for independent and studio films) and official UK co-productions.
Figure 8.2 Local and overseas share of UK film box office, production years 2003–2007% share
100.0

80.0

60.0

40.0

20.0

0

100% UK

Official
co-production

Unofficial
co-production

UK/USA
independent

UK/USA
studioTotal

UK/R. of Ireland % 28.2

14.1

29.0

16.9

14.4

15.3

71.8

85.9

71.0

83.1

85.6

84.7

Overseas %Source: Rentrak EDI, DCMS, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Release rates subject to limit of two years from principal photography (see section 8.3).
Box office figures valid to September 2010.

Table 8.9 shows the relative importance of the international territories for UK films. The North American market
accounted for 41% of the total international box office, for UK films, grossed from the 19 EDI territories. This wasfollowed by the European countries, which took 24% of the total box office, UK and Republic of Ireland (15%), Japanand Korea (8%), the main territories of Latin America (6%) and Australasia (5%). The commonality of the English
language between most UK films and the North American audience and the fact the US box office is the largest in
the world partly explain the higher share of total box office of UK films attributed to the North American market.

72 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 8.9 Share of 19 territory international box office of UK films by geographically grouped territories,
production years 2003–2007

3

Share ofinternationalbox office (%)

USA and Canada
Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands
UK and Republic of Ireland
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela
Australia, New Zealand
Japan, Korea
Total of Rentrak EDI multi-territory box office

41
24
15
6
5
8
100

Source: Rentrak EDI, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Release rates subject to two-year release limit (see section 8.3).
Box office figures valid to September 2010.
Total may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

4

5

6

7

8

It is interesting to look at the relative importance of international territories for the different production categories.
Table 8.10 shows the box office share over the groups of territories for the four main production categories. We seethat there are differences in the distribution of box office over territories for the different categories. For example,
the UK’s percentage of the total international box office is highest for 100% UK national films and for unofficial
co-productions (28% and 29% of the total box office respectively). Also, the percentage of box office taken in the
UK is very similar for official co-productions and UK/USA films, but Europe is the most important territory for official
co-productions (50% of the total international box office) and USA and Canada is the most important territory for
UK/USA films (43% of total box office).

9

10

11

Looking at UK/USA independent films separately from UK/USA studio films we see that the distribution of box officetakings by territory is very similar for the two categories. In Europe, a slightly higher percentage of the total box
office is taken for independent than for studio films, which is offset by a higher percentage of the total box officetaken for studio films than for independent films in Japan.

12

13

Table 8.10 Share of 19 territory international box office of UK films by geographically grouped territories fordifferent production categories, production years 2003–2007

14

Share of international box office (%)
Official
Unofficial
100% co-production co-production
UK national (excluding USA) (excluding USA)

USA and Canada
Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal,
Netherlands
UK and Republic of Ireland
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Colombia,
Venezuela
Australia, New Zealand
Japan, Korea
Total of Rentrak EDI multi-territory
box office

UK/USAOf which
UK/USA
independent

andUK/USA
studio

34

25

19

43

40

43

21

50

36

22

27

22

28

13

29

14

15

14

5

5

12

6

6

6

9
3

5
3

4
0

5
9

6
5

5
10

15

16

17

18

19

100

100

100

100

100

100

Source: Rentrak EDI, UK Film Council.
See notes to Table 8.9.
Totals may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

20

21

Chapter 8: Theatrical release history and comparative performance of UK films – 73

22

8.12 Financial success analysis
It is difficult to measure the overall profitability of UK films. However, a proxy measure such as the ratio ofinternational box office to budget can be a useful indicator. Previous analysis suggests that if a low to medium
budget British film generates worldwide box office revenues greater than twice its budget, it is likely to be in profit
by the time returns from ancillary revenues (video and TV) are added to its income stream and all costs deducted(including VAT, exhibition, distribution and retail margins, prints and advertising etc). Below that level it is likely tohave made a loss. In the present analysis, the international box office from the 19 EDI territories is used as a proxymeasure for ‘worldwide’ box office. Figure 8.3 shows the budget to box office ratio by budget of UK films shot
between 2003 and 2007 which had gained a theatrical release within two years from principal photography.
Over this period only 51 (12%) of the 443 UK films released internationally (in at least one of the 19 EDI territories)
achieved a multi-territory box office to budget ratio of 2 or above. This suggests that only a small number ofinternationally released UK feature films are likely to have made profits for their producers and investors andunderlines the highly risky nature of investment in film production.

Figure 8.3 International box office/budget ratio by budget of UK films across 19 territories,
production years, 2003–2007
Box office/budget ratio

10

8

6

4

2

0
1

2.5

5

10

25

50

100

200

Budget (£ million)
Each dot is one film.
Source: Rentrak EDI, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Release rates subject to two-year release limit (see section 8.3).
Box office figures valid to September 2010.
The horizontal axis is in log scale. Some films, for example those with budgets over £150 million, are not shown in order to avoid disclosing budget information.

Overall, 12% of the released films achieved a multi-territory box office to budget ratio of 2 or above. However, there
were variations between years over the period 2003 to 2007, as Table 8.11 shows. In 2003 only 8% of released films
achieved a box office to budget ratio of 2 or more, but in 2006 more than 17% of films achieved this ratio.

74 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 8.11 Percentage of UK films achieving multi-territory box office to budget ratio of 2 or above by yearof production, 2003–2007
Number of films released with two years
of principal photography
Number of films achieving a ratio of 2 or above% of films achieving a ratio of 2 or above

3

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Total

111
9
8.1

99
12
12.1

88
8
9.1

75
13
17.3

70
9
12.9

443
51
11.5

Source: Rentrak EDI, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Release rates subject to two-year release limit (see section 8.3).
Box office figures valid to September 2010.

5

6

Table 8.12 shows that UK/USA films (27%) were the most likely type of UK production to achieve a multi-territory box
office to budget ratio of 2 or above over the reference period. They were followed by 100% UK national films (7%)
and independent official UK co-productions (3%). None of the 15 unofficial UK co-productions achieved this ratio.

9

Table 8.12 Percentage of UK films achieving multi-territory box office to budget ratio of 2 or above by typeof production, production years 2003–2007
Official
Unofficial
100% co-production co-production
UK national (excluding USA) (excluding USA)

7

8

Looking at UK/USA studio films and UK/USA independent films separately we see that the studio films have thehighest percentage (30%) achieving a box office to budget ratio of 2 or more. However, the UK/USA independentfilms (at 22%) have a higher percentage than any of the other three categories.

Number of films released within two years
of principal photography
Number of films achieving a ratioof 2 or above% of films achieving a ratio of 2 or above

4

10

UK/USAOf which
UK/USA
independent

andUK/USA
studio

Total

111

176

15

141

59

82

443

8
7.2

5
2.8

0
0

38
27.0

13
22.0

25
30.5

51
11.5

11

12

Source: Rentrak EDI, UK Film Council.
See notes to Table 8.11.

13

14

15

16

17

„

18

3 For cinema admissions and box office in 2010 see Chapter 1 (page 8)3 For UK films on video see Chapter 11 (page 98)
3 For UK films on television see Chapter 12 (page 105)
3 For UK films internationally see Chapter 6 (page 50)
3 For US studio involvement in UK film production in 2010 see Chapter 17 (page 144)
3 Analysis of the film economy is given in Chapter 21 (page 185)

19

20

21

Chapter 8: Theatrical release history and comparative performance of UK films – 75

22ç#)0"2DL&602&/0&$

Facts in focus&%- &602&/0&$&$0#"&6
• The top 10 distributors had a 94% share of the market-&$)0" 4)*"71"24&.
in 2010, up from 92% in 2009.
!-)$&"6/0)%)2."$/-"2 • Weekdays (Monday to Thursday) accounted for 41%
*6-)%%"2!-)$&"6 &602&/0" of the box office, just under 2009’s record share.
• Opening weekends represented 29% of the total)%-60)6-)$40&0%"6:
box office.
#"&2!-&$" 6"$ &$.$• Estimated total advertising spend was £171 million,) 1"20&6&$.7)66%&.#0%4-2"
a 1.4% increase on 2009.
&$F8980#)$&$F88D/0N7&0#
-2"×%-62"%")6" N0#")1"2)."6"$ "2×%-6)7
1"24%&00%"!#)$.":

1

2

9.1 Distributors in 20103

The top 10 distributors had a 94% share of the market in 2010, up from 92% in 2009 (Table 9.1). The remaining 88
distributors handled a total of 379 titles, 62% of the films on release, but gained only a 6% share of the box office.
The leading distributor was Warner Bros, which released three of the UK’s top five films of 2010, Harry Potter andthe Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Alice in Wonderland and Inception. Table 9.1 shows box office takings by distributor for
all films which were on release in 2010, and hence the box office takings of some films which were released in 2009
but stayed on release into 2010 are included. The record breaking Avatar, which was released in late 2009 but which
took most of its £94 million in 2010, made a significant contribution to 20th Century Fox being in second place inthis list. Other films released by 20th Century Fox in 2010 include Gulliver’s Travels and The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Paramount was the third highest grossing distributor, with films such as Shrek
Forever After, Iron Man 2 and Little Fockers.

4

5

6

7

Table 9.1 Distributor share of box office, UK and Republic of Ireland, 2010
Distributor

Marketshare(%)

Films onrelease in2010

Box officegross(£ million)

Warner Bros
20th Century Fox
Paramount
Walt Disney
Universal
Sony Pictures
eOne Films
Lions Gate
Entertainment
Optimum
Sub-total
Others (88 distributors)
Total

18.3
15.9
14.8
14.0
10.2
6.9
5.5
3.5
2.5
2.2
93.7
6.3
100.0

31
28
31
18
21
22
18
16
15
37
237
379
616

203.7
177.1
164.0
155.3
113.9
76.6
61.1
38.6
27.3
24.1
1,041.6
69.7
1,111.3

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Source: Rentrak EDI.
Notes:
Box office gross = cumulative box office total for all films handled by the distributor in the period 1 January 2010 to 6 January 2011.
Percentages may not add to sub-totals due to rounding.

Table 9.2 highlights the top 10 distributors of foreign language films at the UK box office. Companies that release
Indian films, such as Eros, UTV Motion Pictures, Ayngaran International and B4U Network are well represented in thelist. Curzon Artificial Eye released the most foreign language titles (21) in 2010, while Momentum’s four releases had
the biggest share of the box office (£4.5 million). Momentum’s four foreign language releases included the three
Millennium trilogy films, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked
the Hornets’ Nest. The highest grossing foreign language film of the year, My Name is Khan, was released by
20th Century Fox but the company does not appear in the table as this film was its only foreign language release.

15

16

17

18

19

20

21
Image: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest courtesy of Momentum Pictures,an Alliance Films Company

Chapter 9: Distribution – 77

22

Table 9.2 Top 10 distributors of foreign language films in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2010
(ranked by box office gross)Distributor

Momentum
Eros International
Optimum
UTV Motion Pictures
Metrodome
Curzon Artificial Eye
Ayngaran International
B4U Network
Reliance Big Pictures
RevolverFilms
releasedin 2010

Averagewidest pointof release

Box officegross(£ million)

4
15
11
6
8
21
14
11
5
2

94
31
42
47
17
14
10
22
35
33

4.5
3.8
3.2
3.0
2.1
2.1
1.3
1.1
1.0
0.7

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
Note: The list includes distributors releasing two or more foreign language titles in the period 1 January 2010 to 6 January 2011.

9.2 Distributors 2004–2010
The distributors’ market shares fluctuate from year-to-year (Table 9.3). The leading distributor of 2010, Warner Bros,
saw its market share increase thanks to films such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Alice inWonderland and Inception. The share of box office made by distributors outside the top 10 was 6% in 2010, whichis the second highest share for distributors in this category since 2004. In the last few years it has ranged from under
3% in 2005 to just below 8% in 2009.
Table 9.3 Distributor market share as percentage of box office gross, 2004–2010
Distributor

Warner Bros
20th Century Fox
Paramount
Walt Disney
Universal Pictures
Sony Pictures
eOne Films
Lions Gate
Entertainment
Optimum
Pathé
Momentum
UIP*
Top 10 total**
Others
Total

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

14.7
10.7
–
14.5
–
10.0
–
1.0
7.9
–
2.8
2.2
29.8
96.1
3.9
100.0

18.2
14.3
–
13.1
–
6.8
–
0.3
9.4
–
3.4
1.9
29.1
97.3
2.7
100.0

8.2
20.9
–
15.7
–
16.1
–
2.4
7.9
–
3.2
2.3
18.9
96.4
3.6
100.0

15.6
13.9
14.7
10.7
13.9
8.2
–
2.3
9.5
–
1.3
3.4
–
94.5
5.5
100.0

11.0
9.4
16.9
9.9
18.5
12.5
–
2.5
8.0
–
2.1
3.5
–
94.5
5.5
100.0

11.2
16.6
10.8
12.4
10.5
11.3
4.9
2.9
8.6
–
2.9
–
–
92.2
7.8
100.0

18.3
15.9
14.8
14.0
10.2
6.9
5.5
3.5
2.5
2.2
–
–
–
93.7
6.3
100.0

Source: Rentrak EDI.
* Until 2006 Paramount and Universal distributed jointly as UIP.
** Top 10 total refers to the top 10 distributors of that particular year. The table is ranked by top 10 distributors in 2010.
Note: Percentages may not add to sub-totals due to rounding.

78 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

9.3 Weekend box office3

In 2010, 59% of the box office was taken at weekends (Friday to Sunday), almost the same as the 58% seen in2009 (Table 9.4). As in 2009, the films released in 2010 included a number which attracted large weekday audiences.
Family films tend to draw weekday audiences during school holidays, and some of 2010’s family films, such as
Toy Story 3, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Shrek Forever After, were very successful at the box
office (all three were among the top five films at the UK box office in 2010). In addition, the ‘Orange Wednesdays’
promotion continued to have an impact in 2010 with 13% of the box office being taken on Wednesdays (which isvery similar to 2009’s 14%).

4

5

6

Table 9.4 Box office percentage share by weekday/weekend, 2004–2010
FridaySaturday
SundayWeekend
MondayTuesday
WednesdayThursdayWeekday
Total

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

15.3
24.5
19.9
59.7
9.7
10.1
10.7
9.8
40.3
100.0

18.0
27.0
19.0
64.0
8.0
8.0
10.0
10.0
36.0
100.0

16.5
25.1
18.7
60.3
9.5
9.5
10.9
9.7
39.7
100.0

16.4
27.8
19.3
63.5
7.2
9.0
11.6
8.7
36.5
100.0

16.7
24.4
18.3
59.4
9.4
9.5
11.9
9.9
40.7
100.0

16.4
24.0
17.8
58.2
9.2
9.5
13.7
9.5
41.8
100.0

16.0
24.1
18.5
58.6
9.5
9.3
13.2
9.3
41.4
100.0

7

8

9

10

11

Source: Rentrak EDI.
Note: Percentages may not add to weekend/weekday sub-totals due to rounding.

The opening weekend box office as a share of total theatrical revenue rose to 29% in 2010 as shown in Table 9.5.
Some of the year’s top films such as Toy Story 3, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and The Twilight Saga:
Eclipse all took high proportions of their total box office gross on their opening weekends (if a film is previewed
before the official Friday opening, its opening weekend box office figures include the takings from its previews).
The opening weekend box office for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, of £18.3 million, was a record UK
three-day opening weekend, and represented 35% of the film’s total box office (to 10 February 2011). Toy Story 3’s
opening weekend box office, which included preview takings, was even higher at £21.2 million, which was almosta third (29%) of its total box office. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’s opening weekend takings, of £13.8 million(£6.4 million of which was from previews), represented nearly half of its total box office, even though its theatrical
run lasted for 14 weeks.

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 9: Distribution – 79

22

Table 9.5 Opening weekend as percentage of total box office, 2007–2010

Range of box office results (£ million)

More than 30
20–30
10–19.9
5–9.9
1–4.9
0.2–0.9
Less than 0.2
All films% of total in
opening
weekend2007% of total in
opening
weekend2008% of total in
opening
weekend2009% of total in
opening
weekend
2010

35.8
30.2
20.0
25.4
28.1
31.9
34.1
28.5

21.7
31.0
29.2
27.6
27.4
34.1
34.8
27.3

18.8
23.0
32.2
26.1
30.3
35.5
36.5
26.1

27.4
35.8
26.1
26.7
30.4
31.9
34.8
28.6

Source: Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
Note: Opening weekends include preview figures. For films with a limited initial opening, the wider release figure is included in the analysis.

9.4 Release costs
The opening weekend is recognised as being crucial to the success of a film, both in cinemas and on subsequent
release platforms. Distributors invest heavily in advertising in order to raise a film’s profile across all media (outdoor
posters, print media, television, radio and increasingly online). The estimated total distributor advertising spend in2010 was £171 million, up 1.4% from £168 million in 2009 (Table 9.6). However, more films were released in 2010,
and the average advertising spend per film in 2010, at £0.3 million, was very similar to that in 2009. Press spend has
fallen over the last seven years (from £30.1 million in 2003) while the internet has emerged as an outlet for film
advertising (internet advertising spend dipped slightly from £6.4 million in 2009 to £6.1 million in 2010).
Approximately £36 million was spent on advertising British films, up from £28 million in 2009. This increase is mainly
due to the advertising spend of the UK/USA studio films, though a few UK independent films received similar levelsof advertising spend to the studio-backed films. Although there were two fewer UK/USA studio films released in2010 than in 2009, five of the 2009 studio-backed UK films were re-releases which received little or no advertising,whereas all 2010’s studio-backed films were new films and were well advertised.

80 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 9.6 Estimated advertising spend,
2003 and 2007–2010(£ million)
MediumTV
Outdoor
Press
Radio
Internet
Total

2003

2007

2008

2009

2010

61.2
46.6
30.1
9.7
–
147.6

74.1
65.3
27.0
8.4
4.7
179.5

79.3
56.2
22.6
9.4
4.5
172.0

74.3
57.0
19.9
10.7
6.4
168.3

76.0
61.0
19.9
7.6
6.1
170.6

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Where the data are available, the total release costs forvarious release widths can be estimated. By taking atypical print cost of £1,000 per print and adding theNielsen Media Research advertising spend estimate plus
20% for other public relations campaigns, publicity andpremiere costs, the average release cost for each levelof theatrical release can be calculated (Table 9.7).
This shows that for films released across the widest
number of cinemas (500+), the average release costwas £2.6 million, compared with £3.4 million in 2009
and almost £4 million in 2008. The above method of
calculating the contribution of print costs to the total
release cost for a film assumes analogue distribution of
prints, but films are increasingly distributed on both
analogue and digital prints. However, as information on
the numbers of analogue and digital prints (and for
digital prints, the method of distribution) for individual
films is not available, the 2010 release costs have been
estimated in the same way as for earlier years to provide
consistent comparisons.

Average release costs for the films with the widest
releases have decreased from 2009 levels but, as
indicated above, the 2010 average advertising costs for
all films was very similar to the 2009 average. While thefilms with the widest releases (ie those which spend
most on advertising) spent less per film on advertisingin 2010 than in 2009, there were more of these films in
2010, and there were also more films in 2010 than in2009 in the second category (where the spend per film
was slightly higher in 2010 than in 2009), so the overall
advertising spend in 2010 was similar to that in 2009.

3

Table 9.7 Estimated release cost by width of release,2008–20107

Sites at widest
point of release500+
400–499
300–399
200–299
100–199
50–99
10–49
<10

Averagerelease costs
2008(£ million)

Averagerelease costs
2009(£ million)

Averagerelease costs
2010(£ million)

3.95
2.21
1.39
0.90
0.43
0.18
0.08
0.01

3.40
2.05
1.32
0.84
0.51
0.21
0.06
0.01

2.65
2.09
1.24
0.77
0.33
0.20
0.04
0.01

Source: Nielsen Media Research, Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
Note: The print costs calculations assume analogue distribution of prints but films
are now distributed on both analogue and digital prints. However, as informationon the type of print or method of digital distribution is not available, the 2010
release costs have been estimated in the same way as for earlier years to provide
consistent comparisons.

4

5

6

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

„

19

3 For further details about the UK box office in 2010 see Chapter 1 (page 8)3 For more information about the top films at the UK box office in 2010 see Chapter 2 (page 16)
3 For an overview of employment in film distribution see Chapter 22 (page 194)20

21

Chapter 9: Distribution – 8122ç#)0"298L
3#&&0&$

#"$/-"2*6!2""$6&$0#"
!$0&$/"602&6"N)%0#/.#0#")1)&%)&%&04*6!2""$6)$ ) -&66&$6"2"26$1)24!$6& "2)%4)!2660#"
!/$024:#"$/-"2* &.&0)%
6!2""$6-2"0#)$ /%" 
/2&$.F898N7&0#@El* &.&0)%
6!2""$6"&$.A"$)%" :Facts in focus• The UK had 3,671 screens, 20 more than 2009,
in 716 cinemas.
• There were six screens for every 100,000 people, thesame as in 2009, but lower than some other countries.
• Northern Ireland had the highest number of screens(10.5) per 100,000 people in the UK, while theEast Midlands (4.5), North East (4.4) and theEast of England (4.1) had the lowest.
• Only 7% of screens were dedicated to ‘specialised’(that is non-mainstream) programming, with 0.2%
dedicated mainly to South Asian films.
• The UK had the second highest number of digital screensin Europe with 1,415 screens (behind France’s 1,910
digital screens). The UK had 1,067 screens capable ofscreening digital 3D features (75% of all digital screens).
• The average ticket price was £5.84.

1

2

10.1 UK cinema sites

3

Figure 10.1 shows the number of cinema sites in the UK from 2002 to 2010. The number of sites decreased slightly
in 2004 but rose to a high of 727 sites by 2007. In 2010 the total number of sites was 716. The number of multiplex
sites in 2010 was 278, a slight increase from 2009 (275). In 2010 multiplexes made up 39% of all cinema sites.

Figure 10.1 UK cinema sites by type of site, 2002–2010

4

5

Number of sites
800
6

700
600
500

7

400
300

8

200
100
0

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Multiplex

229

234

238

242

249

258

269

275

278

Traditional andmixed use

439

444

406

417

448

469

457

448

438

Total sites

668

678

644

659

697

727

726

723

716

% multiplex sites

34

35

37

37

36

35

37

38

39

Source: Dodona Research, RSU analysis.
Notes:
Data on cinema sites prior to 2002 are not available.
Multiplexes are defined as purpose-built cinema complexes with five or more screens while excluding those that were converted from traditional cinema sites.

9

10

11

12

10.2 UK screens
The number of owned or programmed cinema screens (excluding those operated in venues such as schools andprivate screening rooms) increased slightly in 2010 compared with 2009, rising by 20 to 3,671 as Figure 10.2 shows.

13

The proportion of multiplex screens (see definition in the note to Figure 10.1) continued to rise in 2010. There has
been an increase of 70% in the number of multiplex screens since 1999 compared with a 20% fall in the number of
traditional and mixed use screens (used for film screenings only part of the time). The UK has gained 1,143 multiplex
screens since 1999 and lost 230 traditional or mixed use screens. The proportion of multiplex screens increased from
59% in 1999 to 75% in 2009.

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Image: Horrid Henry: The Movie courtesy of Vertigo Films

Chapter 10: Exhibition – 83

22

Figure 10.2 UK cinema screens by type of cinema, 1999–2010
Number of screens
4,000
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Multiplex

1,624

1,874

2,115

2,299

2,362

2,426

2,453

2,512

2,578

2,689

2,735

2,767

Traditional andmixed use

1,134

1,080

1,049

959

956

916

904

928

936

921

916

904

Total screens

2,758

2,954

3,164

3,258

3,318

3,342

3,357

3,440

3,514

3,610

3,651

3,671

% multiplex screens

58.9

63.4

66.8

70.6

71.2

72.6

73.1

73.0

73.4

74.5

74.9

75.4

Source: Dodona Research, RSU analysis.
See note to Figure 10.1.

Table 10.1 shows that more multiplex sites and screens opened than closed in 2010 while there were net falls in thenumber of traditional sites and screens over the same period. The number of traditional screens fell for the third year
in succession, after two small rises in 2006 and 2007, as shown in Figure 10.2.
A total of 32 sites (all but two traditional) closed in 2010, two fewer than the number of closures in 2009, with a lossof 51 screens (12 fewer than in 2009). Twenty-five sites opened (including five multiplexes), adding 72 screens,
including 46 multiplex screens.
Table 10.1 Site openings and closures, 2010
Multiplex

OpenedClosedNet difference

Traditional

Sites

Screens

Sites

Screens

5
2
+3

46
14
+32

20
30
–10

26
38
–12

Source: Dodona Research, RSU analysis.
See note to Figure 10.1.

10.3 Screen location
Cinemas have long been a feature of the urban landscape and 2010 was no different with 97% of all screens in the
UK in town or city centres, edge of centre, ‘out of town’ or suburban locations.
Table 10.2 shows suburban and rural cinemas tend to have fewer screens on average than their urban counterparts,
although town and city centre sites are also relatively small. In 2010, there was a slight fall in the number of city
centre screens, but an increase in the numbers of screens in all other locations. The number of suburban screensincreased by one (from 27 to 28) and the number of rural screens increased by three (from 97 to 100).

84 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 10.2 Screens by location, 2003–2010

3

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

% change
2009–2010

Averagenumber ofscreens per
site

Town/city centre
Out of town
Edge of centre
Suburban
Rural

1,470
1,234
464
33
117

1,502
1,243
465
33
99

1,495
1,250
479
38
95

1,555
1,262
478
40
105

1,616
1,284
486
30
98

1,683
1,303
499
30
95

1,732
1,297
498
27
97

1,726
1,311
506
28
100

–0.3
1.1
1.6
3.7
3.1

3.9
9.8
9.0
1.9
1.4

Total

3,318

3,342

3,357

3,440

3,514

3,610

3,651

3,671

0.5

5.1

Location

5

6

7

Source: Dodona Research, RSU analysis.

10.4 Screen density and admissions per person – international comparisons8

A standard way to gauge the level of cinema provision is by ‘screen density’, that is the number of screens per unitof population. In 2010, the UK figure was 6.0 screens per 100,000 people, the same as in 2009. This level of screen
access falls short of the numbers in other major film territories. In 2009, the figures were: USA (12.8), Australia (9.2),
Spain (9.0), France (8.7) and Italy (7.2). Germany’s screen density, of 5.8 screens per 100,000 people in 2009 wasslightly less than in the UK (source: Screen Digest data for 2009).
Table 10.3 shows the numbers of admissions per person in a number of major film territories. The UK saw moreadmissions per person (2.7) than Spain, Italy and Germany despite having a lower screen density than Spain and
Italy. Of the major territories, Australia had the highest admissions per person (4.3), followed by the USA (3.9).

9

10

11

Table 10.3 Admissions per person in major film territories, 2003–2010
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

4

12

Australia

USA

France

UK

Spain

Italy

Germany

4.5
4.5
4.0
4.1
4.1
4.0
4.3
4.3

4.7
4.6
4.2
4.2
4.2
4.0
4.2
3.9

2.9
3.2
2.9
3.1
2.9
3.0
3.2
3.3

2.8
2.9
2.7
2.6
2.7
2.7
2.8
2.7

3.3
3.4
3.0
2.8
2.7
2.4
2.4
2.2

1.5
1.7
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.7
1.7
1.8

1.8
1.9
1.5
1.7
1.5
1.6
1.8
1.5

13

14

15

Source: Screen Digest.

16

10.5 Screen density and admissions per person in the UK

17

As in previous Yearbooks we are able to present screen provision data based on two types of regional classification.
The datasets are not directly comparable because of differences in the way the regions are defined; they do,
however, shed light on different aspects of national and regional variation in screen provision.

18

19

20

21

Chapter 10: Exhibition – 85

22

The Cinema Advertising Association produces monthly admissions totals for each of the television advertising regions
used by the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA). Screen and admissions data for 2010 using thesetelevision regions are presented in Table 10.4. Although London had the highest numbers of screens and sites, its
screen density (6.5) was lower than that of Northern Ireland (10.5) and was the same as Central Scotland and Walesand West. The North East had the lowest screen density (4.1) among all ISBA regions.
Table 10.4 Screens and admissions by ISBA TV region, 2010, ranked by screens per 100,000 people
ISBA TV region

Screens% of total
screens

Northern Ireland
Central Scotland
LondonWales and West
Lancashire
Southern
Northern Scotland
BorderSouth West
Midlands
East of EnglandYorkshire
North East
Total

187
237
796
309
426
329
75
36
103
550
215
290
118
3,671

5.1
6.5
21.7
8.4
11.6
9.0
2.0
1.0
2.8
15.0
5.9
7.9
3.2
100.0

Sites

Population(000)*

Screens per
100,000
peopleAdmissions(000)

Admissions
per screen

Admissions
per person

27
38
152
72
59
79
16
19
32
103
45
49
25
716

1,773
3,626
12,263
4,789
6,966
5,401
1,256
608
1,830
9,832
4,188
5,890
2,885
61,306

10.5
6.5
6.5
6.5
6.1
6.1
6.0
5.9
5.6
5.6
5.1
4.9
4.1
6.0

5,605
12,13941,571
11,85618,147
15,677
3,613
1,279
4,174
23,75811,082
13,993
6,356
169,250

29,975
51,21952,22538,37042,59847,65048,17035,522
40,52843,196
51,54348,25353,867
46,105

3.2
3.3
3.4
2.5
2.6
2.9
2.9
2.1
2.3
2.4
2.6
2.4
2.2
2.8

Source: Dodona Research, Beacon Dodsworth, Cinema Advertising Association (CAA), RSU analysis.
* Mid-year population estimates 2009. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI).
Note: Percentages may not add to 100.0 due to rounding.

There was a positive and statistically significant linear relationship between cinema admissions per person andscreen density in 2010, as shown in Figure 10.3. That is, the higher the number of screens per person, the higher
the admissions level. However, this association should not be interpreted as a causal relationship as it would be
hard to prove whether higher demand caused the higher supply of cinema screens or vice versa.
The pattern of admissions by screen density for ISBA regions in 2010 was very similar to the pattern in 2009.
In 2010, as in 2009, some regions had above average screen densities, but their levels of admissions remained
low. For example, Wales and West had a relatively high screen density of 6.5 per 100,000 people but its cinema
admissions rate was lower than average at 2.5 admissions per person. It is hard to pinpoint the reason behind
this observation. The levels of cinema admissions across regions are subject to numerous influences, such as
fluctuations in population size during tourist seasons, the age composition of the population, the presenceor absence of an engaged film culture and varying competition from other forms of entertainment.

86 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Figure 10.3 Cinema admissions per person by screen density across ISBA regions, 2010

3

Admissions per person
4.0
4
3.5

London

Northern
Scotland

3.0

Lancashire

2.5

Yorkshire
North East

4

5Southern

East of England

2.0

Northern
IrelandCentral Scotland

Midlands
South West

6

Wales and West

Border

5

6

7

9

8

10

11

7

Screen density
Source: Dodona Research, Beacon Dodsworth, CAA, RSU analysis.
*Mid-year population estimates 2009. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI).
Notes:The line shown above is derived from a weighted linear regression so the results are more influenced by areas with larger population,for example, London and the Midlands. The relationship between the variables is positive and statistically significant.
The area of the circle is proportional to the ISBA region’s population.
Screen density means number of screens per 100,000 people.

8

9

Table 10.5 gives screen information for each of the English regions, plus Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, whichcorrespond to the areas covered by the nine English Regional Screen Agencies, Scottish Screen (now Creative
Scotland), the Film Agency for Wales and Northern Ireland Screen.

11

Table 10.5 Screens and population in the nations and regions, 2010, ranked by screens per 100,000 people
Nation/region

Screens% of total
screens

Northern Ireland
LondonWales
South East
ScotlandNorth WestSouth WestWest Midlands
Yorkshire and The Humber
East Midlands
North East
East of England
Others**
Total

187
566
190
530
325
429
314
312
253
201
113
234
17
3,671

5.1
15.4
5.2
14.4
8.9
11.7
8.6
8.5
6.9
5.5
3.1
6.4
0.5
100.0

10

Sites

Population(in 000)
mid-year 2009*

Screens per
100,000 people

Averagenumber ofscreens per site

27
108
48
120
63
62
79
54
43
38
22
48
4
716

1,789
7,754
2,999
8,436
5,194
6,898
5,231
5,431
5,258
4,451
2,584
5,767
n/a
61,792

10.5
7.3
6.3
6.3
6.3
6.2
6.0
5.7
4.8
4.5
4.4
4.1
n/a
6.0

6.9
5.2
4.0
4.4
5.2
6.9
4.0
5.8
5.9
5.3
5.1
4.9
4.3
5.1

Source: Dodona Research, Office for National Statistics (ONS), RSU analysis.
* Mid-2009 Population Estimates, ONS.
** Others include the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
n/a = not available.

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 10: Exhibition – 87

22

The pattern of national and regional variation in screen provision changed slightly in 2010 with Wales moving up thescreen density rankings. Northern Ireland had the highest number of screens per 100,000 people of the four nations(10.5), followed by Scotland and Wales (both 6.3) and England (5.7).
Table 10.5 also reveals that Northern Ireland and the North West had on average over six screens per site comparedwith the UK average of five. The South West, Wales and the South East fell below the average, showing a tendency
towards smaller cinemas and, particularly for the South West, proportionally fewer multiplex screens (see Table 10.6).

10.6 Type of cinema screens by nation and region
Table 10.6 provides a snapshot of variations in multiplex provision around the UK. The South East had the largest
number of multiplex screens (388), three more than the North West and 18 more than London. The North West
had the highest proportion of multiplex screens (90%). In England the lowest concentration of multiplex screens
was found in the South West (60%), which had a high number of traditional and mixed use screens (the third
highest after London and the South East). The proportion of multiplex screens for England as a whole was 75%.
The Channel Islands and Isle of Man (59%) also had proportionally fewer multiplex screens than the UK average.
Table 10.6 Cinema screens by type by nation or region, 2010, ranked by percentage multiplex
Nation/region

Multiplex% multiplex

Traditional andmixed use

Total

North West
Yorkshire and The Humber
North East
Northern Ireland
East Midlands
Wales
West Midlands
ScotlandEast of EnglandSouth East
LondonSouth West
Others*
Total

385
211
93
153
156
147
241
248
176
388
370
189
10
2,767

89.7
83.4
82.3
81.8
77.6
77.4
77.2
76.3
75.2
73.2
65.4
60.2
58.8
75.4

44
42
20
34
45
43
71
77
58
142
196
125
7
904

429
253
113
187
201
190
312
325
234
530
566
314
17
3,671

Source: Dodona Research, RSU analysis.
* Others include the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

88 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

10.7 Mainstream, specialised and South Asian programming

3

Dodona Research categorises screens according to whether they show mostly mainstream, specialised (that is
non-mainstream, including ‘art-house’) or South Asian films.

4

Table 10.7 shows that by far the majority of screens mostly show mainstream films. In 2010, 550 cinemas with
3,416 screens showed mostly mainstream films (a 1% increase in the number of screens and a decrease of 0.2%
for sites). This compared with 163 sites (248 screens, 7% of screens) showing specialised films and three cinemas(seven screens, 0.2% of screens) dedicated mainly to South Asian films. The numbers of screens showing mostly
specialised films decreased by 2% in 2010 and the number of cinemas decreased by one.

5

6

Table 10.7 Sites and screens by programme, 2005–2010
Sites
Programme

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

South AsianSpecialised
Mainstream

5
132
522

5
157
535

4
177
546

4
168
554

4
168
551

3
163
550

Screens
2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

7

2010

18
18
10
10
10
7
206
231
255
250
253
248
3,133 3,191 3,249 3,350 3,388 3,416

8

9

Source: Dodona Research, RSU analysis.

The majority (67%) of specialised screens were found in single, independent cinemas (that is, not part of a chain).
The pattern of programme type by location in 2010 is shown in Table 10.8. Screens showing mostly South Asianfilms were located in town or city centres and suburban areas, while those devoted to specialised film were mainly
found in town or city centres. The overall pattern remained similar to last year.

10

11

Table 10.8 Percentages of screens by location and programme, 2010
Location

Town/city centre
Out of town
Edge of centre
Suburban
Rural
Total

South AsianSpecialised

Mainstream

Total

71.4
–
–
28.6
–
100.0

82.7
3.2
2.0
4.0
8.1
100.0

44.4
38.1
14.7
0.5
2.3
100.0

47.0
35.7
13.8
0.8
2.7
100.0

12

13

14

Source: Dodona Research, RSU analysis.
Note: Percentages may not add to 100.0 due to rounding.

15

This geographical analysis is extended in Tables 10.9 and 10.10, which reveal the distribution of South Asian andspecialised screens around the UK. Table 10.9 shows that 71% of all screens showing South Asian films were foundin London, with the remainder in the East Midlands, both areas having large British South Asian populations.

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 10: Exhibition – 89

22

Table 10.9 Geographical spread of South Asian screens, 2010
RegionLondonEast Midlands
Total

South Asian screens

%

5
2
7

71.4
28.6
100.0

Source: Dodona Research, RSU analysis.

Screens showing mainly specialised films were concentrated in London and the South East, which housed 43% ofthem in 2010 (Table 10.10). Scotland had 27 specialised screens and the South West 25, accounting for 11% and
10% respectively, of such screens. The North East (3.2%), Wales (2.8%) and Northern Ireland (0.8%) had the smallest
numbers of specialised screens.
Table 10.10 Geographical spread of specialised screens, 2010
Nation/region

LondonSouth East
ScotlandSouth WestWest Midlands
East of England
East Midlands
Yorkshire and The Humber
North West
North East
Wales
Northern Ireland
Total

Specialised screens

%

71
36
27
25
20
16
13
13
10
8
7
2
248

28.6
14.5
10.9
10.1
8.1
6.5
5.2
5.2
4.0
3.2
2.8
0.8
100.0

Source: Dodona Research, RSU analysis.
Note: Percentages may not add to 100.0 due to rounding.

10.8 Exhibitors
The number of exhibitors that owned or programmed 20 or more screens in the UK was 11 in 2010, the same as
in 2009 and 2008 (13 in 2005 and 2006, 12 in 2007), as shown in Table 10.11. The five largest exhibitors owned
approximately 75% of all UK screens. The order of the list remained similar to last year except that Reel Cinemas
increased its number of screens by three (to 54) and so moved ahead of City Screen which increased its numberof screens from 51 to 53.

90 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 10.11 Cinema screens by exhibitors with 20+ screens, 20103

Exhibitor

Sites

Screens % of total screens

Odeon
Cineworld
Vue
National Amusements
Ward Anderson
ApolloReel Cinemas
City Screen
Movie House Cinemas
Merlin Cinemas
AMC
Others (14 major exhibitors and 301 independent single venue exhibitors)
Total

106
77
67
21
27
13
15
19
5
10
2
354
716

840
784
642
274
229
77
54
53
39
31
28
620
3,671

22.9
21.4
17.5
7.5
6.2
2.1
1.5
1.4
1.1
0.8
0.8
16.9
100.0

Source: Dodona Research.
Figures correct as at March 2011.
Notes:In 2010 Odeon was owned by Terra Firma Capital Partners, a European private equity firm.
Cineworld was the only publicly-quoted exhibitor in the UK. It was formed in 1995 and acquired the former Cine-UK and UGC chains in 2004.
Vue, which acquired Warner Village cinemas in 2003, was owned by SBC International Cinemas.
National Amusements was owned by the family of Sumner Redstone, chairman of US media giant Viacom.
Ward Anderson was headquartered in the Republic of Ireland where it operated the IMC and Omniplex chains.

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

10.9 Exhibitor revenues

12

Dodona Research reports that total exhibitor revenue in 2010 stood at £1,221 million, 2.4% higher than in 2009.
The total revenue includes net box office receipts, net concession revenue and screen advertising receipts.
Net concession revenue stood at £295 million (a decrease of 2% compared with 2009).
Average ticket prices, calculated by dividing UK box office gross for the year (£988 million) by total UK admissions(169.2 million), rose from £5.44 in 2009 to £5.84 in 2010, an increase of 7%. The increase in average ticket prices
is partly due to 3D films. Tickets for these films are more expensive than for other films, and 28 3D films werereleased in 2010 compared with 14 in 2009.

13

14

15

10.10 Digital projection
10.10.1 Digital screens worldwide and in the UK

16

According to Screen Digest, at the end of 2010 there were 36,609 DCI–level (Digital Cinema Initiatives; see Glossary)
digital screens worldwide, an increase of 124% compared with the 16,370 screens in 2009. Table 10.12 shows thenumber of high-end digital (often referred to as ‘D-Cinema’ in the industry) screens in the world from 2005 to 2010.
Worldwide, digital screens have increased more than forty-fold since 2005.

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 10: Exhibition – 91

22

Table 10.12 Number of high-end digital screens in the world, 2005–2010
Region

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

% of
2010 total

AmericasAsia-Pacific
Europe…
of which UK
Africa and Middle East
Total

345
272
229
38
2
848

2,030
430
532
148
4
2,996

4,666
919
864
296
6
6,455

5,752
1,471
1,542
310
28
8,793

8,170
3,513
4,605
642
82
16,37017,7498,426
10,1691,415
265
36,609

48.5
23.0
27.8
3.9
0.7
100.0

% changein screens
2009–2010

117.2
139.9
120.8
120.4
223.2
123.6

Source: Screen Digest.
Notes: Figures valid to March 2011. Figures prior to 2007 include a small number of digital screens using the earlier projectors (1.3K DLP Cinema projectors) that do notmeet the DCI specifications. The minimum projector resolution for DCI is 2K (see Glossary).
Percentages may not add to totals due to rounding.

The rise in the worldwide number of digital screens continued in 2010, with a total increase of 20,239 screens.
It was fuelled by the continuing growth of digital screens in the Americas, which had the largest increase in numbers
from 2009 to 2010 (9,579, 47% of the worldwide total). Europe’s increase in digital screens from 2009 to 2010accounted for 27% of the worldwide increase, and the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 24%. The number of digital
screens in Africa and the Middle East increased by 223%, from 82 in 2009 to 265 in 2010 (the highest percentage
increase for any region), but this increase of 183 screens represented just 1% of the worldwide total increase.
In Europe 17 countries had more than 100 digital screens in 2010, compared with 12 in 2009 as shown in Table 10.13.
The top five countries had 62% (63% in 2009) of all of the high-end digital screens in Europe. France increased its
number of screens by 99%, from 959 in 2009 to 1,910 in 2010, to have the largest number of digital screens in
Europe (19% of the European total). The largest percentage increases from 2009 to 2010, however, were seenin Denmark (450% increase from 24 to 132 screens) and in Sweden (390% increase from 30 to 147 screens).
Table 10.13 European countries with 100 or more high-end digital screens, 2009–2010,
ranked by number of screens in 2010
Year
Country

FranceUK
Germany
RussiaItaly
Spain
PolandAustria
Portugal
Belgium
NorwayNetherlands
IrelandSwedenSwitzerland
Czech Republic
Denmark
Rest of Europe
Europe total
Source: Screen Digest.
See note to Table 10.12. Figures valid to March 2011.
Note: Percentages may not add to 100.0 due to rounding.
92 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

2009

2010

% of 2010
Europe total% increase
from 2009

959
642
525
331
415
286
191
239
181
142
69
105
101
30
66
44
24
255
4,605

1,910
1,415
1,151
943
876
824
333
319
319
283
268
240
156
147
147
135
132
571
10,169

18.8
13.9
11.3
9.3
8.6
8.1
3.3
3.1
3.1
2.8
2.6
2.4
1.5
1.4
1.4
1.3
1.3
5.6
100.0

99.2
120.4
119.2
184.9
111.1
188.1
74.3
33.5
76.2
99.3
288.4
128.6
54.5
390.0
122.7
206.8
450.0
123.9
120.8

1

2

The overall increase in the number of high-end digital screens in the Asia-Pacific region was lower than in Europe
between 2009 and 2010. The region’s total number of screens increased by 140% from 3,513 to 8,426. China morethan doubled its number of screens (to 4,202) and now has 50% of the region’s digital screens. Table 10.14 showsthat the top five countries had 90% of all digital screens in the region. In the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan had thelargest percentage increase in the number of digital screens (421%, from 42 to 219 screens in 2010), and Turkey
increased its number of digital screens from 39 to 160 (an increase of 310%).

3

4

5

Table 10.14 Countries in Asia-Pacific region with 100 or more high-end digital screens, 2009–2010,
ranked by number of screens in 2010
Year
Country

China
South Korea
Japan
Australia
India
TaiwanTurkeyHong Kong
Rest of Asia-PacificAsia-Pacific total

2009

2010

% of 2010
Asia-Pacific
total

1,788
536
440
289
146
42
39
72
161
3,513

4,204
1,639
980
452
279
219
160
155
338
8,426

49.9
19.5
11.6
5.4
3.3
2.6
1.9
1.8
4.0
100.0

6
% increase
from 2009

135.1
205.8
122.7
56.4
91.1
421.4
310.3
115.3
109.9
139.9

7

8

9

10

11

Source: Screen Digest.
See note to Table 10.12.
12

10.10.2 3D and alternative content programming
Of the 1,415 high-end digital screens in the UK in 2010, 1,067 (75%) of them were 3D-capable digital screens. Someof the popular 3D screenings in the UK in 2010 included Toy Story 3 (Toy Story 3’s 3D box office takings alone weremore than any other film’s total gross at the UK box office in 2010), Alice in Wonderland, Shrek Forever After andStreetDance 3D.
Table 10.15 shows the increasing number and proportion of 3D digital screens in the UK. The growth in 3D digital
screens coincided with an increase in the availability of 3D content internationally. Twenty-eight digital 3D features(films produced in stereoscopic 3D format) were released in 2010 (double the number released in 2009), and there
is a strong line-up of 3D releases for 2011, including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Horrid Henry:
The Movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Tangled.

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 10: Exhibition – 93

22

Table 10.15 3D digital screens in the UK, 2006–2010
Year

Number of 3D
digital screens

Total digital
screens

3D % of all
digital screens

Top performing digital 3D title in the UK and Republic of Ireland

5
47
69
449
1,067

148
296
310
642
1,415

3.4
15.9
22.3
69.9
75.4

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D
Beowulf
Fly Me to the Moon
AvatarToy Story 3

2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

Source: Screen Digest, Rentrak EDI, RSU analysis.
Note: 3D digital screens are capable of screening content made in stereoscopic 3D format. Top performing digital 3D titles in the UK and Republic of Ireland are based ontakings from 3D and IMAX screenings.

Alternative content (AC) or non-feature film programming is becoming a regular feature in some UK cinemas
equipped with digital screens. The availability of a digital screen base has allowed a wider range of content on
the big screen, allowed interactivity between the screen and the audience and potentially improved the useof auditorium capacity during typically quiet periods, for example, special screenings of children’s television
programmes for parents with babies in the morning. Also, since alternative content events usually have only
one or two screenings they tend to generate higher occupancy rates than feature films.
In the last few years such events have ranged from live or recorded operas, ballets and pop music concerts to film
screenings with live question and answer sessions and live sporting events. There were 54 alternative content events
screened in UK cinemas in 2010, according to Screen Digest (Figure 10.4). As in previous years both live and recorded
events were shown.
Figure 10.4 Alternative content events screened in UK cinemas by type of event, 2007–2010
Number of events
40

30

20

10

0

Opera

Popular music
concerts

2007

8

11

7

4

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

2008

39

9

4

6

6

2

1

0

0

0

0

2009

34

2

11

1

2

0

1

3

2

1

1

2010

24

4

15

2

5

1

1

1

1

0

0

Film

Sport

TheatreChildren’s

ComedyBalletClassical
music concerts

PoetryEducation

Source: Screen Digest.
Notes: Figures include live and recorded events. ‘Film’ includes film screenings followed by a live ‘question and answer’ session. ‘Children’s’ includes cartoons or
short features that would normally be released on television or DVD, as well as children’s films.

94 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Although the number of alternative content events in2010 (54) was slightly lower than in 2009 (58), revenues
from these events continued to rise, as Figure 10.5
shows. This may be due to events being shown more
widely as more digital screens become available. Notable
alternative content events screened in 2010 included alive performance of The Nutcracker by the Bolshoi Balletin December. The Six Nations Rugby Championships andthe semi-finals and final of the FIFA World Cup wereshown live in 3D (the only events to be shown in 3D in2010). As in previous years, opera accounted for thelargest number of events (24) in 2010. Most of theoperas were shown live, such as the Met Opera’s
performance of Carmen in January, but six performances(also including Carmen) had been recorded at La Scalain Milan, three recorded at the Salzburg Festival and aperformance of Turandot was recorded at Palau de lesArts Reina Sofia in Valencia. Six of the 15 films shown
included a live element where the film was followed bya question and answer session with members of the castor production teams, such as the August screening of
The Girl Who Played with Fire along with discussions
with director Daniel Alfredson. The other nine films were
all documentaries.
Figure 10.5 Revenues from alternative content events
screened in UK cinemas, 2006–2010£ million
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Alternative
content revenues
Source: Screen Digest.

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

0.2

0.8

3.1

4.9

7.9

10.11 Community cinema in the UK
The screening of feature films in the UK is not limited
to cinemas belonging to the major cinema operators.
There is a thriving sector of voluntary providers bringing
a wide variety of programming, often specialised innature, to local communities which would otherwise beunderserved by the commercial operators. This sector
is often referred to as community cinema. Members of
local communities are generally more involved in the
programming of such cinemas than their commercial
counterparts. Screenings of films in this sector are
in venues such as village halls, mixed arts venues,
independent cinemas and the like.
There was a knowledge gap in the contribution ofcommunity cinema until recently. In the Yearbook
2006/07 we presented the findings of a 2006 survey,
Cinema for All, commissioned by the British Federationof Film Societies (BFFS). This survey looked at the size,
composition and geographical distribution of thecommunity cinema sector in the UK. The survey has
since been repeated annually, and here we present asummary of the key findings from the 2009/10 survey.
While many film societies and community cinemas
have been in existence over a long period, new ones
are established all the time. Over half (59%) of the
responding organisations in the latest survey were
established in 2000 or later, while 15% were establishedin the 1960s or earlier (down from 17% in 2008/09).

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Most of the film societies that responded (76%)
operated a membership system in 2009/10 (down from
87% in 2008/09) and the average membership size was
159. The membership of responding societies stoodat 16,358. The BFFS estimates a total membership ofaround 46,000 across all film societies known to them.

13

The average full annual membership fee was £25.19(down from £26.30 in 2008/09). Less than half ofsocieties that operated a membership system charged
an additional admission fee (46%). The averageadmission fee charged by these societies was £3.53.
The lowest additional entry fee charged by respondents
was £1.00 and the highest was £7.00.

15

14

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 10: Exhibition – 95

22

The responding organisations programmed a total of 739 different titles, in 1,706 screenings, during the 2009/10
season (more than the 557 films released theatrically in the UK in 2010). British films were screened 509 times (30%of all screenings, up from 25% in 2008/09), and 48% of screenings were foreign language films (almost the same as
the 49% in 2008/09). Six out of 10 (62%) titles were screened by only one film society (down from 70% in 2008/09),
indicating the diversity of programming choices made by individual societies. However, some titles proved popular
choices across many film societies, and 26 films were programmed by 10 or more societies. Figure 10.6 shows thenumber of screenings by category of film. Titles sourced via the BFFS DVD booking scheme accounted for 143
screenings (8% of the total).
Figure 10.6 Number of community cinema screenings by type of film, 2010
Number of screenings
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200

Ar

bo BF
ok FS
in DV
g
tit D
le

fil
ch

iv

e

Sh

F
be ilmfo s m
re a
20 de
00

m

s

ts
or

ry
en

387

143

Fo

re

ig

Do

n

cu

la

m

ng

Br

ua

ta

sh
iti

0

ge

100

Number of screenings

509

824

126

161

81

Source: BFFS.
Notes: The total number of screenings does not add to 1,706 as some films appear in more than one category. Figures include both film societies and community cinemas.

Eleven of the films programmed by 10 or more respondents in 2009/10 were British, and 11 were in a foreign
language. The three most programmed films were I’ve Loved You So Long, Slumdog Millionaire and Looking for Eric.
Just over half (52%, almost the same as the 51% for 2008/09) of all responding organisations held special events inaddition to screenings in 2009/10.
The average audience size in 2009/10 was 63 and the largest stood at 394. The sum total of all admissions from
responding organisations was 217,481. If this is extrapolated to all societies, the BFFS estimates that the total
number of admissions in 2009/10 would have been around 375,000 (an 8% increase in admissions on 2008/09’s
estimate of 347,000).
The most commonly used format for screenings was DVD (used ‘usually’ or ‘sometimes’ by 95% of respondingorganisations), while 38% ‘usually’ or ‘sometimes’ used Blu-ray (up from 5% in 2008/09). Of the responding societies
27% still used VHS, and 1% of respondents reported it as their usual screening format. Nearly half (49%) of the
responding societies ‘usually’ or ‘sometimes’ used 35mm as their screening format.
The vast majority of film societies used only one venue for screenings (79%), and public buildings (for example, civic
centres and village or town halls) were the most common type (used by 49% of respondents). Other types of venue
included school halls or college/university lecture theatres (used by 20% of respondents), mixed arts centres (18%),
cinemas (16%) and theatres (14%). Responding societies and community cinemas also used cafés, pubs, church halls,social clubs, leisure centres and museums for screenings.
Film societies and community cinemas enhance film provision in thematic or geographical areas otherwise
underserved by commercial cinemas. On average, film societies and community cinemas were located around nine
miles from the nearest commercial cinema. Moreover, 43% operated in rural areas (with 17% in remote rural areas
more than 10 miles from the nearest settlement) compared with 3% of commercial screens (see Table 10.8 in section
10.6). Figure 10.7 shows the percentage share of BFFS membership by nation and English region.

96 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Figure 10.7 Share of BFFS membership by nation and region, 2010

3%

South WestSouth East
ScotlandNorth West
Yorkshire and The Humber
East of England
LondonWales
East Midlands
West Midlands
North East
Northern Ireland

25
17
12
9
9
5
5
6
3
3
2
2

4

5

6

7

8

9

Source: BFFS.
Note: Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.

The South West was the region with the highest number of admissions, accounting for 23% of all admissions to film
society screenings. In contrast, the number of admissions to commercial cinemas in the South West ISBA region
represented 2.5% of all admissions to commercial cinemas (see Table 10.4).

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

„

19

3 For cinema admissions and box office see Chapter 1 (page 8)3 For a look at cinema audiences see Chapter 15 (page 125)
3 For employment in the exhibition sector see Chapter 22 (page 194)
3 Website for British Federation of Film Societies (BFFS): www.bffs.org.uk

20

21

Chapter 10: Exhibition – 97

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Facts in focus• The combined rental and sales market for video on
physical media in 2010 was £2.3 billion, and feature film
on video accounted for £1.45 billion.
• 63 million films were rented on video in 2010 (70 million
in 2009) and 160 million films on video were sold(180 million in 2009).
• Film accounted for 72% of the volume of the video sales
market and 61% of the value. UK film had a 20% share.
• The most popular purchase on DVD was Avatar.
• Online video rental of feature films accounted for 56%
of all rental transactions of feature films in 2010.

1

2

11.1 Film in the retail video market

3‘Video’ is used in this chapter as the generic description of all physical video formats, including DVD, UMD (Universal
media disc) and Blu-ray, in line with the British Video Association’s (BVA) definition, and does not include downloads.
(For information on films rented or purchased by download, see Chapters 13 and 14.)
In 2010, 223 million videos were sold, down 8.2% on 2009. The total market value was £2,089 million, down 3.5%
on 2009 (Figure 11.1). DVDs accounted for the vast bulk of video sales value (90%), while Blu-ray sales accounted for
9.7% of total sales value in 2010, compared with 6.4% in 2009. Feature film represented approximately 61% of theretail video market by value (£1,267 million) and 72% by volume. UK films accounted for around 20% of sales of film
on video.

Figure 11.1 Retail video sales (all categories), 1999–2010

4

5

6

7

Million
3,000

8

2,500

2,000

9

1,500
10

1,000
11

500
0

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Volume (million)

96

114

135

169

208

234

222

228

249

257

243

223

Value (£ million)

878

1,101

1,417

1,896

2,245

2,478

2,309

2,219

2,349

2,408

2,164

2,089

12

13

Source: Screen Digest.
Data in this table include all categories of retail video: film, TV, sport, fitness etc.

The number of films sold on video more than trebled between 1999 and 2008, from 61 million units to 196 million,
before falling in 2009 to 180 million units and then falling further to 160 million units in 2010 (Figure 11.2).
As Figure 11.3 shows, the average unit price increased with the introduction of DVD in the late 1990s to reach apeak in 2002, but has since fallen each year until 2010 when the average unit price increased to £7.90 (comparedwith £7.29 in 2009). One factor contributing to the increase in the average unit price is the increased share of higher
value Blu-ray sales in 2010.

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Image: StreetDance 3D courtesy of Vertigo Films

Chapter 11: Film on video – 99

22

Figure 11.2 Film on video retail sales, 1999–2010
Million
1,800
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Volume (million)

61

76

96

128

158

180

164

165

188

196

180

160

Value (£ million)

451

601

821

1,175

1,392

1,557

1,399

1,302

1,440

1,454

1,311

1,267

Source: RSU analysis of Official Charts Company and BVA data.

Figure 11.3 Retail price of film per unit, 1999–2010
Price (£)
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Price

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

7.46

7.87

8.56

9.15

8.80

8.64

8.52

7.89

7.68

7.42

7.29

7.90

Source: RSU.

Table 11.1 shows the top selling films on video in 2010. Avatar, the highest grossing film at the 2009 UK box office,topped the chart with more than three million copies sold. In second place was Toy Story 3, the top film at the UK
box office in 2010, which sold more than two million copies. At number 10 in the chart was Harry Potter and theHalf-Blood Prince, which was the top selling film on video of 2009.
Avatar was also the highest selling film title on Blu-ray disc of 2010, followed by Inception and Toy Story 3. Sales ofBlu-ray discs accounted for 5.5% of all video sales by volume in 2010, up from 3.3% in 2009.

100 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 11.1 Top 10 films on video retail, 2010

3

Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

AvatarToy Story 3
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Inception
2012
The Hurt Locker
Up
Sherlock Holmes
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Country of origin

Distributor

USA
USA
USA
USA
UK/USA
USA
USA
USA
UK/USA
UK/USA

20th Century Fox
Walt Disney
eOne Films
eOne Films
Warner Bros
Sony Pictures
Elevation Sales/Lions Gate
Walt Disney
Warner Bros
Warner Bros

4

5

6

7

8

Source: Official Charts Company, BVA.

Once again, comedy was the dominant genre of films sold on video in 2010, accounting for 20% of the market
as Figure 11.4 shows. Drama was the next most popular with 19.5% of all sales, followed by action/adventurewith 15.7%.

Figure 11.4 Sales breakdown by film genre, 2010

9

10

%

ComedyDrama
Action/adventure
FamilyScience fiction
Thriller
HorrorWarMusicalWestern
Anime
Documentary
Adult

20.0
19.5
15.7
12.3
9.7
8.9
6.3
3.8
2.1
0.9
0.4
0.3
0.1

11

12

13

14

15

Source: Official Charts Company, BVA.

The list of top 10 UK performers on sell-through video in 2010 (Table 11.2) features three UK qualifying titles which
are also in the overall top 10 for the year. These include Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which continued tosell well in 2010 after being the top selling video of 2009. By the end of 2010 it had sold more than three million
copies.
Two of the top selling UK titles, Inception and Sherlock Holmes, are also in the list of top 10 selling film titles on
Blu-ray disc in 2010.

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 11: Film on video – 101

22

Table 11.2 Top 10 UK qualifying video film retail titles, 2010
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Title

Country of origin

Distributor

Inception
Sherlock Holmes
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Clash of the Titans
Robin Hood
Kick-AssGreen Zone
Harry Brown
The Boat That Rocked

UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USAUK
UK/USA/Ger

Warner Bros
Warner Bros
Warner Bros
Universal
Warner Bros
Universal
Universal
Universal
Elevation Sales/Lions Gate
Universal

Source: RSU analysis of Official Charts Company data.

The list of top 10 UK independent films sold on video in 2010 is topped by Kick-Ass, which was the second highest
grossing UK independent film at the UK box office in 2010. In second place is Harry Brown, and in third place isStreetDance 3D, which was the highest grossing UK independent film at the UK box office in 2010. At number eightin the list is This is England, still selling well on video three years after its 2007 UK theatrical release (Table 11.3).
Table 11.3 Top 10 UK independent video film retail titles, 2010
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Title

Country of origin

Distributor

Kick-Ass
Harry Brown
StreetDance 3D
St Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold
Dorian Gray
Nativity
Planet 51
This is England
Solomon Kane
Dead Man Running

UK/USA#
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK/SpaUK
UK/Cze/Fra
UK

Universal
Elevation Sales/Lions GateeOne Films
Entertainment
MomentumeOne Films
Entertainment
Elevation Sales/Lions Gate
Entertainment
RevolverSource: RSU analysis of Official Charts Company data.
# Kick-Ass was made with independent (non-studio) US support.

102 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

11.2 Film in the video rental market

3

Total physical video rentals totalled 72 million in 2010, with a total value of £208 million (including over-the-counterand online rentals). Film on video rentals totalled 63 million, with an average value of £2.90. Online video renting(with postal delivery) now accounts for 62% of all rental transactions and 56% of film on video rental transactions in
the UK.

4

The number of feature film rental transactions in 2010 was down by 7.1 million from 2009, and the value of thephysical rental market fell to £183 million from a peak of £494 million in 2001 (Figure 11.5). This is due mainly to therapid decline of the over-the-counter rental market in the wake of competition from multi-channel television, rental
downloads (from providers such as iTunes), film theft and, in particular, the availability and lower cost of retail DVDs.

Figure 11.5 Film on video rental market, 2001–2010

5

6

7

Million
600

8

500

400

9

300
10

200
11

100
0

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Transactions (million)

198

182

160

158

133

110

92

72

70

63

Value (£ million)

494

492

457

458

390

327

280

202

200

183

12

13

Source: Screen Digest, BVA.

The most popular genres were comedy and drama both of which accounted for 23% of rentals, followed by action
and children’s/family titles (Figure 11.6). (It should be noted that these categories, as defined by Kantar Worldpanel,
may differ from the genre categories assigned to the theatrical market by the RSU in Chapter 4.)

14

15

Figure 11.6 Video rental share by genre, 2010%

ComedyDrama
ActionChildren’s/family
Thriller
HorrorScience fiction
Others

23.3
23.3
16.3
10.0
8.5
7.7
5.8
5.0

16

17

18

19

Source: Kantar Worldpanel, BVA.

The list of top 10 online rentals in 2010 is topped by The Hurt Locker, which won the Oscar® for best film, and was
also one of the highest selling videos of 2010 (Table 11.4). Three other films appear in this list and also in the list of
top selling titles. These are Sherlock Holmes, Up and 2012.

20

21

Chapter 11: Film on video – 103

22

Table 11.4 Top 10 online video rentals*, 2010
Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

The Hurt Locker
The HangoverDistrict 9
The Proposal
Up
The Taking of Pelham 123
Sherlock Holmes
2012
The Time Traveller’s Wife
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Country of origin

Distributor

USA
USA
USA/NZ
USA
USA
USA
UK/USA
USA
USA
USA

Elevation Sales/Lions Gate
Warner Bros
Sony Pictures
Walt Disney
Walt DisneySony Pictures
Warner Bros
Sony Pictures
EV
Warner Bros

Source: BVA.
* ‘Online rental’ refers to online ordering with postal delivery. See Glossary.

The list of top 10 over-the-counter rentals in 2010 shows a different pattern from the online rentals, with only four
titles appearing in both rental lists (Table 11.5). These four titles are Sherlock Holmes and 2012, both of which are in
the list of top selling titles of 2010, The Hangover and The Time Traveller’s Wife.
Table 11.5 Top 10 over-the-counter video rentals, 2010
Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Shutter Island
Law Abiding Citizen
2012
Harry Brown
Couples Retreat
The Invention of Lying
Sherlock Holmes
The Book of Eli
The Hangover
The Time Traveller’s Wife

Country of origin

Distributor

USA
USA
USA
UK
USA
USA
UK/USA
USA
USA
USA

Paramount
MomentumSony Pictures
Elevation Sales/Lions Gate
Universal
Universal
Warner Bros
EV
Warner Bros
EV

Source: BVA.

11.3 Hardware
According to the BVA, 6.2 million DVD players were sold in 2010, taking cumulative DVD hardware sales since launch
to more than 68 million. In addition, 1.1 million Blu-ray stand-alone players were sold, more than doubling the
cumulative sales since launch. BVA figures also show that, in 2010, 92% of households owned at least one DVD
player and 8% of households owned a Blu-ray player.

„
3 For more information about top films at the UK box office see Chapter 2 (page 16)
3 For more information about the UK film market as a whole see Chapter 14 (page 119)104 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011ç#)0"29FLç#)0"29L
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Facts in focus• There• Chapter
werebullets.
6,043 unique film titles on television in 2010,
including 1,879 on terrestrial, 1,775 on subscription film•
channels and 3,664 on other digital film channels.
• There were 2,075 film transmissions (1,879 unique titles)
on terrestrial channels, down from 2,218 in 2009, but
still an average of almost six films per day. Of these,
434 (21%) were UK films, and 59 (3%) were foreign
language films.
• An average of 1.3 million people watched each filmon peak-time terrestrial television (up from 1 million
in 2009), compared to median cinema audiences forthe top 50 films of 1.8 million.
• The top film on terrestrial television was Shrek the Third
on BBC One, with 7.8 million viewers.
• There were 3.7 billion viewings of feature film acrossall television formats (except pay-per-view) in 2010 –over 21 times the number of cinema admissions.

ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"12.1 Programming on the terrestrial channels
Table 12.1 shows the number of feature films broadcast on the five terrestrial channels in 2010 and the number of
UK titles broadcast in that time. UK films are broken down into older titles (more than eight years old) and recent
theatrical releases (released in the last eight years). Here, UK films include all titles listed as UK-originated by the
Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB), plus UK co-productions given other nationalities (mostly USA) in
the BARB data.
There were 2,075 films on terrestrial television in 2010, down from 2,218 in 2009, although this still represented
an average of almost six films a day. The proportion of recent UK films increased slightly from 7% in 2009 to 8%
in 2010.
Table 12.1 Feature films broadcast on terrestrial television, 2010
ChannelNumberof films
broadcast

Numberof UK films
broadcast

UK films
as %of total

Number ofrecent* UK
films broadcast

Recent* UK films
as % of total
films broadcast

BBC One
BBC Two
ITV1
Channel 4
Five**
Total

281
364
419
526
485
2,075

43
130
107
96
58
434

15
36
26
18
12
21

28
50
42
32
8
160

10.0
13.7
10.0
6.1
1.6
7.7

Source: Attentional, RSU analysis.
* A recent film is one which has been theatrically released, or intended for theatrical release, in the UK since 2002.
** Five was rebranded as Channel 5 in February 2011.

The five main terrestrial channels screened 59 foreign language films in 2010, 3% of the total, down from 76 in 2009
(also 3% of the total), as Table 12.2 shows. The top foreign language film was the Bollywood comedy Om Shanti Om,
with an audience of 750,000 on Channel 4.
Table 12.2 Foreign language films broadcast on terrestrial television, 2010

ChannelBBC One
BBC Two
ITV1
Channel 4
Five*
Total

Numberof foreign
languagefilms broadcast%of channel’sfilm output

Averageaudience(million)

Top rated foreign
language film

Audience(million)

0
7
2
50
0
59

0.0
1.9
0.5
9.5
0.0
2.8

–
0.3
0.5
0.1
–
0.2

–
Spirited Away
The Little Polar Bear
Om Shanti Om
–
–

–
0.67
0.52
0.75
–
–

Source: RSU.
* See note to Table 12.1.

106 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Image: Om Shanti Om courtesy of Eros International

1

2

The number of slots for feature film on the terrestrial channels has fluctuated since 2000, as Figure 12.1 shows with
Channel 4 and Five broadcasting the most films over the last decade.

3

Figure 12.1 Number of feature films on terrestrial television, 2001–2010

4

700
5
600
500

6

400
300

7

200
100

8

0

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

BBC One

341

351

435

434

354

369

384

381

338

281

BBC Two

514

433

451

499

426

397

447

395

369

364

ITV1

285

269

312

268

373

184

243

367

446

419

Channel 4

617

574

584

503

562

581

595

606

561

526

Five*

637

641

565

527

605

496

513

472

504

485

Total

2,394

2,268

2,347

2,231

2,320

2,027

2,182

2,221

2,218

2,075

9

10

Source: Attentional, RSU.
* See note to Table 12.1.
11

12.2 Peak time on terrestrial television
In 2010, the proportion of peak-time hours (18:00 to 23:59 hours) dedicated to feature films varied widely acrossthe terrestrial channels. In terms of total hours, film represented 4% of programming on BBC One, 3% on BBC Two,
16% on ITV1, 13% on Channel 4 and 22% on Five (Figure 12.2). With the exception of Five, the film output of theterrestrial channels fell compared to 2009, with BBC One showing the largest decrease, down from 19% in 2009.
Figure 12.2 Composition of peak-time hours, 2010

12

13

14

Percentage
100
90

15

80
70
16

60
50
40

17

30
20
10
0

BBC One

BBC Two

ITV1

Channel 4

Five*

Total

Factual

17.2

44.2

11.8

40.9

22.5

27.2

Drama

22.8

2.3

26.3

13.1

33.9

19.9

News/current affairs

30.4

14.4

15.7

17.2

14.3

18.3

Entertainment

16.9

17.4

17.1

14.4

1.5

13.4

Films: Cinema

4.2

3.3

16.2

13.0

22.2

11.9

Sport

6.7

11.1

9.3

0.0

3.4

6.0

Other

1.7

7.3

3.4

1.0

0.1

2.6

Films: made for TV

0.1

0.1

0.3

0.3

2.2

0.6

18

19

20

21

Source: Attentional.
* See note to Table 12.1.
Chapter 12: Film on UK television – 107

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"12.3 Audiences for film on terrestrial television
The average audience for a film shown on peak-time terrestrial television was 1.6 million on BBC One, 1.1 million
on BBC Two, 1.3 million on both ITV1 and Channel 4 and 1.1 million on Five (Figure 12.3). Across all channels, theaverage audience was 1.3 million, up from 1 million in 2009. This compares with median cinema admissions for the
top 50 films of approximately 1.8 million.
Figure 12.3 Average peak-time audience, 2010
(000)
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0

BBC One

BBC Two

ITV1

Channel 4

Five*

Drama

6,566

1,421

6,646

1,434

1,365

Entertainment

4,653

1,956

6,250

1,555

596

Factual

4,323

1,934

3,322

1,952

983

Films: Cinema

1,574

1,146

1,283

1,306

1,135

Films: made for TV

1,202

1,110

767

979

1,122

News/current affairs

4,169

888

2,825

818

324

Other

2,015

975

2,660

1,013

1,065

Sport

4,563

1,760

4,144

465

1,986

All genres

4,702

1,661

4,332

1,535

1,084

Source: BARB/Attentional.
* See note to Table 12.1.

12.4 Top films on terrestrial television
The most popular film on terrestrial television in 2010 was Shrek the Third, with 7.8 million viewers tuning in to its
premiere on BBC One (Table 12.3). In theatrical audience terms, this is equivalent to a box office gross of £46 million(its actual gross was £39 million).

108 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 12.3 Top 10 films on terrestrial television, 2010

3
ChannelCountry oforiginYear oftheatrical release

TV audience(million)

BBC OneBBC OneITV1
ITV1
Channel 4
ITV1
ITV1

USA
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USAUK
USA
UK/USA

2007
2008
2007
2007
2009
2007
2007

7.8
6.6
6.2
6.1
5.2
5.2
4.8

BBC One
ITV1
ITV1

USA
USA
UK/USA

2005
2008
2005

4.6
4.5
4.2

Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Shrek the Third
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Slumdog Millionaire
I Am Legend
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Source: Attentional, BARB.
Note: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was broadcast twice on ITV1 – on 10 April and 19 December.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Slumdog Millionaire
The Bourne Ultimatum
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Nanny McPhee
The Damned United
Casino Royale
Bridget Jones’s Diary

6

7

8

10

Table 12.4 Top 10 UK-originated films on terrestrial television, 2010

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

5

9

The top 10 UK films of 2010 (Table 12.4) included the premieres of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,
Slumdog Millionaire, The Bourne Ultimatum and The Damned United. The highest ratings were recorded for the
first broadcast of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian on BBC One.

Title

4

ChannelCountry oforiginYear oftheatrical release

TV audience(million)

BBC OneITV1
ITV1
Channel 4
ITV1
ITV1
ITV1
BBC Two
ITV1
ITV1

UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USAUK
UK/USA
UK/USA
UK/USAUK
UK/USA/Cze
UK/USA

2008
2007
2007
2009
2007
2005
2005
2009
2006
2001

6.6
6.2
6.1
5.2
4.8
4.2
3.8
3.4
3.3
3.2

11

12

13

14

15

16

Source: Attentional, BARB.

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 12: Film on UK television – 109

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"12.5 Films on multi-channel television
Multi-channel television (freeview/satellite/cable) accounted for almost 44% of viewing in 2010, up from 17% in
2000. Table 12.5 lists the number of films shown, average audience, the top film and audience for the top film, fora selection of digital channels which broadcast feature films. The ITV digital channels screened over 1,400 films in
2010, with an average audience of around 270,000 viewers. Die Hard 4.0 recorded the largest audience for a single
screening on multi-channel television, with over 1.6 million viewers on Film4. This channel broadcast over 2,800 films
last year, averaging 170,000 viewers per film (up from 133,000 in 2009).
Table 12.5 Feature films on selected digital channels, 2010
ChannelBBC Three
BBC Four
Comedy Central
E4
Film4
Fiver*
Five USA*
G.O.L.D.
Horror Channel
ITV2–4More 4
Movies 24+
Movies 4 Men 1–2
Sky 1–3
Sunrise TV
Syfy
True Movies 1–2
Turner Classic Movies 1–2
Viva
Watch

Numberof filmtransmissions

Average film
audience

137

584,000

108
131
238
2,818
265
437
204
1,213
1,475
437
537
4,065
212
1,183
554
308
4,537
113
214

157,000
89,000
298,000
171,000
180,000
163,000
131,000
11,000272,000
115,000
12,0002,000
373,000
7,000
26,0009,000
7,000
54,000136,000

Top film

Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black Pearl
To Kill a Mockingbird
Bad Boys
Night at the Museum
Die Hard 4.0
Men in BlackThe Siege
The Mask
The Gravedancers
Nanny McPhee
The Godfather
Will You Merry Me?
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Michael Jackson’s This Is It
Kati Patang
Way of the Dragon
Santa Who?
Stigmata
Teen Wolf
Bruce Almighty

Source: Attentional, BARB.
* Fiver and Five USA were rebranded as 5* and 5 USA in February 2011.

The top film on free-to-air digital multi-channel (in terms of total audience across all transmissions) was
Evan Almighty on ITV2 with a total audience of 5.5 million from eight transmissions (Table 12.6).

110 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Audience for
top film

1,494,000
636,000
243,000
939,000
1,624,000
515,000
604,000
425,000
86,0001,336,000
517,000
82,00087,000429,000
53,000187,000
91,000146,000
197,000
403,000

1

2

Table 12.6 Top 10 feature films on free-to-air digital multi-channel television, 2010
Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Evan Almighty
Nanny McPhee
Kindergarten Cop
Troy
Casper
The Mummy
The Bodyguard
A Cinderella Story
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Passenger 57

3

ChannelNumber oftransmissions

Country of origin

Year oftheatrical release

Total
audience

ITV2
ITV2
ITV2/Hallmark
ITV2/Watch
ITV2
ITV2
ITV2
ITV2
ITV2
ITV2

8
6
16
12
9
6
12
8
10
8

USA
UK/USAUSA
UK/USA
USA
USA
USA
USA/Can
UK/USA
USA

2007
2005
1990
2004
1995
1999
1992
2004
2004
1992

5,518,900
5,179,600
5,089,300
4,673,200
4,553,300
4,484,200
4,475,700
4,451,400
4,400,500
4,305,700

4

5

6

7

8

Source: Attentional, BARB.

Table 12.7 outlines the number of films shown, average audience and top film on the UK’s premium subscription
movie channels. The various Sky Movie channels broadcast a total of 1,459 films across 45,624 slots while Disney
Cinemagic broadcast 63 titles across 1,712 slots with an average audience of 25,000. The highest rated broadcast
of a film on UK pay-TV was Avatar, with 874,000 viewers on Sky Movies Premiere.

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 12: Film on UK television – 111

22

ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Table 12.7 Feature films on premium subscription movie channels, 2010
ChannelDisney Cinemagic
MGM HDSky Movie channels

Number of filmtransmissions

Average film
audience

Top film

Audience
for top film

1,712
3,356
45,62425,0001,000
4,148

Beauty and the Beast
The Secret Invasion
Avatar392,000
41,000874,000

Source: Attentional, BARB.

The top film in terms of combined viewings on the subscription film channels in 2010 was Quantum of Solace, which
attracted a total audience of 5.4 million viewers from 154 transmissions on the Sky Movie channels (Table 12.8).
Table 12.8 Top 10 feature films on pay-TV film channels, 2010
Title

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Quantum of Solace
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Monsters, Inc.
Twilight
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Bedtime Stories
Night at the Museum 2
Home Alone
AvatarMonsters vs. Aliens

ChannelSky Movies
Sky Movies
Disney Cinemagic
Sky Movies
Sky Movies
Sky Movies
Sky Movies
Sky Movies
Sky Movies
Sky Movies

Countryof origin

Year oftheatricalreleaseTotal
audience*

154 UK/USA
64
USA
82
USA
109
USA
116
USA
164
USA
73
USA
86
USA
14
USA
68
USA

2008
2009
2001
2008
2008
2008
2009
1990
2009
2009

5,364,600
4,143,500
3,718,100
3,701,500
3,556,800
3,242,300
3,180,000
3,067,800
3,027,000
2,942,000

Number oftransmissions

Source: Attentional, BARB.
* Audience figures refer to total audience for all transmissions of that film across all subscription film channels in 2010.

112 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

12.6 The audience for film on all television channels, 2000–2010

3

In order to compare the audiences for film on television with the number of admissions to UK cinemas, we havecalculated the total audience for film broadcast on UK television since 2000 (see Figure 12.4). In 2010, there were
3.7 billion viewings of film on television, compared with cinema admissions of 169 million. This represents
approximately 64 film viewings per person per year.

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 12: Film on UK television – 113

22

Figure 12.5 shows the total number of films shown on television since 2000. The steep rise in film showings to2003 has since flattened but the 73,005 total in 2010 is almost double the number shown in 2000 (38,865).
The subscription film channels and digital multi-channel TV have driven this increase. In terms of unique film titles,
there were 1,879 films broadcast on terrestrial, 1,775 titles on the subscription film channels and 3,664 on otherdigital channels. Overall, 6,043 individual film titles were shown across all TV channels in 2010.

12.7 The value of feature film to broadcasters
Based on a model developed by Attentional, we have estimated the value of feature film to UK broadcasters to beapproximately £1.2 billion in 2010. This figure is derived from the annual revenue per channel, ie net advertising
revenue for the commercial channels, subscription revenues for the pay channels and the proportion of licence fee
applied to programming on the BBC channels, multiplied by the percentage of broadcast hours for feature film.

„
3 For cinema admissions see Chapter 1 (page 8)3 For an overview of the film market as a whole see Chapter 14 (page 119)114 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011ç#)0"29AL
& "$"-)$& "$"-)$ '(2&$.6
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1)%/"!#)&$:

Facts in focus• The total Video on Demand and near-Video on Demand(nVoD) film market was estimated to be worth£159 million in 2010, up 22% on 2009.
• 15 million households were able to access televisionbased VoD and nVoD in 2010 and spent an estimated£118 million on films.
• Online film revenues increased by 86% to £41.2 million.

13.1 The television-based VoD and nVoD market
The Video on Demand (VoD) market in the UK can be divided into television-based and online services. Around
15 million UK households were able to access VoD and near-Video on Demand (nVoD) films via television in 2010,
up from 14 million in 2009. The value of the total television-based market increased from an estimated £108 million
in 2009 to £118 million in 2010 (Figure 13.1).
Virgin Media and Sky are the market leaders in television-based VoD and nVoD with over 13 million subscribers
between them. Approximately 3.8 million Virgin Media TV subscribers are able to access a true-VoD service (a system
which streams content in real time from a server to the viewer) while the 9.9 million Sky satellite subscribers are able
to access nVoD films which can then be stored on personal video recorders (PVRs) through the Sky Anytime service.
However, an enhanced Sky Anytime+ service was launched in late 2010 which offers a true-VoD service to Sky
Movies subscribers.
BT Vision (545,000 subscribers) and TalkTalk TV (100,000 subscribers) offer major studio films as part of a true-VoD
IPTV offering. For digital terrestrial television (DTT) viewers, Picturebox via Top Up TV Anytime offers a limited numberof titles available through a compatible PVR.

13.2 Online VoD
Despite overall broadband penetration of 71% (fixed and mobile), the online VoD market remained small in 2010,
with estimated revenues of around £41 million, including approximately £400,000 from subscription services(Figure 13.1). However, this represents an 86% increase on 2009 and a 564% increase on 2008.
Online VoD services in the UK employ four basic types of business model:• Rental VoD – one-off rental , also known as download to rent;• Retail or download-to-own (DTO) or electronic-sell-through (EST);• Subscription VoD (SVoD) – unlimited access to content for a fixed monthly sum; and• Free/advert-supported VoD.
The online market is dominated by services associated with devices – such as iTunes and the Zune Marketplace for
the Xbox 360 console. According to Screen Digest, these services together accounted for 95% of all online filmtransactions in 2010.
Screen Digest estimates that the combined value of the television-based VoD and nVoD and internet-based film
market was £159 million in 2010, up from £130 million in 2009. This represents approximately 4% of the total UK
filmed entertainment market.
It should also be noted that title-by-title data are still unavailable for this sector and we are therefore unable toreport statistics on the top performing titles or the market share of UK films.

116 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Image: 44 Inch Chest courtesy of Momentum Pictures, an Alliance Films Company

1

2

Figure 13.1 Value of the UK VoD and nVoD film market, 2001–20103£ million
180
4

160
140
120

5

100
80

6

60
40
7

20
0

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010
8

TV-based VoD
and nVoD

44.1

48.6

57.6

59.8

63.8

71.6

92.0

110.7

108.4

118.2

Online
VoD

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.5

6.2

22.2

41.2

Total VoD/nVoD
market (£million)

44.1

48.6

57.6

59.8

63.8

71.7

92.5

116.9

130.6

159.4

9

Source: Screen Digest.

10

13.3 Future prospects for the VoD market

11

Although there are signs of growth, the aggregate size of the UK VoD market remains small. According to Ofcom,
average broadband speeds in the UK increased from 5.2Mbit/s to 6.2Mbit/s in 2010 but download speeds remaina factor. Other issues to be addressed over the coming years include improving delivery to the television screen(although 2010 saw the launch of several services connected to internet-enabled television sets such as LOVEFiLM’sdeal with Sony and Samsung), enhancing the user interface (via better menu options and recommendation engines),finding price points that work for both the industry and the consumer and increasing the size of VoD film catalogues
so that a wider choice of material is available.
The emerging market also faces a challenge from illegal online sources and this is illustrated in Figure 13.2. Based ona recent UK-wide survey1, legal downloads represent just 1% of all film viewings which is less than the reported
volume of peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing (2.5%) and file-sharing via cyberlockers or file-hosting services (1.1%). In all,
16% of respondents said they had watched films via P2P sharing and 11% via cyberlockers although 17% said they
had legally downloaded film content.

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

1. Portrayal vs. Betrayal: An investigation of diverse and mainstream film audiences, UK Film Council and Harris Interactive, April 2011.

21

Chapter 13: Video on Demand – 117

22

Figure 13.2 Share of film viewing by platform%

Live television
Recorded from television
CinemaSubscription TV/Sky
Receive DVD gift
Buy DVD
Rent DVD
Catch-up TV/iPlayer
Piracy-P2P
Buy Blu-ray disc (BD)
Online streaming
Pay-per-view TV
Receive Blu-ray disc (BD)Rent Blu-ray disc (BD)
Piracy-cyberlockers
Legal download

19.5
14.5
11.1
10.9
10.8
9.0
6.2
4.9
2.5
1.9
1.9
1.7
1.6
1.3
1.1
1.0

Source: UK Film Council, Harris Interactive.

„
3 For more information on film on video see Chapter 11 (page 98)
3 For more information on film on television see Chapter 12 (page 105)
3 For an overview of the film market as a whole see Chapter 14 (page 119)118 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011ç#)0"29GL
#"×%--)2,"0)6)7#%"Facts in focus
"7×%-604&!)%%4"60)%&6#
total filmed entertainment market in the UK in 2010
0#"&22"/0)0&$&$0#"!&$"-)N • The
is estimated to have been £3.8 billion, up 2.3% on 2009.
/0+/601"2)/)20"2*0#"
• Sell-through video on physical media was still the largest
single revenue source for film in the UK market,
×%-&$ /6024g62"1"$/"6
accounting for 34% of total revenues.
!-"*2-!&$"-)"3#&&0&$:
• The UK had the third-largest filmed entertainment
#46&!)%1& "6)%"6)$ 2"$0)%6 market in the world after the USA and Japan.
)!!/$0*2A?l*0#"-)2,"0N • Theatrical revenues and pay-TV revenues from film andVideo on Demand (VoD) all recorded increases, but
7#&%"×%-$0"%"1&6&$
physical video and free-to-air TV revenues declined.
."$"2)0"66&.$&×!)$02"1"$/":

14.1 The UK filmed entertainment market as a whole‘Video’ is used in this chapter as the generic description of all physical video formats, including DVD, UMD (Universal
media disc) and Blu-ray.
In 2009 and 2010, physical video retail was the largest single revenue source (Table 14.1), accounting for 34% of
total revenues in 2010 (£1.3 billion). Over the same period, theatrical revenues increased by 4.7% to £988 million,
while physical video sell-through revenues fell slightly from £1,311 million to £1,267 million. Gross television
revenues increased by 6% from £1,108 million to £1,173 million, due to film on pay-TV and other digital multichannel, although much of this accrued to the television industry rather than to the suppliers of film.
The market share for UK films was highest for theatrical releases (24%) and films broadcast on terrestrial television(24%) and lowest for film on pay-TV where it was 12%.
Table 14.1 UK filmed entertainment market, 2009 and 2010

Window

TheatricalVideo rental (physical)
Video retail (physical)
Pay-TV
Terrestrial television
Other multi-channel televisionnVoD and VoD
Total UK

Total gross value£ million
2009

Attributable to
UK films£ million
2009

Total gross value£ million
2010

Attributable to
UK films£ million
2010

944
200
1,311
585
240
283
124
3,687

160
41
275
93
58
59
26
712

988
183
1,267
605
215
353
159
3,770

237
37
253
74
51
74
32
758

Sources: Rentrak EDI, BVA, Official Charts Company, Attentional, Screen Digest, RSU analysis.
Notes:‘Theatrical’ is the total gross UK theatrical revenues (including VAT) in the calendar years 2009 and 2010 for all films exhibited in the UK. See Chapter 1.
‘Video rental (physical)’ is the total revenue from physical video rental (DVD, Blu-ray, etc) transactions in the calendar years 2009 and 2010. See Chapter 11.
‘Video retail (physical)’ is the total revenue from physical video retail transactions in the calendar years 2009 and 2010. See Chapter 11.
The television values are retail equivalent values calculated from the dataset of films shown on UK television. Values are estimated by multiplying the film share of the totalchannel time by the total revenue applicable to that channel (licence fee, subscription or advertising revenue). Television values cover terrestrial, subscription and other digital
multi-channel. See Chapter 12. An estimate for pay-per-view is included in nVoD.
Video on Demand and near-Video on Demand revenues are derived from Screen Digest estimates of the combined size of the television and internet-based markets.
UK share is based on an estimate derived from knowledge of UK film share in the pay-TV and video markets.
The above values are gross values and include exhibitor and distributor margins, VAT, prints and advertising costs, DVD/video retail margins, broadcaster and multi-channel
television operator margins in addition to net returns to the film production sector and film investors.
The revenues shown here are revenues earned by film in the UK market, whether UK or foreign films. The table does not include export revenues for the UK film industry.
See Chapter 21 for UK film export revenues.

120 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Image: The King’s Speech courtesy of Momentum Pictures, an Alliance Films Company

1

2

14.2 The UK market in the global context

3

In 2010, the UK had the third-largest filmed entertainment market in the world, after the USA and Japan (Table
14.2). The USA accounted for 41% of the world market. The next biggest individual territories after the UK wereFrance, Canada, Australia, Germany and Italy.

4

The world filmed entertainment market is still dominated by the largest developed economies. Although the Indian
market is vast in terms of admissions and both India and China have huge populations and are growing fast
economically, their filmed entertainment markets still count in US dollar terms below countries such as Australia(population 22 million) and Italy (population 60 million).

5

6

Table 14.2 Filmed entertainment revenues by country/region, US$ million, 2010
Country/region

Revenue in
US$ million%of total

USA
Japan
UK
Other Western Europe
FranceCanadaAustralia
Germany
Other Asia Pacific
Italy
China
India
South Korea
RussiaBrazilSpain
MexicoOther Central and Eastern Europe
Middle East and Africa
Other Latin America
Total

35,200
7,674
5,809
5,031
3,805
3,770
3,622
3,528
3,129
2,057
1,969
1,855
1,541
1,533
1,368
1,158
1,146
898
570
559
86,222

40.8
8.9
6.7
5.8
4.4
4.4
4.2
4.1
3.6
2.4
2.3
2.2
1.8
1.8
1.6
1.3
1.3
1.0
0.7
0.6
100.0

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2011–2015, June 2011.
Note: In Table 14.2 ‘Filmed entertainment revenue’ includes box office receipts, home DVD/video (rental and retail) and online download and streaming revenues. It does notinclude TV revenues.
17

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the situation is forecast to change by 2015 (Table 14.3), with China becoming
the fourth-largest individual territory, ahead of Australia and France. India’s forecast share of the global filmed
entertainment market is expected to increase to 2.7%.

18

19

20

21

Chapter 14: The UK film market as a whole – 121

22

Table 14.3 Filmed entertainment revenues by country/region, US$ million, forecast for 2015
Country/region

Revenue in
US$ million%of total

USA
Japan
UK
China
Other Western Europe
Australia
FranceCanadaGermany
Other Asia Pacific
India
Italy
RussiaBrazilSouth Korea
Spain
MexicoOther Central and Eastern Europe
Other Latin America
Middle East and Africa
Total

45,686
8,932
7,364
6,254
5,984
4,810
4,683
4,641
4,241
3,984
3,095
2,552
2,547
2,070
1,941
1,638
1,566
1,239
799
733
114,759

39.8
7.8
6.4
5.4
5.2
4.2
4.1
4.0
3.7
3.5
2.7
2.2
2.2
1.8
1.7
1.4
1.4
1.1
0.7
0.6
100.0

Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2011–2015, June 2011.
Notes:‘Filmed entertainment revenue’ includes box office receipts, home DVD/video (rental and retail) and online download and streaming revenues. It does not include TV revenues.
Forecasts are in nominal US dollars at the average 2010 exchange rate and therefore do not estimate the impact of any changes in exchange rates between 2010 and 2015.

122 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

14.3 The evolution of UK film revenues, 1998–2010

3

After strong growth in the early 2000s, aggregate film revenues fell in 2005 and 2006 (Figure 14.1). The chart showsa resumption of growth in 2007, as a result of increases in theatrical revenues and film on retail video. Since then,revenues have stabilised, with growth in the theatrical and pay-TV markets compensating for a decline in the physicalrental and retail video markets. The VoD and nVoD markets remain a small component of the overall film value chain.

4

5

Figure 14.1 Gross film revenues, all platforms, 1998–2010£ million
4,500

6

4,000
3,500
3,000

7

2,500
2,000

8

1,500
1,000
500

9

0

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Theatrical

547

563

583

645

755

742

770

770

762

821

850

944

988

Rental video (physical)

437

408

444

494

492

457

458

390

327

280

202

200

183

Retail video (physical)

453

451

601

821

1,175

1,392

1,557

1,399

1,302

1,440

1,454

1,311

1,267

Film on television

726

755

826

954

1,066

1,182

1,119

1,089

1,066

994

1,067

1,108

1,173

Film on VoD and nVoD

17

19

32

44

49

58

60

64

72

92

117

131

159

2,180

2,196

2,486

2,958

3,537

3,831

3,964

3,712

3,529

3,627

3,690

3,694

3,770

Total

Source: Rentrak EDI, MRIB, BVA, Official Charts Company, Attentional, Screen Digest, RSU analysis.
Notes: ‘Film on television’ covers terrestrial, subscription and other digital multi-channel.
Television-based nVoD and VoD are included within the VoD total.

10

11

12

The revenues shown in Figure 14.1 are the actual figures. If adjusted for inflation using the recreational and cultural
services price index (Figure 14.2), the decline in revenues in 2004 and 2006 is more marked at 18%. Since then, real
revenues have declined at a steadier rate, falling 2% in 2010.

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 14: The UK film market as a whole – 12322

Figure 14.2 Gross inflation-adjusted film revenues, all platforms, 1998–2010, expressed in 2005 pounds£ million in 2005 pounds
4,500
4,000
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Theatrical

688.9

687.4

695.7

752.6

829.7

788.5

798.8

770.0

728.5

754.6

758.3

811.0

817.2

Rental video (physical) 550.4

498.2

529.8

576.4

540.7

485.7

475.1

390.0

312.6

257.4

180.2

171.8

151.4

Retail video (physical) 570.5

551.1

717.7

957.9

1,291.4

1,478.9

1,615.1

1,399.1

1,244.3

1,323.6

1,297.1

1,126.3

1,048.0

Film on television

914.4

921.9

985.7

1,113.2

1,171.4

1,256.1

1,160.8

1,089.0

1,019.1

913.6

951.8

951.9

970.2

Film on VoD and nVoD

21.4

23.2

37.9

51.5

53.5

61.2

62.1

63.8

68.6

84.7

104.4

112.5

131.5

2,745.6

2,681.8

2,966.8

3,451.6

3,886.7

4,070.4

4,111.9

3,711.9

3,373.1

3,333.9

3,291.8

3,173.5

3,118.3

Total

Source: Rentrak EDI, MRIB, BVA, Official Charts Company, Attentional, ONS, Screen Digest, RSU analysis.
Notes: Actual revenues deflated by the UK recreational and cultural services price index, using the year to December 2005 as the base.
‘Film on television’ covers terrestrial, subscription and other digital multi-channel. Television-based nVoD and VoD are included in the VoD total.

Previous UK Film Council research has identified film theft and copyright infringement and competition from new
media entertainments as two factors influencing the revenue decline in 2005 and 2006 (see 2006/07 Statistical
Yearbook, Chapter 13). In 2010, the theatrical market was once again boosted by several high-grossing 3D releases
while HD TV was seen as the key driver of growth in the pay-TV sector.

„
3 For information on the export revenues of the UK film industry, see Chapter 21 (page 185)
3 For more information on the Video on Demand market, see Chapter 13 (page 115)

124 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011ç#)0"29EL
/ &"$!"6

$)1"2)."N0#"×%-
)/ &"$!"7)0!#" ?9&$ &1& /)%0&0%"6%)604")2N-60%4$/0)%6&$0#"!&$"-)N$
1& ")$ &$!2")6&$.%4$%&$"
)$ 1&)20)%" "1&!"6:
."N."$ "2N"0#$&!&04)$ 6!&O"!$-&!60)0/6
&$Ø/"$!"×%-!#&!")$ 
0#"0"$ "$!407)0!#×%-6)0#-"2$0#"&.6!2""$a)$ 0 7$%) ×%-6&%%&!&0%4:

Facts in focus• 62% of the UK population said they went to thecinema at least once a year, up from 60% in 2009.
• 19% went to the cinema once a month or more.
• The cinema audience for the top 20 films was
predominantly young, with the 7–24 age group(22% of the population) making up 48% of the audience.
• Asian and Black African/Caribbean audiences are more
frequent cinema-goers than the population as a whole.
• 80% of film viewing occasions are via television.
• Total film viewing occasions numbered over 4.6 billion,
which means an average of 81 film viewings per person
in 2010.

15.1 Cinema audience by genderMore than six out of 10 of us went to the cinema at least once in 2010, a slight increase on 2009, while almost one
person in five, 19% (18% in 2009), went to the cinema once a month or more (Table 15.1).
A slightly higher proportion of the cinema-going audience in 2010 was female (Table 15.2).
Table 15.1 Frequency of cinema visits by gender, 2010
Go to the cinema at least once per year (proportion of population 7+)
Go to the cinema at least once a month (proportion of population 7+)

Male %

Female %Overall %

61
20

62
18

62
19

Source: CAA Film Monitor Jan–Dec 2010.

Table 15.2 Cinema audience by gender, 20102009

Top 20 films (proportion of audience)
Top UK films (proportion of audience)*
Total survey population 7+

2010

Male %

Female %Male %

Female %

51
49
50

49
51
50

52
56
49

48
44
51

Source: CAA Film Monitor.
Notes:* Audience data were only available for 17 of the top 20 UK films released in 2010.
‘Audience’ in this table and throughout this chapter refers to film-going occasions. That is, if a person went to the cinema to see 10 films in 2010, that person would
have contributed 10 film-going occasions to the audience figures above, unless otherwise stated. Repeat visits to the same films are not recorded in CAA Film Monitor.
CAA Film Monitor included 130 film titles (mostly popular) of the 557 theatrical releases in 2010. The Film Monitor survey is carried out via a fortnightly omnibus surveyof over 1,000 adults and children aged 7+.

15.2 Film preferences by gender
Some films attracted substantially more of one gender than the other (Table 15.3). Men preferred action (Green
Zone, Iron Man 2), fantasy adventures (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Clash of the Titans) and comedy (FourLions, Burke and Hare). Sex and the City 2, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang featured
in the list of films with greater female audience share (Table 15.3).

126 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Image: Burke and Hare courtesy of Entertainment Film Distributors

1

2

Table 15.3 Audience gender split of top performing films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland,2010 top 20 films and top UK films
Greater female audience share

Sex and the City 2
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (UK)Greater male audience share

Green Zone (UK)
Four Lions (UK)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (UK)Clash of the Titans (UK)
Burke and Hare (UK)
Iron Man 2

3

Male %

Female %

27
38
39

73
62
61

Male %

Female %

76
66
66
65
64
63

24
34
34
35
36
37

Male %

Female %

50
50
49
49

50
50
51
51

4

5

6

7

8

9
Gender difference not significant

Shrek Forever After
Toy Story 3
Little Fockers
The Ghost (UK)1011

Source: CAA Film Monitor.
Note: Audience demographic data were available for 17 of the top 20 UK films released in 2010.
12

15.3 Cinema audience by age
13

As in previous years, teenagers and young adults were the most frequent cinema-goers in 2010 (Table 15.4).
The 37% of the population in the 7–34 age group provided 68% of the top 20 film audience and 61% of the
top UK film audience (Table 15.5).

14

Table 15.4 Frequency of cinema visits by age group, 2010
Age 7–14 % Age 15–24 % Age 25–34 % Age 35–44 % Age 45–54 %Go to the cinema at least once per year
(proportion of population 7+)
Go to the cinema at least once a month(proportion of population 7+)

Age 55+ %Overall %

89

85

71

68

60

34

62

32

44

23

17

12

5

19

15

16

17

Source: CAA Film Monitor.

18

19

20

21

Chapter 15: Audiences – 127

22

Table 15.5 Cinema audience by age group, 2010
Age 7–14 % Age 15–24 % Age 25–34 % Age 35–44 % Age 45–54 %Top 20 films (proportion of audience)
Top UK films (proportion of audience)
Total survey population aged 7+

18
13
7

30
28
15

20
20
15

15
16
16

Age 55+ %Total %

9
13
34

100
100
100

8
11
14

Source: CAA Film Monitor.
Notes:
Totals may not sum to 100 due to rounding.
See notes to Table 15.2.

Figure 15.1 shows the age trends of cinema-goers from 1997 to 2010. The proportion of people aged 35 or above
going to the cinema increased gradually at the expense of younger cinema-goers from 1997 to 2008. However, thelast two years has seen an increase in the number of 25- to 44-year-old cinema-goers at the expense of the over-45s
which may reflect the number of animations and family films in the top 20 last year and also the absence of a major
hit with particular appeal to the over 45 audience, as was the case with Mamma Mia! in 2008.
Figure 15.1 Age distribution of cinema-goers, 1997 to 2010
%
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

15–24

43

40

39

40

36

35

36

30

38

38

34

36

39

38

25–34

29

29

29

27

25

27

26

27

19

21

20

18

20

22

0

2010

35–44

14

16

15

17

20

20

16

18

18

17

19

16

18

19

45+

14

15

17

16

19

18

22

25

25

24

27

30

23

22

Source: National Readership Survey (NRS), CAA Film Monitor.
Note: Cinema-goers are defined as those who reported to have ‘ever gone’ to the cinema in the surveys. Figures for any given year may have included audiences
for a small number of titles released in the latter part of the previous year.

128 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

15.4 Film preferences by age

3

Animations and family films such as How to Train Your Dragon, The Princess and the Frog, Shrek Forever After andNanny McPhee and the Big Bang and UK dance film StreetDance 3D appealed to the 7–14 audience (Table 15.6).
Action, comedies and romance/fantasy films appealed to the 15–24 age group (Table 15.7). Green Zone and
The Wolfman were of particular appeal to the 25–34 audience (Table 15.8). Cemetery Junction, Gulliver’s Travels
and Four Lions appealed to the 35–44 audience (Table 15.9). UK-produced Made in Dagenham and Burke and Hare
attracted a greater proportion of cinema-goers in the 45–54 age group (Table 15.10). As in previous years, UK films
appealed strongly to the over 55 audience (Table 15.11) with The Ghost, Burke and Hare, Made in Dagenham and
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader all featuring in the list.

4

5

6

Table 15.6 Films with an above-average audience in the 7–14 age group, 2010 top 20 films and top UK films
Title

Age group % of the film’s total audience

How to Train Your Dragon
StreetDance 3D (UK)The Princess and the Frog
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (UK)
Shrek Forever After

35
33
28
27
27

7–14 age group in top 20 and top UK audience (%)

16

7–14 age group in total survey population (%)

7

7

8

9

10

Source: CAA Film Monitor.
11

Table 15.7 Films with an above-average audience in the 15–24 age group, 2010 top 20 films and top UK films
Title

Kick-Ass (UK)
Four Lions (UK)
Karate Kid
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (UK)The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Cemetery Junction (UK)Sex and the City 2
Iron Man 2
Inception (UK)
Despicable Me
15–24 age group in top 20 and top UK audience (%)
15–24 age group in total survey population (%)

Age group % of the film’s total audience

59
47
40
40
39
38
38
37
37
35
30
15

12

13

14

15

16

17

Source: CAA Film Monitor.

18

19

20

21

Chapter 15: Audiences – 129

22

Table 15.8 Films with an above-average audience in the 25–34 age group, 2010 top 20 films and top UK films
Title

Age group % of the film’s total audience

Green Zone (UK)The Wolfman (UK)
25–34 age group in top 20 and top UK audience (%)
25–34 age group in total survey population (%)

36
27
20
15

Source: CAA Film Monitor.

Table 15.9 Films with an above-average audience in the 35–44 age group, 2010 top 20 films and top UK films
Title

Age group % of the film’s total audience

Cemetery Junction (UK)
Gulliver’s Travels (UK)
Four Lions (UK)
35–44 age group in top 20 and top UK audience (%)
35–44 age group in total survey population (%)

24
24
22
15
16

Source: CAA Film Monitor.

Table 15.10 Films with an above-average audience in the 45–54 age group, 2010 top 20 films and top UK films
Title

Age group % of the film’s total audience

Made in Dagenham (UK)
Burke and Hare (UK)
45–54 age group in top 20 and top UK audience (%)
45–54 age group in total survey population (%)

19
17
9
14

Source: CAA Film Monitor.

Table 15.11 Films with an above-average audience in the 55+ age group, 2010 top 20 films and top UK films
Title

Age group % of the film’s total audience

The Ghost (UK)
Burke and Hare (UK)
Made in Dagenham (UK)The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (UK)55+ age group in top 20 and top UK audience (%)
55+ age group in total survey population (%)
Source: CAA Film Monitor.

15.5 Cinema audience by social group
Cinema audiences in social groups AB and C1 are more likely to be frequent cinema-goers (Table 15.12) while thecinema audience for the top 20 UK films also had a higher incidence of people in those social groups (Table 15.13).

130 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

49
24
22
21
10
34

1

2

Table 15.12 Frequency of cinema visits by social group, 2010
Go to the cinema at least once per year (proportion of population 7+)
Go to the cinema at least once a month (proportion of population 7+)

3
AB %

C1 %

C2 %

DE %

Overall %

72
23

67
22

59
17

47
14

62
19

Source: CAA Film Monitor.
Note: AB: Professional, business and white collar, C1: Higher-skilled manual, C2: Lower-skilled manual, DE: ‘Semi-’ and ‘Unskilled’ manual.

5

Table 15.13 Cinema audience by social group, 2010
Top 20 films (proportion of audience)
Top UK films (proportion of audience)
Total survey population 7+

4

AB %

C1 %

C2 %

DE %

Total %

28
30
27

25
25
21

17
16
13

30
28
39

100
100
100

Source: CAA Film Monitor.
Notes:
See note to 15.12.
Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.

6

7

8

9

15.6 Film preferences by social group10

Six films, including The Ghost and Burke and Hare, had a particularly strong appeal to the AB audience in 2010
(Table 15.14) while three films – StreetDance 3D, Kick-Ass and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – had a significant appeal
to the DE audience (Table 15.15).

11

Table 15.14 Films with above-average AB audience share, 2010 top 20 films and top UK films
Title

AB group % of film’s total audience

The Ghost (UK)
Burke and Hare (UK)How to Train Your Dragon
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (UK)Green Zone (UK)
Four Lions (UK)AB share of top 20 and top UK audience (%)
AB in total survey population (%)

40
39
38
34
34
34
29
27

12

13

14

15

Source: CAA Film Monitor.
16

Table 15.15 Films with above-average DE audience share, 2010 top 20 films and top UK films
Title

StreetDance 3D (UK)Kick-Ass (UK)The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
DE share of top 20 and top UK audience (%)
DE in total survey population (%)

DE group % of film’s total audience

45
40
40
30
39

17

18

19

Source: CAA Film Monitor.
20

21

Chapter 15: Audiences – 13122

15.7 Film audiences by ethnicity
A recent survey of film audiences conducted by Harris Interactive for the UK Film Council1 revealed the film viewing
preferences of a range of diverse audience groups. In terms of cinema attendance, Asian audiences show greaterlevels of cinema-going compared to the general public as a whole as do Black/African Caribbean and Eastern
European audiences (Figure 15.2).
Figure 15.2 Frequency of cinema attendance by minority ethnic group% of respondents
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Total GB population into film*

AsianBlack African/Caribbean

Never

17

13

15

11

Occasional

26

13

17

10

Regular(monthly or every few months)

43

49

47

53

Very regular(at least once a fortnight)

14

36

32

36

0

Eastern European

Source: UK Film Council, Harris Interactive.
Notes: Based on a survey of 4,315 people in February 2011.
* Total GB population into film refers to those interviewed who had seen a film on any platform in the three months prior to the survey.

Black/African Caribbean people are slightly above the national average when it comes to DVD/Blu-ray purchasinglevels while Asian and Eastern European film audiences are more closely aligned to the national average (Figure 15.3).
Figure 15.3 DVD/Blu-ray purchase levels in past year by minority ethnic group% of respondents
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Total GB population

Asian

Black African/Caribbean

None

25

23

21

21

Light (1–5)

36

35

33

39

0

Medium (6–10)

20

22

21

19

Heavy (>11)

19

20

24

21

Source: UK Film Council, Harris Interactive.
Notes: Purchase levels include DVD/Blu-ray discs bought as gifts.
See also notes to Figure 15.2.

1

Eastern European

Portrayal vs. Betrayal: An investigation of diverse and mainstream film audiences, UK Film Council and Harris Interactive, April 2011.

132 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

15.8 Film audiences by disability

3

According to a survey of 15,000 people by Kantar Worldpanel, disabled people were under-represented among those
who paid to watch films. Retail video was the only market segment in which disabled purchasers came close to theiroverall population percentage (Table 15.16).
Table 15.16 Disabled audiences aged 12+ for cinema, rental and retail video, PPV, 2010

5
Disabled %Not disabled %

16.6
15.1
11.8
15.8
14.3
14.6

83.4
84.9
88.2
84.2
85.7
85.3

Population aged 12+
Buyers of cinema, rental, retail and PPV film
Cinema-goers
Video buyers
Video renters
PPV buyers
Source: Kantar Worldpanel.
Notes:
Fieldwork took place in November 2010. Purchase data for 52 weeks ending 20 February 2011.
‘Video’ includes all physical video formats, including DVD and Blu-ray.
PPV = Pay-per-view.

6

7

8

9

10

15.9 Comparative profiles of cinema audiences and audiences for film on television
Table 15.17 compares the audience profiles for film at the cinema and film on television. Although the gender split isroughly equal in each case, there is a significant difference in the age and social group profiles of the two audiences.
The film on television audience is much older (40% over the age of 55) and skewed towards the DE social group
and away from the AB group. The cinema audience is relatively youthful (69% under the age of 35) with a greater
proportion of the audience in the AB group. Given the 3.7 billion size of the audience for film on television (Chapter
12), Table 15.17 demonstrates how film reaches all ages and social groups through its successive release windows.

11

12

13

Table 15.17 Profile of cinema audience and audience for film on television, 2010

Male
FemaleAge 7–14 (cinema) and 4–15 (TV)
15–24 (cinema) and 16–24 (TV)
25–34
35–44
45–54
55+
AB
C1
C2
DE

4

Cinema audienceshare %

Share of audience forfilm on television %

49
51
14
32
23
14
9
9
30
24
17
30

48
52
8
8
11
16
18
40
15
24
23
38

14

15

16

17

18

19

Source: Attentional, BARB, CAA Film Monitor, RSU analysis.
Note: Television audience is total viewing occasions and includes those of the five terrestrial TV channels only.
20

21

Chapter 15: Audiences – 13322

15.10 How films are consumed by age
The UK Film Council/Harris Interactive survey asked respondents to think about the last 10 films they had watchedand how they had watched them and an analysis of these responses by age is presented in Figure 15.4. The findings
underline the youthful nature of the cinema audience and the importance of television to older audiences. In termsof home entertainment, DVD accounts for three in 10 film viewings in the 15–24 age category and 27% in the 25–34
group. Blu-ray viewing occasions are low, with a viewings peak of 9% in the 25–34 age group. Peer-to-peer (P2P)
piracy, film theft and infringement via cyberlockers or other internet file hosting services account for 7% of film
viewings in the 16–24 age category rising to 10% in the 25–34 age group while films downloaded via legal services
represent 3% of viewings among 16–24 year olds (the peak for this platform).
Figure 15.4 Way of watching films by age
%
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
16–24

25–34

35–44

45–54

Rent DVD

7.3

8.2

7.5

4.2

4.9

Buy DVD

11.5

9.1

9.3

8.3

8.0

Receive DVD gift

10.7

9.7

10.7

11.2

11.6

Rent Blu-ray disc (BD)

2.2

2.5

2.1

0.3

0.5

Buy BD

2.4

2.9

2.5

1.8

0.8

Receive BD gift

2.7

3.4

1.3

1.4

0.5

Legal download

2.6

2.1

0.7

0.5

0.3

Online streaming

5.5

3.2

1.0

1.0

0.5
0.3

0

55+

Piracy – P2P

4.0

6.4

3.0

0.9

Piracy – cyberlockers

2.8

3.6

0.3

0.2

0.0

Recorded from TV

7.0

9.0

11.4

16.0

21.7

Subscription TV/Sky

6.5

10.1

15.9

16.2

7.2

Live TV

11.5

11.2

16.2

22.5

27.8

Catch-up TV/iPlayer

6.1

3.8

4.7

4.7

5.3

Pay-per-view TV

1.9

2.9

2.1

2.0

0.4

Cinema

15.4

12.0

11.3

8.7

10.1

Source: UK Film Council, Harris Interactive.
See Notes to Figure 15.2.

134 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

15.11 Total size of the UK film audience3

The total size of the film audience in the UK in 2010 was estimated to be 4.6 billion, calculated from all the sources
available (Table 15.18). Television accounted for 80% of the total film audience, followed by video (16%) and cinema(4%). Film watching via pay-per-view or other Video on Demand formats represented a small fraction of the total
audience in the year (1%). The figures do not include watching film from illicit sources.

4

5

Table 15.18 Estimated total audience for film in the UK, all modes, 2010
Mode

CinemaDVD/Blu-ray
VoD (including pay-per-view)
Film on television
Total

Audience size
(million)% of total film
audience

169
719
53
3,668
4,609

4
16
1
80
100

Sources: CAA, Rentrak EDI, FAME, Screen Digest, Attentional, RSU analysis.
Notes:‘DVD/Blu-ray’ includes occasions watching previously-purchased feature film DVD/Blu-ray as well as current purchases. The DVD/Blu-ray estimate is derived from FAME survey
information on the DVD-watching habits of cinema-goers with an additional estimate for the population not covered by FAME.
‘Film on television’ includes terrestrial, subscription and free-to-air multi-channel.
Percentage may not sum to total due to rounding.

Taking the total film viewing figure of 4.6 billion occasions and dividing it by an estimated viewing population(excluding the very young), there were 81 film viewing occasions per person in 2010, an average of just under sevenfilms per month.

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

„

19

3 For more information about top films at the box office in 2010 see Chapter 2 (page 16)
3 For further details about film on video see Chapter 11 (page 98)
3 For further information about film on television see Chapter 12 (page 105)
3 To download a copy of the report Portrayal vs. Betrayal go to www.harrisinteractive.com/uk/Industries/
TechnologyMediaTelecoms.aspx

20

21

Chapter 15: Audiences – 135

22ç#)0"29CL&%-6!"20&×" )6 2&0&6#9DD?aF898

Facts in focus)!!"66×%-0)32"%&"*N• A total of 189 UK films (152 in 2009) received final)×%--/60"!"20&×" )6
certification as British films in 2010. Of these, 170
were Schedule 1 films and 19 were co-productions.
h 2&0&6#g:/)%&*4)6 2&0&6#N
• The total production budget of finally certified)×%--/60"&0#"2)660#"
Schedule 1 films was £1,002 million in 2010
ç/%0/2)%"60/$ "2!#" /%"9(£604 million in 2009).
*0#" &%-6!09D?EN2"• There were 146 interim Schedule 1 approvals in
2010, with a total anticipated production budget!"20&×" /$ "2$"*0#"
of £966 million.
g6&%)0"2)%!O2 /!0&$
• The median co-production budget rose over the last
decade, while since 2005 that of Schedule 1 films).2""-"$0620#" /2")$
dropped from £3.5 million to just £0.4 million.
ç$1"$0&$$ç&$"-)0.2)#&!çO2 /!0&$:

1

2

16.1 Qualifying as an official British film

3

The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (DCMS) is responsible for issuing British Film
Certificates on the basis of recommendations made by the Certification Unit. In 2010 this Unit was part of the UK
Film Council, but became part of the British Film Institute (BFI) in April 2011 when the BFI assumed responsibility
for the majority of the UK Film Council’s core functions. Makers of certified British films can apply for tax relief on
qualifying films or apply for Lottery funding from the BFI and other sources. (There is more information about public
investment in film in Chapter 18.)
Schedule 1 films are films certified as British under Schedule 1 of the Films Act 1985. To qualify, films starting
principal photography on or after 1 January 2007 must pass a UK Cultural Test. Points are awarded for UK elementsin the story, setting and characters and for where and by whom the film was made (see the links at the end of thechapter for details of the Cultural Test). A wide variety of films qualified as British under the Cultural Test in 2010,
from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Sherlock Holmes to Made in Dagenham and Sex & Drugs& Rock & Roll.
Films can also qualify as British if they are certified under the various official UK co-production agreements.
Official co-productions must be certified by the competent authorities in each country as meeting the certifying
criteria, which include the creative, artistic, technical and financial input from each co-producer. Once certified,a film counts as a national film in each of the territories and may qualify for public support on the same basis as
national films in that territory. On the basis of recommendations made by the Certification Unit, the Secretary ofState grants ‘interim approval’ prior to the start of principal photography to those films that meet the criteria and‘final certification’ once the film has been completed and final documents submitted. British films made as official
co-productions are not required to pass the Cultural Test.

6

7

9

10

16.2 Schedule 1 cultural test certifications, 2009 and 2010

11

12

13

In 2010, a total of 170 films (144 in 2009) were finally certified as British under the Schedule 1 Cultural Test (Table
16.1). The total budget of finally certified films increased from £604 million to £1,002 million. This reflects the higher
number of big budget inward investment films made in 2009 feeding through to a higher value of final certificationsin 2010. The number of interim Schedule 1 approvals was almost identical in 2010 to 2009 (148 in 2009 and 146 in2010), but the aggregate budget fell from £1,585 million in 2009 to £966 million in 2010. The decrease in aggregate
budget is due to a higher number of low budget films and fewer high value inward investment productions receiving
interim certification in 2010.

14

15

16

Table 16.1 Schedule 1 cultural test certifications, 2009 and 2010
2009

Interim approval
Final certification

5

8

At the end of 2010, the UK had seven active bilateral treaties in place, with Australia, Canada, France, India,
Jamaica, New Zealand and South Africa. At that time the UK had also signed treaties with Israel, Morocco andPalestine which were subject to constitutional procedures and ratification before they could come into force.
Official UK co-productions can also be certified under the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-productionof which the UK is one of 42 signatories.

Type of certification

4

2010

NumberBudget (£ million)

NumberBudget (£ million)

17

148
144

1,584.6
603.9

146
170

965.7
1,001.7

18

Source: DCMS, UK Film Council.
19

20

21

Image: Weekender courtesy of Momentum Pictures, an Alliance Films Company

Chapter 16: Films certified as British 1998–2010 – 13722

16.3 Co-production certifications, 2009 and 2010
In 2010, the number of official co-productions increased from the low levels of 2008 and 2009 with 19 final
certifications (£137 million) and 24 interim approvals (£189 million). The 2010 numbers remain low, however, whencompared with the much higher levels of the early 2000s. The decline in numbers since then has been influenced by
the closing of tax loopholes and the redesign of the post-2006 tax relief to relate to UK spend rather than the total
film budget.
Table 16.2 Co-production certifications, 2009 and 20102009Type of certification

2010

NumberBudget (£ million)

NumberBudget (£ million)

18
8

94.8
48.0

24
19

189.2
137.4

Interim approval
Final certification
Source: DCMS, UK Film Council.

In 2010, 14 of the 19 final co-production certifications were under the European Convention on Cinematic
Co-production, two were under the UK-Australia agreement, two were under the UK-Canada agreement and one
was under the UK-New Zealand agreement.
Of the 24 interim co-production certifications, 15 were under the European Convention, four were under the UKSouth Africa agreement, two were under the UK-Canada agreement, two were under the UK-New Zealandagreement and one was under the UK-Australia agreement.

16.4 Finally certified British films, 1998–2010
The number of UK films (Schedule 1 and co-productions) receiving final certification rose gradually from 56 in
1998 to 172 in 2005 and has fluctuated since then (Figure 16.1). The numbers fell to 105 in 2008 before picking
up again to 152 in 2009 and to a peak of 189 in 2010. In the mid-2000s the majority of final certifications were
co-productions, but these dropped away to the very low levels of 2008 and 2009, before increasing slightly in 2010.

Figure 16.1 Number of finally certified (Schedule 1 and co-production) UK films, calendar years 1998–2010
Number of final certifications
200

150

100

50

0

98

99

00

01

02

03

04

Schedule 1

40

68

108

75

77

76

Co-production

16

13

22

41

56

84

Total

56

81

130

116

133

160

Source: DCMS, UK Film Council.

138 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

05

06

07

08

09

10

72

66

74

98

97

144

170

99

106

68

56

8

8

19

171

172

142

154

105

152

189

1

2

The total production budget of finally certified British films peaked at £1,822 million in 2004 (Figure 16.2). The rise
was mainly due to the surge in official UK co-productions in the early 2000s. In 2004/05 a series of cooling measuresdesigned to restore balance in co-production relations were introduced by the DCMS and Her Majesty’s Revenue
and Customs (HMRC) and in 2007 the basis of tax relief was shifted from total budget to UK spend, reducing
the incentive to structure films as co-productions as these films generally have lower levels of UK spend than
Schedule 1 films. The value of official co-productions in 2008 and 2009 fell back to the pre-2000s level, but
increased slightly in 2010.
Figure 16.2 Total production budget of finally certified (Schedule 1 and co-production) UK films,
calendar years 1998–2010

3

4

5

6

Total production budget (£ million)
2,000
7
1,500
8
1,000
9
500
10
0

98

99

00

01

02

03

Schedule 1

232.1

407.8

361.2

538.5

585.4

Co-production

59.5

66.3

95.5

277.7

462.2

Total

291.6

474.1

456.7

816.1

1,047.5

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

330.0

643.5

757.7

402.0

561.4

935.4

603.9

1,001.7427.6

1,178.2

877.1

459.5

356.7

45.2

48.0

137.4

757.6

1,821.7

1,634.8

861.6

918.1

980.6

651.8

1,139.1

11

12

Source: DCMS, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Total production budget is total budget for Schedule 1 films and total investment for co-productions.
Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

13

Figure 16.3 shows the levels of UK spend over the same period. UK spend is generally that part of the production
budget spent in the UK (see notes to Figure 16.3). At its peak in 2005, UK spend reached £1,023 million whereas
in 2009 it had dropped to £445 million before increasing to £905 million in 2010. Although over half the total
production budget was contributed by co-productions at the peak in 2004–2005, the UK spend of co-productions
was less than that of the Schedule 1 films. Since then, their contribution has continued to fall. In 2010,
Schedule 1 films accounted for 94% of the UK spend of finally certified films.

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 16: Films certified as British 1998–2010 – 139

22

Figure 16.3 UK spend of finally certified (Schedule 1 and co-production) UK films, calendar years 1998–2010
UK spend (£ million)
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0

98

99

00

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

Schedule 1

151.4

269.3

292.4

459.3

522.5

293.3

560.2

685.4

341.1

442.4

588.5

422.9

853.8

Co-production

22.9

21.6

37.8

88.2

132.2

127.3

442.7

337.4

183.1

123.1

34.0

21.6

51.3

Total

174.4

290.9

330.3

547.5

654.7

420.6

1,002.9

1,022.8

524.2

565.5

622.5

444.6

905.1

Source: DCMS, UK Film Council.
Notes:‘UK spend’ is the ‘value of the production activities in the UK’ for Schedule 1 films and ‘UK expenditure’ for co-productions (bilateral and European Convention).
UK spend for co-productions may include some expenditure on UK goods and services which took place outside the UK.
Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

UK spend as a percentage of total budget is typically lower for co-productions than for Schedule 1 films (Table 16.3).
The co-production UK spend share is usually around one-third, though it did rise in 2008 and 2009 as the numberof co-productions fell away. The UK spend share was as high as 75% in 2008 and 45% in 2009, but in 2010 fell tothe more ‘typical’ level of 37%. The UK spend share of Schedule 1 films has averaged between 63% and 91% and in2010 was 85%. Tax relief for British films is based on UK spend up to a maximum of 80% of the qualifying budget.
Table 16.3 UK spend as % of total production budget, 1998–2010
Schedule 1
Co-production
Total

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

65.2
38.5
59.8

66.0
32.5
61.3

81.0
39.6
72.3

85.3
31.8
67.1

89.3
28.6
62.5

88.9
29.8
55.5

87.1
37.6
55.1

90.5
38.5
62.6

84.8
39.8
60.8

78.8
34.5
61.6

62.9
75.2
63.5

70.0
45.0
68.2

85.2
37.3
79.5

Source: UK Film Council.

16.5 Median budgets, 1998–2010
Median budgets for final certifications are shown in Figure 16.4. From 1998 to 2005 the median budget for
co-productions was on a rising trend, increasing to £4.9 million. This was followed by a drop in 2006–2008 to£3.8 million then a steep rise in 2009 to £6.3 million followed by a drop in 2010 to £4.4 million. However, thefluctuations in median budgets in recent years is likely to be at least partly due to the very low numbers of films
certified in 2008 and 2009, as with low numbers the median is more susceptible to the effect of individual titles.
A decade ago, the median budget of Schedule 1 films was £3 million. This dipped in 2002–2003 to around£2 million, but then rose to over £3 million in 2004 and 2005. Since then, as the number of Schedule 1 films has
increased, the median budget has fallen steeply to £1 million in 2008 and 2009 and to only £0.4 million in 2010.

140 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Figure 16.4 Median budgets of final certifications, 1998–2010

3

Median budget (£ million)
7.0
4

6.0
5.0

5

4.0
3.0

6

2.0
1.0
1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Schedule 1

3.1

2.8

2.8

2.9

2.0

1.8

3.2

3.5

2.0

1.2

1.0

1.0

0.4

Co-production

2.5

3.5

3.3

3.4

4.7

3.6

4.3

4.9

4.4

4.4

3.8

6.3

4.4

0

Source: UK Film Council.
Note: The median is the middle value, ie there are equal numbers of films above and below the median.

7

8

9

16.6 Final certifications by budget band, 1998–2010
Table 16.4 shows that the reason for the decline in the Schedule 1 median budget is the growth in the numberof very low budget (under £2 million) films being certified. This growth has been particularly marked since 2006,
suggesting that UK tax relief has become more accessible to low budget filmmakers, following the introduction of
the new rules in 2007. The total number of medium and high budget Schedule 1 films has remained fairly consistentfrom year-to-year over the last decade.
Table 16.4 Final Schedule 1 certifications by budget band, 1998–2010

10

11

12

Budget band £ million

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

>30
10–30
5–10
2–5
=<2
Total

2
2
5
20
11
40

3
3
12
26
24
68

1
3
14
43
47
108

3
10
7
24
31
75

2
13
10
13
39
77

2
3
5
25
41
76

5
7
13
23
24
72

5
9
7
25
20
66

2
7
9
21
35
74

3
7
9
18
61
98

9
6
11
9
62
97

4
7
8
24
101
144

6
9
10
16
129
170

13

14

15

Source: DCMS, UK Film Council.

Table 16.5 shows the distribution of Schedule 1 budgets by budget band for the years 2007–2010. The 4% of films
with budgets over £30 million accounted for 62% of the aggregate budget, while the 69% of films with budgets
under £2 million accounted for only 7% of the aggregate budget. This reflects both the growth in the number oflow budget Schedule 1 films and the big budget inward investment UK/USA titles in the top budget band.

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 16: Films certified as British 1998–2010 – 141

22

Table 16.5 Final Schedule 1 certifications, budget distribution by budget band, 2007–2010
Budget band£ million

NumberTotal budget£ million% number% budget

22
29
38
67
353
509

1,932.3
493.0
264.0
209.8
203.2
3,102.4

4.3
5.7
7.5
13.2
69.4
100.0

62.3
15.9
8.5
6.8
6.6
100.0

>30
10–30
5–10
2–5
=<2
Total
Source: DCMS, UK Film Council.
Note: Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

For co-productions the pattern is different. The rise and fall in co-production numbers is clear from Table 16.6, which
also shows a disproportionate increase in large budget co-production certifications in 2004–2005. This reflects the
structuring of some large budget UK/USA inward investment films as co-productions at that time, a practice that has
fallen away since the tax rules changed.
Table 16.6 Final co-production certifications by budget band, 1998–2010
Budget band£ million

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

>30
10–30
5–10
2–5
=<2
Total

–
–
5
6
5
16

–
2
2
6
3
13

–
2
4
13
3
22

1
7
8
19
6
41

1
14
12
21
8
56

–
11
18
39
16
84

8
20
14
40
17
99

4
15
32
39
16
106

2
5
20
28
13
68

2
7
13
25
9
56

–
2
1
4
1
8

–
1
4
1
2
8

–
3
5
7
4
19

Source: DCMS, UK Film Council.

The budget distribution for co-productions was much more even than for Schedule 1 films, with 80% of films having
budgets between £2 million and £30 million and accounting for 85% of the total budget, as shown in Table 16.7.

142 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 16.7 Final co-production certifications, budget distribution by budget band, 2007–2010
Budget band£ million

>30
10–30
5–10
2–5
=<2
Total

3

NumberTotal budget£ million% number% budget

2
13
23
37
16
91

67.6
197.9
170.6
128.0
23.2
587.3

2.2
14.3
25.3
40.7
17.6
100.0

11.5
33.7
29.1
21.8
3.9
100.0

Source: DCMS, UK Film Council.
Note: Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

„

18

3 For UK film production, see Chapter 17 (page 144)
3 For UK film economy, see Chapter 21 (page 185)
3 For public investment in film in the UK see Chapter 18 (page 157)
3 For more information about British films, tax relief and the Cultural Test, see http://www.bfi.org.uk/about/qualifying/
3 For more information on the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production, see the Council ofEurope website: http://conventions.coe.int (number 147 under the full list of treaties)

19

20

21

Chapter 16: Films certified as British 1998–2010 – 143

22ç#)0"29@L&%-2 /!0&$&$F898

F8986)72"!2 %"1"%6*&$7)2 &$1"60-"$07#&!#
&$!2")6" 1"2)%%2 /!0&$
6"$ &$0#"0)%-60â9:F&%%&$: 7"1"2N0#"&$ ""$ "$02 /!0&$6"!022"-)&$" /$ "22"66/2"
7&0#0#"-" &)$/ ."0* -"60&!×%-6*)%%&$.0â9:F-&%%&$:Facts in focus• Total UK production activity in 2010 was £1,165 million,
compared with £1,088 million in 2009.
• The UK spend associated with inward investment
features was £935 million, the highest yet recorded,up 13% from £826 million in 2009.
• There were 79 UK domestic features (87 in 2009) and21 co-productions (27 in 2009).
• The median budget for UK domestic features was£1.2 million, compared with £1.4 million in 2009 and£2.9 million in 2003.
• Eleven big budget films accounted for 73% of the total
UK production spend in 2010.
• Low and micro-budget production activity increased,with 147 feature films produced with budgets under£500,000.

1

2

17.1 The value of UK production in 20103

UK production activity grew by 7% in 2010, to £1,165 million, from £1,088 million in 2009.
There were 28 inward investment productions in 2010, with a UK production value of £935 million (see Table 17.1
for definitions). Some of the big budget films contributing to this figure were Captain America: The First Avenger,
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, John Carter of Mars, Pirates of the
Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Sherlock Holmes 2, War Horse and X-Men: First Class.
There were 79 UK domestic features in 2010, down from 87 in 2009, with a UK production value of £175.8 million
which was 22% down from the 2009 figure. Domestic UK titles in 2010 included Attack the Block, The Deep Blue
Sea, Horrid Henry: The Movie, Jane Eyre, Johnny English Reborn, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and Tinker, Tailor,
Soldier, Spy.

4

5

6

The number of co-productions declined to 21 but their UK spend increased from £36 million to £54 million.
Co-productions in 2010 included Africa United, The Lady, Singularity, The Three Musketeers and Will.

7

Table 17.1 Feature film production activity, 2009 and 2010

8

Inward investment feature films
Domestic UK feature films
Co-productions
Total

Number of
productions
2009

Value
£ million
2009

Number of
productions
2010

Value
£ million
2010

36
87
27
150

825.8
226.0
36.1
1,087.9

28
79
21
128

935.3
175.8
54.3
1,165.4

9

10

11

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Numbers have been revised on the basis of new information received since the publication of the 2010 Statistical Yearbook.
Inward investment includes nine films in 2009 (£36.8 million) that involved only visual effects (VFX) work in the UK.
Inward investment feature films include three non-USA films in 2009 and two non-USA films in 2010.

12

Definitions:
An inward feature is defined as a feature film which is substantially financed and controlled from outside the UK and where the production is attracted to the UK becauseof script requirements, the UK’s infrastructure or UK tax relief.
An inward feature co-production is an official co-production that originates from outside the co-production treaty countries (usually from the USA) and which is attracted
to the UK because of script requirements, the UK’s infrastructure or UK tax relief. Two were made in 2010.
A domestic (indigenous) UK feature is a feature made by a UK production company that is produced wholly or partly in the UK.
A co-production is a production (other than an inward co-production) involving various country partners usually under the terms of a bilateral co-production agreement
or the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production.
Measurement:
The above numbers include only the UK spend associated with productions shot or post-produced in whole or in part in the UK.
Spend is allocated to the year in which principal photography started or to the year in which the visual effects were undertaken in the case of VFX-only films.

13

14

15

16

Exclusions:
Spending on films with budgets under £500,000 is not included.

17

18

19

20

21

Image: Attack the Block courtesy of Optimum Releasing

Chapter 17: Film production in 2010 – 14522

17.2 Inward, domestic and co-production features, 1994–2010
Figure 17.1 puts the 2010 figures in a longer time perspective. The decline in domestic features between 1997
and 2004 occurred alongside a substantial growth in co-production activity, suggesting it was easier at that time
to make films as official co-productions than as stand-alone UK productions. From 2005 to 2008 this trend wasreversed, reflecting a tightening in co-production certification requirements followed by the introduction of the
new UK film production tax relief based on UK spend rather than the whole production budget of the film.
Minority co-productions saw the greatest reduction.
After a decline from the peak of 2003, the total number of films has levelled out at around 130 per year but
domestic UK productions have grown as a proportion of the total. Production numbers continued at the higher level
achieved after the introduction of tax relief and Lottery support for film in the mid-1990s.
Figure 17.1 Number of inward, domestic, co-production and total features, 1994–2010
Number of features
200

150

100

50

0

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Inward

13

14

25

20

16

22

28

23

16

45

28

49

28

29

29

36

28

Domestic

33

34

73

84

67

70

52

51

37

45

40

51

57

71

82

87

79

Co-production

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

66

106

105

65

51

29

23

27

21

Of which…
majority and parity co-production –

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

23

22

12

18

16

10

6

12

minority co-production

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

83

83

53

33

13

13

21

9

Total

46

48

98

104

83

92

80

74

119

196

173

165

136

129

134

150

128

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Inward features include inward investment co-productions from 2002 and a small number of visual effects (VFX) only titles from 2007.
UK co-productions not available by shoot date prior to 2002.
Data for 2003–2009 updated since publication of the 2010 Yearbook.
Inward investment includes a spike in the number of non-USA (mainly Indian) inward investment films in 2005.
Majority co-production means a co-production in which the UK investment is the largest single national investment (not necessarily an absolute majority).
Parity co-production means a co-production in which the UK and at least one other country contributed equal largest investments.
Minority co-production means a co-production in which at least one other country made a larger investment than the UK.
Data for films with budgets greater than or equal to £500,000.

Table 17.2 distinguishes independent UK films from UK/USA studio films and non-UK films made partly or wholly in
the UK. In 2010, UK independent films were 82% of the total while UK films as a whole were 95%. In recent years
the share of UK independent films in the total has been as high as 89% (2004). The number of non-UK films
increased in 2008 and 2009, mainly as a result of an increase in VFX-only titles tracked. VFX-only titles are usually big
budget USA studio films which contract part of their visual effects to UK-based VFX companies. The number of UK
independent films with budgets greater than or equal to £500,000 has declined since 2003, reflecting the tougher
economic environment for independent production.

146 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 17.2 Numbers of UK/USA studio and independent
UK films, 2003–2010
UK/USA studio films
UK independent films
Non-UK films
Total% UK independent films

3

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

27
162
7
196
82.7

14
154
5
173
89.0

15
144
6
165
87.3

20
110
6
136
80.9

17
105
7
129
81.4

14
106
14
134
79.1

14
113
23
150
75.3

16
105
7
128
82.0

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Data for films with budgets greater than or equal to £500,000.
A UK/USA studio film is a UK film produced by or in association with one of the major US studios or one of the major US studios’ specialist production subsidiaries.
A UK independent film is a UK film made by an independent production company or group of independent production companies.

4

5

6

7

The value of UK production in 2010 increased by 7% compared with 2009, making 2010 the highest production year
on record (Figure 17.2). The value of inward investment, at £935 million, was also the highest yet tracked. In 2010,
inward investment accounted for 80% of UK spend demonstrating the importance of inward investment to the UKfilm economy. Since 1997, the fluctuation in production value has principally been driven by fluctuations in inward
investment. In contrast, the combined UK spend of co-productions and UK domestic films declined from £386 million
in 2003 to £230 million in 2010, reflecting tougher economic conditions and changing arrangements for film tax
relief. The majority of the fall is due to the decline in co-productions, the UK spend of which fell from £169 million in2004 to £35 million in 2009, although this recovered to £54 million in 2010. Spend on domestic UK production in2010 declined by 22% compared with 2009 from £226 million to £176 million.

8

9

10

11

Figure 17.2 Value of UK spend of inward, domestic, co-production and total features, 1994–2010£ million
1,200

12

1,000
13

800
600

14

400
200

15
0

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Inward182.7 216.5 387.1 261.9 214.2 336.4 366.6 198.5 265.9 732.9 583.8 307.0 558.7 604.1 425.9 825.8 935.3

Domestic

59.5

94.0 172.2 202.9 175.0 170.3 211.7 180.1 156.4 227.8 122.3 177.5 156.6 154.1 215.6 226.0 175.8

Co-production

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

– 128.2 158.3 169.2

97.3 110.4

78.0

49.2

36.1

54.3

Of which…
majority and parity co-production

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

62.1

52.0

34.6

67.3

52.6

31.8

14.1

40.1

minority co-production

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

96.2 117.2

62.6

43.1

25.4

17.4

22.0

14.2

Total

16

242.2 310.5 559.3 464.8 389.2 506.7 578.3 378.6 550.5 1,119.0 875.3 581.7 825.6 836.2 690.7 1,087.9 1,165.4

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.
See notes to Figure 17.1.

17

18

19

Table 17.3 shows the split between UK/USA studio films, UK independent films and non-UK films. Over the period asa whole UK independent films accounted for a third of the UK spend with UK/USA studio films making up most of
the rest. In 2010, the UK spend of UK independent films was lower than average at 20% of the total, due to therecord spend on studio films and a 17% fall in UK independent film spend.

20

21

Chapter 17: Film production in 2010 – 147

22

Table 17.3 Value of UK spend of UK/USA studio and independent
UK films, 2003–2010, £ million
UK/USA studio films
UK independent films
Non-UK films
Total% UK independent films

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

750.0
352.2
16.9
1,119.0
31.5

558.4
310.7
6.2
875.3
35.5

236.2
340.7
4.8
581.7
58.6

587.6
222.8
15.2
825.6
27.0

566.3
251.9
18.0
836.2
30.1

402.3
264.3
24.2
690.7
38.3

761.2
280.3
46.4
1,087.9
25.8

921.7
233.9
9.8
1,165.4
20.1

Source: UK Film Council.
See notes to Table 17.2.

The competitiveness of the UK as a destination for internationally mobile film production is significantly affected by
the UK pound-US dollar exchange rate. When the value of the pound in US dollars increases, film production in the
UK becomes more expensive and US producers may choose to stay at home or go to countries where costs andexchange rates are more favourable. Conversely, if the value of the pound falls, the UK becomes more competitive.
Figure 17.3 shows the high value of the pound in 2007, peaking at a monthly average of $2.07 in November 2007.
The last time the dollar-pound rate was at or above $2.07 was in May 1981. The pound began depreciating
significantly from August 2008, bottoming out at $1.42 in March 2009, before recovering to $1.66 in November
2009. It fell back to $1.46 in May 2010 before rising again to $1.58 by January 2011. The average dollar-pound rate
for the 30-year period 1981 to 2010 was $1.65.
Figure 17.3 Value of £ sterling in US dollars, 2007–2011
US$
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0

Jan-07 Apr-07 Jul-07 Oct-07 Jan-08 Apr-08 Jul-08 Oct-08 Jan-09 Apr-09 Jul-09 Oct-09 Jan-10 Apr-10 Jul-10 Oct-10 Jan-11£ Sterling in US$

Source: Bank of England.

148 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

17.3 Productions by genre, 2008–2010

3

Table 17.4 shows a breakdown of production by genre for the years 2008–2010. Production in the UK is reasonably
well spread across genres and does not appear to be as over-concentrated on drama as sometimes supposed. Dramaaccounted for 21% of the films, but only 7% of the budget. Comedy accounted for 17.5% of the films and 12% of
the budget. The biggest spending genres were action, fantasy, comedy and drama. After drama and comedy, themost numerous genres were thrillers (10%) and action (10%).

4

5

Table 17.4 Genre of production in the UK, 2008–2010
Genre

ActionAdventure
Animation
BiopicComedyCrime
Documentary
Drama
FamilyFantasy
HorrorRomance
Science fiction
Thriller
War
Other
Total

6

Number of films% of total

Budget£ million% of total

UK spend£ million% of total

40
4
14
18
72
14
25
85
5
11
35
28
10
42
4
5
412

9.7
1.0
3.4
4.4
17.5
3.4
6.1
20.6
1.2
2.7
8.5
6.8
2.4
10.2
1.0
1.2
100.0

1,305.7
257.9
239.1
124.1
585.3
68.0
47.8
325.8
107.5
977.5
161.6
114.9
260.9
190.0
80.7
59.6
4,906.4

26.6
5.3
4.9
2.5
11.9
1.4
1.0
6.6
2.2
19.9
3.3
2.3
5.3
3.9
1.6
1.2
100.0

599.6
233.4
145.2
49.7
356.7
44.2
29.0
222.5
89.6
716.5
137.3
71.4
73.9
87.7
44.6
42.5
2,944.0

20.4
7.9
4.9
1.7
12.1
1.5
1.0
7.6
3.0
24.3
4.7
2.4
2.5
3.0
1.5
1.4
100.0

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.
Notes:The data have been presented for a three-year period to show as many genres as possible without disclosing the budgets of individual films.
The category ‘other’ contains mystery and musical films, grouped because of their low numbers.
Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

Looking at UK independent films alone (Table 17.5) the situation is somewhat different. The top three genres interms of numbers and budget were drama, comedy and thrillers. Drama accounted for 26% of the films and21.5% of the budget, but there was a reasonable representation of the minor genres, for example documentaries(7% of the films, 2% of the budget) romance (6% of films, 6% of the budget) and biopics (6% of the films, 7% of
the budget).

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 17: Film production in 2010 – 149

22

Table 17.5 Independent UK productions by genre, 2008–2010
Genre

Number of films% of total

Budget£ million% of total

UK spend£ million% of total

15
4
7
18
56
16
22
84
4
5
24
20
4
37
8
324

4.6
1.2
2.2
5.6
17.3
4.9
6.8
25.9
1.2
1.5
7.4
6.2
1.2
11.4
2.5
100.0

156.8
23.6
53.5
80.0
187.5
55.7
28.2
249.2
7.5
33.1
33.3
67.4
7.1
105.5
68.4
1,156.8

13.6
2.0
4.6
6.9
16.2
4.8
2.4
21.5
0.6
2.9
2.9
5.8
0.6
9.1
5.9
100.0

72.8
8.2
31.0
59.6
152.0
49.1
20.2
182.8
6.6
21.2
27.1
47.6
6.1
61.2
50.8
796.4

9.1
1.0
3.9
7.5
19.1
6.2
2.5
23.0
0.8
2.7
3.4
6.0
0.8
7.7
6.4
100.0

ActionAdventure
Animation
BiopicComedyCrime
Documentary
Drama
FamilyFantasy
HorrorRomance
Science fiction
Thriller
Other
Total
Source: BFI, UK Film Council.
Notes:
The category ‘other’ contains musical, mystery and war.
Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

17.4 Budget trends
The median budget of domestic UK features fell in 2010 to £1.2 million and is now less than half the level it was in2003 (£2.9 million). The inward investment median also fell in 2010, to £17.5 million. In contrast, the median budgetof co-productions increased, reaching £3.4 million in 2010.
Table 17.6 Median feature film budgets £ million, 2003–2010
Production category

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Inward investment features
Domestic UK productions
Co-productions

11.5
2.9
3.3

8.7
2.3
4.1

3.5*
2.0
4.2

18.6
1.6
4.0

10.3
1.2
3.8

22.6
1.6
3.6

21.7
1.4
2.2

17.5
1.2
3.4

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.
Notes:Median budget is the middle value (ie there are equal numbers of films above and below the median). The median in this case is a better measure of central tendency than
the average as it avoids the upward skew of a small number of high budget productions.
Data for 2003–2009 updated since publication of the 2009 Yearbook.
*In 2005 there was an unusually high number of inward features from India (28), reducing the median budget for that year.

150 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

17.5 Size distribution of budgets
The budget size distribution for the three maincategories of films made in 2010 is shown in Tables 17.7
to 17.9. Ten features with budgets over £30 million
accounted for 83% of the total budget for inward
investment features. Only three of 28 inward features
had budgets between £0.5 million and £5 million.
Table 17.7 Size distribution of budgets, inward
investment features, 2010

Budget band>£30 million£10–£30 million£5–£10 million£0.5–£5 million
Total

Table 17.8 Size distribution of budgets, domestic
UK features, 2010

Budget band>£5 million£2–£5 million£0.5–£2 million
Total

3

NumberTotalbudgetin band(£ million)%of totalbudget

12
18
49
79

110.1
52.3
42.5
204.9

53.7
25.5
20.7
100.0

4

5

6

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.

NumberTotalbudgetin band(£ million)%of totalbudget

10
7
8
3
28

1,050.4
132.7
66.3
12.9
1,262.4

83.2
10.5
5.3
1.0
100.0

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.

In contrast, the majority of domestic UK features (49out of 79) had budgets under £2 million (Table 17.8).
The distribution of budgets was very similar to thepattern in 2009 (See 2010 Statistical Yearbook for details.)

There was a greater proportion of co-productions withbudgets over £5 million, as shown in Table 17.9. Sevenout of 21 had budgets over £5 million, accounting forover 75% of the total budget. The 10 co-productions
with budgets in the £2-£5 million band accounted for
21% of the total budget.

7

8

9

Table 17.9 Size distribution of budgets,co-productions, 2010

Budget band>£5 million£2–£5 million£0.5–£2 million
Total

10

NumberTotalbudgetin band(£ million)%of totalbudget

7
10
4
21

113.9
32.0
5.4
151.3

75.3
21.2
3.5
100.0

11

12

13

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 17: Film production in 2010 – 15122

17.6 Big budget productions, 2007–2010
The importance to UK spend of a small number of big-budget productions – usually inward investment films –is demonstrated in Table 17.10. In 2010, the 11 films with budgets greater than £30 million accounted for 73%
of UK production spend. All but one of these titles were inward investment films.
Table 17.10 Big budget films’ contribution to UK spend, 2007–2010
Number of films with budgets >£30 million
Value of associated UK spend (£ million)
Total UK spend (£ million)
Big budget films share of UK spend (%)

2007

2008

2009

2010

9
489.2
836.2
58.5

11
394.6
690.7
57.1

15
730.6
1,087.9
67.2

11
851.6
1,165.4
73.1

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.
Note: Data for 2007–2009 updated since publication of 2010 Yearbook.

17.7 UK spend as percentage of total production budget
Table 17.11 shows UK spend as a percentage of production budget for inward investment films, UK domestic
productions and co-productions. UK domestic productions had the highest UK spend percentage in 2010 (86%),
followed by inward investment films at 74%. Co-productions had the lowest UK spend percentage (36%).
Table 17.11 UK spend as percentage of total production budget, 2007–2010
Production category

2007

2008

2009

2010

Inward investment films
Domestic UK productions
Co-productions

62.0
84.4
35.7

46.5
76.9
42.3

51.5
82.2
37.0

74.1
85.8
35.9

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Data for 2007–2009 updated since publication of 2010 Yearbook.
VFX-only films not included in ‘Inward investment films’.

152 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

17.8 UK domestic productions by territoryof shoot

Table 17.13 UK domestic productions, shoots byterritory or region, 2010

Table 17.12 analyses UK domestic productions in 2010
according to whether they were wholly or partially shotin the UK, or wholly shot abroad. The majority (60 outof 79) were shot exclusively in the UK, while 17 films
were shot partly abroad. Two UK domestic films wereshot wholly abroad. The non-UK spend as a proportionof budget (14.0%) was lower than in 2009.

Territory of shoot

Table 17.12 UK domestic productions by territoryof shoot, 2010

Shooting in

UK only
UK and other
Other only
Total UK
domestic films

3

Number of shootsUK
USA
Hungary
Isle of Man
Other Europe
Other
Total shoots

77
4
3
2
12
5
103

Numberof films

Budget(£ million)

Non-UKspend(£ million)

60
17
2

117.3
82.0
5.6

4.5
21.4
3.2

3.8
26.1
57.7

79

204.9

29.1

14.2

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.

Table 17.13 shows the number of shoots by territory
for UK domestic films. Because some films were shot in
two or more territories, the total number of shoots was
greater than the total number of films. Compared to2009, the range of countries and number of non-UK
shoots was smaller. There were four shoots in the USA,
three in Hungary, two in the Isle of Man and single
shoots in various other international territories.

17.9 Co-productions by territory of shoot

Table 17.14 Co-productions by territory of shoot, 2010

UK only
UK and other
Other only
Total co-productions

6

8

In contrast to UK domestic productions, co-productions
were usually shot partly or wholly abroad, as Table 17.14
shows. Only five out of 21 films, with a total budgetof £21.3 million, were shot wholly in the UK. Non-UK
spend accounted for 64% of the total budget ofco-productions in 2010.

Shooting in

5

7

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.
Non-UKspend
as %of totalbudget4

Non-UK
NumberBudgetspend
of films (£ million) (£ million)

5
8
8
21

21.3
28.5
101.4
151.3

6.7
15.9
74.4
97.0

Non-UKspend
as %of totalbudget

31.2
55.8
73.4
64.1

9

10

11

12

13

14

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.

The country distribution of co-production shoots isshown in Table 17.15. The majority of shoots were in
the UK or elsewhere in Europe. Of the non-European
shoots, three were in Canada and two each in Australia
and South Africa.

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 17: Film production in 2010 – 153

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Table 17.15 Co-productions, shoots by territory or
region, 2010
Territory of shoot

Table 17.16 Film production company activity, 2010

Number of shoots

UK
FranceCanadaIreland
Australia
South Africa
Other Europe
Other
Total shoots

13
4
3
3
2
2
6
5
38

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.
Note: The majority of co-productions were shot in at least two territories. Hence thetotal in Table 17.15 is more than the number of co-productions in 2010.

17.10 Production company activity levels
UK film production in 2010 was, as usual, dispersed
among a large number of production companies, as
shown in Table 17.16. The Research and Statistics Unit
recorded 232 production companies associated withfilms shot in the UK or co-productions involving the
UK in 2010. Of these, 218 companies were associatedwith a single feature. These were a mixture of distinct
production companies and special purpose vehicles (thatis, companies set up to make a single film).

Number of features
per company

3
2
1
Total

3
11
218
232

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.
Notes:
Includes all production categories.
Further information on film production companies in the UK can be found in
Chapter 20.
Films frequently have several production companies associated with them (including
special purpose vehicle subsidiaries of parent companies), so the sum of (number offeatures) x (number of companies) is substantially greater than the total number offeatures involving the UK in 2010.

17.11 US studios’ involvement in film
production in the UK
The US studios were involved in the production of
18 films in the UK in 2010, accounting for a UK spendof £873 million, 75% of total UK spend.
Table 17.17 US studios’ involvement in film
production in the UK, 2010
StudioWalt Disney
Warner Bros
20th Century Fox
Sony
Universal
Total films
Source: BFI, UK Film Council.

154 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Number of companies

Number of films

5
4
3
3
3
18

1

2

17.12 Low and micro-budget film
production in the UK, 2008–2010

Table 17.19 Value of low budget films shot in the UK,
2008–2010

Until now we have applied a minimum budget of£500,000 to our production tracking, but we know froma variety of sources (data on British film certification andthe 2008 UK Film Council report Low and Micro-Budget
Film Production in the UK) that there is a substantial
number of feature films made below this level.
Furthermore, we have seen a large fall in the medianbudget of UK films (to £1.2 million for 2010 interim
Cultural Test certifications) which suggests that the£500,000 limit is now too high. Therefore, we have now
extended the scope of production tracking to include
feature films with budgets under £500,000.
Table 17.18 shows the number of low budget films
produced in the UK between 2008 and 2010.
The overwhelming majority of the 397 films were UK
domestic productions (94%). In 2010, 147 low budget
films were made in the UK, up from 133 in 2009.
Table 17.18 Number of low budget films produced,
2008–2010
Domestic
Inward andco-production
Total

2008

2009

2010

Total

113

123

137

373

4
117

10
133

10
147

24
397

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.

UK spend associated with the 147 low budget films
shot in the UK in 2010 was £17.7 million (Table 17.19).
UK spend represented 95% of the total budget of low
budget films and the median budget over the three-year
study period was £100,000.

Total budget(£ million)
Total UK spend(£ million)
UK spend as% of budget
Medianbudget (£)

2008

2009

2010

Total

15.3

19.3

18.7

53.3

13.3

16.7

17.7

47.6

86.6

86.3

94.5

89.3

100,000 100,000

88,800 100,000

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.

Table 17.20 outlines the size distribution budgets forthe low and micro-budget films produced in the UK
between 2008 and 2010. An increase in the number offilms made with budgets between £10,000 and £99,999
in 2010 meant that this band represented the highest
proportion of films made across the study period (33%)
followed by the £100,000 – £249,000 band (32%).
A total of 86 films were made with budgets between£250,000 and £499,999 (22%) and 54 films (14%) weremade with budgets of less than £10,000.

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Table 17.20 Size distribution of budgets for low andmicro-budget films, 2008-2010£250,000–£499,999£100,000–£249,999£10,000–£99,999
Under £10,000
Total

12

2008

2009

2010

Total

25

32

29

86

41

44

42

127

39
12
117

38
19
133

53
23
147

130
54
397

13

14

15

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.

It is interesting to see the effect of these lower budget
films on the overall production statistics. Figures 17.4
and 17.5 present the figures for UK domestic films
adjusted to include the low budget films. Adding the
low budget films boosts the number of domestic
productions made in 2010 from 79 to 216. Almost twothirds (63%) of all feature films shot in the UK in 2010
were made with budgets of less than £500,000.
However, in terms of overall contribution to UK domestic
production spend lower budget films represented lessthan 7% over the three-year study period.

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 17: Film production in 2010 – 155

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Figure 17.4 Number of UK domestic productions,
2008–2010, adjusted for low budget films

Figure 17.5 Value of UK domestic productions,
2008–2010, adjusted for low budget films

Number of features£ million

250

250

200

200

150

150

100

100

50

50

0

2008

2009

2010

0

2008

2009

2010

Value of UK
spend of UK
domestic films
under £500,000(£ million)

12.6

15.7

16.7

45.0

Value of UK
spend of UK
domestic films>= £500,000(£ million)

215.6

226.0

175.8

617.4

Total value ofUK spend ofdomestic films(£ million)

228.2

241.7

192.5

662.4

Low budget
films as %of all UK
domestic films

5.5

6.5

8.7

6.8

Total

UK domestic
films under£500,000

113

123

137

373

UK domestic
films >=
£500,000

82

87

79

248

Total

195

210

216

621

Low budget
films as %of all UK
domestic films

57.9

58.6

63.4

60.1

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.

Total

Source: BFI, UK Film Council.

„
3 Information about film companies is given in Chapter 20 (page 175)
3 For details about employment in the film production sector see Chapter 22 (page 194)
3 For more information about the UK film economy see Chapter 21 (page 185)
3 For information on film production in the UK prior to 1992, see earlier editions of this Yearbook and the annual
Film and Television Handbooks published by the BFI or the Information Briefings on the BFI’s website –www.bfi.org.uk

156 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

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Facts in focus

15• Total measured public funding for film in the financial
year 2009/10 was £266 million.
• The principal sources of public funding for UK film in
2009/10 were the film production tax relief, National
Lottery and grant-in-aid from central government,
particularly via the Department for Culture, Mediaand Sport (DCMS).
• The European Union (EU) provided £8.2 million in
2009/10.
• Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the UK
Film Council were responsible for the largest gross spend(£95 million and £50.5 million respectively).
• Film production took 51% of the total financial support,
but distribution and exhibition, training and skills,
education, and archives and heritage also received
substantial allocations.
Chapter 1: Chapter name – 157

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"18.1 Public funding for film in the UK by source
Public funding for film in the UK comes from a number of UK Government, public sector and European sources,
including:• The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS);• Other central government departments;• The governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland;• The National Lottery;• Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC);• BBC Films;• Film4;• The European Union (EU).
Public funding for film identified in Table 18.1 is estimated to have been £266 million in the financial year 2009/10,
slightly up on the £256 million in 2008/09. As in 2008/09 the estimate does not include some local authority,
research council, higher or further education funding.
The largest single source of public funding was the UK film tax relief, which provided £95 million in 2009/10, 36%of the total. The second largest source was the National Lottery (£60 million, 23% of the total) and the third largest
was the DCMS grant-in-aid to the UK Film Council and National Film and Television School (NFTS) (£38.4 million, 15%of the total). The National and Regional Development Agencies provided £19.1 million, BBC Films £12.9 million andFilm4 £10.2 million. The EU contributed £8.2 million, of which £5.1 million (£3.9 million in 2008/09) came from the
MEDIA Programme.

158 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Image: The Scouting Book for Boys courtesy of Pathé UK1

2

Table 18.1 Public funding for film in the UK by source, 2009/10
SourceNational Lottery Distribution Fund (DCMS) – Film

DCMS grant-in-aid to the UK Film Council and NFTS

Amount£ million%of total

60.0

22.6

38.4

14.5

National and Regional Development Agencies

19.1

7.2

BBC Films

12.9

4.9

Film4

Department for Children, Schools and Families(2)

10.2

7.0

3.8

2.6

European Union MEDIA Programme
Scottish Government

5.1
4.9

1.9
1.9

Other EU

3.1

1.2

Welsh Assembly Government

2.4

0.9

Higher Education Funding Council

2.2

0.8

Northern Ireland Executive

1.4

0.5

Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills(2)

0.8

0.3

Skills Investment Fund Training Levy

0.7

0.4

Arts Councils

0.7

0.3

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

0.6

0.2

Local Government

0.5

0.2

3
Notes

National Lottery allocations to the UK Film
Council, Scottish Screen(1), Film Agency for
Wales, Northern Ireland Screen plus Heritage
Lottery FundAwards to the UK Film Council (of which£17.4 million was awarded to the BFI) and
NFTS
Contributions to the National and Regional
Screen Agencies (N/RSAs)
BBC Films’ production investment andcontributions by the BBC to NFTS and N/RSA
projects – excludes acquisitions etc made byother BBC departments
Film4 (Channel 4’s film production company)
investment in film development andproduction plus Channel 4 investment in NFTS
and N/RSA projects
DCSF investment in Mediabox and FILMCLUB.
Match funding in individual FILMCLUB orMediabox projects (and other First Light
projects) is not collated
European Union MEDIA Programme(3)Includes spend from all Scottish government
agencies into strategic bodies/projects
European Regional Development Fund andEuropean Social Fund
Includes spend from all Welsh government
agencies into strategic film bodies/projects
HEFC investment in Screen Academies anda small number of projects by strategic
agencies(4)Includes spend from all Northern Ireland
government agencies into strategic
bodies/projects
Awards to Screen Academies, Skillset
and N/RSAs
Made up of contributions from all film
productions either based in the UK orin receipt of UK public fundingAwards from national Arts Councils tofilm agencies(5)Funding for UK-originated British Council
activity. Excludes partnership funding of‘in country’ events (outside the UK)
Investment by local authorities in
N/RSA activities

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 18: Public investment in film in the UK – 159

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Table 18.1 Public funding for film in the UK by source, 2009/10 (continued)
SourceOther public sector

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
National Endowment for Science, Technology
and the Arts
Total public sector selective investment
UK film production tax relief (HMRC)
Total public sector selective
and automatic investment

Amount£ million%of total

0.4

0.2

0.2
0.01
0.007

0.1
0.0
0.0

170.9

64.3

95.0 35.7
265.9 100.0

Notes

Very small awards (under £10,000) froma range of public sector agencies, mainly
to N/RSAs
Awards to RSAs for film export support
Awards to archives
Digital innovation in film
National Lottery and grant-in-aid fromall sources as above
Cost of film tax relief in 2009/10(6)Sum of all the above

Source: UK Film Council, Northern Alliance.
Notes:
1. Scottish Screen merged with the Scottish Arts Council in July 2010 to become Creative Scotland.
2. Names of government departments are shown as they were in the 2009/10 financial year. The Department for Children, Schools and Families is now the Department for
Education. The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills is now part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
3. Investment for the MEDIA Programme is for awards made from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010.
4. Includes the Higher Education Funding Councils (HEFC) for England, Scotland and Wales, and investment from the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) which is
HEFCE funded.
5. Arts Council England, Scottish Arts/Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council Northern Ireland. Does not include Arts Councils’ direct investments in artists’film and video.
6. Film Tax Relief Summary, HMRC, August 2010.

160 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

18.2 Film spend by organisation

3

The largest net spender on film was HMRC (£95 million for tax relief), followed by the UK Film Council (£50.5 million),the BFI (£42.4 million) and BBC Films (£12 million). Putting aside HMRC tax relief, net spend increased by 13% from2008/09 to 2009/10 (from £175 million to £197 million). Increases were recorded for the UK Film Council, BFI and
Film4. (See Table 17.2 in the 2010 Statistical Yearbook for comparable figures for 2008/09.)

4

5

Table 18.2 Net film spend by organisation, 2009/10
Organisation

Net spend£ million(1)% of total
net spend

HM Revenue and Customs film tax relief
UK Film Council(2)BFI
BBC Films
Film4
Vision & Media(3)Scottish Screen(4)Northern Ireland Screen
National Film and Television School
Skillset
Screen Yorkshire(5)EU MEDIA ProgrammeFirst Light
Welsh agencies(6)Film London
Schools FILMCLUB
Screen South(7)Northern Film & MediaEM MediaSouth West Screen
Screen East(8)Screen West Midlands(9)British Council
Total public sector(10)

95
50.5
42.4
12.0
10.0
9.2
8.5
8.2
7.6
6.7
5.7
4.9
4.7
4.5
3.9
3.7
3.0
2.8
2.1
2.1
1.9
1.9
0.6
292.0

32.5
17.3
14.5
4.1
3.4
3.1
2.9
2.8
2.6
2.3
2.0
1.7
1.6
1.5
1.3
1.3
1.0
1.0
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.2
100.0

Source: UK Film Council, Northern Alliance.
Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.
Notes:
1. Net spend means spend after deducting grants and awards to other organisations in this table. Figures are presented net to avoid double counting.
2. The UK Film Council gross spend in 2009/10 was £89.6 million. The UK Film Council made £47.2 million of grants and awards to other organisations such as the BFI(£17.4 million), Skillset, Regional Screen Agencies and First Light.
3. Includes the North West Film Archive.
4. Includes the Scottish Film Archive. (Scottish Screen merged with the Scottish Arts Council in July 2010 to become Creative Scotland.)5. Includes the Yorkshire Film Archive.
6. Welsh agencies means Film Agency for Wales, Welsh Creative IP Fund (part of Finance Wales), Welsh Film Archive (part of the National Library of Wales) and Wales Screen
Commission (part of the Creative Industries Hub).
7. Includes the Wessex Film and Sound Archive and the Screen Archive South East and investments in film made by Kent County Council’s Film Office/Kent Development
Fund.
8. Includes the East Anglian Film Archive. (Screen East ceased trading in September 2010.)
9. Includes the Media Archive for Central England (MACE) which provides film archive services for the East and West Midlands.
10. The spending tabulated above includes net transfers to and from reserves and spending financed by commercial income (eg from film rights) earned by agencies.
For these reasons the total spending by agencies (£292 million) is higher than total public funding for film in the 2009/10 year (£266 million, Table 18.1).

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 18: Public investment in film in the UK – 161

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"18.3 Activities supported by public spend
on film

18.4 Large film production awards
by agency 2009/10

The various activities supported by public spend on filmin the UK in 2009/10 are shown in Table 18.3. As inprevious years, film production took the largest share,accounting for £149.9 million (51% of the total).
Distribution and exhibition was second with £35.3
million (12%), followed by administration and services
to the public (8%) and education, young people andlifelong learning (7%).

Major production awards (greater than £250,000) given
by National and Regional Screen Agencies to individual
film projects in 2009/10 are shown in Table 18.4.
In relation to the median budget for UK independentfilms of £2.3 million, awards of this size can provide
substantial assistance to UK films of distinctive nationaland regional character.
Table 18.4 Large film production awards (£250,000+)by National/Regional Agency, 2009/10

Table 18.3 Activities supported by public spend
on film, 2009/10

AgencyActivity

Amount£ million% of total

Production(1)

149.9

51.3

Distribution and exhibition
Administration and services
to the public
Education, young people andlifelong learning
Training and skills(2)Film archives and heritage(3)Script development
Business support(4)Export and inward
investment promotion(5)Total public film expenditure(6)

35.3

12.1

23.0

7.9

20.9
19.3
17.4
12.7
7.9

7.2
6.6
6.0
4.4
2.7

5.6
292.0

1.9
100.0

Source: UK Film Council, Northern Alliance.
Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.
Notes:
1. Non-tax break production spend in 2009/10 was £54.8 million.
2. Skills Investment Fund, National/Regional Screen Agency training investment,
Skills Academies.
3. BFI National Archive, National/Regional Screen Archives, Heritage Lottery Fundinvestments.
4. National/Regional Screen Agency investment: primary beneficiaries are
independent production companies.
5. Office of the British Film Commissioner, British Council, locations services in thenations and regions.
6. 2009/10 total expenditure (£292 million) was greater than total public funding(£266 million, Table 18.1) as expenditure was supplemented by earned/selfgenerated income, grants from trusts and foundations and transfersfrom reserves.

162 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Scottish Screen*

Project (total = 6)

Neds
The Last Word
Northern Ireland Screen Your Highness
Killing Bono
Wales Creative IP Fund Ironclad
Screen Yorkshire
A Passionate Woman

Amount £500,000
400,000
350,000
450,000
700,000
250,000

Source: UK Film Council, DCMS, Northern Alliance, N/RSA reports.
* Scottish Screen merged with the Scottish Arts Council in July 2010 to become
Creative Scotland.

Table 18.5 shows the Lottery awards made by the UK
Film Council in 2010. There were 251 awards in total(303 in 2009), to a combined value of £18.1 million(£24.4 million in 2009). Most of the awards were forrelatively low amounts (£50,000 and under) made by
the Development and Prints and Advertising funds.

1

2

Table 18.5 UK Film Council Lottery awards, 2010
Fund

Development
Prints and Advertising
New Cinema
PremiereFilm
Total awards

Number ofawardsTotal value£ million

75
83
10
9
74
251

2.2
3.3
1.7
2.7
8.2
18.1

Source: UK Film Council.
Notes:UK Film Council awards data are for calendar year 2010.
The Film Fund replaced the Premiere, New Cinema and Development funds
on 1 April 2010.

18.5 Leading public investors in British film
production, 2008–2010
Table 18.7 shows the leading public agency and public
service broadcaster investment in British films withbudgets of £500,000+ for the calendar years 2008–2010. The most frequent public investor was the UK Film
Council with 57 projects (combined budget £214
million), followed by BBC Films (39 projects, combined
budget £173 million) and Film4/Channel 4 (30 projects,£112 million). These budget figures are for the total
budget of the films, including the share of the budget
provided by private investors and pre-sales.

Premiere

Salmon Fishingin the Yemen
Chalet Girl
Wuthering Heights
We Need to Talk
About Kevin
Laid OffBlue Barracuda
Marketing Ltd
Deep Blue Sea
The Iron Lady
Shame
The Woman in Black
Horrid Henry: The Movie
Grabbers
Rafta Rafta

New Cinema

Prints andAdvertising
Film

5

6

7

9

10

Table 18.6 Large awards (£250,000+) made by
UK Film Council, 2010
Project (total = 13)

4

8The large awards (£250,000+) made by the UK Film
Council in 2010 are shown in Table 18.6. The biggest
award (£1.5 million) was for the Premiere Fund film
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. The biggest Film Fundaward (£1.06 million) was for Deep Blue Sea.

Fund

3

Amount ofaward £

11

1,500,000
800,000
300,000

12

13

700,000
310,000

14

300,000
1,060,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
750,000
450,000
250,000

15

16

17

18

Source: UK Film Council.
See notes to Table 18.5.

19

20

21

Chapter 18: Public investment in film in the UK – 16322ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Table 18.7 Leading public investors in British film production, 2008–2010
NumberEstimatedbudget£ million

UK Film Council

57

214

BBC Films

39

173

Film4/Channel 4

30

112

Scottish Agencies

17

49

Welsh Agencies

14

41

Irish Film Board(1)Screen Yorkshire

13
12

38
24

Screen East(2)1059

EM Media
Northern Ireland Screen

9
9

13
60

Public funderSelected titles

Another Year, Attack the Block, Centurion, Chatroom,
CirKus, Columbia, Fish Tank, Genova, Harry Brown, In theLoop, The King’s Speech, Made in Dagenham, Neds,
Nowhere Boy, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll,
Submarine, Tamara Drewe
Brighton Rock, Creation, The Damned United,
Jane Eyre, My Week with Marilyn,
The Special Relationship, Tamara Drewe,West is West
Chatroom, The Eagle (aka The Eagle of the Ninth),
In Bruges, Looking for Eric, Never Let Me Go,
Nowhere Boy, the Red Riding trilogy, Route Irish,
She a Chinese, The Unloved
Citadel, The Eagle (aka The Eagle of the Ninth),
The Last Word, Neds, Outcast
Hunky Dory, Ironclad, Mr Nice, Patagonia,
Submarine, Valhalla Rising
The Guard, The Last Word, Perrier’s Bounty
The Damned United, A Passionate Woman,
the Red Riding trilogy
The Boat That Rocked, Easy Virtue,
The Scouting Book for Boys
Bronson, Pelican Blood, The Unloved, Weekender
Fifty Dead Men Walking, Ghost Machine, Hunger,
Killing Bono, Your Highness

Source: UK Film Council production tracking.
Data in this table are for the calendar years 2008–10. Includes films with budgets £500,000+ only. In some cases more than one public agency contributed funding to thesame film, so there is some double counting of budgets in the above table. Hence there is no ‘total budget’ row.
Notes:
1. The Irish Film Board was one of a number of overseas public agencies that part-funded British films during the period. Others included Screen Australia, Icelandic Film
Centre, Isle of Man Film, Filmburo Bremen, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Fonds Sud (France) and the New Zealand Film Fund.
2. Screen East ceased trading in September 2010.

„
For more information on film production in the UK see Chapter 17 (page 144)
For more information on the UK film economy see Chapter 21(page 185)
For more information on UK film companies, see Chapter 20 (page 175)

164 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1ç#)0"29DL&%-" /!)0&$

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

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/$ "260)$ )$ -),"×%-6
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)20*%&*"%$.%")2$&$.:

Facts in focus• There were 4,252 students enrolled in higher education
film studies courses in 2009/10, an increase of 273%
on 2002/03.
• Over the last decade First Light and Mediabox havesupported the production of over 1,500 short films
involving over 30,000 children and young people.
• There were 33,000 admissions to BFI Southbank
education events in 2010, and 115,000 video streaming
requests were made via the Screenonline website.
• In 2009/10, £21 million was spent on education, young
people and lifelong learning by the national and regional
screen agencies, up from £19 million in 2007/08.

Image: Film name courtesy of Film Producer

15• Almost 68,000 students were entered for GCSE media
studies related subjects in 2009/10, up 70% in seven years.

• There is evidence that 392 moving image education
providers were operating in the UK in 2011; nearly
one quarter were production companies and one-fifth
Chapter 1: Chapter name – 165
were venues.

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"19.1 Introduction

Learning and participation are at the heart of an imaginative, diverse and vibrant film culture and can take manydifferent forms. Film education takes place in both formal and informal settings, from schools and colleges tovoluntary interest groups like youth clubs and film societies. There is a wide range of film education activity in the
UK but there has been no systematic audit of this activity across the many types of provision. Building on last year’s
Yearbook, this chapter addresses the information gap by presenting the most complete record of film education
related data currently available.

19.2 Film education in formal education settings
In practice, film education activity involves watching and listening to a range of film texts, discussing and analysing
them; generating discursive and written work, storyboards and scripts; making films and re-purposing archive
material. Outside of dedicated film and media studies courses, film is also used in other parts of the curriculum
such as in English or modern languages. However, relatively little data exists on film education in the curriculum
before Key Stage 4.
There has been a 70% increase in the number of students entering GCSE media, film or TV studies in the UK since
2003/04 (Table 19.1). Almost 68,000 students entered in 2009/10, 1.3% of all GCSE entries. WJEC (previously the
Welsh Joint Education Committee) offers a film studies GCSE. In 2009/10 there were approximately 4,700 candidates
for this subject.
Table 19.1 Entries for GCSE media/film/TV studies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2003/04–2009/10
Number ofmedia/film/TV
studies entries

England
Northern Ireland
Wales
Total
All GCSE entries

2009/10% change
2003/04–
2009/1036,82942,48354,126
62,68365,693
63,685
63,134
772
785
780
868
842
849
925
2,219
2,415
2,615
2,874
3,288
3,438
3,705
39,82045,68357,521
66,42569,623
67,972
67,764
5,875,373 5,736,505 5,752,152 5,827,319 5,669,077 5,469,260 5,374,490

+71
+20
+67
+70
–9

2003/04

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

Source: Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).
Note: Scotland not included because of separate examinations system.

The number of students taking GCE A Level media, film or TV studies in the UK has risen by 24% since 2003/04(Table 19.2). There were over 33,000 entries in 2009/10, 4% of all A Level entries.
Table 19.2 Entries for GCE A Level media/film/TV studies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2003/04–2009/10
Number ofmedia/film/TV studies entries

England
Northern Ireland
Wales
Total
All GCE A Level entries

2003/04

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10% change
2003/04–
2009/1025,425377
1,092
26,894
766,247

26,633468
1,160
28,261
783,878

29,123602
1,239
30,964805,698

30,036654
1,252
31,942805,657

30,651745
1,353
32,749827,737

31,618897
1,307
33,822846,977

31,032963
1,380
33,375853,933

+22
+155
+26
+24
+11

Source: JCQ.
Note: Scotland not included because of separate examinations system.
.

166 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Image: The Big Sleep courtesy of BFI Distribution

1

2

The number of entries for Scottish Higher media studies has seen a 6% decline since 2003 (Table 19.3). In 2010 there
were six entries for the Scottish Advanced Higher in media studies.
Table 19.3 Entries for Scottish Higher media studies, 2003–2010

Number of media
studies entries
All entries42010% change
2003–2010

851
827
814
843
819
797
765
803
166,885 165,575 164,142 159,140 161,081 162,576 167,792 175,614

–6
+5

2003

2004

2005

3

2006

2007

2008

2009

5

6

Source: Scottish Qualifications Authority.

WJEC offers a dedicated GCE film studies qualification available to schools throughout the UK and beyond. In 2010
there were 7,037 A Level candidates completing (up 120% since 2003) and 11,098 AS Level candidates completing(Table 19.4).

8

Table 19.4 Candidates completing GCE A and AS Level film studies, 2003–2010

A Level film studies
entries
AS Level film studies
entries

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

% change
2003–2010

3,197

4,162

4,907

5,965

6,598

6,552

6,674

7,037

+120

7,200

8,249

9,405

9,908

9,915

11,052

11,80011,098+54

9

10

Source: WJEC.

Film Education is an organisation funded by the film industry to provide structured programmes for the teachingof film criticism and appreciation and offers professional development opportunities and resources for teachers.
In 2010, 86,000 units of 11 new subject resources (DVDs, printed materials, etc) were distributed to teacher contacts,
and 250 teachers attended workshops at which Film Education presented film related training. Film Education’s
flagship event, National Schools Film Week, is the largest of its kind in the world. Over 473,000 schoolchildren visitedthe cinema for free as part of the event in 2010 (Table 19.5). Taken across the full range of its activity, the reach ofFilm Education is estimated to be 2.5 million pupils and students annually.

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

11

12

13

14

Table 19.5 Attendances at National Schools Film Week and other Film Education screenings, 2002–2010
National Schools
Film Week
attendances
Other Film
Educationscreenings

7

2010
15

75,490105,392

125,761

213,794259,964

298,586

335,733

392,452

473,000
16

n/a

25,75524,803

12,73735,75634,18823,754

13,4815,400
17

Source: Film Education.

18

19

20

21

Chapter 19: Film education – 167

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Media studies in general and film studies in particular, also has a strong presence in UK higher education.
Over 30,000 students were enrolled on media studies related courses in 2009/10, up 37% in seven years (Table 19.6).
The film studies subject area saw a 273% increase in numbers over the same period, from 1,140 first degree andpostgraduate students in 2002/03 to 4,250 in 2009/10, and the number enrolled on film production courses
increased nearly six-fold over the same period.
Table 19.6 Higher education students in the subject area media studies, 2002–2010

All media studies
related courses
Media studies
Film studies
Film production

2002/03

2003/04

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10% change
2002/03–
2009/10

22,49517,3001,140
100

26,135
20,2151,490
135

26,49520,2051,840
165

26,665
19,7852,155
420

27,01018,9952,540
545

28,085
17,8603,610
520

28,25017,5903,815
53030,82019,190
4,250
680

+37
+11
+273
+579

Source: HESA Student Record 2002/03–2009/10.
Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2011. HESA cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived from the data by third parties.
Notes:
Includes first degree, postgraduate and other degrees.
Media studies related courses include media, film, television, radio, electronic and print-based media studies courses.

In the last few years Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for Creative Media, together with the wider creative industries,
has worked closely with further and higher education institutions to identify and establish networks of Media andFilm Academies recognised as existing centres of excellence in education and training. Members of the Skillset Film
Academy network are endorsed by the film industry as providers of the highest standard of relevant vocationallyorientated skills training in film. In 2010/11 the network offered 16 courses (diploma and postgraduate
qualifications) with 261 students enrolled.

19.3 National and regional film education providers
The British Film Institute (BFI) became the lead agency for film in the UK in April 2011 when it assumed responsibility
for the majority of the UK Film Council’s core functions. Its remit includes promoting understanding and appreciationof moving image culture, education and cinema heritage. It runs programmes for learners of all ages at BFISouthbank, as well as providing resources via telephone, in print and online to support film education andresearch across the UK. Table 19.7 provides details of some of the BFI’s main education activities.
In 2009/10 there were 32,954 admissions to BFI Southbank education events (up 68% on 2004/05) and 5,615
education admissions to BFI Festivals (up 3% on 2004/05). The number of BFI information service enquiries reacheda record level in 2009/10 (29,341) while visits to the BFI National Library was lower in 2009/10 than in the previous
four years (10,969). Users in UK schools, colleges, universities and libraries made over 115,000 video streaming
requests via the BFI Screenonline website (www.screenonline.org.uk) in 2009/10, 78% of which were from outside
London. The website, which is free to educational users, is an online encyclopaedia of British film and television
featuring hundreds of hours of clips from the BFI National Archive, supplemented by contextual material, stills,
posters and press books.

168 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 19.7 BFI education activity, 2004/05–2009/10
BFI Southbank education event admissions
BFI Festivals – education admissions
BFI National Library visits
BFI information service enquiries
BFI Screenonline video streaming requests
Sales of BFI education resources*
copies of short film resources
copies of other resources3

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

19,625
5,451
n/a
n/a
n/a

15,1494,881
12,331
27,044n/a

12,6484,106
11,91925,655n/a

33,945
3,733
11,90525,711n/a

30,9995,698
12,024
19,539172,142

32,954
5,615
10,96929,341
115,194

n/a
n/a

n/a
n/a

n/a
n/a

n/a
n/a

3,618
1,301

908
1,314

Over many years, schools have organised and run film clubs for their pupils, showing films either for enjoyment or
as part of curriculum-based activity. As noted in the previous Yearbook, historical data showing the number of suchclubs operating in the UK is unavailable.

7

8

9

However, since its launch in 2007, FILMCLUB has produced data about its activities in schools across the UK.
The scheme was established with the intention of setting up a UK-wide school-based network of film clubsthat would allow young people the chance to experience characters, images, cultures and stories they would
never normally be exposed to. By the end of 2010, there were 6,498 participating school film clubs in England(6,612 across the whole UK) with an estimated 201,438 pupils involved (204,972 in the UK). Since 2007, a totalof 6,612 schools and 9,433 staff members have taken part in the initiative and 92,660 films (2,564 unique titles)
have been supplied to film clubs. The range of films ordered by the film clubs is diverse – in 46 languages and set
in 130 countries. Table 19.8 outlines the regional distribution of film clubs in England.

10

11

12

Table 19.8 Regional distribution of FILMCLUB schools in England, 2010

East Midlands
East of England
London
North East
North WestSouth East
South WestWest Midlands
Yorkshire and The Humber

5

6

Source: BFI.
* Each resource reaches an average of 50 students or pupils.

Region4% of
FILMCLUB
schools

11.4
9.5
13.7
6.9
12.1
15.9
10.9
9.1
10.4

% of
schools% ofpupils inonline schools% ofpupils ingeneralpopulation

11.8
9.8
14.9
7.5
11.2
16.5
10.7
7.3
10.2

9.7
10.0
16.1
6.3
11.6
15.7
10.3
9.9
10.6

8.5
11.1
15.0
4.9
13.8
16.0
9.6
11.1
10.0

13

14

15

16

17

Source: FILMCLUB.
18

19

20

21

Chapter 19: Film education – 169

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Learning about film can be enhanced by practical involvement in filmmaking, which gives learners the opportunity
to see for themselves how images and sounds are recorded and combined to create meaningful stories. There are
a number of opportunities to gain filmmaking experience outside of professional film production. One of these, FirstLight, was established to fund and mentor children and young people aged five to 19 to make short digital films.
Since launching in 2001, it has supported the production of over 1,000 films involving more than 15,000 children
and young people (Table 19.9).
First Light was also the lead partner for the Mediabox consortium, funded by the Department for Education until
2010/11, which offered disadvantaged 13- to 19-year-olds in England the opportunity to develop and produce
creative media projects, using film, television, print, radio, games, interactive or online platforms. Between 2007/08
and 2009/10, Mediabox enabled over 15,000 young people to participate in the making of 500 films.
Table 19.9 First Light projects, 2001–2010
Year

Number of films madeNumber of young people participating

2001/02

2002/03

2003/04

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

10
143

155
2,178

121
1,988

150
2,470

114
1,694

121
1,644

117
1,840

90
1,291

142
2,240

Source: First Light.

19.4 Public investment in film education
A total of £20.9 million was spent on education, young people and lifelong learning in 2009/10 by the national
agencies described above and the screen agencies of the nations and regions (Table 19.10), up from £18.6 million
in 2007/08. However, this analysis does not include all film education spend, particularly investments in film-basedlearning activities made by local authorities, schools, further and higher education institutions and some of the third
party providers described in section 19.5.
Table 19.10 Public expenditure on film education by agency, 2007/08–2009/10
AgencyBFIFILMCLUB
First Light (including Mediabox)
Scottish Screen
UK Film Council
Northern Ireland Screen
EM Media
Northern Film & Media
Screen South
Screen East**
Vision & Media
Film Agency for Wales
Screen West Midlands
Film London
South West Screen
Screen Yorkshire
Total
Source: UK Film Council, Northern Alliance.
* First year of MediaBox, spend was accelerated.
** Screen East ceased trading in September 2010.

170 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 20112007/08(£)

2008/09(£)

2009/10(£)

9,289,000–
5,369,843*
566,500
1,368,270
637,491
234,667
267,143
57,631
149,202
127,180
81,727130,978
85,041
165,01765,60818,595,298

9,317,000
3,100,000
3,418,502
589,000
461,315680,878
211,212
133,894
136,915
273,323
142,180
89,856
223,695
70,680125,773
86,342
19,060,564

9,807,000
3,700,000
3,203,477
1,119,000
855,182
673,136
210,290
200,293
195,241
185,595
171,995
169,364
155,143
94,42588,99855,61020,884,749

1

2

19.5 Moving image education providers in the UK

3

In addition to the activity described above, there are a number of other organisations involved in the delivery of film
education in the UK. For the second year running, the Research and Statistics Unit undertook primary research on
moving image education providers and compiled a database from information supplied by the national and regional
screen agencies, First Light, Media Education Wales, Screen West Midlands REd REx network, the MovIES network,
Arts Council England’s national and regional offices and others.
It includes details of organisations actively engaged in providing moving image education directly to learners as partof their core activity. It does not include organisations that fund such activity or support it through the provision oflearning resources, nor does it include schools, colleges or universities (although many of the organisations in the
database work with formal education institutions). Neither does it include organisations that solely deliver industry
training, but it does include training bodies that operate non-vocational educational programmes alongside theirtraining activity. Finally, it does not include organisations that solely provide teacher training and continuing
professional development (CPD).
The database is intended to improve understanding of the range and nature of moving image education provisionacross the UK.
There is evidence that 392 moving image education providers were operating in the UK as at 2 March 2011 (Table
19.11). The largest proportion of moving image education providers is found in London (15% of the total). The West
Midlands, East Midlands, North East, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have a higher proportion of providers
than their UK population share. The reverse is true for Yorkshire, the South East, South West, North West and theEast of England.
Table 19.11 Number of moving image education providers by nation/region, 2011
Nation/region

LondonWest Midlands
East Midlands
Yorkshire and The Humber
South East
South West
North West
North East
East of England
England sub-total
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland
UK total

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11
Number%%UK population

60
38
36
33
30
30
28
20
13
288
41
33
30
392

15.3
9.7
9.2
8.4
7.7
7.7
7.1
5.1
3.3
73.5
10.5
8.4
7.7
100.0

12.4
8.8
7.2
8.5
13.6
8.5
11.3
4.2
9.3
83.8
8.4
4.9
2.9
100.0

Source: UK Film Council Moving Image Education Providers Database.
Note: Figures may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Nearly one in four (23%) of all moving image education providers are production companies, and one in five (18%)
are venues (Table 19.12) Arts organisations make up 17% of providers while education/training organisations
constitute a further 14%.

19

20

21

Chapter 19: Film education – 17122ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Table 19.12 Number of moving image education providers by type, 2011
Type

Production company/corporate video
Venue
Arts organisation
Education/training
Participatory media
FestivalArchive
Community group
Other
Total

Number

%

89
69
67
53
40
31
20
16
7
392

22.7
17.6
17.1
13.5
10.2
7.9
5.1
4.1
1.8
100.0

Source: UK Film Council Moving Image Education Providers Database.
Notes:‘Production company/corporate video’ includes feature and short film production companies and businesses offering corporate video services.
‘Venue’ includes cinemas, film clubs and local authority-run mixed arts venues that offer in-house education activities.
‘Arts organisation’ includes community arts projects, artist collectives and art galleries that offer moving image-based activity.
‘Education/training’ includes dedicated education and/or training providers, often working in partnership with formal education institutions.
‘Participatory media’ includes non-profit, community-based filmmaking enterprises.
‘Festival’ includes film festivals the offer a dedicated education strand.
‘Archive’ includes moving image archives offering dedicated education activities.
‘Community group’ includes youth clubs and other local groups that offer filmmaking opportunities as part of their core activity.
‘Other’ includes membership-based organisations that offer education opportunities (eg professional networks) and museums.

Two-thirds (65%) of moving image education providers offer production-based learning opportunities, and a further
17% offer a mix of production – and exhibition-based education (Table 19.13). Learning activity through watchingfilms (exhibition-based) is offered by 13% of providers, while 5% offer archive-based learning.
Table 19.13 Type of provision given by moving image education providers, 2011
Type

Production-based
Mixed
Exhibition-based
Archive-based
Total
Source: UK Film Council Moving Image Education Providers Database.
Notes:‘Production-based’ provision involves learning through making films or animation.
‘Exhibition-based’ provision involves learning through watching films.
‘Mixed’ provision involves learning through making and watching films (although not necessarily within the same course or workshop).
‘Archive-based’ provision involves learning through watching archive films and/or using them in creative activity.

172 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Number

%

254
67
51
20
392

64.8
17.1
13.0
5.1
100.0

1

2

Two-thirds (65%) of moving image education providers offer learning opportunities to all age groups (Table 19.14).
A sizeable minority (31%) specialise in providing learning opportunities for children and young people.

3

Table 19.14 Learner age group of moving image education providers, 2011

4

Type

All agesChildren and young people
Adults
Total

Number

%

256
123
13
392

65.3
31.4
3.3
100.0

Source: UK Film Council Moving Image Education Providers Database.
Notes:‘All ages’ – the provider offers learning opportunities for all ages.
‘Children and young people’ – the provider specialises in learning opportunities for children and young people (commonly aged up to 19 years, but can include up to 25 years).
‘Adults’ – the provider specialises in learning opportunities for adults (commonly aged 19+).

Table 19.15 provides a breakdown of the type of provision by learner age group. Production-based activity accounts
for 82% of child-focused learning activity, 77% of adult opportunities and 56% of opportunities for all ages.

6

7

8

9

Table 19.15 Type of moving image education provision by learner age group, 2011Children
AdultsAll

5

Production-based

Exhibition-based

Archive-based

Mixed

Total

101
10
143

11
1
39

0
0
20

11
2
54

123
13
256

10

11

Source: UK Film Council Moving Image Education Providers Database.

Finally, Table 19.16 shows the national and regional breakdown of type of moving image education provision.
Exhibition-based activity plays a proportionally greater role in Yorkshire (27%), the North West (18%) and London(17%). Archive-based activity is a key feature of moving image education provision in Northern Ireland, accounting
for 47% of all activity.

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 19: Film education – 173

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Table 19.16 Type of moving image education provision by nation/region, 2011
East Midlands
East England
London
North East
North West
Northern Ireland
ScotlandSouth East
South West
Wales
West Midlands
Yorkshire and The Humber

Production-based

Exhibition-based

Archive-based

Mixed

Total

27
8
44
17
19
6
30
21
21
16
24
21

3
1
10
1
5
3
5
3
3
2
6
9

1
0
0
0
1
14
1
1
0
1
0
1

5
4
6
2
3
7
5
5
6
14
8
2

36
13
60
20
28
30
41
30
30
33
38
33

Source: UK Film Council Moving Image Education Providers Database.

„
3 For more information on public investment in film in the UK see Chapter 18 (page 157)
3 For more information on the film education providers described in this chapter, please see the following links:
www.21stcenturyliteracy.org.uk
www.bfi.org.uk
www.filmclub.org
www.filmeducation.org
www.firstlightonline.co.uk
www.skillset.org

174 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1ç#)0"2F8L&%-&$ /6024!-)$&"6

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Facts in focus
$0#"0#"2 /!0&$)$ 2010, there were nearly 5,000 film production
60O2 /!0&$6"!026#)1" • In
companies and nearly 2,500 post-production companies
in the UK.
0#"%)2."60$/-"26*• There were 395 film distributors and 225 exhibitors.
!-)$&"6)%0#/.#0#"
&.."60!-)$&"6)2"*/$ &$ • The majority of companies were small (turnover under£250,000) but more than 70% of turnover was accounted
×%- &602&/0&$)$ "3#&&0&$:
for by the 185 companies with turnover over £5 million.
!266 /2"N0#"-)+26
• The production, post-production and distribution sectors
were concentrated in London and the South East, while)2"2-&$"$0/06)%6)2"
the exhibition sector was more dispersed.
2&0&6#"3#&&026N 2"$!#)$ • Outside London and the South East there were significant
production and post-production clusters in the Northè"2-)$2 /!0&$!-)$&"6
West, East of England, South West and Scotland.
)$  2"$!# &602&/026:• US majors, video distributors and exhibitors wereprominent in the top 10 UK film companies in 2009
(the most recent year for which comparable data
are available).

Image: Film name courtesy of Film Producer

Chapter 1: Chapter name – 175

15

16

17

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20

21

22

ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"20.1 Number of companies in the film and video industries
The number of companies involved in the film and video industries has grown rapidly in the last 15 years, particularlyin the production sector where the number of companies increased by 359% between 1996 and 2010, comparedwith the UK average of 52% (Table 20.1). Part of this growth reflects the improvement in coverage in 2008 whencompanies registered for PAYE but not VAT were added to the totals. In 2010, there were 8,015 film and video
production companies, 440 film and video distributors and 225 exhibitors.
Table 20.1 Number of companies by industry group, 1996–2010
Year

1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Growth 1996–2010 (%)

Film and video
production

Film and video
distribution

Film exhibition

UK all industries

1,745
2,460
3,065
3,460
3,900
4,185
4,605
5,065
5,275
5,785
6,210
6,575
7,970
7,965
8,015
359.3

355
360
370
380
425
485
515
530
455
445
415
400
435
460
440
23.9

155
160
160
165
165
190
195
205
200
200
200
200
230
225
225
45.2

1,380,695
1,547,175
1,573,935
1,595,705
1,616,835
1,623,025
1,619,195
1,623,715
1,611,535
1,631,540
1,646,280
1,673,835
2,161,555
2,152,400
2,100,370
52.1

Source: Office for National Statistics.
Notes:
From 1996 to 2007, data include only companies registered for VAT.
For 2008, 2009 and 2010, data include in addition companies registered for PAYE but not registered for VAT, so give improved coverage of the company population.
For 1996–2008 data are for 2003 Standard Industrial Classifications (SICs) 9211 (film and video production), 9212 (film and video distribution) and 9213 (film exhibition).
For 2009 and 2010, film and video production is the sum of 2007 SICs 59111 (film production), 59112 (video production) and 5912 (film, video and TV post-production),film and video distribution is the sum of 59131 (film distribution) and 59132 (video distribution) and film exhibition is 5914 (film exhibition).

The introduction of the 2007 Standard Industrial Classifications makes possible a more detailed breakdown of thesector, as shown in Tables 20.2 and 20.3. This gives a view of film production and distribution separately from video
production and distribution, and confirms that film production and distribution make up the majority of the sector.
Film, video and TV post-production activity represented 27% of companies and 17% of turnover.

176 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Image: Four Lions courtesy of Optimum Releasing

1

2

Table 20.2 Number of film and video companies by sub-sector, 2010
Sub-sector

Film production
Video production
Film, video and TV post-production*
Film distribution
Video distribution
Film exhibition
Total

3
Number of companies% of total

4,795
855
2,365
395
45
225
8,680

55.2
9.9
27.2
4.6
0.5
2.6
100.0

4

5

6

Source: Office for National Statistics.
* Companies in the post-production sector usually work on films, commercials, videos and television programmes and therefore have a combined statistical classification.
Data as at March 2010.

7

Although film distributors were only 5% of the companies, they accounted for 34% of the turnover (Table 20.3) in2010. This reflects the dominant position of the UK subsidiaries of the major Hollywood studios in the film value chain.

8

Table 20.3 Turnover of film and video companies by sub-sector, 20109

Sub-sector

Turnover £ 000% of total

Film production
Video production
Film, video and TV post-production*
Film distribution
Video distribution
Film exhibition
Total

2,656,494
210,038
1,327,739
2,689,156
149,139
963,578
7,996,144

33.2
2.6
16.6
33.6
1.9
12.1
100.0

10

11

12

Source: Office for National Statistics.
* See note to Table 20.2.
Data as at March 2010.

13

20.2 Size distribution of film companies

14

The size distribution of film companies is shown in Tables 20.4 to 20.7. While the majority of companies were verysmall (turnover less than £250,000 per year) over 70% of turnover was accounted for by the 185 companies withturnover greater than £5 million. The concentration was particularly high in film distribution (Table 20.6) where the
30 largest companies accounted for 93% of turnover. In exhibition the large company turnover concentration wasclose to 90% (Table 20.7), though the Office for National Statistics was not able to release the precise number for
confidentiality reasons.

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Chapter 20: Film industry companies – 177

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Table 20.4 Size distribution of film production companies, 2010
Turnover size band £ 000

Number%Turnover%5,000+
1,000–4,999
500–999
250–499
100–249
50–99
0–49
Total

90
295
220
425
1,110
1,250
1,405
4,795

1.9
6.2
4.6
8.9
23.1
26.1
29.3
100.0

1,537,682
560,399
145,753
136,759
157,098
87,086
31,7172,656,494

57.9
21.1
5.5
5.1
5.9
3.3
1.2
100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics.
Data as at March 2010.
Note: Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

Table 20.5 Size distribution of post-production companies, 2010
Turnover size band £ 000

Number%Turnover%5,000+
1,000–4,999
500–999
250–499
100–249
50–99
0–49
Total

55
115
110
160
490
730
705
2,365

2.3
4.9
4.7
6.8
20.7
30.9
29.8
100.0

c
c
c
56,17669,98751,31418,0091,327,739

c
c
c
4.2
5.3
3.9
1.4
100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics.
Data as at March 2010.
‘c’ indicates the data have been made confidential by the Office for National Statistics to avoid disclosing details of individual companies.
Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

Table 20.6 Size distribution of film distribution companies, 2010
Turnover size band £ 000

5,000+
1,000–4,999
500–999
250–499
100–249
50–99
0–49
Total
Source: Office for National Statistics.
Data as at March 2010.
Note: Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

178 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Number%Turnover

%

30
50
55
50
65
60
85
395

7.6
12.6
13.9
12.7
16.5
15.2
21.5
100.0

2,502,419
116,120
37,144
17,218
10,1154,343
1,797
2,689,156

93.1
4.3
1.4
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.1
100.0

1

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Table 20.7 Size distribution of film exhibition companies, 2010
Turnover size band £ 000

5,000+
1,000–4,999
500–999
250–499
100–249
50–99
0–49
Total

3

Number%Turnover

%

10
35
40
25
55
35
25
225

4.4
15.6
17.8
11.1
24.4
15.5
11.1
100.0

c
c
30,068
c
7,722
2,542
926
963,578

c
c
3.1
c
0.8
0.3
0.1
100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics.
‘c’ indicates the data have been made confidential by the Office for National Statistics to avoid disclosing details of individual companies.
Data as at March 2010.

4

5

6

7

8

20.3 National/regional distribution of film companies in the UK
9

Tables 20.8 and 20.9 show the national/regional distribution of film companies and film company turnover in 2010.
Overall, 68% of film companies were concentrated in London and the South East and over 84% of turnover was
generated by companies located in these two regions. The London concentration was particularly strong for
distribution (54% of companies and 96% of turnover) but the exhibition sector was more evenly distributed
across the UK, with 73% of companies and 52% of turnover associated with companies based outside London.

10

While London and the South East dominate in production and post-production, there are significant nationaland regional centres, particularly in the North West, the East of England, the South West and Scotland.

11

Table 20.8 National/regional distribution of film companies, 2010

12

Film production

LondonSouth East
East of EnglandSouth West
North West
ScotlandYorkshire and The HumberWest Midlands
East Midlands
Wales
North East
Northern Ireland
Total UK

Post-production

Film distribution

Film exhibition

Total UK Film

Number%Number%Number%Number%Number

%

2,635
675
295
275
170
165
130
125
105
105
65
50
4,795

55.0
14.1
6.2
5.7
3.5
3.4
2.7
2.6
2.2
2.2
1.4
1.0
100.0

1,210
415
160
165
95
70
60
55
40
45
30
20
2,365

51.2
17.5
6.8
7.0
4.0
3.0
2.5
2.3
1.7
1.9
1.3
0.8
100.0

215
65
30
15
25
10
10
10
5
5
5
0
395

54.4
16.5
7.8
3.8
6.3
2.5
2.5
2.5
1.3
1.3
1.3
0.0
100.0

60
25
25
20
10
15
15
10
15
10
5
15
225

26.7
11.1
11.1
8.9
4.4
6.7
6.7
4.4
6.7
4.4
2.2
6.7
100.0

4,120
1,180
510
475
300
260
215
200
165
165
105
85
7,780

53.0
15.2
6.6
6.1
3.9
3.3
2.8
2.6
2.1
2.1
1.3
1.1
100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics.
Data as at March 2010, for business enterprises.
Note: Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

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19

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21

Chapter 20: Film industry companies – 179

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Table 20.9 National/regional distribution of film company turnover, 2010
Film production

TurnoverPost-production

Film distribution

Film exhibition

Total UK Film%

Turnover%Turnover%Turnover%Turnover%London1,824,501 68.7
South East
384,132 14.5
South West113,145
4.3
North West58,711
2.2
Northern Ireland
48,976
1.8
Yorkshire and
The Humber
33,385
1.3
East Midlands
15,9210.6West Midlands
15,183
0.6
North East
10,0160.4
East of England
c
c
Wales
c
c
Scotlandcc
Total UK
2,656,494 100.0

988,705
153,816
31,72044,060
2,513

74.5
11.6
2.4
3.3
0.2

2,593,648
35,143c
20,267
c

96.4
1.3
c
0.1
c

458,893c
11,508c
32,654

47.6
c
1.2
c
3.4

5,865,747
–
–
–
–

76.8
–
–
–
–

11,664
0.9
7,487
0.6
8,871
0.7
19,077
1.4
39,581
3.0
12,272
0.9
7,973
0.6
1,327,739 100.0

c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
25,3060.9cccc2,689,156 100.0

8,127
0.8
c
c
1,359
0.1
c
c
25,337
2.7
2,423
0.3
9,912
1.0
963,578 100.0

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
7,636,967 100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics.
‘c’ indicates the data have been made confidential by the Office for National Statistics to avoid disclosing details of individual companies.
Data as at March 2010, for business enterprises.
Note: The geographic distribution of turnover is given by the location of the company, not its local units, so a London concentration may be overstated for companies suchas cinema chains that have local units around the UK.

180 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

20.4 Leading film companies in the UK and Europe

3

Table 20.10 shows the top 10 film companies in the UK in 2009 as identified by the European Audiovisual
Observatory. As in previous years, several features stand out: the prominence of the US majors, the importance ofundertaking multiple activities (production, distribution, rights, video) and the relatively high position of companies
specialising in video and exhibition. There is only one UK theatrical distributor on the list (Entertainment), one UK film
finance company (Ingenious) and no stand-alone UK film production companies.

4

5

Table 20.10 Top 10 film companies in the UK, 2009
Rank

Company

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Walt Disney International
Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group
Cineworld Group
Warner Bros Entertainment UK
VUE Entertainment Holdings (UK)
Universal Pictures Productions
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Ingenious Film Partners 2 LLPParamount Home Entertainment (UK)The Entertainment Group of Companies

Activities

Operating revenues€ 000

DISFILM, DISTV, RIGHTS, VID
EXH
EXH
DISFILM, PRODFILM
EXH
RIGHTS, DISFILM, PRODFILM
VID
PRODFILM, INVFILMVIDDISFILM, VID*1,536,000
720,500
375,600
306,000
295,400
258,800**199,400**191,100
171,100**136,700

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory, 2010 Yearbook.
* Indicates 2007 revenues.
** Indicates 2008 revenues.
Definitions: DISFILM = film distribution; DISTV = television distribution, RIGHTS = trade in television rights; VID = video; EXH = exhibition; PRODFILM = film production;
INVFILM = film investment.

Across Europe, the US majors were prominent. They were joined by five French companies (Pathé, Europalaces,
Canal+, UGC and EuropaCorp), indicating the continued corporate strength of the French film industry, three Britishbased exhibitors (Odeon/UCI, Cineworld and VUE), a Swedish distributor (Egmont Nordisk), an Italian producer (RAI),
and two German producers (Constantin and Bavaria Film) (Table 20.11).

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 20: Film industry companies – 181

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Table 20.11 Top 20 film companies in Europe, 2009
Rank

Company

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Walt Disney International
Groupe Pathé
Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group
Europalaces
Egmont Nordisk Film
Warner Bros Entertainment Spain
Groupe Canal+UGC
RAI Cinema
Cineworld Group
Universal Pictures International
Warner Bros Entertainment Germany
VUE Entertainment Holdings (UK)
Embassy Eagle Holdings
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Warner Bros Entertainment UK
EuropaCorp
Universal Pictures Productions
Constantin Film
Bavaria Film GmbH

Activities

Country

Operating revenues€ 000

DISFILM, DISTV, RIGHTS, VID
EXH, DISFILM, VID, RIGHTS, PRODFILM, TV
EXH
EXH
DISFILM, VID
DISFILM
PROD, DISFILM, RIGHTS, VID
EXH, DISFILM, VID, RIGHTS, PRODFILM,
PRODFILM, RIGHTS
EXH
VID, DISFILMDISFILM
EXH
PRODFILM, DISFILMVIDDISFILMPRODFILM, DISFILM, VID, TV
RIGHTS, DISFILM, PRODFILM
PRODFILM, DISFILM, RIGHTS
PRODFILM, TV

GB
FR
GB
FR
SE
ES
FR
FR
IT
GB
NL
DE
GB
NL
GB
GB
FR
GB
DE
DE

*1,536,000
769,100
720,500
545,300
386,700*470,600**394,000***384,100
378,100
375,600*335,900
335,500
295,400*289,894***199,400
306,000
274,200
258,800***251,300***241,700

Source: European Audiovisual Observatory, 2010 Yearbook, Table T.16.1.
* Indicates 2007 revenues.
** Indicates 2004 revenues.
*** Indicates 2008 revenues.
Definitions: DISFILM = film distribution; DISTV = television distribution, RIGHTS = trade in television rights; VID = video; EXH = exhibition; PRODFILM = film production;
TV = television.

20.5 Leading film production companies in the UK and Europe
Looking at film production only, we see that nine out of the top 20 European independent production companies
in 2009 were French (down from 11 in 2008), three Italian, three German, three Scandinavian, and two British (albeit
part of the same group of companies). As in previous years, the list was topped by Constantin Film of Germany,
the maker of Downfall, Perfume and the Fantastic Four and Resident Evil films. Pathé Production (France) andEuropaCorp (France) came second and third. The UK is under-represented in this table due to the frequent useof special purpose vehicles (companies set up to make a single film) and the US studio connections of a numberof the UK’s leading production companies.

182 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 20.12 Top 20 independent film production companies in Europe, 2009
Rank

Company

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Constantin Film AG
Pathé Production
EuropaCorp
Ingenious Film Partners 2 LLP
Filmauro
Gaumont
Nordisk Film AS (Norway)
AB Svensk Filmindustri
Nordisk Film AS (Denmark)Cattleya
Odeon Film AG
Ingenious Films Partners LLP
La Petite ReineUGC YM
Legende Films
Pan Européenne Production
Fidélité Films
Italian International Film
MK2 SA
Senator Entertainment AG

3
Nationality

Operating revenues
€ 000

DE
FR
FR
GB
IT
FR
NO
SE
DK
IT
DE
GB
FR
FR
FR
FR
FR
IT
FR
DE

258,800*218,000*207,300*191,100
169,400
93,700**98,700
80,90080,60075,00068,200*55,300*50,800
47,20042,30041,700*39,500
36,400*36,300
36,100Source: European Audiovisual Observatory, 2010 Yearbook, Table T.16.3.
* Indicates 2008 revenues.
** Indicates 2007 revenues.

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5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

Drawing on the Research and Statistics Unit’s production database and public information, Table 20.13 presents
the production companies involved in the most productions in the UK over the three-year period 2008 to 2010.
Working Title Films came top of the list with eight films with a combined budget of £223 million (equivalent toa mean budget per film of £28 million), followed by Film & Music Entertainment with seven (combined budgetof £9 million).
Table 20.13 also illustrates the range of budgets for UK films. At the low end, Gateway Films was involved in
the production of four films with an estimated combined budget of £4 million. At the upper end, The WeinsteinCompany and Marv Films were both involved in four productions apiece with combined budgets of around£100 million.

14

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19

20

21

Chapter 20: Film industry companies – 183

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Table 20.13 Top 18 production companies involved in UK production, ranked by number of films, 2008–2010

Production company

Working Title Films
Film & Music Entertainment
Ruby Films
CinemaNX
Matador Pictures
Revolution Films
Vertigo Films
Fragile Films
Black and Blue Films
Palm Tree Entertainment
The Weinstein Company
Marv Films
Eros International
Sixteen Films
Generator Entertainment
Sigma Films
Warp Films
Gateway Films

Number of films

Estimatedcombinedbudget£ million

Selected titles

8
7
6
6
6
6
6
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

223
9
23
21
16
16
14
33
5
4
106
100
47
18
6
6
5
4

Paul, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, Green Zone
The Mortician, Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre
Tamara Drewe, Fish Tank, Jane Eyre
Me and Orson Welles, The Disappearance of Alice Creed
Wild Target, Jackboots on Whitehall
The Killer Inside Me, Red Riding trilogy
StreetDance 3D, The Firm
Dorian Gray, Burke and Hare
Devil’s Playground, Stalker
Sisters Grimm, Stone Seeker
The King’s Speech, Nine
Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, Harry Brown
Veer, Desi Boys
Looking for Eric, Route Irish
Killing Bono, Ghost Machine
Perfect Sense, Donkeys
Four Lions, Tyrannosaur
Bonded by Blood, Basement

Source: UK Film Council.
Notes:
Companies ranked by number of films produced, then by estimated combined budget.
‘Estimated combined budget’ is the sum of the estimated budgets of all the films associated with the named company. It is not a measure of that company’s contribution
to the budget. Most films had a number of production companies associated with them and funding came from a variety of sources including National Lottery funding,UK film tax relief, equity investment, US studio investment, distributor minimum guarantees and television pre-sales.
The table includes all those companies associated with four or more films over the three-year period. This cut off point omits a number of other major production companies
behind well-known UK films, including Big Talk Productions (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), Celador Films (Slumdog Millionaire), DNA Films (Never Let Me Go), Ealing Studios(St Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold), Eccosse Films (Nowhere Boy), Left Bank Pictures (The Damned United) and Scott Free Productions (Robin Hood) who were all
involved in three films between 2008 and 2010, and Heyday Films (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts 1 and 2).

„
3 For Film4 and BBC Films see Chapter 18 (page 157)
3 For film production company activity levels in 2010 see Chapter 17 (page 144)
3 For US studio involvement in UK film production in 2010 see Chapter 17 (page 144)
3 For leading film distributors in the UK in 2010 see Chapter 9 (page 76)
3 For leading film exhibitors in the UK in 2010 see Chapter 10 (page 82)
3 For numbers and size distribution of film workplaces in 2009 see Chapter 22 (page 194)

184 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1ç#)0"2F9L
#"×%-"!$-4

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Facts in focus
#"×%-&$ /6024-),"6)
• In 2009, the UK film industry had a total turnover
6/60)$0&)%!$02&/0&$0
of £7 billion.
è266-"60&!2 /!0'è( • The UK film industry’s direct contribution to UK GDP
was £3.3 billion, 0.3% of the total.
)$ 0#")%)$!"*)4-"$06:
&%-"3206#&0)$)%%0&-"#&.# • The industry exported £1,476 million worth of services
in 2009, made up of £935 million in royalties and*+/60/$ "2â9:E&%%&$&$F88DN £541 million in film production services.
."$"2)0&$.)02) "6/2%/6*
• Exports in 2009 were 111% higher than in 2001.
• The UK film trade surplus in 2009 was £929 million.
âDFD-&%%&$:

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Image: Film name courtesy of Film Producer

Chapter 1: Chapter name – 185

22

ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"21.1 Film industry turnover, 1995–2009
Figure 21.1 shows the total turnover of the UK’s film sectors (production, distribution and exhibition) for the period
1995 to 2009. Each of the three sectors has shown strong growth over this period, with the total industry turnoverincreasing from £2 billion in 1995 to £7 billion in 2009.
Figure 21.1 Total turnover of UK film industry by sector, 1995–2009£ million
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

% change
1995–2009

Film andvideo
production

829

1,514

1,612

1,306

1,589

2,334

1,402

1,389

2,119

2,281

2,280

3,693

2,830

2,608

2,937

254.3

Film andvideo
distribution

895

1,385

1,328

1,521

1,555

1,494

1,271

1,721

1,718

2,030

2,450

2,125

2,105

3,069

2,723

204.2

Film
exhibition

329

420

527

485

485

519

828

871

987

1,065

1,065

976

1,022

1,141

1,334

305.5

2,053

3,319

3,467

3,312

3,629

4,347

3,501

3,981

4,824

5,376

5,795

6,794

5,957

6,818

6,994

240.7

Total

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry and Annual Business Survey.
Notes:‘Total turnover’ is expressed in current values, ie not adjusted for inflation.
For 1995–2007, data are for 2003 SICs 9211 (film and video production), 9212 (film and video distribution) and 9213 (film exhibition).
For 2008, film and video production is the sum of 2007 SICs 59111 (film production), 59112 (video production) and 5912 (film, video and TV post-production),film and video distribution is the sum of 59131 (film distribution) and 59132 (video distribution) and film exhibition is 5914 (film exhibition).
SIC stands for Standard Industrial Classification.
For 2009, only film is included in the distribution sector as the data for video distribution are confidential.

The introduction of the 2007 Standard Industrial Classifications (SICs) makes possible a more detailed breakdownof the sector, as shown in Table 21.1. This gives an official measure of film production and distribution separate from
Facts in focus
video production and distribution, and confirms that film production
and distribution make up the majority of thesector. However, it is interesting to note the size of the post-production(16% of turnover) previously included• • Chaptersectorbullets.
in the film and video production total.
•

ç#)0"2&$02:

186 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Image: West is West courtesy of Icon Film Distribution

1

2

Table 21.1 Total turnover of UK film industry by sector, 2009, £ million

3Sub-sector

Turnover% of total

Film production
Video production
Film, video and TV post-production
Film distribution
Video distribution
Film exhibition
Sector total

1,766*
37
1,134
2,723
c
1,334
6,994

25.3
0.5
16.2
38.9
c
19.1
100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Survey.
Notes:
Companies in the post-production sector usually work on films, commercials, videos and television programmes and therefore have a combined statistical classification.
‘c’ Indicates the data have been made confidential by the Office for National Statistics to avoid disclosing details of individual companies.
* The turnover shown for film production is lower than the equivalent figure in Table 20.3 (£2.7 billion) taken from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR).
The Annual Business Inquiry estimate is based on a relatively small sample of companies, whereas the IDBR number comes from HMRC data on VAT and PAYE.
There is a case therefore for preferring the higher IDBR estimate. This would add £0.9 billion to the above estimate of industry turnover.

The total industry turnover expressed in real terms, that is, with the effects of inflation removed, is shown in Figure21.2. The real increase has been large: 147% for film and video production, 112% for film and video distribution and
183% for film exhibition. Overall, the industry more than doubled in size in real terms over this period.

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Figure 21.2 Inflation-adjusted turnover of UK film industry by sector, 1995–2009£ million (2009 pounds)
8,000

11

7,000
6,000

12

5,000
4,000
13

3,000
2,000

14

1,000
0

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

% change
1995–2009

Film andvideo
production

1,188

2,109

2,165

1,709

2,037

2,934

1,739

1,686

2,491

2,608

2,536

4,035

2,992

2,680

2,937

147.2

Film andvideo
distribution

1,282

1,929

1,783

1,990

1,993

1,878

1,577

2,088

2,020

2,321

2,725

2,322

2,225

3,154

2,723

112.3

Film
exhibition

471

585

708

635

622

652

1,027

1,057

1,160

1,218

1,185

1,066

1,080

1,173

1,334

183.0

2,942

4,623

4,656

4,334

4,651

5,464

4,343

4,831

5,671

6,147

6,446

7,423

6,297

7,007

6,994

137.7

Total

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry and Annual Business Survey, HM Treasury.
Notes:The deflator used to calculate real values is the UK whole economy deflator.
Values expressed in constant 2009 pounds.
For sector classifications, see notes to Figure 21.1.
For 2009, only film is included in the distribution sector as the data for video distribution are confidential.

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 21: The UK film economy – 187

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"21.2 Film industry contribution to GDP, 1995–2009
The contribution an industry makes to UK Gross Domestic Product is measured by its gross value added (GVA).
‘Value added’ is industry turnover minus the cost of inputs bought from other industries. The main components
of value added are wages and salaries, interest and company profits. Value added is therefore a measure of theindustry’s ability to generate income for its workers, company owners and investors.
The industry’s total value added increased from £956 million in 1995 to £3.3 billion in 2009 (Figure 21.3). This is0.3% of the UK’s total GDP. All three sub-sectors showed substantial growth over the 15-year period, with the
production sector showing the biggest gain.
In 2009, production accounted for 38% of value added, distribution 47% and exhibition 15%.
Figure 21.3 UK film industry gross value added, 1995–2009£ million
4,000
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

% change
1995–2009

Film andvideo
production

299

663

758

525

805

1,032

514

562

983

1,032

1,035

1,957

1,170

1,139

1,253

319.1

Film andvideo
distribution

522

829

638

784

716

582

689

760

520

841

1,072

1,232

964

1,411

1,529

192.9

Film
exhibition

135

208

264

260

266

250

354

504

592

592

600

407

403

415

488

261.5

Total

956

1,700

1,660

1,569

1,787

1,864

1,557

1,826

2,095

2,465

2,707

3,596

2,537

2,965

3,270

242.1

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry and Annual Business Survey.
Notes:‘Gross value added’ is expressed in actual values, ie not adjusted for inflation.
For 2009, only film is included in the distribution sector as the data for video distribution are confidential.

Table 21.2 shows the gross value added breakdown by 2007 SICs. Film accounted for the majority of the sector
contribution, with distribution particularly high at £1.5 billion, 47% of the total.

188 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 21.2 UK film and video industry gross value added (GVA), 2009, £ million

3Sub-sector

Film production
Video production
Film, video and TV post-production
Film distribution
Video distribution
Film exhibition
Sector total

GVA% of total

632
12
609
1,529
c
488
3,270

19.3
0.4
18.6
46.8
c
14.9
100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Survey.
Note: Companies in the post-production sector usually work on films, commercials, videos and television programmes and therefore have a combined statistical classification.
‘c’ indicates the GVA of video distribution is suppressed to avoid disclosing confidential data.

Figure 21.4 shows the industry’s value added expressed in real terms, that is, with the effects of inflation removed.
There was a sharp increase in real industry GVA in 1995–1996, followed by a plateau from 1996–2002. Real GVA
then began to increase strongly again, reaching a peak of £3.7 billion in 2006. Real GVA was £3.3 billion in 2009,139% higher than in 1995.

4

5

6

7

8

9

Figure 21.4 UK film industry real gross value added, 1995–2009£ million (2009 pounds)

10

4,500
4,000

11

3,500
3,000
2,500

12

2,000
1,500
1,000

13

500
0

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

% change
1995–2009

Film andvideo
production

428

924

1,018

687

1,032

1,297

638

682

1,156

1,180

1,151

2,138

1,237

1,171

1,253

192.4

Film andvideo
distribution

748

1,155

857

1,026

918

732

855

922

611

962

1,193

1,346

1,019

1,450

1,529

104.4

Film
exhibition

193

290

355

340

341

314

439

612

696

677

667

445

426

426

488

152.3

1,370

2,368

2,229

2,053

2,290

2,343

1,932

2,216

2,463

2,818

3,011

3,929

2,682

3,047

3,270

138.7

Total

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry, HM Treasury.
Notes:The deflator used to calculate real values is the UK whole economy deflator.
Values expressed in constant 2009 pounds.
For 2009, only film is included in the distribution sector as the data for video distribution are confidential.

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 21: The UK film economy – 189

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"21.3 Film exports, 1995–2009

The UK film industry exported £1,476 million worth of services in 2009 (the latest year for which data are available),of which £935 million came from royalties and £541 million from film production services. Royalties increased by
18% compared with 2008, but the export value of other production services decreased slightly from £549 million
in 2008 to £541 million in 2009. Film exports in 2009 were 111% higher than in 2001 as can be seen in Figure 21.5.
Figure 21.5 Exports of the UK film industry, 1995–2009£ million
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Royalties

560
227

686
202

438
212

427
154

508
145

487
210

468
232

434
222

400
233

399
444

660
307

582
330

646
403

792
549

935
541

787

888

650

581

653

697

700

656

633

843

967

913

1,050

1,341

1,476

Film
production

Total film
company
exports

Source: Office for National Statistics.
Notes:
Data for 2010 will be available in March 2012.
The export data to 2008 are derived from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Film and Television Survey which was a sample survey with a high response rate (87%)
of companies in the Inter-Departmental Business Register in the Standard Industrial Classification codes relating to film and television. This survey was discontinued andthe 2009 film and television data were collected in the ONS Annual Survey of International Trade in Services. The above chart shows the results for film companies only.

21.4 Film imports, 1995–2009
Film imports were fairly constant between 2005 and 2008, increasing by only £42 million, which is within the marginof error of the survey, but decreased in 2009 compared with the 2005–2008 levels (Figure 21.6). Until 2006, the vast
majority of imports were royalties, with film production imports accounting for only around 15% of total film
imports. In 2007 and 2008, this pattern changed, with the royalty share dropping to 60% and the production share
increasing to 40%. In 2009, total imports decreased by 35% compared with 2008 and the film production share ofthis total was 9% (compared with 40% in 2008).
The reasons for the increase of the production share in 2007 and 2008 are unclear as the reported level ofproduction imports is high in relation to total UK film production for these years (see Chapter 17). One possible
explanation could be the categorisation of the non-UK spend of UK/USA inward investment productions as imports
of production services. However, this explanation cannot be confirmed as the survey returns are confidential.

190 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Figure 21.6 UK film imports, 1995–20093£ million
900
4

800
700
600

5

500
400

6

300
200
100
0
Royalties
Film
production

Total film
company
imports

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

489
192

507
145

419
106

374
63

317
58

497
113

405
50

403
67

430
108

616
136

704
100

698
86

573
245

510
336

498
49

681

652

525

437

375

610

455

470

538

752

804

784

818

846

547

7

8

9

Source: Office for National Statistics.
See notes to Figure 21.5.
10

21.5 The film trade balance, 1995–200911

The film industry has made a continuous positive contribution to the UK balance of payments since 1995,
with a trade surplus (positive balance of exports over imports) in 2009 of £929 million, as Figure 21.7 shows.
This is significant at a time when the UK’s physical trade is showing a large deficit.

12

Figure 21.7 Trade surplus of UK film industry, 1995–200913£ million

1,000
14

800
600

15

400
16

200
0

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Balance

106

236

125

144

278

87

245

186

95

91

163

128

232

494

929

Source: Office for National Statistics.
Note: ‘Trade surplus’ equals exports minus imports. Where a company (eg the UK subsidiary of a US major) receives income from another country on behalf of its
parent company and subsequently passes it on to its parent company, this is recorded both as a receipt and a payment, leaving the measure of the trade surplus unaffected.

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 21: The UK film economy – 191

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"21.6 Film export markets

Figure 21.8 shows the geographic distribution of UK film
exports for the years 2005–2009. The leading export
destinations were the USA (51%), followed by theEuropean Union (27%). Exports to European countries
not in the EU accounted for 7% of all exports. Asia took
6% and the rest of the world 9% of the total.
Figure 21.8 Destination of UK film exports
as percentage of the total, 2005–2009%

European Union
Other Europe
USA
Asia
Rest of the world

27.2
7.4
50.5
5.8
9.2

Source: Office for National Statistics.
Note: ‘Rest of the world’ cannot be disaggregated due to sampling variationand disclosive data.

192 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 201121.7 UK film exports compared with theglobal market for filmed entertainment
A useful comparison can be made between UK film
export shares and the geographical distribution of the
global market for filmed entertainment (Figure 21.9).
For the EU, USA and ‘other Europe’ the UK exports
shares are higher than the shares of the ex-UK global
filmed entertainment market in each of those regions,whereas the reverse is true in Asia and ‘rest of theworld’. The differences that stand out are:
• The higher proportion of UK exports to ‘other Europe‘(7% against a 4% ex-UK global market share);• The lower proportion of UK exports to Asia (6%)
compared with the Asian countries’ share of theex-UK global market (20%).
The latter discrepancy reflects the strength of the main
Asian countries (Japan, China, South Korea and India)
in their own markets and the consequent lower market
shares for Hollywood and UK films.

1

2

Figure 21.9 UK export shares 2005–2009 compared with the ex-UK global market for filmed entertainment 20103

% share
60.0
4

50.0
40.0

5

30.0
20.0

6

10.0
European Union

Other Europe

USA

Asia

Rest of the world

Total% of total
UK film exports

27.2

7.4

50.5

5.8

9.2

100.0

% of total ex-UK
global filmed
entertainment
market

18.8

3.6

43.8

19.6

14.3

100.0

0

7

8

9

Sources: Office for National Statistics, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Note: Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.
10

21.8 The geographical distribution of the UK’s film trade surplus
The geographical distribution of the UK’s film trade surplus showed a similar pattern to that of exports, exceptthat there was a trade deficit, amounting to 12% of the film trade balance, with ‘rest of the world’, as shown in
Table 21.3. In the years 2005–2009, almost a quarter of the surplus came from the EU and, in contrast with someearlier years, the UK ran large film trade surpluses with the USA in 2007, 2008 and 2009 which led to the USA
accounting for 65% of the UK’s film trade surplus in 2005–2009.
Table 21.3 International transactions of the UK film industry by geographical area, annual average 2005–2009

European Union
Other Europe
USA
Asia
Rest of the world
Total

Exports£ million

Imports£ million

Balance£ million%
balance

312.2
85.2
580.6
66.2
105.4
1,149.6

219.0
34.6
327.8
25.4
152.8
759.6

93.6
49.8
253.2
40.8
–47.8
389.6

24.0
12.8
65.0
10.5
–12.3
100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics.
Note: percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

„

19

3 For more information on the UK and global film market see Chapter 14 (page 119)
3 For more information on the performance of UK films internationally see Chapter 6 (page 50)
3 For more information on inward investment in film production in the UK see Chapter 17 (page 144)
3 For details of public investment in film see Chapter 18 (page 157)

20

21

Chapter 21: The UK film economy – 193

22

ç#)0"2FFL-%4-"$0&$0#"×%-)$ 1& "&$ /602&"6

Facts in focus
#"×%-)$ 1& "&$ /602&"6
• 48,500 people worked in the film and video industries"-%4)#&.#220&$*
in 2010, of whom 30,500 worked in film and video
6,&%%" "%"/0&0&6)1%)0&%" production. This was an increase on 2009.
• Production and distribution were concentrated
6"!02N7&0#/$2" &!0)%"
in London and the South East.
"),6)$ 02/.#6&$• Almost 60% of people working in film and video"-%4-"$0%"1"%6:$F898N
production were freelance.
2 /!0&$)$  &602&/0&$• Women made up 12% (17% in 2009) of theof UK films released in the UK in 20106)7)$&$!2")6"&$"-%4-"$0 screenwritersand 13% (17% in 2009) of the directors.
7#&%"0#"2"7)6) "!2")6"
• Most businesses were small scale. For example, 57% of
employees in film and video production in Great Britain&$"-%4-"$0&$"3#&&0&$:
were in workplaces with 10 or fewer people.

1

2

22.1 The workforce3

According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a total of 48,487
people worked in film and video production, distribution and film exhibition in the year 2010 (October 2009 to
September 2010). The figures include workers whose main jobs are in film and video production, distribution andfilm exhibition, and those with second jobs in these sectors. They also include both full-time and part-time workers.
Table 22.1 shows the breakdown.

4

5

Table 22.1 Film and video industry workforce, 2010
SectorFilm and video production
Film and video distribution
Film exhibition
Total

Number in employment

30,596
6,672
11,21948,487

Source: Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey.
Notes:
Numbers in employment are averages of the four calendar quarters, Oct–Dec 2009, Jan–Mar, Apr–Jun and Jul–Sep 2010.
People in employment include people aged 16 or over who undertook paid work (as an employee or self-employed), those who had a job that they were temporarily away
from, those on government supported training and employment programmes, and those doing unpaid family work.

6

7

8

9

Changes to Labour Force Survey estimates
The LFS estimate of the numbers employed in film and video production in 2010 shows an increase of nearly 6,000
over the 2009 figure, which itself was 2,000 higher than the estimate for 2008. These rises are a reversal of therecent trend which has seen employment numbers decrease every year since 2003. However, there is an importantdifference between the estimates relating to the years up to 2006 and those for 2007 onwards. The Standard
Industrial Classification (SIC) has changed and the data to 2006 are based on the old classification while data for2007 onwards are based on the new classification. For film exhibition the two classifications are directly comparable,
but for film and video production and distribution some people would be included in the figures for the earlier years,
but not in the later ones.

10

Employment in film and video production and distribution and film exhibition generally decreased between 2003
and 2006 but because of the changes to the data explained in the box, it is difficult to compare the data for years
up to 2006 with the data for 2007 onwards. However, for all three sectors, the LFS estimates (Figure 22.1) indicate
a decrease in employment from 2007 to 2008, then an increase in 2009 (with 2009 levels being higher than the2007 levels in both film and video production and film exhibition), followed by an increase in employment in 2010
in production and distribution, but a fall (to below the 2007 level) in exhibition.

13

11

12

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Image: It’s a Wonderful Afterlife courtesy of Icon Film Distribution

Chapter 22: Employment in the film and video industries – 195

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Figure 22.1 Size of film and video workforce, 1996–2010

Number in employment
35,00030,00025,00020,00015,00010,0005,000
0Film andvideo
production
Film andvideo
distributionFilm
exhibition

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

17,705 23,819 26,255 22,407 23,396 31,271 31,565 31,620 29,222 26,974 25,802

23,797 23,535 25,556 30,596

3,296

4,514

3,188

4,622

2,277

4,205

3,918

4,527

5,261

2,826

3,379

2,862

10,427 11,585 14,121 16,917 13,328 11,844 16,667 20,004 22,670 15,581 17,368

2,752

2,951

6,672

13,032 12,361 14,036 11,219

Source: Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey.
Notes:The employment figures are averages of the four ‘calendar quarters’ (Oct-Dec, Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun and Jul-Sep), referred to as ‘year to September’.
In 2006, the European Commission required all countries in the EU to base their labour force surveys on calendar quarters.

Most people working in the film distribution and exhibition sectors were employees, but the film production sector
had a higher proportion of freelance workers. In 2010, 60% of those engaged in film and video production, a totalof 18,258 people, were self-employed (Table 22.2 and Figure 22.2).

196 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 22.2 Film and video production workforce, 1996–2010
Self-employed

Self-employed
as % of total

Unpaidfamily worker

Unpaidfamily worker
as % of total

17,70523,81926,25522,40723,396
31,271
31,56531,62029,222
26,97425,802

7,539
9,313
13,276
10,776
10,764
12,201
14,885
17,406
15,406
11,382
12,687

42.6
39.1
50.6
48.1
46.0
39.0
47.2
55.0
52.7
42.2
49.2

215
488
–
422
107
705
305
111
251
1,076
502

1.2
2.0
–
1.9
0.5
2.3
1.0
0.4
0.9
4.0
1.9

23,79723,53525,55630,596

11,026
11,76915,27818,258

46.3
50.0
59.8
59.7

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

Total in
employment

1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

Year

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Source: Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey.
Notes:
Year means the year ending September. See note to Figure 22.1 for explanation.
An ‘unpaid family worker’ is defined as a person who is doing unpaid work for a business that they own or that a relative owns.

11

The proportion of self-employed workers has fluctuated mainly in the 40%–50% band between 1996 and 2006.
For 2007 onwards, the proportion has been slightly higher on average, reaching 60% in 2009 and 2010 (though
the proportion was as high as 55% in 2003). The figures shown for 2007 onwards are based on the new Standard
Industrial Classification, and so the higher average percentages of freelancers in the industry since 2007 could be due
to changes in industry practices, the change in the classification or a combination of both. In comparison, only 14%of the total UK workforce was self-employed in the year to September 2010.

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 22: Employment in the film and video industries – 197

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Figure 22.2 Self-employed and unpaid family workers as proportions of total workforce,film and video production, 1996–2010% total in employment
60
50
40
30
20
10
1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Self-employed
as % of total

42.6

39.1

50.6

48.1

46.0

39.0

47.2

55.0

52.7

42.2

49.2

46.3

50.0

59.8

59.7

Unpaid family
worker as %of total

1.2

2.0

–

1.9

0.5

2.3

1.0

0.4

0.9

4.0

1.9

–

–

–

–

0

Source: Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey.
Notes:
Year means the year ending September. See note to Figure 22.1 for explanation.
Data for unpaid family workers were unavailable for 1998, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 due to sampling, but numbers were likely to be small.

22.2 The gender of writers and directors of UK films
In 2005, the UK Film Council began tracking the under-representation of women among screenwriters of UK films.
This has been the subject of two reports Scoping Study into the Lack of Women Screenwriters in the UK (IES, 2006)
and Writing British Films – who writes British films and how they are recruited (Susan Rogers, Royal Holloway and
UK Film Council, 2007). See the web-link at the end of the chapter.
The combined conclusion of these reports is that female under-representation is an aspect of a commissioning
process that tends to recruit writers who:
• Are already known to the commissioning producers; and/or• Are members of the Writers Guild of America; and/or• Have American agents (even if they are British).
At the time these reports were commissioned, evidence suggested that around 10% of UK films had a female
director and around 15% of UK films had a female writer. Of the 144 identified writers of UK films in 2010, 17 (12%)
were women (Table 22.3).

198 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 22.3 Gender of writers of UK films released in the UK, 2007–2010
Number of UK titles released in the UK
Number of writers associated with these titles
Number of male writers
Number of female writers% male% female

3

2007

2008

2009

2010

108
169
149
20
88.2
11.8

111
168
139
29
82.7
17.3

113
139
116
23
83.5
16.5

122
144
127
17
88.2
11.8

4

5

6

Source: UK Film Council.

The proportion of female writers in 2010 was the same as in 2007, but lower than in 2008 (17.3%) and 2009(16.5%). Although the percentage of female writers was similar in 2010 to that in 2007, the absolute number offemale writers associated with released UK films in 2010 was the lowest since the study of the numbers of female
writers and directors began in 2006. Some of the female writers associated with UK films released in 2010 were:Moira Buffini (Tamara Drewe), Jane English (StreetDance 3D), Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass) and Emma Thompson (Nanny
McPhee and the Big Bang). As well as being involved in the writing of films, many of the female writers also directed
or co-directed their films.

7

8

9

Table 22.4 shows directors by gender for UK films released in the UK in 2010.
10

Table 22.4 Gender of directors of UK films released in the UK, 2007–2010
2007

2008

2009

2010

108
117
110
7
94.0
6.0

111
113
100
13
88.5
11.5

113
122
101
21
82.8
17.2

122
136
119
17
87.5
12.5

11

The proportion of female directors in 2010 (13%) was lower than in 2009 (17%), but higher than for earlier years(6% in 2007 and 12% in 2008). Some of the 17 female directors associated with UK films released in 2010 were: Lucy
Bailey (Mugabe and the White African), Clio Barnard (The Arbor), Gurinda Chadha (It’s a Wonderful Afterlife) and
Susanna White (Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang). Both Clio Barnard and Gurinda Chadha also wrote the screenplaysof their films.

14

Number of UK titles released in the UK
Number of directors associated with these titles
Number of male directors
Number of female directors% male% female

1213

Source: UK Film Council.

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 22: Employment in the film and video industries – 199

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"22.3 The workplace location

The film production and distribution sectors are concentrated in London and the South East, as shown in Table 22.5.
In contrast, the London and South East share of the exhibition sector workforce is closer to the overall UK average.
Table 22.5 London and South East employment as percentage of total, 2010
Total UK
employment

London andSouth East
employment

London andSouth East
as % of UK total

29,743,006
31,592
7,386
16,1078,350,911
19,544
4,502
4,176

28.1
61.9
61.0
25.9

SectorUK all industries
Film and video production
Film and video distribution
Film exhibition

Source: Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey.
Notes:The South East region wraps around London to include the major studios to the west of the city.
Totals shown in this table are averages of the four calendar quarters from October 2009 to September 2010.

The London and South East share of the film and video production workforce was 62% in the year to September
2010 (73% in 2009). Figure 22.3 suggests that the share of the film and video production workforce in London and
the South East is lower than in recent years and close to the level prevailing in the early 2000s. The LFS estimate of
the London and South East share of the distribution workforce is erratic from year to year, mainly due to statisticalerror arising from the small sample size of the survey at industry sub-sector level.

200 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

22.4 The scale of the workplace3

Tables 22.6 to 22.8 show the numbers of employees, by size of workplace for film and video production, film andvideo distribution and film exhibition.
The data in tables 22.6 to 22.8 are from the ONS Business Register and differ from the estimates shown in sections
22.1 and 22.3 which are based on the LFS. The LFS counts the number of people employed whereas the Business
Register, which is updated from administrative sources and from surveys of employers, includes numbers of jobs.
The numbers of jobs and the numbers of people employed are not the same thing, and the data come fromdifferent sources, but the numbers arising from them should be similar. However, this is not always the case. ONS
has identified a number of reasons for differences between the estimates, but the two most important ones whenlooking at particular industry sub-sectors are likely to be sampling error arising from the small LFS sample size at
industry sub-sector level and the fact that there are two industry classification processes involved. In the LFS,
individuals are classified by industry depending on the industrial information they give, whereas in the Business
Register the industry classification is based on companies’ activities. As people and companies often work acrossmore than one industry (television and film for example) this gives rise to unpredictable variations between the
LFS and the Business Register measures.
Tables 22.6 to 22.8 present data for England, Scotland and Wales only. Figures for Northern Ireland are reported
separately by the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) and are shown in Table
22.9. These data are from the Northern Ireland Census of Employment.
The film and video production sector had a very high number of small workplaces (96% in the band of 1–10
employees), accounting for a majority of the sector’s total workforce (57%), as Table 22.6 shows. At the other end of
the scale, there were a small number of large workplaces. The 25 workplaces with 50 or more employees accounted
for 2,906 employees, an average of 116 each.

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Table 22.6 Numbers of employees in film and video production by size of workplace for England,
Scotland and Wales, 2010
Workplace size band

1–10
11–49
50+
Total

Number ofworkplaces
in band

4,250
160
25
4,435

12

% of total
workplaces

Number of
employees
in band% of total
employees

95.8
3.6
0.6
100.0

7,702
3,015
2,906
13,623

56.5
22.1
21.3
100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics Business Register.
Note: Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

13

14

15

The distribution sector was not as concentrated in small workplaces as the production sector, with more than fourfifths of employees working in workplaces with 11 or more employees (Table 22.7) and more than 60% of employees
working in workplaces with 50 or more employees.

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 22: Employment in the film and video industries – 201

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"Table 22.7 Numbers of employees in film and video distribution by size of workplace for England, Scotland andWales, 2010
Workplace size band

1–10
11–49
50+
Total

Number ofworkplaces
in band% of total
workplaces

Number of
employees
in band% of total
employees

320
55
15
390

82.1
14.1
3.8
100.0

832
1,163
3,430
5,425

15.3
21.4
63.2
100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics Business Register.
Note: Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

Table 22.8 shows that the exhibition sector had a concentration that was the reverse of the production sector with
57% of employees in workplaces of 50 or more and only 3% in workplaces in the 1–10 employee band.
Table 22.8 Numbers of employees in film exhibition by size of workplace for England, Scotland and Wales, 2010
Workplace size band

1–10
11–49
50+
Total

Number ofworkplaces
in band% of total
workplaces

Number of
employees
in band% of total
employees

140
250
150
540

25.9
46.3
27.8
100.0

532
7,626
10,627
18,785

2.8
40.6
56.6
100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics Business Register.
Note: Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

Due to the ‘disclosive’ nature of workplace statistics reported for Northern Ireland (too few units in certain size
bands), the number of employees in film and video distribution is unavailable, and for film exhibition only the total
number of employees is available. Table 22.9 shows the number of employees by workplace size band for film andvideo production and the total number of employees for film exhibition. The latest available data are from the 2009
Census of Employment for Northern Ireland. In film and video production 96% of employees were in workplaces of
11 or more employees. A direct comparison with earlier years is not available, but in 2007 for the film and video
industry in Northern Ireland as a whole (including production, distribution and exhibition), 90% of employees werein workplaces of 11 or more employees.

202 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

1

2

Table 22.9 Numbers of employees in film and video production and film exhibition by size of workplace
for Northern Ireland, 2009

Workplace size band

3

Number of
employees infilm and video
production% of total
employees

Number of
employees in film
exhibition% of total
employees

12
309
321

3.7
96.3
100.0

n/a
n/a
777

n/a
n/a
100.0

1–10
11+
Total

4

5

6

Source: Northern Ireland Census of Employment, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

Figure 22.4 shows the proportion of employees in workplaces with 1–10 employees and the proportion of
employees in workplaces with 50 or more employees in the film and video production sector from 1996 to 2010.
There is a break in this series as the data from 1996 to 2008 are from the ONS Annual Business Inquiry (ABI), and are
based on the old industrial classification whereas the 2009 and 2010 data are from the ONS Business Register andare based on the new industrial classification. The declining trend in the proportion of employment in workplaces
with 50 or more employees in the early years shown in the chart has been reversed in recent years. In contrast, theproportion of employment in workplaces with 1–10 employees grew rapidly between 1996 and 2000, then remained
at a level of just below 60%, but appears to have declined between 2006 and 2008. For both the percentageof employees in workplaces with 1–10 employees and the percentage in workplaces with 50 or more employees,
the trends in the Business Register data are similar to the latest trends in the ABI data, but there are differencesin the levels. The Business Register data show a higher proportion of employees in small workplaces, and a lower
percentage of employees in larger workplaces, than the ABI data.

7

8

9

10

11

Figure 22.4 Film and video production employees by workplace size band, percentage of total, 1996–2010% of sector workforce
70

12

60
50

13

40
30
20

14

10
0

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

1–10 employees 46.9

50.3

55.6

57.2

57.9

57.2

59.4

56.2

58.8

58.2

59.0

57.7

55.2

59.7

56.5

50+ employees

25.7

25.6

21.3

22.9

17.3

17.4

23.7

21.5

25.3

21.9

24.2

26.4

17.9

21.3

28.3

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry and Business Register.
Notes:
These figures cover England, Scotland and Wales only.
Workforce data from 1995 to 1997 were re-scaled to be comparable with the latest series of ABI.

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Chapter 22: Employment in the film and video industries – 203

22ç#)0"29L
#"3*×!"In the exhibition sector the proportion of employees in the 50+ category has increased from 2006 to 2008, after
decreasing in 2004–2006. The reverse is happening in the 11–49 size band where the proportion of employees
appeared to decline between 2006 and 2008 after seeing an increase between 2004 and 2006, as shown in Figure22.5. As with Table 22.4 the data for 2009 and 2010 are from the ONS Business Register and are based on the latest
industrial classification, while the data from 1996 to 2008 are from the ABI and are based on the old industrial
classification. These data on employment in film exhibition show the same pattern as in the production dataie trends in the Business Register data are similar to the latest trends in the ABI data, but the Business Register data
show a higher proportion of employees in smaller workplaces, and a lower percentage of employees in larger
workplaces, than the ABI data.
Figure 22.5 Film exhibition employees by workplace size band, percentage of total, 1996–2010% of sector workforce
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

11–49 employees 56.8

40.5

25.1

36.6

51.8

36.1

34.2

41.1

32.1

39.5

44.3

41.1

37.5

44.2

40.6

50+ employees

52.1

68.0

56.1

42.2

59.3

61.8

54.6

63.9

56.8

51.6

55.1

59.0

52.9

56.6

35.4

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry and Business Register.
See notes to Table 22.4.

„
3 For the reports on under-representation of women among screenwriters of UK films, Scoping Study into theLack of Women Screenwriters in the UK and Writing British Films – who writes British films and how they arerecruited, see www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/publications
3 For more information about differences between LFS estimates of numbers of people in employment and ABI
estimates of numbers of jobs, see the National Statistics Quality Review Series Report no. 44: Review of
Employment and Jobs Statistics, at www.ons.gov.uk/about-statistics/methodology-and-quality/quality/nat-statsqual-revs/qual-revs-by-theme/labour-market/index.html
3 For more information on film distribution, see Chapter 9 (page 76)
3 For details of the exhibition sector, see Chapter 10 (page 82)
3 For more background on film production, see Chapter 17 (page 144)

204 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Glossary
Alternative content
Non-feature film programming in cinemas, such as
the live screening of events happening elsewhere.
Such content has become a regular feature of someUK cinemas in recent years, and has been madepossible by the availability of digital projection
Asian programming
Films originating from South Asia, for example
Bollywood, and generally, though not exclusively,
aimed at a South Asian audience and in a South
Asian language
BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
BARB
Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board Ltd.
The company that compiles audience figures
for UK television (www.barb.co.uk)
BBFC
British Board of Film Classification. Independent body
responsible for classifying films and video (see Filmclassification) (www.bbfc.org.uk)
Blu-ray disc (BD)An optical disc format that can store up to 50Gb ofdata, almost six times the capacity of a dual layer DVD.
It uses a short wavelength blue-violet laser to read andwrite information to discBox officeTotal value of ticket sales for a film screened
commercially at cinemas
Box office grossBox office takings before deduction of Value Added
Tax (VAT)
BVA
British Video Association. The trade body
representing the interests of publishers and rights
owners of pre-recorded home entertainment on video(www.bva.org.uk)
CAA
Cinema Advertising Association. The trade associationof cinema advertising contractors operating in the UK
and Republic of Ireland

Community cinema
Voluntary providers of films bringing a variety of
programming, often specialised in nature, to local
communities which are usually underserved by thecommercial operators
Concession revenue
Revenue from sales of food, drink and merchandiseat cinemas
Co-production
A film made by companies from more than one country,
often under the terms of a bilateral co-production treaty
or the European Convention on Cinematographic
Co-Production
Country of origin
The nationality of a film. In the case of co-productions,this may include more than one country
DCMS
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Digital Cinema Initiatives
Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC (DCI) was created in
March 2002 and is a joint venture of Disney, Fox,
Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal andWarner Bros Studios. Its primary purpose is to establish
and document voluntary specifications for an open
architecture for digital cinema that ensures a uniform
and high level of technical performance, reliability andquality control (www.dcimovies.com)
DLP Cinema
The trademark of Texas Instruments’ digital projection
system. DLP stands for ‘digital light processing’
Digital projection
The projection of a film onto a cinema screen using a
digital master and a digital projector, ie using electronic
signals to direct light onto the screen rather thanpassing light through a celluloid strip
Digital terrestrial television (DTT)
Multi-channel television delivered free to the consumer
by means of a signal decoder between the aerial and thetelevision set
Distributor
A person or company that acquires the right to exploit
the commercial and creative values of a film in thetheatrical, video and TV market. Also undertakes
the promotional and marketing activities to attract
audiences to the film
DownloadSee ‘Film download’

Glossary – 205

Download to Own (DTO)
The purchase of permanent film downloads for storage
on hard drive, and in some cases to burn an additional
copy to DVD
DVD
Digital versatile disc
English Regions
Formerly known as Government Office Regions (GORs)
they were an administrative regional classification used
to establish the boundaries of the Regional Development
Agencies and the Regional Screen Agencies. In 2011 theadministrative function of GORs was abolished but theareas were kept for statistical purposes and are now
known just as ‘Regions’Exhibitor
A cinema operator that rents a film from a distributor
to show to a cinema audience
Feature film
A film made for cinema release, as opposed toa film made for television, and usually of at least
80 minutes duration
Film classification
Classification given to a film by the British Boardof Film Classification. Indicates the film’s suitability
for audiences according to their age
Film download
A digital version of a film transferred (either officiallyor unofficially) from the internet to a personal computeror mobile device. Downloads may also go directly totelevision sets via games consoles, internet protocol
television or dedicated set-top boxes
Film rental
The sum of money paid to the distributor by theexhibitor in return for the right to show a particularfilm. Usually calculated as a percentage of net box officeFranchise
A film series such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s
Stone and its sequels
GCE – General Certificate of Education
An academic qualification comprising Advanced Level(A Level) and Advanced Subsidiary Level (AS Level)
GCSE – General Certificate of Secondary Education
An academic qualification awarded in a specific subject,generally taken by students aged 14–16 in secondary
education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland(Scottish equivalent is the Standard Grade)

206 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

GDP – Gross Domestic ProductA measure of a country’s income and output. GDP isdefined as the total market value of all final goods andservices produced within the country in a given periodof time. GDP is also the sum of the value added at eachstage of the production process. ‘Gross’ refers to thefact that GDP includes capital investment but does not
subtract depreciation
Genre
A style or category of film defined on the basisof common story and cinematic conventions(eg action, crime, romantic comedy, drama etc)
HD-DVD
High-definition digital versatile disc. A high-density
optical disc format designed for the storage of data andhigh-definition video. Abandoned in February 2008 afterBlu-ray prevailed in the competition to become the next
generation DVD format
Higher (Scottish)
In Scotland, the Higher is one of the national schoolleaving certificate exams and university entrance
qualifications of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate
offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority
HMRC
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. The government
department charged with collecting revenue on behalfof the Crown
HMT
Her Majesty’s Treasury. The government department
responsible for formulating and implementing theGovernment’s financial and economic policy
Independent film
A film produced without creative or financial input
from the major US studio companies. These are: Fox
Entertainment Group, NBC Universal, Paramount Motion
Pictures Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Walt
Disney Motion Pictures Group and Warner Bros
Entertainment
Inward features
A term used by the Research and Statistics Unit todenote a film which is substantially financed andcontrolled from outside the UK and which is attracted to
the UK by script requirements (eg locations) and/or the
UK’s filmmaking infrastructure and/or UK tax incentives
Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)
Television connected to the internet that uses internet
digital protocols to communicate data

ISBA TV Regions
System for classifying regions developed by the
Incorporated Society of British Advertisers for use
by the advertising industry
Mainstream programming
Category of films aimed at the general audience
Mean
A statistical term for the average of a set of values,
which is calculated by summing the values and thendividing by the count of the values
MedianA statistical term meaning the middle value in anordered set of values. Half of the values fall below themedian, and half of the values fall above the median
Megaplex site
Defined by Dodona Research as a purpose-built cinemawith 20 or more screensMultiplex site
Defined by Dodona Research as a purpose-built cinemawith five or more screensMulti-channel television
Digital television programming carried by satellite, cableor freeview delivery systems, in this case excluding thefive main network channels (BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1,
Channel 4 and Channel 5)
Near-Video on Demand (nVoD)
A system which allows television viewers to purchaseindividual films to view. The film is shown at the sametime to everyone ordering it, as opposed to true-Videoon Demand, which allows the viewers to see the film
at any time. Films can be purchased via an on-screen
guide, automated telephone or customer services line

Pay-per-view
See Near-Video on Demand
Pay-TVA satellite or cable television system in which viewers
pay a subscription to access television content
Personal computer (PC)A lap-top or desk-top computer capable of operating
independently of a network (although frequently
networked in office environments)
Personal video recorder (PVR)
A digital set-top box with hard drive capable of storinglarge amounts of audiovisual content
Physical media
Refers to the various physical formats on which video
can be distributed, such as VHS, DVD, Blu-ray etc
PlayStation Portable (PSP)A portable games console made by Sony that can beused to view VoD content
Post production
All stages of film production occurring after filming.
These typically include: editing the picture, adding thesoundtrack, adding visual special effects and soundeffects and preparing release prints
Producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all
relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice andvision of the film
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
A numbering system used by the Office for National
Statistics to identify different industries in the UK’s
official statistics

Net box office
Box office takings after deduction of VAT

Sites
Individual cinema premises

Online rental
Selecting and renting DVDs via a website for postaldeliverySocio-economic group
Section of the population defined by employment status

ONS
Office for National Statistics
Out of town cinema
Cinema located on the outskirts of a town, typicallyin a large shopping development
PAYE
Pay As You Earn. A method of collecting income tax andnational insurance where these are deducted at sourceby the employer and remitted to HMRC

Specialised programming
Generally, non-mainstream films. This category includes
foreign language and subtitled films, documentaries,
art-house productions and films aimed at niche audiences
Terrestrial television
The five main free-to-air channels: BBC One, BBC Two,
ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5

Glossary – 207

Traditional cinema
A cinema generally with fewer than five screens andthat shows more mainstream product. Often an older
building located in city centres or suburbs
UK and Republic of Ireland
The distribution territory comprising the UK and
Republic of Ireland. Where this publication indicatesa film has been released ‘in the UK and Republic of
Ireland’ it refers to the distribution territory and notnecessarily to an actual release in both countries
UK film
A film which is certified as such by the UK Secretaryof State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport under
Schedule 1 of the Films Act 1985, via the Cultural Test,under one of the UK’s bilateral co-production
agreements or the European Convention on
Cinematographic Co-production; a film which has
not applied for certification but which is obviously
British on the basis of its content, producers, financeand talent; or (in the case of a re-release) a film which
met the official definition of a British film prevailing at
the time it was made or was generally considered to
be British at that time
UMD
Universal media disc. An optical disc medium developedby Sony for use on the PlayStation Portable
VHS
Video home system. Standard format for cassette tapes
containing recorded films and other audiovisual content
Video on Demand (VoD)
A system that allows users to select and watch films
on television, PC or mobile device at the time they wantover an interactive network. The user can buy or rent
films and download them before viewing starts or
stream content to be viewed in real time
Video on physical media
See ‘physical media’

208 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011

Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the following organisationsfor kindly allowing us to reproduce their data:
Attentional Ltd
Beacon Dodsworth
British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)
British Federation of Film Societies (BFFS)
British Video Association (BVA)
Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board Ltd (BARB)
Cinema Advertising Association (CAA)
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Dodona Research
European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO)FILMCLUB
Film Education
First Light
Harris Interactive
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT)
Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA)
Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)
Kantar Worldpanel
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
National and Regional Screen Agencies (N/RSAs)
Nielsen Media Research (NMR)
Northern AllianceNorthern Ireland Department of Enterprise,
Trade and Investment (DETINI)
Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Official Charts Company (OCC)
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Rentrak EDI
Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
Screen Digest
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
WJEC

Acknowledgements and sources – 209

Please note that no material in this Yearbook may be
reproduced in any form without prior permission fromthe authors or copyright owners.

Sources

Chapters 11 to 15: Film on video, television and VoD,
the film market as a whole and audiences
Sources from previous chapters, plus:• British Video Association, BVA Yearbook 2011
• Official Charts Company, video charts

Chapters 1 to 10: Box office, top films, genre andclassification, specialised films, UK films internationally,
UK talent and awards, release history of UK films,
distribution and exhibition• Kantar Worldpanel• Rentrak EDI, weekly UK and international box
office reports• Attentional Ltd, database of film on UK
television, 2010

• British Film Institute (BFI) cinema attendance statistics• Screen Digest, Global Media Intelligence (monthly),
Online Movie Strategies (report), Video Intelligenceand Broadband Media Intelligence• Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA),
international box office database• Motion Picture Association of America, theatricalmarket statistics• European Audiovisual Observatory Lumière database• HM Treasury, GDP deflators• Dodona Research, Cinemagoing 20 April 2011
• Screen Digest, Cinema Intelligence• British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), databaseof film classifications• Nielsen Media Research, monthly media spend reports• The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)• Department for Culture, Media and Sport,
British film certification data
• BFI Film Certification Unit, British film
certification data
• Rentrak EDI, International Box Office Essentials
database• Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, Television
Audience Measurement Service• PricewaterhouseCoopers, Global entertainment
and media outlook 2011–2015, June 2011
• MRIB, video rental charts• Office for National Statistics UK recreational andcultural services price index• Cinema Advertising Association, 2010 Film Monitor(Quarterly Reports) and FAME: Film Audience
Measurement and Evaluation report, 2011
• National Readership Survey (NRS)• Portrayal vs. Betrayal, UK Film Council and HarrisInteractive, April 2011
Chapters 16 to 22: British film certification, film
production, public investment in film in the UK,film education, film companies, the UK film economy
and employment
Sources from previous chapters, plus:• Research and Statistics Unit production tracking• Beacon Dodsworth, UK population data by ISBATV region• Northern Alliance, public investment in film 2009/10,
March 2011

• Cinema Advertising Association, cinema admissions
by ISBA TV region• National and Regional Screen Agencies• Office for National Statistics, UK population databy nation and English region• British Federation of Film Societies, Cinema for All
Survey results• HESA Student Record 2002/03 – 2009/10, Higher
Education Statistics Agency Limited• Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), National
Results 2002–2010• Scottish Qualifications Authority, Pre-Appeals
Data 2002–2010• WJEC• Film Education• BFI, education event statistics

210 – BFI Statistical Yearbook 2011• FILMCLUB• First Light• UK Film Council Moving Image Education
Providers Database• European Audiovisual Observatory, 2010
Yearbook, Volume 3• HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), Film Tax Relief
Summary of Tax Credit Claims: 2006–07 to 2009–10• Office for National Statistics, Annual Business
Inquiry, 2009
• Office for National Statistics, Annual Business
Survey, 2010
• Office for National Statistics, Size Analysis of UK
Businesses (VAT and PAYE data), 2009
• Office for National Statistics, Internationaltransactions of the UK film and television industries
2008, 9 December 2009
• Office for National Statistics, International Trade inServices 2009, 29 March 2011
• Office for National Statistics, Labour Force Survey,
Quarterly to September 2010
• Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise,
Trade and Investment, Northern Ireland Census
of Employment, 2009

Acknowledgements and sources – 211

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