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Mixed fortunes for UK film industry in 2009

The UK film industry is weathering the recession well, with record box office figures, record inward investment, and UK independent films at their most popular for a decade. But challenges remain for the financing of domestic production and co-production.

• UK CINEMA ADMISSIONS HIGHEST SINCE 2002, BOX OFFICE HITS RECORD £1BN

• UK INDEPENDENT FILMS AT MOST POPULAR LEVEL FOR A DECADE

• SMALL DROP IN DOMESTIC PRODUCTION AND SPEND

• FLAT LEVEL OF CO-PRODUCTIONS BUT FALL IN SPEND
  RECORD INWARD INVESTMENT

London - 19 January 2010

The UK film industry continued to weather the global recession well in 2009:

• second best production year on record (total spend of £956.9m, 56% higher than 2008)
• highest ever level of inward investment (£752.7m, which has more than doubled year on year and increased by £20m on the record 2003 figures)
• level of independent film production culturally specific to the UK continues at a fairly consistent level compared to recent years, with 71 films made in 2009 (down slightly from 77 films in 2008), spending a total £169.2m
• UK cinema admissions at their highest level since 2002 (173.5m and the box office exceeding £1bn for the first time)
• and independent UK films taking their largest market share in a decade (8.5% of UK box office).

The number of co-productions remains stable at 22, but this figure remains significantly lower than the high of 106 in 2003. This is largely a function of the one flaw in the otherwise excellent film tax credit which disincentivises UK participation in co-productions by focusing tax relief on production spend made on the ground in the UK.

The overall market share of UK films (which includes both UK independent and UK films produced with US backing) was 16.5% in 2009, with independent UK films taking an 8.5% share, which is the highest figure of the decade, and comes on the back of successful titles such as Slumdog Millionaire, St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, and In the Loop.

The record-breaking box office figures come after a busy and very successful year at UK cinemas for international blockbusters (such as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and The Hangover), whilst 2009 can also be seen as the year of 3D, with 3 of the year's top 5 films in 3D (Avatar, Ice Age 3, and Up).

Sion Simon, Minister for the Creative Industries, said: "Looking at today's figures it's hard to imagine that there was a time not so long ago that UK production was in the doldrums and cinema-going was under threat from new forms of home entertainment.  We are now looking at superb production statistics and incredibly buoyant box office receipts, which come at a time when film is poised to make its next big leap into the world of 3D and digital screens, with all the possibilities that those developments bring.  It should, of course, be remembered that none of this success happens by chance. Strong and consistent investment by Government over this decade has helped to give UK film the economic and cultural prominence it deserves.  And we should be incredibly proud of the expertise, talent and facilities that continue to make the UK a top choice for overseas producers."

John Woodward, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Film Council, said that these figures show a robust UK film industry, adding: "The UK film industry is weathering the recession well. Taken together, these box office and inward investment numbers show how film in the UK has moved from the margins back to the mainstream, helping sustain jobs and promote the UK's place on the international stage. British cinema-goers are voting with their feet – they want to see big event movies, many of which depend on outstanding British talent and are made in the UK thanks to our reliable film tax credit. In addition, what is particularly encouraging is that the public appetite for low budget independently-produced British films is rising once again despite the blockbuster phenomenon. So at a time when film budgets are being squeezed and production finance is very hard to raise, it's important to realise that many of these films are supported through public subsidy from the UK Film Council, BBC Films and Film4. The case for continued public support for film has therefore never been stronger."

The full reports, UK Box Office in 2009 and Film production in the UK 2009, can be found at:

Box office: http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/media/pdf/k/s/The_UK_box_office_in_2009_Final_Version.pdf

Film production:
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/media/pdf/j/i/2009_Full_Year_Production_Report_Final_Version.pdf

For more information, please contact:

Oliver Foster, Head of Press and Public Affairs
T: 020 7861 7508
M: 07920 560509
E: oliver.foster@ukfilmcouncil.org.uk  

Notes to Editors

Box office 2009

Theatrical market share of UK films by studio and independent titles, 2000-2009

Source: UK Film Council
2009 market share calculation based on grosses up to and including 10 January 2010

Top 20 films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2009

Source: Nielsen EDI, UK Film Council
Box office gross = cumulative gross up to 10 January 2010.
Films with an asterisk (*) were still being exhibited on 10 January 2010.
UK and Republic of Ireland are a single "territory" for film distribution purposes.

Top 20 UK films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2009

Source: Nielsen EDI, UK Film Council RSU analysis
Box office gross = cumulative gross up to 10 January 2010.
Films with an asterisk (*) were still being exhibited on 10 January 2010.
UK and Republic of Ireland are a single "territory" for film distribution purposes.

Top 10 3D releases, 2009

Source: Nielsen EDI
Note: the 3D figures do not include IMAX screenings, although IMAX revenues contribute to the total gross.

Notes to box office statistics

1. Admissions data supplied by the Cinema Advertising Association and Nielsen EDI.
2. Gross box office data supplied by Nielsen EDI.
3. Country of origin is allocated by the UK Film Council Research and Statistics Unit. For the purposes of this analysis, a UK film is one which is certified as such by the UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport under Schedule 1 of the Films Act 1985, via the Cultural Test, under one of the UK's official co-production agreements or the European Convention on Cinematographic Coproduction; a film which has not applied for certification but which is obviously British on the basis of its content, producers, finance and 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. Most UK films in the analysis (including the major UK/USA films) fall into the first group – films officially certified as British.

Film production in the UK

Number of features produced in the UK, 2003 - 2009

Source: UK Film Council
Data for films with budgets >= £500,000
Films are allocated to the calendar year in which principal photography commenced.
Data have been revised since the publication of the Q3 2009 report. See notes at the end of the report for details.

UK spend of features produced in the UK, 2003 - 2009, £ millions

Source: UK Film Council
Data for films with budgets >= £500,000
Films are allocated to the calendar year in which principal photography commenced.
Data have been revised since the publication of the Q3 2009 report. See notes at the end of the report for details.

Notes to film production statistics

1. UK Film Council production tracking

The UK Film Council production tracking system attempts to track all films with budgets greater than £500k produced in whole or part in the UK (i.e. it is a census, not a sample).

Sources of information include industry tracking forums, Skillset, trade press and internet sources, the Office of the British Film Commissioner, UK film certification data and direct approaches to film producers.

Some films with budgets less than £500k are picked up as a result of this process, but we do not have comprehensive coverage of very low budget films so we publish data only for films with budgets of £500k+

Only productions with some UK spend on shooting, visual effects or post-production are included.

Spend is allocated to the calendar year, half year and quarter in which principal photography starts.

2. Revisions

Production tracking is a continuous process and numbers are updated each quarter to reflect newly tracked films, updated budget or UK spend information and postponements or cancellations. Adjustments apply to previous periods as well as to the most recent reported period. During the summer of 2009 the Research and Statistics Unit conducted a reconciliation between British film certification data for 2003 and 2004 and production records for the same period. This resulted in significant revisions to the production data for 2003 and 2004. The tables in this report contain the revised data.

3. Definitions

A domestic (indigenous) UK feature is a feature made by a UK production company that is produced wholly or partly in the UK

A UK co-production is a co-production (other than an inward co-production) involving the UK and other country partners usually under the terms of a bilateral co-production agreement or the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production.

An inward feature is a feature film which is substantially financed and controlled from outside the UK, where the production is attracted to the UK because of script requirements, the UK's infrastructure or UK tax incentives. Many (but not all) inward features are UK films by virtue of their UK cultural content and the fact that they pass the Cultural Test administered by the UK Film Council Certification Unit on behalf of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

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 incentives

A VFX-only film is a film that has a substantial quantity of digital visual effects made in the UK at one of the UK's main VFX houses but no other UK spend.

Inward investment (INW) is the total of inward features, inward feature co-productions and VFX-only inward investment films. These are summed as the number of inward co-productions is usually low, so showing their budgets or UK spend separately would be disclosive.

A UK film is a film that has been certified as British by the DCMS or by the Certification Unit of the UK Film Council (acting on the authority of the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport) or which is a de facto UK film by virtue of being made in whole or part in the UK by a UK production company.

A US studio film is a film that is produced in whole or part by one of the major US studios or one of the major US studios' specialist subsidiaries.

An independent film is a film made by an independent production company or group of independent production companies.

US studio films are generally distributed in most territories by the parent studio. Independent films are usually distributed by different distributors in different territories.

UK FILM COUNCIL (www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk)

• The UK Film Council is the Government-backed lead agency for film in the UK, supporting the UK film industry, celebrating UK film culture and nurturing UK film talent at home and abroad. 
• Since its creation in 2000 the UK Film Council has backed more than 900 films, shorts and features, which have won over 300 awards and entertained more than 200 million people around the world.
• Its support develops new filmmakers, funds exciting new British films and gets a wider choice of films to audiences throughout the UK. It also invests in training British talent, promoting Britain as an international filmmaking location and raising the profile of British films abroad. In addition, it funds the British Film Institute.
• Films backed by the UK Film Council include Fish Tank, Bright Star, Man on Wire, In the Loop, Bend it like Beckham, The Constant Gardener, Gosford Park, Happy-Go-Lucky, Red Road, St Trinian's, This is England, Touching the Void, The Last King of Scotland, Vera Drake and The Wind That Shakes the Barley.
• Current UK Film Council funding initiatives include:
  • the world's first Digital Screen Network, which has invested in 240 digital screens in cinemas across the country, increasing film choice, bringing the 3D experience to a wider audience, and ensuring the UK has more digital screens than any other European country;
  • over 200 film societies and independent regional film venues;
  • UK film festivals, including the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival and the Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival;
  • working with Skillset, the UK skills and training industry body for the creative industries, to enable almost 7000 people to further their filmmaking careers;
  • giving over 20,000 young people the opportunity to get involved in filmmaking through First Light Movies and Mediabox;
  • sponsoring the pilot and now the current rollout of FILMCLUB to thousands of schools, introducing new generations of children to the best of British and international cinema.

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