AUDIENCES · popular genre in this age group, with Dracula Untold, Non-Stop and Edge of Tomorrow all attracting above-average audience shares (Table 1.3). Parents and carers in the

Image: Paddington courtesy of StudioCanal

BFI Research and Statistics PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2015

AUDIENCESImage: 12 Years a Slave courtesy of eOne Films

THE AUDIENCE LIES AT THE HEART OF A VIBRANT AND SUCCESSFUL FILM ECONOMY AND CULTURE, YET CURRENT INSIGHT STILL PROVIDES A LIMITED PERSPECTIVE ON AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT. NEW RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO SHOW THE FULL PICTURE OF THE AUDIENCE ON ALL PLATFORMS.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ In 2014, 15-24 year olds made up the largest proportion of the

UK cinema audience, at 31%.

■ UK films were popular across all demographic groups, with a particularly strong appeal for those aged 55 and above. Cinema-goers in this age group also showed a strong preference for UK independent films.

■ 22 Jump Street had the largest above-average audience share among the 15-24 age group, while Mr. Turner had the largest share among cinema-goers aged 55 and above.

■ A wide range of genres appealed to women, whereas men were drawn to films with a strong action element.

■ UK films attracted above-average audiences across the nations and regions with the exception of the South East and West and South West.

■ Black and minority ethnic groups were over-represented among cinema-goers, video rental and digital film consumers; disabled audiences were over-represented amongst video buyers.

AUDIENCES

AUDIENCES

BFI Statistical Yearbook 2015 - 3

AUDIENCES FOR FILM IN THE UK

In earlier editions of the Yearbook, we have been able to estimate the total size of the film audience in the UK based on data from a range of sources. In the last few years, however, while we have been able to track a significant growth in revenues for online services, we have been unable to define viewing figures for films accessed online via streaming or download-to-own, nor have we been able to define viewing figures for films watched on physical video such as DVD or Blu-ray. In 2014, television remained the most popular platform in the UK for watching film, while cinema-going outperformed physical video sales for the third year in a row, since our records began, and remains the largest single revenue source for the film industry.

In this report, we look at UK cinema admissions by age, cinema-goers’ film preferences by age, gender, geographical location and socio-economic status, and film consumption by ethnicity and disability.

CINEMA AUDIENCE BY AGE

Figure 1 shows the age trends of cinema admissions from 2003 to 2014. Trends for the 45-54 and 55+ age groups are presented separately for the first time for 2008 onwards, replacing the wider 45+ age group. Now that seven years worth of data are available, we are able to provide a richer picture of cinema admissions, and add value to the age preference tables later in the chapter. The relative proportion of admissions for each category has been broadly similar throughout the time period, with fluctuations based on the release of a small number of successful titles with a strong appeal to particular age groups. However, there was an upward trend in the percentage of the audience in the 15-24 age group between 2005 and 2011 with an increase from 26% to a peak of 35%. Overall, this age group has had the highest proportion of admissions throughout the period. Since 2008, while the share of admissions taken by cinema-goers in the 45-54 age group has remained stable at around 9%, the proportion of admissions for the 55+ age group has shown an upward trend, increasing from 9% in 2008 to 12% in 2014.

Interestingly, the shares of admissions for 7-14 and 35-44 year olds have been very similar which may be due to parents and carers taking their children to the cinema, a finding reflected in the next section showing films with above-average audiences for the different age groups.

4 - BFI Statistical Yearbook 2015

Figure 1 Age distribution of admissions, 2003-2014

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003

7-14 12.4 17.8 15.1 17.2 18.1 15.8 17.9 13.6 14.6 14.4 12.9 14.4

15-24 30.2 26.0 26.5 31.6 29.6 31.7 30.7 31.8 34.8 33.5 32.5 30.8

25-34 21.7 20.1 19.9 19.0 17.0 18.5 19.0 23.3 19.3 18.1 19.4 18.0

35-44 14.9 18.2 17.4 16.0 17.0 15.6 16.1 14.0 14.8 15.8 16.1 15.9

45+ 20.8 17.9 21.1 16.1 18.3 - - - - - - -

45-54 - - - - - 9.0 8.8 8.7 8.0 8.7 8.8 9.3

55+ - - - - - 9.4 7.5 8.7 8.3 9.4 10.4 11.5

Source: CAA, Film MonitorData for 2013 has been updated since the publication of the Statistical Yearbook 2014.

FILM PREFERENCES BY AGE

Tables 1.1-1.6 outline films with a statistically significant above-average audience share across different age groups to show the range of films that appealed most to each group in 2014. That is to say highlighting films where the difference between the average audience attendance and each age group attendance for a particular film is greater than a standard statistical threshold. UK films had a significant appeal across all age groups, particularly the older age groups.

Family films, fantasies and animations such as Muppets Most Wanted, Maleficent and How to Train Your Dragon 2 were of particular appeal to the 7-14 age group. The release with the highest significant above-average audience in this category was the independent UK film, Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?! (Table 1.1). Comedies and action films appealed most to 15-24 year olds, with 22 Jump Street, The Inbetweeners 2 and Godzilla attracting the highest significant above-average audiences. Interestingly, the ‘18’ certified The Wolf of Wall Street had a high appeal, with 45% of its audience coming from this age group (Table 1.2). The Wolf of Wall Street also appealed strongly to 25-34 year olds but action was the most popular genre in this age group, with Dracula Untold, Non-Stop and Edge of Tomorrow all attracting above-average audience shares (Table 1.3). Parents and carers in the 35-44 age group meant that a broad range of genres had significant appeal to cinema-goers in this category. The Lego Movie had the highest significant above-average audience share, followed by The Monuments Men and Dracula Untold (Table 1.4). A wide variety of genres were also popular with cinema-goers in the two older age groups, both of which showed a strong preference for independent UK titles. The Railway Man and Pride had the two highest above-average audience shares among the 45-54 age group (Table 1.5) while Mr. Turner and The Railway Man had the two highest shares among 55+ cinema-goers (Table 1.6).

%

AUDIENCES


Table 1.1 Films with a significant above-average audience in the 7-14 age group, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films1 Title Age group % of film’s total audience

Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?! (UK) 44

Muppets Most Wanted (UK) 38

How to Train Your Dragon 2 30

The Lego Movie 30

Paddington (UK) 29

Maleficent (UK) 29

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 23

Guardians of the Galaxy (UK) 17

7-14 age group share of top 20 and top UK audience (%) 13

7-14 age group in total survey population (%) 13

Source: CAA Film MonitorNotes:1. Audience data were only available for 24 of the 35 ‘top 20 films and top UK films’ released in 2014.‘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 the year, 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 Cinema Advertising Association (CAA) Film Monitor. CAA Film Monitor included 95 film titles (mostly mainstream) of the 712 theatrical releases in 2014. The Film Monitor survey is carried out via a fortnightly omnibus survey of over 1,000 adults and children aged 7+, of those who had been to the cinema in the last three months. Films are also age-filtered based on the film certificate.

Table 1.2 Films with a significant above-average audience in the 15-24 age group, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films Title Age group % of film’s total audience

22 Jump Street 68

The Inbetweeners 2 (UK) 49

Godzilla 47

The Wolf of Wall Street 45

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 44

Non-Stop (UK) 42

Dracula Untold (UK) 39

Captain America: The Winter Soldier 37

Interstellar 37

Hercules (UK) 37




Source: CAA Film MonitorSee notes to Table 1.1.





Interstellar 28

Non-Stop (UK) 26

Edge of Tomorrow (UK) 24

Transformers: Age of Extinction 22


The Lego Movie 21

X-Men: Days of Future Past 21

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 20




Table 1.4 Films with a significant above-average audience in the 35-44 age group, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films

Title Age group % of film’s total audience

The Lego Movie 25

The Monuments Men (UK) 23


Muppets Most Wanted (UK) 22




Paddington (UK) 19





AUDIENCES



The Railway Man (UK) 23

Pride (UK) 20

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (UK) 17

Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie (UK) 16

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 15

12 Years a Slave 14

Paddington (UK) 14




Table 1.6 Films with a significant above-average audience in the 55+ age group, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films

Title Age group % of film’s total audience

Mr. Turner (UK) 71


The Imitation Game (UK) 48

What We Did on Our Holiday (UK) 43

Pride (UK) 39


12 Years a Slave 33



Gone Girl 27

Paddington (UK) 18

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 16

55+ age group share of top 20 and top UK audience (%) 14

55+ age group in total survey population (%) 12

Source: CAA Film Monitor.See notes to Table 1.1.


FILM PREFERENCES BY GENDER

The overall audience for the top 20 and top UK films in 2014 had a slight bias towards males who made up 53% of total cinema-goers for these films. On an individual basis, some films attracted substantially more of one gender than the other. Table 1.7 shows the top six films with statistically significant above-average male and female audiences, and the six films that had no significant gender appeal. Films with a strong action element were particularly popular among male audiences with Fury, Interstellar and Godzilla topping the list of films with a greater appeal. Female audiences were drawn to a broader range of films, with What We Did on Our Holiday, Maleficent and Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?! having the greatest above-average appeal. Female audiences had a stronger preference for UK films in 2014 compared to males, with all of the top six films with an above-average female audience share being British.

Table 1.7 Audience gender split, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films

Significant greater male audience share Male % Female %

Fury (UK) 70 30

Interstellar 70 30

Godzilla 69 31

Hercules (UK) 69 31

Captain America: The Winter Soldier 68 32

Edge of Tomorrow (UK) 67 33

Significant greater female audience share Male % Female %

What We Did on Our Holiday (UK) 28 72

Maleficent (UK) 29 71

Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?! (UK) 35 65

The Railway Man (UK) 38 62

Paddington (UK) 38 62

Muppets Most Wanted (UK) 38 62

Gender difference not significant Male % Female %

The Inbetweeners 2 (UK) 53 47

The Lego Movie 52 48

12 Years a Slave 51 49

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 51 49

The Imitation Game (UK) 51 49

Pride (UK) 49 51


AUDIENCES


FILM PREFERENCES BY SOCIAL GROUP

UK films were popular among all social groups in 2014, often attracting a significant above-average audience share. Tables 1.8-1.11 outline the films with the strongest significant appeal to each group in the year.

The AB social group was attracted to a broad range of genres, with Mr. Turner, Gone Girl, The Railway Man and What We Did on Our Holiday recording the highest significant above-average audiences. All of the UK films that appealed most to this group were independent titles (Table 1.8).

Table 1.8 Films with significant above-average AB audience share, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films Title AB group % of film’s total audience

Mr. Turner (UK) 55

Gone Girl 45



Pride (UK) 42

Paddington (UK) 42

The Imitation Game (UK) 41

12 Years a Slave 39

AB share of top 20 and top UK audience (%) 31

AB in total survey population (%) 30


Only two films, both of which were US studio titles, had significant above-average C1 audience shares: The Wolf of Wall Street and Interstellar (Table 1.9).

Table 1.9 Films with significant above-average C1 audience share, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films

Title C1 group % of film’s total audience


Interstellar 41

C1 share of top 20 and top UK audience (%) 36

C1 in total survey population (%) 35

Source: CAA Film Monitor.See notes to Table 1.1.

Comedy, action, adventure and fantasy films appealed most to the C2 and DE groups (Tables 1.10 and 1.11). Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie attracted the highest above-average audience for both groups, followed by Edge of Tomorrow and Maleficent for the C2 group and Dracula Untold for the DE group.


Table 1.10 Films with significant above-average C2 audience share, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films

Title C2 group % of film’s total audience



Maleficent (UK) 24



C2 share of top 20 and top UK audience (%) 19

C2 in total survey population (%) 18


Table 1.11 Films with significant above-average DE audience share, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films Title DE group % of film’s total audience



Hercules (UK) 23


The Lego Movie 19

DE share of top 20 and top UK audience (%) 16

DE in total survey population (%) 15


FILM PREFERENCES BY NATION OR REGION

The national/regional distribution of audiences for the 2014 top 20 films and top UK films focuses on releases that attracted an above-average audience in each ISBA television region as defined by the Cinema Advertising Association (for ease of understanding the data are presented by geographic region). Every region had at least two films which attracted an above-average audience, except the North West which had only one top film with a significant above-average audience. UK films attracted above-average audiences in each nation or region apart from the South East and West and South West. Tables 1.12-1.16 show the nations or regions which had three or more films with a significant above-average audience to give an impression of the range of films that appealed most in each area.

In the East of England, all the films with a significant above-average audience were UK films, with Dracula Untold and The Monuments Men having the most appeal (Table 1.12).

AUDIENCES


Table 1.12 Films with significant above-average East of England audience share, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films

Title East of England % of film’s total audience





East of England share of top 20 and top UK audience (%) 7

East of England in total survey population (%) 7

Source: CAA Film Monitor.East of England corresponds to the ISBA Anglia region.See notes to Table 1.1.

The biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom attracted the highest significant above-average audience in London and the home counties, followed by 12 Years a Slave and Edge of Tomorrow (Table 1.13).

Table 1.13 Films with significant above-average London and the home counties audience share, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films

Title London/home counties % of film’s total audience


12 Years a Slave 29


Hercules (UK) 28




London/home counties share of top 20 and top UK audience (%) 22

London/home counties in total survey population (%) 23

Source: CAA Film MonitorLondon and the home counties corresponds to the ISBA LWT Carlton region.See notes to Table 1.1.

A UK comedy headed the list of films with significant above-average audiences in Yorkshire and The Humber. The releases with the most appeal were Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie, The Railway Man and Edge of Tomorrow (Table 1.14).


Table 1.14 Films with significant above-average Yorkshire and The Humber audience share, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films

Title Yorkshire and The Humber % of film’s total audience







Yorkshire and The Humber share of top 20 and top UK audience (%) 8

Yorkshire and The Humber in total survey population (%) 9

Source: CAA Film MonitorYorkshire and The Humber corresponds to the ISBA Yorkshire region.See notes to Table 1.1.

The releases with the highest significant above-average audiences in both Wales and Scotland were based on home-grown characters and locations. Pride had the largest above-average audience share in Wales (Table 1.15) while What We Did on Our Holiday had the largest share in Scotland (Table 1.16).

Table 1.15 Films with significant above-average Wales audience share, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films

Title Wales % of film’s total audience

Pride (UK) 13

Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?! (UK) 12

Mr. Turner (UK) 11

Paddington (UK) 11


Wales share of top 20 and top UK audience (%) 7

Wales in total survey population (%) 7

Source: CAA Film MonitorWales corresponds to the ISBA HTV region.See notes to Table 1.1.

AUDIENCES


Table 1.16 Films with significant above-average Scotland audience share, 2014 top 20 films and top UK films

Title Scotland % of film’s total audience





Scotland share of top 20 and top UK audience (%) 9

Scotland in total survey population (%) 9

Source: CAA Film MonitorScotland corresponds to the ISBA Border, STV and Grampian regions.See notes to Table 1.1.

FILM AUDIENCE BY ETHNICITY Looking across film platforms, black and minority ethnic groups (Asian, Chinese, mixed and other) were over-represented among paying theatrical, physical video and digital rental audiences, and under-represented among video buyers, ie they comprised a greater proportion of buyers on these platforms than their proportion of the total population (Table 1.17). White audiences were over-represented among video buyers and under-represented among film consumers on other platforms.

Table 1.17 Ethnicity of audiences aged 13+ for cinema, rental and retail video and digital, 2014

Black, Asian, Chinese, mixed and

other %

White %

Population aged 13+ 7.8 92.2

Total buyers of cinema, rental, retail and digital film 8.0 92.0

Cinema-goers 10.3 89.6

Video buyers 4.5 95.5

Video renters 9.3 90.7

Digital buyers and renters 8.9 91.2

Source: Kantar WorldpanelNotes: Fieldwork took place in March 2015. Video includes all physical video formats, including DVD, Universal Media Disc, high-definition DVD and Blu-ray. Digital includes subscription VoD services.


FILM AUDIENCES BY DISABILITY

As in previous years, disabled people were under-represented across all film platforms with the exception of video sell-through, where they made up over 20% of purchasers (Table 1.18). Disabled audiences were particularly under-represented among cinema-goers.

Table 1.18 Disabled audiences aged 13+ for cinema, retail and rental video and digital, 2014

Disabled % Not disabled %

Population aged 13+ 18.5 81.5

Total buyers of cinema, rental, retail and digital film 17.6 81.4

Cinema-goers 13.3 86.7

Video buyers 20.3 79.7

Video renters 14.5 85.5

Digital buyers and renters 16.0 84.0

Source: Kantar WorldpanelSee notes to Table 1.17.

21 Stephen Street, London W1T 1LN bfi.org.uk/statistics

BFI Research and Statistics PUBLISHED DECEMBER 2015

DISTRIBUTIONImage: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Licensed By: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

THE INCREASINGLY CROWDED THEATRICAL MARKETPLACE IS DOMINATED BY A FEW VERY LARGE COMPANIES. IN 2014, THE TOP 10 DISTRIBUTORS GENERATED £1.1 BILLION IN THEATRICAL REVENUES, WHILE THE REMAINDER MADE £42 MILLION.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ The top 10 distributors had a 96% share of the market in 2014,

the same as in 2013.

■ The market share for distributors outside the top 10, at 3.7%, was the lowest since 2005.

■ Weekdays (Monday to Thursday) accounted for 41% of the box office in 2014, slightly less than in 2013.

■ Opening weekends represented 28% of the total box office.

■ The estimated total amount spent by distributors on advertising films released theatrically was just over £195 million.

■ The average advertising spend for UK studio-backed films was £1.3 million, compared with £1.4 million in 2013; the average spend for UK independent films was £0.2 million, the same as in 2013.

DISTRIBUTION

DISTRIB

UTIO

N

BFI Statistical Yearbook 2015 - 3BFI Statistical Yearbook 2015 - 3

DISTRIBUTORS

Table 1.1 shows that the top 10 distributors had a 96% share of the market in 2014 from the release of 316 titles (37% of all releases). The share is the same as in 2013 when the top 10 distributors also took 96% of the total box office from 310 releases (38% of all releases). A further 130 distributors were involved in the theatrical release of films in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2014, compared with 117 companies outside the top 10 in 2013. These distributors handled a total of 545 titles (63% of all releases) but gained less than 4% of the total box office.

The leading distributor was 20th Century Fox, which released three of the top 10 films of 2014: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: Days of Future Past and How to Train Your Dragon 2. Table 1.1 shows box office takings by distributor for all films on release during 2014, and hence includes the box office takings of films which were released in 2013 but remained on release into 2014. In second place in the list of top 10 distributors is Warner Bros whose highest earning films include the best performing film at the UK box office in 2014, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, and the top performing animated feature, The Lego Movie.

Table 1.1 Distributor share of box office, UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014

Distributor Market share (%)

Films on release in 2014

Box office gross (£ million)

20th Century Fox 21.8 47 248.5

Warner Bros 15.9 38 181.3

Universal 11.2 31 126.9

Walt Disney 10.1 24 114.4

eOne Films 8.0 42 91.0

StudioCanal 6.7 48 76.7

Sony Pictures 6.2 27 70.0

Paramount 5.8 14 65.7

Lionsgate 5.5 26 62.2

Entertainment 5.2 19 59.3

Sub-total 96.3 316 1,096.0

Others (130 distributors) 3.7 545 42.0

Total 100.0 861 1,138.0

Source: RentrakNotes:The total number of films on release differs from Table 1.6 as it includes all films on release in 2014, including titles first released in 2013. Box office gross = cumulative box office total for all films handled by the distributor in the period 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2014.Figures may not sum to sub-totals due to rounding.

The distributors’ market shares fluctuate from year to year (Table 1.2). 20th Century Fox was the leading distributor of 2014 (as well as 2006 and 2009) and Warner Bros, the leading distributor of 2013, is in second place. The top independent distributor in 2014 was eOne Films, whose titles included 12 Years a Slave and Divergent as well as UK independent films, Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?! and Mr. Turner.


The same distributors consistently appear in the top 10. In all years up to 2012, with one exception, the major US studios took the leading places in the list with only six different independent distributors appearing in the top 10 over the 11-year period. However, following the consolidation of a number of the independents, this pattern is beginning to change. In 2013 eOne Films appeared in fifth place ahead of both Sony Pictures and Paramount, while in 2014 both eOne Films and StudioCanal appeared ahead of these two studio distributors. In addition, in 2014 Lionsgate outperformed Paramount, pushing it into ninth place in the top 10. In the last few years, the share of box office generated by distributors outside the top 10 has ranged from under 3% in 2005 to just below 8% in 2009. The share in 2014, at 3.7% was the lowest since 2006.

Table 1.2 Distributor market share as percentage of box office gross, 2005-2014 (ranked by 2014 market share) Distributor 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

20th Century Fox 14.3 20.9 13.9 9.4 16.6 15.9 12.1 16.1 13.1 21.8

Warner Bros 18.2 8.2 15.6 11.0 11.2 18.3 18.2 12.9 17.2 15.9

Universal – – 13.9 18.5 10.5 10.2 11.8 10.7 15.1 11.2

Walt Disney 13.1 15.7 10.7 9.9 12.4 14.0 8.7 10.2 15.2 10.1

eOne Films – – – – 4.9 5.5 5.1 6.7 9.0 8.0

Optimum/StudioCanal* – – – – – 2.2 3.8 – 2.8 6.7

Sony Pictures 6.8 16.1 8.2 12.5 11.3 6.9 7.2 18.0 8.7 6.2

Paramount – – 14.7 16.9 10.8 14.8 16.3 7.7 7.8 5.8

Lionsgate 0.3 2.4 2.3 2.5 2.9 3.5 – 5.7 4.7 5.5

Entertainment 9.4 7.9 9.5 8.0 8.6 2.5 6.7 3.1 1.9 5.2

Momentum** 1.9 2.3 3.4 3.5 – – 4.6 4.3 – –

Pathé 3.4 3.2 1.3 2.1 2.9 – – – – –

UIP*** 29.1 18.9 – – – – – – – –

Top 10 total# 97.3 96.4 94.5 94.5 92.2 93.7 94.4 95.4 95.5 96.3

Others 2.7 3.6 5.5 5.5 7.8 6.3 5.6 4.6 4.5 3.7

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: RentrakNotes: Percentages may not sum to sub-totals due to rounding.* Optimum Releasing, the UK subsidiary of StudioCanal, was rebranded as StudioCanal in September 2011.** Momentum was taken over by eOne Films in January 2013.*** Until 2006 Paramount and Universal distributed jointly as UIP.# Top 10 total refers to the top 10 distributors of that particular year.

Tables 1.3 to 1.5 show the top 10 distributors of specialised films, foreign language films, and UK independent films in 2014.

DISTRIB

UTIO

N


The BFI considers films that do not sit easily within a mainstream commercial genre to be ‘specialised’. A total of 458 specialised films were released in the UK in 2014 (just under two thirds of all releases), grossing £99 million (9% of the total box office). The top 10 distributors of these films released 106 specialised titles, which took £79 million at the box office (Table 1.3). The distributor with the highest box office share for specialised films was eOne Films with a total gross of £38 million. It released 10 films in this category in 2014 including the top two grossing specialised titles, 12 Years a Slave and Mr. Turner. Second in the list was 20th Century Fox, which released eleven specialised titles including The Book Thief. Lionsgate is third in the list with three releases including the third highest earning specialised film of the year, The Railway Man. StudioCanal and Soda Pictures released the highest number of specialised films in 2014, with 28 and 21 releases respectively. Soda Pictures just missed out on the list as its final box office tally for the year was £1.2 million.

Table 1.3 Top 10 distributors of specialised films in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014 (ranked by box office gross)

Distributor Number of films released in 2014

Average widest point of release


eOne Films 10 208 37.6

20th Century Fox 11 159 9.2

Lionsgate 3 347 6.9

UTV Motion Pictures 7 73 5.1

StudioCanal 28 23 4.9

Entertainment 5 196 3.8

Curzon Film World* 20 32 3.6

Universal 2 156 3.2

Yash Raj Films 8 41 2.3

Eros International 12 39 2.1

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes: The list includes distributors releasing two or more specialised films in 2014.* Includes the distribution labels Artificial Eye, Chelsea Films and Curzon Film World Releasing.

Foreign language films accounted for 36% of releases at the UK box office in 2014. The top 10 distributors of foreign language films released 79 of the total 255 titles (Table 1.4). French was the most popular non-English language for films released in the year, followed by Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam. Companies releasing films from the South Asian subcontinent – such as UTV Motion Pictures, Yash Raj Films and Eros International – feature highly in the list.

UTV Motion Pictures, whose titles include the highest grossing foreign language film of the year, PK (in Hindi), had the biggest share of the box office overall (£5.1 million). StudioCanal released the most foreign language titles (20) in 2014, however as most of its films had limited releases it does not appear in the top 10 list. eOne Films, which is sixth in the list, released the highest grossing non-Hindi foreign language film of 2014, The Raid 2 (in Indonesian), while Curzon Film World, which is second in the list, released the top earning European foreign language film of the year, Two Days, One Night (in French).


Table 1.4 Top 10 distributors of foreign language films in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014 (ranked by box office gross)




UTV Motion Pictures* 7 73 5.1

Curzon Film World** 11 24 2.4

Yash Raj Films 8 41 2.3

Eros International 12 39 2.1



Ayngaran 18 16 1.1

B4U Network 10 24 1.1

Reliance Big Entertainment 6 34 0.8

Dharam Seva Films 2 15 0.8

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes: The list includes distributors releasing two or more foreign language titles in 2014.* Includes titles released under the UTV/IG Interactive label.** See note to Table 1.3.

The combined box office gross for all independent UK films released in 2014 was £173 million (16% of the total box office) from 143 releases. The 55 films released by the top 10 distributors of independent UK titles accounted for £170 million, which equates to 98% of the total box office generated by this category (Table 1.5). The distributor with the largest share in 2014 was StudioCanal, as in 2013, which handled three of the top five performing UK independent films, Paddington, The Imitation Game and Non-Stop. Second in the list is Entertainment Film Distributors which released the second highest earning UK independent film of the year, The Inbetweeners 2.

Table 1.5 Top 10 distributors of UK independent films in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014 (ranked by box office gross)




StudioCanal 9 315 73.0

Entertainment 2 344 33.5


Lionsgate 7 365 17.3


Warner Bros 3 222 3.5

Vertigo Films 3 260 3.0

Universal 3 300 2.2

Curzon Film World* 6 55 1.4

Metrodome 8 34 1.0

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes: The list includes distributors releasing two or more UK independent films in 2014.* See note to Table 1.3.

DISTRIB

UTIO

N


WIDTH OF RELEASETable 1.6 shows the numbers and percentages of releases by widest point of release from 2007 to 2014. While the total number of films released has increased each year since 2007 (with the exception of 2009), the majority of the increase is accounted for by films shown at fewer than 50 sites. Consistently, from 2007 to 2014 around 60% of releases have been shown at fewer than 50 sites, with more than one third of releases each year being shown at fewer than 10 sites.

Table 1.6 Numbers and percentages of releases by widest point of release, 2007-2014

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Sites at widest point of release

Number of

releases

% of releases

Number of

releases

% of releases

Number of

releases

% of releases

Number of

releases

% of releases

Number of

releases

% of releases

Number of

releases

% of releases

Number of

releases

% of releases

Number of

releases

% of releases

≥500 9 1.7 9 1.7 9 1.8 13 2.3 19 3.4 26 4.0 31 4.4 39 5.5

400 – 499 35 6.8 34 6.5 46 9.1 51 9.2 57 10.2 43 6.6 53 7.6 46 6.5

300 – 399 44 8.5 60 11.4 53 10.5 48 8.6 44 7.9 51 7.9 42 6.0 49 6.9

200 – 299 41 7.9 31 5.9 30 6.0 28 5.0 26 4.7 24 3.7 19 2.7 21 2.9

100 – 199 40 7.7 25 4.7 32 6.4 37 6.6 41 7.3 36 5.6 36 5.2 30 4.2

50 – 99 43 8.3 43 8.2 31 6.2 36 6.5 41 7.3 56 8.7 64 9.2 58 8.1

10 – 49 134 25.9 119 22.6 105 20.9 129 23.2 138 24.7 166 25.7 210 30.1 190 26.7

<10 171 33.1 206 39.1 197 39.2 215 38.6 192 34.4 245 37.9 243 34.8 279 39.2

Total 517 100.0 527 100.0 503 100.0 557 100.0 558 100.0 647 100.0 698 100.0 712 100.0

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNote: Percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.

As mentioned above, from 2007 to 2014 more films were shown at fewer than 50 sites at their widest point of release than in any other category. To 2011, films released at the greatest number of sites (500+) had the lowest number of releases, but the pattern has changed in the last three years with fewer films being released at 200-299 sites than films released at 500 sites or more. As Figure 1.1 illustrates, during the period the trend in the number of films released at 200-299 sites has shown a gradual decrease. In the other widest point of release bands (50-99, 100-199, 300-399 and 400-499 sites) the numbers of releases vary and no consistent patterns are evident.


Figure 1.1 Numbers of releases by widest point of release, 2007-2014

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

In 2014, 59.2% of box office revenue was taken at weekends (Friday to Sunday), a similar proportion to the 58.9% seen in 2013 (Table 1.7). The pattern of box office takings by day has remained consistent for the last seven years.

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

20142013201220112010200920082007

Number of releases

≥500 9 9 9 13 19 26 31 39

400 – 499 35 34 46 51 57 43 53 46

300 – 399 44 60 53 48 44 51 42 49

200 – 299 41 31 30 28 26 24 19 21

100 – 199 40 25 32 37 41 36 36 30

50 – 99 43 43 31 36 41 56 64 58

10 – 49 134 119 105 129 138 166 210 190

<10 171 206 197 215 192 245 243 279

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysis

DISTRIB

UTIO

N


Table 1.7 Box office percentage share by weekday/weekend, 2004-2014

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Friday 15.3 18.0 16.5 16.4 16.7 16.4 16.0 16.6 16.4 15.8 15.3

Saturday 24.5 27.0 25.1 27.8 24.4 24.0 24.1 23.8 24.1 24.9 25.2

Sunday 19.9 19.0 18.7 19.3 18.3 17.8 18.5 17.6 17.6 18.2 18.8

Weekend 59.7 64.0 60.3 63.5 59.4 58.2 58.6 57.9 58.1 58.9 59.2

Monday 9.7 8.0 9.5 7.2 9.4 9.2 9.5 9.2 9.3 8.9 9.1

Tuesday 10.1 8.0 9.5 9.0 9.5 9.5 9.3 9.1 9.3 9.4 9.4

Wednesday 10.7 10.0 10.9 11.6 11.9 13.7 13.2 13.9 13.4 12.6 12.4

Thursday 9.8 10.0 9.7 8.7 9.9 9.5 9.3 9.8 9.8 10.2 9.8

Weekday 40.3 36.0 39.7 36.5 40.7 41.8 41.4 42.1 41.9 41.1 40.8

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: RentrakNote: Percentages may not sum to weekend/weekday sub-totals due to rounding.

For many films the opening weekend box office represents a significant proportion of their total theatrical gross. Overall, the opening weekend box office as a share of total theatrical revenue was 28% in 2014 (Table 1.8). The year’s top film, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, took £9.8 million on its opening weekend, which represented nearly 24% of its total gross (to 22 February 2015). Of the top 10 films, those with the highest percentage of total box office taken on the opening weekend were The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, with 41% (to 22 February 2015), and The Inbetweeners 2, with 38%. Only two of the top 10 films took less than 20% of their total box office tally on their opening weekends. These were the top earning UK film of the year, Paddington, whose opening weekend take was just under 14% of its gross (to 22 February 2015), and How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2% of its final gross). How to Train Your Dragon 2 had the lowest opening gross of the year’s top 20 films. However, it was on release for a total of 36 weeks, so it is not surprising that its opening weekend’s takings were a small percentage of its final gross. By contrast, Paddington had been on release for just 14 weeks to 22 February 2015.

Table 1.8 Opening weekend as percentage of total box office, 2007-2014

% of total in opening weekend

Range of box office (£ million)

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

≥30 35.8 21.7 18.8 27.4 29.4 27.0 24.0 27.1

20 – 29.9 30.2 31.0 23.0 35.8 22.6 22.4 30.9 21.9

10 – 19.9 20.0 29.2 32.2 26.1 27.6 24.6 27.6 30.9

5 – 9.9 25.4 27.6 26.1 26.7 26.2 26.1 28.4 25.9

1 – 4.9 28.1 27.4 30.3 30.4 32.2 31.8 32.1 30.3

0.2 – 0.9 31.9 34.1 35.5 31.9 35.5 37.7 37.0 36.7

<0.2 34.1 34.8 36.5 34.8 38.5 37.8 38.3 40.0

All films 28.5 27.3 26.1 28.6 28.1 26.8 28.4 27.9

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


RELEASE COSTS

The opening weekend is recognised as being crucial to the success of a film, both in cinemas and on subsequent release platforms. A good opening weekend, for example, may encourage exhibitors to continue to screen a film which is particularly important for independent films which do not have the backing of the major studios.

Distributors invest heavily in advertising across all media (outdoor posters, print media, television, radio and online) in order to raise a film’s profile with potential audiences. The estimated total advertising spend by distributors in 2014 was just over £195 million, up 3% from £189 million in 2013 (Table 1.9). Although 712 films were released in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2014 compared with 698 in 2013, the average advertising spend per film, at £0.27 million, was the same. Press spend has fallen by 20% and radio spend has fallen by 53% since 2003, while spend on TV and outdoor advertising have increased by 65% and 38% respectively over the same period.

Table 1.9 Estimated advertising spend, 2003 and 2007-2014

(£ million)

Medium 2003 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

TV 61.2 74.1 79.3 74.3 76.0 90.8 89.1 89.2 101.0

Outdoor 46.6 65.3 56.2 57.0 61.0 69.1 67.2 71.2 64.2

Press 30.1 27.0 22.6 19.9 19.9 22.0 21.5 20.7 24.2

Radio 9.7 8.4 9.4 10.7 7.6 6.8 6.8 5.9 4.6

Internet – 4.7 4.5 6.4 6.1 8.5 4.0 2.5 1.1

Total 147.6 179.5 172.0 168.3 170.6 197.2 188.6 189.4 195.1

Source: Nielsen Media ResearchNote: Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Figure 1.2 shows the percentage share of advertising spend by medium between 2007 and 2014. Over the period the highest proportion of advertising spend has been allocated to TV and outdoor advertisements. In 2014 the combined proportion of spend on these two media represented 85% of all advertising spend, with TV alone accounting for over 50% of the total for the first time in the period. The spend on advertising in the press has been on a downward curve from 2007 but there was a slight rise in 2014, compared with the previous year. In 2014 press advertising represented just over 12% of the total spend, compared with 15% in 2007. In most years, advertising on the internet accounted for the lowest proportion of spend compared with other media, but it increased every year from 2007 to 2011, when it overtook the percentage spent on radio advertising. Since then the proportion has decreased ever year. In 2014 it accounted for just 0.6% of all advertising spend, its lowest level in the period. This can be partly explained by a major change in the Nielsen Media Research methodology for collecting internet ad spend data. The new method, applied in October 2014, significantly reduces the estimation of online spend from Q2 2013 onwards.

DISTRIB

UTIO

N


Figure 1.2 Percentage share of advertising spend by medium, 2007-2014

Approximately £50 million was spent on advertising British films in 2014, up from £44 million in 2013, although more UK films were released in 2014 than in 2013 (156 compared with 139). The advertising spend for studio-backed UK films was £17 million (£1.3 million per film on average, compared with £1.4 million in 2013). Our data on advertising spend for individual films show that the amount spent on advertising independent UK films was £33 million (an average of £0.2 million per film, the same as in 2013), but this is likely to be an underestimate as some advertising spend for smaller films is not allocated to individual titles but to generic spend by distributor.

Using the information on advertising spend, and estimating print costs, the total release costs for various release widths can be estimated. When all cinema screens used 35mm prints, we estimated print costs at £1,000 per print. However, at the end of 2014 all cinema screens were equipped for digital projection. Working with both analogue and digital distribution, as well as striking and refurbishing 35mm prints, distributors incur digital mastering and duplication costs and in many instances now Virtual Print Fees. Although it is likely that producing a digital print is cheaper than producing a 35mm print, no in-depth research has been carried out on the average cost for a combination of digital and 35mm prints, taking account of these extra costs. In the absence of any empirical data on the current average cost, we have continued to use the same estimate as when all prints were analogue.

So, keeping the estimate of a typical cost of £1,000 per print and adding the Nielsen Media Research advertising spend estimate (+20% for other public relations campaigns, publicity and premiere costs), the average release cost for different levels of theatrical release can be calculated (Table 1.10). The average cost of release for films shown across the widest number of cinemas (500+) in 2014 was £2.9 million, down slightly from £3 million in 2013. In all other categories the average release costs were similar to the 2013 figures.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

20142013201220112010200920082007

%

TV 41.3 46.1 44.1 44.5 46.0 47.2 47.1 51.8

Outdoor 36.4 32.7 33.9 35.8 35.0 35.6 37.6 32.9

Press 15.0 13.1 11.8 11.7 11.2 11.4 10.9 12.4

Radio 4.7 5.5 6.4 4.5 3.4 3.6 3.1 2.4

Internet 2.6 2.6 3.8 3.6 4.3 2.1 1.3 0.6

Source: Nielsen Media Research


Table 1.10 Estimated release cost by width of release, 2008-2014

Number of sites at widest point of release

Average release

cost 2008 (£ million)

Average release


Average release


Average release


Average release


Average release


Average release


500+ 3.95 3.40 2.65 3.14 3.13 3.04 2.94

400 – 499 2.21 2.05 2.09 2.17 1.99 2.04 2.04

300 – 399 1.39 1.32 1.24 1.38 1.28 1.15 1.21

200 – 299 0.90 0.84 0.77 0.82 0.83 0.76 0.76

100 – 199 0.43 0.51 0.33 0.31 0.36 0.30 0.35

50 – 99 0.18 0.21 0.20 0.16 0.12 0.13 0.18

10 – 49 0.08 0.06 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.05

<10 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01

Source: Nielsen Media Research, Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNote: The print costs calculations assume print costs for a combination of digital and analogue distribution are the same as for analogue distribution.

Table 1.11 shows the average release cost by production budget for the 130 UK films released in 2014 for which budget information is available. The average release costs increased with the size of the production budget, with the largest increase being seen between films in the £5-£9.9 million budget range and those made for £10 million or more. However, the highest budget films are most likely to have the highest promotional spend, in particular the large scale inward investment films backed by the major US studios which have considerable marketing budgets. In the top budget band, the average release cost for the studio-backed films was £2.4 million and the average release cost for independent films was £1.6 million.

Table 1.11 Estimated release cost by budget for UK films, 2014

Budget (£ million) Number of films Average release cost (£ million)

10+ 20 2.02

5 – 9.9 20 1.10

2 – 4.9 16 0.55

0.5 – 1.9 31 0.20

<0.5 43 0.04

All films 130 0.59

Source: Nielsen Media Research, BFI RSU analysisSee note to Table 1.10.




EXHIBITIONImage: Wadjda courtesy of Soda Pictures

THE OVERALL NUMBER OF SCREENS IN THE UK CONTINUES TO RISE, MAINLY DUE THE INCREASING NUMBER OF MULTIPLEX CINEMAS. HOWEVER, AUGMENTING COMMERCIAL CINEMA IS A THRIVING VOLUNTARY SECTOR IN FILM EXHIBITION, AND FILM SOCIETY ADMISSIONS ARE HIGHEST IN AREAS LESS WELL SERVED BY COMMERCIAL CINEMAS.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ At the end of 2014, the UK had 3,909 screens, 42 more than 2013,

in 750 cinemas.

■ There were just over six screens for every 100,000 people, the same as in 2013.

■ Only 7% of screens showed mainly ‘specialised’ (ie non-mainstream) programming, with 0.1% dedicated to South Asian films.

■ According to IHS all screens in the UK are now equipped for digital projection.

■ Just over one third (36%) of community cinemas, which responded to the latest Cinema For All annual survey, saw an increase in their annual admissions compared with 2012/13; 49% recorded roughly the same number.

■ The average ticket price at commercial cinemas was £6.72.

EXHIBITION

EXHIB

ITIO

N


UK CINEMA SITES

Figure 1.1 shows the number of cinema sites in the UK from 2002 to 2014. The total number of sites has fluctuated over the period with a low of 644 in 2004 and a high of 769 in 2012. There were 750 cinemas in the UK in 2014. This fluctuation has mainly been driven by the changes in the number of traditional and mixed use sites (mixed use screens are used for film screenings only part of the time). The number of these sites has decreased from a high point of 481 in 2012 to 449 in 2014. The number of purpose-built multiplex sites, however, has steadily risen from 229 in 2002 to 301 in 2014. Multiplexes made up 40% of all cinema sites in 2014.

Figure 1.1 UK cinema sites by type of site, 2002-2014

UK SCREENS

As Figure 1.2 shows, the total number of cinema screens in the UK (excluding those operated in venues such as schools and private screening rooms) has risen every year since 1999. Due to increases in the number of multiplex screens, in 2014 the total number of screens stood at 3,909, a rise of 42 compared with 2013.

The UK has gained 1,335 multiplex screens (see definition in the note to Figure 1.1) since 1999 and lost 184 traditional or mixed use screens. The percentage of multiplex screens increased from 59% in 1999 to 75% in 2009, and this proportion has been maintained since then.

Number of sites

Multiplex 229 234 238 242 249 258 269 275 278 285 288 295 301

Traditional and mixed use

439 444 406 417 448 469 457 448 438 460 481 461 449

Total sites 668 678 644 659 697 727 726 723 716 745 769 756 750

% multiplex sites 34 35 37 37 36 35 37 38 39 38 37 39 40

Source: Dodona Research, BFI RSU analysisNotes: Data on cinema sites before 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.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

2014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002


Figure 1.2 UK cinema screens by type of cinema, 1999-2014

2014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999

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 2,833 2,851 2,915 2,959

Traditional and mixed use 1,134 1,080 1,049 959 956 916 904 928 936 921 916 904 934 966 952 950

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 3,767 3,817 3,867 3,909

% 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 75.2 74.7 75.4 75.7

Source: Dodona Research, BFI RSU analysisSee notes to Figure 1.1.

0

500

1000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

Number of screens

SCREEN LOCATION

In 2014, 97% of all screens in the UK were located in town or city centres, edge of centre, ‘out of town’ or suburban locations.

Table 1.1 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 2014, there was one screen fewer in suburban locations, compared with 2013, and five fewer screens in rural locations, but an increase in the numbers of screens in the other locations.

Table 1.1 Screens by location, 2003-2014

Location 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 % change

2013- 2014

Average no. of

screens per site

Town/city centre 1,470 1,502 1,495 1,555 1,616 1,683 1,732 1,726 1,785 1,848 1,866 1,901 1.9 4.1

Out of town 1,234 1,243 1,250 1,262 1,284 1,303 1,297 1,311 1,335 1,310 1,328 1,335 0.5 9.7

Edge of centre 464 465 479 478 486 499 498 506 518 523 534 540 1.1 9.0

Suburban 33 33 38 40 30 30 27 28 28 27 26 25 -3.8 1.9

Rural 117 99 95 105 98 95 97 100 101 109 113 108 -4.4 1.5

Total 3,318 3,342 3,357 3,440 3,514 3,610 3,651 3,671 3,767 3,817 3,867 3,909 1.1 5.2

Source: Dodona Research, BFI RSU analysis

EXHIB

ITIO

N


SCREEN DENSITY AND ADMISSIONS PER PERSON

A standard way to gauge the level of cinema provision is by ‘screen density’, ie the number of screens per unit of population. According to IHS, in 2014 the UK had 6.1 screens per 100,000 people, the same as in 2013. However, the average admissions per person was 2.4, compared with 2.6 in 2013.

As in previous editions of the Yearbook 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.

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 2014 using these television regions are presented in Table 1.2. The population estimates for the ISBA regions are based on 2011 census data and so the UK total shown in the Table is lower than the UK population shown in Table 1.3 which is the official mid-2013 population estimate. The lower UK population total figure shown in Table 1.2 also results in the figures for screen density and admissions per person shown in the Table being higher than the corresponding IHS estimates.

Although London had the highest numbers of screens and sites, its screen density, at 6.7 screens per 100,000 people, was lower than that of Northern Ireland (10.8) and Central Scotland (6.8) and only slightly higher than the Wales and West (6.6) and South West (6.4) ISBA regions. The North East had the lowest screen density (4.6) among all ISBA regions.

Table 1.2 Screens and admissions by ISBA TV region, 2014 (ranked by screens per 100,000 people)

ISBA TV region

Screens per 100,000 people

Screens % of total

screens

Sites Population (000)*

Admissions (000)

Admissions per screen

Admissions per person

Northern Ireland 10.8 194 5.0 27 1,798 5,604 28,885 3.1

Central Scotland 6.8 246 6.3 38 3,626 10,521 42,769 2.9

London 6.7 866 22.2 155 12,898 40,135 46,345 3.1

Wales and West 6.6 322 8.2 75 4,876 11,226 34,864 2.3

South West 6.4 117 3.0 37 1,836 3,786 32,361 2.1

Northern Scotland 6.2 80 2.0 20 1,296 3,547 44,332 2.7

Southern 6.2 347 8.9 83 5,629 14,268 41,119 2.5

Lancashire 6.1 438 11.2 62 7,151 15,282 34,891 2.1

Midlands 5.7 581 14.9 105 10,133 21,987 37,843 2.2

East of England 5.5 235 6.0 53 4,299 10,918 46,458 2.5

Border 5.4 33 0.8 16 610 1,178 35,701 1.9

Yorkshire 5.3 317 8.1 54 5,980 12,858 40,561 2.2

North East 4.6 133 3.4 25 2,913 6,190 46,543 2.1

Total 6.2 3,909 100.0 750 63,044 157,500 40,292 2.5

Source: Dodona Research, Beacon Dodsworth, Cinema Advertising Association (CAA), BFI RSU analysisNotes: * Beacon Dodsworth population estimates based on Census data 2011, and so the UK total is lower than the UK population shown in Table 4 which is the official mid-2013 population estimate. Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.


Table 1.3 gives screen information for each of the English regions, plus Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland had the highest number of screens per 100,000 people in 2014 (10.6), followed by London (7.4) and Wales (6.6). The average number of screens per 100,000 people for England as a whole was 5.2.

Table 1.3 Screens and population in the nations and regions, 2014 (ranked by screens per 100,000 people) Nation/region Screens % of total

screensSites Population

(000)*Screens per

100,000 people

Average number of

screens per site

Northern Ireland 194 5.0 27 1,830 10.6 7.2

London 623 15.9 109 8,417 7.4 5.7

Wales 202 5.2 52 3,082 6.6 3.9

South East 567 14.5 125 8,793 6.4 4.5

South West 346 8.9 86 5,378 6.4 4.0

Scotland 336 8.6 64 5,328 6.3 5.3

North West 441 11.3 65 7,103 6.2 6.8

West Midlands 324 8.3 56 5,675 5.7 5.8

Yorkshire and The Humber 273 7.0 46 5,338 5.1 5.9

North East 128 3.3 22 2,610 4.9 5.8

East Midlands 211 5.4 40 4,599 4.6 5.3

East of England 246 6.3 53 5,954 4.1 4.6

Others** 18 0.5 5 n/a n/a 3.6

Total 3,909 100.0 750 64,106 6.1 5.2

Source: Dodona Research, Office for National Statistics (ONS), BFI RSU analysisNotes:* ONS Mid-year population estimates 2013.** Others include the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.n/a = not available.Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Table 1.3 also shows that Northern Ireland and the North West had the highest averages for screens per site at 7.2 and 6.8 respectively. The South West and Wales along with ‘others’ (which include the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) had the lowest averages for screens per site showing a tendency towards smaller cinemas and, particularly for the South West and others, proportionally fewer multiplex screens (Table 1.4).

EXHIB

ITIO

N


TYPE OF CINEMA SCREENS BY NATION AND REGION

Table 1.4 provides a snapshot of variations in multiplex provision around the UK. London had the largest number of multiplex screens (420) in 2014, 10 more than the South East. Northern Ireland had the highest proportion of multiplex screens (91%) followed by the North West and North East. In England the lowest concentration of multiplex screens was found in the South West (59%), which had a high number of traditional and mixed use screens (the third highest after London and the South East). London had the highest number of both multiplex and traditional screens but its percentage of multiplex screens, at 67%, was the second lowest in England. The proportion of multiplex screens for England as a whole was 75%.

Table 1.4 Cinema screens by type by nation or region, 2014 (ranked by percentage multiplex)

Nation/region Multiplex % multiplex

Traditional and mixed use

Total

Northern Ireland 177 91.2 17 194

North West 393 89.1 48 441

North East 110 85.9 18 128

Yorkshire and The Humber 225 82.4 48 273

East Midlands 167 79.1 44 211

West Midlands 251 77.5 73 324

Scotland 257 76.5 79 336

East of England 184 74.8 62 246

Wales 151 74.8 51 202

South East 410 72.3 157 567

London 420 67.4 203 623

South West 204 59.0 142 346

Others* 10 55.6 8 18

Total 2,959 75.7 950 3,909

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


MAINSTREAM, SPECIALISED AND SOUTH ASIAN PROGRAMMING

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

Table 1.5 shows that by far the majority of screens primarily show mainstream films. In 2014, 583 cinemas with 3,630 screens showed mostly mainstream films (a 1% decrease in the number of sites and a 1% increase in the number of screens compared with 2013). There were 165 sites (with 275 screens, 7% of screens) showing mainly specialised films and two cinemas (with four screens, 0.1% of screens) dedicated mainly to South Asian films. The number of screens showing mostly specialised films increased by 4% in 2014 compared with 2013, but the number of sites decreased by 2%.

Table 1.5 Sites and screens by programme, 2005-2014

Sites

Programme 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

South Asian 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2

Specialised 132 157 177 168 168 163 171 177 168 165

Mainstream 522 535 546 554 551 550 571 589 586 583

Total 659 697 727 726 723 716 745 769 756 750

Screens

Programme 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

South Asian 18 18 10 10 10 7 7 7 4 4

Specialised 206 231 255 250 253 248 259 268 265 275

Mainstream 3,133 3,191 3,249 3,350 3,388 3,416 3,501 3,542 3,598 3,630

Total 3,357 3,440 3,514 3,610 3,651 3,671 3,767 3,817 3,867 3,909


The majority (72%) of specialised screens were found in single, independent cinemas (ie not part of a chain). The percentage is higher than in 2013, when 64% of specialised screens were based in independent cinemas.

The pattern of programme type by location in 2014 is shown in Table 1.6. Screens showing mostly South Asian films 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 earlier years.

EXHIB

ITIO

N


Table 1.6 Percentages of screens by location and programme, 2014 Location Mainstream Specialised South Asian Total

Town/city centre 45.8 86.5 50.0 48.6

Out of town 36.6 2.2 - 34.2

Edge of centre 14.8 1.5 - 13.8

Suburban 0.4 2.9 50.0 0.6

Rural 2.5 6.9 - 2.8

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: Dodona Research, BFI RSU analysisNote: Percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.

This geographical analysis is extended in Table 1.7, which shows the distribution of specialised screens around the UK. Screens showing mainly specialised films were concentrated in London and the South East, which jointly accounted for 45% of the UK total in 2014. Scotland and the South West both had 26 specialised screens, accounting for 10% each of such screens. Northern Ireland (0.7%), the North East (2.2%) and Wales (3.6%) had the smallest percentages of specialised screens.

The four screens showing South Asian films were found in only two cinemas, one in London and the other in Leicester in the East Midlands.

Table 1.7 Geographical spread of specialised screens, 2014 Nation/region Specialised screens %

London 79 28.7

South East 44 16.0

Scotland 26 9.5

South West 26 9.5

Yorkshire and The Humber 22 8.0

East of England 19 6.9

West Midlands 16 5.8

East Midlands 14 5.1

North West 11 4.0

Wales 10 3.6

North East 6 2.2

Northern Ireland 2 0.7

Total 275 100.0



EXHIBITORS

The number of exhibitors which owned or programmed 20 or more screens in the UK totalled 13 at the end of January 2015, as shown in Table 1.8. This is three more than at the end of January 2014: the newcomers to the list are the Everyman Media Group, Light Cinemas and Curzon Cinemas. The top 10 remain the same as a year earlier. At the start of 2015, the five largest exhibitors owned 74% of all UK screens (75% at the start of 2014).

Table 1.8 Cinema screens by exhibitors with 20+ screens, 2014 Exhibitor Sites Screens % of

total screens

Odeon 113 879 22.5

Cineworld 81 813 20.8

Vue 82 780 20.0

National Amusements 20 264 6.8

Empire Cinemas 17 167 4.3

Omniplex 10 82 2.1

Reel Cinemas 15 62 1.6

Cineworld/Picturehouse 21 58 1.5

Movie House Cinemas 5 39 1.0

Merlin Cinemas 11 35 0.9

Everyman Media Group 12 23 0.6

Light Cinemas 3 23 0.6

Curzon Cinemas 9 21 0.5

Others (19 major exhibitors and 290 independent single venue exhibitors) 351 663 17.0

Total 750 3,909 100.0

Source: Dodona ResearchNotes: Figures correct as at January 2015.Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.The Odeon chain 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. It also acquired Picturehouse in 2012.Vue, which acquired Warner Village cinemas in 2003 and the Apollo cinema chain in 2012, was sold to Canadian investors Omers Private Equity and Alberta Investment Management in 2013.National Amusements was owned by the family of Sumner Redstone, chairman of US media giant Viacom.The Everyman Media Group was founded in 2000. The company made its debut on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in November 2013.

EXHIB

ITIO

N


EXHIBITOR REVENUES

Dodona Research reports that exhibitors’ revenues from refreshment sales were £292.9 million in 2014, a 3% decrease from 2013’s £302.9 million. However, other income, which includes advertising income, booking fees, sales of 3D glasses and auditorium rental, increased by 15% between 2013 and 2014, from £79.5 million to £91.4 million.

The top five exhibitors had an 81% share of gross box office in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2014, and 72% of the box office was shared between the top three exhibitors (Table 1.9).

Average ticket prices, calculated by dividing the UK-only box office gross for the year (£1,058 million) by total UK admissions (157.5 million), rose from £6.54 in 2013 to £6.72 in 2014, an increase of 3%.

Table 1.9 Exhibitor share of box office in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014 Exhibitor Market share (%) Box office

gross (£ million)

Cineworld 26.7 305.4

Odeon 23.3 266.5

Vue 21.5 245.9

National Amusements 5.8 66.3

Empire Cinemas 3.8 43.5

Sub-total 81.1 927.5

Others 18.9 216.2

Total 100.0 1,143.7

Source: Dodona Research and RentrakNote: Figures may not sum to total/sub-total due to rounding.


DIGITAL PROJECTION

DIGITAL SCREENS

According to IHS, the number of digital screens in the UK increased by 3% (to 3,9461) between 2013 and 2014, so that by the end of the year all screens in the UK were equipped for digital projection. Figure 1.3 shows the percentage of digital screens in the UK since 2005.

Figure 1.3 Percentage of digital screens, 2005-2014

ACCESSIBLE CINEMA

All digitally-equipped UK cinemas now have English language subtitle/caption and audio description (ST/AD) facilities. Almost every multiplex cinema and many smaller cinemas regularly screen the latest popular releases with on-screen English language captions. Around 1,200 such screenings are provided weekly, by more than 40 exhibitors, in around 400 cinemas nationwide (more than half the total), including around 90% of multiplex cinemas. Due to the expansion of digital cinema, the last five years has seen the weekly number of captioned screenings increase by around 120%, to more than 60,000 annually. In 2014, almost 400,000 people attended captioned shows, generating more than £2.5 million at the box office.

Data from ‘YourLocalCinema.com’ show that, in 2014, 181 English-language films were shown in UK cinemas with captions (98% of wide release titles), and 157 were shown with audio description (85% of wide release titles).

Over the last decade more than 1,000 titles have been made available, including almost all of the top 10 films of each year. All of the top 20 films at the UK box office in 2014 had ST/AD tracks.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2014201320122011201020092008200720062005

%

Analogue 98.9 95.9 91.8 91.5 82.6 62.2 29.0 8.3 1.6 0.0

Digital 1.1 4.1 8.2 8.5 17.4 37.8 71.0 91.7 98.4 100.0

Source: IHS

1 The number of digital screens shown here is greater than the total number of screens shown in Figure 1.2. The two numbers are from different sources (Dodona Research and IHS) and refer to slightly different times.

EXHIB

ITIO

N


3D AND EVENT CINEMA

According to IHS, of the 3,946 digital screens in the UK at the end of 2014, 1,772 (45%) were 3D-capable digital screens. Some of the popular 3D screenings in 2014 included The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Lego Movie, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Table 1.10 shows the increasing number of 3D digital screens in the UK. The growth in such screens coincided with an increase in the availability of 3D content internationally. Eight more 3D films were released in 2014 than in 2013 (46 in 2013 and 54 in 2014), and these included 11 of the year’s top 20 films.

Table 1.10 3D digital screens in the UK, 2006-2014 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

2006 5 148 3.4 Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D

2007 47 296 15.9 Beowulf

2008 69 310 22.3 Fly Me to the Moon

2009 449 642 69.9 Avatar

2010 1,067 1,415 75.4 Toy Story 3

2011 1,475 2,714 54.3 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

2012 1,564 3,538 44.2 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

2013 1,655 3,868 42.8 Gravity

2014 1,772 3,946 44.9 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Source: IHS, Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes: 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 on takings from 3D and IMAX 3D screenings.

Event cinema, alternative content or non-feature film programming has become a regular feature over recent years in the UK due to the increase in digital screens. The availability of a digital screen base has widened the range of content on the big screen, allowed for greater interactivity between the screen and the audience and has potentially improved the use of auditorium capacity during typically quiet periods. Also, since events usually have only one or two screenings they can often generate higher occupancy rates than feature films. Event cinema is becoming increasingly popular and the box office takings from events screened in 2014 was almost twice that from events screened in 2013.

Table 1.11 shows the numbers of events and box office takings by type of event screened in 2014. According to Rentrak there were 128 events screened in 2014 (111 in 2013) which took a total of £33.6 million at the box office (£18.7 million in 2013). Opera has proved consistently popular since alternative content events were first screened, and in 2014 more operas were screened (38) than any other single type of event, generating a total box office of £5.4 million. Opera was second in the box office rankings, however, behind theatre, which took £13.7 million from 27 events. The difference in total box office from theatre events and operas could be at least partly explained by the higher average WPR for theatre (248 for theatre and 123 for opera). The most popular event screened in UK cinemas in 2014 was Billy Elliot the Musical – Live, which took £1.9 million at the box office, a record gross for event cinema in the UK. The live stream, which was screened at 553 locations (the UK’s widest ever live event release), was also the first alternative content screening to top the weekend box office.

Fourth in both numbers of events and in box office takings was ballet with 14 events (with performances from the Royal Ballet, the Bolshoi, Opera de Paris and the Mariinsky Theatre), which generated £4.1 million at the box office.


Table 1.11 Numbers and box office takings of events screened in UK cinemas by type of event, 2014 Type of event Number of

events%

of eventsBox office (£ million)

% box office

Average WPR

Theatre 27 21.1 13.7 40.8 248

Opera 38 29.7 5.4 16.0 123

Film/documentary 23 18.0 4.8 14.3 69

Ballet 14 10.9 4.1 12.2 205

Comedy 4 3.1 1.8 5.5 245

Popular music concert 8 6.3 1.5 4.5 135

Classical concert 7 5.5 1.4 4.0 106

Exhibition 7 5.5 0.9 2.8 173

Total 128 100.0 33.6 100.0 155

Source: RentrakNote: Percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Figure 1.4 shows the numbers of events by type of event in 2013 and 2014, and Figure 1.5 shows the box office takings by type of event in 2013 and 2014. The number of events increased by 15% from 2013 (111) to 2014 (128) but the box office takings increased by 80% (£18.7 million in 2013 and £33.6 million in 2014).

Figure 1.4 Events screened in UK cinemas by type of event, 2013 and 2014

05

101520253035404550

2013 14 44 10 17 4 8 8 6

2014 27 38 23 14 4 8 7 7

Source: Rentrak

Number of events

Theatre Opera Film/documentary Ballet Comedy Popular music concert

Classical concert

Exhibition

EXHIB

ITIO

N


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16£ million

2013 7.2 4.8 2.2 2.1 - 0.5 0.9 0.9

2014 13.7 5.4 4.8 4.1 1.8 1.5 1.4 0.9

Source: Rentrak

Theatre Opera Film/documentary Ballet Comedy Popular music concert

Classical concert

Exhibition

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

OtherTheatrePopular music/concertOperaClassical musicBallet

Number of events

2007 0 0 7 8 11 0 5

2008 0 0 6 39 9 6 7

2009 3 2 11 34 2 2 4

2010 1 1 16 24 4 5 3

2011 17 6 12 43 15 7 9

2012 15 18 8 52 14 9 15

Source: IHSNotes: Figures include live and recorded events. ‘Film’ includes film screenings followed by a live ‘question and answer’ session.

Figure 1.5 Revenues from event cinema by type of event screened in UK cinemas, 2013 and 2014

As mentioned above, the data in Table 1.11 are from Rentrak, which now tracks box office receipts for events as well as for films. In previous editions of the Yearbook data on event cinema have been provided by IHS. Figure 1.6 shows the numbers of events, by type of event, from 2007 to 2012, using data from IHS. Because of methodological differences in data collection between IHS and Rentrak, the figures for 2013 and 2014 shown above are not included in the chart.

Figure 1.6 Events screened in UK cinemas by type of event, 2007-2012

Film/documentary


Figure 1.7 shows revenues from events from 2006 to 2012. Again, because the data for 2013 and 2014 are from a different source than the earlier data, revenues for these years are not included in the chart.

Figure 1.7 Revenues from event cinema screened in UK cinemas, 2006-2012

COMMUNITY CINEMA IN THE UK

The screening of feature films in the UK is not limited to cinemas belonging to commercial cinema operators. There is a thriving sector of voluntary providers which makes a wide variety of films available to local communities which often have less access to commercial cinemas. This sector is often referred to as community cinema. Members of local communities are generally more involved in the programming of such cinemas than in the programming of their commercial counterparts. Screenings of films in this sector are in venues such as village halls, mixed arts spaces, independent cinemas and the like.

Cinema For All (formerly the British Federation of Film Societies) has surveyed its members on an annual basis since 2005/06 in order to measure the size, composition and geographical distribution of the community cinema sector in the UK. Here we present a summary of the key findings from the 2013/14 survey.

While many film societies and community cinemas have been in existence over a long period, new ones are established all the time. Two thirds (67%) of the responding organisations in the latest survey were established in 2000 or later, while 16% were established in the 1960s or earlier.

Most of the film societies that responded (73%) operated a membership system in 2013/14 (76% in 2012/13) and the average membership size was 152, but there was a wide range of membership sizes. The smallest membership was six and the largest was 1,701. The total membership of responding societies stood at 16,986. Membership of film societies remains popular: less than one quarter of respondents (23%) had fewer members than in the previous year.

The average full annual membership fee was £29.10 (up from £23.59 in 2012/13). Two fifths (39%) of societies that operated a membership system charged an additional admission fee. The average charge was £4.40. Just over a quarter (28%) of respondents offered season tickets (22% in 2012/13). The average cost of a season ticket was £32.50, and charges ranged from £3 to £72. The average number of season ticket holders in responding societies was 81 (the same as in 2012/13).

Most responding societies (82%) were open to non-members for a charge on the door. The average admission fee for non-members was £5.20 (the average ticket price for commercial cinemas in 2014 was £6.72).

In the 2013/14 season, the responding organisations programmed a total of 858 different titles (704 in 2012/13) across 3,052 screenings. British films accounted for 25% of the titles screened, and 29% of the films shown were in a foreign language (compared with 15% in 2012/13). More than two thirds (70%) of titles were screened by only one film society (73% in 2011/12), indicating the diversity of programming choices made by individual societies. However, some titles proved popular choices across many film societies, and 34 films were programmed by 10 or more responding societies. Figure 1.8 shows the number of screenings by category of film. Titles sourced via the Cinema For All booking scheme accounted for 174 screenings.

Alternative content (via satellite or events recorded and delivered on Blu-ray) is increasingly available to community cinemas, and 83 events were screened by responding societies during 2013/14 (up from 32 in 2012/13).

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

2012201120102009200820072006

£ million

Alternative content revenue 0.2 0.8 3.1 4.7 7.5 10.5 12.5

Source: IHS

EXHIB

ITIO

N


Figure 1.8 Number of film society/community cinema screenings by type, 2013/14

Of the 34 films programmed by 10 or more responding societies in 2013/14, 11 were British, and 14 were in a foreign language. The three most programmed films were French film Untouchable followed by The Hunt (in Danish) and Wadjda (in Arabic). Untouchable was first released in commercial cinemas in the UK in 2011 and both The Hunt and Wadjda were released in 2012. Over half (54%) of all responding organisations held special events (eg screenings with guest appearances by the filmmakers, film themed social events, etc) in addition to regular screenings in 2013/14.

The average audience size in 2013/14 was 75 (67 in 2012/13), and the sum total of all admissions from responding organisations was 226,924. Just over one third (36%) of community cinemas saw an increase in their annual admissions compared with 2012/13, and 49% recorded roughly the same number.

The most commonly used format for screenings was DVD (used ‘usually’ or ‘sometimes’ by 96% of responding organisations), but the shift towards the use of Blu-ray reported over the previous two years continued in 2013/14. In 2010/11 almost half of respondents (49%) never used Blu-ray, but in 2013/14 only one quarter (25%)of responding societies never used Blu-ray. This format was ‘usually’ used for screening purposes by 40% of respondents (up from 30% in 2012/13) while 36% ‘sometimes’ screened using Blu-ray. Other formats are still used by some societies. VHS was ‘sometimes’ used by 4% of responding organisations, 35mm projection was ‘usually’ used by 2% (down from 12% in 2012/13), and 4% of respondents ‘sometimes’ used 16mm projection.

The use of new digital screening formats by community cinema providers continues to grow. Screenings via digital cinema were ‘usually’ or ‘sometimes’ used by 26% of respondents (24% in 2012/13), and 11% ‘usually’ or ‘sometimes’ used online downloads/streaming.

Number of screenings

2013/14 879 999 223 525 48 543 174 83

Source: Cinema For AllNotes: * The booking scheme provides Cinema For All members with access to a catalogue of over 800 non-mainstream films.Figures include both film societies and community cinemas.

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

Altern

ative

conte

nt ev

ents

Films m

ade b

efore

2000

Arch

ive fil

ms

Shor

ts

Docum

entar

ies

Forei

gn lan

guage

British

Cinema F

or All

book

ing

sche

me title

s*


Figure 1.9 shows the percentage share of film society/community cinema admissions by nation and region in 2013/14. Yorkshire and The Humber accounted for nearly one third of total annual admissions from responding societies (compared with 8% of admissions to commercial cinemas in the Yorkshire ISBA region in 2014 – see Table 1.3). The South West region, which has a strong community cinema sector, accounted for 19% of film society/community cinema admissions, while the South West ISBA region accounted for just 2% of the UK’s commercial cinema admissions in 2014. Conversely only 3% of film society admissions were in London, compared with the London ISBA region’s 25% share of commercial cinema admissions. This provides evidence that community exhibitors enhance the provision of film in communities that have limited access to commercial cinemas.

Figure 1.9 Share of film society/community cinema admissions by nation and region, 2013/14

FILM FESTIVALS

In addition to commercial and community cinemas, many films find an audience through film festivals. According to the Independent Cinema Office (ICO) and the BFI’s data on its own festivals, there were over 740,000 admissions at more than 50 film festivals in the UK in 2014. The festivals encompassed many themes and genres, eg animation, horror, sci-fi, shorts and films from a particular country or in a particular language. The second largest festival in 2014, in terms of attendance, was the French Film Festival, which featured French language films from many French speaking countries and regions. Other examples of themed festivals include the UK Jewish Film Festival (which showcases British and international films engaging with Jewish themes and culture), the Wildscreen Film Festival (which focuses on wildlife and environmental productions), BFI FLARE: London LGBT Film Festival, Fringe! Queer Film and Arts Fest and the Iris Prize Festival (all focusing on LGBT themes), Sheffield Doc/Fest, the Abertoir Horror Festival and the Bradford Animation Film Festival. The festivals took place in many parts of the UK but the highest attendances were mainly at large city festivals. The biggest festival, in terms of admissions, was the London Film Festival, while the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Glasgow Film Festival followed the French Film Festival (based in a number of cities) as the third and fourth most popular events.

Nation/region %

Yorkshire and The Humber 29

South West 19

South East 14

North West 10

East of England 10

East Midlands 6

Scotland 6

London 3

West Midlands 2

Wales 1

North East <1

Northern Ireland <1

Source: Cinema For All


BFI Research and Statistics PUBLISHED MARCH 2015

FILM AND OTHER

SCREEN SECTOR

PRODUCTION IN 2014

Image: Bill courtesy of Koch Media

THE VALUE OF FEATURE FILM PRODUCTION SPEND IN THE UK REACHED A RECORD HIGH OF £1.5 BILLION IN 2014, 84% OF WHICH WAS ASSOCIATED WITH INWARD INVESTMENT FEATURES. THE UK PRODUCTION SPEND OF QUALIFYING HIGH-END TELEVISION PROGRAMMES WAS £615 MILLION, WHILE THE SPEND OF ANIMATION PROGRAMMES WAS £37 MILLION.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ Total UK film production activity in 2014 was £1,475 million, up

35% from £1,093 million in 2013.

■ There were 154 domestic UK features (225 in 2013), 32 co-productions (53 in 2013) and 37 inward investment features (45 in 2012).

■ The UK spend associated with inward investment features was £1,233 million, up 40% from £879 million in 2013.

■ Seventeen big budget films (£30 million or over) accounted for 89% of the total UK film production spend.

■ The UK spend associated with inward investment high-end television (HETV) programmes was £287 million, just under half (47%) of the total UK HETV production spend.

■ Between April and December 2014, the UK spend of qualifying video games production was £2.3 million.

FILM AND OTHER SCREEN SECTOR PRODUCTION IN 2014

FIL

M A

ND

OTH

ER

SC

RE

EN

SE

CTO

R P

RO

DU

CTIO

N IN

2014


THE VALUE OF UK FILM PRODUCTION

As Figure 1.1 shows, the aggregate UK spend of features that commenced principal photography in 2014 was £1,475 million, the highest figure since our records began, and an increase of 35% compared with 2013 (£1,093 million).

Inward investment films contributed £1,233 million (84%) towards the total UK film production spend in 2014, an increase from £879 million (80%) in 2013. Some of the big budget films contributing to this figure were Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Jungle Book, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb and Spectre.

Domestic UK features, including Bill, Everest and Shaun the Sheep spent £200 million in the UK, up £44 million (28%) from 2013. Official and unofficial co-productions had a UK spend of £37 million, down from £57 million in 2013. These included Autobahn, Queen of the Desert and Urban Hymn.

Figure 1.1 also shows that since 1994, both the growth and annual variation in the total value of UK spend has principally been driven by inward investment and how it fluctuates from year to year. The UK spend of domestic UK films has been broadly stable over this period, fluctuating around an average of £181 million per year, while there has been a decline in the UK spend of co-productions following changes to the UK film tax relief in 2007.

■ Inward investment 183 217 387 262 214 336 367 199 266 733 584 307 559 604 434 835 1,012 1,071 660 879 1,238

■ Domestic UK 60 94 172 203 175 170 212 180 156 236 126 192 168 167 237 242 202 201 260 156 200

■ Co-production - - - - - - - - 128 158 169 99 111 78 52 39 76 53 75 57 37

■ Total 242 311 559 465 389 507 578 379 551 1,127 879 598 837 849 723 1,115 1,290 1,325 994 1,093 1,475

Source: BFINotes:Data are rounded to the nearest £0.1m so may not sum exactly to the totals shown.Films are allocated to the calendar year in which principal photography commenced.Films with budgets under £500,000 are included in this analysis after 2008.Numbers have been revised on the basis of new information received since publication of the 2014 Statistical Yearbook.Inward investment feature films include inward co-productions and VFX-only films.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.

Figure 1.1 UK spend of feature films produced in the UK, 1994-2014, £ million

201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000199919981997199619951994

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600,

,

,

,

£ million


Table 1.1 distinguishes UK independent films from UK/USA studio films and non-UK films made partly or wholly in the UK. In 2014, UK independent films accounted for 25% of the production spend in the UK, a fall from 30% in 2013.

Table 1.1 Value of UK spend of UK/USA studio and UK independent films, 2004-2014, £ million

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

UK/USA studio films 558 236 588 566 410 772 983 1,008 667 757 1,100

UK independent films 314 357 234 265 289 296 285 277 319 327 369

Non-UK films 6 5 15 18 24 48 22 41 8 9 7

Total 879 598 837 849 723 1,115 1,290 1,325 994 1,093 1,475

Source: BFI See notes to Figure 1.1.

THE VOLUME OF UK FILM PRODUCTION

As Figure 1.2 shows, the number of films produced in the UK grew from 46 in 1994 to a peak of 373 in 2010. From 2008 onwards, the data collected include feature films with budgets of less than £500,000 which partially explains the increase. (Prior to 2008 the collection of data on films at this budget level was not comprehensive.) The number of co-productions fell from 2007, reflecting a tightening in co-production certification requirements, followed by the introduction of the new film production tax relief based on a film’s UK spend rather than the entirety of the production budget. Minority co-productions saw the greatest reduction.

In 2014, 223 films were produced wholly or in part in the UK, down from 323 in 2013. Of these, 32 were co-productions, 154 were domestic UK features (of which 80 had budgets of under £500,000) and 37 were inward investment films. The biggest fall was in domestic UK features with budgets of under £500,000, which were down from 160 in 2013 to 80. However, there is often a delay in acquiring full data on low and micro-budget feature film activity in the UK, and the numbers for the last two years are likely to be revised upwards.

FIL

M A

ND

OTH

ER

SC

RE

EN

SE

CTO

R P

RO

DU

CTIO

N IN

2014


Figure 1.2 Number of feature films produced in the UK, 1994-2014

A total of 19 UK/USA studio films were produced wholly or in part in the UK in 2014 (Table 1.2). These few films accounted for the majority of UK production spend. UK independent films made up almost 91% of all films produced in the UK, a similar percentage to 2013. Although the number of independent films (202) looks lower than for other recent years, due to the delay in acquiring full data on low and micro-budget feature film activity, this figure is likely to be revised upwards over time.

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Inward investment 13 14 25 20 16 22 28 23 16 46 28 51 29 34 32 37 30 37 42 45 37

Domestic UK 33 34 73 84 67 70 52 51 37 62 63 102 126 174 232 259 306 275 269 225 154

Of which budget ≥ £500,000 - - - - - - - - - 48 40 55 57 71 83 89 79 89 73 65 74

Of which budget < £500,000 - - - - - - - - - 14 23 47 69 103 149 170 227 186 196 160 80

Co-production - - - - - - - - 66 106 105 68 53 33 30 38 37 47 46 53 32

Of which majority and parity co-production - - - - - - - - - 20 21 14 19 16 15 12 27 26 24 31 16

Of which minority co-production - - - - - - - - - 86 84 54 34 17 15 26 10 21 22 22 16

Total 46 48 98 104 83 92 80 74 119 214 196 221 208 241 294 334 373 359 357 323 223

Source: BFI RSUNotes:Inward investment includes 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 2003-2013 updated since publication of the 2014 Statistical Yearbook.Includes both official and unofficial co-productions.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.

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

£ million


Table 1.2 Numbers of UK/USA studio and independent films, 2004-2014

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

UK/USA studio films 14 15 22 18 14 14 16 14 17 20 19

UK independent films 177 200 179 211 264 295 350 326 332 294 202

Non-UK films 5 6 7 12 16 25 7 19 8 9 2

Total 196 221 208 241 294 334 373 359 357 323 223

Source: BFINote: Data for 2004-2013 updated since publication of the 2014 Statistical Yearbook.

PRODUCTIONS BY GENRE, 2012-2014 Table 1.3 and Figure 1.3 show a breakdown of production by genre for the years 2012-2014. The drama and documentary genres accounted for the highest proportion of films, at 16% and 21% respectively, but only 8% and 2% of total UK spend. These were followed by comedy and thriller which accounted for 15% and 14% of films respectively, and 7% and 9% of UK spend. The biggest spending genre was action, which accounted for 38% of UK spend, but only 6% of films.

Table 1.3 Genre of production in the UK, 2012-2014 (ranked by share of UK spend)

Genre Number of films

% of total films

Budget (£ million)

% of total budget

UK spend (£ million)

% of total UK spend

Action 57 6.3 1,992.3 37.5 1,364.5 38.3

Thriller 123 13.6 440.2 8.3 313.1 8.8

Adventure 18 2.0 599.2 11.3 302.1 8.5

Sci-fi 27 3.0 376.8 7.1 273.2 7.7

Drama 142 15.7 441.3 8.3 272.0 7.6

Comedy 133 14.7 370.7 7.0 257.8 7.2

Fantasy 10 1.1 243.2 4.6 195.4 5.5

Horror 68 7.5 146.4 2.8 101.5 2.9

Biopic 26 2.9 158.3 3.0 100.5 2.8

Music/dance 8 0.9 104.0 2.0 93.6 2.6

Romance 34 3.8 103.3 2.0 67.8 1.9

War 10 1.1 111.6 2.1 64.8 1.8

Documentary 186 20.6 98.3 1.9 62.8 1.8

Crime 43 4.8 28.4 0.5 23.5 0.7

Animation 5 0.6 22.9 0.4 17.2 0.5

Mystery 6 0.7 10.7 0.2 9.1 0.3

Other 7 0.8 64.0 1.2 43.6 1.2

Total 903 100.0 5,311.6 100.0 3,562.4 100.0

Source: BFINotes: The data have been presented for a three-year period to show as many genres as possible without disclosing the budgets of individual films. Figures/percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.The genre ‘Other’ includes genres, ‘Family’ and ‘Western’.

FIL

M A

ND

OTH

ER

SC

RE

EN

SE

CTO

R P

RO

DU

CTIO

N IN

2014


%

Documentary 20.5

Drama 15.7

Comedy 14.7

Thriller 13.6

Horror 7.5

Action 6.3

Crime 4.7

Romance 3.7

Sci-fi 2.9

Biopic 2.8

Other 7.0

Source: BFINotes: The data differ from those in Table 1.3 as they do not include non-UK films.Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Figure 1.3 Genre of production of UK films 2012-2014 (number of films)

Looking at the breakdown by genre of UK independent films alone over the three-year period (Table 1.4), the pattern was fairly similar. The main differences were that comedy, thriller, drama and biopic accounted for a much greater proportion of UK spend than for all films produced in the UK (54% compared with 26%), and action and adventure accounted for a lower proportion (20% compared with 47%).

Table 1.4 Independent UK productions by genre, 2012-2014

GenreNumber of films

% of total films

Budget (£ million)

% of total budget


% of total UK spend

Action 39 4.7 312.6 20.7 193.4 19.1

Comedy 125 15.1 274.2 18.1 190.0 18.7

Thriller 115 13.9 239.6 15.9 149.7 14.8

Drama 137 16.5 172.6 11.4 122.5 12.1

Biopic 25 3.0 146.4 9.7 88.6 8.7

Romance 32 3.9 74.3 4.9 48.8 4.8

Documentary 177 21.4 71.9 4.8 48.2 4.8

Horror 62 7.5 33.4 2.2 31.0 3.1

Sci-fi 25 3.0 32.0 2.1 24.2 2.4

Fantasy 7 0.8 30.3 2.0 24.2 2.4

Crime 43 5.2 28.4 1.9 23.5 2.3

Animation 5 0.6 22.9 1.5 17.2 1.7

War 8 1.0 17.5 1.2 12.8 1.3

Adventure 10 1.2 14.2 0.9 10.6 1.0

Mystery 6 0.7 10.7 0.7 9.1 0.9

Other 12 1.4 29.9 1.5 20.4 1.5

Total 828 100.0 1,510.9 100.0 1,014.3 100.0

Source: BFI Note: Figures/percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.The genre ‘Other’ includes genres ‘Music/dance’, ‘Family’ and ‘Western’.


BUDGET TRENDS

The median budget of domestic UK features was £430,000 in 2014, an increase from £220,000 in 2013 (Table 1.5). It should be noted that the 2014 median is likely to be revised downwards, due to the delay in acquiring budget data for low and micro-budget productions.

The median budget for inward investment features was £17.3 million, up from £11.0 million in 2013, while for co-productions the median budget increased from £1.38 million to £1.53 million.

Table 1.5 Median feature film budgets, £ million, 2009-2014

Production category 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Inward Investment 18.45 16.55 17.64 1.95 11.01 17.34

Domestic UK 0.20 0.13 0.16 0.15 0.22 0.43

Co-production 1.35 2.61 1.20 1.05 1.38 1.53

Source: BFINotes:Median budget is the middle value of budgets when ordered lowest to highest (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 mean, as it avoids the upward skew of a small number of high budget productions.Includes films with budgets of less than £500,000.Data for 2009-2013 updated since publication of the 2014 Statistical Yearbook.Data in this table are shown to two decimal places to gain a clearer picture of change over the time period for domestic UK films.

SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF BUDGETS

The budget size distribution for the three main categories of films made in 2014 is shown in Tables 1.6 to 1.8.

For inward investment features, the 16 films with budgets of £30 million or over (43% of all inward features) accounted for 89% of the total budget for this category. There were six inward features with budgets of less than £5 million (14% of inward features), which accounted for 1% of the total budget for these films.

Table 1.6 Size distribution of budgets, inward investment features, 2014 Budget band Number Total

budget in band

(£ million)

% of total budget

≥£30 million 16 1,685.0 89.2

£10 - £29.9 million 11 155.8 8.2

£5 - £9.9 million 4 28.9 1.5

<£5 million 6 19.2 1.0

Total 37 1,888.8 100.0

Source: BFINote: Figures/percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Just over half of domestic UK features (52%) had budgets of under £500,000, and only 14 productions (9%) had budgets of £5 million or over (Table 1.7). The domestic UK features in the highest budget band accounted for 58% of this category’s aggregate budget, while those in the lowest budget band accounted for 5%.

Table 1.7 Size distribution of budgets, domestic UK features, 2014 Budget band Number Total

budget in band

(£ million)

% of total

budget

≥£5 million 14 149.6 58.4

£2 - £4.9 million 17 51.1 20.0

£0.5 - £1.9 million 43 41.5 16.2

<£0.5 million 80 13.8 5.4

Total 154 256.0 100.0

Source: BFI

Six of the 32 co-productions produced in 2014 had budgets of £5 million or over, accounting for 59% of the total budget in this category (Table 1.8). The six co-productions with budgets of under £500,000 accounted for 2% of the total budget.

FIL

M A

ND

OTH

ER

SC

RE

EN

SE

CTO

R P

RO

DU

CTIO

N IN

2014


Table 1.8 Size distribution of budgets, co-productions, 2014

Budget band Number Total budget in band (£ million)

% of total budget

≥£5 million 6 57.9 59.2

£2 - £4.9 million 8 26.0 26.6

£0.5 - £1.9 million 12 12.1 12.3

<£0.5 million 6 1.9 1.9

Total 32 97.8 100.0

Source: BFINote: Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

BIG BUDGET PRODUCTIONS, 2009-2014

The importance to UK spend of a small number of big budget productions – usually inward investment films – is demonstrated in Table 1.9. In 2014, the 17 films with budgets of £30 million or over accounted for 74% of UK production spend. All except one of these films were inward investment features. Table 1.9 Big budget films’ contribution to UK spend, 2009-2014

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Number of films with budgets ≥£30 million 16 13 17 10 16 17

Value of associated UK spend (£ million) 748.9 960.6 1,009.8 634.3 773.5 1,098.0

Total UK spend (£ million) 1,115.4 1,290.2 1,325.2 994.4 1,092.8 1,475.1

Big budget film % of UK spend 67.1 74.5 76.2 63.8 70.8 74.4

Source: BFINote: Data for 2009-2013 updated since publication of the 2014 Statistical Yearbook.

UK SPEND AS PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL PRODUCTION BUDGET

Table 1.10 shows UK spend as a percentage of the total production budget for inward investment, domestic UK and co-production films. UK domestic films had the highest proportion of UK spend in 2014 (78%), followed by inward investment films at 66%. Co-productions had the lowest percentage of UK spend (38%). Table 1.10 UK spend as percentage of total production budget, 2009-2014

Production category 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Inward investment 50.9 71.7 55.9 70.5 63.9 65.7

Domestic UK 81.4 89.9 86.5 89.1 89.6 78.1

Co-production 37.2 41.7 36.2 45.7 43.6 38.2

Source: BFINotes: Data for 2009-2013 updated since publication of the 2014 Statistical Yearbook.


Figure 1.4 underlines that a small proportion (8%) of titles with a UK spend of £30 million or over are responsible for the majority (74%) of UK production spend. Conversely, 39% of films have a UK spend of less than £500,000, but they represent just 1% of production investment in the UK.

Figure 1.4 Percentage of productions and UK spend by category of UK spend, 2014

≥£30 m £10 - £29.9 m

£5 - £9.9 m

£2 - £4.9 m

£0.5 - £1.9 m

<£0.5m

% of productions 7.6 7.6 7.6 12.6 25.6 39.0

% of UK spend 74.4 11.4 5.4 4.4 3.1 1.2

Source: BFINote: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

DOMESTIC UK PRODUCTIONS BY TERRITORY OF SHOOT

Table 1.11 analyses domestic UK productions in 2014 according to whether they were wholly shot in the UK, or shot partly or wholly abroad. The majority (118 out of 154) were shot exclusively in the UK, while 36 films were shot partly or wholly outside the UK. The non-UK spend of domestic productions in 2014 as a proportion of their total budget was 22%. Table 1.11 Domestic UK productions by territory of shoot, 2014

Shooting in… Number of films

Budget (£ million)

Non-UK spend (£ million)

Non-UK spend as % of total

budget

UK only 118 156.3 4.1 2.6

UK and other / wholly outside the UK 36 99.7 52.0 52.2

Total domestic UK productions 154 256.0 56.1 21.9

Source: BFINote: Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

%

FIL

M A

ND

OTH

ER

SC

RE

EN

SE

CTO

R P

RO

DU

CTIO

N IN

2014


Table 1.12 shows the number of shoots by territory for domestic UK films. Because some films were shot in two or more territories, the total number of shoots was greater than the total number of films. There were 10 shoots in the USA, seven in Russia and four in France.

Table 1.12 Domestic UK production, shoots by territory or region, 2014

Territory of shoot Number of shoots

UK 161

USA 10

Russia 7

France 4

Afghanistan 3

Hungary 3

Jordan 2

Nepal 2

Other 5

Total 197

Source: BFI

CO-PRODUCTIONS BY TERRITORY OF SHOOT

In contrast to domestic UK films, co-productions were usually shot partly or wholly abroad, as Table 1.13 shows; only two out of 32 films were shot wholly in the UK. Table 1.13 Co-productions by territory of shoot, 2014

Shooting in… Number of films

Budget (£ million)

Non-UK spend (£ million)

Non-UK spend as % of total

budget

UK only 2 c c c

UK and other 21 c c c

Wholly outside the UK 9 c c c

Total domestic UK productions 32 97.8 60.4 61.8

Source: BFINote: Includes both official and unofficial co-productions.‘c’ indicates that budget information has not been given to avoid disclosing budgets for individual productions.

The country distribution of co-production shoots is shown in Table 1.14. As most co-productions were shot in two or more territories, the total number of shoots was greater than the total number of films. The majority of shoots were in the UK or elsewhere in Europe. Three shoots took place in Canada and Morocco, and two in India.


Table 1.14 Co-productions, shoots by territory or region, 2014

Country Number of shoots

UK 23

Czech Republic 6

Canada 3

France 3

Morocco 3

Republic of Ireland 3

Switzerland 3

Austria 2

India 2

Lithuania 2

Other Europe 3

Other 4

Total 57

Source: BFI

PRODUCTION COMPANY ACTIVITY LEVELS

UK film production in 2014 was dispersed among a large number of production companies, as shown in Table 1.15. The BFI Research and Statistics Unit recorded 391 production companies associated with films shot in the UK or co-productions involving the UK in the year, a decrease from 420 in 2013. Of these, 363 (93%) were associated with a single feature. These were a mixture of distinct production companies and special purpose vehicles set up to make a single film.

Table 1.15 Film production company activity, 2014

Number of features per company

Number of companies

3 9

2 19

1 363

Total 391

Source: BFI RSUNote: Includes all production categories.

THE VALUE OF HIGH-END TELEVISION PRODUCTION

Table 1.16 shows that the total UK production spend for high-end television programmes (HETV) produced in the UK in 2014 was £615 million. Domestic productions were the largest contributor to the total (£310 million), followed by inward investment projects (£287 million). At just under half (47%), the proportion associated with inward investment HETV was lower than that for film production (84%). As the tax relief for HETV productions first became available in April 2013, this data shows the impact of the relief for a full calendar year for the first time.

Domestic HETV productions in 2014 included Atlantis Series 2 (13 episodes), Call the Midwife Series 4 (8 episodes plus Christmas special) and Mr Selfridge Series 3 (10 episodes), while inward investment productions included Galavant Series 1 (8 episodes), Game of Thrones Series 5 (10 episodes) and Da Vinci’s Demons Series 3 (10 episodes).

Table 1.16 UK spend and number of qualifying high-end television productions*, 2014

Production category


Number of productions

Inward investment 286.7 22

Domestic UK 309.5 60

Co-production 19.0 5

Total 615.2 87

Source: BFI* A high-end television production can be a single programme or a television series.

GENRE OF HIGH-END TELEVISION PRODUCTION

Table 1.17 shows a breakdown of qualifying HETV productions by genre. The most common genre was drama, accounting for 40 productions (46% of the total) and £278 million (45%) of UK spend. The second was crime, accounting for 15 productions and 18% of UK spend.

FIL

M A

ND

OTH

ER

SC

RE

EN

SE

CTO

R P

RO

DU

CTIO

N IN

2014


Table 1.17 Genre of qualifying high-end television production*, 2014

GenreNumber of

productions% of total

productionsBudget

(£ million)% of total

budgetUK spend (£ million)

% of total UK spend

Drama 40 46.0 344.3 46.6 277.5 45.1

Crime 15 17.2 126.7 17.2 108.7 17.7

Thriller 6 6.9 75.0 10.2 67.0 10.9

Comedy 11 12.6 52.3 7.1 46.6 7.6

Other 15 17.2 140.2 19.0 115.5 18.8

Total 87 100.0 738.4 100.0 615.2 100.0

Source: BFI Notes: * A high-end television production can be a single programme or a television series.The data in this table show the primary genre assigned by the BFI Research and Statistics Unit.Figures/percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.

THE VALUE OF ANIMATION PRODUCTION

Table 1.18 shows that the total UK spend of the 22 qualifying animation programmes produced in the UK in 2014 was £37 million. Unlike film and HETV production, most of this spend (87%) was attributed to domestic UK projects. As with HETV productions, this data shows the impact of the tax relief for animation production for a full calendar year for the first time.

Table 1.18 UK spend and number of qualifying animation productions*, 2014

Production category UK spend(£ million)

Number ofproductions

Domestic UK 32.0 16

Co-production and inward investment 4.8 6

Total 36.8 22

Source: BFINotes:Co-production and inward investment have been combined to avoid disclosing budget data for individual titles.* An animation production can be a single programme or a television series.

THE VALUE OF VIDEO GAMES PRODUCTION

In April 2014, the UK government extended the coverage of creative sector tax reliefs to include video games production. The total UK spend of the nine qualifying video games produced in the UK between April and December 2014 was £2.3 million. Data covering whole calendar years will be available in future editions of this Yearbook.


BFI Research and Statistics PUBLISHED JUNE 2015

FILM INDUSTRY

COMPANIES Image: Bypass courtesy of Third Films

IN THE UK, THE MAJORITY OF FILM INDUSTRY COMPANIES ARE IN THE PRODUCTION AND POST-PRODUCTION SECTORS, BUT MOST OF THESE ARE SMALL COMPANIES. THE EXHIBITION SECTOR HAS THE GREATEST PROPORTION OF LARGE COMPANIES, THE TOP 10 OF WHICH GENERATED 92% OF THE SECTOR’S TOTAL TURNOVER IN 2014.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ In 2014, there were over 6,000 film production companies and

over 2,400 post-production companies in the UK.

■ There were 405 film distributors and 215 film exhibitors.

■ The majority of companies were small (turnover under £250,000).

■ The production, post-production and distribution sectors were concentrated in London and the South East, while the exhibition sector was more dispersed.

■ Outside London and the South East there were significant production and post-production clusters in the East of England, South West and North West.

FILM INDUSTRY COMPANIES

FIL

M IN

DU

STR

Y C

OM

PA

NIE

S


NUMBER OF COMPANIES IN THE FILM INDUSTRY

The number of companies involved in the film industry has grown by 32% since 2009, compared to the UK all industries average of 5%. The most significant growth was seen in the number of video production (273%) and video distribution (100%) companies, which might partly be explained by the rise in demand for online audiovisual content. The number of film production companies has increased by 24%. In this instance, the growth may reflect the number of special purpose vehicles (SPVs) created for specific productions but which remain in existence as companies after the completion of those titles. (These SPVs will not usually be involved in the production of any other film). The number of film, video and TV post-production, film distribution and film exhibition companies has remained broadly stable since 2009.

In 2014 there were 6,090 film production companies, 2,465 film, video and TV post-production companies, 405 film distribution companies and 215 film exhibition companies.

Table 1.1 Number of film and video companies by sub-sector, 2009-2014

Sub-sector 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Growth 2009-

2014 (%)

Film production 4,905 4,795 4,845 5,190 5,450 6,090 24.2

Video production 590 855 1,105 1,470 1,905 2,200 272.9

Film, video and TV post-production* 2,470 2,365 2,265 2,205 2,240 2,465 -0.2

Film distribution 420 395 420 415 395 405 -3.6

Video distribution 40 45 45 60 75 80 100.0

Film exhibition 225 225 210 205 215 215 -4.4

Total 8,650 8,680 8,890 9,545 10,280 11,455 32.4

UK all industries 2,152,400 2,100,370 2,080,860 2,149,190 2,167,580 2,263,645 5.2

Source: Office for National StatisticsNotes:Data as at March 2014.* Companies in the post-production sector usually work on films, commercials, videos and television programmes, and therefore have a combined statistical classification.


Video production company turnover saw the most significant rise between 2009 and 2014 (48%) but film production and distribution companies accounted for the largest proportions of turnover in the period (Table 1.2).

In 2014 the turnover of film production companies was £2,968 million, an increase of 20% compared with 2009. Film, video and TV post-production company turnover was £1,389 million, an increase of 10% on 2009, and film exhibition company turnover was £1,276 million, a similar figure to the previous two years, but an increase of 25% compared with 2009.

Table 1.2 Turnover of film and video companies by sub-sector, £ 000, 2009-2014

Sub-sector 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Growth 2009-

2014 (%)

Film production 2,471,123 2,656,494 2,407,913 2,688,724 2,760,227 2,968,092 20.1

Video production 204,281 210,038 152,775 186,902 263,009 301,630 47.7

Film, video and TV post-production 1,267,039 1,327,739 1,416,379 1,493,355 1,434,894 1,389,338 9.7

Film distribution 2,872,355 2,689,156 2,784,818 1,538,451 1,579,168 2,976,370 3.6

Video distribution 188,624 149,139 130,629 272,039 180,001 214,128 13.5

Film exhibition 1,019,372 963,578 1,183,590 1,277,739 1,261,656 1,275,566 25.1

Total 8,022,794 7,996,144 8,076,104 7,457,210 7,478,955 9,125,124 13.7

Source: Office for National StatisticsSee notes to Table 1.1.

As Figure 1 shows, in 2014 although film distributors represented less than 4% of film industry companies, they accounted for one third (33%) of film industry turnover. This reflects the dominant position of the UK subsidiaries of the major US studios in the film value chain. Film, video and TV post-production companies represented 22% of companies and 15% of total turnover.

Figure 1 Percentage of film and video companies and turnover by sub-sector, 2014

% of companies

% of turnover

Film production 53.2 32.5

Video production 19.2 3.3

Film, video and TV post-production 21.5 15.2

Film distribution 3.5 32.6

Video distribution 0.7 2.3

Film exhibition 1.9 14.0

Source: Office for National StatisticsSee notes to Table 1.1.

% of companies

% of turnover

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1000

FIL

M IN

DU

STR

Y C

OM

PA

NIE

S


SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF FILM COMPANIES

The size distribution of film companies in 2014 is shown in Tables 1.3 to 1.6. In all sectors, the majority of companies were very small with turnover less than £250,000 per year.

Table 1.3 Size distribution of film production companies, 2014

Turnover size band £ 000

Number % Turnover(£ 000)

%

5,000+ 100 1.6 c c

1,000 – 4,999 335 5.5 693,997 23.4

500 – 999 270 4.4 180,082 6.1

250 – 499 480 7.9 158,006 5.3

100 – 249 1,590 26.1 220,912 7.4

50 – 99 1,745 28.7 124,750 4.2

0 – 49 1,570 25.8 c c

Total 6,090 100.0 2,968,092 100.0

Source: Office for National StatisticsNotes: Data as at March 2014. ‘c’ indicates the data have been made confidential by the Office for National Statistics to avoid disclosing details of individual companies.

Table 1.4 Size distribution of post-production companies, 2014



%

5,000+ 50 2.0 889,669 64.0

1,000 – 4,999 110 4.4 232,158 16.7

500 – 999 95 3.9 63,397 4.6

250 – 499 140 5.7 48,221 3.5

100 – 249 605 24.5 82,766 6.0

50 – 99 795 32.2 56,374 4.1

0 – 49 670 27.2 16,753 1.2

Total 2,465 100.0 1,389,338 100.0

Source: Office for National StatisticsNotes: Data as at March 2014.Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Table 1.5 Size distribution of film distribution companies, 2014



%

5,000+ 35 8.6 c c

1,000 – 4,999 45 11.1 c c

500 – 999 40 9.9 c c

250 – 499 35 8.6 c c

100 – 249 95 23.5 13,673 0.5

50 – 99 75 18.5 5,228 0.2

0 – 49 80 19.8 1,650 0.1

Total 405 100.0 2,976,370 100.0

Source: Office for National StatisticsNotes: Data as at March 2014. ‘c’ indicates the data have been made confidential by the Office for National Statistics to avoid disclosing details of individual companies.

Table 1.6 Size distribution of film exhibition companies, 2014



%

5,000+ 10 4.7 1,173,965 92.0

1,000 – 4,999 35 16.3 60,402 4.7

500 – 999 25 11.6 19,290 1.5

250 – 499 30 14.0 10,806 0.8

100 – 249 50 23.3 7,939 0.6

50 – 99 30 14.0 2,092 0.2

0 – 49 35 16.3 1,072 0.1

Total 215 100.0 1,275,566 100.0



NATIONAL/REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF FILM COMPANIES IN THE UK

Tables 1.7 and 1.8 show the national/regional distribution of film companies and film company turnover in 2014. Overall, 69% of film companies were concentrated in London and the South East, and over 80% of turnover was generated by companies located in these two regions. The London concentration was particularly strong for distribution (59% of companies and 96% of turnover) but the exhibition sector was more widely spread across the UK, with 74% of companies and 42% of turnover associated with companies based outside London.

While London and the South East dominate in production and post-production, there are significant regional centres, particularly in the East of England, the South West and the North West.

Table 1.7 National/regional distribution of film companies, 2014

Film production

Post-production

Film distribution

Film exhibition

Total UK film

Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %

London 3,460 56.8 1,250 50.7 240 59.3 55 25.6 5,005 54.6

South East 960 15.8 470 19.1 80 19.8 35 16.3 1,545 16.8

East of England 380 6.2 160 6.5 30 7.4 15 7.0 585 6.4

South West 320 5.3 160 6.5 15 3.7 20 9.3 515 5.6

North West 195 3.2 95 3.9 10 2.5 15 7.0 315 3.4

Scotland 155 2.5 75 3.0 5 1.2 15 7.0 250 2.7

Yorkshire and The Humber 165 2.7 55 2.2 5 1.2 15 7.0 240 2.6

West Midlands 130 2.1 65 2.6 10 2.5 5 2.3 210 2.3

Wales 115 1.9 45 1.8 5 1.2 10 4.7 175 1.9

East Midlands 95 1.6 45 1.8 5 1.2 10 4.7 155 1.7

North East 65 1.1 25 1.0 0 0.0 5 2.3 95 1.0

Northern Ireland 50 0.8 20 0.8 0 0.0 15 7.0 85 0.9

Total UK 6,090 100.0 2,465 100.0 405 100.0 215 100.0 9,175 100.0


FIL

M IN

DU

STR

Y C

OM

PA

NIE

S


Table 1.8 National/regional distribution of film company turnover, 2014

Film production

Post-production

Film distribution

Film exhibition

Total UK film

Turnover(£ 000) % Turnover

(£ 000) % Turnover(£ 000) % Turnover

(£ 000) % Turnover(£ 000) %

London 2,313,685 78.0 1,144,048 82.3 2,862,673 96.2 740,456 58.0 7,060,862 82.0

South East 215,762 7.3 103,450 7.4 c c 7,917 0.6 c c

East of England 77,629 2.6 31,971 2.3 40,128 1.3 8,966 0.7 158,694 1.8

South West 116,842 3.9 33,247 2.4 c c 19,802 1.6 c c

North West 53,385 1.8 c c 2,782 0.1 c c c c

Wales 28,096 0.9 10,693 0.8 c c c c c c

Scotland 43,169 1.5 8,835 0.6 c c c c c c

Yorkshire and The Humber 13,740 0.5 6,944 0.5 1,892 0.1 c c c c

East Midlands 56,845 1.9 c c c c c c c c

Northern Ireland 14,586 0.5 c c c c c c c c

West Midlands 12,124 0.4 3,200 0.2 c c c c c c

North East 22,229 0.7 c c c c 32,922 2.6 c c

Total UK 2,968,092 100.0 1,389,338 100.0 2,976,370 100.0 1,275,566 100.0 8,609,366 100.0

Source: Office for National StatisticsNotes: Data as at March 2014.‘c’ indicates the data have been made confidential by the Office for National Statistics to avoid disclosing details of individual companies.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 such as cinema chains that have local units around the UK.The overall total differs from that in Table 1.3 as it excludes figures for video production and distribution.Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.


LEADING FILM PRODUCTION COMPANIES IN THE UK

Drawing on the BFI Research and Statistics Unit’s production database and public information, Table 1.9 presents the production companies involved in the most productions in the UK over the three-year period 2012 to 2014. Working Title Films came top of the list with 14 films with a combined budget of £289 million (equivalent to a mean budget per film of £21 million), followed by Press On Features with 12 films (combined budget of £13 million) and Passion Pictures also with 12 films (combined budget of £12 million). Scott Free Films produced nine films, but had the second largest combined budget at £254 million.

Table 1.9 Top 20 production companies involved in UK production, ranked by number of films, 2012-2014

Production company Number of films

Estimated combined

budget (£ million)

Selected titles

Working Title Films 14 289 Everest; Les Misérables; The Theory of Everything

Press On Features* 12 13 Essex Boys Retribution; The Hooligan Wars; Shame the Devil

Passion Pictures 12 12 The Green Prince; I Am Ali; Listen to Me Marlon

Vertigo Films 11 41 All Stars; Pudsey the Dog: The Movie; Walking on Sunshine

Scott Free Films 9 254 Before I Go to Sleep; Exodus: Gods and Kings; Get Santa

Pinewood Pictures 9 39 Pressure; Robot Overlords; Take Down

North Bank Entertainment 9 <1 The Last House on Cemetery Lane; Theatre of Fear aka The Midnight Horror Show; Valley of the Witch

The Fyzz Facility 7 10 Legendary: Tomb of the Dragon; The Survivalist; X Moor

Met Film Production 7 4 The Great Hip Hop Hoax; How to Change the World; Pantomime

Templeheart Films 7 3 AB Negative; Deadly Virtues: Love.Honor.Obey.; Ibiza Undead

Revolution Films 6 42 The Face of an Angel; Rush; The Trip to Italy

Altitude Film Entertainment 6 11 Big Game; Kill Your Friends; Tiger House

Richwater Films 6 2 Age of Kill; Top Dog; We Still Kill the Old Way

Potboiler Productions 5 52 A Little Chaos; A Most Wanted Man; Our Kind of Traitor

Matador Pictures 5 26 Generation Z; Jimi: All Is By My Side; The Numbers Station

Baby Cow Films 5 20 The Look of Love; Northern Soul; Philomena

Green Screen Productions 5 13 Awaiting; The Knife That Killed Me; Slapper and Me

Film & Music Entertainment 5 4 Lost in Karastan; Rio 50 Degrees; StreetKids United II – The Girls From Rio

New Black Films 5 2 The Battle of the Sexes; Mandela’s Children; Shooting for Socrates

Third Films 5 2 6 Desires: DH Lawrence and Sardinia; Blood Cells; Bypass

Chata Pictures 5 1 The Fall of the Essex Boys; Riot; White Collar Hooligan 2: England Away

Dartmouth Films 5 1 Basically, Johnny Moped; The Spirit Level; Still the Enemy Within

Roast Beef Productions 5 1 The Do Gooders; Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer aka Show Trial: The Story of Pussy Riot; The Russian Woodpecker

Source: BFINotes:* Press On Features entered administration in 2014.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 companies associated with five or more films over the three-year period.



FILM ON PHYSICAL

VIDEO Image: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire courtesy of Lionsgate Films

DESPITE FALLING REVENUES, PARTICULARLY IN THE RENTAL MARKET, PHYSICAL VIDEO REMAINS A CRUCIAL ELEMENT OF THE FILM VALUE CHAIN. IN 2014, FEATURE FILM VIDEO SALES AND RENTALS IN THE UK GENERATED JUST UNDER £1 BILLION.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ Sales for all categories of video on physical media in 2014 were

almost £1.3 billion; feature film on video accounted for just over £860 million.

■ There were 143 million sales of all categories of video on physical media (162 million in 2013), 110 million of these being feature film.

■ Film accounted for 77% of the volume of the video sales market and 68% of the value. UK films accounted for around 25% of all films sold on video.

■ The most popular purchase on both DVD and Blu-ray in 2014 was Frozen.

■ The value of the video rental market for film was £107 million in 2014, with online rental with postal delivery accounting for 74% of all feature film rental transactions.

FILM ON PHYSICAL VIDEO

FIL

M O

N P

HYSIC

AL V

IDE

O


FILM IN THE RETAIL VIDEO MARKET

‘Video’ is used in this chapter as the generic description of all physical video, including DVD, Blu-ray and other physical formats, in line with the British Video Association’s (BVA) definition; it does not include downloads. Information on films rented or purchased by download or streaming will be available in the Film on digital video report.

In 2014, 143 million videos in all categories were sold, down 12% on 2013. As Figure 1.1 shows, the total market value was £1,264 million, down 12% from £1,438 million in 2013. The sales of videos peaked in 2004, and since then the trends for both sales value and volume have been decreasing.

DVDs accounted for the majority of all categories of video sales (82% by value and 88% by volume). Blu-ray disc sales accounted for 18% of total video sales by value and 12% of sales by volume in 2014. These figures are unchanged from 2013.

Feature film represented approximately 68% of the retail video market by value (£861 million) and 77% by volume (110 million units) in 2014. UK films accounted for around 25% of sales, by volume, of film on video.

Figure 1.1 Retail video sales (all categories), 1999-2014

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

2014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999

Million

Volume (million) 96 114 135 169 208 234 222 228 249 257 243 223 207 179 162 143

Value (£ million) 878 1,101 1,417 1,896 2,245 2,478 2,309 2,219 2,246 2,237 1,975 1,839 1,749 1,543 1,438 1,264

Source: BVA, IHSNote: Data in this table include all categories of retail video, not only film.

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. The decrease in sales has continued since 2009, with 119 million units sold in 2013 and 110 million sold in 2014 (Figure 1.2).


0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999

Million

Figure 1.2 Film on video retail sales, 1999-2014

As Figure 1.3 shows, the average unit price for film on video increased with the introduction of the DVD format in the late 1990s to reach a peak in 2002, but there was a general downward trend from 2002 to 2009. The average price increased to £7.90 in 2010 compared with 2009’s £7.29, and has stayed at similar levels since. In 2014 the average price per film on physical video was £7.80.

Figure 1.3 Average retail price of film per unit, 1999-2014

Table 1.1 shows the top 10 best selling films on physical video in 2014. Five of the top 10 titles were released theatrically in 2014, and the other five were released in 2013.

At the top of the list is Frozen, the fourth highest grossing film at the UK box office in 2013, followed by The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second highest grossing film in the UK in 2013. The other titles released theatrically in 2013 are The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Gravity and Thor: The Dark World. None of the 2013 theatrical releases appeared in the top 10 best selling films on video in 2013.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999

Price (£)

Price (£) 7.46 7.87 8.56 9.15 8.80 8.64 8.52 7.89 7.68 7.42 7.29 7.90 7.64 7.62 7.93 7.80

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

Volume (million) 61 76 96 128 158 180 164 165 188 196 180 160 152 127 119 110

Value (£ million) 451 601 821 1,175 1,392 1,557 1,399 1,302 1,440 1,454 1,311 1,267 1,165 968 940 861

Source: BFI RSU analysis of Official Charts Company and BVA dataNote: Includes some feature films which would be classified as ‘children’s’ videos in the BVA Yearbook.

FIL

M O

N P

HYSIC

AL V

IDE

O


The highest earning title from the 2014 theatrical releases is The Lego Movie, which was the year’s third highest earning film at the UK box office. Table 1.1 Top 10 best selling films on physical video formats, 2014

Title Country of origin

Distributor

1 Frozen USA Walt Disney

2 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug USA/NZ Warner Bros

3 The Lego Movie Aus/USA/Den Warner Bros

4 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire USA Lionsgate

5 Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie UK Universal

6 Guardians of the Galaxy UK/USA Walt Disney

7 Gravity UK/USA Warner Bros

8 The Wolf of Wall Street USA Universal

9 The Inbetweeners 2 UK Channel 4

10 Thor: The Dark World UK/USA Walt Disney

Source: Official Charts Company

As Figure 1.4 shows, action/adventure was the highest selling genre of films sold on video in 2014, accounting for 26% of the market (25% in 2013). Comedy was the next most popular with 19% of all sales, followed by drama with 17% – the same pattern as in 2013. (It should be noted that these categories, as defined by the BVA, differ from the genre categories assigned to the theatrical market by the BFI Research and Statistics Unit in the Genre and Classification report.) Figure 1.4 Sales of film on physical video formats by genre, 2014

Genre %

Action/adventure 25.5

Comedy 18.9

Drama 17.3

Sci-fi 10.0

Thriller 9.1

Family 6.9

Horror 6.7

Musical 1.8

War 1.4

Western 1.3

Documentary 0.6

Anime 0.3

Adult 0.1

Source: Official Charts Company, BVANote: These genres are assigned by the BVA; the categories are not the same as those in the Genre and Classification report.


The list of the top 10 UK performers on sell-through video in 2014 includes five titles which are also in the overall top 10 for the year: Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy, Gravity, The Inbetweeners 2 and Thor: The Dark World (Table 1.2). As with the overall top 10 chart, five of the titles were released theatrically in 2014 and five were released in 2013.

Four of the top 10 UK qualifying films on video are independent titles, including the second highest earning independent theatrical release of 2014, The Inbetweeners 2. Table 1.2 Top 10 best selling UK qualifying films on physical video formats, 2014


Distributor

1 Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie UK/Ire/USA Universal

2 Guardians of the Galaxy UK/USA Walt Disney

3 Gravity UK/USA Warner Bros


5 Thor: The Dark World UK/USA Walt Disney

6 Maleficent UK/USA Walt Disney

7 Captain Phillips UK/USA Sony Pictures

8 Rush UK/Ger/USA StudioCanal

9 Philomena UK Pathé

10 Non-Stop UK/Fra/USA StudioCanal

Source: BFI RSU analysis of Official Charts Company data

Unlike the previous top 10 charts, the majority of titles in the list of the top 10 UK independent films sold on video in 2014 were released theatrically in previous years. Six of the titles were released in 2013 and one was released in 2012. The 2012 release, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, features in the chart for the third consecutive year, while two 2013 releases, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa and Red 2, appear in the chart for the second consecutive year.

The three titles released theatrically in 2014 include The Inbetweeners 2, which was both the second highest earning UK and UK independent film of the year. The two other films first released in cinemas in 2014 were Non-Stop and The Railway Man (Table 1.3).

FIL

M O

N P

HYSIC

AL V

IDE

O


Table 1.3 Top 10 best selling UK independent films on physical video formats, 2014


Distributor


2 Rush UK/Ger/USA# StudioCanal

3 Philomena UK Pathé

4 Non-Stop UK/Fra/USA# StudioCanal

5 The Railway Man UK/Aus Lionsgate

6 Sunshine on Leith UK Entertainment

7 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel UK/USA/Ind# 20th Century Fox

8 Red 2 UK/USA# eOne Films

9 Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa UK StudioCanal

10 Filth UK/Ger/USA/Bel# Lionsgate

Source: BFI RSU analysis of Official Charts Company data# Rush, Non-Stop, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Red 2 and Filth were made with independent (non-studio) US support.

Table 1.4 shows the top 10 best selling feature documentaries on video in 2014. This list does not include documentaries which are based on music concerts.

Documentaries about sport or sports personalities dominate the list with nine of the top 10 titles. Three of the titles have appeared in the chart previously. Both Senna and TT3D: Closer to the Edge (both released theatrically in 2011) appear for the fourth consecutive year, while The Class of ’92 (released in 2013) appears for the second consecutive year. Senna is the all time highest grossing non-concert UK documentary at the UK box office, and was the highest selling non-concert documentary on video in both in 2011 and 2012.

Two of the tiles in the list, The Summit and Manny, were not released theatrically in the UK. Table 1.4 Top 10 best selling documentary films on physical video formats, 2014


Distributor

1 I Am Ali UK/USA Universal

2 Road UK/Ire Kaleidoscope

3 The Class of ’92 UK/USA Universal

4 Senna UK/USA Universal

5 TT3D: Closer to the Edge UK eOne Films

6 1: Life on the Limit USA StudioCanal

7 The Summit UK/Ire/USA Metrodome

8 Generation Iron USA Signature

9 Grey Wolf: The Escape of Adolf Hitler UK/Arg High Fliers

10 Manny USA/Phi Universal

Source: BFI RSU analysis of Official Charts Company dataNote: Titles based on music concerts are not included.


The list of the top 10 best selling foreign language films on video in 2014 includes two titles that have appeared in the chart previously. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the top selling foreign language film on video in 2012, appears for the fourth consecutive year and The Raid, the top selling foreign language film on video in 2013, appears for the third consecutive year. The sequel to the latter, The Raid 2, which was released theatrically in 2014, tops the current chart.

Both Raid titles are Indonesian language films but were written and directed by the British filmmaker Gareth Evans. In addition to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there is one other Scandinavian title in the list, The Hundred Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, and one Finnish title 1944: The Final Defence.

There are two Mandarin language titles in the list (Chinese Zodiac, Man of Tai Chi), one Russian language title (Stalingrad), one Japanese language title (Howl’s Moving Castle) and one French language title (La Vie en Rose). The 2004 Studio Ghibli production, Howl’s Moving Castle, is the first foreign language animation to appear in the list since our records began. Alongside Man of Tai Chi and 1944: The Final Defence, Howl’s Moving Castle has not been on general release theatrically in the UK, but it has been shown as part of a number of themed seasons. Table 1.5 Top 10 best selling foreign language films on physical video formats, 2014


Distributor

1 The Raid 2 Indonesia/USA eOne Films

2 The Raid Indonesia/USA eOne Films

3 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Swe/Den/Ger eOne Films

4 Chinese Zodiac Chi/Hong Kong Universal

5 Man of Tai Chi USA/Chi/Hong Kong Universal

6 The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

Swe/Cro StudioCanal

7 Stalingrad Rus Sony Pictures

8 1944: The Final Defence Fin Metrodome

9 Howl’s Moving Castle USA/Jap/Fra StudioCanal

10 La Vie en Rose UK/Fra/Czech Icon

Source: BFI RSU analysis of Official Charts Company data

Classic titles, in particular classic family films, also remain popular video purchases, due in part to theatrical re-releases or other events associated with the films. Walt Disney titles Cinderella, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves all sold well on video in 2014, helped in part by a prolonged promotion with major retailers. Mrs. Doubtfire, which was released theatrically in the UK in 1994, also achieved significant sales during the year, linked perhaps to the death of Robin Williams. Some classic titles achieve substantial sales on video without the help of a theatrical re-release or associated event. In 2014, such titles included the Lord of the Rings and original Star Wars trilogy sets.

FIL

M O

N P

HYSIC

AL V

IDE

O


FILM IN THE VIDEO RENTAL MARKET

There were 36 million rental transactions of feature film on physical video in 2014, a fall of 29% compared with 2013’s 51 million. The value of the market was £107 million, down from £149 million in 2013. The average value of a rental was £2.98, and online renting of physical discs (with postal delivery) accounted for 74% of rental transactions.1

The peak value of the physical rental market for film was £494 million in both 2001 and 2002; the current value of the market is just over one fifth of that (Figure 1.5). The decrease in the market’s value is due mainly to the rapid decline of over-the-counter rentals in the face of competition from multi-channel television and subscription Video on Demand (eg services such as Netflix). Figure 1.5 Film on video rental market, 2001-2014

HARDWARE

According to the BVA, in 2014 some 2.7 million DVD players were sold in the UK, down from 3.3 million in 2013. Sales of DVD players have been decreasing each year since 2008. Also, 1.1 million Blu-ray players were sold in 2014, a slight fall from 1.2 million in 2013. In total, more than 6.5 million Blu-ray players have now been sold in the UK.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

20142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001

Million

Transactions (million) 198 183 160 159 138 116 98 96 98 93 93 87 51 36

Value (£ million) 494 494 462 476 399 340 295 284 285 278 262 221 149 107

Source: IHS, BVA

1 Due to declining volumes, information on the top 10 online film video rentals, top 10 over-the-counter film video rentals and a breakdown of rentals by genre are no longer presented in this year’s report.


Image: Skyfall © 2012 Danjaq, LLC, United Artists Corporation and Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All rights reserved.


FILM ON UK TELEVISION

IN TERMS OF VIEWER NUMBERS, TELEVISION IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT PLATFORM FOR FILM CONSUMPTION IN THE UK. VIEWERS HAD A CHOICE OF OVER 6,500 UNIQUE FILM TITLES ACROSS ALL CHANNELS IN 2014, AND THE CUMULATIVE FILM AUDIENCE WAS JUST OVER THREE BILLION.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ There were 6,572 unique film titles on television in 2014, including

1,646 on terrestrial channels, 1,145 on pay TV film channels and 3,781 on other digital channels.

■ There were 1,943 film transmissions on terrestrial channels, down from 1,990 in 2013. Of these, 400 (21%) were UK films (down from 514 in 2013), 247 films (13%) were network premieres and 56 (3%) were foreign language films (up from 47 in 2013).

■ The top film on terrestrial television was Skyfall on ITV, with 8.1 million viewers.

■ There were just over three billion viewings of feature film across all television formats (except pay-per-view) in 2014 – over 20 times the number of cinema admissions.

■ The estimated value of feature film to UK broadcasters in 2014 was £1.4 billion, down from £1.6 billion in 2013.

FILM ON UK TELEVISION

FIL

M O

N U

K T

ELE

VIS

ION


PROGRAMMING ON THE TERRESTRIAL CHANNELS

Table 1.1 shows the total number of feature films broadcast on the five terrestrial channels in 2014 and the number of UK titles broadcast in that time. (Terrestrial television is used here to describe the previous national terrestrial analogue services, all of which have some degree of public service obligation.) 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 qualifying films given other nationalities (mostly USA) in the BARB data.

There were 1,943 film transmissions on terrestrial television in 2014, marginally down from 1,990 in 2013, an average of over five films a day.

Table 1.1 Feature films broadcast1 on terrestrial television 2014

Number of films broadcast

Number of UK films

broadcast

UK films as %

of total

Number of recent UK films

broadcast

Recent UK films as % of total films

broadcast

BBC One 192 24 13 15 8

BBC Two 433 126 29 37 9

ITV 251 101 40 32 13

Channel 4 543 83 15 35 6

Channel 5 524 66 13 1 <1

Total 1,943 400 21 120 6

Source: Attentional, BFI RSU analysis1 Includes repeat broadcasts of individual titles.

In 2014, 12% of films broadcast on terrestrial television (247 films) were premieres (films shown for the first time on terrestrial networks); 40 of these were UK films (Table 1.2). Channel 4 showed the highest number of premieres overall and the highest number of UK film premieres, with 133 and 17 films respectively, whereas ITV showed the smallest number of premieres with seven, although six of these were premieres of UK films.

Table 1.2 Premiere feature films broadcast on terrestrial television, 2014

Number of premiere

films broadcast

Number of UK

premiere films

broadcast

UK premiere films as

% of total premiere

films

Average audience

(million)

Top premiere Audience for top

premiere (million)

BBC One 15 3 20 2.96 Marvel Avengers Assemble 6.0

BBC Two 49 14 29 0.38 Salmon Fishing in the Yemen 1.8

ITV 7 6 86 3.42 Skyfall 8.1

Channel 4 133 17 13 0.68 Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4.0

Channel 5 43 0 – 0.86 Gran Torino 2.0

Total 247 40 16 0.87

Source: Attentional, BARB, BFI RSU analysis


Figure 1.1 shows the percentage of films broadcast categorised by the number of times they have been screened by a particular channel. The number of times a film is shown varies across the channels, although for each channel titles shown five times or more account for the greatest proportion (59%) of film broadcasts. As with the number of premieres broadcast in 2014, Channel 4 had the largest proportion of premieres (24%) in terms of films broadcast, while ITV had the smallest (3%).

Figure 1.1 Proportion of feature film premieres and repeat broadcasts on terrestrial channels, 2014

The most popular film premiere on terrestrial television in 2014 was the Christmas Eve broadcast of Skyfall on ITV, which attracted 8.1 million viewers. (ITV regained the free-to-air television rights to the James Bond franchise in 2013, after losing them for a year to Sky.) The network also had the second most popular terrestrial television film premiere of the year, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which had 6.4 million viewers. Seven of the remaining top 10 premieres were shown on BBC One and one was shown on Channel 4. Half of the films in the top 10 are UK studio backed films (Table 1.3).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

%

Premiere 8 11 3 24 8

2nd broadcast 11 9 5 17 12

3rd broadcast 34 13 13 14 7

4th broadcast 3 1 5 2 5

5th or more broadcast 44 66 74 42 68

Source: Attentional, BARB, BFI RSU analysis Note: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Channel 5Channel 4ITV BBC TwoBBC One

FIL

M O

N U

K T

ELE

VIS

ION


Table 1.3 Top 10 film premieres on terrestrial television, 2014

Title Channel Country of origin

Year of theatrical

release

Audience (million)

1 Skyfall ITV UK/USA 2012 8.1

2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

ITV UK/USA 2011 6.4

3 Marvel Avengers Assemble BBC One USA 2012 6.0

4 Puss in Boots BBC One USA 2011 5.5

5 War Horse BBC One UK/USA 2012 5.4

6 Gnomeo & Juliet BBC One UK/USA/Can 2011 4.9

7 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted BBC One USA 2012 4.5

8 Rise of the Planet of the Apes Channel 4 USA 2011 4.0

9 Kung Fu Panda 2 BBC One USA 2011 3.6

10 The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists

BBC One UK/USA 2012 3.6

Source: Attentional, BARB, BFI RSU analysis

As Table 1.4 shows, 56 foreign language films were screened on the main terrestrial channels in 2014 (3% of all film transmissions) up from 47 in 2013. As in previous years the majority of foreign language films were shown on Channel 4 (46) and BBC Two (nine). BBC One was the only other terrestrial channel to broadcast a foreign language film (its first since 2011).

Table 1.4 Foreign language films broadcast on terrestrial television, 2014

Number of foreign

language films broadcast

% of channel’s

film output

Average audience

(million)

Top foreign language film

Audience for top rated foreign

language film1 (million)

BBC One 1 0.5 0.17 City of Men 0.17

BBC Two 9 2.1 0.12 The Gatekeepers 0.36

ITV – – -– – –

Channel 4 46 8.5 0.07 House of Flying Daggers 0.26

Channel 5 – – – – –

Total 56 3.0 0.10

Source: Attentional, BARB, BFI RSU analysis 1 Total audience for all transmissions for the foreign language film, on the terrestrial channel listed.


The most popular foreign language film shown on terrestrial television in 2014 was the French-Israeli documentary The Gatekeepers which attracted just over 360,000 viewers (Table 1.5). Seven of the top 10 films were European-backed projects.

Table 1.5 Top 10 foreign language films1 on terrestrial television, 2014


Year of theatrical

release

Audience

1 The Gatekeepers BBC Two Israel/Fra 2013 361,200

2 House of Flying Daggers Channel 4 China/Hong Kong 2004 263,300

3 The Raid Channel 4 Indonesia/USA 2012 195,800

4 City of Men BBC One Brazil 2008 167,000

5 Paradise: Love Channel 4 Austria/Ger/Fra 2013 162,700

6 Mesrine: Killer Instinct BBC Two* France 2009 141,400

7 Paradise: Hope Channel 4 Austria/Ger/Fra 2013 131,200

8 Lady Chatterley Channel 4 Bel/Fra 2007 126,200

9 Female Agents Channel 4 France 2008 119,400

10 Mesrine: Public Enemy No 1 BBC Two* France 2009 114,600

Source: Attentional, BFI RSU analysis 1 Foreign language films with the highest audience figure for an individual transmission. *Audience figure excludes separate broadcast on BBC Two Northern Ireland which was transmitted one day later.

Figure 1.2 illustrates the number of foreign language films broadcast on terrestrial television between 2005 and 2014. The total number of titles has remained consistently low in comparison to the number of English language titles broadcast. 2014 had the third lowest total (56) in the 10-year period. Channel 4 has shown the most foreign language films throughout the period accounting for nearly three quarters (74%) of all non-English language film broadcasts on terrestrial channels.

FIL

M O

N U

K T

ELE

VIS

ION


Figure 1.2 Number of foreign language films broadcast on terrestrial television, 2005-2014

FILMS ON PEAK TIME TERRESTRIAL TELEVISION, 2005-2014 The proportion of peak time hours (17:30 to 23:00 hours) dedicated to feature film varied widely across the terrestrial channels between 2005 and 2014 (Figure 1.3). Throughout the period, Channel 5 has mainly had the highest proportion of peak time hours dedicated to film (16% in 2014), while Channel 4 has always had either the second or third highest proportion. In 2014, film made up 13% of peak time programming for Channel 4 and 9% for ITV. For the fourth consecutive year, BBC One had the lowest proportion of peak time hours dedicated to film (2%).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

2014201320122011201020092008200720062005

%

BBC One 1 2 5 6 1 0 1 0 0 1

BBC Two 12 2 9 17 25 7 8 19 8 9

ITV 2 0 0 1 3 2 0 2 0 0

Channel 4 43 35 46 46 42 50 51 50 39 46

Channel 5 3 2 3 3 5 0 0 0 0 0

Total 61 41 63 73 76 59 60 71 47 56

Source: Attentional, BFI RSU analysis


Figure 1.3 Film as a percentage of peak time programming hours by channel, 2005-2014

TOP FILMS ON TERRESTRIAL TELEVISION Eight of the top 10 films broadcast on terrestrial television in 2014 were premieres and one of the remaining top 10 was a repeat broadcast of one of the premiered titles (Table 1.6). Skyfall heads the list with 8.1 million viewers. (In theatrical revenue terms, this is equivalent to a box office gross of £54.4 million – its actual gross in the UK was a record-breaking £102.9 million). This was the first time since the broadcast of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2008 that the most watched film on terrestrial television was shown by ITV.

%

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

BBC One BBC Two ITV Channel 4 Channel 5

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

BBC One 8 20 13 19 19 4 2 2 2 2

BBC Two 3 10 6 7 5 3 4 4 4 5

ITV 7 7 9 9 19 16 16 13 11 9

Channel 4 11 21 15 16 15 13 15 14 14 13

Channel 5 22 27 19 17 21 22 21 20 19 16

FIL

M O

N U

K T

ELE

VIS

ION


Table 1.6 Top 10 films1 on terrestrial television, 2014


Year of theatrical

release

Audience (million)


2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 ITV UK/USA 2011 6.4

3 Marvel Avengers Assemble BBC One USA 2012 6.0

4 Puss in Boots BBC One USA 2011 5.5



7 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted BBC One USA 2012 4.5

8 Despicable Me ITV USA 2010 4.4


10 Rise of the Planet of the Apes Channel 4 USA 2011 4.0

Source: Attentional, BARB 1 Films with the highest audience figure for an individual transmission.

The list of top 10 UK films of 2014 includes five premiere titles, four of which appear in the year’s top 10 films on terrestrial television (Table 1.7). The list is headed by Skyfall, which attracted the year’s highest audience for a single broadcast across the terrestrial channels. As in 2013, the top 10 is dominated by films from the Harry Potter franchise. One of the premiered films, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, appears in the list three times alongside three other titles from the series. Seven of the top 10 UK film broadcasts were on ITV and three were on BBC One.

Table 1.7 Top 10 UK originated films1 on terrestrial television, 2014 Title Channel Country of

originYear of

theatrical release

Audience (million)







7 The Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists BBC One UK/USA 2012 3.6

8 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ITV UK/USA 2009 3.5


10 Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix ITV UK/USA 2007 3.4

Source: Attentional, BARB 1 Films with the highest audience figure for an individual transmission.


The most popular screenings of UK independent films on terrestrial television in 2014 were the network premieres of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (3.1 million viewers) and The Woman in Black (2.4 million) both of which were shown on Channel 4 (Table 1.8). The top 10 includes two other premieres – Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and My Week with Marilyn – both of which were screened on BBC Two. Five of the top 10 films have appeared in the list in previous years including Nativity! which has featured in the top 10 films for the last four years and The Inbetweeners Movie which has appeared for the last three years. All but one of the films were shown on either BBC Two or Channel 4.

Table 1.8 Top 10 independent UK films1 on terrestrial television, 2014 Title Channel Country

of originYear of

theatrical release

Audience (million)

1 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Channel 4 UK/USA/Ind # 2012 3.1

2 The Woman in Black Channel 4 UK/USA/Swe # 2012 2.4

3 Santa Claus: The Movie ITV UK/USA # 1985 2.1

4 Nativity! BBC Two UK 2009 2.1

5 Dad’s Army BBC Two UK 1971 2.0

6 The Inbetweeners Movie Channel 4 UK 2011 1.9

7 Salmon Fishing in the Yemen BBC Two UK 2012 1.8

8 My Week with Marilyn BBC Two UK/USA # 2011 1.6

9 Made in Dagenham BBC Two UK 2010 1.3

10 The King’s Speech Channel 4 UK 2011 1.3

Source: Attentional, BARBNotes: 1 UK independent films with the highest audience figure for an individual transmission. # Film made with independent (non-studio) US support.

FILMS ON MULTI-CHANNEL TELEVISION

In 2014, multi-channel television (freeview/satellite/cable) accounted for almost 47% of all television viewing in the UK and 60% of all viewings of film on television. Table 1.9 lists the number of film transmissions, the average audience, the top film and audience for the top film, for a selection of digital channels which broadcast feature films. After dedicated film channels, Turner Classic Movies (3,100 films) and Film4 (nearly 2,600 films), the highest number of films was screened by the India-based Star digital network, with almost 1,600 films.

For many of the free-to-air channels, including Film4, ITV2-4, Gold and 5*, the number of transmissions decreased compared with 2013, partly due to +1 channels not being included in the data for 2014. Despicable Me recorded the largest audience for a single screening on multi-channel television, with over 1.6 million viewers on ITV2.

FIL

M O

N U

K T

ELE

VIS

ION


Table 1.9 Feature films on selected digital channels, 2014

Channel Number of films broadcast

Average audience

(000)

Top film1 Audience for top

film (000)

Turner Classic Movies 1-2 3,100 19 Apache Territory 117

Film4 2,599 202 Red 1,233

Star Gold, Star Plus and Life OK 1,573 3 Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… 55

ITV2-4 1,513 266 Despicable Me 1,670

UMP Movies 1,203 4 Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu 72

SAB 853 6 Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi 63

More4, E4 and 4Music 690 204 Iron Man 866

Movies 24 652 8 All I Want for Christmas 85

5* 478 147 The Expendables 538

5 USA 471 134 The Siege 412

Syfy 417 53 Rambo: First Blood 236

Horror Channel 372 15 Beyond Re-Animator 75

BBC Three and BBC Four 221 529 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1,345

Watch, Gold, Dave, Really, Drama, Alibi and Yesterday

216 121 Men in Black 381

Sky 1-2 212 105 Jumanji 483

Colors TV 203 8 Ishq Vishk 46

Rishtey Europe 171 10 Bhool Bhulaiyaa 48

VIVA 112 30 Norbit 99

Source: Attentional, BARB Notes: 1 Film with the highest audience figure for an individual transmission. The Zing and Lamhe channels are not shown in the table due to issues relating to identifiable film titles.

Despicable Me was also the top film on digital multi-channel in 2014 in terms of total audience across all transmissions, with 11.4 million viewers from nine broadcasts (Table 1.10). As in previous years, ITV2 had the largest number of films in the top 10, three of which were James Bond titles.


Table 1.10 Top 10 feature films on digital multi-channel television, 2014

Title Channel Number of broadcasts

Country of origin

Year of theatrical

release

Total audience1

(million)

1 Despicable Me ITV2 9 USA 2010 11.4

2 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

BBC Three 6 USA 2008 6.2

3 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade BBC Three 5 USA 1989 5.6

4 Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang ITV2 8 UK/USA 2010 5.3

5 Quantum of Solace ITV2 6 UK/USA 2008 4.9

6 Tomorrow Never Dies ITV2 6 UK/USA 1997 4.9

7 Little Fockers BBC Three 6 USA 2010 4.8

8 Independence Day Film4/E4 8 USA 1996 4.7

9 Die Hard 4.0 Film4/E4 8 USA 2007 4.7

10 GoldenEye ITV2 5 UK/USA 1995 4.4

Source: Attentional, BARB 1 Total audience figure for all transmissions across all free-to-air and paid (non-film subscription) digital multi-channels. With the incorporation of MGM and Disney under the Sky Movies brand in early 2014 the number of pay TV film channels decreased, which is reflected in the numbers of individual titles and transmissions being lower than in 2013. The various Sky Movies channels broadcast a total of 1,122 unique titles across 33,009 slots during the year with an average audience of nearly 10,000.

Table 1.11 shows the top 10 films in terms of combined viewings on pay TV film channels in 2014. The Disney animation Wreck-It Ralph was the most popular film overall, with a total combined audience of 6.5 million from 148 transmissions. However, another Disney animation stands out in terms of audiences per transmission: Frozen attracted 5.2 million viewers in a single week, with its Christmas Day premiere alone attracting 1.4 million viewers, well over five times the audience received by any single transmission of another film on a pay TV film channel during the year.

Table 1.11 Top 10 feature films1 on pay TV film channels, 2014

Title Number of transmissions

Country of origin

Year of theatrical

release

Total audience1 (million)

1 Wreck-It Ralph 148 USA 2013 6.5

2 Frozen 14 USA 2009 5.2

3 Iron Man 3 177 USA/China 2013 4.0

4 Home Alone 79 USA 1990 3.5

5 Elf 53 USA/Ger 2003 3.4

6 Toy Story 2 62 USA 2000 3.4

7 Toy Story 63 USA 1996 3.2

8 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 62 USA 2009 3.0

9 The Heat 70 USA 2013 2.8

10 Aladdin 102 USA 1993 2.8

Source: Attentional, BARB Notes:1 Total audience figure for all transmissions across all subscription film channels.All films were shown on Sky Movies.

FIL

M O

N U

K T

ELE

VIS

ION


THE AUDIENCE FOR FILM ON ALL TELEVISION CHANNELS, 2000-2014

In 2014, there were just over three billion viewings of film on television in the UK (Figure 1.4), compared with cinema admissions of 157.5 million. This is the lowest figure for television film audiences in the 15-year period 2000-2014; it represents approximately 48 film viewings per person per year. Audience numbers decreased across all television platforms compared with 2013. Pay TV viewings recorded the sharpest fall, decreasing from 453 million in 2013 to 338 million in 2014. Audiences for film on digital multi-channel were the lowest since 2010; however, film viewings on this platform were greater than those on terrestrial channels for the third year in a row.

Figure 1.4 Total audience for feature film on television (except pay-per-view), 2000-2014

THE VALUE OF FEATURE FILM TO BROADCASTERSBased on a model developed by Attentional, the BFI Research and Statistics Unit has estimated the value of feature film to UK broadcasters to have been approximately £1.4 billion in 2014. The number of film transmissions and the audience size were down on 2013 and therefore the estimated value has dropped by approximately £200 million. This figure is derived from the annual revenue per channel – ie net advertising revenue for the commercial channels, subscription revenues for the pay TV channels and the proportion of licence fee applied to programming on the BBC channels – multiplied by the percentage of broadcast hours for feature film.

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000

Million

Terrestrial 2,873 2,916 2,594 2,825 2,583 2,347 1,951 1,827 1,807 1,726 1,634 1,674 1,531 1,302 1,244

Pay TV film channels 617 645 722 796 732 668 630 488 491 565 557 593 570 453 338

Other digital multi-channel - - 74 264 286 323 724 796 1,197 1,565 1,476 1,641 1,760 1,666 1,496

Total 3,491 3,561 3,391 3,886 3,602 3,339 3,306 3,111 3,497 3,856 3,668 3,909 3,862 3,421 3,078

Source: BFI RSU, Attentional, BARBFigures may not sum to total due to rounding.


FILM AND OTHER SCREEN

SECTOR PRODUCTIONS CERTIFIED AS

BRITISHImage: Testament of Youth courtesy of Lionsgate Films


FILM AND OTHER SCREEN SECTOR PRODUCTIONS CERTIFIED AS BRITISH

IN 2014, 255 FILMS, WITH A TOTAL PRODUCTION VALUE OF £1.9 BILLION, WERE CERTIFIED AS BRITISH. SINCE THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW CREATIVE SECTOR TAX RELIEFS, 55 HIGH-END TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS, 24 TELEVISION ANIMATION PRODUCTIONS AND 19 VIDEO GAMES HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED AS BRITISH.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ A total of 255 UK films (199 in 2013) received final certification as

British in 2014. Of these, 240 were films which passed the cultural test and 15 were official co-productions.

■ The total production budget of finally certified cultural test films was £1,856 million (£1,353 million in 2013); the total budget of finally certified co-productions was £68 million (£113 million in 2013).

■ Twenty-five cultural test films had budgets of over £10 million, up from 16 in 2013.

■ In 2014, the median budget for cultural test films was £0.3 million; the median budget for co-productions was £4 million.

■ In 2013/14 and 2014/15, 55 high-end television productions received final certification as British, with a total budget of £372 million, and 24 television animation productions received final certification, with a total budget of £42 million.

■ In 2014/15, 19 video games received final certification, with a budget of £15 million.

FIL

M A

ND

OTH

ER

SC

RE

EN

SE

CTO

R P

RO

DU

CTIO

NS C

ER

TIF

IED

AS B

RIT

ISH


QUALIFYING AS AN OFFICIAL BRITISH FILMTo access the UK film tax relief or be eligible for other public support, a film must be certified as British. To qualify as British, a film must pass the cultural test for film (under Schedule 1 of the Films Act 1985) or be certified as an official co-production under one of the UK’s bilateral co-production agreements or the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production. The cultural test has been in place since 2007, but was revised in 2014 to bring it in line with the new creative sector reliefs outlined below. (The revised cultural test came into force on 29 January 2015.) Before 2007, films which were not certified as co-productions had to pass a production costs test to be certified as British.

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is responsible for approving the issuing of British Film Certificates on the basis of recommendations made by the BFI Certification Unit. An ‘interim approval’ may be granted before completion to a film which meets the certification criteria, and ‘final certification’ is awarded once the film has been completed and final documents submitted.

To qualify as British under the revised cultural test, films have to receive a requisite number of points based on UK or UK/European Economic Area (EEA) cultural elements for content, contribution, hubs and practitioners. A wide range of films qualified as British under the cultural test in 2014, including I Am Ali, Guardians of the Galaxy, Testament of Youth and X+Y.

To qualify as British under one of the UK’s official co-production agreements, films must be jointly certified by the competent authorities in each co-producing country. Each party co-producer is required to meet the certifying criteria of the specific co-production agreement, 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. British films certified as official co-productions are not required to pass the cultural test.

At the end of 2014, the UK had 10 active bilateral treaties in place, with Australia, Canada, France, India, Israel, Jamaica, Morocco, New Zealand, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and South Africa. A co-production treaty with China was ratified in March 2015. (An agreement with Brazil was signed in 2013, but is still subject to constitutional procedures and ratification before it can come into

force.) Official UK co-productions can also be certified under the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production which allows for both bilateral and multilateral film co-productions. Films which received final co-production certification in 2014 include Mr. Turner, Vampire Academy and The Zero Theorem.

QUALIFYING AS AN OFFICIAL BRITISH HIGH-END TELEVISION OR ANIMATION PROGRAMMEIn 2013, the UK government introduced tax reliefs for high-end television (HETV) and animation programmes with the aim of boosting production investment in these creative sectors. To qualify as an official British HETV or television animation production, projects must pass either the relevant cultural test (under Schedule 16 of the Finance Act 2013) or be certified as an official co-production under one of the UK’s bilateral co-production agreements which allow television co-production. At the end of the 2014/15 financial year, these were with Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

In 2014/15, HETV projects with final certification under the cultural test included Atlantis, The Honourable Woman and Noah; finally certified cultural test animation projects included Dennis and Gnasher, Legends of Chima and One Night in Hell. No HETV or animation co-productions received final certification in this period.

QUALIFYING AS AN OFFICIAL BRITISH VIDEO GAMEIn 2014, the UK government extended creative sector tax reliefs to include video games development. As these reliefs first came into force on 1 April 2014, we are reporting statistics on their implementation for the financial year 2014/15.

As with the other creative sector reliefs, to qualify as officially British video games must pass the relevant cultural test (under Schedules 17 and 18 of the Finance Act 2013). However, official co-production treaties do not apply to the video games sector. In 2014/15, video game projects with final certification included Enigma Express, GRID Autosport and Inflatable Maths.


FILM CULTURAL TEST CERTIFICATIONS, 2013 AND 2014

In 2014, a total of 240 films received final certification as British under the cultural test (Table 1.1) with a combined budget of £1,856 million. This was a substantial increase from 182 films in 2013 (combined budget of £1,353 million). The number of interim cultural test approvals decreased in 2014 compared with 2013, from 190 to 171, but the anticipated total production value slightly increased from £1,731 million to £1,764 million.

Table 1.1 Film cultural test certifications, 2013 and 2014

Type of certification

2013 2014

Number Budget (£ million)


Interim approval 190 1,730.8 171 1,764.1

Final certification 182 1,353.3 240 1,856.1

Source: DCMS, BFI

FILM CO-PRODUCTION CERTIFICATIONS, 2013 AND 2014

In 2014, with 15 final certifications and 16 interim approvals, the number of official co-productions was lower than in 2013. The total budget for final and interim certifications was also lower than in 2013. The combined budget for final certifications in 2014 was £68 million compared with £113 million in 2013; the anticipated production value of interim approvals decreased from £117 million in 2013 to £71 million in 2014.

Table 1.2 Film co-production certifications, 2013 and 2014


2013 2014



Interim approval 19 116.6 16 71.2

Final certification 17 112.7 15 68.2

Source: DCMS, BFI

In 2014, 14 of the 15 final co-production certifications were under the European Convention on Cinematic Co-production. The remaining co-production was under the UK-Canada agreement. Of the 16 interim co-production certifications, 10 were under the European Convention, five were under the UK-Canada agreement and one was under the UK-South Africa agreement.

FIL

M A

ND

OTH

ER

SC

RE

EN

SE

CTO

R P

RO

DU

CTIO

NS C

ER

TIF

IED

AS B

RIT

ISH


FILMS WITH FINAL CERTIFICATION, 1998-2014

Due in part to a competitive tax regime, the number of UK films (cultural test/production costs test and co-productions) receiving final certification has risen sharply in the past few years. The high figures of 2010 to 2014 (between 189 and 254) contrast sharply with the low totals of 1998 (56) and 1999 (81). As Figure 1.1 shows, in the first half of the 2000s, the number of cultural test/production costs test films remained fairly constant while co-productions increased to become the dominant financing model for production. The decline in co-production numbers, and more recent marked increase in cultural test films, since then has been influenced by the government’s closing of tax loopholes and the redesign of the post-2006 tax relief to accrue more benefit to the UK economy.

Figure 1.1 Number of films with final certification, 1998-2014

Cultural test/production costs test 40 68 108 75 77 76 72 66 74 98 97 144 170 189 187 182 240

Co-production 16 13 22 41 56 84 99 106 68 56 8 8 19 14 13 17 15

Total 56 81 130 116 133 160 171 172 142 154 105 152 189 203 200 199 255

Source: DCMS, BFI

Number of final certifications

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

1413121110090807060504030201009998

The total production budget of British films receiving final certification in 2014, at £1,924 million, was higher than in 2013 (£1,466 million) but lower than 2011’s record total of £2,250 million (Figure 1.2). Before 2011, the previous highest aggregate budget was £1,822 million in 2004, which was the high point (in terms of value) of the surge in official UK co-productions in the early 2000s. Over 96% of the total budget was accounted for by cultural test films in 2014. The value of official co-productions in 2008 was similar to the level in 1998-2000; from 2008 to 2010 the aggregate budget increased slightly to £137 million, but has since decreased to £68 million in 2014.


Figure 1.2 Total production budget of films with final certification, 1998-2014

Cultural test/production costs test 232 408 361 539 585 330 644 758 402 561 935 605 1,002 2,118 1,170 1,353 1,856

Co-production 60 66 96 278 462 428 1,178 877 460 357 45 48 137 131 73 113 68

Total 292 474 457 816 1,048 758 1,822 1,635 862 918 980 653 1,139 2,250 1,243 1,466 1,924

Source: DCMS, BFINotes: Total production budget is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK for cultural test/production costs test films and total investment for co-productions. Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Figure 1.3 shows the levels of UK spend between 1998 and 2014. UK spend is generally that part of the production budget spent in the UK (see notes to Figure 1.3). As with aggregate budgets, 2011 saw a record total of UK spend (£1,533 million), with 2014 being the second highest at £1,293 million (up from £1,106 million in 2013). The previous peak of UK spend was in 2004 and 2005 when well over half the total production budget was contributed by co-productions. However, the aggregate UK spend of co-productions has always been less than that of cultural test/production costs test films. In 2014, cultural test films accounted for 97% of the UK spend of finally certified films.

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

1413121110090807060504030201009998

Total production budget (£ million)

FIL

M A

ND

OTH

ER

SC

RE

EN

SE

CTO

R P

RO

DU

CTIO

NS C

ER

TIF

IED

AS B

RIT

ISH


Figure 1.3 UK spend of films with final certification, 1998-2014

Cultural test/production costs test 151 269 292 459 523 293 560 685 341 442 589 423 854 1,478 834 1,041 1,253

Co-production 23 22 38 88 132 127 443 337 183 123 34 22 51 55 44 65 40

Total 174 291 330 548 655 421 1,003 1,023 524 566 623 445 905 1,533 878 1,106 1,293

Source: DCMS, BFINotes: ‘UK spend’ is the ‘value of the production activities in the UK’ for cultural test/production costs test films and ‘UK expenditure’ for co-produc-tions (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 cultural test/production costs test films (Table 1.3). From 1998 to 2007 the co-production UK spend share was usually around one third, although it was as high as 75% in 2008 and 45% in 2009 when the number of co-productions was particularly small. The share of UK spend for co-productions has been relatively high since 2012, at around 59% of the total production value. The annual UK spend share of cultural test/production costs test films has ranged from 63% to 91%, and in 2014 was 68%.


0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

1413121110090807060504030201009998


Table 1.3 UK spend as % of total production budget, 1998-2014

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Cultural test/production costs test 65 66 81 85 89 89 87 91 85 79 63 70 85 70 71 77 68

Co-production 39 33 40 32 29 30 38 39 40 35 75 45 37 42 60 58 59

Total 60 61 72 67 63 56 55 63 61 62 64 68 80 68 71 76 67

Source: BFI

BUDGET DISTRIBUTION OF FILMS WITH FINAL CERTIFICATION, 1998-2014

Median budgets for films with final certification are shown in Figure 1.4. 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 to £3.8 million in 2006 to 2008 then a steep rise in 2009 to £6.3 million. (The sharp rise in the median budget for 2009 is likely to be partly due to the very low numbers of films certified in that year, as with low numbers the median is more susceptible to the effects of individual budgets.) Median budgets fell again between 2010 and 2012 but increased in both 2013 and 2014. The median budget in 2014 was £4 million.

From 1998 to 2001, the median budget of cultural test/production costs test films was around £3 million. This dipped in 2002 and 2003 to around £2 million, but then rose to over £3 million in 2004 and 2005. Since then, as the number of these films has increased, the median budget has fallen. Since 2010, the median budget has plateaued at around £0.4 million. In 2014, the median budget was £0.3 million.

Figure 1.4 Median budgets of films with final certification, 1998-2014Median budget (£ million)

Cultural test/production costs test* 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 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3

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 3.8 2.8 3.7 4.0

Source: BFINotes: The median is the middle value, ie there are equal numbers of films above and below the median.* The production costs test for qualification as a British film was replaced by the cultural test in 2007.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1413121110090807060504030201009998

FIL

M A

ND

OTH

ER

SC

RE

EN

SE

CTO

R P

RO

DU

CTIO

NS C

ER

TIF

IED

AS B

RIT

ISH


Table 1.4 shows that one reason for the decrease in the cultural test/production costs test median budget is the growth in the number of low budget (under £2 million) films being awarded final certification. 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 new rules in 2007. The total number of high budget (over £10 million) films with final certification has remained fairly consistent. There are generally around 10 to 15 such films per year, but there were 20 in 2011 and 25 in 2014. The high figure for 2014 may, in part, be due to the recent changes to qualifying spend thresholds in the tax relief rules, and which apply retroactively to some 2014 productions.

Table 1.4 Final cultural test/production costs test certifications by budget band, 2004-2014 Budget band(£ million)

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

≥30 5 5 2 3 9 4 6 13 9 9 16

10 – 29.9 7 9 7 7 6 7 9 7 5 7 9

5 – 9.9 13 7 9 9 11 8 10 15 7 12 22

2 – 4.9 23 25 21 18 9 24 16 20 21 22 15

0.5 – 1.9 19 16 23 36 24 49 41 40 44 39 43

<0.5 5 4 12 25 38 52 88 94 101 93 135

Total 72 66 74 98 97 144 170 189 187 182 240

Source: DCMS, BFINote: Previous editions of the Yearbook have shown data since 1998; for disclosure reasons we have only shown data since 2004.

Table 1.5 shows the distribution of budgets by budget band for films certified under the cultural test in the years 2007 to 2014. The 5% of films with budgets of £30 million or over accounted for 74% of the aggregate budget, while the 72% of films with budgets under £2 million accounted for only 4.5% of the aggregate budget. This reflects both the growth in the number of low budget cultural test films and of big budget inward investment UK/USA titles in the top budget band.

Table 1.5 Final cultural test certifications, budget distribution by budget band, 2007-2014 Budget band(£ million)

Number % number

Total budget (£ million)

% budget

≥30 69 5.3 7,125.3 74.2

10 – 29.9 57 4.4 909.8 9.5

5 – 9.9 145 11.1 457.3 4.8

2 – 4.9 94 7.2 679.6 7.1

0.5 – 1.9 316 24.2 322.6 3.4

<0.5 626 47.9 106.0 1.1

Total 1,307 100.0 9,600.5 100.0

Source: DCMS, BFINote: Figures/percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.


For co-productions the pattern is different. The rise and fall in co-production numbers is shown in Table 1.6, which also shows a disproportionate increase in high budget co-production certifications in 2004-2005. This reflects the structuring of some high budget UK/USA inward investment films as co-productions at that time, a practice that has fallen away since the tax rules changed.

Table 1.6 Final co-production certifications for film by budget band, 1998-2014 Budget band(£ million)

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14

≥10 0 <5 <5 8 15 11 28 19 7 9 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5

5 – 9.9 5 <5 <5 8 12 18 14 32 20 13 <5 <5 5 <5 <5 <5 5

2 – 4.9 6 6 13 19 21 39 40 39 28 25 <5 <5 7 8 5 <5 <5

<2 5 <5 <5 6 8 16 17 16 13 9 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 5 6

Total 16 13 22 41 56 84 99 106 68 56 8 8 19 14 13 17 15

Source: DCMS, BFINote: Entries with small numbers are shown as <5 for disclosure reasons.

The budget distribution for co-productions certified between 2007 and 2014 was much more even than for cultural test films (Table 1.7). The table highlights the small proportion of very low budget co-productions (4%), a marked contrast with cultural test films.

Table 1.7 Final co-production certifications, budget distribution by budget band, 2007-2014 Budget band(£ million)

Number % number


% budget

≥10 26 17.3 484.5 49.8

5 – 9.9 35 23.3 256.2 26.3

2 – 4.9 57 38.0 195.9 20.1

0.5 – 1.9 26 17.3 34.9 3.6

<0.5 6 4.0 1.5 0.2

Total 150 11.5 973.0 10.1

Source: DCMS, BFINote: Figures/percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.

HIGH-END TELEVISION PROGRAMME CERTIFICATIONS, 2013/14 AND 2014/15

As the new tax reliefs for HETV and animation programmes came into force on 1 April 2013, the data on certifications are presented for the financial years 2013/14 and 2014/15 to provide for comparison.

In 2014/15, 42 HETV productions received final certification as British under the relevant cultural test with a combined budget of £308 million, compared with 13 projects with a total budget of £64 million in 2013/14 (Table 1.8). Interim approvals under the cultural test also rose in the period from 28 projects in 2013/14 with an anticipated total production value of £274 million to 67 projects with an anticipated production value of £607 million in 2014/15.

No HETV productions were certified under the bilateral co-production treaties; co-productions with interim approvals are not shown for disclosure reasons.

FIL

M A

ND

OTH

ER

SC

RE

EN

SE

CTO

R P

RO

DU

CTIO

NS C

ER

TIF

IED

AS B

RIT

ISH


Table 1.8 HETV cultural test certifications, 2013/14 and 2014/15

2013/14 2014/15

Type of certification Number

Budget (£ million)

Number Budget

(£ million)

Interim approval 28 274.3 67 606.5

Final certification 13 63.8 42 308.0

Source: DCMS, BFI

The UK spend of finally certified cultural test HETV productions in 2014/15 was £268 million, up from £64 million in 2013/14 (Table 1.9). As a percentage of total budget, the UK spend for finally certified projects decreased from 100% in 2013/14 to 87% in 2014/15. The anticipated UK spend of interim cultural test approvals rose from £245 million in 2013/14 to £488 million in 2014/15.

Table 1.9 UK spend of HETV with cultural test certifications, 2013/14 and 2014/15

2013/14 2014/15



% of total budget


% of total budget

Interim approval 245.3 89.4 488.3 80.5

Final certification 63.8 100.0 267.7 86.9

Source: DCMS, BFI

The median budget per minute for HETV programmes with final certification was £20,939 in 2014/15, up from £18,944 in 2013/14.

ANIMATION PROGRAMME CERTIFICATIONS, 2013/14 AND 2014/15

In the financial years 2013/14 and 2014/15, a total of 24 television animation productions received final certification as British under the relevant cultural test (Table 1.10). The combined budget for these productions was £42 million, 57% of which was attributed to UK spend (£24 million). A total of 57 interim approvals were awarded in the same period with a combined budget of £161 million and an anticipated UK spend of £135 million (84% of total budget).

No animation co-productions were certified during the period.

Table 1.10 Animation programme cultural test certifications, 2013/14 and 2014/151 Type of certification

Number UK spend (£ million)


UK spend as % of total budget

Interim approval 57 135.4 160.8 84.2

Final certification 24 23.6 41.6 56.6

Source: DCMS, BFI

The median budget per minute for finally certified television animation productions in the period was £6,604.

1 Data for 2013/14 and 2014/15 have been merged for disclosure reasons.


VIDEO GAME CERTIFICATIONS, 2014/15

As the new tax relief for video games development came into effect on 1 April 2014 our data on certification are presented for the financial year 2014/15 to give a more rounded impression of its first year of implementation. Video games can only qualify as British for the purpose of the relief through the relevant cultural test.

Nineteen video games received final certification in 2014/15, with a combined budget of £15 million (Table 1.11). The UK/EEA1 spend associated with these projects was £14 million (95% of the total budget). Interim approval was granted to 48 projects with a total budget of £168 million and an anticipated UK/EEA spend of £159 million.

Table 1.11 Video game certifications, 2014/15 Type of certification

Number UK/EEA spend (£ million)


UK/EEA spend as a % of total budget

Interim approval 48 158.7 167.5 94.8

Final certification 19 14.4 15.1 95.2

Source: DCMS, BFI

The median budget for video games with final certification was £129,229.

1The rules for tax relief for video games consider spend in the EEA not just spend in the UK.


FILM AND OTHER SCREEN

SECTOR PRODUCTIONS CERTIFIED AS

BRITISHImage: Testament of Youth courtesy of Lionsgate Films

BFI Research and Statistics PUBLISHED AUGUST 2015


SPECIALISED FILMS

Image: Ida courtesy of Curzon Artificial Eye

SPECIALISED FILMS ARE A VITAL PART OF OUR FILM CULTURE AND OFFER AUDIENCES AN EXPERIENCE OF CINEMA THAT IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM MAINSTREAM COMMERCIAL FARE. IN 2014, THEY MADE UP NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF FILMS RELEASED IN THE UK AND GROSSED OVER £99 MILLION.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ A total of 458 specialised films were released in the UK in 2014

(64% of all films released) earning £99.2 million (9.2% of the total box office).

■ Films in 36 different languages (including English) were released in the UK in 2014. Five other releases had no spoken dialogue.

■ A total of 255 foreign language films made up 36% of all releases, but shared just 2% of the UK box office.

■ Hindi was the top earning non-English language at the UK box office; the highest earning foreign language film was PK (in Hindi) which grossed over £2 million.

■ A total of 98 documentary films were released, accounting for 14% of releases but just 0.3% of the total box office.

■ There were 49 re-releases (7% of the total), accounting for 0.2% of the overall box office.

SPECIALISED FILMS

SP

EC

IALIS

ED

FIL

MS


ABOUT SPECIALISED FILMS

The BFI considers most feature documentaries, subtitled foreign language films and re-releases of archive/classic films to be specialised. In recent years some mainstream films, which were originally made and shown in 2D, have been ‘re-released’ in the 3D format. Examples include the original Toy Story (released in 3D in 2009), The Lion King (2011) and Beauty and the Beast, Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace and Titanic (all released in 3D in 2012). These ‘re-releases’ are not considered as specialised films in the present analyses.

Other films that do not fall into the above categories may also be considered as specialised. These films may be less easy to define as a particular genre or may deal with more complex and challenging subject matter than the majority of mainstream films. 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 (compared with a studio production). They may focus more on script and character rather than effects and star names and may be expected to appeal to a narrower audience segment than mainstream films. (Non-feature film releases such as recorded live performances are not considered to be specialised; they are categorised as event cinema. For more information, see the Exhibition report.)

SPECIALISED FILMS AT THE UK BOX OFFICE IN 2014

In total, 458 specialised films were released in 2014, representing 64% of all UK theatrical releases in the year (Table 1.1). These films grossed £99.2 million, a 9.2% share of total box office earnings. However, documentaries (0.3%), foreign language films (2.2%) and re-releases (0.2%) took very small shares of total box office revenues.

Table 1.1 Specialised films in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014 Type Number

of releasesShare of releases

(%)

Gross box office (£ million)

Share of gross box office

(%)

Averagewidest point

of release

Documentary 98 13.8 3.2 0.3 14

Foreign language 255 35.8 24.0 2.2 19

Re-release 49 6.9 1.8 0.2 32

Other specialised 87 12.2 70.5 6.5 92

All specialised films* 458 64.3 99.2 9.2 34

All films 712 100.0 1,077.8 100.0 110

Source: BFI RSU analysis of Rentrak data* Due to some overlap of categories (eg a film can be categorised as both foreign language and documentary) this 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 share from 2001 to 2014 is shown in Figure 1.1. The proportion of specialised film releases increased steadily from 2003 to a peak of 69% in 2009, and has stayed between 62% and 67% since then. The box office market share of specialised films has remained close to its average of around 8% apart from three peak years in 2009, 2011 and 2012 when a small number of specialised titles crossed over to mainstream audiences.


Figure 1.1 Specialised films, 2001-2014 (percentage of releases and market share)

By sorting specialised films into the four separate categories mentioned above – documentaries, foreign language films, re-releases and others (films with a distinctive genre, hook or style) – we can better understand the patterns of specialised film distribution over time. As Figure 1.2 shows, there has been a steady increase in the number of theatrically released feature documentaries over the last 14 years – from a low point of four in 2001 to 98 in 2014. The number of foreign language films has also increased over the period, from a low of 96 releases in 2001 to a peak of 279 in 2013. The 255 foreign language films released in 2014 was the second highest number over the period. The number of re-released films tracked by Rentrak each year was usually between 20 and 30 up to 2011, but then increased in 2012, 2013 and 2014. However, the numbers do not include all re-releases, particularly limited or one-off screenings often in independent cinemas. The increase in numbers of re-releases seen since 2011 may partly be explained by the expansion of digital distribution. Finally, the more subjective category of films with an innovative or unconventional approach, genre or style saw numbers decline from 80 in 2001 to a low of 20 in 2005 before rising again to a peak of 117 in 2009. There were 87 releases in this category in 2014.

%

Specialised films as % of total releases 58.2 58.0 50.5 55.4 55.7 58.8 64.4 66.6 68.8 63.6 61.8 66.8 63.9 64.3

Market share of specialised films 5.9 6.4 5.1 9.8 6.5 8.5 8.0 8.2 15.2 6.3 16.4 12.1 9.5 9.2

Source: BFI RSU analysis of Rentrak data

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1413121110090807060504030201

SP

EC

IALSE

D F

ILM

S


Figure 1.2 Number of specialised releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2001-2014

Documentary 4 8 18 23 27 34 36 49 56 58 68 86 89 98

Foreign language 96 131 147 169 203 171 170 188 161 199 180 230 279 255

Re-release 25 25 17 21 20 25 29 26 25 28 31 34 42 49

Other specialised 80 58 36 47 20 73 109 97 117 88 88 100 70 87


0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

1413121110090807060504030201

The box office performance of specialised films, again split into the four categories of documentaries, foreign language films, re-releases and other films with a distinctive hook, genre or style, is shown in Figure 1.3. Box office revenues for all categories of specialised films are particularly affected by the release of a small number of high earning titles. Over the period 2001-2014, revenues for documentaries have witnessed peaks with the release of a number of break-out titles such as Farenheit 9/11 in 2004, Michael Jackson’s This Is It in 2009, Senna in 2011 and One Direction: This Is Us in 2013. Similarly, foreign language film grosses have peaked with the release of titles such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Amélie in 2001 and The Passion of the Christ in 2004. The combined annual revenues for re-releases of archive/classic titles are consistently small, rarely rising above £1.5 million. Finally, the more subjective category of films with distinctive and non-mainstream genres or styles has achieved its highest grosses in years when a few of its titles translated critical acclaim into box office success – Slumdog Millionaire in 2009, The King’s Speech in 2011 and Life of Pi in 2012. The top release in this category in 2014 was the winner of the best film award at both the Oscars® and BAFTAs in 2014, 12 Years a Slave.


Figure 1.3 Box office gross of specialised films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2001-2014

Documentary (£ million) 0.2 2.2 5.3 9.3 4.8 4.6 1.6 4.1 12.0 1.9 11.1 5.9 10.7 3.2

Foreign language (£ million) 29.8 17.1 20.4 38.1 26.9 29.8 32.3 27.1 25.6 30.3 24.4 28.0 24.8 24.0

Re-release (£ million) 2.3 1.4 1.3 0.6 0.3 1.2 1.7 1.0 0.7 1.7 1.4 1.6 1.3 1.8

Other specialised (£ million) 12.2 32.7 14.5 33.2 23.3 37.4 39.7 45.1 133.1 30.5 150.2 108.1 73.5 70.5


£ million

0

50

100

150

200

1413121110090807060504030201

NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILMS

Films in 36 different languages (including English) were released in the UK and the Republic of Ireland in 2014, four more than in 2013 (Table 1.2). There were also five releases with no spoken dialogue including the American documentary Visitors and a re-release of Buster Keaton’s 1927 classic, The General.

After English, the most common language, in terms of number of releases, was French followed by the South Asian languages Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam. Hindi was again the top non-English language at the box office by value, with a 1.2% share of revenues, followed by French (0.2%) and Tamil (0.2%).

SP

EC

IALSE

D F

ILM

S


Table 1.2 Languages of films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014 (ranked by gross box office) Main language Number of

releasesGross

box office (£ million)

Box office

share (%)

English 374 845.3 78.4

English with others* 78 208.5 19.3

Hindi 46 12.9 1.2

French 48 2.5 0.2

Tamil 32 1.7 0.2

Punjabi 18 1.7 0.2

Indonesian 1 1.1 0.1

Polish 6 0.8 0.1

Malayalam 22 0.7 0.1

Swedish 3 0.6 0.1

Russian 4 0.5 0.1

Turkish 12 0.4 <0.1

Norwegian 5 0.3 <0.1

Danish 2 0.2 <0.1

Spanish 5 0.1 <0.1

Italian 5 0.1 <0.1

Arabic 8 0.1 <0.1

German 7 0.1 <0.1

Urdu 2 0.1 <0.1

Japanese 8 0.1 <0.1

Icelandic 1 <0.1 <0.1

Bengali 2 <0.1 <0.1

Lao 1 <0.1 <0.1

Telegu 2 <0.1 <0.1

Nepalese 1 <0.1 <0.1

Farsi 2 <0.1 <0.1

Portuguese 1 <0.1 <0.1

Georgian 1 <0.1 <0.1

Greek 2 <0.1 <0.1

Filipino 1 <0.1 <0.1

Bosnian 1 <0.1 <0.1

Hebrew 1 <0.1 <0.1

Belarussian 1 <0.1 <0.1

Albanian 1 <0.1 <0.1

Creole 1 <0.1 <0.1

Korean 1 <0.1 <0.1

Tibetan 1 <0.1 <0.1

Silent/no dialogue 5 0.1 <0.1

Total 712 1,077.8 100.0

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysis* ‘English with others’ includes films whose main language was English but with extensive use of other languages, such as Godzilla in English and Japanese and Pride in English and Welsh.

The 35 non-English languages were spread over 255 releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland (36% of all releases, down four percentage points on 2013) which earned £24 million at the box office (Table 1.3). This represented 2.2% of the total gross box office for 2014.

Table 1.3 Foreign language films at the UK and Republic of Ireland box office, 2002-2014

Number % of all releases

Box office (£ million)

% of total gross

box office

2002 131 35.5 17.1 2.2

2003 147 34.7 20.4 2.5

2004 169 37.5 38.1 4.6

2005 203 43.5 26.9 3.2

2006 171 33.9 29.8 3.5

2007 170 32.9 32.3 3.5

2008 188 35.7 27.1 2.9

2009 161 32.0 25.6 2.3

2010 199 35.7 30.3 3.0

2011 180 32.3 24.4 2.2

2012 230 35.5 28.0 2.4

2013 279 40.0 24.8 2.2

2014 255 35.8 24.0 2.2

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysis Note: Figures as at 22 February 2015.

Films in European languages other than English earned 0.5% of the gross box office from 14.6% of releases and South Asian subcontinent languages shared 1.6% of the box office from 17.4% of releases (Table 1.4). Taken together, foreign language films were shown on average at 17 sites at their widest point of release (19 in 2013) compared with an average of 162 sites for English language releases.


Table 1.4 Language of releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014 (ranked by number of releases) Main language Number of

releases % of

releases Gross box

office (£ million)

% of gross box office

Average sites at

widest point of release

English and English with others* 452 63.6 1,053.8 97.8 162

South Asian subcontinent 124 17.4 17.1 1.6 25

European other than English 105 14.6 5.6 0.5 13

Other Asian 14 2.0 0.1 <0.1 8

Other international 12 1.7 1.2 0.1 23

Silent/no dialogue 5 0.7 0.1 <0.1 6

Total 712 100.0 1,077.8 100.0 110

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysis Notes: * See note to Table 1.2. Figures as at 22 February 2015. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Table 1.5 shows the top 10 earning non-Hindi foreign language films of 2014. At number one in this list is Indonesian film The Raid 2, which took just under £1.1 million at the UK and Republic of Ireland box office. However, this film was only the fifth highest earning foreign language release in 2014 after four Hindi language titles. Another successful foreign language release in 2014 was The Wind Rises, but as it was released in both English and Japanese language versions, it is not included in the list.

Four of the top earning films in the list were in other South Asian languages: there were three films in Tamil (the most popular language in the top 10) and one in Punjabi. The Punjabi language film, Chaar Sahibzaade is the first non-Japanese animated feature to appear in this list since our records began. Five of the films were in European languages with French appearing twice in the list.

Table 1.5 Top 10 foreign language films (excluding Hindi*) released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014

Title Country of origin Gross box office

(£ million)

Distributor Main language

1 The Raid 2 Indonesia/USA 1.1 eOne Films Indonesian

2 Chaar Sahibzaade Ind 0.8 Dharam Seva Films Punjabi

3 Two Days, One Night Bel/Fra/Ita 0.7 Curzon Artificial Eye French

4 Ida Pol/Den 0.5 Curzon Artificial Eye Polish

5 The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

Swe/Croatia 0.4 StudioCanal Swedish

6 Yves Saint Laurent Fra/Bel 0.4 eOne Films French

7 Kaththi Ind 0.3 Ayngaran Tamil

8 Leviathan Russia 0.3 Curzon Artificial Eye Russian

9 Lingaa Ind 0.3 Qube Entertainment Tamil

10 Jilla Ind 0.2 Ayngaran Tamil

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysis Notes: * For Hindi titles, see Table 1.6. Figures as at 22 February 2015.

SP

EC

IALSE

D F

ILM

S


Table 1.6 shows the top 10 film releases of 2014 whose principal language is Hindi. At the top of the list is comedy PK, with box office takings of nearly £2.4 million. The top four films in the list were also the top four foreign language films of 2014, and all took more than £1 million at the box office.

Table 1.6 Top 10 Hindi language films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014

Title Country of origin UK box office total (£ million)

Distributor

1 PK Ind 2.4 UTV/IG Interactive

2 Happy New Year Ind 1.3 Yash Raj Films

3 Kick Ind 1.3 UTV Motion Pictures

4 Bang Bang Ind 1.2 20th Century Fox

5 2 States Ind 0.5 UTV Motion Pictures

6 The Lunchbox Ind/Fra/Ger 0.5 Curzon Artificial Eye

7 Jai Ho Ind 0.5 Eros International

8 Gunday Ind 0.4 Yash Raj Films

9 Khoobsurat Ind 0.4 UTV/IG Interactive

10 Singham Returns Ind 0.4 Eros International

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysis Note: Figures as at 22 February 2015.

Table 1.7 shows the 10 highest grossing non-English language films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland between 2001 and 2014. The top film is the 2004 release The Passion of the Christ (£11.1 million), followed by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (£9.4 million) which was released in 2001. The most recent release in the list is Dhoom: 3 which earned £2.7 million in 2013.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of three Mandarin language films in the list, all of them wuxia martial arts films, which reflects the popularity of the genre with UK audiences in the early 2000s. There are also three Spanish language films in the list (two from Spain and one from South America), and one French language title. Dhoom: 3 is the first film in Hindi to appear in the top 10 since our records began.

Table 1.7 Top 10 non-English language films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2001-2014

Title Language UK box office total (£ million)

Distributor Year of release

1 The Passion of the Christ Aramaic/Latin/Hebrew 11.1 Icon 2004

2 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Mandarin 9.4 Sony Pictures 2001

3 Amélie French/Russian 5.0 Momentum 2001

4 Apocalypto Mayan 4.1 Icon 2007

5 Hero Mandarin 3.8 Walt Disney 2004

6 House of Flying Daggers Mandarin 3.8 Pathé 2004

7 Volver Spanish 2.9 Pathé 2006

8 The Motorcycle Diaries Spanish 2.8 Pathé 2004

9 Pan’s Labyrinth Spanish 2.7 Optimum 2006

10 Dhoom: 3 Hindi 2.7 Yash Raj Films 2013



DOCUMENTARIES

A total of 98 feature documentaries were released at the UK box office in 2014, representing 14% of theatrical releases. They earned £3.2 million which was 0.3% of the overall box office gross. We have split our analysis of this category into the more traditional expository or observational style of documentary and ‘concert’ documentaries, which feature coverage of a particular performance and behind-the-scenes footage of popular musical performers. The most successful non-concert documentary of the year was the Nick Cave film, 20,000 Days on Earth, which earned £0.6 million.

Table 1.8 shows the top 20 non-concert documentaries at the UK box office since 2001. The highest grossing non-concert documentary of all time at the UK box office, Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, grossed £6.6 million in 2004, while 2011 release Senna is in second place with £3.2 million. Nine of the top 20 non-concert documentaries since 2001 are UK films.

Table 1.8 Top 20 non-concert feature documentaries released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2001-2014


Year of release

Box office gross

(£ million)

Widest point of release

(sites)

Distributor

1 Fahrenheit 9/11 USA 2004 6.6 200 Optimum

2 Senna UK 2011 3.2 358 Universal

3 March of the Penguins Fra 2005 3.1 163 Warner Bros

4 Touching the Void UK 2003 2.6 50 Pathé

5 Bowling for Columbine USA 2002 1.7 37 Momentum

6 TT3D: Closer to the Edge UK 2011 1.3 125 CinemaNX

7 The Imposter UK/USA 2012 1.1 77 Picturehouse /Revolver

8 Super Size Me USA 2004 1.1 83 Tartan

9 Marley UK/Jam/USA 2012 1.0 333 Universal

10 An Inconvenient Truth USA 2006 0.9 68 Paramount

11 Man on Wire UK/USA 2008 0.9 43 Icon

12 Être et Avoir Fra 2003 0.7 15 Tartan

13 Pina Ger/Fra 2011 0.7 26 Artificial Eye

14 Cave of Forgotten Dreams UK/Can/Fra/Ger/USA 2011 0.6 39 Picturehouse

15 20,000 Days on Earth UK 2014 0.6 33 Picturehouse

16 Spellbound USA 2003 0.5 17 Metrodome

17 The September Issue USA 2009 0.4 18 Momentum

18 Capturing the Friedmans USA 2004 0.4 26 Tartan

19 Searching for Sugar Man UK 2012 0.4 43 StudioCanal

20 Sicko USA 2007 0.4 166 Optimum

Source: BFI RSU analysis of Rentrak data Notes: The table does not include concert performance documentaries, IMAX-only documentaries and shorts. Based on box office data for 2001-2014. Fahrenheit 9/11 is regarded as the highest grossing feature documentary of all time because, even with price inflation, it is unlikely that any documentary films before 2001 will have earned more in nominal terms.

SP

EC

IALSE

D F

ILM

S


A number of concert performance documentaries, mostly now in 3D, are released theatrically every year. Table 1.9 shows the top 10 documentaries in this category from 2008-2014. The highest grossing title released during the period is Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which earned £9.8 million in 2009. No 2014 releases appear in the chart (the highest earning concert performance film in the UK in 2014 was One Direction: Where We Are which is categorised by Rentrak as event cinema).

Table 1.9 Top 10 concert documentaries released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2008-2014


Year of release

Box officegross

(£ million)


(sites)

Distributor

1 Michael Jackson’s This Is It USA 2009 9.8 498 Sony Pictures

2 One Direction: This Is Us UK/USA 2013 8.0 479 Sony Pictures

3 Justin Bieber: Never Say Never USA 2011 2.3 388 Paramount

4 Katy Perry: Part of Me USA 2012 1.2 326 Paramount

5 Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert

USA 2008 0.8 65 Walt Disney

6 U2 3D USA 2008 0.7 67 Revolver

7 Glee: The 3D Concert Movie USA 2011 0.7 335 20th Century Fox

8 Shine a Light USA/UK 2008 0.7 159 20th Century Fox

9 JLS: Eyes Wide Open 3D UK 2011 0.5 210 Omniverse

10 The Stone Roses: Made of Stone UK 2013 0.5 83 Picturehouse


RE-RELEASES

In 2014, 49 archive/classic titles were re-released. According to Rentrak these re-releases accounted for 7% of theatrical releases in 2014 and generated £1.8 million (0.2% of the total gross box office). However, not all box office revenues for re-releases are tracked by Rentrak, 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 1.10 shows the top 20 specialised re-releases at UK cinemas over the last 15 years. Two of the films in the list appear twice, following second re-releases in 2014. 2001: A Space Odyssey appears at number eight from its 2014 re-release (as part of the BFI’s Sci-fi season) and at number 11 from its 2001 re-release. Ghostbusters is at number 18 from its 30th anniversary 2014 re-release and at number 20 from its 2011 re-release. The dual appearance of 2001: A Space Odyssey means that director Stanley Kubrick has four entries in the chart including the all time top classic re-release, A Clockwork Orange, which grossed £2.1 million in 2000 (his other top 20 re-release is The Shining in 2012). Two other classic re-releases have grossed over £1 million – Steven Spielberg’s 20th anniversary re-release of E.T. and the 25th anniversary re-release of sci-fi comedy Back to the Future in 2010.


Table 1.10 Top 20 re-releases at the UK and Republic of Ireland box office, 2000-2014

Title (year of original release) Country of origin

Year of re-release

Box office gross

(£ million)


(sites)

Distributor

1 A Clockwork Orange (1972) UK 2000 2.1 328 Warner Bros

2 E.T. (20th anniversary) (1982) USA 2002 2.1 313 UIP

3 Back to the Future (25th anniversary) (1985) USA 2010 1.1 273 Universal

4 Alien (Director’s Cut) (1979) UK/USA 2003 0.5 134 20th Century Fox

5 Jurassic Park (1993) USA 2011 0.5 277 Universal

6 Apocalypse Now (Redux) (1979) USA 2001 0.5 22 Walt Disney

7 Jaws (1975) USA 2012 0.4 319 Universal

8 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) UK/USA 2014 0.4 60 BFI

9 The Leopard (1963) Ita/Fra 2003 0.3 5 BFI

10 It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) USA 2007 0.3 33 Park Circus

11 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) UK/USA 2001 0.3 4 Warner Bros

12 Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) USA 2001 0.3 5 BFI

13 The Shining (1980) UK/USA 2012 0.2 29 BFI

14 Chariots of Fire (1981) UK 2012 0.2 149 20th Century Fox

15 À bout de souffle (1960) Fra 2000 0.2 5 Optimum

16 This Is Spinal Tap (1984) USA 2000 0.2 22 Optimum

17 Ghostbusters (30th anniversary) (1984) USA 2014 0.1 155 Park Circus

18 Amadeus (Director’s Cut) (1984) USA 2002 0.1 8 Warner Bros

19 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) USA 2012 0.1 15 Paramount

20 Ghostbusters (1984) USA 2011 0.1 73 Park Circus




GENRE AND CLASSIFICATION

Image: The Inbetweeners 2 courtesy of Entertainment Film Distributors

huntr

Highlight

GENRE AND CLASSIFICATION

FACTS IN FOCUS■ Comedy was the highest earning genre of 2014, taking 18% of the

box office from 19% of releases. The top earning comedy was the UK independent film, The Inbetweeners 2.

■ Drama accounted for the highest proportion of releases (20%) but shared only 5% of the box office. The top earning drama was 12 Years a Slave.

■ Adventure took more money per cinema on average than other genres. The top earning adventure was The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.

■ Five of the top performing films by genre were UK films, including the top action, top war and top documentary releases. The top earning family title, and the highest grossing UK (and UK independent) film of the year, was Paddington.

■ Comedy was also the highest earning genre for UK films (26% of total box office from 19% of releases) and UK independent films (35% of total box office from 20% of releases).

COMEDY WAS THE MOST POPULAR GENRE AMONG UK CINEMA-GOERS IN 2014, WITH ACTION SECOND AND ANIMATION THIRD. AS IN PREVIOUS YEARS, THERE WERE MORE ‘15’ RELEASES THAN ANY OTHER CLASSIFICATION, BUT ‘12A’ FILMS GENERATED THE LARGEST SINGLE SHARE OF THE BOX OFFICE.

GE

NR

E A

ND

CLA

SSIF

ICATIO

N


GENRE

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

GENRE OF ALL FILM RELEASES

Table 1.1 shows the relative popularity of different genres at the box office in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2014. The pattern of box office by genre each year is usually determined by a small number of high grossing releases. Comedy, which included the second biggest UK (and UK independent) film of the year, The Inbetweeners 2, was the top earning genre with a combined gross of £198 million. As in 2013, action was the second highest earning genre with a combined gross of £176 million, animation was third with £141 million and fantasy was in fourth place with £104 million. Drama films had the highest proportion of releases (20%) but only 5% of the box office gross.

Five of the top performing titles by genre were UK films, which highlights the variety of story types of successful British films. In addition to The Inbetweeners 2, these were 20,000 Days on Earth, Guardians of the Galaxy, Fury and Paddington.

Table 1.1 Films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland by genre, 2014 (ranked by gross box office)

Genre Number of releases

% of

releases

Gross box office

(£ million)

% of total

box office

Top performing

title

Comedy 135 19.0 198.3 18.4 The Inbetweeners 2

Action 43 6.0 175.6 16.3 Guardians of the Galaxy

Animation 34 4.8 141.2 13.1 The Lego Movie

Fantasy 14 2.0 104.0 9.6 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Sci-fi 20 2.8 97.4 9.0 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Biopic 24 3.4 67.4 6.3 The Wolf of Wall Street

Thriller 71 10.0 58.5 5.6 Gone Girl

Drama 141 19.8 58.0 5.4 12 Years a Slave

Family 6 0.8 49.0 4.5 Paddington

Adventure 8 1.1 43.4 4.0 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

Horror 29 4.1 22.9 2.0 Annabelle

War 12 1.7 21.1 2.0 Fury

Romance 40 5.6 15.6 1.4 The Fault in Our Stars

Music/dance 7 1.0 12.1 1.1 Annie

Crime 29 4.1 9.9 0.9 A Walk Among the Tombstones

Documentary 98 13.8 3.2 0.3 20,000 Days on Earth

Western 1 0.1 0.2 <0.1 The Homesman

Total 712 100.0 1,077.8 100.0

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysisNotes: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. Figures as at 22 February 2015.


The pattern of genres ranked by the average number of sites at the widest point of release (WPR) is shown in Table 1.2. The top genre by WPR in 2014 was family but this average is based on a low number of heavily promoted releases including Paddington and Muppets Most Wanted (WPRs of 611 and 552 respectively). Paddington had the highest individual WPR of all 2014 releases. Fantasy, which also had a relatively low number of releases, is second in the current list followed by animation and sci-fi. The fantasy films include the top earning film of the year, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, and Maleficent (WPRs of 608 and 545), animations include How to Train Your Dragon 2, Rio 2 and the best performing animation of 2014, The Lego Movie (WPRs of 592, 559 and 553) and the sci-fi films include Interstellar and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (WPRs of 579 and 576).

At the opposite end of the scale, the average WPR for the documentary was 14, although this genre had the third highest number of releases (98) during the year. This is the lowest average WPR for documentary since 2010 (10) and partly reflects the lack of successful music concert documentary releases in 2014. The documentaries with the highest WPRs in 2014 were Road, Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets and Tony Benn: Will and Testament (WPRS of 151, 121 and 80 respectively).

Table 1.2 Films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland by genre, 2014 (ranked by average widest point of release)

Genre Average number of sites at widest point

of release

Number of releases


Family 348 6 49.0

Fantasy 302 14 104.0

Animation 245 34 141.2

Sci-fi 245 20 97.4

Music/dance 230 7 12.1

Biopic 193 24 67.4

Action 189 43 175.6

War 177 12 21.1

Adventure 152 8 43.4

Comedy 132 135 198.3

Horror 131 29 22.9

Thriller 94 71 58.5

Crime 73 29 9.9

Western 63 1 0.2

Drama 54 141 58.0

Romance 37 40 15.6

Documentary 14 98 3.2

All genres 110 712 1,077.8

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysisFigures as at 22 February 2015.

GE

NR

E A

ND

CLA

SSIF

ICATIO

N


Table 1.3 shows box office revenues per site by genre, which gives a good indication of performance in the market while controlling for the size of release. As in 2013, adventure tops this list largely due to the success of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. The fantasy genre, which includes the top earning film of the year, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, is second, and family, which includes the second highest earning film of the year, Paddington, is third. Comedy, which took the highest proportion of overall box office and had the second highest number of releases, was much lower placed when the average box office per site is taken into account, indicating that a large number of comedy releases fail to hit the mark with audiences.

Table 1.3 Films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland by genre, 2014 (ranked by average box office gross per site)

Genre Average box office per site


Total sites

Adventure 35,594 43.4 1,219

Fantasy 24,624 104.0 4,222

Family 23,470 49.0 2,087

Action 21,580 175.6 8,139

Sci-fi 19,901 97.4 4,893

Animation 16,959 141.2 8,326

Biopic 14,544 67.4 4,633

Comedy 11,126 198.3 17,823

Romance 10,609 15.6 1,471

War 9,946 21.1 2,121

Thriller 8,796 58.5 6,650

Drama 7,639 58.0 7,595

Music/dance 7,493 12.1 1,612

Horror 6,051 22.9 3,786

Crime 4,662 9.9 2,130

Western 3,633 0.2 63

Documentary 2,349 3.2 1,381

All genres 13,792 1,077.8 78,151

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysisNotes: Total sites = number of releases multiplied by average number of sites at widest point of release.Figures as at 22 February 2015.

GENRE OF UK AND UK INDEPENDENT FILM RELEASES

Comedy topped the box office by genre chart for all UK films released in 2014, taking £75 million at the box office from 29 releases. Family, which included the top UK (and UK independent) film of the year, Paddington, is second in the list with £46 million. Paddington took 80% of the genre’s total box office in this category. Action (2013’s top genre) is third with £43 million. Documentary had more releases (34) than any of the other genres, but took less than 1% of the total box office gross.


Table 1.4 UK films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland by genre, 2014 (ranked by gross box office)

Genre Number of

releases

% of

releases

Gross box office

(£ million)

% of total

box office

Top performing

title



Action 7 4.5 43.4 15.0 Guardians of the Galaxy

Biopic 10 6.4 34.0 11.8 The Imitation Game

Fantasy 2 1.3 19.5 6.7 Maleficent

Thriller 15 9.6 19.1 6.6 Non-Stop

Drama 23 14.7 18.1 6.3 Exodus: Gods and Kings

War 5 3.2 14.7 5.1 Fury

Sci-fi 6 3.8 9.5 3.3 Edge of Tomorrow

Animation 5 3.2 3.6 1.3 Postman Pat: The Movie


Horror 8 5.1 1.6 0.6 The Quiet Ones

Music/dance 2 1.3 1.4 0.5 Walking on Sunshine

Romance 4 2.6 <0.1 <0.1 Love Me Till Monday

Crime 2 1.3 <0.1 <0.1 Top Dog

Total 156 100.0 288.5 100.0

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysisNotes: Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.Figures as at 22 February 2015.

Of the 156 UK films released in 2014, 143 were UK independent films. As with all UK films, comedy was the most popular genre amongst independent UK films, earning £60 million at the box office from 28 releases (Table 1.5). The Inbetweeners 2 took 55% of the genre’s total box office in this category. Family was the second highest earning genre with £39 million from three films, and biopic was third with £34 million from 10 films. Nearly half (48%) of the total box office for biopic in this category was earned by The Imitation Game.

GE

NR

E A

ND

CLA

SSIF

ICATIO

N


Table 1.5 UK independent films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland by genre, 2014 (ranked by gross box office)

Genre Number of

releases

% of

releases

Gross box office

(£ million)

% of total

box office

Top performing

title



Biopic 10 7.0 34.0 19.6 The Imitation Game

Thriller 15 10.5 19.1 11.0 Non-Stop

Drama 22 15.4 10.0 5.8 Calvary

Animation 5 3.5 3.6 2.1 Postman Pat: The Movie


Horror 8 5.6 1.6 0.9 The Quiet Ones

Music/dance 2 1.4 1.4 0.8 Walking on Sunshine

Sci-fi 4 2.8 1.3 0.8 Under the Skin

Action 3 2.1 1.0 0.6 ’71

War 3 2.1 0.2 0.1 Kajaki: The True Story

Romance 4 2.8 <0.1 <0.1 Love Me Till Monday

Crime 2 1.4 <0.1 <0.1 Top Dog

Fantasy 1 0.7 <0.1 <0.1 Vampire Academy

Total 143 100.0 173.4 100.0

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysisNotes: Percentages/figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.Figures as at 22 February 2015.

Looking at UK films and UK independent films released in 2014, we see mainly similar rankings to those for all films in terms of percentages of releases by genre, but differences in the share of box office by genre (Figures 1.1 and 1.2). Comedy, drama and documentary are the genres with most releases for all three categories, but UK films and UK independent films had higher proportions of documentaries compared with all films, and all films had a higher proportion of dramas compared with the other two categories.

However, when looking at box office by genre, there are some differences between the three categories (Tables 1.1, 1.4 and 1.5). For all categories of film, comedy was the highest earning genre taking 18% of total box office for all films, 26% for UK films and 35% for independent UK films. The categories differ for the next highest earning genres: for UK films and UK independent films, family was the second highest earning genre (16% and 22% of box office respectively) while for all films, action was in second place (16%). The third highest earning genre differed across all three categories: for all films it was animation (13%), for UK films it was action (15%), and for UK independent films it was biopic (20%).


All films 6.0 1.1 4.8 3.4 19.0 4.1 13.8 19.8 0.8 2.0 4.1 1.0 5.6 2.8 10.0 1.7 0.1

UK films 4.5 – 3.2 6.4 18.6 1.3 21.8 14.7 2.6 1.3 5.1 1.3 2.6 3.8 9.6 3.2 –

UK independent films

2.1 – 3.5 7.0 19.6 1.4 23.1 15.4 2.1 0.7 5.6 1.4 2.8 2.8 10.5 2.1 –

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysis

% of releases

Figure 1.2 Proportion of gross box office by genre for all films, UK films and UK independent films, 2014

Figure 1.1 Proportion of releases by genre for all films, UK films and UK independent films, 2014

Action

Adventure

AnimationBiopic

ComedyCrime

DocumentaryDrama

FamilyFantasy

Horror

Music / dance

RomanceSci fi

Thriller

WarWestern


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

All films 16.3 4.0 13.1 6.3 18.4 0.9 0.3 5.4 4.5 9.6 2.0 1.1 1.4 9.0 5.6 2.0 <0.1

UK films 15.0 – 1.3 11.8 26.1 <0.1 0.7 6.3 16.1 6.7 0.6 0.5 <0.1 3.3 6.6 5.1 –


0.6 – 2.1 19.6 34.8 <0.1 1.1 5.8 22.3 <0.1 0.9 0.8 <0.1 0.8 11.0 0.1 –

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysis

Action

Adventure

AnimationBiopic

ComedyCrime

DocumentaryDrama

FamilyFantasy

Horror

Music / dance

RomanceSci fi

Thriller

WarWestern

0

5

10

15

20

25

GE

NR

E A

ND

CLA

SSIF

ICATIO

N


BBFC CLASSIFICATION

All films in the UK must carry a classification indicating their suitability for exhibition in premises licensed for cinematic exhibition by local authorities. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) provides age ratings for the majority of films aimed at theatrical release, although local authorities may grant their own classification if they decide to do so.

The symbols used by the BBFC, and their meanings, are given in Table 1.6.

Table 1.6 BBFC cinema film classifications

U (Universal) Suitable for all

PG (Parental Guidance) General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children

12A No-one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult

15 No-one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema

18 No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema

Source: BBFC website

RELEASES AND BOX OFFICE BY CLASSIFICATION

Table 1.7 provides a picture of how 2014 releases were classified. It shows that, as in previous years, more ‘15’ films (43%) were released than any other category, but the largest share of box office gross was earned by ‘12A’ films (44%). The proportion of releases for ‘15’ films was higher than in 2013 (38%). Films classified as ‘15’ in 2014 accounted for 27% of the box office gross.

Table 1.7 All releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland by BBFC film classification, 2014

BBFC classification

Number of

releases

% of releases

Gross box office

(£ million)

% of gross

box office

Top performing

title

U 50 7.0 127.6 11.8 The Lego Movie

PG 95 13.3 128.1 11.9 Paddington

12A 210 29.5 477.7 44.3 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

15 304 42.7 293.6 27.2 The Inbetweeners 2

18 45 6.3 50.7 4.7 The Wolf of Wall Street

No classification 8 1.1 0.1 <0.1 Madras

Total 712 100.0 1,077.8 100.0

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, BFI RSU analysisNotes: ‘No classification’ means no classification issued for theatrical release. Some of these films have a classification for video release.Figures as at 22 February 2015.Percentages may not sum to total due to rounding.

Table 1.8 shows the breakdown of classifications for UK films released in 2014, and Table 1.9 shows the breakdown for UK independent films. The proportions of films released by BBFC classification were similar for all films, UK films and independent UK films (except that for UK films and UK independent films there was a greater proportion of ‘15’ films than for all films, and for all films there was a compensating higher proportion of ‘12A’ releases compared with the other two categories), but there were differences in box office takings by classification between the three categories (Figure 1.3).


Table 1.8 Releases of UK films in the UK and Republic of Ireland by BBFC film classification, 2014

BBFC classification

Number of

releases

% of releases


% of gross

box office

Top performing

title

U 10 6.4 23.6 8.2 Muppets Most Wanted

PG 19 12.2 59.6 20.7 Paddington

12A 38 24.4 109.6 38.0 Guardians of the Galaxy


18 11 7.1 1.6 0.5 Starred Up

No classification 2 1.3 <0.1 <0.1 A World Not Ours

Total 156 100.0 288.5 100.0

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, BFI RSU analysis.See notes to Table 1.7.

Table 1.9 Releases of UK independent films in the UK and Republic of Ireland by BBFC film classification, 2014

BBFC classification

Number of

releases

% of releases


% of gross

box office

Top performing

title

U 8 5.6 15.5 9.0 Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?!

PG 17 11.9 40.2 23.2 Paddington

12A 32 22.4 50.0 28.9 The Imitation Game


18 11 7.7 1.6 0.9 Starred Up

No classification 2 1.4 <0.1 <0.1 A World Not Ours

Total 143 100.0 173.4 100.0

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, BFI RSU analysisSee notes to Table 1.7.

Figure 1.3 shows that for all films and UK films the highest earning classification was ‘12A’ followed by ‘15’, but for UK independent films the ‘15’ classification earned more than the ‘12A’ classification. Films with a ‘12A’ classification generated 44% of the total box office for all films and 38% of the total box office for UK films. Eleven of the 20 highest earning films in 2014 were ‘12A’ titles, including the top film of the year, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, and the third highest earning UK film, Guardians of the Galaxy. For UK independent films the ‘15’ classification took 38% of the box office. Leading independent titles rated ‘15’ were The Inbetweeners 2 (the second highest grossing independent film of the year), The Railway Man and Pride.

GE

NR

E A

ND

CLA

SSIF

ICATIO

N


UK independent films earned a larger proportion of their overall box office from the ‘PG’ classification than the other two categories in 2014, thanks largely to the top earning UK independent release of the year Paddington, which earned 92% of the box office for ‘PG’ films in this category. The ‘U’ classification generated a larger proportion of box office for all films than for UK films and UK independent films. As in previous years, the top earning ‘U’ rated releases were animated titles from the US majors. In 2014 these included The Lego Movie, Rio 2 and Mr. Peabody & Sherman.

The top grossing ‘18’ films of the year were The Wolf of Wall Street and Gone Girl, which together earned over £45 million. This box office gross contributed to ‘18’ films taking 5% of the total box office for all films, whereas this classification took less than 1% of the box office for the other two categories.

Figure 1.3 Percentage of gross box office by BBFC film classification for all films, UK films and UK independent films, 2014

There has been some gradual change in the proportions of releases by classification over the last 14 years, as shown in Figure 1.4. The share of releases for the most common classification, ‘15’, has mainly been around 40%, and was 43% in 2014. The second and third most common classifications ‘PG’ and ‘12A’ have together accounted for over 40% of releases for most of the period. During that time, these classifications have diverged with the slow decline in the ‘PG’ classification being compensated by a rising trend in the ‘12A’ rating. The ‘U’ and ‘18’ classifications have consistently accounted for the smallest percentages of releases since 2001. In 2011 and 2014, there were slightly more ‘U’ films released than ‘18’ films, but in all other years, more ‘18’ films than ‘U’ films have been released.

U PG 12A 15 18

All films 11.8 11.9 44.3 27.2 4.7

UK films 8.2 20.7 38.0 32.6 0.5

UK independent films 9.0 23.2 28.9 38.1 0.9

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, BFI RSU analysisFigures as at 22 February 2015.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50



Figure 1.4 Percentage of releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland by film classification, 2001-2014

The shares of box office by film classification vary from year to year as demonstrated in Figure 1.5. However, the box office ranking of the classifications has remained fairly constant over time; the top earner being ‘12A’, with ‘U’ and ‘18’ typically being the lowest earners. The exceptions are 2011 and 2013 when ‘PG’ films earned less than ‘U’ films. Apart from these two years, ‘PG’ and ‘15’ films have exchanged second and third places over the period. In 2014, the box office share of the ‘12A’ classification decreased for a second consecutive year, but over the period it has had an increasing trend in box office share. In 2014, 44% of the total box office was generated by ‘12A’ classified films.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

20142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001

% of releases

U 7.0 8.0 5.2 6.0 6.2 5.7 5.2 5.9 4.8 6.8 8.8 5.4 6.4 7.0

PG 19.0 23.0 16.1 18.0 17.1 14.9 15.9 14.6 14.3 14.4 13.1 13.3 11.3 13.3

12A 18.0 20.0 26.0 26.4 24.8 27.5 25.4 28.5 24.3 26.4 30.1 28.7 32.2 29.5

15 40.0 40.0 40.4 39.0 37.3 38.8 40.1 36.6 44.3 37.3 38.0 42.8 38.4 42.7

18 15.0 9.0 12.1 8.6 10.7 9.1 9.1 9.7 9.7 10.6 8.1 7.4 10.5 6.3

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, BFI RSU analysisNote: Category ‘12A’ includes those films that were given the ‘12’ classification before 2003. The ‘12’ classification was superseded by ‘12A’ for films shown at the cinema in August 2002. The first film given a ‘12A’ rating was The Bourne Identity.

GE

NR

E A

ND

CLA

SSIF

ICATIO

N


Figure 1.5 Percentage of gross box office of releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland by film classification, 2001-2014


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

20142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001

U 10.2 13.4 10.4 16.6 16.7 13.9 11.8 8.4 11.6 17.8 15.4 10.3 16.3 11.8

PG 28.8 22.4 11.8 23.3 19.0 15.2 24.2 21.4 18.1 18.3 10.3 13.7 10.7 11.9

12A 30.3 39.8 42.4 28.2 40.4 43.9 34.7 44.8 41.6 37.7 44.7 51.8 45.5 44.3

15 23.5 21.1 29.2 26.6 19.9 21.2 23.7 20.0 22.1 22.7 27.8 22.3 24.4 27.2

18 7.3 3.6 6.3 5.2 3.8 5.7 5.5 5.4 6.5 3.4 1.8 1.9 3.0 4.7

Source: Rentrak, BBFC, BFI RSU analysisNotes:See note to Figure 1.4.Figures as at 22 February 2015.


TOP FILMS BY CLASSIFICATION

Table 1.10 shows the top 10 ‘U’ classified films at the box office in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2014. Animation, which is traditionally aimed at the youngest audiences, is the most popular genre in the table with eight of the top 10 titles. All of the animations were released in both 3D and 2D. Overall, for the eight films, 23% of the box office was taken from 3D screens. The Lego Movie generated the highest percentage of total box office from 3D screenings (32%), while Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy made the lowest percentage (6%). Two UK films appear in the list of the top 10 ‘U’ classified films. There were none in 2013.

Table 1.10 Top 10 ‘U’ classified films, 2014

Title Country of origin Gross box office

(£ million)

Distributor Genre

1 The Lego Movie Aus/USA/Den 34.3 Warner Bros Animation

2 Rio 2 USA 15.8 20th Century Fox Animation

3 Mr. Peabody & Sherman USA 13.7 20th Century Fox Animation

4 Penguins of Madagascar USA 8.3 20th Century Fox Animation

5 Muppets Most Wanted UK/USA 7.7 Walt Disney Family

6 Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?! UK 7.5 eOne Films Comedy

7 The Book of Life USA 6.2 20th Century Fox Animation

8 Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy USA 6.0 Walt Disney Animation

9 Planes 2: Fire & Rescue USA 4.7 Walt Disney Animation

10 The Nut Job Can/USA/South Korea 4.5 Warner Bros Animation


Seven different genres, including family, fantasy and comedy, are represented in the top 10 ‘PG’ classified films in 2014 (Table 1.11). The top film was the highest performing UK (and UK independent) film, Paddington. Four of the top 10 ‘PG’ films were shown in both 3D and 2D, and 14% of the box office for these films was earned at 3D screenings. Maleficent, at 31%, generated the highest percentage of its total box gross from 3D screenings. Three UK films appear in the list of the top 10 ‘PG’ classified films, the same as in 2013.

GE

NR

E A

ND

CLA

SSIF

ICATIO

N


Table 1.11 Top 10 ‘PG’ classified films, 2014


Gross box office

(£ million)

Distributor Genre

1 Paddington UK/Fra 36.9 StudioCanal Family

2 How to Train Your Dragon 2 USA 25.1 20th Century Fox Animation

3 Maleficent UK/USA 19.5 Walt Disney Fantasy

4 Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb USA 11.9 20th Century Fox Adventure

5 The Boxtrolls USA 8.9 Universal Animation

6 Annie USA 7.7 Sony Pictures Music/dance

7 Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

USA 3.4 Walt Disney Comedy

8 Earth to Echo USA 2.9 eOne Films Sci-fi

9 The Hundred-Foot Journey UK/UAE/USA 2.8 eOne Films Comedy

10 Tarzan 3D Ger 2.5 eOne Films Animation


Six of the releases in the list of the top 10 ‘12A’ classified films are action titles. The top film in this list is the highest earning film of the year The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, and all of the films in this list appear in the top 20 highest grossing films of the year. There is only one UK film in the list, compared with five in 2013.

Table 1.12 Top 10 ‘12A’ classified films, 2014


Gross box office

(£ million)

Distributor Genre

1 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies USA/NZ 41.2 Warner Bros Fantasy

2 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes USA 32.7 20th Century Fox Sci-fi

3 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 USA 31.1 Lionsgate Adventure

4 Guardians of the Galaxy UK/USA 28.5 Walt Disney Action

5 X-Men: Days of Future Past USA 27.1 20th Century Fox Action

6 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 USA 24.1 Sony Pictures Action

7 Interstellar USA 20.6 Warner Bros Sci-fi

8 Transformers: Age of Extinction USA/China 19.5 Paramount Action

9 Captain America: The Winter Soldier USA 19.3 Walt Disney Action

10 Godzilla USA/Jap 17.2 Warner Bros Action



By definition, ‘15’ classified films contain stronger material than those deemed suitable for younger audiences. Depending on the type of film they are likely to involve more adult-oriented themes and the use of stronger language. This is reflected in the top 10 for 2014, where comedy is the most common genre with five titles, including The Inbetweeners 2, 22 Jump Street and Bad Neighbours (Table 1.13). Three UK films appear in the top 10, the same as in 2013.

Table 1.13 Top 10 ‘15’ classified films, 2014


Gross box office

(£ million)

Distributor Genre

1 The Inbetweeners 2 UK 33.4 Entertainment Comedy

2 12 Years a Slave USA 20.0 eOne Films Drama

3 22 Jump Street USA 18.6 Sony Pictures Comedy

4 Bad Neighbours USA 16.0 Universal Comedy

5 Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie UK 14.7 Universal Comedy

6 Lucy Fra 14.3 Universal Sci-fi

7 The Grand Budapest Hotel USA/Ger 11.2 20th Century Fox Comedy

8 Fury UK/USA 8.3 Sony Pictures War

9 300: Rise of an Empire USA 7.8 Warner Bros Fantasy

10 Annabelle USA 7.5 Warner Bros Horror


Films classified as ‘18’ generally appeal to a narrower audience than other classifications, due to their strong content. In recent years, some ‘18’ classified films, such as Brüno and Inglourious Basterds in 2009 and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in 2011, have broken the £10 million barrier, and in 2013 Django Unchained took more than £15 million, but it has been unusual for ‘18’ films to take so much at the box office. However, in 2014, The Wolf of Wall Street and Gone Girl each grossed more than £22 million to become the first and second highest earning ‘18’ certified films of all time at the UK box office (they have since been superseded by the 2015 release of Fifty Shades of Grey). There are two UK films in the top 10 ‘18’ films, Starred Up and Redirected (Table 1.14).

GE

NR

E A

ND

CLA

SSIF

ICATIO

N


Table 1.14 Top 10 ‘18’ classified films, 2014


Gross box office

(£ million)

Distributor Genre

1 The Wolf of Wall Street USA 22.7 Universal Biopic

2 Gone Girl USA 22.4 20th Century Fox Thriller

3 Sin City: A Dame to Kill For USA 1.8 Lionsgate Thriller

4 Starred Up UK/Ire 1.5 20th Century Fox Drama

5 The Raid 2 Indonesia/USA 1.1 eOne Films Action

6 Maps to the Stars Can/USA/Ger/Fra 0.4 eOne Films Drama

7 Stranger by the Lake Fra 0.2 Peccadillo Pictures Drama

8 A Haunted House 2 USA 0.1 IMG Comedy

9 Nymphomaniac: Vol 1 Den/Ger/Bel/Fra/Swe 0.1 Curzon Film World Drama

10 Redirected UK/Lithuania 0.1 Koch Media Comedy




PUBLICINVESTMENT

IN FILM IN THE UK

Image: Suffragette © Pathé Productions Limited, Channel Four Television Corporation and the British Film Institute 2015. All rights reserved

IN RECOGNITION OF THE CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC VALUE OF FILM, THE UK GOVERNMENT AND THE EUROPEAN UNION PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO FILM IN THE UK THROUGH A VARIETY OF CHANNELS. THE SINGLE BIGGEST SOURCE OF PUBLIC FUNDING IN 2013/14 WAS THE FILM TAX RELIEF, FOLLOWED BY THE NATIONAL LOTTERY AND GOVERNMENT GRANT-IN-AID.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ Total measured public funding for film in the UK in 2013/14 was

£390 million, an increase of 7% on 2012/13.

■ The principal sources of public funding were the film tax relief (56%), the National Lottery (18%) and grant-in-aid (8%) from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

■ Combined grant-in-aid from the DCMS and the national governments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales totalled 10% of all public sector investments.

■ Film production benefited from 69% of the total financial support in 2013/14 followed by education, young people and lifelong learning (9%), and distribution and exhibition (8%).

■ Support for education, young people and lifelong learning was £38.4 million, up from £32.3 million in 2012/13.

PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN FILM IN THE UK

PU

BLIC

INVE

STM

EN

T IN

FIL

M IN

TH

E U

K


PUBLIC FUNDING FOR FILM IN THE UK BY SOURCE

Table 1.1 outlines the estimated levels of public funding invested in film in the UK in the financial years 2011/12 to 2013/14. (The figures do not include some types of local authority, research council, higher or further education funding.)

Public funding for film in 2013/14 is estimated to have been £390 million, up 7% from £363 million in 2012/13. The largest single source of public funding in the year was the UK film tax relief, which provided £220 million (56% of the total). This was followed by the National Lottery (£71.7 million, 18% of the total) and grant-in-aid of £30.6 million (8% of the total) from the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) to the BFI, Arts Council England (ACE) and the National Film and Television School (NFTS). Film4/Channel 4 invested £15.6 million in UK film and BBC Films/BBC £10.6 million. The European Union (EU) contributed £10 million, of which £4.3 million (£5.6 million in 2012/13) came from the MEDIA programme.

The year saw an increase of £2.7 million in DCMS grand-in-aid compared with 2012/13; part of this is accounted for by fuller recording of ACE investments in film and the moving image, although DCMS grant-in-aid to the BFI also increased slightly. Grant-in-aid in both 2012/13 and 2013/14 was lower than in 2011/12, reflecting the fall in overall DCMS investment during the period. However, this was offset by an increase in investment from the proceeds of the National Lottery. The data make it appear that ACE increased its investment in film and the moving image in 2013/14 but it is thought that this apparent increase is again largely due to changes in the way in which ACE analyses its expenditure. Each of the national governments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales has increased investment in film since 2011/12: the Scottish Government more than doubled its investment during the period (£1.6 million in 2011/12 compared with £4.1 million in 2013/14), while the Welsh Assembly Government doubled its investment (£1.4 million in 2011/12 compared with £2.8 million in 2013/14). In each case, it is likely that this reflects a growing recognition of the importance of the economic and cultural value of film to the nations. Investment from the European Union (via the structural funds) saw a substantial increase over the period, rising from £1.6 million in 2011/12 to £5.7 million in 2013/14: the majority of this increase took the form of a new commitment to Screen Yorkshire.


Table 1.1 Public funding for film in the UK by source, 2011/12 - 2013/14 (ranked by 2013/14 spend)

2011/12 2012/13 2013/14

£ million % £ million % £ million %

National Lottery Distribution Fund1 51.6 14.1 65.4 18.0 71.7 18.4

DCMS grant-in-aid to the BFI, ACE and NFTS 41.7 11.4 27.9 7.7 30.6 7.8

Film4/Channel 42 15.2 4.2 18.1 5.0 15.6 4.0

BBC Films/BBC3 12.5 3.4 12.7 3.5 10.6 2.7

National and Regional Development Agencies4 11.1 3.0 9.4 2.6 9.2 2.4

ACE5 1.3 0.4 4.4 1.2 7.2 1.8

Other European Union (EU)6 1.6 0.4 1.2 0.3 5.7 1.5

EU MEDIA programme7 5.0 1.4 5.6 1.5 4.3 1.1

Scottish Government8 1.6 0.4 2.2 0.6 4.1 1.1

Northern Ireland Executive9 1.9 0.5 2.2 0.6 3.2 0.8

Welsh Assembly Government10 1.4 0.4 2.3 0.6 2.8 0.7

Higher Education funding11 1.4 0.4 1.6 0.4 1.2 0.3

The Office of Communications (Ofcom)12 – – 1.1 0.3 1.1 0.3

Foreign and Commonwealth Office13 0.6 0.2 1.2 0.3 1.1 0.3

Skills Investment Fund training levy14 0.6 0.2 0.6 0.2 0.8 0.2

Local government15 0.1 <0.1 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.1

UK Trade & Investment16 – – 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.1

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills17 0.9 0.2 0.8 0.2 – –

Department for Education18 3.0 0.8 – – – –

Cabinet Office19 0.5 0.1 – – – –

Department for Work and Pensions20 0.1 <0.1 – – – –

Other public sector21 0.2 0.1 0.03 <0.1 0.01 <0.1

Total public sector selective investment22 152.2 41.6 157.3 43.3 169.9 43.6

UK film tax relief 214.0 58.5 206.0 56.7 220.0 56.4

Total public sector selective and automatic funding

366.2 100.0 363.3 100.0 389.9 100.0

PU

BLIC

INVE

STM

EN

T IN

FIL

M IN

TH

E U

K


Notes1. Allocations to the BFI, Creative Scotland, Ffilm Cymru Wales and Northern Ireland Screen, plus Heritage Lottery Fund.2. Includes Film4’s production investment and Channel 4 investment in the NFTS.3. Includes BBC Films’ production investment, BBC investment in the NFTS and film archives.4. Contributions to Screen Agencies from Development Agencies throughout the UK.5. Includes ACE National Lottery investments (for example from Grants for the Arts) into moving image projects, plus the National Portfolio

Organisation investment in FLAMIN/Film London. 6. Investment via the European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund.7. The MEDIA programme ended in 2013; MEDIA is now a sub-programme of Creative Europe, the new EU programme for the cultural,

creative and audiovisual sectors.8. Includes funding from all Scottish government agencies to strategic bodies/projects.9. Includes funding from all Northern Ireland government agencies to strategic bodies/projects.10. Includes funding from all Welsh government agencies to strategic bodies/projects.11. Includes investment from Higher Education Funding Councils for England, Wales and Scotland, plus Higher Education institutions to support

Creative Skillset film academies, film archives and other strategic agencies. It does not include payments from educational funding councils to other film courses (film studies etc.) in higher or further education.

12. Contribution to the costs of BFI archiving of off-air broadcasts.13. Funding for UK-originated British Council activity. Excludes partnership funding of ‘in-country’ events (outside the UK).14. Made up of contributions from all film productions either based in the UK or in receipt of UK public funding, collected and re-distributed by

Creative Skillset.15. Investment by local authorities in Regional Film Archives, Creative England and other English Regional Screen Agencies.16. Funding for export support.17. Includes direct investment in the NFTS.18. Includes funding for the BFI Film Academy.19. Funding for schools film clubs.20. Funding for training and business support.21. Very small awards (under £10,000) from a range of public sector agencies, mainly made to National/Regional Screen Agencies.22. Does not include transfers to and from reserves.


SPEND BY AGENCY

As Table 1.2 shows, the largest net spender on film in 2013/14 was HMRC (£220 million for film tax relief), followed by the BFI (£90.4 million), Film4/Channel 4 (£15.3 million), Northern Ireland Screen (£12 million) and the Scottish film agencies (£11.5 million).

Table 1.2 Net film spend by agency, 2013/141

£ million %

HMRC 220.0 53.1

BFI 90.4 21.8

Film 4/Channel 42 15.3 3.7

Northern Ireland Screen 12.0 2.9

Scottish agencies3 11.5 2.8

NFTS 10.1 2.4

BBC Films/BBC4 10.0 2.4

ACE5 6.7 1.6

Into Film 5.9 1.4

Other English agencies6 5.3 1.3

Creative Skillset 4.9 1.2

Creative England 4.8 1.2

Welsh agencies7 4.7 1.1

Film London 4.6 1.1

EU MEDIA programme8 4.1 1.0

English regional film archives9 2.1 0.5

British Council 1.0 0.2

Heritage Lottery Fund 0.9 0.2

Total public agencies10 414.4 100.0

Source: Creative Cultural Associates NotesFigures/percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.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. Investment for the calendar year 2014.3. Includes film expenditure on the part of Creative Scotland and the

Scottish Screen Archive (part of the National Library of Scotland).4. Investment for the calendar year 2014.5. Includes ACE National Lottery investments (eg from Grants for the

Arts) into moving image projects, plus National Portfolio Organisa-tion investments attributable to film and the moving image, based upon ACE calculations.

6. Includes film expenditure on the part of Northern Film & Media, Screen South and Screen Yorkshire.

7. Includes film expenditure on the part of Ffilm Cymru Wales and the Film Archive of Wales (part of the National Library of Wales) and direct investments by the Welsh Assembly Government.

8. See note to Table 1.1.9. Includes film expenditure on the part of the East Anglian Film

Archive, Media Archive for Central England (MACE), North East Film Archive, North West Film Archive, Screen Archive South East, South West Film and Television Archive and the Yorkshire Film Archive.

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 as well as income derived from public sector sources. For these reasons the total spending by agencies (£414.4 million) is higher than total public funding for film in the 2013/14 year (£389.9 million, Table 1.1).

ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED BY PUBLIC SPENDING ON FILM

The areas of activity supported by public spend on film in the UK in the financial years 2011/12 to 2013/14 are outlined in Table 1.3.

Production has consistently benefited from the largest share of public spend, primarily due to the automatic funding available through the film tax relief, although the total spend has fluctuated in line with the changing volume of production. In 2013/14, film production accounted for £284.2 million (69% of the total). In the same financial year, education, young people and lifelong learning had the second largest share of public spend at 9% (£38.4 million, up from £32.3 million in 2012/13). This increase continues a trend from 2011/12 and is largely the result of the implementation of the BFI’s Film Forever strategic plan, one of whose goals is the expansion of opportunities for film education and learning. The public spend on distribution and exhibition activity has also shown a rising trend since 2011/12; in 2013/14 it received investment of £31.4 million, up from £28.1 million in 2012/13 and £19.8 million in 2011/12. Conversely, the spend on archives and heritage has reduced over the period, partially as a result of the ending of additional DCMS investment in film archives. In 2013/14 spend in this area was £17.7 million, compared with £19.5 million in 2012/13 and £22 million in 2011/12.

PU

BLIC

INVE

STM

EN

T IN

FIL

M IN

TH

E U

K


Table 1.3 Activities supported by public spend on film, 2011/12 - 2013/14 (ranked by 2013/14 spend)

2011/12 2012/13 2013/14

£ million % £ million % £ million %

Production1 271.2 70.2 268.7 68.4 284.2 68.6

Education, young people and lifelong learning 19.8 5.1 32.3 8.2 38.4 9.3

Distribution and exhibition 25.5 6.6 28.1 7.1 31.4 7.6

Archives and heritage2 22.0 5.7 19.5 5.0 17.7 4.3

Training and skills3 13.4 3.5 13.5 3.4 17.7 4.3

Development 9.3 2.4 10.9 2.8 10.3 2.5

Administration and services to the public 19.3 5.0 14.2 3.6 7.3 1.8

Export and inward investment promotion4 3.3 0.9 3.8 1.0 4.3 1.0

Business support5 2.4 0.6 1.6 0.4 3.1 0.7

Total public film expenditure6 386.2 100.0 392.6 100.0 414.4 100.0

Notes:1. Non-tax relief production spend in 2013/14 was £64.2 million.2. National Film and Television Archive, National/Regional Screen Archives, Heritage Lottery Fund investments.3. Skills Investment Fund, National/Regional Screen Agency training investment, Creative Skillset film/craft and technical skills academies.4. British Film Commission; British Council, locations services in the nations and regions.5. National/Regional Screen Agency investment: primary beneficiaries are independent production companies.6. 2013/14 total expenditure (£414.4 million) was greater than total public funding (£389.9 million, Table 1.1) as expenditure was supplemented

by earned/self-generated income, commercial sponsorship, grants from trusts and foundations and transfers from reserves.

SPEND ACROSS THE FOUR NATIONS Many sources of public sector investment in film, such as the film tax relief, are intended for the benefit of film throughout the UK. However, some sources of funding are particular to the individual UK nations – eg investment from the National Screen Agencies, ACE, etc. Table 1.4 and Figure 1 show the level of investment dedicated to each of the UK nations in 2013/14. In cash terms, investment in England was the greatest (£16.9 million or 37% of the total nation-specific funding). In per capita terms, however, the level of investment in Northern Ireland was the highest at £6.61 per person, three times the level in Scotland, which had the next highest spend per person at £2.17. Table 1.4 Investment in film in the UK nations, 2013/14

Nation Total dedicated investment (£ million)

Population (million) £ per person

England1 16.9 53.0 0.32

Northern Ireland2 12.0 1.8 6.61

Scotland3 11.5 5.3 2.17

Wales4 4.7 3.1 1.54

Source: Creative Cultural AssociatesNotes1. Includes investment from Creative England, English Regional Screen Agencies, English Regional Screen Archives and ACE.2. Investment from Northern Ireland Screen.3. Includes investment from Creative Scotland, Scottish Screen Archive.4. Includes investment from Ffilm Cymru Wales, Wales Film Archive and Welsh Assembly Government direct expenditure.


Figure 1 Investment in film in the UK nations, 2013/14

Spend per person (£) 0.32 6.61 2.17 1.54

Source: Creative Cultural Associates

BFI LOTTERY AWARDS 2014

Table 1.5 shows the Lottery awards made by the BFI in 2014. There were 385 awards in total (399 in 2013) with a combined value of £25.5 million. Table 1.5 BFI Lottery awards, 2014

Source Number of awards Total value (£ million)

Film Fund – Development 113 3.1

Film Fund – Pre-production 14 0.4

Film Fund – Production 50 12.6

Film Fund – Completion 5 0.1

Film Fund – Vision Awards 12 0.8

Distribution – Exhibition Fund 26 2.7

Export development 27 0.2

International Fund 14 2.2

Partnerships – Audience Fund 120 3.2

Partnerships – Film Academy 4 0.1

Total awards 385 25.5

Source: BFINotes: BFI awards data are for calendar year 2014.Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

£

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

WalesScotlandNorthern IrelandEngland

PU

BLIC

INVE

STM

EN

T IN

FIL

M IN

TH

E U

K


The large production/distribution awards of £250,000+ made by the BFI in 2014 are shown in Table 1.6. In total, 21 awards were made, of which three were for £1 million or more.

Table 1.6 Large awards (£250,000+) made by the BFI, 2014

Source Project (total = 21) Amount of award (£)

Film Fund – Production High-Rise 1,335,000

Sunset Song 1,320,100

War on Everyone 1,000,000

The Ones Below 785,000

Trespass Against Us 700,000

Remainder 635,000

The Incident 580,000

Testament of Youth 550,000

45 Years 507,000

Iona 500,000

London Road 500,000

Light Years 481,000

Brooklyn 400,000

Departure 350,000

A Patch of Fog 309,000

Couple in a Hole 305,000

The Lobster 300,000

How to Change the World 300,000

The Lovers and the Despot 250,000

Distribution – Exhibition Fund ’71 300,000

Frank 300,000

Source: BFINote: BFI awards data are for calendar year 2014.


LEADING PUBLIC INVESTORS IN BRITISH FILM PRODUCTION, 2012-2014

Table 1.7 shows the leading public agency and public service broadcaster investment in British films for the calendar years 2012-2014. The most frequent public investors were the BFI with 113 projects and BBC Films/BBC with 73. These projects had combined budgets of £321 million and £218 million respectively. These budget figures are for the total budget of the films, including the share of budget provided by other public investors, private investors and pre-sales.

Table 1.7 Leading public investors in British film production, 2012-2014

Public funder Number Estimated budget

(£ million)

Examples

BFI 113 321 20,000 Days on Earth; 45 Years; The Goob; Suffragette; X+Y

BBC Films/BBC 73 218 A Little Chaos; Bill; Philomena; Testament of Youth; Woman in Gold

European agencies1 64 332 A Most Wanted Man; The Gunman; Only Lovers Left Alive; The Salvation; Theeb

Film4/Channel 4 50 189 The Duke of Burgundy; Dark Horse; The Inbetweeners 2; Jimmy’s Hall; Macbeth

Scottish agencies 33 44 God Help the Girl; Under the Skin; What We Did on Our Holiday

Creative England 20 18 Light Years; Norfolk; Spooks: The Greater Good

Welsh agencies/S4C 19 32 Bypass; The Canal; Dan y Wenallt (Under Milk Wood)

Irish Film Board 19 51 All Is by My Side; Calvary; The Lobster

Northern Ireland Screen 17 29 High Rise; Robot Overlords; Starred Up

Screen Yorkshire 15 65 ’71; A Royal Night Out; Get Santa

Source: BFI production trackingNotes:In some cases more than one public agency contributed funding to the same film, so there is double counting of budgets and hence no total budget row.1. Examples of European film funding agencies include Deutscher Filmförderfonds, Le Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée and

Norsk filminstitutt.


BFI Research and Statistics PUBLISHED MARCH 2015

THE BOX OFFICE 2014

Image: Paddington courtesy of StudioCanal

IN 2014, UK BOX OFFICE REVENUES EXCEEDED £1 BILLION FOR THE FOURTH YEAR IN SUCCESSION. ADMISSIONS, AT 157.5 MILLION, ALTHOUGH LOWER THAN IN 2013, MAINTAINED THE FLAT TREND WHICH HAS BEEN APPARENT SINCE 2002.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ UK box office receipts in 2014 were £1,058 million, down 2%

on 2013.

■ UK cinema admissions reached 157.5 million, down 5% on 2013.

■ A total of 712 films were released for a week or more in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

■ UK films, including co-productions, accounted for 22% of releases and 27% of the market by value.

■ The box office share of UK independent films was 16%, the highest share since records began in 2001, and higher than that for studio-backed UK films (11%) for the first time.

■ The top 100 films earned 90% of the gross box office, very similar to 2013’s 91%.

■ A total of 54 3D films were released in 2014, up from 46 in 2013; their 3D takings accounted for 12% of UK and Republic of Ireland box office revenues, down from 18% in 2013.

■ UK films made with the backing of major US studios spent longer than other films, on average, in UK cinemas in 2014.

THE BOX OFFICE 2014

TH

E B

OX

OFFIC

E 2

014


UK CINEMA ADMISSIONS

The 157.5 million cinema tickets sold in the UK in 2014 represented a 5% decline from the number of admissions in 2013. However, UK cinema attendances have remained relatively stable since 2002 (Figure 1.1). The results were more mixed across other major territories, with some large increases and more moderate decreases. Admissions were up in China (26.5%), France (7.1%), Russia (9.2%) and Spain (12.2%), but decreased in Australia (-4.4%), Germany (-6.6%), Italy (-6.5%) and the USA (-5.8%). Figure 1.1 Annual UK cinema admissions, 2001-2014

Year Total admissions (million)

2001 155.9

2002 175.9

2003 167.3

2004 171.3

2005 164.7

2006 156.6

2007 162.4

2008 164.2

2009 173.5

2010 169.2

2011 171.6

2012 172.5

2013 165.5

2014 157.5

Source: CAA, Rentrak

A breakdown of monthly cinema admissions in the UK is outlined in Table 1.1. Perhaps in part due to a period of heavy winter storms and flooding, January admissions were down by 11% on the equivalent month in 2013, but were the third highest monthly admissions of 2014. The start of the year is traditionally dominated by awards contenders; topping the box office in January were 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle and The Wolf of Wall Street. With takings of £4.7 million, the latter recorded the UK’s third highest opening weekend for an ‘18’ certified film after Hannibal in 2001 (£6.4 million) and Brüno in 2009 (£5 million) and was to become the UK’s top earning ‘18’ certified film of all time until the release of Fifty Shades of Grey in 2015. The month also saw continued strong ticket sales for some of December 2013’s big performers – Frozen, Gravity and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

One of the few months in the year to show an increase on 2013 admissions was February, which saw the release of popular titles aimed at the school half-term holidays – The Lego Movie, Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy. The month also saw the release of more awards hopefuls including The Book Thief, Dallas Buyers Club and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Admissions fell again in March with the month’s top earning releases, which included 300: Rise of an Empire, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Muppets Most Wanted, failing to match the collective performance of 2013’s top March titles, which included The Croods and Oz the Great and the Powerful.

Admissions were boosted in April (up 7% on 2013) when the top earning releases included The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Noah, The Other Woman and Rio 2, but fell again in May despite strong performances from some of 2014’s top earning films – Bad Neighbours, Godzilla, Maleficent and X-Men: Days of Future Past – all of which were in the top 20 films of the year.

A combination of soaring temperatures and the pull of the FIFA World Cup and Commonwealth Games led to lower month-on-month ticket sales across the summer period. June admissions were down by 20% despite the release of comedy hits 22 Jump Street and Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie (one of the top two UK comedies of the year), and July was down by 8%. In an effort to entice audiences back to the cinema, distributors adopted new strategies: How to Train Your Dragon 2 received a staggered release across the UK, opening in Scotland and Ireland two weeks before the rest of the country, while the release of Transformers: Age of Extinction was pushed back until two days before the World Cup final.

Million

140

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

13121110090807060504030201


The second highest admissions of the year were seen in August (just behind December). Attendances were helped by the release of UK titles Guardians of the Galaxy and The Inbetweeners 2, two of the biggest films of the year, as well as continued strong ticket sales for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which had opened in July. The Inbetweeners 2 was to become the second best performing UK film of 2014 with a final gross of £33 million although it failed to reach the heights of the original film version in 2011, which earned £45 million at the UK box office.

September had the lowest monthly admissions for the year and was down 14% on 2013. However, the month recorded a box office first when an event cinema release topped the charts for the first time ever, with Billy Elliot the Musical Live taking the top spot in the final weekend. Attendances saw a resurgence in October (up 12% on 2013) with UK film Fury topping the charts alongside Gone Girl and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

November admissions were down on the previous year by 7% despite the opening of some of the year’s highest earning films – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, Interstellar and the most popular UK film of the year, Paddington, which topped the charts into December. Attendances were up again in the final month of the year, which recorded the highest level of ticket sales for 2014, thanks in part to the continued success of Paddington and the latest Hunger Games film and the release of the year’s top earning film, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, which like the first two instalments of the trilogy, was to hold the number one spot at the box office for the final three weeks of the year. Another notable December release was the Bollywood blockbuster PK, which was to become the UK’s top earning Hindi language film of the year.

Table 1.1 Monthly UK cinema admissions, 2013 and 2014

Month 2013 (million)

2014 (million)

% +/- on 2013

January 17.1 15.2 -11.1

February 14.0 14.3 2.7

March 10.9 10.4 -4.8

April 11.9 12.7 6.7

May 15.6 12.6 -19.3

June 13.0 10.4 -20.2

July 14.3 13.3 -7.3

August 17.6 17.1 -3.2

September 9.9 8.5 -13.8

October 11.9 13.3 11.9

November 13.7 12.7 -7.2

December 15.7 17.1 9.0

Total 165.5 157.5 -4.9

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

Average weekly admissions in 2014 ranged from 2 million in September to 3.9 million in August and December (Table 1.2). The largest decreases compared with 2013 occurred in May and June. May saw the release of some of the top earning films of the year, but collectively they failed to match the success of some of the high earning titles on release in the same month in 2013 (including Fast & Furious 6, Iron Man 3 and Star Trek into Darkness), while competition for audiences from the FIFA World Cup was strongest in June, when the only UK nation to qualify for the tournament remained in the contest. December was the month with the largest increase in average weekly admissions, compared to 2013, up from 3.5 million to 3.9 million.

TH

E B

OX

OFFIC

E 2

014


Table 1.2 Average weekly admissions, 2013 and 2014

Month 2013 (million)

2014 (million)

January 3.9 3.4

February 3.5 3.6

March 2.5 2.3

April 2.8 3.0

May 3.5 2.9

June 3.0 2.4

July 3.2 3.0

August 4.0 3.9

September 2.3 2.0

October 2.7 3.0

November 3.2 3.0

December 3.5 3.9


Table 1.3 shows how the 2014 admissions break down by the television advertising regions used by the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA), with London accounting for over 25% of UK admissions and the Midlands accounting for 14%. The Border region had the lowest number of admissions, accounting for just under 1% of attendances. The pattern of national and regional admissions has remained largely unchanged over the last decade.

Table 1.3 Cinema admissions by ISBA TV region, 2014

Region Admissions (million)

%

London 40.1 25.5

Midlands 22.0 14.0

Lancashire 15.3 9.7

Southern 14.3 9.1

Yorkshire 12.9 8.2

Wales and West 11.2 7.1

East of England 10.9 6.9

Central Scotland 10.5 6.7

North East 6.2 3.9

Northern Ireland 5.6 3.6

South West 3.8 2.4

Northern Scotland 3.5 2.3

Border 1.2 0.7

Total 157.5 100.0

Source: CAA, RentrakNote: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Figure 1.2 puts UK admissions in a longer term perspective. Along with the USA and other western European countries, cinema-going in the UK declined sharply in the post-war era as incomes rose and new leisure activities became available. The largest competition came from the growth of television which allowed audiences to satisfy their appetite for screen entertainment in the comfort of their own homes. As cinema admissions fell so did the supply of screens, which led to further falling demand and more cinema closures. By the 1980s the number and quality of the remaining cinemas were at an all time low. The introduction of the VCR in the same decade had a further negative impact on admissions and the nadir was reached in 1984 with cinema-going down to an average of one visit per person per year. However, the introduction of multiplex cinemas to the UK from 1985 onwards reversed the trend and ushered in a new period of growth which saw admissions returning to levels last seen in the early 1970s.

Admissions in 2014 were the lowest since 2006, but since the early 2000s admissions have been fairly flat, with most years’ admissions being in the range 165-170 million.


Year Admissions (million)




1935 912.3 1955 1,181.8 1975 116.3 1995 114.6

1936 917.0 1956 1,100.8 1976 103.9 1996 123.5

1937 946.0 1957 915.2 1977 103.5 1997 138.9

1938 987.0 1958 754.7 1978 126.1 1998 135.2

1939 990.0 1959 581.0 1979 111.9 1999 139.1

1940 1,027.0 1960 500.8 1980 101.0 2000 142.5

1941 1,309.0 1961 449.1 1981 86.0 2001 155.9

1942 1,494.0 1962 395.0 1982 64.0 2002 175.9

1943 1,541.0 1963 357.2 1983 65.7 2003 167.3

1944 1,575.0 1964 342.8 1984 54.0 2004 171.3

1945 1,585.0 1965 326.6 1985 72.0 2005 164.7

1946 1,635.0 1966 288.8 1986 75.5 2006 156.6

1947 1,462.0 1967 264.8 1987 78.5 2007 162.4

1948 1,514.0 1968 237.3 1988 84.0 2008 164.2

1949 1,430.0 1969 214.9 1989 94.5 2009 173.5

1950 1,395.8 1970 193.0 1990 97.4 2010 169.2

1951 1,365.0 1971 176.0 1991 100.3 2011 171.6

1952 1,312.1 1972 156.6 1992 103.6 2012 172.5

1953 1,284.5 1973 134.2 1993 114.4 2013 165.5

1954 1,275.8 1974 138.5 1994 123.5 2014 157.5

Source: BFI, CAA, Rentrak

Figure 1.2 Annual UK admissions, 1935-2014Admissions (million)

1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2014

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

TH

E B

OX

OFFIC

E 2

014


UK BOX OFFICE EARNINGS

According to Rentrak, the total UK box office for 2014 was £1,058 million, down 2% on 2013 (Table 1.4). This figure covers all box office earnings during the calendar year 2014 for films exhibited in the UK whose box office takings were tracked by Rentrak. Since 2001 there has been an upward trend in box office earnings in the UK, peaking in 2012 with £1,099 million. The box office gross for 2014 was 64% higher than in 2001. Table 1.4 UK box office trends, 2001–2014 Year Box office

gross (£ million)

% +/- Change since 2001

%

2001 645 – –

2002 755 17.1 17.1

2003 742 -1.7 15.0

2004 770 3.8 19.4

2005 770 0.0 19.4

2006 762 -1.0 18.1

2007 821 7.7 27.3

2008 850 3.5 31.8

2009 944 11.1 46.4

2010 988 4.7 53.2

2011 1,040 5.3 61.2

2012 1,099 5.7 70.4

2013 1,083 -1.0 67.9

2014 1,058 -2.3 64.0


FILM RELEASES AND BOX OFFICE REVENUES IN THE UK AND REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

In 2014, 712 films (an average of almost 14 per week) were released for a week or more in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 14 more than in 2013.

The 712 releases in 2014 generated £1,078 million in box office revenues, a decrease of 7% on 2013. This figure differs from the £1,058 million in the section on UK box office earnings because it includes revenues generated in 2015 by films released in 2014 and covers the Republic of Ireland as well as the UK, which distributors usually treat as a single distribution territory. The subsequent analysis in this chapter includes all titles released in 2014 and includes revenues generated up to 22 February 2015.

As can be seen in Table 1.5, the top 100 films took just over 90% of the box office, a slight decrease on 2013’s figure. The remaining 612 films (86% of all releases) accounted for just under 10% of gross revenues. A total of 54 films were released in the 3D format, up from 46 in 2013. The 3D takings from these releases (£133 million) accounted for 12% of the total box office in 2014 compared to 18% (£204 million) in 2013.

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Releases 527 503 557 558 647 698 712

Combined gross (£ million) 934.5 1,126.7 1,023.6 1,134.5 1,182.4 1,153.7 1,077.8

Top 20 films (% of box office) 49.6 48.6 48.2 47.5 54.8 47.8 47.4



Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNote: Table 1.5 and all subsequent analysis of the theatrical market includes all titles released in 2014. The combined gross reflects the territorial gross (ie including the Republic of Ireland), and includes those titles released in 2014 but also generating revenue into 2015, up to and including 22 February 2015.

Table 1.5 Summary of results at the UK and Republic of Ireland box office, 2008–2014


As Figure 1.3 shows that the market share of the top 20 and top 50 highest grossing films has been falling since 2001. However, in 2012 the box office share of the top 50 highest grossing films reached 78% (the highest since 2003), mainly due to the record breaking success of Skyfall (£103 million) and three other titles grossing over £50 million at the box office. No releases reached this level in 2013 or 2014. At 47%, the box office share of the top 20 films in 2014 was the lowest since our records began. Figure 1.3 Market share of top 20, 21-50, 51-100 and rest of films, 2001-2014

% share of top 20

60 60 54 49 55 48 51 50 49 48 48 55 48 47

% share of 21-50

24 22 24 26 21 23 25 23 24 24 26 23 26 27

% share of 51-100

11 12 14 17 16 18 15 18 18 18 17 15 17 16

% share of rest

4 6 8 8 9 12 9 10 9 10 9 8 9 10

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNote: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Figure 1.4 shows box office revenue in the UK and Republic of Ireland over the last 14 years. The total box office generated in 2014 was lower than in 2013 but was the fifth highest recorded over the period, and was up 44% compared with 2001. The takings of the top 20 film releases, at £511 million, were down by 8% compared with 2013 but up 14% since 2001. The films ranked 21-50 earned £288 million in 2014, a slight decrease on 2013’s total but up 59% since 2001, while those ranked 51-100 earned £176 million, a decrease on the total in 2013 but up 108% since 2001.

The combined box office of all films outside the top 100 was £103 million in 2014, slightly lower than in 2013. In 2010, the £106 million taken by films outside the top 100 (the highest since 2001) was shared by 457 individual titles, giving an average gross per film of £0.23 million. In 2014, the

£103 million taken by films outside the top 100 was shared by 612 titles, giving an average gross per film of just under £0.17 million. This highlights the difficulties faced by independent distributors who are competing for market share but also shows their success in achieving theatrical releases for more independent films than in recent years. As Figures 1.3 and 1.4 show, while there are variations in the actual takings and box office share for all films outside the top 100, the majority of releases are competing for a small share of the box office. Figure 1.4 Gross box office of top 20, 21-50, 51-100 and rest of films, 2001-2014

Gross box office of top 20

450 495 438 409 464 408 480 465 559 495 539 648 551 511

Gross box office of 21-50

181 186 197 216 179 196 230 213 274 243 297 267 299 288

Gross box office of 51-100

84 101 118 141 135 150 142 168 206 182 193 175 199 176

Gross box office of rest

33 47 63 62 72 98 86 91 101 106 106 93 104 103


Table 1.6 outlines the number of films released in the UK in 2014 by the number of sites at the widest point of release (WPR). A total of 185 releases were shown at 100 sites or more (26% of all films released), while 279 films were shown at fewer than 10 sites (39%). Nearly three quarters of all films released in the UK were shown at fewer than 100 sites.

£ million

0

200

400

600

800

1413121110090807060504030201

1413121110090807060504030201

%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1,000

1,200

TH

E B

OX

OFFIC

E 2

014


Figure 1.5 shows the median box office gross by number of sites at widest point of release for all films, UK films and UK independent films. The median for all films is higher than for the other two categories for titles released at 400 or more sites and for titles released at 200-299 sites. For the highest WPR band, the median box office gross for UK films (£6.2 million) was around £1.3 million lower than the median for all films, but £2.1 million higher than for UK independent films. The UK films which achieve a wide release are usually higher budget titles made in cooperation with the major US studios, such as the 2014 releases Guardians of the Galaxy and Maleficent. However, during the year several lower budget films also received wide releases, such as Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie, Pride and What We Did on Our Holiday.

For each of the remaining WPR bands, the median box office gross for UK films was the same as for UK independent films as all UK films in these bands were independent titles. In the 300-399 WPR band, the median box office gross for UK films and UK independent films (£1.6 million) was £0.03 million higher than for all films. In the other WPR bands the median values of box office takings were similar for all categories with the exception of the 200-299 WPR band where the median box office gross for all films was £0.14 million higher than for the other two categories.

Figure 1.5 Median box office gross by number of sites at widest point of release for all films, UK films and UK independent films, 2014

All films 7.53 1.57 0.39 0.46 0.01 <0.01

UK films 5.83 1.60 0.24 0.52 0.06 <0.01


4.11 1.60 0.24 0.52 0.06 <0.01

Source: BFI, RSU

Table 1.6 Number of releases and median box office gross by number of sites at widest point of release, 2014

Number of sites at WPR

Number of releases

% of releases

Median box office (£)

Minimum box office (£)

Maximum box office (£)

≥500 39 5.5 15,787,000 2,809,000 41,247,000

400 – 499 46 6.5 4,440,000 1,683,000 18,614,000

300 – 399 49 6.9 1,570,000 455,000 7,043,000

200 – 299 21 2.9 389,000 80,000 3,174,000

100 – 199 30 4.2 456,000 21,000 2,930,000

50 – 99 58 8.1 164,000 5,000 1,176,000

10 – 49 190 26.7 45,000 1,000 764,000

<10 279 39.2 3,000 <1,000 267,000

Total 712 100.0 34,000 <1,000 41,247,000

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysis Note: Median, minimum and maximum box office values rounded to nearest £1,000.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

£ million

<1010-99100-199200-299300-399>=400


The changes in market share over time for films by country of origin are shown in Figure 1.6. The share of USA and UK studio-backed films had remained at around 90% up to 2010, but in 2011 this share dropped to 83%, with the share for USA films (just under 61%) being the lowest for the period. Similar shares for USA and UK studio-backed films were seen in 2012, before this share increased to 88% in 2013, a level comparable to the years up to 2010. The share of USA and UK studio-backed films in 2014 was 76%, the lowest level since 2001.

The main reason for the lower share for USA and UK studio-backed films in 2014 was the increased share for UK independent films, which at over 16% is the highest since our records began. This was led by Paddington which grossed £37 million followed by The Inbetweeners 2 which earned £33.4 million. Together, these two films grossed over £70 million, more than three times the £21.2 million grossed by the top two independent films in 2013, Philomena and Rush.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF FILM RELEASES

As Table 1.7 indicates, 32% of all films released in the UK in 2014 were of USA origin (excluding UK co-productions) and these films accounted for 66% of total box office earnings.

UK films, including co-productions, represented 22% of releases (up from 20% in 2013) and shared 27% of the box office, of which UK independent films earned 16% and UK studio-backed titles 11%.

Films whose countries of origin lie outside the UK and USA accounted for 46% of releases (up from 45% in 2013) but over 7% of earnings (up from 5% in 2013). The increase in box office for non-UK and non-USA films came mainly from other European films whose box office share increased from 3% in 2013 to 4.5% in 2014 (from 21% of all releases). Films from India accounted for 1.5% of the total box office from 16% of releases, similar to 2013, and films from the rest of the world accounted for 1.4% of the box office, from 9% of releases.

Table 1.7 Country of origin of films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014

Country of origin Number of releases

% of all releases


Box office share (%)

USA 225 31.6 709.1 65.8

UK studio-backed* 13 1.8 115.0 10.7

UK independent 143 20.1 173.4 16.1

All UK 156 21.9 288.5 26.8

Other Europe 150 21.1 48.9 4.5

India 116 16.3 16.4 1.5

Rest of the world 65 9.1 15.0 1.4

Total 712 100.0 1,077.8 100.0

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes: Box office gross = cumulative total up to 22 February 2015. Sub-totals may not sum to totals due to rounding. * ‘Studio-backed’ means backed by one of the major US film studios.

TH

E B

OX

OFFIC

E 2

014


The fluctuating pattern of UK market share is underlined in Figure 1.7 with the annual figure dependent on a small number of high grossing titles. The average UK independent market share for the 14-year period was just over 7% with an upward trend from the low of 3.4% in 2003. At 16%, the market share for independent UK films in 2014 was the highest since our records began and was higher than that for studio-backed UK films (11%) for the first time.

%

Figure 1.6 Market share by country of origin, 2001-2014

Rest of the world

0.5 0.5 0.8 1.8 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.8 1.0 0.6 0.7 1.4

India 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.5 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.0 1.3 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.5

Europe 1.3 0.7 0.9 0.6 1.6 1.2 1.8 2.3 1.2 2.1 1.7 4.8 3.0 4.5

UK independent

3.8 6.5 3.4 3.9 6.9 4.7 6.8 5.7 8.2 5.4 13.1 9.3 6.8 16.1

UK studio-backed*

21.2 16.1 12.5 19.5 26.2 14.4 21.8 25.4 8.5 18.6 22.6 22.8 15.5 10.7

USA 72.0 75.2 81.6 73.2 63.1 77.1 67.7 65.2 81.0 71.8 60.6 61.3 72.7 65.8

Source: BFI, RSUNotes: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. * ‘Studio-backed’ means backed by one of the major US film studios.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

20142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001


Figure 1.7 UK films’ share of the UK theatrical market, 2001-2014

UK studio-backed films*

21.2 16.1 12.5 19.5 26.2 14.4 21.8 25.4 8.5 18.6 22.6 22.8 15.5 10.7


3.8 6.5 3.4 3.9 6.9 4.7 6.8 5.7 8.2 5.4 13.1 9.3 6.6 16.1

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

Table 1.8 compares the number of UK and non-UK films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2014 across several gross box office bands. There were three UK films (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Inbetweeners 2 and Paddington) in the over £20 million gross band compared to 11 non-UK films (including Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and The Lego Movie). In the second box office band there were again three UK films compared with 13 non-UK titles, and in the third band there were 10 UK films compared with 16 non-UK titles. In the top two bands, the number of films as a percentage of releases within the film categories was similar for UK films and non-UK films.

Overall, UK films made up 20% of all releases earning over £10 million in 2014, a similar percentage to 2013’s 21%. The proportion of UK films in the lowest box office band was 58% in 2014, compared with 64% in 2013.

%

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

20142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001

TH

E B

OX

OFFIC

E 2

014


Table 1.8 UK and non-UK releases by box office band, 2014

Non-UK releases UK releases

Box office gross (£ million) Number % releases Number % releases

≥20 11 2.0 3 1.9

10 – 19.99 13 2.3 3 1.9

5 – 9.99 16 3.0 10 6.4

1 – 4.99 58 10.4 21 13.5

0.1 – 0.99 111 19.9 28 17.9

<0.1 347 62.4 91 58.3

Total 556 100.0 156 100.0


Table 1.9 shows the percentages of UK film releases by box office band from 2008 to 2014. In 2014, 76% of UK films earned less than £1 million at the box office, the third lowest percentage after 2008 and 2011. The three UK films which earned £20 million or more in 2014 equate to 1.9% of all UK releases in that year; this is the lowest proportion of the seven-year period. The percentage of UK films earning between £10 and £20 million in 2014, also at 1.9%, was the same as in 2012 but lower than in 2010, 2011 and 2013, and the 13% of UK films in 2014 which earned between £1 and £5 million was the second highest in the period after 2008 (15%).

Table 1.9 UK releases by box office band, 2008–2014

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014


Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %

≥20 3 2.7 3 2.7 3 2.5 7 5.5 5 3.1 4 2.8 3 1.9

10 – 19.99 2 1.8 0 0.0 6 5.0 4 3.1 3 1.9 3 2.2 3 1.9

5 – 9.99 6 5.4 6 5.3 3 2.5 6 4.7 7 4.3 8 5.8 10 6.4

1 – 4.99 17 15.3 14 12.3 10 8.4 16 12.6 13 8.0 14 10.1 21 13.5

0.1 – 0.99 23 20.7 21 18.4 20 16.8 24 18.9 32 19.8 21 15.1 28 17.9

<0.1 60 54.1 70 61.4 77 64.7 70 55.1 102 63.0 89 64.0 91 58.3

Total 111100.0 114100.0 119100.0 127100.0 162100.0 139100.0 156100.0



LENGTH OF RELEASE

We have previously looked at width of release, but also of interest is the length of time a film is on release. Overall, the average length of release in the UK in 2014 was eight weeks but over 100 films were on release in the UK for only one or two weeks.

Looking at country of origin, the films which stayed in cinemas the longest, on average, were those produced in the UK but made in collaboration with the major US studios (with a median length of release of 15 weeks) followed by films produced in the USA (11 weeks). Indian films had the shortest releases, on average, with a median of three weeks (Table 1.10). At 40 weeks, the longest running UK studio-backed film in 2014 was Muppets Most Wanted and the longest running USA film was The Lego Movie at 50 weeks. The highest grossing film of 2014, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, had been on release for 11 weeks to 22 February 2015.

At nine weeks, the median length of release for UK independent films was lower than for both UK studio-backed films and USA films, but some UK independent films did receive much longer releases. Under the Skin had the longest run of all UK independent films, with 38 weeks. The highest grossing UK independent film of the year, Paddington, had been on release for 14 weeks to 22 February 2015.

Table 1.10 Median number of weeks on release by country of origin, 2014

Country of origin Number of films

Median number of weeks on

release

USA 225 11

UK studio-backed* 13 15

UK independent 143 9

All UK 156 10

Other Europe 150 9

India 116 3

Rest of the world 65 9

Total 712 8

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes:Number of weeks = the number of weeks on release up to 22 February 2015.* ‘Studio-backed’ means backed by one of the major US film studios.



TOP FILMS IN 2014

Image: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox. All rights reserved.

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES WAS THE HIGHEST EARNING FILM AT THE UK BOX OFFICE IN 2014 WITH GROSS RECEIPTS OF MORE THAN £41 MILLION. THE TOP PERFORMING UK FILM WAS PADDINGTON, WHICH EARNED £37 MILLION.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ Fourteen films earned £20 million or over at the UK box office in

2014, the same as in 2013.

■ Five UK films featured in the top 20 films of the year, three of which were independent UK films.

■ The top 20 UK films grossed £239 million, over one fifth of the total UK box office.

■ Independent UK films accounted for 54% of the total box office for the top 20 UK films, compared with 23% in 2013.

■ Six UK films spent a total of nine weeks at the top of the UK weekend box office charts.

■ The box office revenue generated from 3D film screenings was £133 million. This was 12% of the total box office, down from 18% in 2013.

TOP FILMS IN 2014

TO

P F

ILM

S IN

2014


THE TOP 20 FILMS

The top performing film at the box office in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2014 was the final instalment of the Hobbit trilogy, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, with earnings (to 22 February 2015) of more than £41 million. The second most popular release of the year was the UK independent film, Paddington, with takings of £37 million. In total, five UK titles featured in the top 20, three of which were independent UK films. There were six UK titles in the top 20 films of 2013, all of which were UK/USA collaborations, produced, at least partly, in the UK and mainly financed by inward investment from the major American studios.

Fourteen films earned £20 million or over at the UK box office in 2014, the same as in 2013 (Table 1.1). Sequels and franchises accounted for 12 of the top 20 films, two more than in 2013.

Action was the most popular genre in the 2014 list of top 20 films, both in number of releases and box office earnings. It accounted for six titles, including The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men: Days of Future Past, which between them took £136 million. Fantasy was in second place with total box office takings of £61 million from two releases – including the top film of the year, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – followed closely by animation which earned £59 million from two releases.

Table 1.1 Box office results for the top 20 films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014


Box office gross

(£ million)

Number of opening

weekend cinemas

Opening weekend

gross (£ million)

Distributor

1 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies* USA/NZ 41.2 598 9.8 Warner Bros

2 Paddington* UK/Fra 36.9 520 5.2 StudioCanal

3 The Lego Movie Aus/USA/Den

34.3 547 8.0 Warner Bros

4 The Inbetweeners 2 UK 33.4 509 12.5 Entertainment

5 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes USA 32.7 563 8.7 20th Century Fox

6 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1* USA 31.1 565 12.6 Lionsgate

7 Guardians of the Galaxy* UK/USA 28.5 557 6.4 Walt Disney

8 X-Men: Days of Future Past USA 27.1 539 9.1 20th Century Fox

9 How to Train Your Dragon 2 USA 25.1 135 0.6 20th Century Fox

10 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 USA 24.1 545 9.0 Sony Pictures

11 The Wolf of Wall Street USA 22.7 501 4.6 Universal

12 Gone Girl* USA 22.4 552 4.1 20th Century Fox

13 Interstellar* USA 20.6 576 5.4 Warner Bros

14 12 Years a Slave USA 20.0 207 2.5 eOne Films

15 Transformers: Age of Extinction USA/China 19.5 533 11.7 Paramount

16 Maleficent UK/USA 19.5 486 6.6 Walt Disney

17 Captain America: The Winter Soldier USA 19.3 535 6.0 Walt Disney

18 22 Jump Street USA 18.6 456 4.8 Sony Pictures

19 Godzilla USA/Jap 17.2 551 6.4 Warner Bros

20 The Imitation Game* UK/USA# 16.2 461 2.8 StudioCanal

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes:Box office gross = cumulative total up to 22 February 2015. * Film still on release on 22 February 2015.# Film made with independent (non-studio) US support.


THE TOP 20 UK QUALIFYING FILMS

The top 20 UK films of 2014, shown in Table 1.2, had a combined gross of £239 million, which was 22% of the total UK box office. This was up from £231 million in 2013 (20% of the total box office). Six UK films grossed more than £10 million in 2014, one fewer than in 2013. Twelve of the top 20 UK films were UK/USA collaborations, most of which were studio-backed productions. Ten of the top 20 titles were UK independent films, two more than in 2013, and they accounted for 54% of the total box office for the top 20 UK films (a large increase on 2013’s 23%).

The range of genres in the top 20 illustrates the variety of UK film production. The top UK film of 2014 was a family film and nine other genres were represented, including biopic, fantasy, sci-fi and war. Comedy, with a combined box office gross of nearly £64 million from five releases, was the highest earning genre in the list of top 20 UK films. In second place was family, with a gross of nearly £45 million from two releases.

Table 1.2 Box office results for the top 20 UK qualifying films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014

Title Country of

originBox

office gross

(£ million)

Distributor

1 Paddington* UK/Fra 36.9 StudioCanal

2 The Inbetweeners 2 UK 33.4 Entertainment

3 Guardians of the Galaxy* UK/USA 28.5 Walt Disney

4 Maleficent UK/USA 19.5 Walt Disney

5 The Imitation Game* UK/USA# 16.2 StudioCanal

6 Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie UK/Ire/USA 14.7 Universal

7 Non-Stop UK/Fra/USA# 9.5 StudioCanal

8 Fury UK/USA 8.3 Sony Pictures

9 Exodus: Gods and Kings UK/USA/Spa 8.1 20th Century Fox

10 Edge of Tomorrow UK/USA 7.9 Warner Bros

11 Muppets Most Wanted UK/USA 7.7 Walt Disney

12 Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?! UK 7.5 eOne Films

13 Mr. Turner* UK/Fra/Ger 6.7 eOne Films

14 The Monuments Men UK/USA/Ger 6.2 20th Century Fox

15 Hercules UK/USA 5.5 Paramount

16 The Railway Man UK/Aus 5.3 Lionsgate

17 Dracula Untold UK/USA 4.9 Universal

18 Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom UK/SA 4.4 Pathé

19 What We Did on Our Holiday UK 4.1 Lionsgate

20 Pride UK 4.0 Pathé/20th Century Fox

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes:Box office gross = cumulative total up to 22 February 2015.* Film still on release on 22 February 2015.# Film made with independent (non-studio) US support.

TO

P F

ILM

S IN

2014


THE TOP 20 UK INDEPENDENT FILMS

The top 20 UK independent films, shown in Table 1.3, had a combined gross of £153 million, which was 14% of the total UK box office (an increase on the 6% seen in 2013). Just under 46% of this total was earned by the top two independent releases, Paddington and The Inbetweeners 2, each of which grossed over £30 million. (In 2013, the top two independent releases, Philomena and Rush, had a combined box office gross of just over £21 million.)

As with the top 20 UK films, comedy was the highest earning genre in the 2014 list of top 20 UK independent titles, generating £57 million from seven releases, followed by family with £39 million from two releases. There are four biopics in the list, which earned a combined box office gross of £33 million. The list includes one animation – Postman Pat: The Movie – and one horror film – The Quiet Ones. For the first time in three years no documentary appears in the list.

Table 1.3 Box office results for the top 20 UK independent films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014

Title Country of

originBox

office gross

(£ million)

Distributor

1 Paddington* UK/Fra 36.9 StudioCanal

2 The Inbetweeners 2 UK 33.4 Entertainment

3 The Imitation Game* UK/USA# 16.2 StudioCanal

4 Non-Stop UK/Fra/USA# 9.5 StudioCanal

5 Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?! UK 7.5 eOne Films

6 Mr. Turner* UK/Fra/Ger 6.7 eOne Films

7 The Railway Man UK/Aus 5.3 Lionsgate

8 Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom UK/SA 4.4 Pathé

9 What We Did on Our Holiday UK 4.1 Lionsgate

10 Pride UK 4.0 Pathé/20th Century Fox

11 Postman Pat: The Movie UK 3.5 Lionsgate

12 Before I Go to Sleep UK/USA# 3.3 StudioCanal

13 Calvary UK/Ire 2.9 eOne Films

14 The Hundred-Foot Journey UK/UAE/USA# 2.8 eOne Films

15 Get Santa UK 2.5 Warner Bros

16 Cuban Fury UK 2.5 StudioCanal

17 A Most Wanted Man UK/Ger 2.1 eOne Films

18 Belle UK 1.9 20th Century Fox

19 Pudsey the Dog: The Movie UK 1.8 Vertigo Films

20 The Quiet Ones UK/USA# 1.6 Lionsgate

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes:Box office gross = cumulative total up to 22 February 2015.* Film still on release on 22 February 2015.# Film made with independent (non-studio) US support.


THE TOP 3D FILMS

Fifty-four 3D films were released in 2014, generating nearly £133 million (to 22 February 2015) from their 3D screenings. This aggregate gross from 3D screenings represents 12% of the UK and Republic of Ireland box office, down from 18% in 2013.

The top 20 3D releases in 2014 are listed in Table 1.4. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies had the highest 3D takings whilst Pompeii, at 69%, had the highest proportion of total gross from 3D screens. On average the percentage of films’ total box office taken in 3D screenings has decreased from a high point in 2010. Excluding films which were shown only on 3D screens, the median 3D takings as a percentage of total takings has fallen from 71% in 2010 to 27% in 2014. This suggests that enthusiasm for the 3D format is waning.

Table 1.4 Top 20 3D releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2014 (ranked by 3D gross)

Title Total gross (£ million)

3D gross (£ million)

3D as % of total

gross

Number of 3D sites

Distributor

1 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies* 41.2 12.2 30 493 Warner Bros

2 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 32.7 11.9 36 481 20th Century Fox

3 X-Men: Days of Future Past 27.1 11.2 41 481 20th Century Fox

4 The Lego Movie 34.3 11.1 32 473 Warner Bros

5 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 24.1 9.7 40 490 Sony Pictures

6 Transformers: Age of Extinction 19.5 8.5 44 477 Paramount

7 Guardians of the Galaxy* 28.5 7.9 28 499 Walt Disney

8 Godzilla 17.2 7.2 42 493 Warner Bros

9 Captain America: The Winter Soldier 19.3 6.4 33 482 Walt Disney

10 Maleficent 19.5 6.1 31 433 Walt Disney

11 How to Train Your Dragon 2 25.1 5.7 23 457 20th Century Fox

12 300: Rise of an Empire 7.8 4.0 52 439 Warner Bros

13 Rio 2 15.8 3.6 23 446 20th Century Fox

14 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 13.9 3.6 26 457 Paramount

15 Mr. Peabody & Sherman 13.7 3.5 26 416 20th Century Fox

16 Exodus: Gods and Kings 8.1 3.0 37 394 20th Century Fox

17 Edge of Tomorrow 7.9 2.6 33 375 Warner Bros

18 Need for Speed 4.9 2.1 42 418 eOne Films

19 Pompeii 2.7 1.9 69 379 eOne Films

20 Hercules 5.5 1.6 29 335 Paramount

Source: RentrakNotes:Box office gross = cumulative total up to 22 February 2015.* Film still on release on 22 February 2015.The 3D grosses do not include takings from IMAX screenings, but IMAX revenues contribute to the total gross.

TO

P F

ILM

S IN

2014


If we compare the average takings per site for 3D sites with the average takings for 2D sites for a particular film, it provides a measure of the relative popularity of 3D viewings compared with 2D viewings for that film. Looking at the ratio of 3D site averages to 2D site averages, the higher the value the more popular were the film’s 3D viewings compared with its 2D viewings.

Table 1.5 shows the top 20 films ranked by this ratio of 3D average box office per site to 2D average box office per site. The list includes the top films by this ranking from 3D films released between 2011 and 2014 which were shown at a minimum of five sites in both 3D and 2D formats. Six of the films in the list are 2011 releases, six are 2012 releases, six are 2013 releases and just two are 2014 releases.

Table 1.5 Top 20 3D films ranked by ratio of 3D site average box office to 2D site average box office, 2011-2014

Title Year of

release3D

gross (£ 000)

3D sites

3D site

average (£)

2D gross

(£ 000)

2D sites

2D site

average (£)

Ratio of 3D site average

to 2D site average

1 Battle of Warsaw 1920 2011 181 21 8,605 6 19 342 25.2

2 Titanic 3D 2012 10,021 410 24,443 176 177 994 24.6

3 Cathedrals of Culture 2014 13 11 1,156 0.3 5 50 23.0

4 Gravity 2013 25,733 506 50,855 2,581 430 6,003 8.5

5 Final Destination 5 2011 4,989 383 13,027 461 235 1,963 6.6

6 The Lion King 3D 2011 11,031 419 26,327 1,418 332 4,270 6.2

7 Monsters, Inc. 3D 2013 2,247 365 6,157 206 180 1,142 5.4

8 Kochadaiiyaan 2014 68 5 13,584 89 33 2,705 5.0

9 Immortals 2011 5,320 372 14,300 920 312 2,948 4.9

10 Finding Nemo 3D 2013 1,118 330 3,388 122 171 715 4.7

11 Dredd 2012 4,238 383 11,066 127 52 2,435 4.5

12 Justin Bieber: Never Say Never 2011 2,027 360 5,631 291 235 1,240 4.5

13 Life of Pi 2012 23,981 439 54,626 5,894 454 12,982 4.2

14 Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away 2013 148 186 793 8 40 201 4.0

15 Texas Chainsaw 3D 2013 1,922 270 7,117 74 40 1,841 4.0

16 The Darkest Hour 2012 1,188 340 3,495 136 137 989 3.5

17 Silent Hill: Revelation 3D 2012 1,602 318 5,038 247 169 1,464 3.4

18 Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2013 2,939 376 7,817 468 195 2,402 3.3

19 Kac Wawa 2012 54 42 1,282 16 40 402 3.2

20 The Green Hornet 2011 4,873 362 13,462 431 97 4,446 3.0

Source: RentrakNotes:Box office gross = cumulative total up to 22 February 2015.Includes films that were shown at a minimum of five 3D and five 2D sites.The 3D and 2D box office grosses are shown rounded to the nearest £1,000, but site averages and ratios of site averages are calculated from unrounded data.The 3D grosses do not include takings from IMAX screenings.Data updated since publication of the 2014 Statistical Yearbook.


BEST WEEKEND PERFORMANCES OF UK FILMS

A total of 32 films topped the UK weekend box office charts over the course of 2014. (This figure does not include Billy Elliot the Musical – Live, a cinema event release which topped the weekend box office charts for one week in September.) Six of these were UK titles, which spent a total of nine weeks at number one (Table 1.6). In 2013, nine UK films achieved the number one slot in the weekend charts for a total of 13 weeks.

Two independent UK films – The Inbetweeners 2 and Paddington – topped the weekend box office charts in 2014 for two weeks each, compared with one week each by two independent UK titles in 2013.

Table 1.6 UK films at number one in the weekend box office charts, 2014

Title First week at top

Opening weekend

gross (£ million)

Box office gross

(£ million)

Distributor Number of weeks at

number one

The Inbetweeners 2 08/08/2014 12.5 33.4 Entertainment 2

Paddington* 28/11/2014 5.2 36.9 StudioCanal 2

Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie 27/06/2014 4.3 14.7 Universal 2

Maleficent 30/05/2014 6.6 19.5 Walt Disney 1

Guardians of the Galaxy* 01/08/2014 6.4 28.5 Walt Disney 1

Fury 24/10/2014 2.7 8.3 Sony Pictures 1

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes:Box office gross = cumulative total up to 22 February 2015.* Film still on release on 22 February 2015.



TOP FILMS OF ALL TIME

AT THE UK BOX OFFICE

Image: The Imitation Game courtesy of StudioCanal

SKYFALL REMAINS THE TOP EARNING FILM OF ALL TIME AT THE UK BOX OFFICE, WHILE TITLES BASED ON UK CHARACTERS AND STORIES CONTINUE TO LEAD THE CHART WITH 13 OF THE TOP PERFORMING 20 FILMS.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ Skyfall tops the list of highest grossing films at the UK box office.

The top film of 2014, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, is at number 37 in the list.

■ Titanic remains at the top spot in the inflation-adjusted box office chart, with Skyfall in second place.

■ Sequels and franchise films make up 16 of the all time top 20 chart, whilst 10 are UK/USA collaborations.

■ The highest grossing films of 2013 and 2014 earned less than any other top performing film of the year between 2001 and 2014.

■ Three new releases, Paddington, The Imitation Game and The Inbetweeners 2 appear in the chart of all time top independent UK films.

TOP FILMS OF ALL TIME AT THE UK BOX OFFICE

TO

P F

ILM

S O

F A

LL T

IME

AT T

HE

UK

BO

X O

FFIC

E


TOP 20 FILMS AT THE UK BOX OFFICE, 1989-2014

Table 1.1 shows the top 20 films of all time at the UK box office. The chart features no films released in 2014; the highest grossing title of the year was The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies whose takings of £41 million make it the all time 37th top earning release at the UK box office.

The list is dominated by franchise movies, including four of the eight Harry Potter titles, the first of the Hobbit trilogy, all three of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the first three James Bond films to star Daniel Craig. Only four of the top 20 films are neither sequels nor franchise titles, namely Avatar (although three sequels to this film are currently in pre-production), The Full Monty, Mamma Mia! and Titanic. Ten of the top 20 films are UK/USA collaborations and 13 of the top 20 are based on stories and characters created by UK writers such as Ian Fleming, JK Rowling and JRR Tolkien, which shows the sustained appetite for home-grown material amongst British audiences.

RANKING ALL TIME TOP FILMS

In the absence of admissions data on individual films, top films can only be measured in terms of earnings at the box office. Inflation is a key factor affecting earnings and this needs to be borne in mind against some of the figures quoted in this report (however, some figures are adjusted for inflation). Most of this report relates to actual box office receipts from 1989 onwards (although coverage of box office figures for some high grossing films goes back to 1975), 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.


Table 1.1 Top 20 films at the UK box office, 1989-2014


UK box office total

(£ million)


1 Skyfall UK/USA 102.9 Sony Pictures 2012

2 Avatar USA 94.0 20th Century Fox 2009

3 Titanic# USA 80.1 20th Century Fox 1998/2012

4 Toy Story 3 USA 74.0 Walt Disney 2010


UK/USA 73.1 Warner Bros 2011

6 Mamma Mia! UK/USA 68.5 Universal 2008

7 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone UK/USA 66.1 Warner Bros 2001

8 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

USA/NZ 63.0 Entertainment 2001

9 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King


10 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers USA/NZ 57.6 Entertainment 2002

11 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace#

USA 56.4 20th Century Fox 1999/2012

12 The Dark Knight Rises UK/USA 56.3 Warner Bros 2012

13 Casino Royale UK/USA/Czech

55.6 Sony Pictures 2006

14 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets UK/USA 54.8 Warner Bros 2002

15 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

USA 52.5 Walt Disney 2006



17 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey USA/NZ 52.3 Warner Bros 2012

18 The Full Monty UK/USA 52.2 20th Century Fox 1997

19 Marvel Avengers Assemble USA 51.9 Walt Disney 2012

20 Quantum of Solace UK/USA 51.2 Sony Pictures 2008

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes: Figures have not been inflation adjusted. Box office gross = cumulative total up to 22 February 2015. # The box office grosses for Titanic and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace include the grosses from their original releases plus the grosses from their 3D re-releases in 2012.

INFLATION-ADJUSTED TOP 20 FILMS AT THE UK BOX OFFICE, 1975-2014

Table 1.2 shows an inflation-adjusted box office chart based on the top 20 highest grossing films released in the UK since 1975 (when coverage of leading titles begins).

With the takings from its original 1998 release plus the takings from its 3D re-release in 2012, Titanic remains the highest grossing film of all time at the UK box office with earnings of £110 million in 2014 terms. Skyfall is in second place with £107 million and Avatar is third with £104 million.

TO

P F

ILM

S O

F A

LL T

IME

AT T

HE

UK

BO

X O

FFIC

E


Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, one of three Harry Potter films in the list, is at number four, with inflation-adjusted earnings of £90 million. All three Lord of the Rings films make the chart with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in fifth place (£86 million). Jaws (1975), the oldest release in the list, is in sixth place with an adjusted gross of £81 million. Two other classic releases from the 1970s remain in the top 20: the original Star Wars (1977) appears at number 15 with £76 million and Grease (1978) is 17th with £69 million.

Table 1.2 Top 20 highest grossing films at the UK box office, 1975-2014 (inflation adjusted1)


UK box office total (2014

£ million)


1 Titanic# USA 110.0 20th Century Fox 1998/2012


3 Avatar USA 104.3 20th Century Fox 2009




6 Jaws USA 81.3 UIP 1975

7 Toy Story 3 USA 79.5 Walt Disney 2010



9 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace#

USA 77.6 20th Century Fox 1999/2012




12 Jurassic Park USA 76.8 UIP 1993

13 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers USA/NZ 76.6 Entertainment 2002


15 Star Wars USA 75.7 20th Century Fox 1977


17 Grease USA 69.3 UIP 1978



19 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

USA 62.9 Walt Disney 2006

20 E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial USA 62.5 UIP 1982

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes: 1 The 2014 £ is calculated using the HMT UK GDP deflator which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp-march-2015-quarterly-national-accounts. The basis of calculating the inflation-adjusted figures has changed since previous issues of the Yearbook.# The box office grosses for Titanic and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace include the grosses from their original releases plus the grosses from their 3D re-releases in 2012.


HIGHEST GROSSING FILMS OF THE YEAR AT THE UK BOX OFFICE, 2001-2014

Table 1.3 lists the highest grossing films of the year at the UK box office for the period 2001-2014. The years 2013 and 2014 have seen the lowest box office earnings for a top film despite recording respectively the second and fifth highest annual box office totals in the period1. The top earning film of 2014, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (£41 million), had the lowest gross for a number one film during the period, while the top earner of 2013, Despicable Me 2, had the second lowest takings with £47.5 million. These films follow a number of years of high and record breaking box office takings for a top earning film: Skyfall grossed £103 million in 2012, both Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011) and Toy Story 3 (2010) earned over £73 million and Avatar grossed £94 million in 2009. From 2001 to 2007 there was a downward trend in box office earnings by a top film of the year, falling from the £66 million grossed by the first Harry Potter instalment to the £50 million taken by the fifth film in the series.

Eight of the 14 top earning films of the year listed in the chart are UK/USA collaborations and 10 of the 14 titles are based on stories and characters created by UK writers.

Table 1.3 Highest grossing films of the year at the UK box office, 2001-2014

Year Highest grossing film Country of origin

UK box office total

(£ million)

UK box office total

(2014 £ million1)

2001 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone UK/USA 66.1 90.2

2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets UK/USA 54.8 72.8


USA/NZ 61.1 79.4

2004 Shrek 2 USA 48.2 61.0

2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire UK/USA 49.2 60.5

2006 Casino Royale UK/USA/Czech 55.6 66.6

2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix UK/USA 49.9 58.0

2008 Mamma Mia! UK/USA 68.5 77.5

2009 Avatar USA 94.0 104.3

2010 Toy Story 3 USA 74.0 79.5


UK/USA 73.1 76.9

2012 Skyfall UK/USA 102.9 106.5

2013 Despicable Me 2 USA 47.5 48.3

2014 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies USA/NZ 41.2 41.2

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes:1 See note to Table 1.2.Box office gross = cumulative total up to 22 February 2015.

TO

P F

ILM

S O

F A

LL T

IME

AT T

HE

UK

BO

X O

FFIC

E


TOP 20 UK QUALIFYING FILMS AT THE UK BOX OFFICE, 1989-2014

The list of the all time top 20 UK films is dominated by US studio-backed features but two independent films, The King’s Speech and The Inbetweeners Movie, are at numbers 16 and 17 in the list (Table 1.4). Skyfall is at number one and the two previous James Bond films to star Daniel Craig also appear in the top 20. All eight Harry Potter films appear in the list, with 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in second place.

The latest addition to the list is 2013’s Les Misérables (£41 million), which is in 19th place. With takings of £37 million (to 22 February 2015), the highest earning UK film of 2014, Paddington, falls outside the top 20 at number 21. The top 11 UK films have all earned over £50 million at the UK box office.

Table 1.4 Top 20 UK qualifying films at the UK box office, 1989-2014


UK box office total

(£ million)







5 The Dark Knight Rises UK/USA 56.3 Warner Bros 2012







10 Quantum of Solace UK/USA 51.2 Sony Pictures 2008

11 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince UK/USA 50.7 Warner Bros 2009

12 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix UK/USA 49.9 Warner Bros 2007

13 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire UK/USA 49.2 Warner Bros 2005

14 The Dark Knight UK/USA 49.1 Warner Bros 2008

15 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban UK/USA 46.1 Warner Bros 2004

16 The King’s Speech UK 45.7 Momentum 2011

17 The Inbetweeners Movie UK 45.0 Entertainment 2011

18 Bridget Jones’s Diary UK/USA 42.0 UIP 2001

19 Les Misérables UK/USA 40.8 Universal 2013

20 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory UK/USA 37.8 Warner Bros 2005

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes: Figures have not been inflation adjusted. Box office gross = cumulative total up to 22 February 2015.


TOP 20 INDEPENDENT UK FILMS AT THE UK BOX OFFICE, 1989-2014

Table 1.5 lists the top 20 all time highest earning independent (that is, made without US major studio involvement) UK titles. The two highest grossing independent British films are both 2011 releases. The King’s Speech and The Inbetweeners Movie each took more than £45 million at the UK box office. Three 2014 releases appear in the list: in third place is Paddington, the highest grossing UK film of the year with takings of £37 million (up to 22 February 2015), The Inbetweeners 2 is fourth with £33 million and The Imitation Game is ninth with £16 million (up to 22 February 2015). Nine of the top 20 UK independent films have grossed more than £15 million and each of the top five have earned over £30 million.

Table 1.5 Top 20 independent UK films at the UK box office, 1989-2014


UK box office total

(£ million)


1 The King’s Speech UK 45.7 Momentum 2011

2 The Inbetweeners Movie UK 45.0 Entertainment 2011

3 Paddington* UK/Fra 36.9 StudioCanal 2014

4 The Inbetweeners 2 UK 33.4 Entertainment 2014

5 Slumdog Millionaire UK 31.7 Pathé 2009

6 Four Weddings and a Funeral UK 27.8 Carlton 1994

7 The Woman in Black UK/USA/Swe# 21.3 Momentum 2012

8 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel UK/USA/Ind# 20.4 20th Century Fox 2012

9 The Imitation Game* UK/USA# 16.2 StudioCanal 2014

10 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy UK/Fra/Ger 14.2 StudioCanal 2011

11 Trainspotting UK 12.4 PolyGram 1996

12 St Trinian’s UK 12.3 Entertainment 2007

13 Gosford Park UK/USA# 12.3 Entertainment 2002

14 StreetDance 3D UK/Ger/Ita 11.8 Vertigo Films 2010

15 Kick-Ass UK/USA# 11.8 Universal 2010

16 Bend it Like Beckham UK/Ger 11.6 Lionsgate 2002

17 Philomena UK 11.1 Pathé 2013

18 Run, Fat Boy, Run UK/USA# 11.0 Entertainment 2007

19 Kevin and Perry Go Large UK 10.5 Icon 2000

20 East is East UK 10.4 Film Four 1999

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysisNotes: Figures have not been inflation adjusted. Box office gross = cumulative total up to 22 February 2015. * Film still on release on 22 February 2015. # Film made with independent (non-studio) US support.


Image: Shaun the Sheep the Movie courtesy of StudioCanal


THE UK FILM ECONOMY

THE UK FILM INDUSTRY IS A VALUABLE SECTOR OF THE BRITISH ECONOMY AND HAS GROWN CONSIDERABLY OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS. IN 2013, ITS DIRECT CONTRIBUTION TO GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT WAS £2.8 BILLION, ALMOST TWICE ITS 1995 CONTRIBUTION IN REAL TERMS.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ In 2013, the UK film industry had a turnover of £6.4 billion.

■ The industry’s direct contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013 represented 3.6% of the GDP of all UK creative industries.

■ The industry exported £1.36 billion worth of services in 2013, made up of £756 million in royalties and £605 million in film production services.

■ Exports in 2013 were 73% higher than in 1995.

■ The UK film trade surplus in 2013 was £916 million.

THE UK FILM ECONOMY

UK

FIL

M E

CO

NO

MY


FILM INDUSTRY TURNOVER, 1995-2013

Figure 1.1 shows the total turnover of the UK’s three main film industry sectors (film and video production, film and video distribution and film exhibition) for the period 1995-2013 (2013 is the latest year for which data are available). Each of the three sectors has shown strong growth over this period, with total industry turnover increasing from £2 billion in 1995 to over £6 billion in 2013. However, for 2009, 2011 and 2012 the turnover for film and video distribution includes only film distribution as the data for video distribution are confidential.

The chart shows that turnover for film distribution decreased significantly from £2.6 billion in 2011 to £1.7 billion in 2012 but, according to the Office for National Statistics, this is mainly due to the restructuring of some businesses and the resultant changes to their industrial classifications. The reclassifications are contained within the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code 5913 (film, video and TV programme distribution), and turnover for this class as a whole has increased from £3 billion in 2011 to £3.3 billion in 2013. (As with video distribution, the turnover figures for TV programme distribution in 2011 and 2012 are confidential.) For more on the classifications, see the Film industry companies report.

Figure 1.1 Total turnover of UK film industry by sector, 1995-2013

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry and Annual Business SurveyNotes:‘Total turnover’ is expressed in current values, ie not adjusted for inflation.Standard Industrial Classifications (SIC) codes are used to classify businesses according to the type of their economic activity. The classifications were last revised in 2003 and in 2007.For 1995-2007 data are for 2003 SIC codes 9211 (film and video production), 9212 (film and video distribution) and 9213 (film exhibition).For 2008 onwards, we define film and video production as the sum of 2007 SIC codes 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).For 2008 both film distribution and video distribution are suppressed by the ONS as confidential. The figure shown for the sum of the two is the four-digit class total (5913) minus TV programme distribution (59133).For 2009, 2011 and 2012, only film is included in the distribution sector as the data for video distribution are confidential.The figures for 2011 and 2012 have been revised since publication of the 2014 edition of the Yearbook.

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

2013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995

£ million

Film and video production (including post-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 2,717 2,889 2,596 2,619 4,235 3,771 354.9

Film and video 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 2,524 2,710 2,950 2,592 1,680 1,356 51.5

Film exhibition 329 420 527 485 485 519 828 871 987 1,065 1,065 976 1,022 1,141 1,176 1,257 1,270 1,321 1,307 297.3

Total 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 6,382 6,775 6,803 6,481 7,236 6,434 213.4

% change 1995-2013


The 2007 SIC codes provide a more detailed breakdown of the industry by sub-sector, as shown in Table 1.1. This gives an official measure of film production and distribution separate from video production and distribution. The figures reflect the high sunk costs associated with the production and marketing of feature films and highlight the relative importance of the post-production sector (20% of turnover, although this includes video and TV as well as film).

Table 1.1 Total turnover of UK film industry by sub-sector, 2013 Sub-sector Turnover

(£ million)% of total

Film production 2,175 33.8

Video production 297 4.6

Film, video and TV post-production 1,299 20.2

Film distribution 1,189 18.5

Video distribution 167 2.6

Film exhibition 1,307 20.3

Sector total 6,434 100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business SurveyNotes: Companies in the post-production sector usually work on films, commercials, videos and television programmes, and therefore have a combined statistical classification.

Figure 1.2 shows the turnover for film production, film, video and TV post-production, film distribution and film exhibition from 2009 to 2013. Film distribution was the sub-sector with the highest turnover up to 2011 but, partly due to the reclassifications of businesses within the distribution sector, turnover for film distribution fell by £1.4 billion between 2011 and 2013: in both 2012 and 2013 film distribution turnover was lower than that for film production. The turnover for post-production increased between 2010 and 2012, then declined 18% between 2012 and 2013 while the turnover for exhibition increased up to 2012 then decreased slightly in 2013.

Figure 1.2 Total turnover of film sub-sectors, 2009-2013

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

20132012201120102009201320122011201020092013201220112010200920132012201120102009

£ million

Turnover 1,778 1,520 1,009 2,346 2,175 996 885 1,421 1,587 1,299 2,710 2,805 2,592 1,680 1,189 1,176 1,257 1,270 1,321 1,307

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business SurveySee notes to Table 1.1.

Film production Post-production Film distribution Film exhibition

TH

E U

K F

ILM

EC

ON

OM

Y


The total industry turnover expressed in real terms, ie with the effects of inflation removed, is shown in Figure 1.3. The real increase since 1995 has been significant: 198% for film and video production and 160% for film exhibition. Overall, in real terms, based on available data the industry’s turnover in 2013 was twice its 1995 level.

Conversely, real turnover for film and video distribution appears to have declined by 0.8% since 1995. In part this is due to the reclassifications of businesses in the distribution sector, as explained above, which saw real turnover for film distribution between 2011 and 2012 drop from £2.7 billion to £1.7 billion. (The 2012 figure does not include turnover for video distribution.) Real turnover for both film and video distribution in 2013 was £1.4 billion.

For the film industry as a whole, real turnover was just over £6.4 billion in 2013, the lowest since 2003 (Figure 1.3). The highest real turnover of the period was in 2006 when it totalled over £8 billion in 2013 pounds. Figure 1.3 Inflation-adjusted turnover of UK film industry by sector, 1995-2013

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry and Annual Business Survey, HM TreasuryNotes:The deflator used to calculate real values is the UK whole economy deflator.Values expressed in constant 2013 pounds.For sector classifications, see notes to Figure 1.1.For 2008 both film distribution and video distribution are suppressed by the ONS as confidential. The figure shown for the sum of the two is the four-digit class total (5913) minus TV distribution (59133).For 2009, 2011 and 2012, only film is included in the distribution sector as the data for video distribution are confidential.


1,266 2,247 2,295 1,827 2,188 3,180 1,868 1,823 2,709 2,858 2,770 4,364 3,256 3,037 3,150 2,759 2,709 4,303 3,771 197.9


1,367 2,055 1,891 2,127 2,141 2,036 1,693 2,258 2,197 2,544 2,976 2,511 2,422 2,821 2,955 3,136 2,681 1,707 1,356 -0.8

Film exhibition 502 623 750 678 668 707 1,103 1,143 1,262 1,334 1,294 1,153 1,176 1,275 1,282 1,336 1,314 1,342 1,307 160.4

Total 3,135 4,925 4,936 4,633 4,997 5,923 4,664 5,224 6,168 6,736 7,039 8,029 6,854 7,134 7,388 7,231 6,703 7,353 6,434 105.2

£ million (2013 pounds)

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

2013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995% change

1995-2013


FILM INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTION TO GDP, 1995-2013

The direct contribution an industry makes to UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 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 an industry’s ability to generate income for its workers, company owners and investors.

The UK film industry’s GVA in 2013 was £2.8 billion. According to data published by the government in January 2015, the GVA for all UK creative industries in 2013 was £76.9 billion, so film accounted for at least 3.6% of all creative industries’ value added.

For the film industry as a whole, production accounted for 61% of the industry’s value added, distribution 19% and exhibition 20%. Also, as with turnover (see section above), the value added for film distribution decreased between 2011 and 2012 due to the reclassification of businesses in the distribution sector.

Figure 1.4 UK film industry gross value added, 1995-2013

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

2013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995

£ million


299 663 758 525 805 1,032 514 562 983 1,032 1,035 1,957 1,170 1,342 1,275 1,071 1,495 1,973 1,676 460.5


522 829 638 784 716 582 689 760 520 841 1,072 1,232 964 1,317 1,517 1,706 1,442 249 523 0.2

Film exhibition 135 208 264 260 266 250 354 504 592 592 600 407 403 415 466 483 505 564 563 317.0

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 3,074 3,258 3,260 3,442 2,786 2,762 188.9

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry and Annual Business SurveyNotes: ‘Gross value added’ is expressed in actual values, ie not adjusted for inflation.For 2008 both film distribution and video distribution are suppressed by the ONS as confidential. The figure shown for the sum of the two is the 4-digit class total (5913) minus TV distribution (59133).For 2009, 2011 and 2012, only film is included in the distribution sector as the data for video distribution are confidential.The figures for 2011 and 2012 have been revised since publication of the 2014 Yearbook.

% change 1995-2013

TH

E U

K F

ILM

EC

ON

OM

Y


Table 1.2 shows the GVA breakdown in 2013 by the 2007 SIC codes. Film production was the highest single contributor (£775 million, 30% of the total) followed by film, video and TV post-production (£742 million, 28% of the total).

Table 1.2 UK film industry gross value added, 2013

Sub-sector GVA (£ million)

% of total

Film production 775 29.6

Video production 159 6.1

Film, video and TV post-production 742 28.4

Film distribution 356 13.6

Video distribution 22 0.8

Film exhibition 563 21.5

Sector total 2,617 100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business SurveyNote: Companies in the post-production sector usually work on films, commercials, videos and television programmes, and therefore have a combined statistical classification.

The patterns of GVA by sub-sector from 2009 to 2013 are similar to those for total turnover (Figure 1.5). As with turnover, film distribution consistently had the highest value added between 2009 and 2011 but, because of the reclassifications of companies within the distribution sector, the contribution to GVA for film distribution in 2012 fell to just £249 million. Film production, film, video and TV post-production and film exhibition all showed increases in value added between 2011 and 2012, but declined in 2013.

Figure 1.5 Gross value added of film sub-sectors, 2009-2013

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

20132012201120102009201320122011201020092013201220112010200920132012201120102009

£ million

GVA 631 621 583 874 775 572 367 806 943 742 1,517 1,588 1,442 249 356 466 483 505 564 563

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business SurveySee notes to Table 1.2.

Film production Post-production Film distribution Film exhibition


Figure 1.6 shows the industry’s value added expressed in real terms, ie with the effects of inflation removed. There was a sharp increase in real industry GVA between 1995 and 1996, followed by a plateau from 1996 to 2002. Real GVA then began to increase strongly again, reaching a peak of £4.2 billion in 2006. For the four years 2008 to 2011, real GVA stayed at around £3.5 billion (in 2013 pounds) but decreased in 2012 to £2.8 billion. The decrease was mainly due to the reduction in GVA for film distribution, caused by the reclassifications of companies within the distribution sector. In real terms, GVA for the film industry as a whole in 2013 was almost twice its value in 1995.

Figure 1.6 UK film industry real gross value added, 1995-2013

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

2013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995

£ million (2013 pounds)


457 984 1,079 734 1,108 1,406 685 737 1,257 1,293 1,257 2,313 1,346 1,500 1,390 1,138 1,546 2,005 1,676 266.7


797 1,230 908 1,097 986 793 918 997 665 1,054 1,302 1,456 1,109 1,472 1,654 1,813 1,492 253 523 -34.4

Film exhibition 206 309 376 364 366 341 472 661 757 742 729 481 464 464 508 513 522 573 563 173.3

Total 1,460 2,523 2,363 2,195 2,460 2,540 2,074 2,396 2,679 3,089 3,288 4,249 2,919 3,436 3,553 3,465 3,560 2,831 2,762 89.2

% change 1995-2013

Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry, HM TreasuryNotes: The deflator used to calculate real values is the UK whole economy deflator.Values expressed in constant 2013 pounds.For 2008 both film distribution and video distribution are suppressed by the ONS as confidential. The figure shown for the sum of the two is the 4-digit class total (5913) minus TV distribution (59133).For 2009, 2011 and 2012, only film is included in the distribution sector as the data for video distribution are confidential.

TH

E U

K F

ILM

EC

ON

OM

Y


FILM EXPORTS, 1995-2013

The UK film industry exported £1,361 million worth of services in 2013 (the latest year for which data are available), of which £756 million came from royalties and £605 million from film production services (Figure 1.7). Royalties fell by 4.5% compared with 2012, but the export value of film-related services was higher (+10%) in 2013 than in 2012. Total film exports in 2013 were 73% higher than in 1995.

Figure 1.7 UK film industry exports, 1995-2013

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

2013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995

£ million

Royalties 560 686 438 427 508 487 468 434 400 399 660 582 646 792 936 1,565 1,199 792 756

Film production services

227 202 212 154 145 210 232 222 233 444 307 330 403 549 541 541 540 550 605

Total film company exports

787 888 650 581 653 697 700 656 633 843 967 912 1,049 1,341 1,476 2,106 1,739 1,342 1,361

Source: Office for National StatisticsNotes: Data for 2014 are expected to be available at the end of January 2016.Import and export data to 2008 are derived from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Film and Television Sur-vey which was a sample survey with a high response rate (87%) of companies in the Inter-Departmental Business Register in the SIC codes relating to film and television. This survey was discontinued and film and television data for 2009 and later were collected in the ONS Annual Survey of International Trade in Services. This chart shows the results for film companies only.


FILM IMPORTS, 1995-2013

The UK film industry imported £445 million worth of services in 2013, of which £290 million (65%) comprised royalties and £155 million (35%) film production services.

As Figure 1.8 shows, in most years royalties make up the vast majority of imports with film production services accounting for only around 15% of the total. In 2007 and 2008, this pattern changed, with the royalties share dropping to 60% and the share for production services increasing to 40%. Between 2009 and 2012, the production services share of the imports total decreased to the percentage levels seen before 2007 but in 2013 the production services share of imports increased to 35%.

The reasons for the increase of the production services share in 2007, 2008 and 2013 are unclear as the reported level of production imports is high in relation to total UK film production for these years. 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.

Figure 1.8 UK film industry imports, 1995-2013

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

2013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995

£ million

Royalties 489 507 419 374 317 497 405 403 430 616 704 698 573 510 498 463 642 445 290

Film production services

192 145 106 63 58 113 50 67 108 136 100 86 245 336 49 80 98 108 155

Total film company imports

681 652 525 437 375 610 455 470 538 752 804 784 818 846 547 543 740 553 445

Source: Office for National StatisticsSee notes to Figure 1.7.

TH

E U

K F

ILM

EC

ON

OM

Y


THE FILM TRADE BALANCE, 1995-2013

The film industry has made a continuous positive contribution to the UK balance of payments since 1995, as Figure 1.9 shows. The trade surplus (positive balance of exports over imports) in 2013 was £916 million.

Figure 1.9 Trade surplus of UK film industry, 1995-2013

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995

£ million

Balance 106 236 125 144 278 87 245 186 95 91 163 128 231 495 929 1,564 1,000 789 916

Source: Office for National StatisticsNote: ‘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.

FILM EXPORT MARKETS

Figure 1.10 shows the geographic distribution of UK film exports for the years 2009-2013. At 41.5%, exports to the European Union (EU) in the five-year period surpassed those to the USA (40.5%) for the first time since our records began. Taken together EU and non-EU European countries accounted for 48% of all UK film exports. Asia and ‘rest of the world’ both took 6% of the total. Figure 1.10 Destination of UK film exports as percentage of the total, 2009-2013

Source: Office for National StatisticsNote: ‘Rest of the world’ cannot be disaggregated due to sampling variation and disclosive data.

%

EU 41.5 Other Europe 6.5 USA 40.5 Asia 5.7 Rest of the world 5.8


UK FILM EXPORTS COMPARED WITH THE GLOBAL 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 1.11). For the EU, USA and ‘other Europe’ the shares of UK exports 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 the world’. The differences that stand out are:

• The higher proportion of UK exports to Europe (41.5% of the UK’s film exports are to the EU compared with the EU’s 20% share of the ex-UK global filmed entertainment market, and 6.5% of film exports are to ‘other Europe’ compared with a 4% ex-UK global market share);

• The lower proportion of UK exports to Asia (6%) compared with the Asian countries’ share of the ex-UK global market (25%).

The latter discrepancy reflects the strength of the main Asian countries (China, India, Japan and South Korea) in their own markets, and the consequent lower market shares for Hollywood and UK films. For more on export restrictions to the Chinese market, see the UK films at the worldwide box office report.

Figure 1.11 UK export shares, 2009-2013, compared with the ex-UK global market for filmed entertainment, 2014

%

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

AsiaUSAOther EuropeEU Rest of the world

% of total film exports 41.5 6.5 40.5 5.7 5.8 100.0

% of total global filmed entertainment market 19.8 3.6 35.7 25.4 15.5 100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Total

TH

E U

K F

ILM

EC

ON

OM

Y


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, except that there was a trade deficit, amounting to 5% of the film trade balance, with ‘rest of the world’, as shown in Table 1.3. In the years 2009-2013, just over two fifths of the surplus came from the EU and, in contrast with some earlier years, the UK ran large film trade surpluses with the USA during the latest five-year period, which has led to the USA accounting for just under half of the UK’s film trade surplus in 2009-2013.

Table 1.3 International transactions of the UK film industry by geographical area, annual average, 2009-2013

Exports (£ million)

Imports (£ million)

Balance (£ million)

% balance

EU 665.4 210.6 454.8 43.8

Other Europe 104.6 28.4 76.2 7.3

USA 649.4 156.4 493.0 47.4

Asia 92.2 28.4 63.8 6.1

Rest of the world 93.2 141.8 -48.6 -4.7

Total 1,604.8 565.6 1,039.2 100.0

Source: Office for National StatisticsNote: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.



THE UK FILM MARKET AS

A WHOLEImage: The Lady in the Van courtesy of Sony Pictures

THE UK WAS THE SECOND LARGEST FILM MARKET IN THE WORLD IN 2014, GENERATING REVENUES IN EXCESS OF £3.8 BILLION. CINEMA-GOING REMAINED THE MOST SIGNIFICANT COMPONENT OF THE FILM VALUE CHAIN BUT THE GREATEST GROWTH WAS SEEN IN DIGITAL VIDEO REVENUES, WHICH INCREASED BY OVER ONE THIRD COMPARED WITH 2013.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ The total filmed entertainment market in the UK in 2014 was

worth an estimated £3.8 billion, down from £4.1 billion in 2013.

■ Revenues across all platforms were down compared with 2013 except for digital video which recorded a rise of 35%.

■ Gross revenues for UK film were an estimated £840 million, down from £895 million in 2013.

■ The UK had the second largest filmed entertainment market in the world after the USA, but is expected to be overtaken by China in the next four years.

THE UK FILM MARKET AS A WHOLE

TH

E U

K F

ILM

MA

RK

ET A

S A

WH

OLE


THE UK FILMED ENTERTAINMENT MARKET AS A WHOLE

In 2014, theatrical revenues were the most significant component of the film value chain in the UK. As Table 1.1 shows, cinema-going accounted for 28% of total revenues (£1,058 million) with sales of physical video accounting for 22% (£861 million). Revenues across all platforms were down on 2013, with the exception of digital video which recorded an increase of 35%. Significantly, the digital video market, which includes both online and television-based services, increased its share of the overall market from 8% to 12%. Pay TV revenues recorded the sharpest decrease, with a fall in value from £596 million to £466 million and a drop in overall market share from 15% to 12%. (It should be noted that the majority of all television revenues accrue to the television industry rather than to the suppliers of film.)

Gross revenues for UK films in 2014 were estimated to be £840 million, with the share for British films highest in the theatrical market (27%), followed by terrestrial television (26%) and physical video rental and retail (both with 25%).

Table 1.1 UK filmed entertainment market, 2013 and 2014

2013 2014

Total gross value

(£ million)

Attributable to UK films

(£ million)

UK film as % of total

gross

Total gross value

(£ million)

Attributable to UK films

(£ million)

UK film as % of total

gross

Theatrical 1,083 256 24 1,058 289 27

Physical video rental 149 40 24 107 27 25

Physical video retail 940 225 24 861 217 25

Digital video 323 73 23 435 88 20

Pay TV 596 121 20 466 51 11

Terrestrial TV 241 69 29 235 62 26

Other digital multi-channel 720 111 15 673 107 16

Total 4,051 895 22 3,835 840 22

Source: Rentrak, BVA, Official Charts Company, Attentional, IHS, BFI RSU analysisNotes:‘Theatrical’ is the total gross UK theatrical revenues (including VAT) in the calendar years 2013 and 2014 for all films exhibited in the UK. See Box Office report.‘Physical video rental’ is the total revenue from physical video rental (DVD, Blu-ray, etc) transactions in the calendar year 2013 and estimated revenue from the number of transactions in calendar year 2014. Figures for 2013 are based on British Video Association (BVA) data, while figures for 2014 are derived from IHS data. (The BVA stopped collecting video rental data in 2014.) 2013 figures revised since the 2014 Yearbook. See Film on physical video report. ‘Physical video retail’ is the total revenue from physical video retail transactions in the calendar years 2013 and 2014. See Film on physical video report. 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 total channel time by the total revenue applicable to that channel (licence fee, subscription or advertising revenue). Television values cover terrestrial, pay TV and other digital multi-channel. See Film on UK television report. Digital video revenues are derived from IHS estimates of the combined size of the television and online on-demand 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 distributor and exhibitor 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 UK film economy report for UK film export revenues.Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.


THE EVOLUTION OF UK FILM REVENUES, 1998-2014

Aggregate film revenues increased rapidly from 1999 to 2004 with the emergence of the DVD format before falling in 2005 and 2006 (Figure 1.1). Between 2007 and 2013 there was a steady growth with increased theatrical, television and digital video revenues compensating for a decline in the value of the physical video rental and retail markets. In 2014, overall revenues decreased from £4.1 billion in 2013 to £3.8 billion, a drop of over 6%.

Figure 1.1 Gross film revenues, all platforms, 1998-2014

Theatrical 547 563 583 645 755 742 770 770 762 821 850 944 988 1,040 1,099 1,083 1,058

Physical video rental

437 408 444 494 494 462 476 389 327 280 265 263 253 246 229 149 107

Physical video retail

453 451 601 821 1,175 1,392 1,557 1,399 1,302 1,440 1,454 1,311 1,267 1,165 968 940 861

Digital video 33 40 50 65 63 68 73 74 67 75 101 127 145 162 236 323 435

Film on television 726 755 826 954 1,066 1,182 1,119 1,089 1,066 994 1,067 1,108 1,173 1,398 1,491 1,557 1,374

Total 2,196 2,217 2,504 2,979 3,553 3,846 3,995 3,721 3,524 3,610 3,737 3,753 3,826 4,011 4,023 4,051 3,835

Source: Rentrak, BVA, Official Charts Company, Attentional, IHS, BFI RSU analysisNotes: ‘Film on television’ covers terrestrial, pay TV and other multi-channel. On-demand television-based services are included within the digital video total.2009-2013 figures for digital video revised since the 2014 Yearbook.Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

The revenues shown in Figure 1.1 are the actual figures; if adjusted for inflation (Figure 1.2), the decline in revenues from 2004 is clear, with the 2014 market down 26% from the peak. In real terms, film revenues in 2014 were the lowest since 2000.


0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

20142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998

£ million

TH

E U

K F

ILM

MA

RK

ET A

S A

WH

OLE


Figure 1.2 Gross inflation-adjusted film revenues, all platforms, 1998-2014 (expressed in 2014 pounds)

Theatrical 781 795 804 880 1,003 965 973 947 912 955 961 1,047 1,062 1,095 1,138 1,101 1,058

Physical video rental

624 576 612 674 656 601 602 478 391 326 300 292 272 259 237 152 107

Physical video retail

647 637 829 1,120 1,562 1,810 1,968 1,720 1,558 1,676 1,644 1,454 1,362 1,226 1,002 956 861

Digital video 47 56 69 89 84 88 92 91 80 87 114 141 156 170 244 328 435

Film on television 1,037 1,066 1,139 1,301 1,417 1,537 1,414 1,339 1,276 1,157 1,207 1,229 1,261 1,471 1,544 1,583 1,374

Total 3,136 3,131 3,453 4,063 4,722 5,001 5,049 4,574 4,218 4,201 4,226 4,162 4,112 4,221 4,165 4,138 3,835

Source: Rentrak, BVA, Official Charts Company, Attentional, ONS, IHS, BFI RSU analysisNotes:Actual revenues deflated by the UK GDP deflator.‘Film on television’ covers terrestrial, pay TV and other digital multi-channel. On-demand television-based services are included in the digital video total.Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

THE UK FILM MARKET IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT

According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2015-2019, in 2014 the UK had the second largest filmed entertainment market in the world after the USA. The USA accounted for 33% of the world market and the UK for 8%. The next largest countries in terms of market share were Japan (7%), China (6%), Germany and France (both with 5%).


£ million

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

20142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998


Table 1.2 Filmed entertainment revenues by country/region, US$ million, 2014

Country/region US$ million %

USA 28,159 33.0

UK 6,476 7.6

Japan 5,934 6.9

China 5,065 5.9

Germany 4,117 4.6

France 3,970 4.6

Other Western Europe 3,909 4.8

South Korea 3,219 3.8

Canada 3,067 3.6

Australia 2,735 3.2

Other Asia Pacific 5,093 2.7

Brazil 2,027 2.4

India 1,888 2.2

Other Central and Eastern Europe 1,771 2.1

Mexico 1,562 1.8

Russia 1,415 1.7

Italy 1,384 1.6

Spain 1,241 1.5

Taiwan 1,239 1.5

Other Latin America 1,024 1.2

Middle East and Africa 1,019 1.2

Netherlands 931 1.1

Malaysia 829 1.0

Total 85,398 100.0

Source: PwC, Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2015-2019, www.pwc.com/outlookNotes: Information contained in this table was taken from the filmed entertainment segment of the PwC Global Entertainment and Media Outlook, 2015-2019, www.pwc.com/outlook, however, some calculations and categorisation of regions are our own.‘Film entertainment revenue’ comprises both cinema revenue (including box office and advertising) and home video revenue (including both physical and digital home video, and including sell-through, rental and subscription models). This revenue is both digital and non-digital, and includes both consumer and advertising spending.Other Western Europe comprises Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland.Other Asia Pacific comprises Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.Other Central and Eastern Europe comprises Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Poland, Romania and Turkey.Middle East and Africa comprises Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.Other Latin America comprises Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela.Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

According to PwC’s forecasts, the USA will remain the top market for filmed entertainment over the next four years, but China will overtake both the UK and Japan to become the second largest market (Table 1.3). The global shares of Germany, France, South Korea and Canada are expected to fall, while those of India, Brazil, Mexico and Russia will increase.

TH

E U

K F

ILM

MA

RK

ET A

S A

WH

OLE


Table 1.3 Filmed entertainment revenues by country/region, US$ million, forecast for 2019

Country/region US$ million %

USA 35,333 33.8

China 9,965 9.5

UK 7,131 6.8

Japan 5,840 5.6

Other Western Europe 4,373 4.2

Germany 3,811 4.2

France 3,618 3.6

South Korea 3,415 3.3

Canada 3,363 3.2

Australia 2,941 2.8

India 2,788 2.7

Brazil 2,723 2.6

Other Asia Pacific 2,706 2.5

Other Central and Eastern Europe 2,313 2.2

Mexico 2,076 2.0

Russia 1,942 1.9

Italy 1,642 1.6

Other Latin America 1,636 1.6

Middle East and Africa 1,452 1.4

Spain 1,445 1.4

Taiwan 1,179 1.1

Netherlands 1,172 1.1

Malaysia 776 0.7

Total 104,619 100.0

Source: PwC, Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2015-2019, www.pwc.com/outlookNotes:Information contained in this table was taken from the filmed entertainment segment of the PwC Global Entertainment and Media Outlook, 2015-2019, www.pwc.com/outlook, however, some calculations and categorisation of regions are our own.‘Film entertainment revenue’ comprises both cinema revenue (including box office and advertising) and home video revenue (including both physical and digital home video, and including sell-through, rental and subscription models). This revenue is both digital and non-digital, and includes both consumer and advertising spending.Figures and percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.See Notes to Table 1.2.


Image: Boogaloo and Graham courtesy of Out of Orbit. Photographer: Helen Sloan


FILM EDUCATION

FILM EDUCATION OFFERS CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE OPPORTUNITIES TO WATCH, UNDERSTAND AND MAKE FILMS TO ENRICH THEIR LIVES, FOSTER PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, EXPRESS THEIR CREATIVITY AND GAIN ESSENTIAL SKILLS. FOR ADULT LEARNERS, FILM EDUCATION CAN ALSO BE A STIMULATING PART OF LIFELONG LEARNING.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ In 2014/15, over 12,000 schools and almost 425,000 children and

young people participated in the Into Film programme across the UK.

■ In 2014/15, just under 91,000 students were entered for GCSE and A Level media studies related courses and over 4,200 students were entered for Scottish Intermediate/National and Higher courses.

■ There were over 21,500 entries for higher education media related courses in 2013/14 (the last year for which data is available).

■ In 2014/15, the BFI Film Academy provided opportunities for over 780 16-19 year olds to develop new skills and build careers in the film industry.

■ A study conducted by the Moving Image Training Alliance found over 160 organisations working in participatory filmmaking with children and young people across the UK, reaching an estimated 35,000+ learners a year.

FILM EDUCATION

FIL

M O

N U

K T

ELE

VIS

ION


LEARNING ABOUT AND THROUGH FILM

Film education takes place in both formal and informal settings, from schools and colleges to voluntary interest groups like youth clubs and film societies. Film is a rich and versatile medium for exploring subjects in the classroom and elsewhere, as well as a worthwhile and rewarding object of study in its own right.

Over the past few years, the BFI has worked with a range of partners in the private, cultural and education sectors to help forge an overarching strategy for film education in the UK. The emerging plan upholds the belief that in the new digital landscape, the moving image should be acknowledged as having the same educational value as the printed text, and that film should be integrated into all forms of education, learning, training, cultural appreciation and understanding.

This report presents the most up-to-date record of film education related data currently available, beginning with a look at activity in formal education settings. FILM EDUCATION IN FORMAL EDUCATION SETTINGSIn practice, film education activity has traditionally involved 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 increasingly used in other parts of the curriculum, such as science, English or modern languages.

In 2013, FILMCLUB and First Light, providers of film education and filmmaking opportunities for children and young people, merged to form Into Film, a charity focused on making film an integrated part of education for 5-19 year olds. Supported by the BFI and a range of other funders, Into Film represents one of the largest ever investments in film education for the formal sector and is intended to ‘create a critical shift from film education work around the school to work within the classroom’1. This is done primarily through providing educational resources to support the current curriculum: incorporating film-based resources into lessons and providing resources for watching, making and learning about film within the network of schools’ film clubs.

In 2014/15, Into Film trained and enabled 11,202 teaching professionals and youth leaders to work with film across the curriculum (including film studies) and 103,070 sets of educational resources were downloaded. Within the supported film clubs, 1,036 films were made over the year and a total of 8,658 children and young people participated in filmmaking activities.

The total number of schools participating in the Into Film programme has risen by 51% from 8,076 in 2013/14 to 12,134 in 2014/15 (Table 1.1). The reach of the programme has also increased, from 281,960 pupils in 2013/14 to 424,690 pupils in 2014/15.

1 Impact, Relevance and Excellence: a new stage for film education, BFI 2014


Table 1.1 National/regional distribution of Into Film schools, 2013/14 and 2014/15

2013/14 2014/15

Nation/region Number of Into Film schools

% of Into Film schools

Number of Into Film schools

% of Into Film schools

England 6,905 85.7 9,192 75.8

London 1,023 12.7 1,412 11.6

South East 896 11.1 1,260 10.4

North West 961 11.9 1,197 9.9

South West 719 8.9 1,007 8.3

East Midlands 770 9.6 995 8.2

West Midlands 631 7.8 990 8.2

Yorkshire and The Humber 694 8.6 972 8.0

East of England 738 9.2 783 6.5

North East 473 5.9 576 4.8

Scotland 195 2.4 901 7.4

Wales 392 4.9 725 6.0

Northern Ireland 530 6.6 611 5.0

Isle of Man 20 0.2 19 0.2

No nation/region stated 34 0.4 686 5.7

Total 8,076 100.0 12,134 100.0

Source: Into Film

Into Film’s flagship event is the annual Into Film Festival, a UK-wide programme of free film screenings and related activities for children and young people. The festival, which was launched as the National Youth Film Festival in 2013, aims to build on the success of National Schools Film Week previously run by the industry-funded charity Film Education, which closed in April 2013. Table 1.2 shows attendances by children and young people for National Schools Film Week and the Into Film Festival between 2009 and 2014.

In 2014, over 317,000 children and young people and over 54,000 education professionals attended the festival. It showed 151 UK and international films at 2,700 screenings in 507 cinemas across the UK, and hosted 120 special events (previews, Q&As with industry professionals, careers talks and filmmaking workshops) aimed at expanding young people’s understanding and engagement with film.

Table 1.2 Attendances at National Schools Film Week and the Into Film Festival, 2009-2014

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

National Schools Film Week 392,452 473,000 469,000 541,744 – –

Into Film Festival – – – – 246,434 317,189

Source: Film Education, Into Film

FIL

M E

DU

CATIO

N


In terms of film and media specific subjects taught in schools and colleges, there has been an 8% decrease in the overall number of students entering GCSE media, film or TV studies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since 2008/09 (Table 1.3). Total year on year entries have declined each year with the exception of 2013/14, although there has been an opposite trend in Northern Ireland, which has mainly seen year on year increases in the numbers of entries. Overall entries in 2014/15 were just under 62,500, around 1% of all GCSE entries.

Table 1.3 Entries for GCSE media/film/TV studies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2008/09-2014/15

Number of media/film/TV studies entries

England Wales Northern Ireland

Total All GCSE entries

2008/09 63,685 3,438 849 67,972 5,669,077

2009/10 63,134 3,705 925 67,764 5,469,260

2010/11 62,915 3,357 1,161 67,433 5,151,970

2011/12 57,451 2,905 1,324 61,680 5,225,288

2012/13 55,005 2,659 1,450 59,114 5,445,324

2013/14 59,536 2,456 1,444 63,436 5,217,573

2014/15 58,496 2,350 1,606 62,452 5,277,604

% change 2013/14-2014/15 -1.7 -4.3 11.2 -1.6 1.2

% change 2008/09-2014/15 -8.1 -31.6 89.2 -8.1 -6.9

Source: Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)Notes: These numbers, published in August 2015, are provisional and do not include the results from any appeals, declines or late cash-ins.Scotland is not included because of its separate examinations system.

Meanwhile, the number of entries for Scottish Intermediate Levels 1 and 2/National Levels 4 and 5 media studies has increased almost every year since 2009 (Table 1.4). In total, there were just under 3,200 entries in 2015, 0.7% of all equivalent level entries, and an increase of 46% compared with 2014. Since 2009 there has been a 149% increase in the number of entries. This increase may be partly explained by the changes in the Scottish qualifications system and curriculum in recent years.

Table 1.4 Entries for Scottish Intermediate/National Level media studies, 2009-2015

Number of media studies entries

Intermediate Level 1/

National Level 4 entries


National Level 5 entries

Total Intermediate Level 1/

National Level 4 all entries


National Level 5 all entries

All equivalent

level entries

2009 493 781 1,274 65,735 122,463 188,198

2010 528 906 1,434 69,834 130,497 200,331

2011 617 756 1,373 72,324 134,573 206,897

2012 671 758 1,429 74,383 140,145 214,528

2013 636 895 1,531 69,605 144,382 213,987

2014 1,308 866 2,174 141,395 310,719 452,114

2015 2,247 920 3,167 132,429 298,694 431,123

% change 2014-2015 71.8 6.2 45.7 -6.3 -3.9 -4.6

% change 2009-2015 355.8 17.8 148.6 101.5 143.9 129.1

Source: Scottish Qualifications AuthorityNote: These numbers, published in August 2015, are provisional and do not include the results from any appeals, declines or late cash-ins.


The overall number of students taking GCE A Level media, film or TV studies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has fallen by 16% since 2008/09 (Table 1.5). As with GSCE entries, there is an opposite trend in Northern Ireland, where entries have risen by 35% over the period. The total number of entries in 2014/15 was just under 28,500.

Table 1.5 Entries for GCE A Level media/film/TV studies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2008/09-2014/15

Number of media/film/TV studies entries

England Wales Northern Ireland

Total All A level entries

2008/09 31,618 1,307 897 33,822 846,977

2009/10 31,032 1,380 963 33,375 853,933

2010/11 31,400 1,403 1,052 33,855 867,317

2011/12 29,682 1,288 1,141 32,111 861,819

2012/13 26,848 1,191 1,073 29,112 850,752

2013/14 26,116 1,247 1,134 28,497 833,807

2014/15 26,036 1,224 1,207 28,467 850,749

% change 2013/14-2014/15 -0.3 -1.8 6.4 -0.1 2.0

% change 2008/09-2014/15 -17.7 -6.4 34.6 -15.8 0.4

Source: Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)Note: See notes to Table 1.3.

The number of entries for Scottish Higher media studies increased every year between 2009 and 2014, but decreased slightly in 2015. Overall, since 2009 entries have increased by 42%.

Table 1.6 Entries for Scottish Higher media studies, 2009-2015

Number of media studies entries

All Higher entries

2009 765 167,792

2010 803 175,614

2011 870 178,925

2012 927 181,699

2013 977 183,489

2014 1,140 191,859

2015 1,087 199,850

% change 2014-2015 -4.6 4.2

% change 2009-2015 42.1 19.1

Source: Scottish Qualifications AuthorityNote: See note to Table 1.4.

FIL

M E

DU

CATIO

N


Study of the moving image and allied creative industries remains popular in UK higher education, through film and media studies courses. Over 21,500 students were enrolled on such courses in 2013/14 (the latest year for which data are available), a slight increase on the number of entries in 2012/13 (Table 1.7). Entries for media studies courses peaked in 2011/12 at over 19,700, but since then there has been a sharp decline, with the number of entries falling to 15,640 in 2013/14. Film studies entries have increased almost year on year over the period; in 2013/14 there were 4,640 entries compared with 3,815 in 2008/09, a rise of 22%. The number of students undertaking film production courses has seen the largest increase over the period (146%), rising from 530 in 2008/09 to 1,305 in 2013/14.

Table 1.7 Higher education students in film and media studies, 2008/09-2013/14

Media studies

Film studies

Film production

Total

2008/09 17,595 3,815 530 21,940

2009/10 19,190 4,250 680 24,120

2010/11 19,690 4,500 675 24,865

2011/12 19,745 4,600 930 25,275

2012/13 15,780 4,570 1,040 21,390

2013/14 15,640 4,640 1,305 21,585

% change 2013/14-2014/15 -0.9 1.5 25.5 0.9

% change 2008/09-2014/15 -11.1 21.6 146.2 -1.6

Source: HESA Notes:© Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Limited 2014. HESA cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived from the data by third parties.Figures have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 5.Includes first degree, post-graduate and other degrees.Media studies related courses include media, film, television, radio, electronic and print-based media studies courses.

Many of the film and media related further and higher education courses have been accredited (via the ‘Tick’ quality mark) by Creative Skillset, the UK-wide strategic skills body for the creative industries. The Creative Skillset Tick is an assurance that courses provide the most up-to-date and relevant industry training and education. In 2014/15, 216 accredited courses were offered across the UK, the majority of which were higher education programmes. These included 27 courses in film production, nine courses in screenwriting and four courses in post-production.

FILM EDUCATION AS A PROGRESSION ROUTELearning about film can be enhanced by practical involvement in filmmaking. In addition to the development of critical, creative and cultural skills, gaining filmmaking experience, particularly at an early age, can be a key stepping stone to the development of a career in the film industry.

In 2012, the BFI launched a Film Academy programme, supported now by the Department for Education in England, National Lottery, Creative Scotland and Northern Ireland Screen, which was designed to help 16-19 year olds develop the necessary skills to enter the film industry.

Over its first three years the Academy has provided opportunities for talented young people from a range of backgrounds to enjoy out-of-school and residential filmmaking experience, delivered through partner organisations across the UK and with industry bodies such as BAFTA, Creative Skillset and Pinewood Studios. In 2014/15 the Academy worked with 42 delivery partners reaching 783 young people UK wide (Table 1.8). Across all courses in 2014/15, 27% of participants were from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and 7% were disabled.


Table 1.8 BFI Film Academy participants, 2012/13-2014/15

Nation/region 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15

England 425 552 582

North East 34 42 44

Yorkshire and The Humber 27 31 37

North West 49 57 57

West Midlands 28 30 52

East Midlands 34 36 38

East of England 49 66 62

London 95 146 148

South East 52 74 73

South West 57 70 71

Wales – 49 44

Scotland – 56 72

Northern Ireland – 63 85

Total 425 720 783

Source: BFI

OTHER FILM EDUCATION ACTIVITY

In addition to the activity described above, there are many other organisations involved in the delivery of film education in the UK at both a national and regional level including independent cinemas, regional film archives, training providers and community-based groups.

In 2014, the Moving Image Training Alliance (MITA), supported by Into Film, conducted a UK-wide research project2 designed to audit and map independent training provision in the moving image, with a particular focus on organisations working with 5-19 year olds. The research found a well-established sector across the UK (over 160 organisations participated in the study) that engages with an estimated 35,000+ young people annually. The majority of responding organisations (96%) supported young people from marginalised and disadvantaged backgrounds including young offenders and NEET, SEN, BAME and disabled individuals. In addition to children and young people, most of the organisations also worked with adults.

Responding organisations delivered many types of training from short to long courses, and in a variety of settings. The majority of organisations (88%) provided courses for young people outside of school settings and 56% worked with the school curriculum. Of the organisations working with young people, 93% offered an introductory filmmaking course. Other key areas of provision were craft/production skills training in camera (84%), editing (82%), production (81%), and sound (79%). A number of the responding organisations were involved in the delivery of training through the BFI Film Academy.

The BFI continues to run programmes for learners of all ages at BFI Southbank. Table 1.9 provides details of some of the BFI’s main education activities. Due to changes in reporting since the last edition of the Yearbook, BFI Southbank and BFI festivals education events have been merged.

2 TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION, Moving Image Training Alliance (MITA), http://mita.org.uk/

FIL

M E

DU

CATIO

N


In 2014/15 there were 48,365 admissions to BFI Southbank and festivals education events, an increase from 44,641 admissions in 2013/14 and up 32% on 2008/09. The number of visits to the BFI Reuben Library increased from 69,592 in 2013/14 to 72,502 in 2014/15. (Visits to the Library increased substantially between 2011/12 and 2012/13 following its relocation from the BFI head office to BFI Southbank.)

BFI Screenonline is a web-based 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. Users in UK schools, colleges, universities and libraries can access the entire site for free; in 2014/15 there were 28,263 video streaming requests.

Table 1.9 BFI education activities, 2008/09-2014/15

2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 % change 2013/14-2014/15

BFI Southbank and festivals education event admissions

36,697 38,569 43,532 42,000 43,363 44,641 48,365 8.3

BFI Reuben Library visits 12,024 10,969 10,983 11,900 62,000 69,592 72,502 4.2

BFI Screenonline video streaming requests

172,142 115,194 92,020 80,000 49,853 36,038 28,263 -21.6

Source: BFI


UK TALENT AND AWARDS

Image: The Theory of Everything © 2014 Universal City Studios. Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLC


UK ACTORS, DIRECTORS AND WRITERS CONSISTENTLY WIN ACCLAIM AT THE GLOBAL BOX OFFICE AND INTERNATIONAL AWARDS CEREMONIES. IN 2014, UK TALENT AND STORY MATERIAL CONTINUED TO REACH ENTHUSIASTIC AUDIENCES AND SHOWCASE OUR CULTURE AND IDENTITY TO THE WORLD.

FACTS IN FOCUS■ Of the top 200 global box office successes of 2001-2014, 33 films

are based on stories and characters created by UK writers. Together they have earned $25 billion (£16 billion) at the worldwide box office.

■ Seven of the top 20 global box office successes of the last 14 years are based on novels by UK writers.

■ Nearly two thirds of the top 200 films released worldwide since 2001 have featured UK actors in lead or prominent supporting roles.

■ UK directors were behind 26 of the 200 biggest films of the last 14 years with Harry Potter director, David Yates, topping the box office league.

■ UK films and talent won 31 major film awards in 2014/15, including six Oscars® and 13 BAFTAs.

UK TALENT AND AWARDS

UK

TALE

NT A

ND

AW

AR

DS

UK STORY MATERIAL

The global box office performance of UK films and foreign productions 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 2014, 42 are UK qualifying films, and UK-originated story material provided the inspiration for 33 films, a feat bettered only by US story material. Collectively these 33 films have earned $25 billion (£15.8 billion at the 2014 average exchange rate) at the global box office.

Novels by British writers have provided the source material for seven of the top 20 grossing films worldwide since 2001 (Table 1.1). Also appearing in the top 20 are The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises which feature the character Batman created by American Bob Kane, but the stories for these two films were written by British writer/director Christopher Nolan. Table 1.1 Top 20 grossing films worldwide, 2001-2014

Rank Title Country of origin

Gross box office

(US$ million)

US distributor UK story material (writer)

1 Avatar USA 2,777 20th Century Fox

2 Marvel Avengers Assemble USA 1,519 Walt Disney

3 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 UK/USA 1,342 Warner Bros Novel by JK Rowling

4 Frozen USA 1,274 Walt Disney

5 Iron Man 3 USA/China 1,215 Walt Disney

6 Transformers: Dark of the Moon USA 1,124 Paramount

7 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King USA/NZ 1,119 New Line Novel by JRR Tolkien

8 Skyfall UK/USA 1,109 MGM/ Colombia/

Sony

Based on novels by

Ian Fleming

9 Transformers: Age of Extinction USA/China 1,104 Paramount

10 The Dark Knight Rises UK/USA 1,084 Warner Bros

11 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest USA 1,066 Buena Vista

12 Toy Story 3 USA 1,063 Walt Disney

13 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides UK/USA 1,048 Walt Disney

14 Alice in Wonderland USA 1,026 Walt Disney Novel by Lewis Carroll

15 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey USA/NZ 1,017 Warner Bros Novel by JRR Tolkien

16 The Dark Knight UK/USA 1,003 Warner Bros

17 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone UK/USA 975 Warner Bros Novel by JK Rowling

18 Despicable Me 2 USA 971 Universal Pictures

19 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End USA 963 Walt Disney

20 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug USA/NZ 960 Warner Bros Novel by JRR Tolkien

Source: BFI RSU


Looking just at films based on UK story material, the top 20 grossing films adapted from stories or characters created by UK writers during the period are listed in Table 1.2. Eighteen are adaptations of novels by UK authors and two are from original screenplays. Table 1.2 Top 20 grossing films worldwide based on stories and characters created by UK writers, 2001-2014

Rank Title Country of origin

Gross box office

(US$ million)

US distributor

UK story material (writer)

1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 UK/USA 1,342 Warner Bros Novel by JK Rowling


USA/NZ 1,119 New Line Novel by JRR Tolkien

3 Skyfall UK/USA 1,109 MGM/Columbia /Sony

Based on novels by Ian Fleming

4 Alice in Wonderland USA 1,026 Walt Disney Novel by Lewis Carroll

5 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey USA/NZ 1,017 Warner Bros Novel by JRR Tolkien

6 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone UK/USA 975 Warner Bros Novel by JK Rowling

7 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug USA/NZ 960 Warner Bros Novel by JRR Tolkien

8 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 UK/USA 960 Warner Bros Novel by JK Rowling

9 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies USA/NZ 955 Warner Bros Novel by JRR Tolkien

10 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix UK/USA 940 Warner Bros Novel by JK Rowling

11 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince UK/USA 934 Warner Bros Novel by JK Rowling

12 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers USA/NZ 923 New Line Novel by JRR Tolkien

13 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire UK/USA 897 Warner Bros Novel by JK Rowling

14 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets UK/USA 879 Warner Bros Novel by JK Rowling


USA/NZ 872 New Line Novel by JRR Tolkien

16 Inception UK/USA 826 Warner Bros Original screenplay by Christopher Nolan

17 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban UK/USA 797 Warner Bros Novel by JK Rowling

18 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

USA/NZ 745 Walt Disney Novel by CS Lewis

19 Interstellar USA 672 Paramount Original screenplay by Jonathan and

Christopher Nolan

20 How to Train Your Dragon 2 USA 619 20th Century Fox

Based on novels by Cressida Cowell

Source: BFI RSU

Of the 33 films from the top 200 based on UK stories and characters, the majority (88%) were based on the work of new and classic authors such as Ian Fleming, CS Lewis, JK Rowling and JRR Tolkien (Figure 1.1). Three new films appear in the list – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Interstellar.


UK

TALE

NT A

ND

AW

AR

DS

Figure 1.1 Origin of UK story material in the top 200 films at the worldwide box office, 2001-2014

UK ACTORS

Nearly two thirds (127) of the top 200 films at the global box office since 2001 have featured British actors in either lead/title roles (53) or in the supporting cast (74). The prominent role played by UK actors in many of the most successful releases of the last 14 years is reflected in Figure 1.2, which shows the top 12 British actors based on appearances in the top 200 films and ranked by total box office gross. The Harry Potter films feature heavily in this chart.

At the top of the list is Ian McKellen thanks to appearances in 11 of the top 200 films including the Lord of the Rings franchise, the three Hobbit films and three X-Men films. In second place are four actors from the Harry Potter franchise (only the three young stars and Alan Rickman are shown in Figure 1.2 but several others have appeared in many of the films).

Third in the list is Helena Bonham Carter who has appeared in 10 of the top 200 films, including four Harry Potter films, The King’s Speech and Les Misérables. In fourth place is Orlando Bloom due to his appearances in all three Lord of the Rings films, three Pirates of the Caribbean films, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Troy. The late Richard Griffiths who appeared in six Harry Potter films as well as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is fifth, and Gary Oldman is sixth following appearances in eight top 200 releases including two Harry Potter films, the two Dark Knight films and Kung Fu Panda 2.

The late Christopher Lee has appeared in many of the same successful franchise films as Ian McKellen, but did not appear in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and so is lower down the list in seventh place. Ralph Fiennes is eighth in the list following appearances in a number of Harry Potter films, while Andy Serkis is in ninth place thanks to his roles in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, King Kong and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

%

Novel 88

Original screenplay 9

Musical 3

Source: BFI RSU


Worldwide gross from films in top 200 (US$ billion)

8.21 7.69 7.24 7.04 6.91 6.74 6.11 5.72 5.67

Source: BFI RSUNotes: Includes actors who have made four or more appearances in the top 200 films, either in lead/title role or supporting role (not including voices in animated films).


Figure 1.2 Top 12 UK actors featured in the top 200 films at the worldwide box office, 2001-2014 (number of appearances in brackets)

UK DIRECTORS

Twenty-six of the 200 highest grossing films at the global box office between 2001 and 2014 were helmed by British directors (Figure 1.3 and Table 1.3). David Yates remains the most commercially successful British director in recent years, with total top 200 box office takings of $4.16 billion from his four 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: Parts 1 and 2). Christopher Nolan is a close second having directed three Batman films, Inception and 2014’s Interstellar, which have combined earnings of $3.95 billion. In third place is Skyfall director Sam Mendes ($1.11 billion) followed by Guy Ritchie whose two Sherlock Holmes titles earned $1.07 billion.

Only one woman features in the list of top British directors: Phyllida Lloyd is eighth in the list with a worldwide gross of $610 million for Mamma Mia!. New to the list this year are Gareth Edwards, whose Godzilla grossed $529 million, and Simon J Smith, co-director of Penguins of Madagascar ($374 million).

There are two UK independent films in the top 200. These are Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech (with a worldwide gross of $414 million) and Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire ($377 million).

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Daniel

Rad

cliffe

/Emma W

atson

/

Rupert

Grin

t/Alan

Rick

man (8

)

Helena

Bon

ham C

arter

(10)

Orland

o Bloo

m (8)

Gary O

ldman

(8)

Christ

ophe

r Lee

(8)

Ralph F

ienne

s (6)

Andy S

erkis

(7)

US$ billion

Ian M

cKell

en (1

1)

UK

TALE

NT A

ND

AW

AR

DS

Figure 1.3 Top 10 UK directors based on top 200 grossing films at the worldwide box office, 2001-2014 (number of films in brackets)


Rupert

Wyat

t (1)

Gareth

Edward

s (1)

Phyllida

Lloyd

(1)

David S

lade (

1)

Tom Hoo

per (2

)

Mike New

ell (1)

Guy Ritch

ie (2)

Sam M

ende

s (1)

Christo

pher

Nolan (

5)

David Y

ates (4

)

US$ million

Worldwide gross from films in top 200 (US$ million)

4,156 3,953 1,108 1,068 891 856 699 610 529 483

Source: BFI RSU

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

Table 1.3 UK directors from the top 200 films at the worldwide box office and their films, 2001-2014

Director Film(s) Total gross box office

(US$ million)

David Yates Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

4,156

Christopher Nolan The Dark Knight Rises The Dark Knight InceptionBatman BeginsInterstellar

3,953

Sam Mendes Skyfall 1,108

Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Sherlock Holmes

1,068

Mike Newell Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 891

Tom Hooper Les Misérables The King’s Speech

856

David Slade The Twilight Saga: Eclipse 699

Phyllida Lloyd Mamma Mia! 610

Gareth Edwards Godzilla 529

Rupert Wyatt Rise of the Planet of the Apes 483

Kenneth Branagh Thor 448

Paul Greengrass The Bourne Ultimatum 443

Michael Apted The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 416

Ridley Scott Prometheus 401

Rupert Sanders Snow White and the Huntsman 397

Danny Boyle Slumdog Millionaire 377

Simon J Smith Penguins of Madagascar 374

Source: BFI RSU

WRITERS AND DIRECTORS OF UK INDEPENDENT FILMS RELEASED IN THE UK, 2003-2014We have information on 1,164 writers and 905 directors associated with UK independent films released in the UK between 2003 and 2014 (not including re-releases of classic films). Almost 90% of the writers and over 80% of the directors have been associated with just one UK independent film during this time, which illustrates how difficult it is to make the leap from first to second feature and to sustain a filmmaking career (Tables 1.4 and 1.5). However, as we are looking just at UK independent films released between 2003 and 2014 it is possible that some directors and writers were involved with more films than these figures

indicate. Some might have been involved with earlier films and others will have made successful independent films and gone on to work on studio-backed films. There are also likely to be some writers and directors who have made just one film so far, but will go on to make many more films. Tom Hooper is a good example of a director who appears only once in these data but who has directed more than one successful film. His one independent UK film is The King’s Speech, the all time highest grossing independent UK film at both the UK and worldwide box office. In addition, he has directed two studio-backed films released during the period, The Damned United and Les Misérables.


UK

TALE

NT A

ND

AW

AR

DS


The writers who have been involved with the most independent UK films between 2003 and 2014 are Paul Laverty, with seven films, and Noel Clarke, Tony Grisoni and Ronald Harwood with six each. Sacha Bennett, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Nick Love, Paul Andrew Williams and Michael Winterbottom have written or co-written the screenplays for five films and writers involved with four films include Simon Beaufoy, Anders Thomas Jensen and Oliver Parker.

Table 1.4 Numbers of films by writers of UK independent films, release years 2003-2014

Number of films written or co-written

Number of writers

% of writers

1 1,008 86.6

2 97 8.3

3 44 3.8

4 6 0.5

5 5 0.4

6 3 0.3

7 1 0.1

Total 1,164 100.0


The directors of the highest number of UK independent films released between 2003 and 2014 were Michael Winterbottom with 11 films and Ken Loach with 10 films. Stephen Frears and Marc Evans have both directed six films, while the directors of five films include Oliver Parker, Kevin Macdonald and Shane Meadows. (For information on the gender of writers and directors of UK films, see the report on Employment in the film industry.)

Table 1.5 Numbers of films by directors of UK independent films, release years 2003-2014

Number of films directed or co-directed

Number of directors

% of directors

1 745 82.3

2 117 12.9

3 22 2.4

4 12 1.3

5 5 0.6

6 2 0.2

10 1 0.1

11 1 0.1

Total 905 100.0

Source: Rentrak, BFI RSU analysis.Note: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

AWARDS FOR UK FILMS AND TALENT

This section presents the awards won by British talent and UK films at the major film festivals and awards ceremonies in the 2014/15 awards cycle. The festivals included here are the Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Venice and Toronto festivals of 2014 and the BAFTA Film Award and Academy Award® ceremonies which took place in 2015.

However, Table 1.6 also shows the number of awards won in calendar years 2001 to 2014, in order to provide a comparison with previous years. In 2014 UK films and British individuals won 31 awards, representing 20% of awards available. The number of awards won was an increase on 2013, when 26 awards were won, representing 15% of those available. (Awards specific to foreign nationals or films, for example the Toronto International Film Festival’s award for Best Canadian Film, are not included in the present analysis).

Of the 31 awards to British films and talent in 2014, a total of 10 were won or shared by British women or won by British films made by women, the same number as in 2013.


Table 1.6 Numbers of UK award winners, 2001-2014/15

Year Number of UK award winners

UK share %

2001 25 14

2002 24 15

2003 22 13

2004 22 13

2005 23 14

2006 25 14

2007 32 15

2008 32 15

2009 36 17

2010 24 12

2011 30 15

2012 23 14

2013 26 15

2014 31 20

Total (to end of 2014) 375

2014/15 awards cycle 31 20

Source: BFI

Table 1.7 lists the awards won by UK films and British talent at the major festivals in 2014 and at the 2015 BAFTA Film Awards and Academy Awards®.

UK films and filmmakers won prizes at all the major festivals in 2014. British documentary feature films and talent won three prizes at the Sundance Film Festival – the directing award (Iain

Forsyth and Jane Pollard), editing award (Jonathan Amos) and the audience award (The Green Prince). In the dramatic competition, God Help the Girl won the special jury award for ensemble performance. (Another prize-winning UK film was the Film London Microwave scheme production Lilting, which won the cinematography award, but as this was presented to Polish-born cinematographer Ula Pontikos, it is not included in the list below.)

UK short films did particularly well at Berlin and Cannes in 2014 – Mike was awarded the Crystal Bear (14plus short film) at Berlin, while at Cannes Leidi won the Palme d’Or – short film and The Bigger Picture won joint third prize in the Cinéfondation competition for student films. Other awards at the two festivals included an honorary Golden Bear for Ken Loach at Berlin and the best actor award at Cannes for Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner).

The UK picked up three other major festival awards in 2014 – the grand jury special prize (The Look of Silence) and the Orizzonti award for best director (Naji Abu Nowar) at Venice, and the Grolsch people’s choice award (The Imitation Game) at Toronto.

British talent and films won 13 BAFTAs and six Oscars® at the awards ceremonies in 2015. There were five double winners: Eddie Redmayne won the leading actor award at both events, Anna Pinnock shared best production design (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier won best make-up and hair/hairstyling (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Ben Wilkins shared best sound/sound mixing (Whiplash), and Paul Franklin and Andrew Lockley shared best visual effects/special visual effects (Interstellar).

UK

TALE

NT A

ND

AW

AR

DS


Table 1.7 UK award winners, 2014/15

Awards ceremony/festival

Award Recipient Title

Sundance Film Festival16-24 January 2014

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Performance

Film Award presented to writer/director Stuart Murdoch, cast Olly Alexander and Hannah Murray (with Emily Browning and Pierre Boulanger)

God Help the Girl

World Cinema Documentary Directing Award

Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard

20,000 Days on Earth

World Cinema Documentary Editing Award

Jonathan Amos 20,000 Days on Earth

Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary

Film (Award presented to Nadav Schirman)

The Green Prince

Berlin Film Festival6-16 February 2014

Honorary Golden Bear Ken Loach

Crystal Bear (14plus Short Film)

Film Award presented to Matt Nelson (with Petros Silvestros)

Mike

Cannes Film Festival14-25 May 2014

Award for Best Actor Timothy Spall Mr. Turner

Palme d’Or – Short Film Film (Award presented to Simón Mesa Soto)

Leidi

Cinéfondation (joint third prize)

Film Award presented to Daisy Jacobs

The Bigger Picture

Venice Film Festival27 August- 6 September 2014

Grand Jury Prize Film (Award presented to Joshua Oppenheimer)

The Look of Silence

The Orizzonti Award for Best Director

Naji Abu Nowar Theeb

Toronto International Film Festival4-14 September 2014

Grolsch People’s Choice Award

Film (Award presented to Morten Tyldum)

The Imitation Game

BAFTA Film Awards8 February 2015

Adapted Screenplay Film (Award presented to Anthony McCarten)

The Theory of Everything




British Short Animation Film Award presented to Chris Hees and Daisy Jacobs (with Jennifer Majka)

The Bigger Picture

British Short Film Film Award presented to Brian J. Falconer, Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney

Boogaloo and Graham

EE Rising Star Jack O’Connell

Fellowship Mike Leigh

Leading Actor Eddie Redmayne The Theory of Everything

Make-Up and Hair Film Award presented to Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema

BBC Films

Outstanding British Film Film Award presented to James Marsh, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (with Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten)

The Theory of Everything

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

Stephen Beresford and David Livingstone

Pride

Production Design Film Award presented to Anna Pinnock (with Adam Stockhausen)


Sound Film Award presented to Ben Wilkins (with Thomas Curley and Craig Mann)

Whiplash

Special Visual Effects Film Award presented to Paul Franklin and Andrew Lockley (with Scott Fisher and Ian Hunter)

Interstellar


UK

TALE

NT A

ND

AW

AR

DS




Academy Awards®

22 February 2015Actor in a Leading Role Eddie Redmayne The Theory of Everything

Makeup and Hairstyling Film Award presented to Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier


Production Design Film Award presented to Anna Pinnock (with Adam Stockhausen)


Short Film (Live Action) Film Award presented to Mat Kirkby and James Lucas

The Phone Call

Sound Mixing Film Award presented to Ben Wilkins (with Thomas Curley and Craig Mann)

Whiplash

Visual Effects Film Award presented to Paul Franklin and Andrew Lockley (with Scott Fisher and Ian Hunter)

Interstellar

Source: BFI



Documents

AUDIENCES · popular genre in this age group, with Dracula Untold, Non-Stop and Edge of Tomorrow all attracting above-average audience shares (Table 1.3). Parents and carers in the