08/07/2010

The Film Distributors’ Association (FDA) has revealed that box office collections from January to June 2010 were £516.7m, 3% more than the comparable period last year. This means that British audiences spent a monthly average of £86.1m on cinema tickets.

Distributors released 288 titles in UK cinemas in the first half of 2010, 18 more than in the same period in 2009. The average was 11 releases each week. If the trend continues, the UK box office will break the billion pound barrier this year.

The chief driver has been 3D film. Three of the top five grossers – Avatar, Alice in Wonderland and Clash of the Titans – were released in digital 3D. The familiar tale of US box office domination continues apace, though the British industry can take consolation in the fact that some of Alice and Titans were filmed in the country, bringing in much needed inward investment.

The UK also has emerged as the world’s most advanced territory for digital distribution with 75% of all releases being released on digital as well as 35mm.

FDA President Lord Puttnam said, “I find it thrilling that cinema-going remains so buoyant in the UK; and this is despite a great number of competing attractions and distractions including in recent weeks the hot weather and the World Cup. The cinema continues to offer a uniquely immersive, larger-than-life way to experience a story, and the rollout of digital is generating brand new opportunities for audiences of all ages to enjoy. Here’s to a fantastic summer, in air-conditioned comfort, at the cinema!”