26/07/2012 - BFI Statistical Yearbook reveals latest numbers

The inexorable decline of domestic UK production continues with only 200 films produced during 2011, a steep decrease from the 282 produced in 2010, with the UK spend from domestic productions worth £200 million in 2011, down from £209 million in 2010. Of the 200 domestic UK films produced during the year, 124 (62%) were made on budgets under £500,000. The number of UK co-productions rose 31% from 32 in 2010 to 42 in 2011. These are some of the numbers revealed in the 2012 Statistical Yearbook, compiled by the British Film Institute’s Research and Statistics Unit.

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The UK film industry contributed £3.3 billion to GDP and a trade surplus of over £1.5 billion. The 558 films released in the UK during 2011 sold over 172 million cinema tickets, a 1.4% increase on 2010, driving box office revenues up 5% on the previous year to break the £1 billion barrier for the first time, reaching £1.04 billion. The highest grossing film of the year was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile] (photo) – a UK-made film backed by Warner Bros that earned £73 million. In second and third place at the UK box office were independent British films The King’s Speech [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tom Hooper
film profile], which took £46 million, and The Inbetweeners Movie [+see also:
trailer
film profile] £45 million. Film production spent in the UK topped £1.27 billion (a figure that includes non-UK films shooting in the country) in 2011.

Amanda Nevill, Chief Executive of the BFI, said, “We are far from complacent; it’s still a tough economic climate in which to raise finance for film production, and digital technologies continue to bring both challenges and opportunities for industry.”