Movies To Gross £1bn

The UK Film Council has said that the final 2009 box office receipts for the UK and the Irish Republic are on track to top £1 billion for the first time.
With a figure that is up from £935 million in 2008, there seems to be little sign of recession in the movie world.
However, funding remains hard to achieve, with many banks withdrawing from backing movie projects - but eaving an opportunity for specialist funds to step in and make potentially handsome returns for wealthy investors.
Banks that were active in film finance have reduced or halted activity - including Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Bank.
For them, what was an attractive business in the good times is now considered a high-maintenance niche activity as banks repair their balance sheets and focus on basic business.
The Aegis Film Fund was therefore launched in April 2009 by a group of financiers to invest an initial £50 million in films, including Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, the biopic of Ian Dury just released, and St Trinian's 2.
Aegis aims to provide a return of 15% to its investors and already knows it will get all of its money back for St Trinian's 2 and Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.
But, film finance is a drawn-out, specialist business. Once a producer has an idea or a script, they sign up a cast and crew and then employ an agent to sell the rights to distributors in a few markets and make an estimate of what can be made from unsold territories.
They may also get seed funding from the UK Film Council, the BBC or Channel 4 before seeking further loans secured against presales, unsold rights and government tax credits.
(BMcC/GK)