Broadcast News

Bookmark and Share
10/10/2006

UK Films Rake In Million Of Dollars At The Box Office

The 20 biggest selling films based on stories or characters created by UK writers have taken almost $11 billion at the worldwide box office in the last six years, according to new figures released by the UK Film Council.
Six of the top 10 films at the world box office 2001-2005, and 19 of the top 100, were based on stories and characters created by UK writers such as the 'Harry Potter films', the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, 'James Bond', 'Bridget Jones' and 'Wallace and Gromit'.
The UK Film Council’s research and statistics bulletin which provides the latest film data and market intelligence for 2006, also reveals that film production spending in the UK is up by 76% for the first six months of 2006 ­at £486 million compared to £276 million for the first half of 2005. Harry Potter and the 'Order of the Phoenix', 'The Magic Flute', and Lottery-funded 'Miss Potter' and 'Becoming Jane' are some of the 70 films made or partly made in the UK this year. Inward investment alone has increased by 71%, standing at £306.7 million compared to £179.4 million for the same period in 2005.
'Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest' has been the biggest box office hit of the year taking £51.48 million by the end of August – only the ninth film ever to break through the £50 million mark in the UK. 2006 has seen the release of 344 films at the cinema earning £526 million with comedy the best performing genre (£99.2 million) but overall admissions for the first seven months of the year were down slightly (2.4%) on the same period last year.
The most popular British films were 'The Da Vinci Code' which racked up £30.4 million at the box office by the end of August, and UK Film Council Lottery-funded films 'Stormbreaker' (£6.62 million) and 'The Wind that Shakes the Barley' (£3.65 million) which also picked up the top prize at this year’s Cannes film festival.
Men and women have enjoyed different films at the cinema in 2006. 'Memoirs of a Geisha' and 'Brokeback Mountain' were popular with women while men preferred 'United 93' and 'V for Vendetta'. Film tastes also differed across the regions of the UK. Match Point appealed to London audiences while 'Final Destination 3' proved popular in the Midlands and North West.
The most successful foreign language films so far this year have been Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (grossing almost £2 million), Volver (£1.7 million) and Hidden (£1.45 million) which spent over six months in UK cinemas.
Commenting on the latest production figures for film in the UK in 2006, the UK Film Council’s British Film Commissioner Steve Norris commented:
“It’s fantastic news that the UK production sector has bounced back this year with a 76% rise in the amount of money spent on producing films in the UK, generating business, jobs and spin-off value in other industries. This up-turn in business will also ultimately benefit UK audiences with more British films made and released.
“Today’s report also shows that UK writers are the best in the world. Films adapted from stories by UK writers have dominated the global box office for the past six years giving enjoyment to millions of cinema-goers around the world.”
(DS)

Solidmate Ltd Memory Card Hire London

Top Related Stories
Click here for the latest broadcast news stories.

27/08/2007
UK Cinema-Goers Go 'Ooh La La' For French Film
UK cinema-goers are becoming more continental in their cinema tastes according to the latest UK box office statistics released by the UK Film Council.
14/02/2011
IFTAs Awarded In Dublin
The winners of the 8th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards were announced at a gala ceremony held at Dublin's Convention Centre. The main categories
15/01/2007
2006 Marks Second Best Year For Film Funding
The UK Film Council has revealed the amount of money spent in 2006 on making films in the UK soared by 48% to reach £840 million making it the second
09/06/2004
‘Billy Elliot’ tops television movie ratings for 2003
The television premiere of ‘Billy Elliot’ on BBC1 was the most viewed film shown on terrestrial television last year, and three other recent UK-made f
15/08/2005
British films excel at the cinema but scarce on television
Last year saw the second highest cinema admissions for 32 years, with British films accounting for a quarter of the box office (23%), an increase of 4
27/01/2005
UK film production spending totals £800 million in 2004
Film production spending in the UK totalled more than £800 million last year, with 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' and 'Pride and Prejudice' hel
30/07/2013
2012: A Great Year For UK Film
The success of the British film industry continued in 2012, with UK films taking in a total of $5.3 billion and claiming as much as a 15% share of the
25/03/2024
BBC Radio 5 Live To Celebrate 30 Years
BBC Radio 5 Live has announced plans to celebrate its 30th birthday on Thursday 28 March 2024 with a day of special programming. Since its launch at 5
31/01/2012
Audiences Flocked To UK Film In 2011
UK audiences have embraced independent British film as never before in 2011, it is claimed. According to information tracked by the BFI Research and S
24/07/2007
Film Industry Contribution To UK GDP Up 39% In 2006
The UK film industry contributed £4.3 billion to UK GDP in 2006, up from £3.1 billion in 2004, a 39% increase in two years according to an independent
08/06/2010
UK Film Industry Substantial, Report Says
The UK film industry contributes a total of over £4.5 billion a year to UK GDP and more than £1.2 billion to the Exchequer, according to an independen
25/04/2007
UK Film Council Unveil Top Ten Box Office Movies
'Casino Royale' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest' have catapulted into the top ten highest grossing films at the UK box office taking m
20/07/2007
Report Reveals Love of British Films Continues Unabated
Britain is a nation of film lovers with box office takings up 56% in the last ten years; British films are popular overseas with exports at an eleven
08/05/2009
The Times BFI London Films Festival Awarded £1.8 Million From the UK Film Council
The UK Film Council has announced £1.8 million Lottery funding for the Times BFI London Film Festival over the next three years. The money will fund i
12/01/2004
Record 'double-take' of £1.17bn for UK film industry
Several top-drawer big-budget films including the latest Harry Potter, a Bridgit Jones follow-up and a remake of 'Alfie' helped the UK film production