Film production revenue declines in 2004

The UK Film Council has reported that there has been a substantial decline in the UK Film production industry in the last year.
The industry contributed an estimated £3.1 billion to UK GDP in 2004, taking into account its multiplier impacts, and around £850 million to the Exchequer.
Inward investment from films generated £549 million in tax revenues in 2004, but this had declined to an estimated £324 million in 2005.
The report's authors blamed "uncertainty over the tax regime for UK films," noting that while 2003 and 2004 had been record years for the industry, this was substantially down from the £730 million figure achieved in 2003.
The report found that the UK film sector remains a "substantial industry" employing around 31,000 directly and was roughly equivalent to the BBC and the book publishing industry, and supported a further 97,500 jobs.
Around two-thirds of the jobs are in London and the South East, but there are significant numbers employed in the film industry throughout the UK.
These employees are among some of the most highly qualified and internationally mobile employees, with around one-third qualified to university standard.
However, the report warned: "The future success of the UK film industry cannot be taken for granted. It is part of an intensely competitive international industry."
The authors said that discussions with UK production companies had suggested that up one quarter of the staff would "relocate if tax and other considerations meant that the UK was no longer attractive to investors in film."
The report also examined other important issues such as the positive effects on tourism, the representation of British culture, and the impact of showing only foreign films in the UK cinemas.
The report highlighted surveys that indicate that one in five visitors to the UK are influenced by the representation of the UK in film and television, exports of identifiable "British" products, and around 30% of box office revenues are the result of indigenous film production.
The report concluded that production spend on inward investment films accounted for 63% of total production send in 2003 and 68% in 2004. This spend supported an estimated 62,000 jobs and contributed around £2 billion to UK GDP.
(SP/MB)