The British Film Industry 30 Questions

 

The British Film Industry 30 Questions

What % of global box office was the British film industry responsible for?

The British Film Institute said UK film releases took £3.45bn in 2012 which is a 15.3% share of the world market.

What was this % in 2009?

The British Film Institute said UK film owned 6.8% share of the world market.

What might this change indicate about British film?

This change presents that British films are becoming more dominated within the film production box office as proven in a double change since 2009.

What films have been responsible for this change?

The higher market share in 2011 can be partially attributed to the success of the final Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, and Oscar-winning hit The King's Speech

What % of the British film industry makes a profit?

According to the figures revealed by the British Film Institute (BFI) only 7% of films made in the UK turn over a profit.  

What % of Hollywood films makes a profit?

Greengrass told the BBC that 17% of higher budget films are profitability in Hollywood.

How does that % differ between £2m and £10m budget British films?

4%

What might we infer from this difference?

This indicates that film production at box office dropped

Which age group makes up the largest % of UK cinema goers?

The age group that most frequently visits the cinema is 25 – 39 year olds which is a 24% of the cinema viewers according to 2012 figures 

 

 

 

 

Why do you think this might be?

This is the age where people are often in secure employment and are willing to spend their disposable income on leisure activities.

Which 'type' of film has seen an 18% drop in attendance?

The type of film which has seen a drop in attendance is 3D within the UK as shown on the BBC website - A total of 43 3D films were released, down from 47 in 2011, but the figures continue a slight downward trend.

Within that 'type' which genre has seen the biggest fall?

Mr Stolze on the BBC website said that the big family films have seen the biggest fall - "On the big family films there seems to be a lower proportion of people opting to choose 3D. There were very successful films like Madagascar 3 and Brave, and only about a third of their total revenue came from 3D ticket sales."

What did Charles Grant put this decline down to?

Film reviewer Charles Gant said the 3D attendance at films like Madagascar 3 and Brave could be down to families' need to economize, and that prices mounted when the 3D premium is taken into account alongside the need for several tickets and parking.

Who is Paul Greengrass?

Paul is a director, writer and producer; he started his filmmaking career with a super 8 camera he found in his art room in secondary school. Those short movies were animation horror films he made using old dolls, artist dummies, and the general art room clutter. He has directed the Bourne Ultimatum, Captain Phillips and The Bourne Supremacy.

How did he describe the British film industry?

Speaking at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), he described the British film industry as a "success story" and predicted it would continue to see international growth; especially in China. Greengrass told the BBC on Sunday night the 17% figure for higher budget films was approximately the same rate of profitability as Hollywood.

What did a BFI spokesperson say was the point of less profitable low budget British films?

"tiny budget films that, while commercial success is always hoped for, are successful and beneficial to the industry for other reasons like skills and training development and for artistic and cultural importance"

What was the budget for Filth and how much money did it take?

BUDGET: $5,000,000 (estimated)

BOX OFFICE: £247,860 (UK) (29 September 2013) (38 Screens)

What advantage did James McEvoy feel £100m films have over low budget films?

"An independent film managed to get people to come and see it without a studio and without hundreds of millions of dollars of advertising money. That's remarkable - it means British film can do it on its own." "He said $100m (£61m) movies that "sometimes aren't very good" had an advantage over smaller films because they had a massive budget to sell the film."

What is VOD?

Video on Demand

What % increase did VOD see last year?

50% Increase

What impact might VOD have on distributers and Studios?

"Maybe VOD [video-on-demand] is going to change everything because the distributor and the studio might become less important."

What impact has it had on Blockbuster rental stores?

It has forced the company to go bust because everybody nowadays uses VOD which means that nobody uses the video shops anymore.

What was unique about Ben Wheatleys 'A Field in England'?

In July this year, Ben Wheatley's film A Field in England was the first UK film to be released simultaneously in cinemas, on DVD, on TV and through video-on-demand. Wheatley's "psychedelic trip", set during the English Civil War, took more than £21,000 at the box office on the same weekend it was available free of charge on Film 4. It also sold more then 2,000 copies on DVD over the same period. The film was made on a modest budget of £300,000.

What does director of The Machine Caradog James think is the toughest part of film making?

"The toughest thing is you make a good film but can you get it to reach an audience? It's events like this and individuals who champion independent cinema that give us a profile and any chance of a mass audience."

Why have rules been relaxed on what makes a film 'British'?

Anna Mansi (the BFI's head of certification) told the BBC "This puts us on a level playing field with our creative content tests and other European culture tests, the increase in visual effects points will also be very beneficial to the effects industry."

 How has the use of visual effects in films been encouraged?

Alex Hope of visual effects company Double Negative said he was "delighted" with the tax changes, hoping foreign productions filming in the UK would hire British effects companies rather than taking the work back overseas. "Today's measures target productions that would not otherwise qualify for tax relief and incentive them to bring VFX or production business to the UK," he said.

Name five of these rules and link them to The Kings Speech, Kill List, The World's End, Film set in the UK - all three films are set in different parts of the UK.

Lead characters British citizens or residents - the main characters are all of British descent (Colin Firth - The King's Speech, Simon Pegg - The World's End, Neil Maskell - Kill List). Film based on British subject matter or underlying material - The King's Speech is about our English monarchy, The World's End is about traditional English pubs in a traditional English town (with a twist), and Kill List is about two hitmen in the North, traditionally this can be seen as quite an American subject matter however the strong dialect and British twist to the film makes it qualify as this. Original dialogue recorded mainly in English language - all the films were filmed in English. Represents/reflects diverse British culture, heritage or creativity - The King's Speech is more upper class society, The World's End is more middle class and Kill List is working class.

What rules has chancellor George Osbourne announced for tax on British films?

"George Osborne also announced tax relief would be increased from 20% to 25% on the first £20m of qualifying production expenditure. Productions will also only have to spend 10% of their budgets on UK expenditure to qualify - down from 25% - to help more independent production companies and make the UK a more attractive co-production partner. Mr Osborne will also announced a £5m investment in the National Film and Television School's Digital Village, to create a training centre for the UK's digital and creative industries."

What is the highest grossing film in UK box office history?

Skyfall (To date, the 23rd Bond adventure has earned £94.3m in the UK, beating the previous record holder, Avatar, which grossed £94m in 11 months).

How much has it taken and how many screens was it available on?

£20,180,369 (UK) (28 October 2012)(587 Screens)