British films reel in best ever share of box office

Figures released by the British Film Institute (BFI) yesterday show British films accounted for 13.5 per cent of the £1.4bn spent at the UK box office in 2010.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was the highest earning film of 2011 – pulling in £73m at the box office in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

The next most successful were The King’s Speech and The Inbetweeners, which earned £45.6m and £45m respectively. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and The Hangover 2 rounded off the top five biggest earners.

The figures also reveal that more money than ever was spent on film production in the UK in 2011 – £1.26bn – but the total number of UK films produced with budgets of £500,000 and more fell to 71 from 78 in 2010.

BFI boss Amanda Nevill said: “Film is at the very core of Britain’s cultural life and today’s figures show that the appetite for cinema-going across the UK is as healthy as ever. 2011 was a phenomenal year, with the box office results showing that independently produced British films captivated audiences.

“That said, we are pragmatic; it’s still a challenging time for filmmakers trying to raise finance to make independent British films in this tough economic climate.

“As we enter 2012 many challenges remain, but the figures clearly show that keeping audiences at the heart of everything we do will help the British film industry to enjoy even greater success in the future and continue to be an important contributor to the UK economy.”