Bfi Statistical Yearbook 2022

Welcome to the 2022 BFI Statistical
Yearbook. Compiled by the Research

and Statistics Unit, this Yearbook
presents the most comprehensive
picture of film in the UK and the
performance of British films abroad
during 2021. This publication is one of
the ways the BFI delivers on its
commitment to evidence-based policy
for film. We hope you enjoy this
Yearbook and find it useful.
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The BFI is the lead organisation for film in the UK. Founded in 1933, it is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter.
In 2011, it was given additional responsibilities, becoming a Government arm’s-length body and distributor of Lottery
funds for film, widening its strategic focus.
The BFI now combines a cultural, creative and industrial role. This brings together activities including the BFI National
Archive, distribution, cultural programming, publishing and festivals with Lottery investment for film production,
distribution, education, audience development and market intelligence and research.
The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Tim Richards.
We want to ensure that there are no barriers to accessing our publications. If you, or someone you know, would like an
accessible version of this report, please contact:
Research and Statistics Unit

British Film Institute
21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN
Email: [email protected]
https://www.bfi.org.uk/industry-data-insights
The British Film Institute is registered in England as a charity, number 287780.

Registered address:
21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN
04
CONTENTS
The box office 08 Weekend box office 67

Facts in focus 09 Film advertising 69
Admissions 10
UK box office earnings 16 Exhibition 70
Film releases and box office revenues in the Facts in focus 71
UK and Republic of Ireland 17 UK cinema sites 72
Widest point of release 20 UK cinema screens 74
Country of origin of film releases 21 Screen density and admissions per head of
population – international comparisons 75
Top films in 2021 25 Screen density and admissions per head of
Facts in focus 26 population in the UK 76
The top 20 films 27 Type of cinema screen by nation and region 78
The top 20 UK films 29 Exhibitors 79
The top 20 UK independent films 30 Event cinema 80
Best weekend performance of UK films 31 Top 10 event cinema releases 2021 82
Non-English language films 31
Documentaries 34 Film on physical video 83
Re-releases 34 Facts in focus 84
Releases and box office by genre 35 Physical video 85
Releases and box office by BBFC classification 37 The physical video retail market 85
Sales of film on physical video formats
by genre, 2021 88
UK films and talent worldwide 41
Best-selling films on physical video formats, 2021 89
Facts in focus 42
The physical video rental market 92
UK films at the global box office 43
UK films in North America 47
Film on digital video 93
UK films in Europe 48
Facts in focus 94
UK films in Latin America 50
Digital video 95
UK films in Asia 51
The digital video market for film 96
UK films in Australasia 51
Popularity of on-demand streaming services 97
UK talent and the global box office, 2012-2021 53
The audience for SVoD 98
UK source material 54
The audience for film on SVoD 99
UK actors 56
Top films on SVoD platforms 100
UK directors 56
Country of origin of top films on leading
Awards for UK films and talent 58
SVoD platforms 103
Language of films on leading SVoD platforms 104
Distribution 61
Age of feature film content on leading
Facts in focus 62 SVoD platforms 105
Distributors 63
Width of release 66
05
Film on television 106 Screen sector production 154
Facts in focus 107 Facts in focus 155
Programming on the terrestrial channels 108 Film and high-end television 156
Film on terrestrial television, 2012-2021 110 The value of UK film production, 2012-2021 158
Audience for film on terrestrial television, The volume of UK film production, 2012-2021 159
2012-2021 111 Film production by genre, 2019-2021 161
Top films on terrestrial television 112 Budget trends, 2012-2021 163
Film on multi-channel television 114 Size distribution of budgets 164
Films broadcasts and audience for film on all Big budget productions, 2012-2021 165
television channels, 2012-2021 118
UK spend as percentage of total production
The value of feature film to broadcasters 119 budget, 2012-2021 165
Domestic UK productions by territory of shoot 166
The UK film market as a whole 120 Co-productions by territory of shoot 167
Facts in focus 121 Production company activity levels 169
UK filmed entertainment market revenues 122 The value and volume of HETV production,
The evolution of UK film revenues, 2012-2021 124 2017-2021 169
The UK film market in the global context 125 Streamer-backed HETV production, 2017-2021 170
Genre of HETV productions 171
Audiences 128 The value and volume of animated television
Facts in focus 129 production, 2017-2021 172
Audiences for film in the UK 130 The value and volume of children’s television
production, 2017-2021 173
Cinema-goers by age 131
The value and volume of video games
Cinema-goers by gender and socio-
development, 2017-2021 174
economic grade 133
Audiences for the top UK independent films
at the cinema, 2021 133 Public investment in film in the UK 175
Audiences for film on television 136 Facts in focus 176
Audiences for the top UK independent films on Public funding for film in the UK by source 177
television, 2021 137 Spend by agency or organisation 179
User profile of the top three Subscription Video on Activities supported by public spending on film 180
Demand (SVoD) services 139 Spend across the UK nations 181
Audiences for the top UK independent films on BFI National Lottery awards 182
SVoD, 2021 140
Leading public investors in UK film
Audience profile comparative analysis 142 production, 2019-2021 183
Screen sector certification 143 Film education and

Facts in focus 144 industry employment 184
Qualifying as an official UK production 145 Facts in focus 185
Films with final certification, 2012-2021 146 Learning about and through film 186
Budget distribution of films with final Film education in formal education settings 186
certification, 2012-2021 148 Film education as a progression route 193
High-end television (HETV) programme final Other film education activity 194
certifications, 2017-2021 149
Employment in the film industry 195
Animation television programme final
The gender of writers and directors of UK films 198
certifications, 2017-2021 152
The workplace location 199
Children’s television programme final
certifications, 2017-2021 152 The scale of the workplace 200
Video games final certifications, 2017-2021 153
06
Film industry companies 203
Facts in focus 204
Number of companies in the film industry 205
Size distribution of film companies 207
National/regional distribution of film companies 209
The UK film economy 211

Facts in focus 212
Film industry turnover, 2017-2021 213
Film and television industries’ contribution
to GDP, 2016-2021 216
Film exports, 2011-2020 217
Film imports, 2011-2020 218
The film trade balance, 2011-2020 219
Film export markets 220
UK film exports compared with the global
market for filmed entertainment 221
The geographical distribution of the
UK’s film trade surplus 222
Glossary 223
Sources 229
Acknowledgements 231
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THE BOX OFFICE
2021
Image: House of Gucci © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved. Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLC
FACTS IN FOCUS
The cinema sector in the UK showed significant signs of
recovery in 2021. While still below pre-pandemic levels, there
was a strong upturn in both ticket sales and box office
receipts during the year.
— UK cinema admissions reached 74 million — UK films, including co-productions,

in 2021, up 68% on 2020 (44 million), but accounted for 30% of releases and 41%
down from 176 million in 2019. of the market by value.
— UK box office receipts were £542 million, — The box office share of UK independent
up from £307 million in 2020, but down films was 5%, down from 14% in 2020.
from £1.25 billion in 2019.
— The top 100 films earned almost 98% of
— A total of 442 films were released for a the gross box office.
week or more in the UK and Republic of
Ireland, up from 381 films in 2020
(764 in 2019).
09
The box office
2021
Admissions
Despite months of closures at the start of the year and Admissions for the year totalled 74 million, up 68%
subsequent restrictions in the form of capacity limits and compared with 2020, but still well below the level of
rules on social distancing, cinemas enjoyed significantly attendances seen in 2019 (Figure 1).
greater audience numbers in 2021 than in 2020.
Figure 1 Annual UK cinema admissions, 2012-2021

Number of admissions (million)
172.5 177.0
171.9 168.3 170.6 176.1
165.5
157.5
74.0
44.0
Total admissions
Source: Cinema Advertising Agency (CAA), Comscore

Note: Annual admissions include those to event cinema screenings.
10
Table 1 shows admissions data for the largest world and European film markets between 2019 and 2021. As with the
UK, the majority of territories saw increased attendances in 2021 in comparison with 2020 but cinema-going in every
territory remained well below the level of admissions in 2019. The two territories reporting numbers of ticket sales in
2021 closest to those of 2019 were China (down only 32%) and Russia (-34%) while those with the greatest shortfall
between 2019 and 2021 were Indonesia (-82%), Italy (-74%) and South Korea (-73%).
According to Omdia, global cinema admissions in 2021 totalled 3.3 billion, an increase from 1.9 billion in 2020, but still
57% down on the 7.6 billion recorded in 2019.
Table 1 Largest film markets by admissions, 2019-2021 (ranked by 2021 admissions)
Territory Admissions 2019 Admissions 2020 Admissions 2021 +/- 2019

(million) (million) (million) (%)
China 1,727 548 1,167 -32.4

USA 1,163 226 466 -59.9
India 1,460 225 427 -70.8
Russia 219 89 146 -33.6
Japan 195 106 115 -41.1
Mexico 350 65 114 -67.6
France 209 64 94 -55.1
UK 176 44 74 -57.9
South Korea 227 60 61 -73.3
Brazil 176 39 51 -71.3
Germany 119 38 42 -64.5
Spain 105 29 41 -60.9
Poland 61 17 29 -52.4
Indonesia 140 31 25 -82.1
Italy 98 28 25 -74.4
Source: Omdia
Note: Includes all global territories with more than 50 million admissions and all European territories with more than 25 million admissions in the calendar year 2021.
Table 2 shows UK cinema admissions by month between younger audiences in particular back to cinemas. After
2019 and 2021. The figures show both the shortfall in May openers Cruella (a UK qualifying film) and the US
admissions in comparison with the pre-pandemic totals horror title The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, top
of 2019 and the year-on-year recovery in attendances 20 earners in the summer included UK studio-backed
seen during some months in 2021. It should be noted, titles Black Widow and Fast & Furious 9, along with
however, that following the re-opening of cinemas in the Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad, Jungle
UK in late spring 2021, one or more restrictions (such as Cruise, The Croods: A New Age and Free Guy. Top
mask wearing, social distancing, capacity limits and grossing UK independent films released in the summer
mandatory vaccine passports) were in operation in some included the year’s second highest earning UK
or all parts of the country for the remainder of the year. independent title, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
(Cinemas began reopening in England, Scotland and alongside The Father, The Courier and People Just Do
Wales from 17 May, and in Northern Ireland from 24 May.) Nothing: Big in Japan.
The first film to top the UK box office charts when Admissions rose each month between May (3.5 million)
cinemas reopened in 2021 was the family-friendly Peter and August (10.4 million) but fell in September to
Rabbit 2: The Runaway which grossed £4.6 million (in the 6.5 million. Traditionally one of the slowest months for
UK and Republic of Ireland) on its seven-day opening. ticket sales, September did, however, see the opening of
(Its Friday to Sunday total of £3.8 million was the biggest the year’s fourth highest earning release Shang-Chi and
three-day opening gross in the territory since Sonic the the Legend of the Ten Rings. The superhero blockbuster,
Hedgehog which earned £4.7 million for its three-day the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the
debut in February 2020.) The film was one of three top 20 first to feature an Asian lead, had the largest opening
titles released in May and heralded a summer dominated weekend of the year thus far with a three-day gross of
by action, adventure and comedy titles which attracted £5.8 million.
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Shang-Chi’s three-day record was soon overtaken by the At 8.8 million, attendances in November were almost half
debut of another official 25th outing. The much delayed the level of October but were still the fourth highest of the
007 instalment, No Time to Die, originally scheduled for year. Releases in the month include three top 20 earners
release in April 2020, grossed £21 million on its three-day – Ghostbusters Afterlife and the UK studio-backed titles
opening (£25.8 million including Thursday previews), the Eternals and House of Gucci – as well as the third highest
highest Friday to Sunday tally for a Bond film ever in the grossing UK independent film of the year, Spencer.
UK and Republic of Ireland. Officially released on Admissions rose again in December, despite concerns
1 October, No Time to Die would go on to become the around the discovery of the COVID Omicron variant. The
UK’s third highest ever release with a gross of £97 million biggest release of the month was Spider-Man: No Way
and was the first film of the year to entice substantial Home, which would go on to become the second highest
numbers of older audience members back to the cinema. grossing release of the year and the all-time fourth
Alongside three other top 20 earners – Dune, the UK highest earning film at the UK and Republic of Ireland
studio-backed title Venom: Let There Be Carnage and box office with earnings (to 13 February 2022) of
The Addams Family 2 – and the top earning UK £93 million. Ticket sales for the month were also the
independent film of the year, The French Dispatch, No second highest of the year, with total admissions of
Time to Die helped propel October’s ticket sales to the 13.5 million.
highest total of the year at 16.4 million. October was the
only month to see an increase in admissions compared
with the equivalent month in 2019.
Table 2 Monthly UK cinema admissions, 2019-2021
Admissions (million) 2019 2020 2021 % change on 2019
January 13.7 16.5 - -100.0

February 12.2 14.5 - -100.0
March 11.4 4.8 - -100.0
April 16.0 - - -100.0
May 16.6 - 3.5 -78.8
June 13.9 - 7.0 -49.9
July 18.7 0.4 7.8 -58.5
August 15.6 2.1 10.4 -33.1
September 11.0 2.7 6.5 -40.6
October 16.3 2.2 16.4 0.9
November 12.2 0.3 8.8 -27.5
December 18.5 0.5 13.5 -26.8
Total 176.1 44.0 74.0 -58.0
Source: CAA, Comscore
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Figure 2 shows the level of recovery in cinema-going in 2021 with admissions in the second half of the year mirroring
the pattern of previous years. In general, attendances are cyclical, peaking during the school and festival holiday
periods when people have more time to go to the cinema.
Figure 2 Monthly UK cinema admissions, 2017-2021

Admissions (million)
2017 15.0 16.5 16.2 15.6 11.3 9.6 17.8 14.5 10.8 12.1 14.1 17.2 170.6
2018 16.2 16.1 13.5 15.5 13.7 10.4 15.6 19.2 10.1 16.1 14.9 15.7 177.0
2019 13.7 12.2 11.4 16.0 16.6 13.9 18.7 15.6 11.0 16.3 12.2 18.5 176.1
2020 16.5 14.5 4.8 - - - 0.4 2.1 2.7 2.2 0.3 0.5 44.0
2021 - - - - 3.5 7.0 7.8 10.4 6.5 16.4 8.8 13.5 74.0
Source: CAA
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Table 3 shows how admissions in 2021 break down by (both with 11%). In terms of average admissions per head
the television advertising regions used by the of population, cinema-going was highest in Northern
Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA). The Ireland, London and Central Scotland and lowest in the
pattern of attendances by ISBA region in the year is Midlands, Wales and Border regions.
broadly consistent with previous years, despite local
variations in terms of pandemic restrictions following the Overall, the pattern of national and regional admissions
reopening of cinemas from May onwards. has remained largely unchanged over the last decade. It
is worth noting, however, that while London accounts for
The UK’s most populous region, London, accounted for the highest number of attendances each year its share of
the greatest share of admissions (23%) followed by the the total has been on a downward trend; it was 25.5%
Midlands (12%) South and South East, and North West in 2013.
Table 3 Cinema admissions by ISBA TV region, 2021
Region Admissions % Population Admissions

(million) (million) per person
London 16.9 22.8 13.7 1.2

Midlands 8.9 12.0 9.1 1.0
South and South East 8.5 11.4 7.7 1.1
North West 8.3 11.1 7.2 1.2
Yorkshire 6.6 9.0 6.5 1.0
East of England 5.6 7.6 5.0 1.1
Central Scotland 4.7 6.3 3.9 1.2
Wales 3.0 4.1 3.1 1.0
North East 2.9 4.0 2.8 1.1
West 2.5 3.4 2.5 1.0
Northern Ireland 2.5 3.4 1.9 1.3
South West 1.9 2.6 1.8 1.1
Northern Scotland 1.3 1.8 1.3 1.0
Border 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.7
Total 74.0 100.0 67.1 1.1
Source: CAA, Comscore
Figures/percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Figure 3 puts UK admissions in a longer-term 54 million. However, the introduction of multiplex

perspective. Along with the USA and other western cinemas to the UK from 1985 onwards began to reverse
European countries, cinema-going in the UK declined the trend and ushered in a new period of growth which
sharply in the post-war era as incomes rose and new saw admissions gradually returning to levels last seen in
leisure activities became available. The largest the early 1970s. In the decade prior to the COVID-19
competition came from the growth of television, which pandemic (2010-2019) attendances topped 170 million in
allowed audiences to satisfy their appetite for screen six different years, peaking in 2018 with the highest
entertainment in the comfort of their own homes. As admissions since 1970. The onset of the pandemic in the
cinema admissions fell so did the supply of screens, UK in 2020 caused massive disruption to the cinema
which led to further falling demand and more cinema sector: admissions for the year fell to an all-time low of
closures. By the 1980s the number and quality of the 44 million. While the impact of the pandemic continued
remaining cinemas were at an all-time low. The into 2021, admissions began to recover with total tickets
popularisation of the VCR in the same decade had a sales for the year up by more than two-thirds compared
further negative impact on attendances, and by 1984 with 2020.
ticket sales had plummeted to a 50-year low of
14
Figure 3 Annual UK admissions, 1935-2021
Admissions (million)
2001
1971
1941
1977
1947
1965
1983
1992
1974
1962
1968
2007
1938
1944
1950
1953
1980
1935
1986
1989
1995
1956
1959
2013
1998
2004
2010
2016
2019
2021
Year Admissions Year Admissions Year Admissions Year Admissions
(million) (million) (million) (million)
1935 912.3 1957 915.2 1979 111.9 2001 155.9

1936 917.0 1958 754.7 1980 101.0 2002 175.9
1937 946.0 1959 581.0 1981 86.0 2003 167.3
1938 987.0 1960 500.8 1982 64.0 2004 171.3
1939 990.0 1961 449.1 1983 65.7 2005 164.7
1940 1,027.0 1962 395.0 1984 54.0 2006 156.6
1941 1,309.0 1963 357.2 1985 72.0 2007 162.4
1942 1,494.0 1964 342.8 1986 75.5 2008 164.2
1943 1,541.0 1965 326.6 1987 78.5 2009 173.5
1944 1,575.0 1966 288.8 1988 84.0 2010 169.2
1945 1,585.0 1967 264.8 1989 94.5 2011 171.6
1946 1,635.0 1968 237.3 1990 97.4 2012 172.5
1947 1,462.0 1969 214.9 1991 100.3 2013 165.5
1948 1,514.0 1970 193.0 1992 103.6 2014 157.5
1949 1,430.0 1971 176.0 1993 114.4 2015 171.9
1950 1,395.8 1972 156.6 1994 123.5 2016 168.3
1951 1,365.0 1973 134.2 1995 114.6 2017 170.6
1952 1,312.1 1974 138.5 1996 123.5 2018 177.0
1953 1,284.5 1975 116.3 1997 138.9 2019 176.1
1954 1,275.8 1976 103.9 1998 135.2 2020 44.0
1955 1,181.8 1977 103.5 1999 139.1 2021 74.0
1956 1,100.8 1978 126.1 2000 142.5
Source: BFI, CAA, Comscore
15
UK box office earnings
According to Comscore, the total UK box office gross for 2021 was £542 million. This figure covers all box office
earnings during the calendar year 2021 for films exhibited in the UK whose box office takings were tracked by
Comscore. While still below the level of recent pre-pandemic box office earnings, the overall gross for 2021 was
76.5% greater than in 2020.
Table 4 UK box office trends, 2012-2021
Year Box office gross Change on previous year Change since 2012
(£ million) % %
2012 1,099 5.7 -

2013 1,083 -1.5 -1.5
2014 1,063 -1.8 -3.3
2015 1,242 16.8 13.0
2016 1,228 -1.1 11.7
2017 1,279 4.2 16.4
2018 1,282 0.2 16.7
2019 1,254 -2.2 14.1
2020 307 -75.5 -72.1
2021 542 76.5 -50.7
Source: Comscore
Note: Box office for all titles on release in the UK only, including event cinema grosses.
Image: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings © Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
16
£616 million in box office revenues, up from £247 million
Film releases and in 2020, but less than half the box office total generated
in 2019 (£1.3 billion). The figure of £616 million differs
box office revenues in from the £542 million in the previous section because it
includes revenues generated in 2022 by films released in
the UK and Republic 2021 and covers the Republic of Ireland as well as the
UK, which distributors usually treat as a single
of Ireland distribution territory. The subsequent analysis in this
chapter covers all titles released in 2021 (excluding event
cinema releases) and includes revenues generated up to
13 February 2022.
In 2021, 442 films were released for a week or more in
the UK and Republic of Ireland, an increase from 381 in The box office recovery in 2021 is underscored by the
2019, but below the average of over 700 releases seen increase in average earnings for film releases, which rose
between 2012 and 2019 (Figure 4). These films generated from £600,000 in 2020 to £1.4 million.
Figure 4 Revenues and releases at the UK and Republic of Ireland box office, 2012-2021
£ million Number of releases
ox office
B 1,182.4 1,153.7 1,077.8 1,298.4 1,262.0 1,376.9 1,304.8 1,300.9 246.9 616.2
gross
(£ million)
umber of
N 647 698 712 759 821 760 787 764 381 442
releases
Average 1.8 1.7 1.5 1.7 1.5 1.8 1.7 1.7 0.6 1.4
revenue per
release
(£ million)
Source: Comscore, BFI RSU analysis

Note: Figure 4 and all subsequent analysis of the theatrical market includes all titles released in 2021 excluding event cinema. The combined gross reflects the territorial gross
(i.e. including the Republic of Ireland), and includes those titles released in 2021 but also generating revenue into 2022, up to and including 13 February 2022.
17
The market share of the top 50 highest grossing films was relatively stable between 2012 and 2019 accounting on
average for around 75%- 80% of box office revenues (Figure 5). In both 2020 and 2021, however, the box office share
of the top 50 films was 93%, indicating the strength of performance from the major releases in these years. At just
under 98%, the box office share of the top 100 films in 2020 and 2021 was the highest since our records began.
Figure 5 Market share of top 20, 21-50, 51-100 and rest of films, 2012-2021
% share of rest 7.9 9.0 9.6 7.0 7.9 6.7 7.1 6.4 2.4 2.1
% share of 51-100 14.8 17.0 16.3 11.6 16.2 12.3 13.4 11.4 4.5 5.0
% share of of 21-50 22.5 26.0 26.7 24.0 23.0 26.7 24.7 23.2 11.7 19.7
% share of top 20 54.8 48.0 47.4 57.4 52.9 54.3 54.8 59.0 81.4 73.1

Note: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.
18
Figure 6 illustrates the negative impact of the pandemic in 2021, a substantial increase on 2020’s total
on box office earnings in both 2020 and 2021. It does, (£29 million), while those ranked 51-100 earned
however, show an uptick in 2021 compared with 2020. £31 million, up from £11 million in 2020. The combined
The top 20 films in 2021 grossed £451 million, more than box office of all films outside the top 100 was £13 million
double the take for the top 20 earners in 2020 in 2021, up from £6 million in 2020.
(£210 million). The films ranked 21-50 earned £122 million
Figure 6 Gross box office of top 20, 21-50, 51-100 and rest of films, 2012-2021
£ million
Box office of rest (£ million) 92.9 104.0 103.5 90.9 100.2 92.2 93.1 82.9 5.9 13.0
Box office of 51-100 (£ million) 174.9 199.3 175.5 150.3 204.5 170.0 175.1 148.5 11.1 30.9
Box office of 21-50 (£ million) 266.5 299.3 288.1 311.6 289.6 367.2 321.7 302.3 29.0 121.7
Box office of top 20 (£ million) 647.9 551.1 510.7 745.6 667.7 747.1 714.9 767.2 200.9 450.6
19
The slump in box office earnings caused by the pandemic is underscored by Table 5 which shows the drop in median
earnings for all films outside the top 100 in 2020 and 2021.
Table 5 Releases and revenues of films outside the top 100, 2012-2021
Number of films Gross box office (£ million) Median box office (£)
2012 547 92.9 22,073

2013 598 104.0 25,790
2014 612 103.5 22,027
2015 659 90.9 19,743
2016 721 100.2 16,790
2017 660 92.2 23,803
2018 687 93.1 22,154
2019 664 82.9 26,767
2020 281 5.9 8,948
2021 342 13.0 13,003
Widest point of release
Table 6 shows the number of films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2021 by the number of sites at the
widest point of release (WPR). A total of 149 films were shown at 100 sites or over (34% of all films released) while 107
films were shown at fewer than 10 sites (25% of all films released). Two-thirds of all films released in 2021 were shown
at fewer than 100 sites.
Table 6 Number of releases and median box office gross by number of sites at widest point of release, 2021
Number Number of % of Median Minimum Maximum

of sites releases releases box office box office box office
at WPR (£) (£) (£)
≥600 32 7.2 10,139,903 2,052,828 96,665,491

500-599 15 3.4 2,341,029 556,092 9,569,197
400-499 16 3.6 1,212,124 490,034 2,677,765
300-399 20 4.5 513,457 75,861 4,160,505
200-299 18 4.1 197,401 26,116 830,970
100-199 48 10.9 74,940 5,768 904,164
50-99 41 9.3 88,932 3,245 469,899
10-49 145 32.8 16,565 391 468,153
<10 107 24.2 2,308 26 39,080
Total 442 100.0 22,275 26 96,665,491
20
(excluding UK co-productions) represented 29% of
Country of origin of releases (up from 28% in 2020) and accounted for 56%
of total box office gross.
film releases
Films originating outside the UK and USA accounted for
41% of releases (down from 47% in 2020) and 4% of
earnings (down from 11% in 2020). Films from non-UK
As Table 7 shows, 30% (25% in 2020) of all films released European countries represented 21% of all releases and
in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2021 were UK 1.1% of revenues. Films from India accounted for 0.6% of
qualifying films (including co-productions). These films total box office from 11% of releases, and films from the
accounted for 41% of total box office gross, of which UK rest of the world accounted for 2% of total box office
independent films earned 5% and UK studio-backed from 10% of releases.
titles earned 36%. Films originating from the USA
Table 7 Country of origin of films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2021
Country of origin Number of % of Box office gross % of total

releases all releases (£ million) box office
USA 128 29.0 342.4 55.6

UK (studio-backed*) 18 4.1 221.0 35.9
UK (independent) 114 25.8 30.4 4.9
All UK 132 29.9 251.3 40.8
Other Europe 92 20.8 6.7 1.1
India 47 10.6 3.7 0.6
Rest of the world 43 9.7 12.1 2.0
Total 442 100.0 616.2 100.0
Notes:
Percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.
* ‘Studio-backed’ means a film that was wholly or partly financed and controlled by a major US studio but which qualifies as British under the cultural test for film.
21
The changes in market share for films by country of period but was as low as 76.5% in 2014 and 74% in
origin between 2012 and 2021 are shown in Figure 7. 2020. The main reason for the lower figures in these
A significant trend over the period has been a decline in years was the increased share achieved by UK
share for USA-only films, which has been compensated independent releases (16% in 2014; 14% in 2020). In
by an increase in share for UK studio-backed titles. 2021, the aggregate share of USA-only and UK studio-
When combined, the share for these two categories of backed films was at a period high of 91.5%.
film ranged between 84%-87% for the majority of the
Figure 7 Market share by country of origin, 2012-2021
Rest of the world 0.6 0.7 1.1 0.5 0.8 2.3 0.3 0.5 7.8 2.0
India 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.2 0.9 0.6
Other Europe 4.8 3.0 4.9 2.4 3.2 1.5 1.1 1.1 2.7 1.1
UK independent 9.3 6.6 16.1 10.5 7.4 9.6 13.2 13.0 14.2 4.9
UK studio-backed* 22.8 15.5 10.7 34.2 28.5 27.8 32.9 34.1 32.3 35.9
USA 61.3 72.7 65.8 51.1 58.9 57.7 51.3 50.0 42.1 55.6
Source: Comscore, BFI RSU

* ‘UK studio-backed’ means a film that was wholly or partly financed and controlled by a major US studio but which qualifies as British under the cultural test for film.
22
The fluctuating pattern of UK market share is underlined in Figure 8 with the annual total generally dependent on a
small number of high grossing titles. The average share for UK independent films between 2012 and 2021 was 10.5%.
In 2021, however, the share was just under 5%, the lowest of the period. Conversely, at over 36%, the market share for
UK studio-backed films in 2021 was the highest since our records began. Half of the top 10 earning films in the year
were UK studio-backed titles, including No Time to Die (£97 million), Black Widow (£19 million) and Venom: Let There
Be Carnage (£18 million).
Figure 8 UK films’ share of the UK theatrical market, 2012-2021
UK studio-backed* 22.6 22.8 15.5 10.7 34.2 28.5 27.8 32.9 32.3 35.9
UK independent 13.1 9.3 6.6 16.1 10.5 7.4 9.6 13.2 14.2 4.9

23
Table 8 shows the share of UK film releases by box office band from 2012 to 2021. On average, in the years prior to the
pandemic (2012-2019), between 77%-80% of all UK films earned less than £1 million at UK and Republic of Ireland
cinemas. In 2020, this share had risen to 92% but fell to 85% in 2021. In both 2020 and 2021, 4% of UK films earned
£10 million or over, the lowest share since 2014, and only one UK title in each year earned over £20 million, both of
which were the top earning releases of the year: 1917 (£44 million) in 2020 and No Time to Die (£97 million) in 2021.
Table 8 UK qualifying releases by box office band, 2012-2021 (£ million)
≥20 10 – 19.99 5 – 9.99 1 – 4.99 0.1 – 0.99 <0.1 Total
2012 Number 5 3 7 13 32 102 162

% 3.1 1.9 4.3 8.0 19.8 63.0 100.0
2013 Number 4 3 8 14 21 89 139
% 2.8 2.2 5.8 10.1 15.1 64.0 100.0
2014 Number 3 3 9 21 28 90 154
% 1.9 1.9 5.8 13.6 18.2 58.4 100.0
2015 Number 7 8 7 20 28 139 209
% 3.3 3.8 3.3 9.6 13.4 66.5 100.0
2016 Number 6 5 10 17 16 122 176
% 3.4 2.8 5.7 9.7 9.1 69.3 100.0
2017 Number 7 6 5 20 28 93 159
% 4.4 3.8 3.1 12.6 17.6 58.5 100.0
2018 Number 9 6 9 20 48 105 197
% 4.6 3.0 4.6 10.2 24.4 53.3 100.0
2019 Number 9 7 8 20 30 117 191
% 4.7 3.7 4.2 10.5 15.7 61.3 100.0
2020 Number 1 3 2 2 18 70 96
% 1.0 3.1 2.1 2.1 18.8 72.9 100.0
2021 Number 1 4 5 10 27 85 132
% 0.8 3.0 3.8 7.6 20.5 64.4 100.0
24
TOP FILMS
IN 2021
Image: No Time to Die © 2020 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FACTS IN FOCUS
Five of the top 10 films released at the UK and Republic of
Ireland box office in 2021 were UK qualifying productions. The
list is headed by the latest James Bond outing No Time to Die
which became the third highest earning film of all time in the
UK with gross receipts of £97 million.
— Five films earned £20 million or over at — Foreign language films made £11 million
the UK and Republic of Ireland box office at the UK and Republic of Ireland box
in 2021, up from one in 2020, but down office from 142 releases. The top earning
from 17 in 2019. foreign language release was Demon
Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train (in
— Seven UK qualifying films featured in the Japanese).
top 20 films of the year, all UK/USA
studio-backed films. — Feature documentaries made £2 million
at the UK and Republic of Ireland box
— The French Dispatch, with takings of office from 69 releases. The top earning
£4 million, was the highest earning UK documentary release was Summer of
independent film of the year. Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could
Not Be Televised).
— The top 20 UK films made £238 million
(£113 million in 2020; £527 million in — Action was the highest grossing genre of
2019), 39% of the total box office. the year with takings of £297 million. The
top earning action title was No Time to Die.
— The top 20 UK independent films made
£27 million (£34 million in 2020; — There were more ‘15’ releases than any
£145 million in 2019), 4% of the total other classification, but ‘12A’ films
box office. generated the largest single share of the
box office.
— Six UK qualifying films spent a total of 14
weeks at the top of the UK and Republic
of Ireland weekend box office charts.
26
Top films in 2021
The top 20 films total of 17 in 2019. The top 20 films in 2021 had a
combined gross of £451 million, which accounted for
72% of the total UK and Republic of Ireland box office. In
2020, the top 20 films earned £201 million (80% of the
The top performing cinema release in the UK and total gross), and in 2019 they earned £767 million (59%).
Republic of Ireland in 2021 was No Time to Die with
earnings (to 13 February 2022) of just under £97 million Seven of the top 20 releases in 2021 were UK qualifying
(Table 1). The 25th outing in the James Bond franchise films (the same as in 2020, but down from nine in 2019),
– one of a host of big-tent releases rescheduled from all of which were UK studio-backed productions.
2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic – became the third Sequels and franchise films accounted for 16 of the top
highest grossing film of all time at the UK and Republic 20 titles compared with five in 2020 and 16 in 2019.
of Ireland box office, behind 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Action and comedy were the two most popular genres,
Awakens (£123 million) and 2012’s Skyfall (£103 million). both in terms of number of releases and box office
The second most popular release of the year was takings. Action accounted for seven titles, including No
Spider-Man: No Way Home with earnings (to 13 February Time to Die, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Shang-Chi
2022) of just under £93 million, a figure which ordinarily and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which between them
would have seen it top the annual chart. The top two earned £278 million, while comedy had three releases
films alone accounted for almost one third (31%) of the - Free Guy, Space Jam: A New Legacy and Ghostbusters:
year’s total theatrical gross. Afterlife - which grossed £41 million.
Five films earned £20 million or over in 2021, up from

only one in 2020 but significantly below a pre-pandemic
Image: The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard courtesy of Lionsgate Films
27
Table 1 Box office results for the top 20 films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2021
Rank Title Country Box office Widest Opening Distributor
of origin gross point of weekend
(£ million) release gross
(£ million)
1 No Time to Die* UK/USA 96.7 791 25.8 Universal

2 Spider-Man: No Way Home* USA 92.8# 694 31.9 Sony
3 Dune* USA/Can 22.0 691 5.9 Warner Bros
4 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings USA/Aus 21.3 671 5.8 Walt Disney
5 Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway* Aus/USA 20.5 648 4.6 Sony
6 Black Widow UK/USA 18.8 653 7.0 Walt Disney
7 Venom: Let There Be Carnage UK/USA 18.1 610 6.2 Sony
8 Free Guy USA 16.9 655 2.6 Walt Disney
9 Fast & Furious 9 UK/USA 16.5 614 6.1 Universal
10 Eternals UK/USA 14.9 651 5.5 Walt Disney
11 The Suicide Squad USA 14.3 649 3.3 Warner Bros
12 Space Jam: A New Legacy USA 12.9 640 1.4 Warner Bros
13 Jungle Cruise USA 12.5 612 2.3 Walt Disney
14 A Quiet Place Part II USA 11.8 625 3.6 Paramount
15 Ghostbusters: Afterlife* USA/Can 11.5 662 4.3 Sony
16 The Addams Family 2* USA/Can 10.3 676 2.0 Universal
17 The Croods: A New Age USA 10.0 659 0.7 Universal
18 House of Gucci* UK/USA 9.9 712 2.4 Universal
19 The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It USA 9.6 516 2.7 Warner Bros
20 Cruella UK/USA 9.5 585 1.5 Walt Disney
Notes:
Box office gross = cumulative total up to 13 February 2022.
* Film still on release on 13 February 2022.
# At the time of writing (August 2022), earnings for Spider-Man: No Way Home had surpassed £96 million, making it the fourth highest grossing film of all time at the UK and
Republic of Ireland box office.
28
were studio-backed productions. Seven of the top 20
The top 20 UK films titles were UK independent films, down from 15 in 2020
and eight in 2019. These seven titles accounted for 8% of
the total box office for the top 20 UK films, down from
30% in 2020 (when the shortfall in the number of studio
The top 20 UK qualifying films of 2021 had a combined releases due to the COVID crisis meant independent UK
gross of £238 million, which was 39% of the total UK and films took a greater than usual share of the box office)
Republic of Ireland box office (Table 2). This is just over and 19% in 2019.
double the £113 million earned by the top 20 UK films
released in 2020 (46% of the total box office), but less The number of genres in the top 20 illustrates the range
than half of the £527 million grossed in 2019 (41% of the of UK film production. Action, with a combined box office
total box office). of £158 million from five titles (including the top earning
film of the year, No Time to Die), was the highest earning
Five UK films earned over £10 million in 2021, compared genre, while eight other genres were represented:
with four in 2020 and 16 in 2019. The top 20 list is animation, biopic, comedy, family, fantasy, horror,
dominated by UK/USA collaborations, most of which musical, and sci-fi.
Table 2 Box office results for the top 20 UK films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2021

(£ million)
1 No Time to Die* UK/USA 96.7 791 25.8 Universal

2 Black Widow UK/USA 18.8 653 7.0 Walt Disney
3 Venom: Let There Be Carnage UK/USA 18.1 610 6.2 Sony
4 Fast & Furious 9 UK/USA 16.5 614 6.1 Universal
5 Eternals UK/USA 14.9 651 5.5 Walt Disney
6 House of Gucci* UK/USA 9.9 712 2.4 Universal
7 Cruella UK/USA 9.5 585 1.5 Walt Disney
8 Clifford the Big Red Dog* UK/USA/Can 9.0 646 1.3 Entertainment One
9 The King’s Man* UK/USA 8.0 640 3.5 Walt Disney
10 The Matrix Resurrections* UK/USA 7.6 645 2.7 Warner Bros
11 Ron’s Gone Wrong* UK/USA 4.7 602 0.9 Walt Disney
12 The French Dispatch* UK/USA# 4.2 367 0.9 Walt Disney
13 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard UK/USA #
3.8 525 1.6 Lionsgate
14 Spirit Untamed* UK/USA 3.4 568 0.6 Universal
15 Spencer UK/Deu/USA# 2.8 650 0.5 STX Entertainment
16 People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan UK 2.3 446 0.9 Universal
17 Last Night in Soho* UK/USA #
2.3 514 0.7 Universal
18 The Father UK/Fra 2.1 634 0.4 Lionsgate
19 The Courier UK 2.0 442 0.3 Lionsgate
20 Tom & Jerry: The Movie* UK/USA 1.3 410 <0.1 Warner Bros
Notes:
# Film made with independent (non-studio) US support or with the independent arm of a US studio.
29
£4 million. The film is one of a number of inward
The top 20 UK investment titles in the top 20. (Other films in this
category include The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, 83 and
independent films Chal Mera Putt 3.)
Generating £12 million from six releases, comedy was

the biggest earning genre across the top 20 while drama
The top 20 UK independent films of 2021, shown in titles made up the greatest number of releases (eight).
Table 3, had a combined gross of £27 million (compared Comedies included the two top grossing titles The
with £34 million in 2020 and £145 million in 2019). These French Dispatch and The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard,
films accounted for 4% of the overall UK and Republic of while drama releases included The Father and
Ireland box office, down from 14% in 2020 and 11% Supernova. The list also includes two biopics, two
in 2019. thrillers, one family title and one romance.
The top grossing UK independent film in 2021 was The

French Dispatch with earnings (to 13 February 2022) of
Table 3 Box office results for the top 20 UK qualifying independent films released in the UK and Republic of
Ireland, 2021
(£ million)
1 The French Dispatch* UK/USA# 4.2 367 0.9 Walt Disney

2 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard UK/USA# 3.8 525 1.6 Lionsgate
3 Spencer UK/Deu/USA# 2.8 650 0.5 STX Entertainment
4 People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan UK 2.3 446 0.9 Universal
5 Last Night in Soho* UK/USA #
2.3 514 0.7 Universal
6 The Father UK/Fra 2.1 634 0.4 Lionsgate
7 The Courier UK 2.0 442 0.3 Lionsgate
8 A Boy Called Christmas UK/USA #
0.8 240 0.1 Sky Cinema
9 Supernova UK 0.8 374 0.2 StudioCanal
10 The Last Letter from Your Lover UK/Can/Fra 0.8 549 0.3 StudioCanal
11 Dream Horse UK 0.7 542 0.2 Warner Bros
12 Boxing Day UK 0.7 441 0.3 Warner Bros
13 83 UK/Ind 0.6 124 0.2 Reliance Big Entertainment
14 Mothering Sunday UK 0.5 170 0.2 Lionsgate
15 The Nest UK/Can 0.5 131 0.1 Picturehouse Entertainment
16 The Last Bus UK 0.5 148 0.1 Parkland Entertainment
17 The Electrical Life of Louis Wain* UK/USA #
0.4 273 0.1 StudioCanal
18 Chal Mera Putt 3 UK/Ind 0.4 54 0.2 Rhythm Boyz Entertainment
19 Off the Rails UK 0.4 332 0.1 Munro Film Services
20 Limbo UK 0.3 76 0.1 MUBI
Notes:
30
box office charts over this period. Six of these were UK
Best weekend qualifying titles, which spent a total of 14 weeks at
number one (Table 4). In 2020, when cinemas were fully
performances of open for 31 weeks, six UK films held the top spot for a
total of 17 weeks.
UK films
No Time to Die, Daniel Craig’s final outing as James
Bond, topped the weekend charts for longer than any
other UK film in 2021. Its four weeks at the top were not
The imposition of a second months-long national consecutive, however; after three weeks at number one,
lockdown at the start of 2021 meant cinemas were it was knocked off the top spot for one week by the sci-fi
closed for a significant part of the year. In total, there epic Dune but returned to head the chart for a final week
were only 33 weeks when a majority of cinemas were on its fifth weekend on release. The only UK independent
able to open (including periods when venues were film to top the weekend charts in the year was The
operating at reduced capacity due to rules on social Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which held the top spot for
distancing). A total of 16 films topped the UK weekend one week.
Table 4 UK films at number one in the weekend box office charts, 2021
Title First week Opening Box office Distributor Number of

at top weekend gross weeks at
gross (£ million) number one
(£ million)*
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard 18/06/2021 1.6 3.8 Lionsgate 1

Fast & Furious 9 25/06/2021 6.1 16.5 Universal 2
Black Widow 09/07/2021 7.0 18.8 Walt Disney 3
No Time to Die 01/10/2021 25.8 96.7 Universal 4
Eternals 05/11/2021 5.5 14.9 Walt Disney 2
House of Gucci 26/11/2021 2.4 9.9 Universal 2
Notes:
* Includes theatrical grosses generated over the three-day weekend plus revenues from any previews.
Only includes films shown during periods when a majority of cinemas were open, even if under social distancing regulations.
earned £12 million. (In 2019, foreign language films

Non-English generated 2% of overall box office.)
language films There were 142 foreign language film releases in 2021,
down from 145 in 2020 and 326 in 2019. After English,
the most common language in terms of number of
releases was Punjabi (18 releases) but Japanese was the
Films in 35 different languages (including English and highest earning non-English language with an overall
Irish) were released in the UK and Republic of Ireland in gross of £2.2 million. Foreign language films were
2021 (Table 5), slightly more than in 2020 (33) but fewer shown, on average, at 43 sites at their widest point of
than in 2019 (42). release compared to an average of 183 for English
language films.
Foreign language films accounted for 33% of all
theatrical releases in the year and earned £11 million (2% One Irish language film was released during the year –
of overall box office gross). In 2020, these films Arracht – a period drama set during the Irish Potato
accounted for 8% of total box earnings, but this was Famine.
primarily due to the success of one film, the Oscar®
winning black comedy Parasite (in Korean) which alone
31
Table 5 Languages of films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2021 (ranked by gross box office)
Rank Main language Number of releases Box office gross (£ million) Box office share (%)
English 300 605.3 98.2

1 Japanese 13 2.2 0.4
2 Hindi 11 1.8 0.3
3 Punjabi 18 1.8 0.3
4 Danish 4 1.0 0.2
5 Polish 12 0.9 0.1
6 French 14 0.8 0.1
7 Telugu 10 0.5 0.1
8 Malayalam 6 0.4 0.1
9 Tamil 7 0.4 0.1
10 German 8 0.3 0.1
Other (24 languages) 39 0.8 0.1
Source: Comscore, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysis
Note: Figures as at 13 February 2022.
Image: 83 courtesy of Reliance Big Entertainment
32
Table 6 shows the top 20 foreign language films in the Eleven of the top 20 titles are in languages from the
UK and Republic of Ireland in 2021. In recent years Hindi Indian sub-continent, two of which are India/UK
language films have dominated this category in terms of collaborations – the cricket drama, 83 (in Hindi) and the
box office so have been shown in a separate chart. comedy Chal Mera Putt 3 (in Punjabi). Both of these films
As this was not the case in 2021, releases in Hindi made extensive use of UK locations. Overall the top 20
are included in the table with all other non-English includes four films in Punjabi, three in Hindi, two in
language films. Malayalam and one each in Tamil and Telugu. Six of the
top 20 titles are in European languages, the top grossing
The top earning release not in the English language in of which is the 2020 Oscar® and BAFTA winning comedy
2021 was the Japanese anime Demon Slayer the Movie: drama Another Round (in Danish).
Mugen Train with earnings of £1.2 million. The film was
the only foreign language title to break the £1 million
barrier and is one of three Japanese films in the top 20.
Table 6 Top 20 foreign language films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2021
Rank Title Country Box office Distributor Main

of origin gross language
(£ million)
1 Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train Jpn 1.23 Sony Japanese
2 Another Round Dnk/Swe/Nld 0.90 StudioCanal Danish
3 83 UK/Ind 0.59 Reliance Big Entertainment Hindi
4 Sooryavanshi Ind 0.58 Reliance Big Entertainment Hindi
5 Honsla Rakh Ind 0.47 White Hill Studios Punjabi
6 Chal Mera Putt 3 UK/Ind 0.40 Rhythm Boyz Entertainment Punjabi
7 My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission Jpn 0.37 Sony Japanese
8 Qismat 2 Ind 0.33 Zee Studios International Punjabi
9 Dziewczyny z Dubaju Pol 0.32 Phoenix Polish
10 Petite Maman Fra 0.30 MUBI French
11 Titane* Fra/Bel 0.26 Altitude French
12 Kurup Ind 0.24 RFT Films Malayalam
13 Puaada Ind 0.22 Zee Studios International Punjabi
14 Moonbound Deu/Aut 0.21 Signature Entertainment German
15 Tadap Ind 0.19 Walt Disney Hindi
16 Annaatthe Ind 0.19 Qube Cinema Tamil
17 Pushpa: The Rise Ind 0.16 Sun Media Telugu
18 Drive My Car Jpn 0.16 Modern Films Japanese
19 Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea Ind 0.14 Sun Media Malayalam
20 The Truffle Hunters Ita/Gre/USA 0.14 Sony Italian
Source: Comscore, BBFC, IMDb, BFI RSU analysis, distributor websites
Notes:
Figures as at 13 February 2022.
* Film still on release on 13 February 2022
Box office grosses are shown to two decimal places to better distinguish between titles.
33
Four of the top 10 titles, including The Sparks Brothers,
Documentaries are UK qualifying productions. One of the films, The
Truffle Hunters, also appears in the top 20 foreign
language releases of the year.
The highest grossing feature documentary released at In total, 69 feature documentaries were released at the
the UK and Republic of Ireland box office in 2021 was UK box office in 2021, representing 16% of all theatrical
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be releases. This was up from 2020 when 42 feature
Televised), with earnings of just over £500,000 (Table 7). documentaries were released (11% of all releases) but
The film, which explores the legacy of the 1969 Harlem below the pre-pandemic figure of 99 releases (13% of the
Cultural Festival, features concert performances from total) in 2019. These films earned £2.1 million, which
many of the top soul and gospel music acts of the time, equates to 0.3% of the overall box office gross, up from
including Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King and Nina Simone. £0.4 million in 2020 (0.2% of total box office) but less
Three other films in the top 10 centre around concert than the £7.8 million (0.6% of total box office) generated
footage: the biographical films The Sparks Brothers and in 2019. Coverage includes both concert and non-
Phil Lynott: Songs for While I’m Away, and the re-release concert films but excludes event cinema releases; for
of the 1959 film Jazz on a Summer’s Day, which is set in further information see the Exhibition chapter.
and around the previous year’s Newport Jazz Festival.
Table 7 Top 10 feature documentaries released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2021
Rank Title Country Box office Widest point Distributor

of origin gross of release
(£ million) (sites)
1 Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution USA 0.51 142 Walt Disney
Could Not Be Televised)
2 The Alpinist Aus/USA 0.31 108 Dogwoof
3 The Sparks Brothers UK/USA 0.25 86 Universal
4 The Truffle Hunters Ita/Gre/USA 0.14 38 Sony
5 Phil Lynott: Songs For While I’m Away Ire 0.11* 36 Break Out Pictures
6 The Rescue UK/USA 0.09 19 Dogwoof
7 The Reason I Jump UK/USA 0.08 52 Picturehouse Entertainment
8 Quant UK 0.07 140 Studio Soho
9 Jazz on a Summer’s Day (1959) USA 0.04 98 Curzon
10 The Lost Leonardo Dnk/Swe/Fra 0.04 31 Dogwoof
Notes:
* This gross only covers the 2021 theatrical release in the Republic of Ireland. The film was released in the UK in 2020 (where it grossed £0.01 million).
re-releases, the UK studio-backed title Harry Potter and

Re-releases the Philosopher’s Stone (£1.3 million) and the American
comedy Elf (£630,000). These two titles exemplify the
main factors behind a decision to re-release a title
theatrically. In general, films are re-issued to coincide
In 2021, 60 classic or contemporary titles were re- with significant milestones – 2021 was the 20th
released in the UK and Republic of Ireland, up from 48 in anniversary of the launch of the first film in the
2020 and 41 in 2019. According to Comscore, these films blockbuster Harry Potter franchise – or become regular
accounted for 14% of the year’s theatrical releases (13% fixtures in a seasonal release schedule, as with
in 2020, 5% in 2019) and grossed £3.8 million, 0.6% of Christmas favourite Elf.
the total box office. It should be noted that these figures
only cover mainstream re-releases tracked by Comscore; In addition to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,
they do not include one-off or limited season screenings there are two further UK qualifying films in the top 10 list
shown by individual venues or festivals. – Love Actually and A Clockwork Orange – both of which
are also studio-backed titles (Table 8).
Over half (52%) of the total box office for this category in
2021 was generated by the year’s two top grossing
34
Table 8 Top 10 film re-releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2021
Rank Title (year of original release) Country Box office Widest point Distributor
of origin gross of release
(£ million) (sites)
1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) UK/USA 1.33 498 Warner Bros
2 Elf (2003) USA 0.63 480 Park Circus
3 It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) USA 0.34 226 Park Circus
4 The Matrix (1999) USA 0.20 370 Warner Bros
5 Scream (1996) USA 0.16 305 Paramount
6 Rocky IV (1985) USA 0.11 223 Park Circus
7 Dune (1984) USA 0.08 337 Lionsgate
8 Love Actually (2003) UK/USA/Fra 0.07 100 Park Circus
9 The Grinch (2000) USA 0.07 98 Park Circus
10 A Clockwork Orange (1972) UK/USA 0.06 249 Warner Bros
Notes:
Genre in the Statistical Yearbook

For statistical purposes, the BFI Research and Statistics Unit assigns a primary genre to every film released in
the UK. This is not meant to be prescriptive but helps gauge the relative popularity of different genres on a
consistent basis from year to year. The list of genres is based on conventions commonly used within the
industry and by published sources such as the BFI’s Collections Information Database, the British Board of Film
Classification (BBFC), the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) and distributors’ websites.
Releases and box office by genre
Table 9 shows the relative popularity of different genres at the box office in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2021. The
pattern of box office by genre each year is usually determined by a small number of high grossing releases. For the
seventh consecutive year, action was the top earning genre with a total gross of £297 million. The two highest earning
films of the year, No Time to Die and Spider-Man: No Way Home, were both action titles and their combined box office
take (to 13 February 2022) represented 64% of the genre’s overall gross. Drama had the largest share of releases
(30%) but earned only 3% of the total box office gross.
Table 9 also shows the average number of sites at the widest point of release (WPR) for each genre. The top genre by
WPR in 2021 was sci-fi (420) followed by biopic (345) and musical (313). For all three of these genres the average
WPRs are based on low numbers of releases, many of which were heavily promoted by the major US studios. The
sci-fi films included Dune (WPR of 691) and The Matrix Resurrections (645); the biopic titles included House of Gucci
(WPR of 712) and Spencer (650); and the musicals included West Side Story (WPR of 683) and In the Heights (638). At
the opposite end of the scale, the average WPR for the documentary genre was 22. The feature documentary with the
widest release was Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) with a WPR of 142.
Five of the top performing titles by genre are UK qualifying productions which highlights the variety of story types for
successful British films. Three of the films are studio-backed productions – No Time to Die, Eternals and House of
Gucci – and two are independent titles – The Last Letter from Your Lover and Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins.
35
Table 9 Films released in the UK and Republic of Ireland by genre, 2021 (ranked by gross box office)
Genre Number of % of Box office % of Average number Top performing title

releases releases gross total of sites at
(£ million) box office widest point
of release
Action 52 11.8 296.7 48.2 210 No Time to Die

Comedy 54 12.2 65.1 10.6 138 Free Guy
Animation 38 8.6 58.2 9.4 260 The Addams Family 2
Horror 24 5.4 40.8 6.6 277 A Quiet Place Part II
Family 8 1.8 29.6 4.8 187 Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway
Sci fi 4 0.9 29.6 4.8 420 Dune
Drama 134 30.3 20.6 3.3 78 Nomadland
Musical 8 1.8 15.5 2.5 313 West Side Story
Adventure 6 1.4 15.2 2.5 243 Jungle Cruise
Fantasy 3 0.7 14.9 2.4 263 Eternals
Biopic 5 1.1 13.4 2.2 345 House of Gucci
Thriller 10 2.3 8.2 1.3 173 The Forever Purge
Suspense 12 2.7 4.5 0.7 117 Old
Documentary 69 15.6 2.1 0.3 22 Summer of Soul (...Or, When
the Revolution Could
Not Be Televised)
Romance 13 2.9 1.5 0.2 77 The Last Letter from Your Lover
Crime 2 0.5 0.3 <0.1 137 Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins
Total 442 100.0 616.2 100.0 138
Note: Figures/percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.
BBFC classification
All films in the UK must carry a classification indicating their suitability for exhibition in premises licensed for
cinematic exhibition by local authorities. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) provides age ratings for
the majority of films aimed at theatrical release, although local authorities may grant their own classification if
they decide to do so.
The symbols used by the BBFC, and their meanings, are given below.
U (Universal) Suitable for all
PG (Parental Guidance) General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young
children
12A No-one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema
unless accompanied by an adult
15 No-one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema
18 No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema
36
Releases and box office
by BBFC classification
Table 10 shows a breakdown of 2021 releases by BBFC film classification. It shows that, as in most years, more ‘15’
films (42%) were released than any other category while the largest share of box office gross was earned by ‘12A’
films (60%).
Table 10 All releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland by BBFC film classification, 2021
Number of % of all Box office % of Top performing title

releases UK releases gross gross box
(£ million) office
U 30 6.8 58.2 9.4 Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway
PG 50 11.3 52.5 8.5 The Addams Family 2
12A 137 31.0 367.3 59.6 No Time to Die
15 186 42.1 124.0 20.1 Venom: Let There Be Carnage
18 36 8.1 14.2 2.3 Halloween Kills
No classification 3 0.7 <0.1 <0.1 Kunjeldho
Total 442 100.0 616.2 100.0
Source: Comscore, BBFC, BFI RSU analysis
Figures 1 and 2 show a comparison of the share of 66% of total box office for UK films but was 34.5% for
releases and gross box office by BBFC classification for UK independent films. Eight of the top 10 highest earning
all films, UK films and UK independent films in 2021. The films in 2021 were ‘12A’ titles, including the year’s two
top two classifications by share of releases were the stand-out box office earners, No Time to Die and Spider-
same across all three categories of film, with the ‘15’ Man: No Way Home. (The top earning UK independent
rating accounting for the highest proportion of releases, film with a ‘12A’ rating was Spencer which ranked at 34
followed by ‘12A’. However, the highest earning in the overall box office chart.) The ‘15’ classification
classifications differed between the film categories. For generated 47% of the total gross earned by UK
both all films and UK films the ‘12A’ rating was the top independent films in 2021 compared with 20% for all
earner followed by ‘15’, while for UK independent films films and 23% for UK films. Four of the top 10 UK
the reverse was true with ‘15’ the top earning independent films were ‘15’ rated releases, including the
classification followed by ‘12A’. category’s top two earners, The French Dispatch and The
Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.
As previously noted, films with a ‘12A’ classification
generated 60% of total box office for all films; this rose to
37
Figure 1 Percentage of releases by BBFC film classification for all films, UK films and UK independent films,
2021
%
All film 6.8 11.3 31.0 42.1 8.1

UK film 3.0 12.9 32.6 40.9 10.6
UK independent film 2.6 10.5 32.5 43.0 11.4
Figure 2 Percentage of gross box office by BBFC film classification for all films, UK films and UK independent
films, 2021
%
All film 9.4 8.5 59.6 20.1 2.3

UK film 1.4 7.5 66.4 23.2 1.5
UK independent film 0.1 8.6 34.5 47.4 9.4
38
The pattern of releases by classification was fairly consistent between 2012 and 2021 (Figure 3). The ‘15’ rating was
the most common classification each year, followed by ‘12A’ and ‘PG’. The share of releases for films rated ‘15’ over
the period was mainly around 42%-45%, while the ‘12A’ and ‘PG’ ratings together accounted for a similar share. Since
2012, the slow decline in the ‘PG’ classification has been compensated by a rising trend in the ‘12A’ rating. The ‘U’ and
‘18’ classifications accounted for the smallest percentages of releases over the period.
Figure 3 Percentage of releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland by film classification, 2012-2021
%
U 5.4 6.4 7.0 5.3 3.5 4.5 5.6 4.1 5.0 6.8
PG 13.3 11.3 13.3 10.7 12.4 12.6 13.0 12.6 10.8 11.3
12A 28.7 32.2 29.5 31.1 34.5 36.4 33.5 32.5 35.2 31.0
15 42.8 38.4 42.7 44.8 44.1 39.1 41.8 44.9 42.8 42.1
18 7.4 10.5 6.3 6.9 4.4 6.3 5.2 4.6 6.3 8.1
39
As Figure 4 shows, while the shares of box office by film classification vary from year to year, the rankings of the
classifications by box office have been broadly consistent. Between 2012 and 2021, the ‘12A’ rating was the top
earner, apart from in 2020, while the ‘18’ rating was the lowest earner. (The drop in share for ‘12A’ films in 2020 is
primarily related to the reduction in the number of big budget studio titles released in the year which typically include a
significant proportion of high earning films with a ‘12A’ rating.) With the exception of 2018 (when it was third) and 2020
(when it was first) the ‘15’ rating was the second highest earning classification over the period. The ‘PG’ and ‘U’ ratings
swapped third and fourth place throughout the period, again with the exception of 2020 (when ‘PG’ rated films were
the second highest earning classification), although this was due primarily to the fall in the share for ‘12A’ films.
Figure 4 Percentage of gross box office of releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland by film classification,
2012-2021
%
U 10.3 16.3 11.8 15.1 12.0 15.6 9.4 17.1 8.7 9.4
PG 13.7 10.7 11.9 6.3 15.7 14.1 25.2 21.8 21.8 8.5
12A 51.8 45.5 44.3 55.7 39.8 43.9 40.7 36.4 17.1 59.6
15 22.3 24.4 27.2 18.7 31.7 22.3 22.1 22.3 46.9 20.1
18 1.9 3.0 4.7 4.3 0.8 4.0 2.6 2.4 5.5 2.3
40
UK FILMS
AND TALENT
WORLDWIDE
Image: Venom: Let There Be Carnage ©2021 CTMG, Inc. All rights reserved
FACTS IN FOCUS
UK qualifying films released in 2021 earned 19% of box office
receipts (to 13 February 2022) from 23 major markets, while
UK films and filmmakers won 17% of available prizes from a
selection of leading international awards ceremonies and film
festivals in 2021/22.
— UK qualifying films released in 2021 in the — UK independent films took 2% (4% in
23 major territories tracked by Comscore 2020) of the North American box office
earned a box office gross of $3.6 billion and 2.5% (4% in 2020) of the box office in
(to 13 February 2022), up from $1.1 billion Europe (eight major territories, excluding
for films released in 2020. the UK and Republic of Ireland). Overall,
New Zealand had the highest share for
— UK independent films earned $281 million independent UK titles at 9% (14% in 2020).
from these territories, a 1.5% share of
total box office for these markets (down — Of the 200 highest earning films released
from 3% in 2020). worldwide between 2012 and 2021, 23
are based on stories and characters
— The highest earning UK qualifying film created by UK writers. Together these
across the 23 territories was Fast & films have earned $15 billion at the global
Furious 9 with earnings of $628 million; box office.
however, the highest earning UK
qualifying film across all global territories — British actors have played lead and/or
was No Time to Die with a gross of supporting roles in 67% of the 200
$774 million. highest earning films from 2012-2021.
— The highest earning UK independent film — UK directors were behind 28 of the 200
across the 23 territories was The Hitman’s highest earning films worldwide from
Wife’s Bodyguard with earnings of 2012-2021.
$66 million; this was also the highest
earning UK independent film across all — UK films and British talent won 23 major
global territories with an overall gross of film awards in 2021/22, including 10
$70 million. BAFTAs and six Oscars®.
42
UK films and
talent worldwide
UK films at the global This year, our coverage of studio-backed and
independent UK films across worldwide markets is
box office based solely on the Comscore dataset but to provide a
comparison with data from previous editions of the
Yearbook, Table 1 details the overall global box office
between 2017 and 2021 based on the 64-territory
In previous editions of the Statistical Yearbook we have Omdia total.
reported data on the performance of UK qualifying films
at the worldwide box office by category based on an As the Omdia data show, there was a strong recovery in
analysis of 64 territories tracked by Omdia and an the global theatrical market in 2021 as countries began
analysis of 23 territories (including the UK and Republic to move away from the restrictions on movement and
of Ireland) tracked by Comscore, the latter of which gatherings put in place to combat the COVID-19
provides title-matched box office data for these markets. pandemic. The estimated global box office for all titles on
The 23 territories covered by Comscore account for the release in the year was $20.8 billion, almost double the
majority of the global theatrical market each year (87% total for 2020 ($11.6 billion), but still significantly lower
on average between 2017 and 2021). In addition to the than in 2019 ($41.7 billion).
UK and Republic of Ireland, these territories are
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Chile, China,
Colombia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan,
Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand,
Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, and the
USA and Canada.
Table 1 Global box office, 2017-2021
Year Global box office (US$ billion)
2017 40.3
2018 41.5
2019 41.7
2020 11.6
2021 20.8
Source: Omdia
Notes:
‘Global box office’ here is a total of the theatrical earnings from the 64 territories reported by Omdia.
Box office earnings are from all titles on release in a given year.
43
Image: The Father courtesy of Lionsgate Films
UK qualifying films released in 2021 earned a total gross UK source material) grossed $3.3 billion in 2021 (17.5%
of $3.6 billion (to 13 February 2022) across the 23 of the total box office for these markets), up from
markets tracked by Comscore, 19% of the overall box $850 million in 2020 but significantly below the
office for these territories (Table 2). The percentage of $9.2 billion earned in 2019, while UK independent films
total box office generated by UK films is up from 13% in earned $282 million (1.5% of the total box office), up from
2020 but less than the 29% achieved in 2019 which was $243 million in 2020 but down from $1.0 billion in 2019.
the highest share of the period 2017-2021.
These market shares include box office takings in the UK
UK studio-backed films (UK films wholly or partly and Republic of Ireland release territory (where in 2021,
financed and controlled by US studios but featuring UK UK studio-backed films had a 36% share of the box
cast, crew, locations, facilities, post-production and often office and UK independent films had 5%).
Table 2 UK films worldwide market share, 23 territories, new film releases, 2017-2021
Year Worldwide UK films UK share UK studio-backed* UK independent

theatrical market worldwide box (%) films share films share
(US$ billion) office gross (%) (%)
(US$ billion)
2017 33.6 8.2 24.4 22.0 2.4

2018 34.4 9.4 27.4 23.5 3.9
2019 35.8 10.3 28.7 25.8 2.9
2020 8.4 1.1 13.0 10.1 2.9
2021 18.9 3.6 19.0 17.5 1.5
Notes:
‘Worldwide theatrical market’ and ‘worldwide box office gross’ here are the total of takings from 23 distribution territories (including the UK and Republic of Ireland) and is
cumulative gross box office for all films released in each year up to 13 February 2022.
Figures have been updated for all years, as previous editions of the Statistical Yearbook reported a ‘global theatrical market’ value which included more territories than the
23 covered here.
44
The annual worldwide market share for UK films is The annual market share for UK independent films in the
closely aligned with the success of inward investment 23 territories has been more consistent over the period.
titles supported by the major Hollywood studios. The Between 2017 and 2021, the peak in box office share for
proportion of total box office achieved by studio- these films was in 2018 (4%) when the top earning
backed films fluctuates from year to year and is largely releases included Red Sparrow ($115.5 million) and
dependent on the performance of a small number of Johnny English Strikes Again ($112 million). The share of
titles. As Figure 1 shows, between 2017 and 2021, the box office achieved by UK independent films in 2021
share of box office achieved by UK studio-backed (1.5%) was the lowest of the period. Interestingly, the top
productions in the 23 markets covered by Comscore 10 grossing titles in this category in 2021 earned a total
peaked at 26% in 2019 when the top earning releases of $222 million across the 23 markets, less than the
were Avengers: Endgame ($2.4 billion) and The Lion King combined earnings of the top two UK independent film
($1.4 billion). releases of 2018.
Figure 1 UK films market share in selected worldwide territories, 2017-2021

%
UK share (%) 24.4 27.4 28.7 13.0 19.0

UK studio-backed films* share (%) 22.0 23.5 25.8 10.1 17.5
UK independent films share (%) 2.5 3.9 2.9 2.9 1.5
See note to Table 2.
45
The highest grossing UK qualifying film released in 2021 All of the top 10 grossing UK films were studio-backed
across the 23 territories tracked by Comscore was the titles and, with the exception of House of Gucci and
action title Fast & Furious 9, with earnings (to 13 February Wrath of Man, were franchise films or based on
2022) of $628 million (Table 3). The film is narrowly ahead established properties. The top earning independent UK
of the latest 007 outing No Time to Die which grossed film across the selected territories in 2021, The Hitman’s
$626 million from the same territories. It should be noted, Wife’s Bodyguard ($66 million), fell outside the top 10 in
however, that the global box office reported by the 13th place.
studios for these two titles reverses their relative
positions: No Time to Die was the top earner with
takings of $774 million while Fast & Furious 9 grossed
$728 million.
Table 3 Top 10 UK qualifying films, 23 worldwide territories, 2021
Rank Title Country Worldwide box Territory

of origin office gross count
(US$ million)
1 Fast & Furious 9 UK/USA 628.1 23

2 No Time to Die UK/USA 625.7 23
3 Venom: Let There Be Carnage UK/USA 427.8 22
4 Eternals UK/USA 344.5 22
5 Black Widow UK/USA 339.1 22
6 Cruella UK/USA 204.9 23
7 House of Gucci UK/USA 119.6 17
8 Tom & Jerry: The Movie UK/USA 114.8 23
9 The Matrix Resurrections UK/USA 113.4 20
10 Wrath of Man UK/USA 88.7 17
Total top 10 3,006.7
Notes:
‘Box office gross’ is a total of the takings from a selection of 23 markets (including the UK and Republic of Ireland) and is cumulative gross box office, up to 13 February
2022, in territories where the film was released in 2021.
Box office takings from territories where the film was released in 2020 or 2022 are not included in this total.
Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.
The highest grossing UK qualifying independent film In comparison with the studio-backed films listed in the
released across the selected territories in 2021 was The preceding top 10 table, the highest earning UK
Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which earned $66 million independent films in 2021 were generally released in
from 19 markets (Table 4). The film was also the top fewer distribution territories. However, this was often due
grossing UK independent film across all global territories to staggered release patterns. The total 2021 box office
in 2021 with total earnings of $70 million. It was the only gross for Belfast, Kenneth Branagh’s semi-
UK independent title in 2021 to earn over $50 million autobiographical take on growing up in Northern Ireland
worldwide. Similarly, one film exceeded this threshold in during the Troubles, was generated from a solitary
2020 – The Gentlemen ($98 million) – while four titles did release in North America, while three other films in the
so in 2019 – Downton Abbey ($176 million), Yesterday top 10 were released in 10 territories or fewer in the year
($143 million), Angel Has Fallen ($130 million) and Cold – 83 (10), Dream Horse (8) and Spencer (7). All four of
Pursuit ($60 million). these titles were released in further territories in 2022.
46
Table 4 Top 10 independent UK films, 23 worldwide territories, 2021
Rank Title Country Worldwide box Territory

of origin office gross count
(US$ million)
1 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard UK/USA* 66.4 19

2 The French Dispatch UK/USA* 39.9 20
3 The Father UK/Fra 30.8 22
4 The Courier UK 22.3 17
5 Last Night in Soho UK/USA* 21.7 21
6 Spencer UK/Deu 12.4 7
7 Belfast UK 8.0 1
8 The Mauritanian UK 7.5 13
9 Dream Horse UK 6.9 8
10 83 UK/Ind 6.3 10
Total top 10 222.2
See notes to Table 3.
* Film made with independent (non-studio) US support or with the independent arm of a US studio.
qualifying titles worldwide – Avengers: Endgame which

UK films in earned $858 million at North American cinemas and The
Lion King which earned $544 million.
North America
In 2021, UK films earned $1.4 billion at the box office in
North America, 29% of the total market, and the same
share as in 2017 and 2018. UK studio-backed titles
Table 5 shows the share of box office achieved by UK generated 27% ($1.3 billion), while UK independent films
films in North America between 2017 and 2021. As with generated 2% ($100 million).
the global market, the annual shares achieved by UK
films in individual territories fluctuate depending on the The total theatrical gross for all films released in the USA
performance of a small number of titles. The 36% share and Canada in 2021 was $4.8 billion, a significant
generated by UK films in the USA and Canada in 2019 recovery from $1.4 billion in 2020, but less than half of
(the highest share for this market since our records 2019’s total ($11.4 billion).
began) reflects the success of that year’s top earning UK
Table 5 UK market share in North America, 2017-2021
Year Total UK share UK studio-backed* films share UK independent films share

(%) (%) (%)
2017 29.1 26.4 2.7

2018 29.3 25.4 4.0
2019 36.1 32.2 3.9
2020 18.0 13.7 4.3
2021 29.0 26.9 2.1
Notes:
47
The top earning UK qualifying films released in North Bodyguard is the sole UK independent film in the top 10
America in 2021 were Venom: Let There Be Carnage, (Table 6). In 2020, six of the top 10 UK films at the USA
which grossed $214 million, Black Widow ($184 million) and Canada box office were independent titles, although
and Fast & Furious 9 ($173 million). In total, the top 10 UK this was due primarily to the postponement or
film releases earned just under $1.2 billion, a substantial cancellation of many large studio films because of the
increase on the $245 million made by the top 10 in 2020, COVID-19 pandemic.
but down from $3.9 billion in 2019. The Hitman’s Wife’s
Table 6 Top 10 UK films in North America, 2021
Rank Title Country North America

of origin box office gross
(US$ million)
1 Venom: Let There Be Carnage UK/USA 213.6

2 Black Widow UK/USA 183.7
3 Fast & Furious 9 UK/USA 173.0
4 Eternals UK/USA 164.9
5 No Time to Die UK/USA 160.9
6 Cruella UK/USA 86.1
7 House of Gucci UK/USA 53.7
8 Clifford the Big Red Dog UK/USA 48.9
9 Tom & Jerry: The Movie UK/USA 46.5
10 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard UK/USA* 38.0
Total top 10 1,169.3
Notes:
* Film made with independent (non-studio) US support or with the independent arm of a US studio.
The Father was the top earning UK independent title.

UK films in Europe The highest grossing UK independent film across the
eight territories, however, was The French Dispatch
which earned $14 million. Overall, in the selected
territories, UK independent films generated 2.5% of box
Outside the UK and Republic of Ireland, the market share office revenues, down from 4% in both 2019 and 2020.
for UK films released in 2021 in eight major European
territories, including Russia, was 27.5% (Table 7). This The total theatrical gross for all films released in the
share is up on 2020 (18%) and similar to 2019 (28.5%). selected European territories in 2021 was $2.7 billion, up
Shares in 2021 ranged from a high of 39% in Germany to from $1.5 billion in 2020, but less than half of the total for
20% in France. The largest share for UK independent 2019 ($5.6 billion).
films was recorded in the Netherlands (6.1%) where
48
Table 7 UK market share in selected European territories, 2021 (ranked by share for UK independent films)
Territory Box office UK share UK studio- UK independent Top UK

for UK films (%) backed* films films share independent film
(US$ million) share (%)
(%)
Netherlands 56.8 34.4 28.3 6.1 The Father

Portugal 13.7 36.2 32.9 3.2 The Father
Italy 59.7 28.3 25.7 2.6 The French Dispatch
Austria 25.2 37.7 35.3 2.4 The French Dispatch
Germany 180.5 38.9 36.4 2.4 The Father
France #
164.5 20.3 17.9 2.4 The Father
Russia 158.3 25.7 23.4 2.2 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
Spain 82.2 25.6 24.0 1.6 The French Dispatch
Total eight 740.9 27.5 25.0 2.5 The French Dispatch
territories
# Box office figures for France are based on the admissions data published by the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC) and are calculated by multiplying
attendances by the average price of a cinema ticket in the territory. As this figure is necessarily an estimate, it should be treated with some caution.
The highest earning UK film in the selected European territories in 2021 was No Time to Die with an eight-territory
gross of $176 million (Table 8). While no other 2021 releases surpassed the $100 million threshold across the selected
territories, four titles earned over $50 million: Fast & Furious 9, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Eternals and Black
Widow. As in 2019, all of the top 10 titles were UK studio-backed films. In contrast, the paucity of big studio releases
in 2020 was reflected in a top 10 list for that year which saw an even split between UK studio-backed and
independent titles.
Table 8 Top 10 UK films in selected European territories, 2021
Rank Title Country Box office gross

of origin (US$ million)
1 No Time to Die UK/USA 176.4

2 Fast & Furious 9 UK/USA 86.5
3 Venom: Let There Be Carnage UK/USA 83.0
4 Eternals UK/USA 56.5
5 Black Widow UK/USA 51.8
6 House of Gucci UK/USA 44.4
7 Cruella UK/USA 32.6
8 The Matrix Resurrections UK/USA 28.0
9 Tom & Jerry: The Movie UK/USA 24.6
10 Wrath of Man UK/USA 21.9
Total eight territories 605.7
Notes:
Box office takings from territories where films was released in 2020 or 2022 are not included in this total.
49
Image: Wrath of Man © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All rights reserved
Fast & Furious 9 with combined box office earnings of

UK films in $52 million, while the top earning UK independent film
was The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard ($1.6 million). The
Latin America market share for UK independent films ranged from 1.1%
in Mexico to 0.4% in Brazil with an average across the
territories analysed of 0.9%, down from 1.4% in 2020 and
1.9% in 2019.
The overall market share for UK films in 2021 in five major
Latin American territories (Table 9) was 31%. This is up The total theatrical gross for all films released in the five
from 17% in 2020 but less than the 36% achieved in Latin American territories in 2021 was $772 million, up
2019. The share in individual territories in 2021 ranged from $316 million in 2020, but less than one third of
from a high of 34% in Brazil to 28% in Argentina. The 2019’s box office total ($2.4 billion).
highest grossing UK film across the five territories was
Table 9 UK market share in selected Latin American territories, 2021

(ranked by share for UK independent films)
Territory Box office UK share UK studio-backed* UK independent Top UK

for UK films (%) films share films share independent film
(US$ million) (%) (%)
Mexico 119.4 30.8 29.7 1.1 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard

Colombia 27.6 29.3 28.4 1.0 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
Chile 11.0 28.7 28.0 0.6 The Jack in the Box
Argentina 18.5 27.7 27.0 0.6 The French Dispatch
Brazil 63.3 34.0 33.6 0.4 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
Total five territories 239.7 31.0 30.2 0.9 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
Notes:
50
the 23 territories analysed in this chapter. However, it
UK films in Asia should be noted that China has a quota system which
limits the number of foreign films shown in the territory; in
2021 less than 10 UK qualifying titles were released. The
share for UK independent films ranged from 2.1% in
The overall market share for UK films across six major Hong Kong to 0.1% in both Malaysia and China. Overall,
Asian territories (Table 10) was 8%. This is up from 6% in UK independent films had a 0.3% share of these
2020 but down from 18.5% in 2019. Shares in 2021 markets, down from 0.9% in 2020 and 0.6% in 2019.
ranged from a high of 29.5% in Singapore to 5% in
China. Fast & Furious 9 was the most successful UK film The total theatrical gross for all films released in the six
overall across the selected territories in 2021, with Asian territories in 2021 was $9.3 billion, up from
combined earnings of $275 million, while The Father $4.7 billion in 2020, but less than the total for 2019
($7 million) was the top earning UK independent film. The ($13.8 billion).
5% share for UK films in China was the smallest of any of
Table 10 UK market share in selected Asian territories, 2021 (ranked by share for UK independent films)

for UK films (%) backed* films share independent film
(US$ million) films share (%)
(%)
Hong Kong 42.4 26.2 24.1 2.1 The Father
South Korea 147.8 27.4 25.7 1.7 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
Singapore 19.2 29.5 28.2 1.3 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
Japan 139.8 10.6 10.0 0.6 Last Night in Soho
Malaysia 9.0 19.8 19.7 0.1 Rogue
China 353.0 4.9 4.8 0.1 The Father
Total six territories 711.2 7.6 7.3 0.3 The Father
Notes:
territories, while The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard

UK films ($6 million) was the top grossing UK independent film.
UK independent films had a 6.1% share of total box
in Australasia office across both territories, down from 11.1% in 2020
and 6.7% in 2019.
The total theatrical gross for all films released in New

The overall market share for UK films in the two Zealand and Australia in 2021 was $541 million, up from
Australasian territories (Table 11) was 31%, down from $289 million in 2020, but less than 2019’s box office total
34% in 2020 and 40% in 2019. No Time to Die ($967 million).
($31 million) was the top earning UK title overall in both
51
Table 11 UK market share in selected Australasian territories, 2021 (ranked by share for UK independent films)

for UK films (%) backed* films share independent film
(US$ million) films share (%)
(%)
New Zealand 25.1 33.7 24.8 9.0 The Father

Australia 140.3 30.1 24.5 5.6 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
Total two territories 165.4 30.6 24.5 6.1 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard
Notes:
Figure 2 shows the market share of UK films in the selected worldwide territories shown in Tables 5, 7 and 9-11 ranked
by the share for UK qualifying independent films. The share for the UK and Republic of Ireland is included to provide a
comparison. New Zealand had the highest share for UK independent films of all the selected territories at 9.0%,
followed by the Netherlands (6.1%) and Australia (5.6%). The UK and Republic of Ireland, which typically has the
highest share for UK independent films, would rank fourth among the other 22 other territories.
Figure 2 UK market share in selected worldwide territories, 2021
%
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Ne alan
lan
Ch
of pub
ra
an
lan
a
st
Ch
Sp
So Ko
nt
Ko
ex
ap
rtu
Br
ala
Ru
Ja
st
Au
Fr
lo
er
er
M
Re
Ze
ng
h
th
Ar
ut
d
Si
w
d
an
an
Ne
A
UK
US
K studio-backed*
U 35.9 24.8 28.3 24.5 32.9 25.7 35.3 36.4 17.9 23.4 26.9 24.1 25.7 24.0 28.2 29.7 28.4 28.0 27.0 10.0 33.6 19.7 4.8
films share (%)
UK qualifying 4.9 9.0 6.1 5.6 3.2 2.6 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.1 1.7 1.6 1.3 1.1 1.0 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.1 0.1
independent films
share (%)
Total UK share (%) 40.8 33.7 34.4 30.1 36.2 28.3 37.7 38.9 20.3 25.7 29.0 26.2 27.4 25.6 29.5 30.8 29.3 28.7 27.7 10.6 34.0 19.8 4.9

Notes:
52
studios and facilities. British skills, talent and technical
UK talent and the expertise play an important role in showcasing the
UK’s national identity – and creative abilities – across
global box office, the globe.
2012-2021 Table 12 shows the global cultural and commercial

influence of UK filmmaking skills and talent. Eight of the
top 20 highest grossing films released worldwide
between 2012 and 2021 were shot wholly or partly in the
Characters and stories created by UK authors UK, while 17 of the top 20 films featured British actors in
consistently enthral film audiences around the world, lead or supporting roles. In addition, the story for Captain
while British film actors and directors have made a huge America: Civil War (while featuring superhero characters
impact on films internationally. The UK itself is a global created by American writers Joe Simon and Jack Kirby)
destination of choice for international film production was based on a series of comic books by British writer
thanks to the skills of its crews and its state-of-the-art Mark Millar.
Table 12 Top 20 grossing films worldwide, 2012-2021
Rank Title Year of Gross Country UK talent/

theatrical box office of origin source material
release (US$ million)
1 Avengers: Endgame 2019 2,797.5 UK/USA Supporting actors

2 Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens 2015 2,069.5 UK/USA Lead and supporting actors
3 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 2,048.4 UK/USA Lead and supporting actors
4 Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021 1,892.7 USA Lead and supporting actors
5 Jurassic World 2015 1,673.5 USA
6 The Lion King 2019 1,657.1 UK/USA Lead and supporting actors
7 Marvel Avengers Assemble 2012 1,519.6 USA Supporting actors
8 Fast & Furious 7 2015 1,518.7 USA Supporting actors
9 Frozen II 2019 1,452.9 USA
10 Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015 1,405.4 UK/USA Supporting actors
11 Black Panther 2018 1,347.2 USA Supporting actors
12 Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi 2017 1,332.5 UK/USA Lead and supporting actors
13 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 2018 1,308.7 UK/USA Supporting actors
14 Frozen 2013 1,276.7 USA Supporting actors
15 Beauty and the Beast 2017 1,263.7 UK/USA Lead and supporting actors
16 Incredibles 2 2018 1,242.7 USA
17 Fast & Furious 8 2017 1,237.7 USA Lead and supporting actors
18 Iron Man 3 2013 1,216.4 USA/Chn Supporting actors
19 Minions 2015 1,168.0 USA/Fra Supporting actors
20 Captain America: Civil War 2016 1,153.6 USA/Deu Supporting actors
Note: Gross box office figures are studio-reported and may include grosses from all global territories, not just the 23 territories analysed earlier in this chapter.
53
Cressida Cowell ($1.1 billion) and two films based on the
UK source material Kingsman graphic novels created by Dave Gibbons and
Mark Millar ($0.8 billion).
In addition to films adapted from previously published

The global box office performance of UK films and works, the 23 films include a number of titles based on
foreign productions which draw on UK source material is original screenplays, three of which – Dunkirk, Interstellar
a good indicator of the international impact and exposure and Tenet – were written or co-written by Christopher
of British culture. Of the top 200 grossing films released Nolan. The combined gross for these films was
worldwide between 2012 and 2021, 23 are based on $1.6 billion. (Nolan also co-wrote the script for another
stories and characters created by UK writers, and top 200 title, The Dark Knight Rises [$1.1 billion] which is
collectively these films have earned $15 billion at the based on DC Comics’ Batman comic books.) There are
global box office, 10.5% of the total gross from the top two Fantastic Beasts films in the list which are based on
200 films (Table 13). original screenplays by Harry Potter creator JK Rowling
($1.5 billion) and two animated films (Sing and Sing 2)
JRR Tolkien and Ian Fleming are the most influential UK based on original screenplays by Garth Jennings
authors to feature in the table, providing the inspiration ($1.0 billion). The list also includes one title – Mamma
for three top 200 films each. Tolkien tops the list in terms Mia! Here We Go Again ($393 million) – which is based
of box office with the trilogy of films based on his novel on the book for the musical Mamma Mia! by Catherine
The Hobbit generating earnings of $2.9 billion, while the Johnson. Not included in the table is the top 200 release
three films based on Fleming’s James Bond novels Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($501 million), which was
earned $2.8 billion. The list also includes three films written by UK screenwriter Kelly Marcel from a story she
based on the Fifty Shades book series by EL James created with the film’s lead actor Tom Hardy, as the
which grossed $1.3 billion. There are two films based on source material is the original series of Marvel
the How to Train Your Dragon series of novels by superhero comics.
Image: Sing 2 Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLC
54
Table 13 Top grossing films worldwide based on stories and characters created by UK writers, 2012-2021
Rank Title Year of Gross Country UK

theatrical box office of origin source material
1 Skyfall 2012 1,108.7 UK/USA Novels by Ian Fleming

2 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 2012 1,021.2 USA/NZ Novel by JRR Tolkien
3 The Jungle Book 2016 967.3 UK/USA Stories by Rudyard Kipling
4 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 2013 960.6 USA/NZ Novel by JRR Tolkien
5 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 2014 956.1 USA/NZ Novel by JRR Tolkien
6 Spectre 2015 880.8 UK/USA Novels by Ian Fleming
7 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2016 812.6 UK/USA Original screenplay by JK Rowling
8 No Time to Die 2021 774.2 UK/USA Novels by Ian Fleming
9 Interstellar 2014 674.4 USA Original screenplay by Christopher
and Jonathan Nolan
10 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of 2018 652.4 UK/USA Original screenplay by JK Rowling
Grindelwald
11 Sing 2016 634.3 USA Original screenplay by Garth Jennings
12 How to Train Your Dragon 2 2014 621.4 USA Novels by Cressida Cowell
13 Fifty Shades of Grey 2015 571.0 USA Novel by EL James
14 Dunkirk 2017 528.8 UK/USA Original screenplay by
Christopher Nolan
15 How to Train Your Dragon: 2019 522.4 USA Novels by Cressida Cowell
The Hidden World
16 Kingsman: The Secret Service 2015 418.5 UK/USA Comic book series by Dave Gibbons
and Mark Millar
17 Kingsman: The Golden Circle 2017 410.9 UK/USA Comic book series by Dave Gibbons
and Mark Millar
18 Sing 2 2021 406.0 USA Original screenplay by Garth Jennings
19 Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again 2018 393.4 UK/USA Musical book by Catherine Johnson
20 Fifty Shades Darker 2017 381.6 USA Novel by EL James
21 Fifty Shades Freed 2018 371.4 USA Novel by EL James
22 1917 2019 368.2 UK/USA Original screenplay by Sam Mendes
and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
23 Tenet 2020 365.3 UK/USA Original screenplay by
Christopher Nolan
55
UK actors
The global prominence of UK acting talent is reflected in Table 14 which shows that 134 (67%) of the top 200 films at
the worldwide box office between 2012 and 2021 featured British actors in lead and/or supporting roles. In total, these
films generated 71% of the overall gross for the top 200 titles.
Table 14 UK acting talent in the top 200 grossing films worldwide, 2012-2021
Films that have… Number Gross box office % of total gross

of films (US$ billion) for top 200 films
UK lead actor(s) 49 37.8 26.8

UK supporting actor(s) 124 94.3 66.9
UK lead and/or supporting actor(s) 134 100.4 71.3
Notes:
Includes live action and animated titles.
UK directors
Twenty-eight of the 200 highest grossing films at the global box office between 2012 and 2021 were helmed by British
directors, generating a box office gross of over $16 billion (Table 15). Christopher Nolan was the most commercially
successful British director of the period, with total top 200 box office takings of $2.7 billion from four top 200 titles: The
Dark Knight Rises, Dunkirk, Interstellar and Tenet. Sam Mendes is in second place with earnings of $2.4 billion from
three titles: Skyfall, Spectre and 1917, and Gareth Edwards is third with takings of $1.6 billion from Rogue One: A Star
Wars Story and Godzilla.
One woman features amongst the 18 British directors of top 200 films: Sam Taylor-Johnson appears in ninth place in
the list with a gross of $571 million for her 2015 release Fifty Shades of Grey. The directors of two 2021 releases
appear in the list: Garth Jennings with Sing 2 ($406 million), his sequel to 2016’s original animation Sing ($634 million),
and Andy Serkis with Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($501 million).
56
Table 15 UK directors of the top 200 grossing films worldwide, 2012-2021
Rank Director Film Year of Total gross

theatrical box office
1 Christopher Nolan The Dark Knight Rises 2012 1,085.1

Interstellar 2014 674.4
Dunkirk 2017 528.8
Tenet 2020 365.3
Total 2,653.6
2 Sam Mendes Skyfall 2012 1,108.7
Spectre 2015 880.8
1917 2019 368.2
Total 2,357.7
3 Gareth Edwards Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 2016 1,056.5
Godzilla 2014 527.9
Total 1,584.4
4 David Yates Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2016 812.6
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 2018 652.4
Total 1,464.9
5 Guy Ritchie Aladdin 2019 1,051.0
6 Garth Jennings Sing 2016 634.3
Sing 2 2021 406.0
Total 1,040.3
7 Ridley Scott The Martian 2015 630.5
Prometheus 2012 403.8
Total 1,034.3
8 Matthew Vaughn Kingsman: The Secret Service 2015 418.5
Kingsman: The Golden Circle 2017 410.9
Total 829.4
9 Sam Taylor-Johnson Fifty Shades of Grey 2015 571.0
10 Kenneth Branagh Cinderella 2015 543.6
11 Andy Serkis Venom: Let There Be Carnage 2021 501.2
12 Tom Hooper Les Misérables 2012 442.1
13 Duncan Jones Warcraft: The Beginning 2016 433.6
14 Paul Greengrass Jason Bourne 2016 416.4
15 Rupert Sanders Snow White and the Huntsman 2012 401.0
16 Ol Parker Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again 2018 393.4
17 Simon J. Smith Penguins of Madagascar* 2014 373.0
18 Corin Hardy The Nun 2018 365.0
Notes:
* Penguins of Madagascar was co-directed by American animator Eric Darnell.
57
Table 16 shows the total number of UK award winners in
Awards for UK the 2021/22 awards cycle and the total number of awards
won in the calendar year 2021 to provide comparison
films and talent with previous years. In 2021, UK films and British talent
won 29 awards, representing 17% of the prizes available,
the same number as in 2020 which represented 20% of
the year’s available prizes. (Awards specific to foreign
Awards and nominations are an important tool for raising nationals or films, e.g. the Toronto International Film
the critical reputation and international profile of UK film. Festival’s award for Best Canadian Film, are not included
This section shows the awards won by UK films and in the analysis).
individuals at two major international awards ceremonies
(the Academy Awards® and BAFTA Film Awards) and the Of the 29 awards presented to British films and talent in
major international film festivals (Berlin, Cannes, 2021, a total of 12 were won or shared by British women
Sundance, Toronto and Venice) in the 2021/22 awards or won by British films made by women, down from 16
cycle. (For the purposes of this analysis we consider the in 2020.
awards cycle to start with the Sundance Film Festival in
January of a particular year and end with the Academy
Awards® of the following year.)
Table 16 Numbers of UK award winners, 2012-2021/22
Year Number of UK award winners UK share %
2012 23 14
2013 24 13
2014 28 19
2015 24 16
2016 29 15
2017 22 12
2018 28 14
2019 25 14
2020 29 20
2021 29 17
Total (to end of 2021) 56 15
2017/18 awards cycle 33 18
Source: BFI
UK films and British talent were awarded prizes at four of for their immersive animated project, Goliath: Playing
the major film festivals in 2021 (Table 17). There were two with Reality. There were three British wins at the Toronto
awards for upcoming UK filmmakers at the Sundance Film Festival: Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical
Film Festival: the NEXT Audience Award went to drama Belfast won the People’s Choice Award, the UK/
Vietnamese-British writer/director Marion Hill for their USA co-production The Rescue won the People’s Choice
debut feature Ma Belle, My Beauty and British-Nigerian Documentary Award and Benedict Cumberbatch was
filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr won the Short Film Grand awarded the TIFF Tribute Actor Award for his work on
Jury Prize for his Lagos-set drama Lizard. At the Cannes two films that were showcased at the festival – The
Film Festival, 2020 BAFTA EE Rising Star Award nominee Electrical Life of Louis Wain and The Power of the Dog.
Kingsley Ben-Adir was awarded the Chopard Trophy for The latter film garnered three best director awards for
emerging talent (alongside Irish actress Jessie Buckley), New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion (at Venice, the
while at the Venice Film Festival, Barry Gene Murphy and BAFTAs and the Oscars®) in the 2021/22 cycle but these
May Abdalla won the Grand Jury Prize for Best VR Work are not included in Table 17 as the film is not an official
58
UK qualifying production. (It should be noted, however, Awards® in 2022, all of whom won in the same category.
that the production was developed and supported by Awards veteran Jenny Beaven won the Costume Design
BBC Film and has UK co-production partners.) trophy at both ceremonies for her work on Cruella. In
total, Beaven has been nominated for nine BAFTAs
There were 10 British wins at the BAFTA Film Awards in (winning four) and 12 Oscars® (winning three). Composer
2022, including acting prizes for Joanna Scanlan (After and sound designer Theo Green was one of the winning
Love) and Lashana Lynch (EE Rising Star) and an team to share both the BAFTA and Oscar® Sound award
Outstanding Debut award for musician and filmmaker for the USA film Dune, and Paul Lambert and Tristan
Jeymes Samuel (The Harder They Fall). There was a win Myles were part of the winning team to share the Visual
for UK producers Iain Canning and Tanya Seghatchian, Effects awards at both ceremonies for the same film.
who were part of the team behind The Power of the Dog Theo Green’s awards were his first BAFTA and Academy
which scooped the Best Film prize, and one for Kenneth Award® wins (he had been nominated previously for one
Branagh’s Belfast which was named as Outstanding BAFTA and one Oscar®), Paul Lambert’s awards were his
British Film. Belfast was one of three films with UK second BAFTA and third Oscar® win (from three
involvement to win awards at both the BAFTAs and nominations each for both awards), and Tristan Myles’s
Academy Awards®. The Oscar® for Best Original awards were a first BAFTA and second Oscar® win (from
Screenplay for Belfast was Branagh’s first-ever win at the two nominations each for both awards).
ceremony (from a lifetime total of eight nominations,
including Best Picture and Best Director for Belfast). In addition, the Editing Oscar® for Dune was a first win
for British film editor Joe Walker from a total of four
There were three other UK individuals or teams to win BAFTA and three Oscar® nominations. Overall, there
prizes at both the BAFTA Film Awards and Academy were six British wins at the Academy Awards® in 2022.
Image: The Harder They Fall © 2021 Netflix
59
Table 17 UK award winners, 2021/22
Award ceremony/ Award Recipient Title

festival
Sundance Film NEXT Audience Award Film; award presented to Marion Hill Ma Belle, My Beauty
Festival
Short Film Grand Jury Prize Film; award presented to Lizard
28 Jan-3 Feb 2021 Akinola Davies Jr.
Cannes Film Festival Chopard Trophy Kingsley Ben-Adir -

6-17 July 2021
Venice International Grand Jury Prize for Best Film; award presented to Goliath: Playing with Reality
Film Festival VR Work Barry Gene Murphy and
1-11 September May Abdalla
2021
Toronto International People’s Choice Award Film; award presented to Belfast

Film Festival Kenneth Branagh
9-18 September
2021 People’s Choice Film; (award presented to Elizabeth The Rescue
Documentary Award Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin)
TIFF Tribute Actor Award Benedict Cumberbatch The Electrical Life of Louis
Wain and The Power
of the Dog
BAFTA Film Awards Best Film Film; award presented to Iain Canning and The Power of the Dog
13 March 2022 Tanya Seghatchian (with Jane Campion,
Roger Frappier and Emile Sherman)
Outstanding British Film Film; award presented to Kenneth Branagh, Belfast

Laura Berwick and Tamar Thomas
(with Becca Kovacik)
Outstanding Debut by a British Jeymes Samuel (writer/director) The Harder They Fall
Writer, Director or Producer
Leading Actress Joanna Scanlan After Love
Costume Design Jenny Beavan Cruella
Sound Theo Green (with Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Dune
Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett)
Special Visual Effects Paul Lambert and Tristan Myles (with Gerd Dune
Nefzer and Brian Connor)
British Short Animation Film; (award presented to Vladimir Do Not Feed the Pigeons
Krasilnikov, Jordi Morera and
Antonin Niclass)
British Short Film Film; award presented to Cherish Oteka The Black Cop
EE Rising Star Award Lashana Lynch -
Academy Awards® Costume Design Jenny Beavan Cruella

28 March 2022
Film Editing Joe Walker Dune
Short Film (Live Action) Film; award presented to Aneil Karia The Long Goodbye
and Riz Ahmed
Sound Theo Green (with Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Dune
Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett)
Visual Effects Paul Lambert and Tristan Myles (with Gerd Dune
Nefzer and Brian Connor)
Writing (Original Screenplay) Kenneth Branagh Belfast
Source: BFI RSU
Notes:
Awards for films are listed if either the film itself qualifies as a UK production or if any of the named presentees are British.
Awards for individuals are listed if any of the named recipients are British.
60
DISTRIBUTION
Image: Fast & Furious 9 © 2020 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved
FACTS IN FOCUS
There was a welcome recovery in the theatrical marketplace in
the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2021. In total, distributors
handled 981 feature films compared with 926 in 2020. The top
10 distributors handled 44% of all releases and these films
earned 97% of the total box office.
— The total box office for all films on release — Lionsgate was the top earning distributor
in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2021 of UK independent films released in 2021,
was £590 million, up from £311 million in with seven titles grossing £9 million.
2020 (£1.3 billion in 2019).
— Sony was the top earning distributor of
— Films released by the top 10 distributors foreign language films released in 2021,
generated £571 million in box office with four titles grossing £2 million.
revenues, while releases from the
remaining distributors (137) made — In 2021, 56% of box office revenue was
£19 million. taken during weekends (Friday to
Sunday), the lowest share in the past
— Universal was the top earning distributor 10 years.
in 2021, with 51 films making £181 million
at the UK and Republic of Ireland box
office (including the top earning release of
the year, No Time to Die, which grossed
£97 million).
62
Distribution
Table 1 shows box office takings by distributor for all
Distributors films on release in the UK and Republic of Ireland during
2021 (including titles released prior to 2021). The top
earning distributor was Universal which released the
A strong recovery in the numbers of people choosing to highest earning film of the year No Time to Die alongside
watch films on the big screen made 2021 a more four other top 20 titles including Fast & Furious 9 and The
successful year for the distribution sector than 2020. Addams Family 2. In total, titles released by Universal
Despite continued challenges from the COVID-19 generated revenues of £181 million in 2021 (a 31% share
pandemic, which saw all cinemas closed for the first five of overall box office). The second highest earning
to six months of the year, a total of 981 films were on distributor in 2021 was Sony which released four of the
release theatrically during 2021, compared with 926 films year’s top 20 titles, including Spider-Man: No Way Home,
in 2020 (1,154 in 2019). Cinemas reopened in England, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway and Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Scotland and Wales from 17 May, in Northern Ireland Sony releases earned £131 million in 2021, a 22% share
from 24 May and in the Republic of Ireland from 7 June. of the box office.
The top 10 feature film distributors had a 97% share of The appearance in the top 10 of Park Circus, which
the market in 2021 from the release of 432 titles (44% of specialises in classic and back catalogue titles, indicates
all films on release). The share is the highest since 2005 the importance of older releases to cinemas during the
and up almost five percentage points from 2020, when two years most impacted by the pandemic. The
the top 10 distributors had a market share of 92.5% from newcomer to the list had 96 titles on release during 2021,
392 releases (42% of all releases). A further 137 the greatest number of any of the top 10 distributors.
distributors were involved in the theatrical release of films
in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2021, compared with
143 companies outside the top 10 in 2020. These
distributors handled a total of 549 titles (56% of all
releases) but generated only 3% of the total box office.
Table 1 Distributor share of box office, UK and Republic of Ireland, all films on release 2021
Distributor Market share in 2021 (%) Films on release in 2021 Box office gross in 2021
(£ million)
Universal 30.6 51 180.8

Sony 22.2 52 130.8
Walt Disney 21.2 63 125.1
Warner Bros 14.4 80 84.7
Paramount 3.7 16 21.8
Lionsgate 1.8 23 10.5
Entertainment One 1.4 12 8.1
Park Circus 0.6 96 3.4
STX Entertainment 0.6 3 3.4
StudioCanal 0.5 36 2.7
Top 10 96.8 432 571.2
Other distributors (137) 3.2 549 19.0
Total 100.0 981 590.2
Source: Comscore
Notes:
The total here differs from Table 5 as it includes all films on release in 2021, including titles first released in 2020.
Box office gross = cumulative total for all films handled by the distributor in the period 1 January 2021 to 6 January 2022.
Figures may not sum to sub-totals/totals due to rounding.
63
Table 2 shows the top 10 distributors by market share Entertainment One have appeared each year while
between 2012 and 2021. Universal, the leading distributor StudioCanal has featured nine times and Entertainment
of 2021, held the top spot in one other year during the Film Distributors has featured eight times. More recent
period (2015), while Walt Disney, which was third in the entrants to the top 10 are STX Entertainment which has
list of top 10 earning distributors in 2021, has headed the appeared twice since 2019, Shear Entertainment which
top 10 chart on four occasions over the period (2016- featured in 2020 and Park Circus which featured in 2021.
2019), the highest number of any distributor. With one The top earning independent distributor in 2021 was
exception, the top spot has always been held by one of Lionsgate, whose highest grossing titles were The
the major US studios. In 2020, however, for the only time Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, The Father and The Courier.
since our records began, the leading place was held by
an independent distributor: Entertainment One. (This was In 2020, partly as a result of the lack of studio output, the
primarily due to the cancellation or postponement of market share for distributors outside the top 10 was 7.5%
many of the year’s major Hollywood blockbusters.) (the highest share since 2009). In 2021, the share was 3%
(the lowest share since 2005).
Seven different independent distributors have featured in
the top 10 list since 2012. Both Lionsgate and
Table 2 Distributor market share as percentage of box office gross, 2012-2021 (ranked by 2021 market share)
Distributor 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Universal 10.7 15.1 11.2 21.6 14.0 16.0 19.5 13.9 12.5 30.6
Sony 18.0 8.7 6.2 11.8 6.6 10.3 10.7 9.3 15.6 22.2
Walt Disney 10.2 15.2 10.1 20.0 23.2 19.7 23.6 37.9 14.3 21.2
Warner Bros 12.9 17.2 15.9 9.0 15.6 16.6 13.9 12.4 11.7 14.4
Paramount 7.7 7.8 5.8 4.0 5.4 3.7 4.8 5.9 8.0 3.7
Lionsgate 5.7 4.7 5.5 4.0 4.0 6.3 1.5 4.2 4.5 1.8
Entertainment One 6.7 9.0 8.0 3.9 8.4 2.5 3.2 3.8 15.9 1.4
Park Circus - - - - - - - - - 0.6
STX Entertainment - - - - - - - 1.2 - 0.6
StudioCanal - 2.8 6.7 4.7 1.5 4.2 2.8 1.0 4.5 0.5
20th Century Fox 1
16.1 13.1 21.8 14.9 15.7 15.1 14.5 5.7 - -
Entertainment Film Distributors 3.1 1.9 5.2 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.1 - 4.3 -
Momentum2 4.3 - - - - - - - - -
Shear Entertainment - - - - - - - - 1.3 -
Top 10 total 3
95.4 95.5 96.3 95.5 95.9 96.1 95.5 95.4 92.5 96.8
Others 4.6 4.5 3.7 4.5 4.1 3.9 4.5 4.6 7.5 3.2
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: Comscore
Notes:
1
20th Century Fox films released after October 2019 are categorised as Walt Disney distributed releases.
2
Momentum was taken over by Entertainment One in January 2014.
3
Top 10 total refers to the top 10 distributors of that particular year.
64
Tables 3 and 4 show the top 10 distributors of foreign Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train (£1.2 million). Zee
language films and UK independent films released in the Studios International handled the greatest number of
UK and Republic of Ireland in 2021. (In total, there were foreign language releases (six) generating a total box
442 new film releases in the year, up from 381 in 2020.) office of £0.8 million. (For more on the year’s top earning
foreign language titles, see the Top films in 2021 chapter.)
One third (33%) of all new releases at UK and Republic of
Ireland cinemas in 2021 were foreign language films, In total, 50 distributors released UK independent films
which grossed a total of £12 million (2% of the overall in 2021, generating a combined box office gross of
box office). The high volume of foreign language releases £30 million (5% of the total box office) from 113 releases.
is reflected by the number of companies in the UK The 35 films released by the top 10 distributors of these
handling such titles: 62 different distributors released films accounted for just under £27 million, which equates
non-English language films in the year. Five of the top to 89% of the total box office generated by independent
10 most popular languages for releases during the year UK titles (Table 4).
were from the Indian subcontinent – Hindi, Punjabi,
Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu – so companies releasing The distributor with the largest share of the box office
Indian films, such as Reliance Big Entertainment, Zee for these films was Lionsgate, whose releases included
Studios and White Hill Studios, feature highly in the list. three of the year’s top 10 highest grossing UK
independent titles, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, The
US studio distributor Sony had the greatest share of this Father and The Courier. Second in the list is Universal
category’s box office in 2021, generating £1.8 million which handled two of the category’s top 10 titles, People
from four releases, which included the top earning Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan and Last Night in Soho.
foreign language release of the year, the Japanese anime
Table 3 Top 10 distributors of foreign language films in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2021
(ranked by box office gross)
Distributor Number of foreign language Average widest point Box office gross
films released in 2021 of release (£ million)
Sony 4 205 1.8

Reliance Big Entertainment 2 117 1.2
StudioCanal 1 171 0.9
Zee Studios International 6 56 0.8
Altitude Film Distribution 4 146 0.8
White Hill Studios 2 30 0.5
Signature Entertainment 3 263 0.5
Mubi 5 33 0.5
Sun Media 5 32 0.4
Rhythm Boyz Entertainment 1 54 0.4
Source: Comscore
65
Table 4 Top 10 distributors of UK independent films in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2021
(ranked by box office gross)
Distributor Number of UK independent Average widest point Box office gross

films released in 2021 of release (£ million)
Lionsgate 7 265 8.7

Universal 6 238 5.2
Walt Disney 1 367 4.2
STX Entertainment 2 333 2.8
StudioCanal 6 204 2.0
Warner Bros 3 411 1.5
Sky Cinema 2 133 0.9
Picturehouse Entertainment 3 121 0.7
Reliance Big Entertainment 1 124 0.6
Munro Film Services 4 108 0.5
and 57% in 2021. This shift is likely due to the smaller

Width of release numbers of films released in these two years. It does,
however, highlight the success of independent distributors
in achieving wider theatrical releases for a greater share of
Table 5 shows the number and share of films released in independent films during these two years.
the UK and Republic of Ireland from 2017 to 2021 by
widest point of release (WPR). Between 2017 and 2019, The share of films released at 500 sites or over,
around 74% of all films were released at fewer than 100 meanwhile, was between 7.0% and 9.5% from 2017 to
sites, while around 64% of films were released at fewer 2019. In 2020, when the theatrical release of many of the
than 50 sites. In 2020 and 2021, however, the share of year’s biggest films was postponed or cancelled, this
films released at both under 100 sites and under 50 sites share was just 5%. In 2021, while the number of films
was lower. The share of films released at fewer than 100 being released at 500 sites or over was smaller than in
sites was 69% in 2020 and 66% in 2021 while the share the years 2017 to 2019, the share, at 11%, was the
of films released at fewer than 50 sites was 58% in 2020 highest of the period.
Table 5 Number and share of releases by widest point of release, 2017-2021
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Sites at Number of % of Number of % of Number of % of Number of % of Number of % of

widest releases releases releases releases releases releases releases releases releases releases
point of
release
>=600 29 3.8 15 1.9 38 5.0 9 2.4 32 7.2

500-599 34 4.5 43 5.5 34 4.5 11 2.9 15 3.4
400-499 33 4.3 40 5.1 32 4.2 17 4.5 16 3.6
300-399 24 3.2 22 2.8 26 3.4 13 3.4 20 4.5
200-299 24 3.2 29 3.7 16 2.1 21 5.5 18 4.1
100-199 53 7.0 53 6.7 58 7.6 46 12.0 48 10.9
50-99 79 10.4 82 10.4 77 10.1 44 11.5 41 9.3
10-49 224 29.5 224 28.5 256 33.5 110 28.8 145 32.8
<10 260 34.2 279 35.5 227 29.7 111 29.1 107 24.2
Total 760 100.0 787 100.0 764 100.0 382 100.0 442 100.0
Notes: Percentages may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Only includes films released within each year.
66
Weekend box office
Table 6 shows the impact of the pandemic on the typical pattern of cinema-going. Between 2012 and 2019, 58%-59%
of box office revenue was made during weekends (Friday to Sunday). In 2020, however, this share was 63% and in
2021 it was 56%. The high share in 2020 is due largely to the fact that in the latter part of that year many cinemas only
opened during weekends, while the low of 2021 is due to more of the year’s box office being generated during the
summer and other holiday periods than usual, when going to the cinema is less concentrated at weekends.
Table 6 Box office percentage share by weekday/weekend 2012-2021
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Friday 16.4 15.8 15.3 15.3 16.1 15.7 15.5 15.3 16.1 15.9
Saturday 24.1 24.9 25.2 23.9 24.6 24.7 24.1 24.6 27.2 22.0
Sunday 17.6 18.2 18.8 18.8 18.3 18.9 19.1 19.6 20.0 18.2
Weekend 58.1 58.9 59.2 58.1 58.9 59.2 58.7 59.5 63.2 56.1
Monday 9.3 8.9 9.1 9.5 9.7 8.7 9.6 9.6 8.1 10.2
Tuesday 9.3 9.4 9.4 10.6 10.4 10.3 10.0 10.1 9.4 10.0
Wednesday 13.4 12.6 12.4 10.8 10.9 11.3 11.2 10.0 9.9 11.8
Thursday 9.8 10.2 9.8 10.9 10.1 10.6 10.6 10.9 9.3 12.0
Weekday 41.9 41.1 40.8 41.9 41.1 40.8 41.3 40.6 36.8 43.9
Source: Comscore
Note: Percentages may not sum to weekend/weekday sub-totals due to rounding
Image: The Croods: A New Age © 2020 DreamWorks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved
67
The opening weekend is recognised as being crucial to £25.8 million over its four-day opening, which
the success of a film, both in cinemas and on represented 27% of its total theatrical gross (to 13
subsequent release platforms. A good opening weekend, February 2022).
for example, may encourage exhibitors to continue to
screen a film, and is likely to have a positive impact on Four of the year’s top 20 films earned as much as 37% of
the rest of the value chain, which is particularly important their total box office on their opening weekends: Black
for independent films which do not have the backing of Widow (five-day opening; £7.0 million), Fast & Furious 9
the major studios. For many films, opening weekend (four-day; £6.1 million), Eternals (three-day; £5.5 million)
earnings represent a significant proportion of their final and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (four-day; £4.3 million). The
theatrical gross. latter was still on release on 13 February 2022, so its
opening share is likely to reduce. At the opposite end of
As Table 7 shows, from 2012 to 2021 the average the scale, one top 20 release earned less than 10% of its
opening weekend box office as a share of total theatrical total box office on its opening weekend. The Croods: A
revenue was fairly consistent falling between 27%-30%. New Age earned £0.7 million over its three-day opening
In 2021, 28% of total theatrical revenue was generated weekend, representing just 7% of its total gross (to 13
during opening weekends. (If a film is previewed before February 2022). The second Croods title earned more in
the official Friday opening, its opening weekend box its second, third and fourth weeks in cinemas than on its
office figures include the takings from its previews.) opening weekend and by 13 February 2022 had been on
The year’s top earning film, No Time to Die, earned release for a total of 31 weeks.
Table 7 Opening weekend as percentage of total box office, by box office band, 2012-2021
Range of box 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
office (£ million)
≥30 27.0 24.0 27.1 32.2 27.2 26.5 26.9 30.1 16.9 30.5
20-29.9 22.4 30.9 21.9 25.9 28.0 33.3 24.7 24.7 - 25.5
10-19.9 24.6 27.6 30.9 25.6 29.1 28.5 25.3 24.8 25.2 26.7
5-9.9 26.1 28.4 25.9 28.7 32.2 33.2 29.5 28.7 30.7 24.7
1-4.9 31.8 32.1 30.3 32.3 33.1 32.1 34.5 31.0 30.3 27.7
0.2-0.9 37.7 37.0 36.7 37.3 37.7 35.1 35.6 39.1 42.1 33.6
<0.2 37.8 38.3 40.0 39.6 39.6 41.4 41.6 43.9 43.0 43.3
All films 26.8 28.4 27.9 29.9 29.8 29.9 27.9 28.9 27.4 28.1
Source: Comscore
Notes:
Opening weekends include preview figures.
Only includes films released within each year.
68
comprehensive, we believe this share to be an
Film advertising underestimate.
Table 9 shows the share of advertising spend on

Distributors invest heavily in advertising across all media traditional media only (television, outdoor, print and radio)
(outdoor posters, print media, television, radio and from 2012 to 2021. It does not include digital advertising
online) in order to raise a film’s profile with potential activity due to the reporting limitations described above.
audiences. The estimated total advertising spend by Over the period, the majority of expenditure has been
distributors in 2021 was £61 million, up from £48 million allocated to TV and outdoor advertisements. These two
in 2020, but still well below the £201 million invested in categories accounted for 84%-88% of traditional media
2019 (Table 8). Even taking into account the lower advertising spend each year, with TV taking the largest
numbers of film releases in both 2020 (382) and 2021 share of the two, with the exception of 2019 and 2020. In
(442) compared with 2019 (764), the average advertising 2021, TV advertising accounted for 49% of the total
spend per film was substantially lower in both these spend on traditional media, with outdoor advertising
years: £0.13 million in 2020 and £0.14 million in 2021 accounting for 38%.
compared with £0.26 million in 2019.
The share of spend on press advertising has been on an
It should be noted that the data for digital advertising overall downward trend over the period (due in part to
only covers desktop/mobile display and pre-roll falling newspaper and magazine circulations) decreasing
advertising; they do not include estimates for advertising from 12% in 2012 to 3% in 2021. Conversely, the share of
on social media platforms or websites that require a advertising spend allocated to radio has seen an overall
log-in, search advertising or pay-per-click. The value of increase, rising from 4% in 2012 to 10% in 2021. The
internet advertising as reported in the table represents percentage of advertising spend on radio has been
19% of the total advertising spend for film in 2021. greater than for press each year since 2019.
However, as the data for this category are not wholly
Table 8 Estimated advertising spend 2012-2021 (£ million)
Medium 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
TV 89.1 89.2 101.0 102.2 93.3 81.1 79.2 67.2 14.5 24.2
Outdoor 67.2 71.2 64.2 60.5 52.8 56.5 54.9 73.1 19.1 18.9
Press 21.5 20.7 24.2 21.3 14.9 14.0 10.8 9.2 2.3 1.5
Radio 6.8 5.9 4.6 7.4 5.7 12.1 8.7 11.1 2.7 4.9
Sub-total 184.6 187.0 194.0 191.4 166.7 163.7 153.6 160.6 38.5 49.6
Digital* 4.0 2.5 1.1 0.7 46.4 65.5 43.7 40.5 9.9 11.7
Total 188.6 189.4 195.1 192.1 213.1 229.5 197.5 201.1 48.4 61.2
Source: Nielsen Media Research
Notes:
Figures may not sum to totals/sub-totals due to rounding.
* The figures for 2014 onwards are not historically comparable; different methodologies were used for internet advertising spend for the periods 2012-2013, 2014-2015 and
2016-2021.
Table 9 Share of traditional media advertising spend, 2012-2021
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
TV 48.3 47.7 52.1 53.4 56.0 49.5 51.6 41.8 37.6 48.9
Outdoor 36.4 38.1 33.1 31.6 31.7 34.5 35.7 45.5 49.5 38.2
Press 11.6 11.1 12.5 11.1 8.9 8.6 7.0 5.7 5.9 3.1
Radio 3.7 3.2 2.4 3.9 3.4 7.4 5.7 6.9 6.9 9.8
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: Nielsen Media Research
69
EXHIBITION
Image: Spider-Man: No Way Home © 2021 CTMG. All Rights Reserved. MARVEL and all related character names: © & ™ 2021 MARVEL
FACTS IN FOCUS
The exhibition sector in the UK began to emerge from the
COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 with cinema provision looking
relatively robust. There were over 4,600 available screens in
venues across the country, down 4% from a five-year high
in 2019, but up 2% compared with 2017.
— The UK had 4,610 available cinema — The three largest exhibitors owned 32%
screens in 2021, down from 4,782 in 2019 of all UK cinemas and 61% of screens.
but up from 4,512 in 2017.
— The average ticket price at commercial
— In 2021, there were 928 active cinema cinemas in 2021 was £7.32, the highest
sites in the UK, down from 1,080 in 2019 figure since 2017.
and 977 in 2017.
— Event cinema was slower to recover than
— Multiplexes accounted for 43% of cinema the general theatrical sector. Event
sites in 2021 and 80% of screens. screenings earned £6.4 million at the UK
and Republic of Ireland box office in 2021,
— There were 6.9 screens for every 100,000 down from £11.4 million in 2020, and the
people in the UK in 2021, lower than lowest gross since 2009.
countries such as the USA (12.3), France
(9.6), Australia (8.7) and Spain (7.7).
71
Exhibition
UK cinema sites Resilience Fund, the Welsh Government’s own Cultural

Recovery Fund, and (in 2020 only) the Northern Ireland
Executive’s Stability & Renewal Programme for
Organisations.
The UK exhibition sector began to rebound from the
huge challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic As Figure 1 shows, these interventions helped the sector
from May 2021 onwards when cinemas across the weather the storm of COVID-19, with the number of
country were able to reopen for the long term. cinema sites in operation decreasing by just 9% between
Throughout the worst months of the pandemic in 2020 2019 and 2020 and by 6% between 2020 and 2021. (The
and 2021, exhibitors, alongside other businesses in the loss of revenue caused by the extended closures in these
country, had been bolstered by a raft of support two years was to impact some of the more highly
initiatives introduced by the UK Government and leveraged large exhibitors from 2022 onwards.) In total,
devolved administrations including the Coronavirus Job there were 928 active cinema sites in the UK in 2021,
Retention Scheme, a holiday or reductions in business down from 1,080 in 2019. However, the decrease is
rates (applied differently across the UK nations) and a associated solely with traditional and mixed-use sites,
range of business support grants administered on behalf the number of which fell from 684 in 2019 to 531 in 2021.
of Government by local authorities. In addition, during (Mixed-use sites are used for film screenings only part of
periods when cinemas were able to open, the exhibition the time.) In contrast, the data show little change in the
sector benefited from a reduction in VAT on tickets and number of multiplex sites in the same period: there were
refreshments. There was extra support for non-profit and 396 active multiplexes in 2019 and 397 in 2021.
independent cinemas at risk of permanent closure in the
form of the Culture Recovery Fund for Independent There was a 5% contraction in the total number of active
Cinemas in England (introduced in August 2020) which cinema sites over the full period shown in the chart,
was administered by the BFI on behalf of the Department 2017-2021. During that time, there was a change in the
for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), the Scottish make-up of sites, with the share for multiplexes
Government’s Independent Cinema Recovery and increasing from 39% of total sites in 2017 to 43% in 2021.
72
Figure 1 UK cinema sites by type of site, 2017-2021
Number of sites
Traditional and mixed-use 600 678 684 590 531

Multiplex 377 383 396 395 397
Total sites 977 1,061 1,080 985 928
% multiplex sites 38.6 36.1 36.7 40.1 42.8
Source: BFI, Comscore
Notes:
Figures only include sites that have reported any film or event cinema box office grosses to Comscore within a given year.
Multiplexes are defined as any cinema site with five screens or more.
Traditional cinema sites are defined as any site with four screens or fewer and mixed-use venues are sites only used for screening films on a part-time basis.
73
UK cinema screens
As Figure 2 shows, there were year-on-year decreases in the number of cinema screens operating in the UK in both
2020 and 2021. However, in contrast with cinema sites, which saw an overall decrease in numbers between 2017 and
2021, screen provision increased in the period. The total number of available screens (excluding those programmed in
venues such as schools and private screening rooms) rose from 4,512 in 2017 to 4,610 in 2021. All of the increase was
associated with multiplex screens, which made up 80% of total UK screens in 2021 compared with 79% in 2017.
Figure 2 UK cinema screens by type of cinema, 2017-2021
Number of screens
Traditional and mixed-use 948 1,043 1,079 985 923

Multiplex 3,564 3,597 3,703 3,697 3,687
Total screens 4,512 4.64 4,782 4,682 4,610
% multiplex sites 79.0 77.5 77.4 79.0 80.0
See notes to Figure 1.
74
Screen density and admissions per head of
population – international comparisons
A standard way to gauge the level of cinema provision is by ‘screen density’, i.e. the number of screens per unit of
population. According to Omdia, in 2021 screen density in the UK was 6.9 screens per 100,000 people, down slightly
from 7.0 in 2020. This level of access to screens falls short of the numbers in some other major film territories: the USA
(12.3), France (9.6), Australia (8.7) and Spain (7.7). Screen density in Italy and Germany, at 6.1 and 5.4 screens per
100,000 people respectively, was lower than in the UK.
Table 1 shows the level of admissions per head of population in a selection of major film territories in 2021. With the
exception of Italy, all of the listed territories experienced a recovery in attendances compared with 2020 which had
seen huge across-the-board declines in cinema-going as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Increases in admissions
per capita in 2021 ranged from 20% in Germany to 86% in the USA. The UK saw more admissions per capita (1.1) than
Spain, Germany and Italy (despite having a lower screen density than Spain). Of the selected territories, France and
Australia (both with 1.4) had the highest admissions per head of population.
Table 1 Admissions per head of population in selected major film territories, 2012-2021
(ranked by 2021 admissions)
Country France Australia USA UK Spain Germany Italy
2012 3.2 3.8 3.9 2.7 2.0 1.7 1.5

2013 3.0 3.5 3.8 2.5 1.7 1.6 1.6
2014 3.2 3.3 3.6 2.4 1.9 1.5 1.5
2015 3.1 3.8 3.8 2.6 2.0 1.7 1.6
2016 3.2 3.8 3.8 2.5 2.2 1.5 1.7
2017 3.2 3.5 3.5 2.6 2.1 1.5 1.5
2018 3.0 3.6 3.7 2.6 2.1 1.3 1.4
2019 3.2 3.4 3.5 2.6 2.2 1.4 1.6
2020 1.0 1.1 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5
2021 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.1 0.9 0.6 0.4
Source: Omdia
75
Table 2 shows screen and admissions data for the
television advertising regions used by the Incorporated
Screen density and Society of British Advertisers (ISBA). The table shows
that although the London region had the greatest
admissions per numbers of screens and sites, its screen density, at
7.3 screens per 100,000 people, was lower than that of
head of population Northern Ireland (11.8), Northern Scotland (7.6) and the
South West (7.5). The Midlands had the lowest screen
in the UK density of all the ISBA regions in 2021 at 5.8 screens per
100,000 people, followed by the North East (6.1) and
Yorkshire (6.3).
Tables 2 and 3 present screen provision data for the UK Table 2 also shows the wide variation in ticket prices
based on two types of national/regional classification. across the country, with an average cinema ticket in
The datasets are not directly comparable because of London (£8.70) being almost 50% more expensive than
differences in the way the regions are defined; they do, in the South West (£5.84). The average cost of a cinema
however, shed light on different aspects of national and ticket in the UK increased for the first time since 2017,
regional variation in screen provision. rising from £6.98 in 2020 to £7.32.
Table 2 Screens and admissions by ISBA TV region, 2021 (ranked by screens per 100,000 people)
ISBA TV region Screens Screens % of Sites Population Admissions Admissions Admissions Average
per total (million) (million) per per ticket
100,000 screens screen head of price
people population (£)
Northern Ireland 11.8 225 4.9 31 1.9 2.5 11,042 1.3 5.94
Northern Scotland 7.6 99 2.1 27 1.3 1.3 13,526 1.0 6.76
South West 7.5 135 2.9 48 1.8 1.9 14,016 1.1 5.84
Central Scotland 7.3 285 6.2 49 3.9 4.7 16,478 1.2 6.83
London 7.3 998 21.6 184 13.7 16.9 16,936 1.2 8.70
Border 7.0 42 0.9 21 0.6 0.4 9,771 0.7 6.28
Wales 6.9 214 4.6 55 3.1 3.0 14,078 1.0 6.12
West 6.8 169 3.7 40 2.5 2.5 14,872 1.0 6.66
North West 6.8 486 10.5 73 7.2 8.3 16,975 1.1 6.61
East of England 6.7 333 7.2 70 5 5.6 16,944 1.1 7.55
South and 6.6 511 11.1 123 7.7 8.5 16,547 1.1 7.23
South East
Yorkshire 6.3 412 8.9 73 6.5 6.6 16,119 1.0 6.95
North East 6.1 170 3.7 34 2.8 2.9 17,303 1.1 6.60
Midlands 5.8 531 11.5 100 9.1 8.9 16,692 1.0 7.48
Total 6.9 4,610 100.0 928 67.1 74.0 16,062 1.1 7.32
Source: BFI, Comscore, Cinema Advertising Association (CAA), Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Notes:
Average ticket price is calculated by dividing the nation/region’s box office gross for the year by their admissions.
76
Table 3 provides screen information for each of the English regions, as defined by the UK Government, plus Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland had the greatest number of screens per 100,000 people in 2021 (11.9),
followed by London (8.0) and Scotland (7.3). The East Midlands had the fewest screens per 100,000 people (5.4),
followed by the North East (5.8) and the West Midlands (5.9).
Table 3 Screens and population in the nations and regions, 2021 (ranked by screens per 100,000 people)
Nation/region Screens Screens % of Sites Population Average

per total (million) number of
100,000 screens screens
people per site
Northern Ireland 11.9 225 4.9 31 1.9 7.3

London 8.0 718 15.6 131 9.0 5.5
Scotland 7.3 398 8.6 86 5.5 4.6
South West 7.2 409 8.9 110 5.7 3.7
North West 6.9 507 11.0 77 7.4 6.6
Wales 6.8 214 4.6 55 3.2 3.9
Yorkshire and The Humber 6.6 367 8.0 66 5.5 5.6
South East 6.5 603 13.1 140 9.2 4.3
East of England 6.0 379 8.2 79 6.3 4.8
West Midlands 5.9 352 7.6 65 6.0 5.4
North East 5.8 156 3.4 27 2.7 5.8
East Midlands 5.4 262 5.7 53 4.9 4.9
England sub-total 6.6 3,753 81.4 748 56.6 5.0
Other n/a 20 0.4 8 n/a 2.5
Total 6.9 4,610 100.0 928 67.1 5.0
Source: BFI, Comscore, Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Notes:
n/a = not available.
Figures/percentages may not sum to totals/sub-totals due to rounding.
‘Other’ includes the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.
77
Type of cinema screen by nation and region
Table 4 provides a snapshot of variations in multiplex provision around the UK. London had the greatest number of
multiplex screens (576) in 2021, followed by the South East (470) and the North West (435). Northern Ireland had the
highest proportion of multiplex screens (94%) followed by the North West (86%) and the North East (85%). In England
the lowest concentration of multiplex screens was found in the South West (66%), which had the second greatest
number of traditional and mixed-use screens (140) after London (142). Across the nations, after Northern Ireland,
Wales had the highest proportion of multiplex screens (81%), followed by England (80%) and Scotland (75%).
Table 4 Cinema screens by type by nation or region, 2021 (ranked by percentage multiplex)
Nation/region Multiplex % multiplex Traditional and Total

mixed-use
Northern Ireland 211 93.8 14 225

North West 435 85.8 72 507
North East 132 84.6 24 156
Yorkshire and The Humber 308 83.9 59 367
West Midlands 294 83.5 58 352
East Midlands 214 81.7 48 262
Wales 173 80.8 41 214
London 576 80.2 142 718
South East 470 77.9 133 603
East of England 295 77.8 84 379
Scotland 300 75.4 98 398
South West 269 65.8 140 409
England sub-total 2,993 79.7 760 3,753
Other 10 50.0 10 20
Total 3,687 80.0 923 4,610
78
The three largest exhibitors operated 32% of cinemas
Exhibitors and 61% of screens in the UK. Cineworld had the highest
share of total screens (23%) and its network of
Picturehouse cinemas accounted for an additional 2%.
Odeon operated the greatest number of sites (112) and
The UK exhibition sector is made up of a small number of had 19% of screens, while Vue had 88 sites and 18% of
large and medium-sized exhibitors which own and screens. In Northern Ireland, the Omniplex chain (which
operate the majority of sites and screens and a large operates across the island of Ireland) had a dominant
number of smaller companies with one or two sites and position, operating 48% of cinemas and 52% of screens
screens. In 2021, 18 exhibitors owned or programmed 20 in 2021, something that is unmatched in any of the other
or more screens in the UK, representing over 85% of UK nations of the UK.
screens (Table 5).
Table 5 Cinema screens by exhibitors with 20 or more screens, 2021 (ranked by number of screens)
Exhibitor Sites Screens % of total screens
Cineworld 99 1,062 23.0

Odeon 112 895 19.4
Vue 88 844 18.3
Showcase Cinemas 18 242 5.2
Empire Cinemas 15 136 3.0
Omniplex 15 117 2.5
Everyman 36 116 2.5
Picturehouse (Cineworld) 26 98 2.1
Light Cinemas 11 84 1.8
Reel Cinemas 15 75 1.6
Curzon Cinemas 16 50 1.1
Merlin Cinemas 16 40 0.9
Movie House Cinemas 4 35 0.8
Irish Multiplex Cinemas 5 34 0.7
Savoy Cinemas 6 31 0.7
WTW Scott Cinemas 11 30 0.7
Arc Cinemas 4 22 0.5
Parkway Cinemas 4 20 0.4
Others (6 independent chains and 409 individual 427 679 14.7
cinemas/multi-use venues)
Total 928 4,610 100.0
Notes:
Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.
79
In common with the major US studios’ slates of potential
Event cinema blockbusters, the release of many event cinema titles in
2020 and 2021 had been cancelled or postponed due to
the shifting pattern of cinema closures and reopenings
around the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Figure 3 shows the volume and value of event cinema The event cinema sector was particularly vulnerable to
releases between 2012 and 2021. Event cinema can these disruptions as the marketing for releases is often
include special screenings of documentaries, films or TV coordinated globally and based on fixed event dates. In
content, but screenings of musical or theatrical addition, many of the live performances that are such a
productions many of which are shown live (i.e. a feature of event cinema programming were affected by
simultaneous screening of a real-time performance) are their own cancellations and venue closures. The sector
generally the most common types of release. Whilst faced a further challenge when cinemas and other
overall theatrical earnings in 2021 made a marked venues were finally able to reopen for the long term as
recovery (up 76.5%) from a record low in 2020, the audiences for the most historically popular types of event
reverse was true for the event cinema sector. The total cinema release – theatre, opera and ballet/dance – tend
box office generated by event cinema titles in 2021 was to skew older and this demographic was more hesitant
£6.4 million, down 44% compared with 2020 (and the than others to return to the big screen.
lowest gross since 2009).
Figure 3 Total number of event cinema releases and box office earnings, UK and Republic of Ireland,
2012-2021
Number of event releases Box office (£ million)
umber of event
N 131 111 128 119 114 134 125 130 60 59
releases
Box office (£ million) 12.5 18.6 33.6 35.0 31.1 34.5 42.3 52.1 11.4 6.4
Source: Comscore
Note: The chart only includes events that were released in a given year.
80
Table 6 shows the number and type of events released in 2021 ranked by box office earnings. Popular music concerts
generated the highest gross (£1.95 million; 30% of total box office) and had the greatest number of releases with
screenings of 14 different events (24% of all events). The second most popular category by number of releases was
opera with screenings of 10 different productions (17% of all events) while classical music concerts generated the
second highest earnings (£1.36 million; 21% of total box office) from two releases. Only 12 of the year’s 59 new
releases were shown in real time. The live screenings comprised six operas, two popular music concerts, two ballets,
one theatre production and an E-sports tournament.
Table 6 Number and box office takings of event cinema releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland by type of
event, 2021 (ranked by gross box office)
Type of event Number % of Gross box office % of gross

of events events (£ million) box office
Popular music concert 14 23.7 1.95 30.4

Classical music concert 2 3.4 1.36 21.2
Theatre 5 8.5 1.20 18.7
Ballet/dance 4 6.8 0.60 9.4
Children’s TV special 5 8.5 0.37 5.8
Opera 10 16.9 0.32 5.0
Animation 7 11.9 0.19 3.0
Film 2 3.4 0.18 2.8
Documentary 5 8.5 0.16 2.5
Exhibition 4 6.8 0.08 1.2
E-sports 1 1.7 0.01 <0.1
Total 59 100.0 6.41 100.0
Notes:
The table only includes events that were released in 2021.
Box office data here are shown to two decimal places to better differentiate between event categories.
Percentages/figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Image: Belfast © 2021 Focus Features, LLC. Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLC
81
ballet performance featured an iconic score by
Top 10 event cinema Tchaikovsky. With earnings of £0.86 million, the highest
grossing title was Christmas with André, one of two
releases 2021 concert films in the list featuring André Rieu and his
Johann Strauss orchestra. (Two concert films from the
Dutch conductor also appeared in the 2020 event cinema
top 10, including that year’s highest earning title André
Music was the dominant theme of the 10 highest earning Rieu: 70 Years Young, which grossed over £2 million.)
event cinema releases in 2021 (Table 7). Nine of the top The top earning non-concert event release in 2021 was a
10 events were based on concert footage or were production filmed at London’s Barbican Centre, Anything
recordings of musical theatre productions, while the sole Goes – The Musical, which grossed £0.77 million.
Table 7 Top 10 event cinema releases in the UK and Republic of Ireland, 2021
Rank Title Type Country Distributor Number of Gross box

of origin sites on office
release (£ million)
1 Christmas with André Classical music concert Nld Piece of Magic 587 0.86
Entertainment
2 Anything Goes – The Musical Theatre UK Trafalgar Releasing 491 0.77
3 Oasis Knebworth 1996 Popular music concert UK/USA Trafalgar Releasing 444 0.69
4 Cliff Richard – Popular music concert UK CinemaLive 460 0.58
The Great 80 Tour
5 André Rieu’s 2021 Summer Classical music concert Nld Piece of Magic 581 0.50
Concert: Together Again Entertainment
6 The Nutcracker – ROH, Ballet/dance UK Royal Opera House 444 0.43
London 2021
7 Follies – NT Live 2017 Theatre UK National Theatre 479 0.21
(Re-release: 2021)
8 The Rocky Horror Show Live Theatre UK Trafalgar Releasing 394 0.21
2021
9 BLACKPINK The Movie Popular music concert Kor Trafalgar Releasing 256 0.17
10 Bon Jovi From Encore Nights Popular music concert USA Trafalgar Releasing 316 0.16
Note: Box office data here are shown to two decimal places to better differentiate between releases.
82
FILM ON
PHYSICAL VIDEO
Image: Black Widow Photo by Jay Maidment - © Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
FACTS IN FOCUS
Despite increasing competition from digital video services,
physical video remains an important element of the film value
chain, illustrating that there is still an audience for film that
appreciates physical ownership.
— The value of sales for all categories of — The most popular film purchase on
video on physical media in 2021 was physical video in 2021 was No Time to
£236 million; sales of feature film on video Die; the most popular genre was
accounted for £146 million. action/adventure.
— There were 21 million sales of all — The physical video rental market for film in
categories of video on physical media, 2021 was worth £8 million.
with feature film accounting for
16 million sales.
— Film accounted for 73% of the volume of

the physical sell-through market and 62%
of the value. UK films accounted for
around 36% of the volume of all films sold
on video and 37% of the value.
84
Film on
physical video
Physical video audiovisual content. However, despite the huge
popularity of digital video there is a solid core of
consumers wedded to physical ownership. According to
BASE, in 2021, 11 million UK households were actively
‘Video’ is used in this section as the generic description using DVD players and there were 4.6 million buyers of
of all physical video, including DVD, Blu-ray and other DVDs or Blu-ray discs.
physical formats, in line with the definition used by BASE,
the British Association for Screen Entertainment; it does In 2021, 21 million videos were sold in the UK (down 38%
not include downloads which are discussed in the Film compared with 2020) with a total market value of
on digital video chapter. £236 million (down 34% compared with 2020). DVDs
accounted for the majority of sales (64% by value and
76% by volume) while Blu-ray discs accounted for 36%
of sales by value and 24% of sales by volume. (The share
The physical video of the retail video market generated by Blu-ray sales, by
both value and volume, has increased year on year since
retail market the format’s introduction in 2006.) While overall physical
video sales have declined, Blu-ray has proven the more
resilient format: in 2021 Blu-ray sales accounted for
£86 million, a fall of 19% from £107 million in 2020,
As Figure 1 shows, both the value and volume of physical compared with DVD sales which fell from £249 million in
video sales in all categories in the UK have declined each 2020 to £150 million, a decrease of 39.5%.
year between 2012 and 2021. (This trend has been
ongoing since the peak in video sales in 2004 when Feature film represented approximately 62% of the
234 million units were bought by consumers with a value physical sell-through market by value (£146 million) and
of £2.5 billion.) The value of physical video sales 73% by volume (16 million units) in 2021. (It should be
decreased by 85% over the period, while the volume of noted that market share is calculated from unrounded
sales decreased by 88%. data.) The BFI Research and Statistics Unit estimates
that UK films accounted for around 37% of sales by
The advent of digital video services revolutionised the value (up from 35% in 2020) and 36% of sales by volume
home entertainment market and provided audiences with (down from 37% in 2020).
far greater choice in how and where they could access
85
Figure 1 Retail video sales (all categories), 2012-2021
Volume (million) Value (£ million)
Volume (million) 179 162 143 120 101 83 65 48 34 21

Value (£ million) 1,543 1,438 1,264 1,075 894 743 617 477 356 236
Source: Official Charts Company, BASE, Omdia
Notes:
Data in this table includes all categories of retail video, not only film.
Data updated since publication of the 2021 Statistical Yearbook.
As Figure 2 shows, the trend for sales of film on physical video between 2012 and 2021 has mirrored that of the overall
physical sell-through market. The value of the retail market for film on video in the UK decreased by 85% over the
period, while the volume of sales decreased by 87%.
Throughout the period, Blu-ray sales have made up a larger share of the physical video market for film than for non-
film titles. This is due in part to the value attached by consumers of film to the enhanced picture and audio quality
offered by Blu-ray and its premium variants (e.g. 4K UHD). In 2021, Blu-ray discs accounted for 47% of the value of
film sales on physical video and 29% of the volume, compared with 20% of the value and 12% of the volume for
non-film related physical video sales.
Figure 2 Film on physical video, retail sales 2012-2021

Volume (million) 127 119 110 89 75 62 51 39 26 16

Value (£ million) 968 940 861 712 589 503 445 347 233 146
Source: Official Charts Company, BASE, BFI RSU
Notes:
Includes some feature films which would be classified as ‘children’s videos’ in Official Charts Company data.
86
Figure 3 shows an overall upward trend in the average unit price for film on physical video formats between 2012 and
2021, with costs rising from £7.62 to £9.44. The cost increase is due in part to the increasing share of Blu-ray sales in
the film on video market, as this format generally attracts higher prices than its DVD counterpart. The average price for
a DVD in 2021 was £7.10, while for Blu-ray it was more than double at £15.25.
When adjusted for inflation, however, the average cost for film on physical video has been fairly consistent over the
period, with the unit price ranging between £8.83 and £9.51 when expressed in 2021 pounds.
Figure 3 Average retail price of film per unit, 2012-2021

Price (£)
Inflation adjusted price

(£ 2021) 9.05 9.21 8.96 9.51 8.83 8.84 9.25 9.33 9.05 9.44
Price (£) 7.62 7.93 7.83 8.36 7.91 8.06 8.60 8.85 9.05 9.44
Source: Official Charts Company, BASE, Her Majesty’s Treasury
Notes:
Includes some feature films that would be classified as ‘children’s videos’ in Official Charts Company data.
The deflator used to calculate real values is the UK whole economy deflator, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/gdp-deflators-at-market-
prices-and-money-gdp-march-2022-quarterly-national-accounts
Image: Tenet © 2020 - Warner Bros. Pictures. All rights reserved.
87
Sales of film on physical video formats by
genre, 2021
Figure 4 shows that the most popular film genre on sell-through video in 2021 was action/adventure, which accounted
for 27.5% of the market (18% in 2020), followed by drama with 13% and children’s animated films with 11%. (It should
be noted that these categories, as defined by BASE, differ from the genre categories assigned to the theatrical market
by the BFI Research and Statistics Unit in other chapters of this Yearbook.)
Figure 4 Sales of film on physical video formats by genre, 2021
Genre %
Action/adventure 27.5
Drama 12.9
Children's animated 11.3
Horror 9.6
Child/family 8.9
Sci-fi 8.8
Comedy 8.4
Thriller 4.9
War 2.6
Musical 2.2
Anime 0.9
Documentary 0.9
Western 0.8
Adult 0.1
Other <0.1
Source: Official Charts Company, BASE
Bollywood <0.1 Note: These shares are based on the number of physical units sold.
88
title on physical video, Black Widow, which was released
Best-selling films on DVD and Blu-ray on 13 September 2021, generated
just over a quarter of this total with sales of
on physical video 183,000 units.
formats, 2021 Eight of the top 10 titles were released theatrically in the
UK in 2021. One title, Wonder Woman 1984, was
released in cinemas in 2020, while Zack Snyder’s Justice
League, a director’s cut of the 2017 release Justice
Table 1 shows the top 10 best-selling films on physical League premiered in the UK on Sky Cinema and the
video in 2021. The list is headed by No Time to Die, the Sky-owned streaming service NOW in 2021.
highest grossing film at the UK and Republic of Ireland
box office in 2021. Despite being released on video Half of 2021’s top 10 most popular films are UK qualifying
formats in the closing weeks of the year (20 December titles, all of which were made in collaboration with the
2021), the 25th official Bond outing generated video sales major US studios.
of over 717,000 in 2021 alone. The second most popular
Table 1 Top 10 best-selling films on physical video formats, 2021
Rank Title Country Year of Distributor

of origin theatrical release
1 No Time to Die UK/USA 2021 Universal

2 Black Widow UK/USA 2021 Walt Disney
3 Wonder Woman 1984 UK/USA 2020 Warner Bros
4 Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway Aus/USA 2021 Sony
5 Fast & Furious 9 UK/USA 2021 Universal
6 Zack Snyder’s Justice League UK/USA 2021* Warner Bros
7 Godzilla vs. Kong USA 2021 Warner Bros
8 The Suicide Squad USA 2021 Warner Bros
9 Raya and the Last Dragon USA 2021 Walt Disney
10 Jungle Cruise USA 2021 Walt Disney
Source: Official Charts Company, BFI RSU
Notes:
Inclusion is based on the number of physical units sold. It may differ from other publicly available lists which may incorporate digital downloads or be based on revenue.
‘Year of theatrical release’ here means the year in which a film was first released theatrically in the UK and Republic of Ireland. An asterisk (*) indicates the year of digital or
physical video release in the UK for films that were not released theatrically in the UK or Republic of Ireland.
The top three UK qualifying films on physical video in Zack Snyder’s Justice League and The Witches were the
2021 are also the year’s overall top three most popular only two titles not to receive an initial release in cinemas.
sell-through titles. In total, five of the 10 best-selling UK (The Witches was originally scheduled for theatrical
titles appear in the previous top 10 list, headed by the release in the UK and Republic of Ireland in October
latest 007 film, No Time to Die (Table 2). 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic was instead
released that month online.)
All of the top 10 titles were released either in 2020 or
2021, with the exception of the box set Harry Potter: The All of the films in the list (including each of the Harry
Complete 8-Film Collection which despite being available Potter titles) are UK studio-backed productions.
to buy since 2011 appears in this list for the first time.
89
Table 2 Top 10 best-selling UK qualifying films on physical video formats, 2021

1 No Time to Die UK/USA 2021 Universal

2 Black Widow UK/USA 2021 Walt Disney
3 Wonder Woman 1984 UK/USA 2020 Warner Bros
4 Fast & Furious 9 UK/USA 2021 Universal
5 Zack Snyder’s Justice League UK/USA 2021* Warner Bros
6 Cruella UK/USA 2021 Walt Disney
7 Harry Potter: The Complete 8-Film Collection UK/USA 2001-2011 Warner Bros
8 Tenet UK/USA 2020 Warner Bros
9 Tom & Jerry: The Movie UK/USA 2021 Warner Bros
10 The Witches UK/USA 2020* Warner Bros
Notes:
The top-selling UK independent film on physical video in were released in either 2019 or 2020, although one of
2021 was The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, the year’s these, Welsh independent horror The Haunting of
highest grossing UK independent film at the UK and Margam Castle, was released straight to video.
Republic of Ireland box office (Table 3). The top 10 most
popular UK independent titles include one other 2021 Four of the top 10 titles have appeared in this list in
release: Dream Horse. (Dream Horse was originally previous years. Three of the films, Downton Abbey, The
scheduled for release in the UK and Republic of Ireland Gentlemen and Military Wives, featured in the 2020 top
in April 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic this was 10 list, while Fisherman’s Friends featured in both the
delayed until May 2021.) The remaining films on the list 2019 and 2020 top 10 lists.
Table 3 Top 10 best-selling UK independent films on physical video formats, 2021

1 The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard UK/USA# 2021 Lionsgate

2 The Secret Garden UK/Fra 2020 Universal
3 Downton Abbey UK/USA #
2019 Universal
4 The Father UK/Fra 2020 Lionsgate
5 Fisherman’s Friends UK 2019 Entertainment
in Video
6 The Gentlemen UK/USA# 2020 Entertainment
in Video
7 Dream Horse UK 2021 Warner Bros
8 Military Wives UK 2020 Lionsgate
9 The Haunting of Margam Castle UK 2020* 4Digital Media
10 Saint Maud UK 2020 StudioCanal
Notes:
90
The most popular documentary film on physical video in the Sky Documentaries channel, while Robbo: The Bryan
the UK in 2021 was Edgar Wright’s non-fiction feature Robson Story, The Krays – Gangsters Behind Bars and
debut, The Sparks Brothers (Table 4). The music Diana at Sixty were all released directly to video.
biography, which looks at the careers of Ron and Russell
Mael, the siblings behind US rock and pop group Sparks, Three of the films have appeared in this list previously.
is one of two portraits of musicians in the top 10, They Shall Not Grow Old features in the list for the fourth
alongside Tina a film charting the life and career of consecutive year (it was the UK’s best-selling film on
legendary singer Tina Turner, helmed by Oscar® winning physical video in both 2018 and 2019), while Apollo 11
directing duo Daniel Lindsay and T. J. Martin. and Diego Maradona both featured in the 2019 and 2020
top 10 lists. With the exception of the US film Apollo 11,
Six of the top 10 documentary titles were released in all of the top 10 titles are UK qualifying productions.
2021 although four of these were not shown in cinemas
in the UK. Tina premiered simultaneously on video and
Table 4 Top 10 best-selling documentary films on physical video formats, 2021

1 The Sparks Brothers UK/USA 2021 Universal

2 Robbo: The Bryan Robson Story UK 2021* Spirit Entertainment
3 Tina UK 2021* Altitude
4 They Shall Not Grow Old UK/NZ 2018 Warner Bros
5 Apollo 11 USA 2019 Dogwoof
6 The Krays: Gangsters Behind Bars UK 2021* High Fliers
7 Dettori UK 2021 Spirit Entertainment
8 David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet UK 2020 Altitude
9 Diana at Sixty UK 2021* Reel2Reel
10 Diego Maradona UK 2019 Altitude/Spirit Entertainment
Source: Official Charts Company, BASE, BFI RSU
Notes:
Films from Asia accounted for six of the top 10 best- The four other titles in the 2021 top 10 all originate from
selling foreign language films on video in 2021 (Table 5). Europe, including the year’s top-selling foreign language
There are three films from China, two from Japan and film on video, the Russian sci-fi thriller The Blackout:
one from South Korea. Three of these titles appeared in Invasion Earth. Five of the films (Vanguard, Skyfire, Winter
the 2020 top 10 list: Skyfire (in Chinese); Weathering with War, Courage of One and Crazy Samurai: 400 vs 1) were
You (in Japanese) and the Oscar® and BAFTA winning not released theatrically in the UK, although all of these
Parasite (in Korean). The latter was both the top-selling titles were released at the cinema in other territories
foreign language film on physical video in 2020 and that including their countries of origin.
year’s highest grossing foreign language film at the UK
and Republic of Ireland box office.
91
Table 5 Top 10 best-selling foreign language films on physical video formats, 2021

1 The Blackout: Invasion Earth Rus 2019 4Digital Media

2 Vanguard Chn 2021* Cine Asia
3 Pinocchio Ita/Fra/UK 2020 Vertigo Releasing
4 The Eight Hundred Chn 2020 Cine Asia
5 Weathering with You Jpn 2020 Anime Limited
6 Skyfire Chn 2020* Patriot Films
7 Parasite Kor 2020 Curzon Artificial Eye
8 Winter War Slv 2021* High Fliers
9 Courage of One Prt 2021* Parkland Entertainment
10 Crazy Samurai: 400 vs 1 Jpn 2021* Spirit Entertainment
Notes:
Films are labelled as ‘foreign language’ if their original language was not English, regardless of whether the option to view the film dubbed in English is available on the
physical video release.
The physical video rental market
While competition from digital video has contributed to a significant contraction in the video sell-through market in
recent years, its impact on the rental market has been more consequential. As Figure 5 shows, revenues from rentals
in 2021 (£8 million) represent less than 6% of the market’s value in 2012 (£145 million), while the volume of transactions
in 2021 (3 million) represents a drop in rentals of 96% compared with 2012 (65 million).
Figure 5 Film on physical video, rentals 2012-2021

Volume (million) 65 38 23 18 12 9 7 5 3 3
Value (£ million) 145 100 61 44 34 28 22 16 12 8
Source: Omdia
Note: Figures have been updated since publication of the 2021 Statistical Yearbook and now only include film-only values.
92
FILM ON
DIGITAL VIDEO
Image: Cruella © 2021 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved
FACTS IN FOCUS
The value of the on-demand market for film in the UK
continued to increase in 2021. Total revenues reached a new
high of £1.59 billion, up 15% compared with 2020 and a rise of
60% compared with 2019.
— Revenues from subscription video on — US action comedy Red Notice (Netflix)
demand (SVoD) services were estimated was the most watched film overall on a
to have been £1.32 billion, an increase of subscription video platform in 2021,
27% compared with 2020. while legal drama The Mauritanian
(Amazon) was the most watched UK
— Total transactional video on demand independent film.
(TVoD) revenues were estimated to have
been £271 million, a decrease of 21% — Over half (51%) of the films available on
compared with 2020. the three leading subscription streaming
services in 2021 had been released
— Premium Video on Demand (PVoD) between 2010 and 2019 and 18% had
transactions accounted for 25% of TVoD been released in 2020 or 2021.
revenues, up from 13% in 2020.
— Netflix was the most popular provider

of on-demand streamed content in 2021
with 66% of UK households using the
platform, followed by BBC iPlayer
with 64%.
— In Q4 2021, more than 19 million UK

households had access to at least one
SVoD service, and over 12 million
households had access to two or more
services. The three leading SVoD
platforms were Netflix, Amazon Prime
Video and Disney+.
94
Film on
digital video
Digital video Electronic Sell Through (PEST), or Download to
Own (DTO) – most providers of transactional
on-demand services, such as iTunes or Google
Play, offer both rental and retail film content,
Digital video or Video on Demand (VoD) is used in this however some services, such as Curzon Home
section as the generic description of both over the top Cinema, deal exclusively with film rentals;
(OTT) streamed or downloaded content delivered via the
internet and on-demand content offered by traditional • Subscription (SVoD) which delivers unlimited
cable or satellite pay TV services such as Sky. access to content for a regular fixed sum – providers
include Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Netflix.
OTT service providers in the UK employ three basic Both PVoD and PEST are sometimes offered to users
types of business model: of subscription services for an additional fee;
• Transactional (TVoD) which comprises: • Free/advert-supported – providers include YouTube

– rental digital video, a one-off rental for a limited (excluding YouTube Premium), Facebook Watch and
time, including both streaming and Download to catch-up services from the major broadcasters, also
Rent (DTR), as well as Premium Video on Demand known as Broadcaster Video on Demand (BVoD),
(PVoD); and such as All4 (excluding All4+), BBC iPlayer, ITVX (in
– retail digital video, also known as Electronic Sell 2021 this service operated as ITV Hub) excluding
Through (EST), which includes Premium ITVX Premium (previously ITV Hub+) and My5.
Image: Red Notice Photo by Frank Masi/NETFLIX - © 2021 Netflix
95
of the growth driven by increases in subscriptions to
The digital video streaming services. While the size of the overall digital
video market in 2021 was seven times greater than in
market for film 2012, the SVoD market grew by a factor of 25 over the
same period.
Revenues from subscriptions (SVoD) are estimated to

According to Omdia, the estimated value of the have been £1.32 billion in 2021, an increase of 27%
on-demand market for film in the UK in 2021 was a compared with 2020 (£1.04 billion). Transactional (TVoD)
record £1.59 billion, an increase of 15% compared with revenues were down compared with 2020: retail
2020, and up 60% compared with 2019. The surge in the revenues dropped from £166 million to £125 million,
value of digital video in both 2020 and 2021 reflects the while rental revenues dropped from £179 million to
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on screen-based £146 million. There was an uptick, however, in the share
consumption habits, as the closure of cinemas and other of rental revenues associated with titles offered via
public venues led people to expand their use of in-home Premium Video on Demand (PVoD) in the year, which
and mobile entertainment options. increased from 13% (£24 million) in 2020 to 25%
(£37 million).
As Figure 1 shows, revenues for on-demand content
increased each year between 2012 and 2021 with much
Figure 1 Estimated value of the digital video film market in the UK, 2012-2021
£ million
SVoD 53 109 162 225 296 384 520 696 1,041 1,322
TVoD retail 41 50 61 78 106 133 146 146 166 125
TVoD rental 130 155 160 158 142 145 145 125 179 146
Total 224 314 383 461 543 662 811 966 1,386 1,592
Source: Omdia
Notes:
Estimates include both television-based and online digital video revenues.
Figures updated since publication of the 2021 Statistical Yearbook.
96
Figure 2 shows the top 10 most popular on-demand
Popularity of streaming services (for both film and television
programmes) in 2021 amongst UK households. The
on-demand SVoD platform Netflix had the greatest reach of
streaming services in the year with 66% of UK
streaming services households using the platform to access screen content,
followed by BBC iPlayer which was used by 64% of UK
households. Overall, six of the top 10 providers were
free/advert supported services. In addition to the
UK viewers are amongst the highest consumers of digital terrestrial broadcasters’ catch-up services (BBC iPlayer,
video content in the world, thanks to the popularity of ITV Hub, All4 and My5), these include YouTube and
both international SVoD platforms and catch-up services UKTV Play, a catch-up service from the multi-channel
from domestic broadcasters. According to Omdia, in broadcaster UKTV. After Netflix, the most popular
2021 the UK market for film on digital video ($2.0 billion) subscription services were Amazon Prime Video,
was the third largest in the world, behind only the USA Disney+ and NOW.
($16.6 billion) and China ($3.8 billion).
Figure 2 Top 10 most popular on-demand streaming services in the UK, 2021
% of UK households
W
NO
Paid-for content Free/advertising-supported content
% of UK households 66 64 53 49 41 41 27 25 9 8
Source: Ofcom Technology Tracker 2021. Questions: Which – if any – of these other TV services are used in your household to watch programmes, shows or films? Which –
if any – of these paid-for on-demand services are used in your household to watch programmes, shows or films? N=3,959
Notes:
Due to a change in survey questions, these figures are not directly comparable with the 2021 Statistical Yearbook.
ITV Hub figures include STV Player. (ITV Hub relaunched as ITVX in Q4 2022.)
NOW was formerly known as NOW TV.
97
was overtaken by Disney+ as the third most popular
The audience platform, with 3.9 million households subscribing to the
new service within just a few months of its launch. By Q4
for SVoD 2021, Disney+ was available in 5.5 million homes. (It
should be noted that due to COVID-19 restrictions the
BARB Establishment Survey was not conducted in every
quarter in 2020 and 2021: there were no surveys in Q2
As Figure 3 shows, the number of UK households with and Q4 2020 or in Q1 2021.)
access to subscription streaming services more than
doubled between 2017 and 2021, increasing from 8.9 As the overall number of subscriptions to UK SVoD
million in Q1 2017 to 19.1 million in Q4 2021 (67% of total services has increased, so too has the number of
households). The two most popular providers throughout households opting to sign up to more than one platform.
the period were Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. By Q4 According to BARB Establishment Survey data, by Q4
2021, Netflix was available in 16.8 million homes and 2021, 12.4 million households had access to two or more
Amazon was available in 12.6 million. At the start of the SVoD services, a rise of 276% compared with 3.3 million
period, the most popular subscription service after in Q4 2017. (For more on SVoD audiences, see the
Netflix and Amazon was NOW TV (rebranded as NOW in Audiences chapter.)
early 2021). However, in 2020 the Sky-owned provider
Figure 3 UK SVoD households and subscriptions to top three SVoD services, Q1 2017 – Q4 2021
Millions of households
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2017 2017 2017 2017 2018 2018 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2020 2021 2021 2021 2021
Any SVoD 8.9 9.4 9.5 10.2 11.1 11.6 11.6 12.3 13.3 13.3 13.7 14.3 15.0 17.4 18.8 18.7 19.1
Netflix 6.9 7.3 7.5 8.1 9.1 9.7 9.7 10.3 11.5 11.6 11.8 12.4 13.0 15.2 16.8 16.7 16.8
Amazon 3.6 3.8 3.8 4.3 4.8 4.9 4.9 5.3 6.0 5.9 6.4 7.1 7.9 10.2 12.5 12.5 12.6
Prime Video
Disney+ 3.9 4.8 5.2 5.5
NOW 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.9 1.8 1.7 1.6
Source: BARB Establishment Survey
98
watching films (Figure 4). Amongst the three providers,
The audience for Disney+ subscribers spent the largest share of their
viewing time watching films (43%) while Netflix
film on SVoD subscribers spent the smallest (27%). It is interesting to
note that in 2020, Disney+ subscribers spent as much as
74% of their viewing time on feature film content. The
shift in 2021 is related, in part, to the launch of the
According to TRP Research data, in December 2021, film Disney+ Star brand aimed at more mature audiences
represented 65% of available titles on the three leading which featured established series such as 24, Prison
SVoD platforms (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Break and Sons of Anarchy, and the rollout of a raft of
Disney+) and 21% of available content hours. popular series based on Disney properties (including
from Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios) such as Loki, The
On average, users of the top streaming platforms Mandalorian and WandaVision.
devoted over one third (35%) of their total viewing time to
Figure 4 Share of viewing by content on leading UK SVoD platforms, 2021

%
Film 27 36 43 35
TV series/other 73 64 57 65
Source: TRP Codex, 2021, All adults 16+
Notes:
Titles are categorised according to the platform’s metadata. ‘TV series/other’ includes episodic programming as well as non-film one-off titles such as stand-up specials.
‘Total’ refers to the overall share of viewing on Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Netflix.
99
this category are The Dig (14 January/29 January 2021)
Top films on and Don’t Look Up (10 December/24 December 2021).
SVoD platforms The release histories of the top 10 titles highlight the
continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on film
distribution strategies in 2021. Only two other titles in the
top 10 were released theatrically in the UK. The Walt
Table 1 lists the top 10 most popular films viewed on the Disney and Marvel Studios productions Cruella and Black
UK’s three largest subscription streaming platforms in Widow were given day-and-date releases which saw
2021. It should be noted that, unlike other top 10 or 20 them released simultaneously in cinemas and on Disney+
lists in the Yearbook, entries in the table are derived via its premium-priced Premier Access option. Both of
from a sample so ought to be viewed as indicative rather these films were among the year’s top 20 highest earners
than definitive. at the UK and Republic of Ireland box office.
The most popular title streamed in the UK in 2021 was The five remaining titles in the top 10 were all released
the US action comedy Red Notice with an average directly on one of the streaming platforms. Four of the
audience of 5.3 million viewers (adults 16+) on Netflix. top 10 are UK qualifying films (compared with three UK
According to the platform, Red Notice is its most- films in 2020) all of which were either studio- or streamer-
watched film to date, with worldwide audiences spending backed productions. (These are productions wholly or
more than 364 million hours viewing the film during its partly financed and controlled by a major US studio or
first 28 days on release. The film is one of three titles in streaming platform but which qualify as British under the
the list which had limited theatrical releases in the UK cultural test for film or, in the case of feature length
before being made available on streaming services. It projects primarily intended for release on a streaming
opened in cinemas on 5 November 2021 and was platform, under the cultural test for HETV programmes.
available to stream from 12 November. The other films in For more see the Screen sector production chapter.)
Table 1 Top 10 films viewed on leading UK SVoD platforms, 2021 (ranked by average audience)
Rank Title Country Platform Year of Average

of origin release audience
(million)
1 Red Notice USA Netflix 2021 5.3
2 The Dig UK/USA Netflix 2021 4.0
3 Army of the Dead USA Netflix 2021* 3.7
4 The Tomorrow War USA Amazon 2021* 3.7
5 Greenland USA Amazon 2020* 3.1
6 News of the World UK/USA Netflix 2021 3.0
7 Cruella UK/USA Disney+ 2021 2.9
8 Black Widow UK/USA Disney+ 2021 2.7
9 Love and Monsters USA Netflix 2021* 2.6
10 Don’t Look Up USA Netflix 2021* 2.5
Source: TRP Codex, Adults (16+); BFI RSU
Notes:
The platforms covered by this table are Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Netflix.
‘Year of theatrical release’ here means the year in which a film was first released theatrically in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
An asterisk (*) indicates the year of digital or physical video release in the UK for films that were not released theatrically in the UK or Republic of Ireland.
100
The top four most popular UK qualifying films across As with the previous top 10 list, not all of the titles were
the leading subscription streaming platforms in 2021 released theatrically in the UK, primarily as a result of
also appear in the year’s overall top 10 list. The most- scheduling disruptions caused by the COVID-19
viewed UK films chart (Table 2) is headed by The Dig, pandemic: News of the World, The Mauritanian, Outside
a drama about the excavation of the Sutton Hoo burial the Wire and I Care a Lot were all released directly on
site, with an audience of 4.0 million viewers (adults 16+) one of the streaming platforms. Three of the top 10 UK
on Netflix, followed by Paul Greengrass’s western News qualifying titles are UK independent films.
of the World (3.0 million viewers), Walt Disney’s 101
Dalmatians prequel Cruella (2.9 million viewers) and the
Marvel Cinematic Universe title Black Widow
(2.7 million viewers).
Table 2 Top 10 UK qualifying films viewed on leading UK SVoD platforms, 2021 (ranked by average audience)

(million)
1 The Dig UK/USA Netflix 2021 4.0
2 News of the World UK/USA Netflix 2021* 3.0
3 Cruella UK/USA Disney+ 2021 2.9
4 Black Widow UK/USA Disney+ 2021 2.7
5 The Mauritanian UK Amazon 2021* 2.2
6 Last Christmas UK/USA Netflix 2019 1.8
7 Escape from Pretoria UK/Aus/ZAf/USA Amazon 2020 1.6
8 Outside the Wire UK/USA Netflix 2021* 1.4
9 I Care a Lot UK/USA Amazon 2021* 1.3
10 Avengers: Infinity War UK/USA Disney+ 2018 1.3
Notes:
‘Year of release’ here means the year in which a film was first released theatrically in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Image: The Mauritanian courtesy of STX Entertainment
101
The BBC Film-backed legal drama The Mauritanian was I Care a Lot (1.3 million viewers). While some of the titles
the most watched UK qualifying independent film across in the previous two top 10 lists were released directly
the top three streaming platforms in 2021 with an onto streaming services, the majority of films in the
average audience of 2.2 million viewers (adults 16+) on current list were digital-only releases. Only four titles
Amazon Prime Video (Table 3). The film is one of three received some form of theatrical release in the UK:
titles to appear in the previous top 10 UK films list, Escape from Pretoria, American Assassin, Dredd
alongside Escape from Pretoria (1.6 million viewers) and and Yesterday.
Table 3 Top 10 UK independent1 films viewed on leading UK SVoD platforms, 2021

(ranked by average audience)

(million)
1 The Mauritanian UK Amazon 2021* 2.2

2 Escape from Pretoria UK/Aus/ZAf/USA #
Amazon 2020 1.6
3 I Care a Lot UK/USA #
Amazon 2021* 1.3
4 Everybody’s Talking About Jamie UK/USA# Amazon 2021* 1.2
5 Made in Italy UK/Ita Amazon 2021* 1.0
6 Yesterday UK Netflix 2019 1.0
7 Jolt UK/USA #
Amazon 2021* 0.9
8 Dredd UK/ZAf/USA# Netflix 2012 0.7
9 American Assassin UK/USA# Netflix 2017 0.7
10 The Foreigner UK/USA/Chn #
Netflix 2013* 0.7
Notes:
1
‘UK independent’ here means a film not substantially financed and controlled by a major US studio or streaming platform but which qualifies as British under the cultural
test for film. In some instances, feature length projects may qualify as British under the cultural test for HETV programmes; see Screen sector production chapter.
# Film made with independent (non-studio or streamer) US support or with the independent arm of a US studio or streaming platform.
‘Year of release’ here means the year in which a film was first released theatrically in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
102
The USA was the primary country of origin for 70% of the
Country of origin of most popular films viewed across the leading SVoD
services in 2021 (excluding UK co-productions) and 69%
top films on leading of viewing time for these films. Over one fifth of the top
films (20.5%) were UK qualifying titles (including studio-
SVoD platforms backed, streamer-backed and independent productions)
and these attracted 24% of viewing time for the top films.
UK independent titles represented 8% of the top films
and 7% of viewing time for the top films.
Table 4 shows the country of origin of the top films on
the three largest subscription streaming services in the Films originating outside the UK and USA accounted for
UK. For the purposes of this analysis, a ‘top’ title is any 9.5% of the top films and 7% of viewing time for the top
film with an average audience of 300,000 users (adults films. It is interesting to note, however, that of the 13 titles
16+) or more on either Netflix, Amazon Prime Video originating from ‘rest of the world’ territories in the top
or Disney+. In 2021, there were 380 such titles, which films category, only three were in languages other than
constituted 40% of total film viewing time on English (there were two Korean language films – Parasite
these platforms. (Amazon) and Space Sweepers (Netflix) – and one
Russian language title – Chernobyl 1986 (Netflix).
Table 4 Country of origin for top films on leading SVoD platforms, 2021
Number of titles % of titles % of viewing
USA 266 70.0 68.6

UK (studio or streamer-backed) 50 13.2 17.5
UK (independent) 28 7.4 6.6
All UK 78 20.5 24.2
Other Europe 23 6.1 4.4
India 0 - -
Rest of the world 13 3.4 2.8
Total 380 100.0 100.0
Notes:
‘Top films’ are those films which had an average audience of over 300,000 users in 2021, ‘% of titles’ and ‘% of viewings’ refers to these titles alone.
‘Studio or streamer-backed’ means a film that was wholly or partly financed and controlled by a major US studio or streaming platform but which qualifies as British under the
cultural test for film. In some instances, feature length projects may qualify as British under the cultural test for HETV programmes; see Production chapter.
103
After English, Hindi was the most popular language for
Language of films films across the three platforms (5%), followed by Tamil
(4%). Hindi was the primary language of 4% of feature
on leading films available on Amazon and 10% of films on Netflix,
while Tamil was the primary language of 5% of films
SVoD platforms available on Amazon and 2% of films on Netflix.
Neither of these languages featured in the Disney+
film catalogue.
Table 5 shows a breakdown of feature film catalogues by In total, titles in the top 10 languages after English
language for the three leading SVoD platforms in the UK represented 20% of all films available on the three
in 2021. While English language film content was leading platforms, and over half of these films had
dominant across all three platforms, the concentration of principal languages from the Indian subcontinent
English titles differs considerably between the providers, – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Interestingly,
making up 39.5% of available Netflix films, 76% of films no productions from the Indian subcontinent featured
on Amazon Prime Video and over 99.5% of films on in the previous table.
Disney+. As an average, English language titles
represented 69% of all films available on the three
leading streaming platforms.
Table 5 Share of leading UK SVoD feature film catalogue content by primary language, 2021
(ranked by total percentage)
Primary language Amazon Prime Disney+ Netflix Total

Video (%) (%) (%) (%)
English 75.7 99.6 39.5 68.9

Hindi 4.1 - 10.3 5.3
Tamil 5.0 - 1.8 3.7
Telugu 2.9 - 1.1 2.2
Spanish 1.1 0.1 5.6 2.2
Swedish 0.1 - 6.3 1.6
Italian 1.4 - 1.1 1.2
Japanese 0.4 - 3.2 1.1
Chinese (Cantonese/Mandarin)* 0.7 0.2 2.3 1.1
Malayalam 1.2 - 0.9 1.0
French 0.7 - 2.0 1.0
Other (72 languages) 6.8 0.1 26.2 10.9
Source: TRP Research, Catalogue audit, December 2021; BFI RSU. Total feature films: Amazon Prime Video (7,696), Disney+ (1,092), Netflix (2,906)
Notes:
‘Feature film’ is defined as any film with a running time of 40 minutes or over.
Languages are listed if they have a 1% share or greater of the combined catalogues.
Films without identified languages are not included in the share figures.
* Catalogues do not always distinguish between Chinese languages, so these are grouped.
104
71% of films on Amazon had been released between
Age of feature film 2010 and 2021, with 18% being released in 2020 or 2021.
In contrast, the majority of films available on Disney+
content on leading were older titles with 69% of films released prior to 2010.
Only 5% of film titles on Disney+ had been released in
SVoD platforms 2020 or 2021. Unlike Netflix and Amazon, however,
Disney+ launched with a decades-deep library of
established film properties including all of the major
Walt Disney Animation Studios feature films starting
Table 6 shows the distribution of feature film content by with 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
age for the three leading SVoD platforms in 2021. (Age
here is determined by the year a title is released, either Amazon had the largest film catalogue of the three
physically or digitally, not by production year.) The providers, with just under 7,700 titles available to
majority of films available on both Netflix and Amazon subscribers in December 2021 compared with just over
Prime Video were new and recent titles: 79% of films on 2,900 titles for Netflix and almost 1,100 for Disney+. This
Netflix had been released between 2010 and 2021, while means that Amazon offered subscribers more than twice
23% of films had been released in 2020 or 2021, and as many new titles (2020 or 2021) as Netflix.
Table 6 Share of feature film catalogue content by age on leading SVoD platforms, 2021
Period of release Amazon Prime Disney+ Netflix Total

Video (%) (%) (%) (%)
1949 and earlier 2.0 1.0 1.8 1.8

1950-1959 1.7 2.2 0.6 1.5
1960-1969 2.0 2.4 0.8 1.7
1970-1979 2.5 3.6 1.1 2.2
1980-1989 3.1 6.0 2.7 3.3
1990-1999 6.0 21.5 3.4 6.8
2000-2009 11.9 32.1 10.6 13.5
2010-2019 52.4 26.2 55.8 50.8
2020-2021 18.4 5.0 23.2 18.4
Source: TRP Research, Catalogue audit, December 2021; BFI RSU. Total feature films: Amazon Prime Video (7,696), Disney+ (1,092), Netflix (2,906)
Notes:
‘Feature film’ is defined as any film with a running time of 40 minutes or over.
Titles without identified release years are not included in the share figures.
105
FILM ON
TELEVISION
Image: Paddington courtesy of StudioCanal
FACTS IN FOCUS
Television viewers had a choice of just under 12,000 unique
feature film titles across all channels in 2021, with a value to
UK broadcasters of £1.27 billion.
— In total, there were 11,984 unique feature — Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:
film titles on television in 2021, including Part 2 attracted the highest audience
1,148 on terrestrial television, 10,337 on for a single transmission on other multi-
other multi-channels and 1,740 on pay channels in 2021, with 1.8 million viewers
film channels. (The total is less than the on ITV2.
sum of individual categories, as some
titles were shown on multiple platforms — Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway attracted
across the year.) the highest audience for a single
transmission on pay TV film channels,
— There were 1,625 film transmissions on with 0.95 million viewers on Sky
terrestrial channels (up from 1,620 in Cinema Premiere.
2020). Of these, 524 were UK films (up
from 486 in 2020). — According to BARB, 57.9 million people
(95.4% of the UK population aged 4+)
— There were 69,181 film transmissions on watched all or part of at least one film on
other multi-channels and 50,368 film a television channel in 2021, down from
transmissions on pay TV film channels. 58.8 million (97.0% of the UK population
aged 4+) in 2020.
— The most popular film on terrestrial
television in 2021 was the independent
UK production Yesterday, which attracted
an audience of 4.7 million viewers on
BBC One.
107
Film on
television
Programming on the Almost one third (32%) of the films shown were UK titles.
Channel 5 broadcast the greatest number of films overall
terrestrial channels (474) while BBC Two showed the greatest number of UK
films and recent UK films, with 158 and 89 transmissions
respectively. As a percentage of overall films shown,
BBC Two also had the highest share of UK films (43%).
Table 1 shows the number of feature films broadcast on
terrestrial television in 2021 and the number of UK titles In total, the terrestrial channels broadcast 1,148 unique
shown. (Terrestrial television is used here to describe the feature film titles in 2021, a slight decrease on the 1,161
previous national terrestrial analogue services, all of unique titles shown in 2020.
which have some degree of public service obligation.)
UK films are broken down into recent titles (films It should be noted that these data are for films intended
released theatrically between 2012 and 2021) and older for theatrical release. Some of the channels also showed
titles (released pre-2012). a number of made-for-television films in the year but
these are not included in the table. Channel 5, in
There were 1,625 feature film transmissions on the five particular, regularly programmes such titles. In 2021, it
terrestrial channels in 2021 (up slightly from 1,620 in broadcast 372 made-for-television films, while BBC One
2020) an average of just under four and a half films a day. showed 13 and Channel 4 showed seven.
Table 1 Feature films broadcast1 on terrestrial television 2021
Number of films Number of UK UK films as Number of recent3 Recent UK films

broadcast films2 broadcast % of total UK films as % of total
broadcast films broadcast
BBC One 213 73 34.3 59 27.7

BBC Two 364 158 43.4 89 24.5
ITV 164 70 42.7 15 9.1
Channel 4 410 95 23.2 81 19.8
Channel 5 474 128 27.0 40 8.4
Total 1,625 524 32.2 284 17.5
Source: BARB, BFI RSU analysis
1
Includes repeat broadcasts of individual titles.
2
UK films are defined as those which have been certified as such by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport under Schedule 1 of the Films Act 1985, or
under one of the UK’s official bi-lateral co-production agreements, or a film which is a de-facto UK film by virtue of being made in whole or part in the UK by a UK production
company.
3
A recent film is one that has been theatrically released, or intended for release, in the UK since 2012.
108
Figure 1 shows the percentage of films broadcast on the less than five years old at the time of broadcast and 74%
terrestrial channels in 2021 across five age categories. of its films were less than 10 years old. At the other end
(For this analysis, the age of a film is determined by its of the scale, 59% of the films shown on Channel 5 had
year of release in the UK, not production year.) been released at least 20 years before, while 32% of the
films screened on BBC Two were at least 50 years old. In
Recent titles made up a larger share of Channel 4’s film the case of BBC Two, many of the films shown over the
output than for the other terrestrial channels. Just over year were British or Hollywood classics from the 1940s
four in 10 of the films (41%) shown on Channel 4 were and 1950s.
Figure 1 Percentage of feature film by age on terrestrial channels, 2021

%
BBC One BBC Two ITV Channel 4 Channel 5
50+ years 1.9 31.6 6.7 0.7 14.1
20-49 years 18.3 9.9 40.2 9.5 44.7
10-19 years 15.5 8.0 29.3 16.1 18.6
5-9 years 34.7 21.7 14.0 32.9 9.9
Less than 5 years 29.6 28.8 9.8 40.7 12.7

109
As the chart shows, while the trend to 2019 had been for
Film on terrestrial an overall decline in the proportion of airtime allotted to
film this was reversed in 2020, with four of the five
television, 2012-2021 terrestrial channels showing a year-on-year increase in
their schedules. In large part, this was due to the
broadcasters’ need to fill scheduling gaps caused by
production pauses and a lack of live sports and
As Figure 2 shows, the share of total programming hours entertainment output resulting from the COVID-19
dedicated to feature film varied widely across the pandemic. The picture in 2021 was more mixed with
terrestrial channels between 2012 and 2021. In most three of the five channels showing a year-on-year
years, Channel 4 had the greatest proportion of film decrease. However, the overall proportion of airtime
hours in its schedule and BBC One generally had devoted to feature film across the five channels
the smallest. In both 2020 and 2021, however, while increased in 2021, rising from 6% in 2020 to 7%, the
Channel 4 had the largest share of film hours, ITV had greatest share since 2015 (8%).
the smallest.
Figure 2 Film as a percentage of total programming hours by channel, 2012-2021

%
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
BBC One 5.3 5.5 3.5 4.3 3.0 2.6 2.3 2.4 3.3 4.8
BBC Two 8.6 9.2 8.5 9.3 8.0 7.6 5.2 7.0 8.5 8.4
ITV 8.4 5.7 5.8 4.3 4.9 3.2 3.1 2.7 2.4 4.4
Channel 4 15.9 15.5 13.2 10.8 11.1 11.0 10.7 10.4 11.2 10.4
Channel 5 14.5 13.7 14.1 11.6 8.3 8.2 8.4 7.5 8.2 7.1
Total 10.2 9.6 8.8 7.8 6.9 6.4 5.8 5.9 6.2 7.0

Notes:
Programming hours: 06:00-27:00. (For reporting purposes, the BARB broadcast day runs for 24 hours from 6:00. Times beyond 24:59 are reported using a thirty-hour clock.).
Film duration includes commercial breaks and promotions within broadcast on commercial channels.
Figures are for all network broadcasts; they exclude regional-only broadcasts.
Excludes films classified as ‘TV Films’ according to BARB’s genre categorisation. Most channels broadcast few, if any, of these made-for-television films. Channel 5 is an
exception and regularly programmes such films; in 2021, 7.1% of Channel 5’s total programming hours were devoted to made-for-television films, the same share as for
feature films.
110
average film audience compared with 2019. In large part,
Audience for film on this was due to a surge in overall screen viewing during
periods of lockdown in the year. This general upswing
terrestrial television, was not sustained in 2021, however, with four out of five
of the channels seeing smaller average audiences than
2012-2021 in 2020.
BBC One and ITV had the largest average audiences

between 2012 and 2021, while BBC Two had the
As Figure 3 shows, there was an overall decline in the smallest. In 2021, the average audience for film on BBC
size of the average audience for feature film across all One was 884,000 (down 22% compared with 2020), on
programming hours on the five terrestrial channels ITV it was 823,000 (up 16% compared with 2020), on
between 2012 and 2019, which is partly attributable to Channel 5 it was 413,000 (down 18%) and on Channel 4
changing screen habits, particularly among younger it was 362,000 (down 23%). BBC Two’s average film
viewers, and the growth of competition from on-demand audience in the year was 341,00, a 22% decrease
services in recent years. In 2020, however, all five compared with 2020.
terrestrial broadcasters saw an increase in the size of the
Figure 3 Average audience for film, 2012-2021

Audience (000)
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
BBC One 1,067 933 1,059 920 896 1,138 1,122 1,008 1,137 885
BBC Two 418 325 364 350 352 336 403 339 435 341
ITV 813 1,018 926 943 922 956 812 672 712 823
Channel 4 674 605 560 549 595 538 495 426 468 362
Channel 5 768 740 672 636 572 570 517 452 506 413

See notes to Figure 2
111
Six films in the top 10 achieved average audiences of
Top films on 3 million viewers or more; four less than in 2020 when all
of the 10 most popular titles achieved this threshold and
terrestrial television one less than in 2019. The six films screened in 2021 that
attracted 3 million viewers or more were all shown on
BBC One. In total, seven of the year’s top 10 most
popular films on terrestrial television were shown on BBC
The most popular film on terrestrial television in 2021 One, two were shown on ITV and one was shown on
was the independent UK production Yesterday, which Channel 4.
attracted an average audience of 4.7 million viewers for
its July premiere on BBC One. The romantic comedy is
one of five network premieres in the top 10 and one of
eight UK qualifying titles (Table 2).
Table 2 Top 10 films1 on terrestrial television, 2021
Title Channel Country Year of Audience

of origin release (million)
1 Yesterday* BBC One UK 2019 4.7

2 Mary Poppins Returns* BBC One UK/USA 2018 4.4
3 Paddington 2 BBC One UK/Fra 2017 3.5
4 Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge* BBC One UK/USA 2017 3.2
5 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves BBC One USA 1991 3.1
6 Spider-Man: Far from Home* BBC One UK/USA 2019 3.0
7 Home Alone Channel 4 USA 1990 2.8
8 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald* ITV UK/USA 2018 2.8
9 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ITV UK/USA 2009 2.7
10 Darkest Hour BBC One UK/USA 2018 2.6
Source: BARB, RSU analysis
1
Films with the highest average audience (individuals aged 4+) for a single transmission, excludes other transmissions of the same title.
* Film shown for the first time on terrestrial television.
Image: Yesterday © Universal Pictures
112
Four of the top 10 most popular UK films on terrestrial Five of the top 10 UK films are network premieres, while
television in 2021 were independent productions. In four of the remaining five titles have featured in this top
addition to Yesterday, which attracted the year’s overall 10 list in previous years. Harry Potter and the Order of the
highest average single audience across the terrestrial Phoenix has appeared eight times before, Harry Potter
channels (4.7 million viewers), these were family favourite and the Half-Blood Prince five times before, Paddington 2
Paddington 2 with 3.5 million viewers, followed by the has appeared twice and Darkest Hour has appeared
Winston Churchill drama Darkest Hour and the original once. Seven of the top 10 UK films in 2021 were shown
Paddington, both of which attracted 2.6 million viewers on BBC One and the remainder were shown on ITV.
(Table 3).
Table 3 Top 10 UK qualifying films1 on terrestrial television, 2021


2 Mary Poppins Returns* BBC One UK/USA 2018 4.4
4 Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge* BBC One UK/USA 2017 3.2
5 Spider-Man: Far from Home* BBC One UK/USA 2019 3.0
6 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald* ITV UK/USA 2018 2.8
7 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ITV UK/USA 2009 2.7
8 Darkest Hour BBC One UK/USA 2018 2.6
9 Paddington BBC One UK/Fra 2014 2.6
10 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ITV UK/USA 2007 2.6
1
Nine of the top 10 most popular UK independent films on Four of the top 10 films are network premieres while five
terrestrial television in 2021 were shown on BBC films have featured in this top 10 list previously.
channels while one was shown on ITV (Table 4). Three of Paddington has appeared three times before, Paddington
the films, Stan & Ollie, Mr Holmes and Horrible Histories: 2 and Santa Claus: The Movie have both appeared twice,
The Movie – Rotten Romans were backed by BBC Film and Darkest Hour and Shaun the Sheep Movie have both
(previously BBC Films) while the feature documentary appeared once.
Finding Jack Charlton was commissioned for BBC Two
and BBC Documentaries.
113
Table 4 Top 10 UK independent films1 on terrestrial television, 2021


3 Darkest Hour BBC One UK/USA #
2018 2.6
4 Paddington BBC One UK/Fra 2014 2.6
5 Finding Jack Charlton* BBC Two UK 2021 2.4
6 Stan & Ollie* BBC One UK/USA/Can #
2021 2.3
7 Mr Holmes BBC Two UK/USA #
2015 1.6
8 Santa Claus: The Movie ITV UK/USA# 1985 1.5
9 Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans* BBC One UK 2019 1.5
10 Shaun the Sheep Movie BBC One UK/Fra 2015 1.5
1
Films with the highest average audience (individuals aged 4+) for a single transmission, excludes other transmissions of the same title. Paddington 2, for example, was
shown twice in the year. Its December broadcast, which attracted an average audience of 3.5 million, is included here. However, if multiple transmissions were included,
its June broadcast which attracted an average audience of 1.7 million viewers would also feature in the list.
(3,334 transmissions). The three GREAT! channels were

Film on multi-channel part of the Sony film channels umbrella until May 2021
when they were rebranded following their acquisition by
television Narrative Entertainment. In total, 13 of the 37 channels
listed in the table are film-only channels.
Outside of dedicated film channels, the greatest number

Table 5 shows the number of film transmissions, the of titles was screened by the Nollywood film and drama
average film audience, the top film and the average entertainment channel ROK TV (3,174 transmissions),
audience for the top film on ‘other multi-channels’ which Channel 5’s action and crime channel Paramount
broadcast 30 or more unique feature films in 2021. For Network (now 5ACTION) with 2,232 transmissions and
the purposes of this section, other multi-channels the horror and sci-fi channel HorrorXtra (2,107
include all free-to-air and paid (non-premium transmissions). However, the largest average audiences
subscription) channels, with the exclusion of the for film were generated by ITV2 (303,000 viewers), ITV3
traditional terrestrial channels. (213,000) and BBC Four (200,000).
The list is headed by dedicated film channels GREAT! In total, 10,337 unique film titles were broadcast on other
action (5,389 transmissions), GREAT! classic (5,095 multi-channels across 69,181 slots in 2021.
transmissions), GREAT! movies (4,535 transmissions),
Talking Pictures (3,767 transmissions) and Utsav Gold
114
Table 5 Feature film on other multi-channels, 2021
Channel Number Average Top film1 Audience for

of films audience top film (000)
broadcast (000)
GREAT! action 5,389 29 Sink the Bismarck! 221

GREAT! classic 5,095 13 Crown for Christmas 149
GREAT! movies 4,535 37 Sister Act 385
Talking Pictures 3,767 32 The Plank 192
Utsav Gold 3,334 1 Laxmii 61
ROK TV 3,174 1 Let’s Talk About Love 45
Sony MAX2 3,161 1 Amar Deep (1979) 44
Sony MAX 3,139 1 Hichki 38
TCM 3,122 13 The Matrix Reloaded 163
B4U Movies 2,920 1 Hum Kaun Hai? 22
Film4 2,820 127 Kingsman: The Golden Circle 1,002
Zee Cinema 2,780 1 Rustom (2016) 37
Colors Cineplex 2,428 1 Om Shanti Om (2007) 27
Paramount Network* 2,232 69 Hang ‘Em High 340
HorrorXtra 2,107 30 Jeepers Creepers 174
London Live 2,019 5 Another Life 70
SAB 1,713 1 Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam 28
Pitaara 1,677 1 Daddy Cool Munde Fool 72
Sky Documentaries 1,508 6 Tina 145
ITV4 1,417 136 Casino Royale (2006) 532
5STAR 1,296 79 London Has Fallen 342
ITV2 903 303 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 1,829
Channel S TV 622 1 Ek Ratri 33
Comedy Central 573 56 London Has Fallen 182
Sky Sci-Fi 567 8 Ghostbusters (1984) 75
Zee TV 364 1 Atkan Chatkan 21
Boomerang 310 8 Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes 51
E4 257 174 Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation 412
Sky Arts 249 30 Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender 231
Colors Gujarati 244 1 Ventilator 11
5SELECT 221 20 Miss Potter 124
PTC Punjabi 181 2 Sikka 27
BBC Four 126 200 Blazing Saddles 687
Sky 1 120 108 Jack Reacher 362
ITV3 105 213 Carry On Abroad 535
Sky Showcase 75 120 Elf 579
4seven 75 58 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York 197
Notes:
1
* Paramount Network was rebranded as 5ACTION in January 2022.
Excludes channels with <30 unique cinema film titles broadcast during 2021.
115
The list of the top 10 most popular films on other multi-channels in 2021 is dominated by titles from the Harry Potter
franchise (Table 6). The entire series of Harry Potter films was broadcast on ITV2 twice in the year, in April and
October, following a first-run of the full series on the channel in 2019 as part of a dedicated season. Interestingly, the
final film in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 attracted the highest average audience on multi-
channel television (for a single transmission) in both 2021 and 2019. The only film from the series not to appear in the
top 10 is the first instalment, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
All of the top 10 films in 2021 are distinctively British outings. The three non-Harry Potter titles in the top 10 are the
romantic comedy Love Actually, the action comedy Kingsman: The Golden Circle and the James Bond adventure
Skyfall. All of the top 10 films are UK-studio backed productions. Nine of the films were shown on ITV2 and one was
shown on Film4.
Table 6 Top 10 films1 on other multi-channels, 2021

1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 ITV2 UK/USA 2011 1.8
2 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ITV2 UK/USA 2007 1.6
3 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ITV2 UK/USA 2009 1.5
4 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ITV2 UK/USA 2004 1.4
5 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 ITV2 UK/USA 2010 1.4
6 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ITV2 UK/USA 2002 1.3
7 Love Actually ITV2 UK/USA 2003 1.2
8 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ITV2 UK/USA 2005 1.1
9 Kingsman: The Golden Circle Film4 UK/USA 2017 1.0
10 Skyfall ITV2 UK/USA 2012 1.0
Notes:
1
All of the Harry Potter titles on this list were broadcast in April 2021. If the list included repeat showings, the October broadcasts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:
Part 2 (1.3 million viewers) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (1.2 million viewers) would also make the list.
Table 7 shows the 10 most popular films on the UK’s pay Christmas Day screening on Sky Cinema Premiere,
TV film channels in 2021. These channels broadcast followed by Christmas perennial Elf which attracted
1,740 unique titles across 50,368 slots during the year, 0.88 million viewers for its mid-December broadcast on
with an average audience of 6,000. In 2020, these Sky Cinema Drama.
channels screened 1,800 unique titles across 51,280
slots with an average audience of 11,000. (The pay TV Four of the top 10 titles are UK qualifying films, three of
category here only includes the additional subscription which were released directly onto the Sky platform – the
TV channels operated by Sky. For details of the top films UK studio-backed film Zack Snyder’s Justice League
on streaming services in the UK, see the Film on digital (which premiered simultaneously on the Sky-owned
video chapter.) streaming service NOW) and the independent UK films
SAS: Red Notice and Twist. One other film in the top 10
Family film Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway achieved the was released directly onto the Sky platform, the family
year’s highest single audience across pay TV film animation Extinct, a USA-China co-production.
channels, with an average of 0.95 million viewers for its
116
Table 7 Top 10 films1 on pay TV film channels, 2021

1 Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway Sky Cinema Premiere Aus/USA 2021 0.95
2 Elf Sky Cinema Drama USA 2003 0.88
3 The Suicide Squad Sky Cinema Premiere USA 2021 0.86
4 Zack Snyder’s Justice League Sky Cinema Premiere UK/USA 2021 0.86
5 SAS: Red Notice Sky Cinema Premiere UK 2021 0.83
6 Wonder Woman 1984 Sky Cinema Premiere UK/USA 2020 0.81
7 Extinct Sky Cinema Premiere USA/Chn 2021 0.79
8 Bad Boys for Life Sky Cinema Premiere USA 2020 0.78
9 Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Sky Cinema Premiere USA 2020 0.77
Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
10 Twist Sky Cinema Premiere UK 2021 0.72
1
Image: Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway © 2020 Sony Pictures Entertainment
117
falling from 3,004 to 1,298. Despite small upticks each
Film broadcasts and year from 2019, the number of films broadcast in 2021
(1,625) was a little over half (54%) the total shown in 2012.
audiences for film Conversely, there was an overall upward trend in the
number of film broadcast on pay TV over the period with
on all television 50,368 films shown in 2021 compared with 45,913 in
2012. (The number of films shown on pay TV peaked in
channels, 2012-2021 2020, the year COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions
on movement and social gatherings were first
introduced.)
Table 8 shows the total number of feature film In terms of unique film titles available to television
transmissions on terrestrial and pay TV film channels in viewers in 2021, 1,148 films were shown on terrestrial
the UK between 2012 and 2021 and the number of film television, 1,740 on pay TV and 10,337 on other multi-
transmissions on other multi-channels for 2020 and 2021 channels. Overall, 11,984 individual film titles were shown
only. (Comparable data for film broadcasts on other across all television channels in the year. (The overall
multi-channels prior to 2020 are unavailable; see notes to total is less than the sum of individual categories, as
the table below.) some titles were shown on multiple platforms across
the year.)
The annual number of films shown on terrestrial
television declined significantly between 2012 and 2018,
Table 8 Total number of film transmissions on television (except pay-per-view), 2012-2021
Number of transmissions
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Terrestrial 3,004 2,566 2,280 2,128 1,832 1,666 1,298 1,331 1,620 1,625
Pay TV film channels 45,913 47,216 47,081 47,850 47,274 48,221 47,791 48,663 51,280 50,368
Other multi-channel - - - - - - - - 66,267 69,181
Total - - - - - - - - 119,167 121,174
Notes:
These data are based on a methodology introduced by BARB in 2020 which sought to standardise the categorisation of broadcast output. The new process identified a
greater number of feature film transmissions on multi-channels than would have been included in previous editions of the Statistical Yearbook, so this table excludes figures
for other multi-channels prior to 2020 as these would not be comparable with the current data.
Some figures for 2020 have been updated since publication of the 2021 Statistical Yearbook.
Table 9 shows the reach of feature film broadcasts on According to the BARB data, 57.9 million people (95.4%
television between 2012 and 2021, according to BARB. of the UK population aged 4+) watched all or part of at
It should be noted that these data differ from the reach least one feature film on a television channel in 2021.
figures for film on television reported in the Audiences Across platforms, other multi-channel broadcasts had
chapter. Data here are based on television viewing in the greatest film reach (54.4 million; 89.7%) followed by
BARB panel homes (representing more than 12,000 terrestrial (53.8 million; 88.7%) and pay TV (27.6 million;
individuals aged 4+) which is measured automatically 45.5%).
and reported every single day. Data in the Audiences
chapter are based on findings from the first three The data show an overall downward trend in film reach
waves of the BFI/YouGov screen engagement tracking on terrestrial channels between 2012 and 2021 and an
study, a recall survey of 16+ adults, which asks overall upward trend in reach on pay TV channels over
respondents whether they have watched a film on the period. Film reach across all platforms, including
television in the previous year. Reported values from the other multi-channels, fell between 2020 and 2021. This
tracking study are dependent on both respondents’ reflects the greater use of television by the UK population
ability to accurately remember and how they interpret the in the year which saw the first UK-wide lockdown due to
question (e.g., would participants say they had watched the COVID-19 pandemic.
a film if they had not viewed all of it?). BARB’s standard
definition of reach is based on how many people
watched at least three continuous minutes of a particular
film (or programme).
118
Table 9 Total film viewing reach on television in millions and % of all individuals aged 4+, 2012-2021
Reach (million)
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Terrestrial 56.6 57.0 57.4 56.6 57.3 57.0 56.7 55.3 55.4 53.8
Pay TV film channels 18.3 21.4 26.8 29.3 31.1 29.0 27.7 29.5 34.6 27.6
Other multi-channel 56.3 54.4
Total 58.8 57.9
Reach (% all individuals 4+)
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Terrestrial 98.6 98.7 98.1 97.2 97.0 95.7 94.1 91.7 91.3 88.7
Pay TV film channels 31.8 37.0 45.8 50.3 52.7 48.7 46.0 48.8 57.0 45.5
Other multi-channel 92.9 89.7
Total 97.0 95.4
Notes:
Data are based on the total number and % of individuals (4+) who have watched at least 3 consecutive minutes of a film in a given calendar year.
Television values are based on a model developed by

The value of feature Omdia. This involves assessing the overall television
revenues generated from the licence fee, advertising
film to broadcasters income and subscription fees (these figures are either as
reported by the broadcasting companies or estimated
using Omdia’s market knowledge) and then calculating
the share of these revenues that can be ascribed to film.
We estimate the value of feature film to UK broadcasters This is based on a number of approaches, including
to have been £1.27 billion in 2021, down slightly from analysis of the viewing share for film on terrestrial and
£1.34 billion in 2020. Of this, it is estimated that multi-channel television, and use of survey intelligence to
£323 million is attributable to UK films (£402 million in identify both the split between the various types of pay
2020). It should be noted that the values for 2020 TV subscription and the driving factors behind pay
have been updated since publication of the 2021 TV uptake.
Statistical Yearbook.
119
THE UK FILM
MARKET AS
A WHOLE
Image: Last Night in Soho Photo Parisa Taghizadeh © 2021 Focus Features LLC. All Rights Reserved Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLC
FACTS IN FOCUS
Filmed entertainment market revenues in the UK rebounded in
2021 as the country began to emerge from the COVID-19
pandemic. Consumer spending on cinema and home
entertainment totalled £3.56 billion, up 8% from £3.28 billion
in 2020.
— Theatrical, digital video and terrestrial/ — Gross revenues for UK film were an
multi-channel television revenues estimated £1.14 billion, up slightly from
recorded increases compared with £1.12 billion in 2020.
2020 but physical video and pay TV
earnings declined. — In 2021, the UK had the fourth largest
filmed entertainment market in the world
— Theatrical earnings totalled £542 million, after the USA, China and Japan, and is
up 77% from £307 million in 2020, while expected to overtake Japan by 2026.
revenues from digital video totalled
£1.59 billion, up 15% from £1.39 billion
in 2020.
— For the second consecutive year, digital

video was the most significant
component of the film value chain.
121
The UK film
market as a whole
UK filmed Overall television revenues were also down year-on-year,
falling from £1.34 billion to £1.27 billion. (It should be
entertainment noted that much of this accrued to the television industry
rather than to the suppliers of film.) The picture for
market revenues television revenues in 2021 was mixed, however. While
terrestrial/multi-channel earnings rose, grosses for pay
TV fell. Terrestrial/multi-channel revenues increased from
£403 million to £426 million, primarily as a result of
Despite some continued disruption created by the increased advertising expenditure, while pay TV grosses
COVID-19 pandemic, the UK filmed entertainment market decreased from £940 million to £840 million, due mainly
began to recover in 2021 with overall earnings up 8% to increased competition from streaming platforms. It
compared with 2020. Combined theatrical and home should be noted that the values for television revenues in
entertainment revenues for the year totalled £3.56 billion this edition of the Statistical Yearbook, are calculated on
up from £3.28 billion in 2020 (Table 1). the basis of a different methodology than in previous
years so are not directly comparable with those in past
The greatest year-on-year recovery was seen in the publications. The current values estimated by Omdia
theatrical sector which saw revenues increase by 77% show higher overall revenues for television than reported
from £307 million to £542 million. The trend towards previously, and a higher share attributable to film (see
digital entertainment continued in 2021, with earnings notes to Table 1).
rising from £1.39 billion to a new high of £1.59 billion,
while aggregate physical video earnings continued to Gross revenues for UK films in 2021 were estimated to
decline, falling from £245 million in 2020 to £154 million. be £1.14 billion, with the share for British films highest in
(There were drops in both physical video retail and rental the theatrical market (41%) and lowest in the pay TV
grosses in the year.) market (22%). Overall, the share of total revenues
attributed to UK films in 2021 was 32%, down slightly
from 34% in 2020.
122
Table 1 UK filmed entertainment market, 2020 and 2021
2020 2021
Total gross Attributable UK film Total gross Attributable UK film

value to UK films as % of value to UK films as % of
(£ million) (£ million) total gross (£ million) (£ million) total gross
Theatrical 307 143 46 542 223 41
Physical video rental 12 4 35 8 3 37
Physical video retail 233 82 35 146 55 37
Digital video 1,386 492 36 1,592 541 34
Pay TV 940 282 30 840 183 22
Terrestrial and multi-channel TV 403 120 30 426 140 33
Total 3,280 1,123 34 3,555 1,144 32
Notes:
‘Theatrical’ is the total gross UK theatrical revenue (including VAT) in the calendar years 2020 and 2021 for all films exhibited in the UK. See The box office 2021 chapter.
‘Physical video rental’ is the total revenue from physical video rental (DVD, Blu-ray, etc) transactions in the calendar years 2020 and 2021. UK share is based on an estimate
derived from knowledge of UK film share in the physical video retail market. See the Film on physical video chapter.
‘Physical video retail’ is the total revenue from physical video retail transactions in the calendar years 2020 and 2021. See the Film on physical video chapter.
‘Digital video’ revenues are derived from Omdia estimates of the combined size of the television and internet-based markets. UK share is based on an estimate derived from
knowledge of UK film share in the TV and video markets. See the Film on digital video chapter.
Television values have been calculated using a methodology developed by Omdia. This involves assessing the overall TV revenues generated from the licence fee,
advertising income and subscription fees (these figures are either as-reported by the broadcasting companies or estimated using Omdia’s market knowledge) and then
calculating the share of these revenues that can be ascribed to film. This is based on a number of approaches, including analysing the viewing share for film on terrestrial
and multi-channel TV and using survey intelligence to identify both the split between the various types of pay TV subscription and the driving factors behind Pay TV uptake.
See the Film on television chapter.
The above values are gross values and include distributor and exhibitor margins, VAT, prints and advertising costs, DVD/video retail margins, broadcaster and multi-channel
TV operator margins in addition to net returns to the film production sector and film investors.
The revenues shown here are revenues earned by film in the UK market, whether UK or foreign films. The table does not include export revenues for the UK film industry.
See The UK film economy chapter for UK film export revenues.
Image: The Green Knight courtesy of Entertainment Films Distributors
123
for each of the market’s component segments. In
The evolution of particular, the shift from the consumption of physical
video to digital video has been a constant throughout the
UK film revenues, period. Aggregate physical video revenues represented
30.5% of the overall market in 2012 but accounted for
2012-2021 only 7% in 2020 and 4% in 2021. In contrast, digital video
made up just 6% of total revenues in 2012 compared
with 42% in 2020 and 45% in 2021. For the second
consecutive year digital video represented the most
Figure 1, which shows aggregate film revenues between significant component of the film value chain in the UK.
2012 and 2021, highlights the impact of the pandemic on
the overall UK filmed entertainment market. While total The revenues shown in Figure 1 are the actual figures; if
revenues have fluctuated over the period, gross values adjusted for inflation (Figure 2), excluding the two years
were significantly lower in both 2020 and 2021. impacted by the pandemic, the data show an overall
decline in revenues from the start of the period to
Apart from the cinema sector, which was uniquely 2019. In inflation-adjusted terms, overall film revenues in
affected by pandemic restrictions, the data for 2020 and 2020 were 29% lower than in 2012 and in 2021 were
2021 do, however, show a continuation of existing trends 23% lower.
Figure 1 Gross film revenues, all platforms, 2012-2021

£ million
Film on television 1,380 1,434 1,394 1,480 1,470 1,512 1,397 1,306 1,342 1,266
Digital video 224 314 383 461 543 660 809 966 1,386 1,592
Physical video retail 968 940 861 712 589 503 451 347 233 146
Physical video rental 221 146 88 63 49 40 31 23 12 8
Theatrical 1,099 1,083 1,063 1,242 1,228 1,279 1,282 1,254 307 542
Total 3,893 3,917 3,790 3,958 3,879 3,994 3,970 3,895 3,280 3,555
Source: Comscore, BASE, Official Charts Company, Omdia, BFI RSU analysis
Notes:
‘Film on television’ covers terrestrial, pay TV and other multi-channel TV. On-demand television-based services are included within the digital video total.
124
Figure 2 Gross inflation-adjusted film revenues, all platforms, 2012-2021 (expressed in 2021 pounds)
£ million
Film on television 1,642 1,670 1,603 1,689 1,647 1,664 1,511 1,384 1,340 1,266
Digital video 267 365 441 526 608 726 875 1,023 1,383 1,592
Physical video retail 1,152 1,095 990 813 660 554 488 368 233 146
Physical video rental 263 170 101 72 55 44 34 24 12 8
Theatrical 1,307 1,261 1,222 1,418 1,376 1,408 1,387 1,329 307 542
Total 4,631 4,561 4,357 4,518 4,346 4,397 4,295 4,127 3,274 3,555
Source: Comscore, BASE, Official Charts Company, Omdia, BFI RSU analysis
Notes:
The deflator used to calculate real values is the UK whole economy deflator, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gdp-deflators-at-market-
prices-and-money-gdp
continued to drive growth in worldwide home

The UK film market entertainment earnings, which rose from $40.0 billion in
2020 to $45.3 billion. Overall, global filmed entertainment
in the global context revenues increased by 26% compared with 2020, rising
from $52.2 billion to $66.2 billion. (These figures exclude
television revenues.)
The global filmed entertainment industries rebounded As Table 2 shows, in 2021 the UK had the fourth largest
strongly in 2021 as markets began to emerge from the film entertainment market in the world after the USA,
COVID-19 pandemic. China and Japan. According to Omdia, with revenues of
$23.8 billion, the USA accounted for 36% of the global
There was a substantial recovery in global theatrical market, with China accounting for 17% ($11.5 billion),
receipts, which increased from $11.6 billion in 2020 to Japan for 5.5% ($3.6 billion) and the UK for 5%
$20.8 billion, while expanding use of streaming services ($3.1 billion).
125
Table 2 Top 20 countries by filmed entertainment revenues, 2021
Country US$ million Market share %
USA 23,807 36.0

China 11,504 17.4
Japan 3,623 5.5
UK 3,135 4.7
Germany 2,691 4.1
France 2,207 3.3
Canada 1,445 2.2
Australia 1,421 2.1
South Korea 1,263 1.9
Mexico 1,234 1.9
Brazil 1,199 1.8
Spain 1,002 1.5
India 989 1.5
Russia 926 1.4
Sweden 906 1.4
Italy 801 1.2
Netherlands 637 1.0
Denmark 547 0.8
Norway 451 0.7
Poland 412 0.6
Rest of the world 5,992 9.1
Total 66,194 100.0
Source: Omdia, BFI
Notes:
Information contained in this table was taken from the Cinema Admissions & Box Office Database Q4 2022 and the Home Entertainment Intelligence Database Q4 2022
reports from Omdia.
‘Filmed entertainment revenues’ here comprise box office receipts, sales of physical video (rental and retail), and digital video revenues (including revenues from purchases/
rentals of films through cable/satellite providers). Omdia does not currently calculate what share of TV revenues should be apportioned to film in all territories, so these
revenues have been excluded from this table.
Figures/percentages do not sum to totals due to rounding.
126
According to Omdia, the USA and China will remain the 231% between 2021 and 2026. The greatest increase in
world’s top two markets for filmed entertainment into market value, however, is forecast for two new entrants
2026 (although both territories will lose share compared to the top 20 list – Argentina (+391%) and Indonesia
with 2021) while the UK will overtake Japan to become (+293%). The two countries predicted to fall out of the
the third largest market (Table 3). top 20 by 2026 are both European – Norway and Poland.
In 2021, these two territories accounted for 0.7% and
India is expected to rise significantly in the rankings, 0.6% of the global market respectively.
moving from 13th place to seventh, with revenues up
Table 3 Top 20 countries by filmed entertainment revenues, forecast for 2026
Country US$ million Market share % % predicted growth

2021-2026
USA 34,578 32.9 45.2

China 17,252 16.4 50.0
UK 4,669 4.4 48.9
Japan 4,475 4.3 23.5
Germany 3,579 3.4 33.0
France 3,456 3.3 56.6
India 3,273 3.1 230.8
South Korea 3,059 2.9 142.2
Mexico 2,623 2.5 112.6
Brazil 2,447 2.3 104.1
Australia 2,348 2.2 65.3
Canada 2,086 2.0 44.3
Spain 1,662 1.6 65.9
Italy 1,476 1.4 84.3
Sweden 1,274 1.2 40.6
Argentina 1,125 1.1 390.9
Netherlands 979 0.9 53.7
Indonesia 888 0.8 292.7
Russia 819 0.8 -11.6
Denmark 722 0.7 31.9
Rest of the world 12,169 11.6 90.1
Total 104,960 100.0 58.6
Source: Omdia, BFI
Figures/percentages do not sum to totals due to rounding.
127
AUDIENCES
Image: Escape from Pretoria courtesy of Signature Entertainment
FACTS IN FOCUS
In the first 12-month period with cinemas fully open following
the lifting of pandemic restrictions, 90% of UK adults (16+)
watched at least one film on one or more of the many
platforms offering film content.
— According to the latest BFI/YouGov — Viewers aged 45+ made up 83% of

screen engagement survey data, the use the audience (4+) for the most popular
of a Subscription Video on Demand UK independent film on television in
(SVoD) service was the most popular 2021, Yesterday.
method of accessing film content among
UK adults (16+). — ABC1 individuals made up 44% of the 4+
audience for film on television.
— SVoD had been used by 59% of UK adults
in the previous 12 months to watch at least — In 2021, viewers aged 45+ made up 50%
one film followed by television (used by of the audience (16+) for all content on
51%) and the cinema (41%). SVoD platforms, while 16-34 year olds
made up 30%.
— In 2021, 15-34 year olds made up 44% of
the cinema audience (aged 7+), while — Viewers aged 45+ made up 65% of the
cinema-goers aged 45+ made up 26%. audience (16+) for the most popular UK
independent film on SVoD platforms in
— Cinema-goers aged 15-34 made up 67% 2021, The Mauritanian.
of the audience for the highest grossing
UK independent film of the year, The — ABC1 individuals made up 57% of the
French Dispatch. 16+ SVoD user profile.
— ABC1 individuals made up 59% of the 7+

cinema-going audience.
— In 2021, viewers aged 45+ made up 75%

of the audience (7+) for film on television,
while 16-34 year olds made up 10%.
129
Audiences
Audiences for film the first time, was the single most popular means of
watching films across all the demographic groups
in the UK covered in the chart. (In the 2020 Statistical Yearbook
data, subscription streaming services had been the joint
top means of accessing film for individuals with a
disability alongside live and catch-up TV.)
The BFI’s audience screen engagement survey has
provided a valuable insight into changes in the film According to the reporting, television, which historically
viewing habits of UK audiences during the period around had been the leading means of accessing film content
the COVID-19 pandemic. The tracking study was was the second most popular method of film viewing and
conducted by YouGov and based on a nationally was used by just over half (51%) of all adults. (It should
representative sample of over 11,500 respondents. Three be noted that the data here do not differentiate between
rounds of research have taken place to date: a first wave linear television and digital catch-up services.)
at the end of 2019 before the onset of the pandemic; a Interestingly, the only group to over-index vs all adults as
second taking in the continued impact of the pandemic television viewers of film were adults with children under
from March to November 2020; and a third undertaken in 18 (57%), while the groups least likely to watch films on
the first half of July 2022, a post-pandemic period which television or via catch-up were 16-24 year olds (34%) and
covered a 12-month span when cinemas were fully open. Global Majority individuals (34%). The mirroring here is in
part due to the Global Majority population in the UK
According to the third wave of the survey, 90% of adults skewing towards the younger age groups.
said they had watched at least one film in the previous
12-month period, compared with 91% in the first wave. Young adults remain the core cinema-going audience in
There was also a slight decline in the frequency of film the UK, with 52% of 16-24 year olds going to the cinema
viewing with adult respondents from the first survey to watch films compared with 41% of the adult
watching 36 films each on average in the previous 12 population as a whole. Two other demographic groups
months, compared with 30 films for respondents in the over-indexed vs all adults as viewers of film at the
third survey. cinema: Global Majority individuals and LGBTQ+
individuals. LGBTQ+ adults showed particular outlier
The survey data highlight what has been an ongoing behaviour in their consumption of film, with above-
trend in audience habits (albeit accelerated by the average reach for film across every category in the chart
pandemic), which has seen film viewing shift away with the sole exception of TV channel/catch-up.
from broadcast television and physical media to digital
video platforms.
As Figure 1 shows, the use of a Subscription Video on

Demand (SVoD) service was the most popular method of
accessing film content for all UK adults (59%) and, for
130
Figure 1 Audiences for film in the UK by platform or method
%
Watched a SVoD TV Cinema DVD/ TVoD TVoD Free online Whilst Unauthorised Outdoor
film via any channel/ Blu-ray rental retail (authorised travelling platform screening
method catch-up platform)
Adults 90 59 51 41 22 14 14 12 8 5 2
Age 16-24 89 67 34 52 20 16 14 21 14 12 2
dults with
A 91 60 57 39 22 14 13 9 6 3 1
child under 18
Global Majority 87 57 34 44 11 13 10 22 11 9 2
LGBTQ+ 90 69 40 48 26 20 21 20 13 12 3
Disability 88 55 48 32 23 14 14 14 7 7 1
Source: BFI/YouGov Screen Engagement Survey, July 2022, Base n=11,737 UK adults, 16yrs+
Q: In which of the following venues or ways have you watched a film in the past 12 months?
most affected by the pandemic – 2020 and 2021 – there

Cinema-goers by age was a decline in the representation of older film-goers in
the audience. The proportion of 55+ cinema-goers in the
audience fell by almost a quarter between 2019 and
2021, decreasing from 21% to 15%. This is partly
Figure 2 shows a breakdown of the cinema audience (7+) explained by the reluctance of many older film-goers
by age between 2017 and 2021. These data are from the to return to cinemas following the lifting of pandemic-
annual UK Cinema Advertising Association (CAA) Film related restrictions on movement and gatherings. As a
Monitor tracking study and are based on responses from consequence, the age profile of cinema-goers shifted
those who had reported going to the cinema at least younger, with 15-24 year olds making up 24% of the
once in the previous 12 months. audience in 2021 compared with 20% in 2019. More
broadly, the share of the audience comprising 15-34
The age profile of the cinema audience was fairly year olds increased from 37% in 2019 to 44% in 2021
consistent for most of the period with 15-24 year olds while the share of 45+ cinema-goers decreased from
and those aged 55+ representing the two largest 33% to 26%.
cinema-going age groups. However, in the two years
131
Figure 2 Age distribution of cinema-goers, 2017-2021
%
Age 7-14 14 15 15 14 14
Age 15-24 21 20 20 20 24
Age 25-34 18 17 17 18 20
Age 35-44 17 17 16 17 18
Age 45-54 11 11 12 13 11
Age 55+ 20 21 21 19 15
Source: Cinema Advertising Association (CAA) Film Monitor, 2017-2021
Note: A ‘cinema-goer’ is defined here as any individual who has been to the cinema at least once in a given year; age profiles are based on audiences for films released in
that year and reported by the CAA Film Monitor for that year.
Image: People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan © Focus Features LLC. Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLC
132
over-indexing was consistent across all age groups. In
Cinema-goers by comparison with 2020, males increased their
representation by five percentage points.
gender and socio-
The average cinema audience generally attracts a larger
economic grade share of individuals from the higher socio-economic
grades compared with the general population. In 2021,
ABC1 individuals over-indexed in all age categories with
the exception of the 15-24 year old age group. This
Males typically outweigh females in the overall cinema over-representation was greatest amongst audiences
audience and over-index compared with their aged 35 or over, 61% of which comprised ABC1 cinema-
representation in the UK population as a whole. goers in 2021. However, this was down considerably
According to CAA Film Monitor data, males accounted from 2020, when ABC1 individuals made up 67% of the
for 54% of all cinema admissions in 2021 but made up 35+ cinema-going audience.
only 49% of the UK population. As Table 1 shows, this
Table 1 Cinema-goers by age and gender/social grade, 2021
Cinema-goers UK population
Age 7-14 Age 15-24 Age 25-44 Age 35+ All 7+ 7+

% % % % % %
Male 53 53 56 56 54 49
Female 47 47 44 44 46 51
ABC1 60 56 59 61 59 58
C2DE 40 44 41 39 41 42
Source: CAA Film Monitor, 2021
See note to Figure 2.
audience for five of the top six films, compared with 44%
Audiences for the top of the year’s average cinema audience. The independent
titles attaching the greatest proportion of younger
UK independent films cinema-goers were the television spin-off People Just Do
Nothing: Big in Japan, for which 73% of audience
at the cinema, 2021 members were aged 15-34, the comedy drama The
French Dispatch (with a 67% audience share for 15-34
year olds) and psychological horror Last Night in Soho
(62%). However, the youngest film-goers in the data, who
Figure 3 shows the audience profile by age for the top six made up 14% of the average cinema audience in 2021,
UK independent films released in 2021. This list contains were under-represented amongst viewers of the top UK
fewer entries than those for the top UK independent films independent titles. This was primarily due to the
on television and SVoD (Figures 6 and 9), as lower classification of the top earning films. Only two of the
cinema attendances than usual meant sample sizes were releases were accessible to 7-14 year olds – the Princess
not sufficient to produce reliable profiles for all of the top Diana portrait Spencer (with a 9% audience share for this
10 titles. For more on the year’s top 10 UK independent age group) and the dementia-centred drama The Father
titles at the cinema, see the Top films in 2021 chapter. (7%) – but neither were aimed primarily at a younger
demographic. The Father was the only top six title to
The highest earning UK qualifying independent films attract a predominantly older cinema-goer, with 53% of
released in 2021 show a skew towards younger film- its audience drawn from the 35+ age group.
goers, with 15-34 year olds making up over half of the
133
Figure 3 Cinema audience profile by age for the top UK independent film titles, 2021
(ranked by box office performance)
% of group in audience
Age 7-14 - - 9 - - 7 14
Age 15-24 35 31 30 40 27 18 24
Age 25-34 32 30 22 33 35 21 20
Age 35-44 18 18 15 16 19 15 18
Age 45-54 8 9 9 4 7 11 11
Age 55+ 7 12 15 6 12 27 15
As Figure 4 shows, four of the top six UK independent All of the top six titles attracted a greater share of
films released in 2021 attracted a higher proportion of audience members from the more affluent socio-
males than the year’s average cinema audience, while economic grades than the overall cinema audience. The
only one of the top six – Spencer – attracted an above- audience for The French Dispatch was the most heavily
average share of female cinema-goers (63% compared skewed, with ABC1 individuals making up 75% of the
with 46%). The comedy drama The French Dispatch was film’s audience compared with 59% for the average
the only top six title to attract an audience that matched cinema audience.
the gender split of the year’s overall theatrical audience.
134
Figure 4 Cinema audience profile by gender and socio-economic status for the top UK independent film titles,
2021 (ranked by box office performance)
Male 54 60 37 59 60 60 54
ABC1 75 60 70 63 66 67 59
Image: Spencer Photo by Pablo Larraín. Courtesy of STX Entertainment
135
75% of the audience for film on television in 2021 (62% in
Audiences for film 2017), while 16-34 year olds made up 10% (19% in 2017).
on television Interestingly, the only age group to increase its

representation in the television audience for film in the
two years most affected by the pandemic – 2020 and
2021 – was the oldest: the audience share for viewers
The age distribution of audiences for film on television aged 55+ grew from 50% in 2019 to 57% in 2021.
shows a different pattern to that of the cinema audience.
In general, individuals who watch films on television tend The average television audience for film grew slightly
to be in the older age groups, with more than half the more male over the period, increasing from 49% in
audience aged 45 or over. While the evidence suggests 2017 to 51% in 2021. There was little change in terms
that the average age of cinema-goers has diminished in of the socio-economic make-up of the audience, which
recent years, the audience for film on television has consistently sees ABC1 individuals under-index
grown older. As Figure 5 shows, the proportion of older compared with their representation in the UK population.
(45+) television viewers increased by 21% between 2017 In 2021, ABC1 viewers accounted for 44% of the
and 2021, while the share of 16-34 year old viewers television audience compared with 58% of the
decreased by almost half. Viewers aged 45+ made up UK population.
Figure 5 Distribution of television audience for film by age and gender/social grade, all channels, 2017-2021
Age 7-15 6 6 5 5 4
Age 16-24 7 6 5 4 3
Age 25-34 12 11 9 8 7
Age 35-44 14 13 13 11 11
Age 45-54 20 19 19 19 18
Age 55+ 42 45 50 53 57
Male 49 50 50 51 51
ABC1 43 43 43 45 44
Source: BARB/TechEdge data based on share of total viewer minutes for titles classified as either ‘film’ or ‘TV film’ on any channel watched by individuals aged 7+.
136
aged 45 or over and the drama Mr Holmes (also shown
Audiences for the top on BBC Two) with an 88% audience share for viewers
aged 45+. This age group made up 83% of the audience
UK independent films for three titles: the musical romantic comedy Yesterday,
the Winston Churchill drama Darkest Hour and the Laurel
on television, 2021 and Hardy biopic Stan & Ollie (all of which were shown
on BBC One).
Although making up a smaller share of overall viewers for

In line with the overall television audience for film, the top 10 UK independent films, younger individuals
viewers for the year’s most popular UK independent films over-indexed in the audience for the five other films in the
shown on television (based on the highest average list, all of which were children’s or family titles. The two
audience for a single transmission) skewed heavily youngest groups (4-6 year olds and 7-14 year olds) made
towards an older demographic (Figure 6). up 22% of the audience for Shaun the Sheep Movie
compared with 5% for the average television audience
Older (45+) viewers over-indexed in the audience for five for film. These groups also over-indexed in the audiences
of the top 10 titles compared with their representation in for Paddington (14%), Horrible Histories: The Movie
the overall television audience for film (74%). The – Rotten Romans (14%), Santa Claus: The Movie (12%)
independent titles with the oldest age profiles were the and Paddington 2 (11%). For more on the year’s top 10
sports documentary Finding Jack Charlton (shown on UK independent titles on television, see the Film on
BBC Two) for which 91% of audience members were television chapter.
Figure 6 Television audience profile by age for the top UK independent films, all channels, 2021
Age 4-6 0 4 1 8 0 0 0 2 3 9 1
Age 7-14 2 7 3 6 0 2 1 10 11 13 4
Age 15-24 2 4 2 6 2 3 1 9 3 3 3
Age 25-34 4 6 7 10 1 5 4 10 6 9 7
Age 35-44 9 10 5 10 6 7 5 12 11 17 11
Age 45-54 16 16 15 14 18 22 15 15 19 16 18
Age 55+ 67 53 68 46 73 61 73 43 49 33 56
Source: BARB/TechEdge
Notes:
Where a film has been broadcast more than once during the year, only the transmission with the highest % profile for that group is included.
‘Total film on TV audience’ is based on share of total viewer minutes for titles classified as either ‘film’ or ‘TV film’ on any channel watched by individuals aged 4+.
137
The audience profile for the top 10 UK independent films which attracted a higher proportion of male viewers were
on television in 2021 by gender and socio-economic Darkest Hour and Finding Jack Charlton with audience
status differs from the overall television audience shares of 53% and 58% respectively.
(Figure 7).
Nine of the top 10 films attracted a majority of ABC1
Females over-indexed in the audience for eight of the top viewers and over-indexed for this demographic
10 UK independent films viewed on television in 2021 compared with the overall television audience share of
compared with their representation in the overall 44%. The films with the largest ABC1 profile were Mr
television audience (49%). The titles with the highest Holmes with a 67% share and Paddington 2 with 65%.
proportion of female viewers were the family favourites The only film in the list to attract an-above average share
Paddington and Paddington 2 with audience shares of of C2DE viewers was the Christmas favourite Santa
59% and 60% respectively. The only two films in the list Claus: The Movie (60%).
Figure 7 Television audience profile by gender and socio-economic status for the top UK independent film
titles, 2021 (ranked by average audience)
Male 48 40 53 41 58 49 42 47 45 42 51
ABC1 61 65 57 59 60 56 67 40 56 52 44
Source: BARB/TechEdge
138
As Figure 8 shows, the age profiles (16+) of Netflix and
User profile of the top Amazon viewers in 2021 broadly matched the age profile
for all SVoD users. Users of the Disney+ platform,
three Subscription however, skewed notably younger, over-indexing in all
age categories compared with the average SVoD user
Video on Demand except for the 55+ age group. Just 15% of Disney+ users
were aged 55+, compared with 36% for Amazon and
(SVoD) services 31% for Netflix. It should be noted that the demographic
profiles for SVoD users are for viewers of all content on
these platforms, not just film.
In 2021, the use of a Subscription Video on Demand The chart shows that the gender split of audiences for
(SVoD) service was the most popular means of watching both Netflix and Disney+ was broadly even, with shares
film amongst UK adults (16+) for the second consecutive for male viewers of 50% and 49% respectively. The
year; by Quarter 4 of that year, 67% of UK households Amazon audience skewed more male with a share of
(19.1 million) had access to one or more of these 57%. One reason for the difference here could be the
platforms (see the Film on digital video chapter). The inclusion of a range of live sports broadcasts in the basic
three most popular SVoD providers in the UK in the year package for Amazon Prime subscribers. All three of the
were Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+. Netflix leading services skewed slightly towards the more
had the largest user base of the three and by Quarter 4 affluent socio-economic grades with 56%-57% of users
was available in 18.8 million UK homes, followed by of the individual platforms drawn from the ABC1 group.
Amazon (12.6 million homes) and Disney+ (5.5 million).
Figure 8 User profile for the top three SVoD services in the UK by age, 2021
Age 16-24 12 13 14 12
Age 25-34 19 14 21 18
Age 35-44 20 18 25 20
Age 45-54 18 19 25 19
Age 55+ 31 36 15 31
Male 50 57 49 52
ABC1 57 56 57 57
Source: TRP Codex
Note: This is the profile of all users, not only those that watch film.
139
proportion of older users were the action thrillers The
Audiences for the top Foreigner and American Assassin, with viewers aged 45+
making up 75% and 71% of their respective audiences
UK independent films (Figure 9).
on SVoD, 2021 The independent titles with the greatest appeal to

younger viewers were the romantic comedies Made in
Italy and Yesterday, both of which matched the average
SVoD audience profile with a 12% share for the 16-24
While less heavily skewed towards older (45+) viewers age group. (Yesterday also appears in the list of top 10
than audiences for the top UK independent films on UK independent films on television.) Generally, this
television, audiences for the top UK independent titles on younger group under-indexed as viewers of the most
the three leading SVoD services in 2021 were generally popular UK independent films in 2021 compared with
older than the profile of SVoD users as a whole. (The top their representation in the overall audience. It should be
10 list here is based on films with the highest average UK noted, however, that these data are based on a survey of
audiences on either Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or users aged 16+, so may not reflect the popularity of
Disney+.) Audiences for eight of the top 10 films over- some titles with the very youngest viewers.
indexed for viewers aged 45+ compared with the SVoD
user profile share of 50%. The titles attracting the highest
Figure 9 SVoD audience profile by age for the top UK independent film titles, 2021
Age 16-24 2 5 5 10 12 12 0 12 0 18 12
Age 25-34 12 7 19 26 11 13 20 11 11 7 18
Age 35-44 21 18 32 22 15 11 23 28 18 1 20
Age 45-54 14 28 7 20 24 19 17 8 19 20 19
Age 55+ 51 42 37 23 39 46 40 42 52 55 31
Source: TRP Codex
140
As Figure 10 shows, females over-indexed in the Dredd and American Assassin also stood out as two of
audience for six of the top 10 UK independent films only three top 10 titles to attract audiences with an
shown on SVoD platforms in 2021 in comparison with the above-average make up of ABC1 viewers, with shares of
overall SVoD user profile share (48%). The films with the 61% and 64% respectively in comparison with the SVoD
highest proportion of female viewers were I Care a Lot user profile (57%). The other title to over-index for ABC1
(with a 69% audience share) and Yesterday (with 60%), viewers was Everybody’s Talking About Jamie with a
both of which featured strong female protagonists. The share of 63%.
films attracting the highest proportion of male viewers
were Dredd (with a 73% audience share) and American
Assassin (with 72%).
Figure 10 SVoD audience profile by gender and socio-economic status for the top UK independent film titles,
2021 (ranked by average audience)
Male 50 46 31 50 44 40 55 73 72 65 52
ABC1 53 51 56 63 47 33 51 61 64 73 57
Source: TRP Codex
141
oldest skewing audience profile with 66% of film viewers
Audience profile aged between 45 and 64 and 4% aged 18-24. This
underscores the difference between the ‘going out’
comparative analysis experience of cinema and the ‘staying in’ nature of
television. Interestingly, the SVoD audience was the least
skewed in terms of age and was the most aligned with
the UK population. Users aged between 18 and 34 made
This chapter has focused on comparing the demographic up 32% of the SVoD audience compared with 35% of the
profile of the audience for the three most popular UK population, while 21% of the SVoD audience was
platforms that show film. However, due to the different made up of 55-64 year olds compared with 22% of the
methodologies used to collect the data and the different UK population. This is a significant shift from the initial
sampling criteria, it is difficult to draw robust and reliable days of SVoD availability in the UK when the age profile
comparisons between these datasets. Figure 11 attempts was predominantly young in comparison with the
to remove those differences by looking at a common UK population.
core sample of 18-64 year olds. It should be noted that
this is not single source data so we are unable to create Audiences for all three platforms in 2021 were slightly
overlaps in, for example, those who used all three more male than the UK population, most notably among
platforms for watching film. In addition, the data for the cinema-goers: 55% of the cinema audience was male
SVoD services are for all content watched on these compared with 49% in the UK population. In socio-
platforms, including high-end television series, so are not economic terms, both cinema and SVoD audiences had
exclusively based on a ‘film only’ audience. a similar profile to the UK population, while the profile for
television under-represented ABC1 viewers: 44% of the
Cinema delivered the youngest skewing audience profile television audience was made up of ABC1 individuals
in 2021, with 53% of film-goers aged between 18 and 34 compared with 58% in the UK population.
and only 8% aged 55-64. In contrast, television had the
Figure 11 Comparative UK audience profiles: cinema, television and SVoD, 2021
Age 18-24 25 4 11 13
Age 25-34 28 11 21 22
Age 35-44 25 18 24 21
Age 45-54 15 30 23 22
Age 55-64 8 36 21 22
Male 55 50 51 49
ABC1 58 46 57 58
Source: CAA, BARB/TechEdge, TRP Codex
Notes:
CAA data based on age profile of adults aged 18-64 who report having been to the cinema at least once in 2021.
BARB/TechEdge data based on share of total viewer minutes for adults aged 18-64 watching titles classified as either ‘film’ or ‘TV film’ on all channels.
TRP Codex based on user profile for UK SVoD services.
* Based on adults aged 18-64.
142
SCREEN SECTOR
CERTIFICATION
Image: The Electrical Life of Louis Wain courtesy of StudioCanal
FACTS IN FOCUS
In 2021, 909 projects with a total production value of
£4.3 billion were certified as British under the UK’s screen
sector cultural tests and co-production treaties. The UK
spend associated with these projects was £3.2 billion.
— A total of 396 feature films received final — A total of 47 animation productions
certification as British in 2021, up from received final certification under the
382 in 2020. Of these, 378 were films cultural test (65 in 2020), with a combined
which passed the cultural test and 18 budget of £87 million (£72 million in 2020).
were official co-productions.
— A total of 107 children’s television
— The combined production budget of productions received final certification
cultural test films with final certification under the cultural test (89 in 2020), with a
was £1.6 billion (£2.4 billion in 2020); the combined budget of £73 million
combined budget of co-productions with (£102.5 million in 2020).
final certification was £60 million
(£73 million in 2020). — A total of 242 video games projects
received final certification under the
— Twenty-four cultural test films had cultural test (262 in 2020), with a
budgets of £10 million or over, down from combined budget of £400 million
29 in 2020; 304 cultural test films had (£455 million in 2020).
budgets of under £2 million, up from 300
in 2020.
— The median budget for cultural test films

was £200,000; the median budget for
co-productions was £3.3 million.
— A total of 116 high-end television (HETV)

productions received final certification
under the cultural test (118 in 2020), with
a combined budget of £2.0 billion
(£1.7 billion in 2020).
144
Screen sector
certification
At the end of 2021, the UK had 12 active bilateral treaties
Qualifying as an in place, with Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France,
India, Israel, Jamaica, Morocco, New Zealand, the
official UK production Occupied Palestinian Territories and South Africa.
Official UK co-productions can also be certified under
the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-
production which allows for both bilateral and multilateral
Film film co-productions. (The convention is governed by the
To access UK film tax relief or be eligible for other public Council of Europe, so is unaffected by the UK’s exit from
support, such as National Lottery funding, a film must be the European Union.) Films which received final co-
certified as British. To qualify as British, a production production certification in 2021 included Boys from
must pass the cultural test for film (under Schedule 1 of County Hell, The Father and Rose Plays Julie.
the Films Act 1985) or be certified as an official co-
production under one of the UK’s bilateral co-production
agreements or the European Convention on Television programmes
Cinematographic Co-production. The cultural test has In 2013, the UK Government introduced tax reliefs for
been in place since 2007 but was revised in 2014 to high-end television (HETV) and animation programmes
bring it in line with the more recent creative sector with the aim of boosting production investment in these
cultural tests. creative sectors. (The cultural test for HETV programmes
was revised in 2015.) Tax relief for children’s television
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and production was introduced in April 2015. To qualify as an
Sport is responsible for approving the issuing of interim official British HETV, animation or children’s television
and final certificates on the basis of recommendations production, projects must pass either the relevant
made by the BFI Certification Unit. Projects seeking cultural test (under Part 15A of the Corporation Tax Act
qualification under the cultural test may apply for interim 2009, as amended) or be certified as an official co-
certification either during production or when the project production under one of the UK’s bilateral co-production
is complete, or may apply directly for final certification agreements which allow television co-production. At the
once the production has been completed and final end of 2021, these were with Australia, Brazil, Canada,
documents submitted. Projects seeking qualification as China, Israel, New Zealand, the Occupied Palestinian
official co-productions must apply for interim approval at Territories and South Africa.
least four weeks before principal photography begins
and for final certification once the project is complete. HETV projects receiving final certification in 2021
included Anne Boleyn, The Crown (Series 3) and The Old
To qualify as British under the cultural test, films have to Guard. Animation and children’s television programmes
receive a requisite number of points based on UK or qualifying as officially British in the year included The
European Economic Area (EEA) cultural elements for Adventures of Paddington (Series 1), Mallory Towers
content, contribution, hubs and practitioners. (Cultural (Series 1) and Moon and Me (Series 1).
tests for the creative sector continue to recognise
EEA content and personnel following the UK’s exit from
the European Union.) A wide range of films qualified as Video games
British under the cultural test in 2021, including Belfast, In 2014, the UK Government extended creative sector tax
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain and Fast & Furious 9. reliefs to include video games development. To qualify as
officially British, a video game must pass the relevant
To qualify as British under one of the UK’s official co- cultural test (under Schedules 17 and 18 of the Finance
production agreements, films must be jointly certified by Act 2013). Official co-production treaties do not apply to
the appropriate authorities in each co-producing country. the video games sector.
Each party co-producer is required to meet the criteria of
the specific co-production agreement, which includes Video games awarded final certification in 2021 included
the creative, technical, artistic and financial input from Fall Guys, Forza Horizon 4 and Yooka-Laylee and the
each co-producer. Once certified, a film counts as a Impossible Lair.
national film in each of the territories and may qualify for
public support in that territory.
145
Films with final certification, 2012-2021
As Figure 1 shows, while there was an upward trend in the numbers of feature films receiving final certification as
British between 2012 and 2021, the total budget associated with these films was more variable. In 2021, 396 films
received final certification, up from 382 in 2020, and the highest figure since our records began. The aggregate
production budget for these films was £1.7 billion, down from £2.5 billion in 2020, and the lowest figure since 2016.
Cultural test films accounted for the majority of certifications throughout the period. In 2021, these films accounted for
95% of total certifications and 96.5% of the total budget.
Figure 1 Number and total budget of films with final certification, 2012-2021
Number of certifications £ million
Number of final certifications

Co-production 13 17 15 15 7 11 10 13 15 18
Cultural test 187 182 238 237 269 280 336 370 367 378
Total 200 199 253 252 276 291 346 383 382 396
Total budget (£ million)
Co-production 73.5 112.7 68.2 84.6 75.4 66.2 59.4 47.2 72.7 59.8
Cultural test 1,169.7 1,353.3 1,855.9 1,443.9 1,532.7 2,573.4 3,289.7 3,729.6 2,428.9 1,648.9
Total 1,243.2 1,466.0 1,924.2 1,528.5 1,608.1 2,639.5 3,349.1 3,776.8 2,501.6 1,708.7
Source: DCMS, BFI
Notes:
Total budget is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK for cultural test films and total investment for co-productions.
146
Figure 2 UK spend of films with final certification and UK spend as % of total budget, 2012-2021
£ million %
UK spend (£ million)
Co-production 44.3 65.3 40.0 29.7 23.9 22.2 26.4 20.6 27.8 20.0
Cultural test 834.2 1,041.2 1,252.8 959.0 936.3 1,813.6 1,957.0 2,156.0 1,802.7 1,067.8
Total 878.5 1,106.5 1,292.8 988.7 960.2 1,835.8 1,983.4 2,176.6 1,830.5 1,087.8
UK spend as % of total production budget
Co-production 60.3 57.9 58.6 35.1 31.7 33.6 44.5 43.7 38.3 33.5
Cultural test 71.3 76.9 67.5 66.4 61.1 70.5 59.5 57.8 74.2 64.8
Source: DCMS, BFI
Notes:
‘UK spend’ is the ‘value of the production activities in the UK’ for cultural test films and ‘UK expenditure’ for co-productions (bilateral and European Convention). UK spend
for co-productions may include some expenditure on UK goods and services which took place outside the UK.
The UK spend associated with films receiving final certification in 2021, at £1.1 billion, was lower than in 2020
(£1.8 billion) and 2019 (£2.2 billion). As Figure 2 shows, however, the level of UK spend associated with finally certified
films has been variable over time. Between 2012 and 2021, the UK spend of cultural test films as a share of total
budget ranged from 58% (2019) to 77% (2013), and for co-productions it ranged from 32% (2016) to 60% (2012). While
cultural test films accounted for the majority of overall UK spend throughout the period, their share has slowly
increased. Cultural test films were responsible for 98% of the UK production value associated with final certifications
in 2021 compared with 95% in 2012.
147
Budget distribution £400,000 which dropped, as the numbers of these films
of films with increased, to £300,000. In 2020 and 2021, however, the

median budget was lower at £100,000 and £200,000
final certification, respectively. This is most likely due to a downturn in the

number of higher budget projects being finally certified
2012-2021 during the two years most affected by the COVID-19
pandemic. The median budget for co-productions has
been more varied over the period, peaking in 2017 at
£5.7 million and with a low of £2.4 million in 2019. This
Table 1 shows the median budgets of films receiving final fluctuation is a result of the relatively small volume of
certification between 2012 and 2021. At the start of the co-production activity, as with low numbers the median
period, the median budget for cultural test films was is more susceptible to the effects of individual budgets.
Table 1 Median budgets of films with final certification, 2012-2021
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Cultural test (£ million) 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.2
Co-production (£ million) 2.8 3.7 4.0 3.8 4.8 5.7 4.1 2.4 2.8 3.3
Source: DCMS, BFI
Notes:
The median is the middle value, i.e. there are equal numbers of productions above and below the median.
Figure 3 shows the breakdown of cultural test films receiving final certification by budget band between 2012 and
2021. While the annual numbers of certifications within each budget category have fluctuated, most recently as a
result of the pandemic, there was an overall upward trend across all budget bands over the period. The greatest
increase was seen in final certifications for films with budgets of less than £500,000 which rose from 99 in 2012 to
245 in 2021.
As the annual numbers of film productions certified under the UK’s co-production treaties during the period were low,
figures are not disclosed to maintain confidentiality.
Figure 3 Films with final cultural test certification by budget band, 2012-2021
Number of certifications
≥£30 million 9 9 16 9 13 23 24 24 14 15
£10-£29.9 million 5 7 9 12 15 8 11 16 15 9
£5-£9.9 million 7 12 22 10 12 17 19 20 13 15
£2-£4.9 million 21 22 15 17 19 28 26 32 25 35
£0.5-£1.9 million 46 39 43 62 41 45 61 51 44 59
<£0.5 million 99 93 133 127 169 159 195 227 256 245
Total 187 182 238 237 269 280 336 370 367 378
Source: DCMS, BFI
148
Table 2 shows the distribution of budgets for all films certified under the cultural test between 2012 and 2021. The
5.5% of films with budgets of £30 million or over accounted for 79% of the aggregate budget, while the 77% of films
with budgets of under £2 million accounted for only 3.5% of the aggregate budget.
Table 2 Films with final cultural test certification, distribution by budget band, 2012-2021
Budget band Number % number Total budget % budget

(£ million)
≥£30 million 156 5.5 16,700.3 79.4

£10-£29.9 million 107 3.8 1,747.4 8.3
£5-£9.9 million 147 5.2 1,071.3 5.1
£2-£4.9 million 240 8.4 780.4 3.7
£0.5-£1.9 million 491 17.3 494.9 2.4
<£0.5 million 1,703 59.9 231.8 1.1
Total 2,844 100.0 21,026.1 100.0
Source: DCMS, BFI
Table 3 shows that the budgets for co-productions with final certifications between 2012 and 2021 were more evenly
distributed than for cultural test films. The table also highlights the small proportion of films with budgets of less than
£500,000 (8%) compared with cultural test films (60%).
Table 3 Films with final co-production certification, distribution by budget band, 2012-2021
Budget band Number % number Total budget % budget

(£ million)
≥£30 million
18 13.4 308.8 42.9
£10-£29.9 million
£5-£9.9 million 30 22.4 213.8 29.7
£2-£4.9 million 47 35.1 160.2 22.3
£0.5-£1.9 million 28 20.9 34.0 4.7
<£0.5 million 11 8.2 2.8 0.4
Total 134 100.0 719.6 100.0
Source: DCMS, BFI
Notes:
As the number of higher budget co-productions certified during the period were low, figures have been aggregated to maintain confidentiality.
High-end television (HETV) programme final

certifications, 2017-2021
Figure 4 shows the number and overall budget of HETV productions receiving final certification as British under the
cultural test between 2017 and 2021. Certifications reached a record high of 135 in 2019 but were lower in the two
years most impacted by pandemic restrictions: 118 in 2020 and 116 in 2021. However, the production value associated
with these projects reached a high in 2021 with a total budget of just over £2 billion (up from £1.7 billion in 2020 and
£1.8 billion in 2019). The increase in total budget partly reflects the growing investment made by streaming platforms
such as Netflix and Amazon Prime in single feature-length productions which are certified as HETV projects rather
than feature films for the purposes of UK tax relief.
As the annual numbers of HETV productions certified under the UK’s co-production treaties were low over the period,
149
Figure 4 Number and total budget of HETV productions with final cultural test certifications, 2017-2021
Number of certifications £ million
Number of final certifications 103 99 135 118 116

Total budget (£ million) 935.1 1,406.3 1,761.8 1,703.4 2,022.8
Source: DCMS, BFI
Notes:
A production can be a single programme or a television series.
Image: Anne Boleyn Parisa Taghizadeh/Fable Pictures Ltd/The Falen Falcon Ltd/Sony Pictures Inc
150
There was an overall upward trend in the UK production value associated with HETV projects certified under the
cultural test between 2017 and 2021 (Figure 5). The UK spend of finally certified projects increased from £675.5 million
in 2017 to a record £1.65 billion in 2021. As a percentage of total budget, UK spend was generally between 70% and
75% but was as high as 82% in 2021.
Figure 5 UK spend of HETV productions with final cultural test certifications and UK spend as % of total
budget, 2017-2021
£ million %
UK spend (£ million) 675.5 974.6 1,313.3 1,232.5 1,651.1

UK spend as % of total budget 72.2 69.3 74.5 72.4 81.6
Source: DCMS, BFI
Notes:
Table 4 shows the increase in the median budget per minute of HETV productions receiving final certification under
the cultural test between 2017 and 2021. For the first few years of the period (2017-2019), the median budget per
minute ranged between £22,000 and £26,000. However, in 2020 the cost per minute was over £30,000 and in 2021 it
was almost £35,000.
Table 4 Median budgets of HETV productions with final cultural test certification, 2017-2021
Year Median budget per minute (£)
2017 22,764
2018 25,721
2019 24,808
2020 30,563
2021 34,713
Source: DCMS, BFI
Notes:
151
was £75 million (down from £111 million in 2020), while
Animation television the associated UK production value decreased from
£81 million in 2020 to £66 million. In 2021, the UK spend
programme final as a percentage of the total production budget was 87%,
the highest share of the period.
certifications,
As the annual numbers of animation television
2017-2021 productions receiving final certification under the UK’s
co-production treaties were low throughout the period,
As Table 5 shows, 47 animation television productions The median budget per minute for animation television
received final certification as British under the cultural projects certified under the cultural test has averaged
test in 2021, down from 65 in 2020, and the second around £7,000 over the period. In 2021, the median cost
lowest number of the period, 2017-2021. The total budget per minute was £6,462.
for animations certified under the cultural test in 2021
Table 5 Animation television productions with final cultural test certifications, 2017-2021
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number 39 57 59 65 47
Total budget (£ million) 50.2 76.0 122.6 111.4 75.8
UK spend (£ million) 42.8 52.5 86.7 80.6 65.9
Median budget per minute (£) 3,836 7,426 7,037 7,556 6,462
Source: DCMS, BFI
Notes:
Data updated since publication of the 2021 Statistical Yearbook
Children’s television budget has typically been higher for children’s television
projects than the other production categories in this
programme final analysis, generally ranging from 93% to 99%. In 2021,
however, this share was as low as 74% but this was due
certifications, to a substantial use of foreign locations and facilities by a
small number of high budget projects.
2017-2021
As the annual numbers of children’s television projects
certified under the UK’s co-production treaties in the
period were low, figures are not disclosed to maintain
In 2021, 107 children’s television projects received final confidentiality.
certification as British under the cultural test, up from 89
in 2020, and the highest number since tax relief for this The median budget per minute for children’s television
production category was introduced in 2015. However, at projects certified under the cultural test has averaged
£73 million, the aggregate budget of these projects and around £2,100. In 2021, the median cost per minute
their associated UK spend (£54 million) were the lowest was £1,960.
since 2017 (Table 6). UK spend as a percentage of total
152
Table 6 Children’s television productions with final cultural test certifications, 2016-2020
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number 65 87 82 89 107
Total budget (£ million) 49.9 89.1 84.9 102.5 72.9
UK spend (£ million) 46.2 86.2 83.9 101.2 54.1
Median budget per minute (£) 1,793 2,028 2,336 2,532 1,960
Source: DCMS, BFI
Notes:
Video games final from £419 million in 2020. While the value of finally
certified video games developments in both 2020
certifications, and 2021 was lower than the record achieved in 2019
(which was due to a small number of very high budget
2017-2021 international projects receiving certification in that year),
both years represent a significant increase on 2017 and
2018. The UK spend as a percentage of total budget for
qualifying video games projects in 2021 was 84%, down
A total of 242 video games received final certification from 92% in 2020.
as British in 2021, compared with 262 in 2020 (Table 7).
The aggregate budget for these projects was The median budget for video games with final
£400 million, down from £455 million in 2020, and the certification in 2021 was just under £207,000.
associated UK production value was £337 million, down
Table 7 Video games with final certification, 2017-2021
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number 212 195 248 262 242

Total budget (£ million) 277.5 263.9 1,206.4 454.6 400.1
UK spend (£ million) 248.8 201.9 623.8 418.7 337.0
Median budget (£) 142,425 180,490 149,666 97,784 206,959
Source: DCMS, BFI
Notes:
The median is the middle value, i.e. there are equal numbers of video game projects above and below the median.
Video games can only qualify as British for the purpose of the relief through the cultural test.
153
SCREEN SECTOR
PRODUCTION
Image: Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical © 2022 Sony Pictures U.K. & Tristar Pictures
FACTS IN FOCUS
The combined spend on film and high-end television (HETV)
production in the UK reached a record high in 2021, led
primarily by a surge in investment from international HETV
projects.
— The combined value of all film and HETV — Thirty-four feature-length HETV projects
production activity in the UK in 2021 was began production in 2021, accounting
£5.64 billion, up from £3.12 billion in 2020. for 18% of the total UK spend for
HETV productions.
— The value of film production activity in the
UK in 2021 was £1.55 billion, up from — The total UK spend for UK qualifying
£1.51 billion in 2020; £1.33 billion of this animation programmes beginning
spend (86%) was attributed to inward production between 2017 and 2021
investment and co-production projects. was £419 million.
— Sixteen big budget films (£30 million or — The total UK spend for UK qualifying
over) accounted for 73% of total UK film children’s TV programmes beginning
production spend. All of these films were production between 2017 and 2021
inward investment projects. was £467 million.
— The value of HETV production activity in — The total UK spend for UK qualifying
the UK in 2021 was £4.09 billion, up from video games beginning development
£1.60 billion in 2020; £3.44 billion of this between 2017 and 2021 was £1.88 billion.
spend (84%) was attributed to inward
investment and co-production projects.
— Eighty-nine HETV projects backed by the

major streaming platforms began
production in 2021, accounting for 68% of
the total UK spend for HETV productions.
155
Screen sector
production
Film and high-end noted, however, that the distinction between film and
HETV productions can appear arbitrary. Feature-length
television projects primarily intended for release on streaming
platforms, including those that may receive some form of
theatrical release, are classified as HETV productions for
the purposes of UK tax relief. The UK production value
In 2021, the spend on feature film and high-end television associated with these projects in 2021 was £734 million,
(HETV) production in the UK reached a record high of a record 18% of the overall investment in HETV
£5.64 billion. As Figure 1 shows, this combined total is production in the UK (Table 1). There were 34 such
81% greater than in 2020 and 29% up on the previous projects in 2021, including Catherine Called Birdy
peak achieved in 2019. This record level of UK spend (Amazon Prime Video), Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical
points to the strength of the recovery in the production (Netflix) and Pinocchio (Disney+).
sector as the country emerged from the COVID-19
pandemic, and underscores the importance of the UK as In total, 420 feature films and HETV projects began
a global centre of production for the screen industries. principal photography in the UK in 2021, an increase
(Inward investment projects accounted for 84% of the from 353 in 2020 but still below the figures achieved
total UK spend for film and HETV production in 2021.) between 2017 and 2019. It should be noted, however,
that as HETV projects can be either single productions or
For the third consecutive year, the share of aggregate UK series, numbers here can be misleading. In addition,
spend associated with HETV production was greater there is often a delay in acquiring full data on production
than for film production. HETV projects generated 72% activity in the UK, so the figures for the last few years are
of the combined production value in 2021. It should be likely to be revised upwards (see notes to Figure 1).
156
Figure 1 Total value and volume of film and HETV productions, 2017-2021
£ million Number of productions
UK spend film (£ million) 2,221.9 2,091.6 2,152.6 1,511.8 1,554.3

UK spend HETV (£ million) 1,224.3 1,420.3 2,213.9 1,604.7 4,085.6
Total UK spend (£ million) 3,446.2 3,511.9 4,366.5 3,116.5 5,640.0
Number of film productions 380 350 349 237 209
Number of HETV productions 116 154 162 116 211
Total number of productions 496 504 511 353 420
Source BFI
Notes:
Productions are allocated to the year principal photography commenced; an HETV production can be a single programme or a television series.
Figures for recent years may be amended in the future as more production data become available. In the 2021 Statistical Yearbook, for example, the total number of film and
HETV production starts reported for 2020 was 231; this has now been revised to 353.
Table 1 Value and volume of feature-length HETV productions, 2017-2021
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
UK spend of feature-length HETV productions (£ million) 114.0 36.4 276.6 117.6 734.0
Total UK spend of HETV productions (£ million) 1,224.3 1,420.3 2,213.9 1,604.7 4,085.6
Feature-length HETV productions as % of total 9.3 2.6 12.5 7.3 18.0
Number of feature-length HETV productions 13 12 14 18 34

Number of HETV productions 116 154 162 116 211
Feature-length HETV productions as % of total 11.2 7.8 8.6 15.5 16.1
Source: BFI
Note: A ‘feature-length HETV production’ is defined here as a programme intended for broadcast (including the internet) with a duration of 70 minutes or longer, which is not
divided into episodes, and which excludes pilot episodes and specials.
157
overall UK spend attributed to inward investment
The value of UK productions in 2021 was 82%, down from 88% in 2020.
Inward features shooting in the UK in 2021 included
film production, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Batman and
Ganapath – Part 1.
2012-2021
Domestic UK features shooting in 2021, which included
Enys Men, The Lost King and Save the Cinema, had a
UK production value of £221 million, up 40% from
As Figure 2 shows, the total UK spend of feature films £158 million in 2020. These figures do not reflect the fact
that began principal photography in 2021 was that many films made by home-grown filmmakers attract
£1.55 billion, up 3% compared with 2020 (£1.51 billion) international finance and are therefore classified as
but down 28% compared with 2019 (£2.15 billion). As inward investment films, such as the 2021 productions
noted, there is often a delay in acquiring full data on Men (written and directed by Alex Garland) and Downton
production activity in the UK, so values for the most Abbey: A New Era (written by Julian Fellowes and
recent years are expected to be revised upwards. directed by Simon Curtis).
According to our current data, inward investment films The UK spend of official and un-official co-productions
contributed £1.28 billion towards the total UK production in 2021 was £58 million, up from £29 million in 2020,
spend in 2021, a decrease of 4% from £1.32 billion in and the highest total since 2013. Co-productions
2020, and the lowest level of UK production value commencing principal photography in the year included
associated with these films since 2015. The proportion of The Canterville Ghost, The Silent Twins and The Son.
Figure 2 UK spend of feature films produced in the UK, 2012-2021
£ million
Inward Investment 665.6 885.0 1,293.7 1,266.0 1,507.4 1,913.1 1,743.9 1,879.2 1,324.7 1,275.5
Domestic UK 266.4 220.6 225.0 282.7 324.6 275.1 317.6 228.1 158.2 221.0
Co-production 75.5 63.3 54.9 45.5 48.5 33.7 30.1 45.3 28.9 57.8
Total 1,007.5 1,168.9 1,573.7 1,594.2 1,880.5 2,221.9 2,091.6 2,152.6 1,511.8 1,554.3
Source: BFI RSU
Notes:
Data are rounded to the nearest £0.1m so may not sum exactly to the totals shown and include only the UK spend associated with productions shot or post-produced partly
or wholly in the UK.
Spend is allocated to the year in which principal photography began or to the year in which the visual effects were undertaken in the case of VFX-only films.
Inward investment feature films include inward co-productions and VFX-only films.
Includes films with budgets of less than £500,000.
Definitions:
An inward investment film is one which is substantially financed and controlled from outside the UK, and which is attracted to the UK by script requirements (e.g., locations)
and/or the UK’s filmmaking infrastructure and/or UK film tax relief.
A domestic (indigenous) UK feature is a film made by a UK production company that is produced wholly or partly in the UK.
A co-production is a film made by companies from more than one country, often under the terms of a bilateral co-production treaty or the European Convention on
Cinematographic Co-production.
158
Table 2 distinguishes UK studio-backed films from UK and non-UK originated independent films made partly or wholly
in the UK. In 2021, UK studio-backed films accounted for 64% (£992 million) of overall production spend in the UK, a
decrease from 73% (£1.1 billion) in 2020. Between 2012 and 2021, the average share of total UK spend attributed to
UK studio-backed films was 67%.
Table 2 UK spend of UK studio-backed and independent films produced in the UK, 2012-2021, £ million
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
UK studio-backed films* 654.2 758.1 1,010.2 1,186.7 1,186.9 1,570.7 1,429.8 1,412.5 1,098.5 991.8
Independent films** 353.3 410.8 563.5 407.5 693.6 651.2 661.8 740.1 413.3 562.5
Total 1,007.5 1,168.9 1,573.7 1,594.2 1,880.5 2,221.9 2,091.6 2,152.6 1,511.8 1,554.3
% UK studio-backed films 64.9 64.9 64.2 74.4 63.1 70.7 68.4 65.6 72.7 63.8
Source: BFI
Notes:
* ‘Studio-backed’ means a UK film wholly or significantly financed and controlled by a US studio but featuring UK cast, crew, locations, facilities, post-production and often
UK sourced material.
** Films produced without significant creative or financial input from the major US studio companies. ‘Independent’ films here include both UK qualifying independent
productions and non-UK independent productions.
The volume of UK film production, 2012-2021
In 2021, 209 films were produced wholly or partly in the UK, down from 237 in 2020. Of these, 55 were inward
investment features, 126 were domestic UK features (of which 75 had budgets of £500,000 or over) and 28 were
co-productions (Figure 3). While the total number of films entering production was lower than in 2020, there were
increases in all production categories with the exception of domestic UK films with budgets of less than £500,000,
which fell from 110 in 2020 to 51. However, as previously noted, there is often a delay in acquiring full data on
production activity in the UK, particularly in the case of low and micro-budget features, so these numbers are likely
to be revised upwards.
Image: The Lost King courtesy of Pathé UK
159
Figure 3 Number of feature films produced in the UK, 2012-2021
£ million
Inward investment 44 43 57 63 65 80 67 97 44 55
Domestic UK 286 269 273 269 257 274 254 222 166 126
Of which budget ≥£500k 77 70 83 97 100 90 105 69 56 75
Of which budget <£500k 209 199 190 172 157 184 149 153 110 51
Co-production 47 61 45 38 31 26 29 30 27 28
Total 377 373 375 370 353 380 350 349 237 209
Source: BFI RSU
Notes:
Inward investment includes VFX-only titles.
Co-production includes both official and unofficial co-productions.
Table 3 shows that UK and non-UK originated table. (These films account for the majority of UK
independent films accounted for almost 96% of all films production spend). The number of independent films
produced in the UK in 2021, a similar share to 2020. The produced in the year was also at a period low, although
number of UK studio-backed films (nine) produced in this figure is likely to be revised upwards as more data
2021 was the lowest of the 10-year period covered in the become available.
Table 3 Number of UK studio-backed and independent films produced in the UK, 2012-2021
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
UK studio-backed films* 15 16 16 25 18 20 16 19 10 9
Independent films** 362 357 359 345 335 360 334 330 227 200
Total 377 373 375 370 353 380 350 349 237 209
% UK studio-backed films 4.0 4.3 4.3 6.8 5.1 5.3 4.6 5.4 4.2 4.3
Source: BFI
* ‘Studio-backed’ means a UK film wholly or substantially financed and controlled by a US studio but featuring UK cast, crew, locations, facilities, post-production and often
UK source material.
** Films produced without substantial creative or financial input from the major US studio companies. ‘Independent’ films here include both UK qualifying independent
productions and non-UK independent productions.
160
Film production by genre, 2019-2021
Table 4 shows a breakdown of UK film production by genre for the years 2019-2021. Dramas and documentaries
accounted for the greatest proportion of films, at 18% each, but only 8% and 2% respectively of total UK spend.
Other genres equalling or exceeding 10% of total productions were horror which accounted for 12% of films (2% of
UK spend), comedy with 11% of films (5% of UK spend), and thriller with 10% of films (4% of UK spend). The biggest
spending genre was action which accounted for 40% (£2.1 billion) of overall UK spend from 7% of films, and fantasy
which accounted for 15% of UK spend (£803 million) from 2% of films.
Table 4 Genre of film production in the UK, 2019-2021 (ranked by UK spend)
Genre Number % of Budget % of UK spend % of total

of films total films (£ million) total budget (£ million) UK spend
Action 59 7.4 3,089.8 38.9 2,074.3 39.7

Fantasy 17 2.1 1,119.7 14.1 803.4 15.4
Drama 145 18.2 602.3 7.6 408.4 7.8
Adventure 13 1.6 448.4 5.7 318.5 6.1
Comedy 90 11.3 397.3 5.0 274.1 5.3
Thriller 81 10.2 440.4 5.5 203.2 3.9
Crime 32 4.0 191.5 2.4 157.3 3.0
Animation 13 1.6 276.4 3.5 151.6 2.9
Sci-fi 22 2.8 363.0 4.6 149.6 2.9
Biopic 20 2.5 197.7 2.5 124.7 2.4
Musical 10 1.3 181.7 2.3 122.2 2.3
War 12 1.5 123.1 1.6 109.7 2.1
Horror 96 12.1 105.2 1.3 86.7 1.7
Romance 37 4.7 141.5 1.8 85.2 1.6
Documentary 140 17.6 100.6 1.3 81.9 1.6
Other 8 1.0 157.6 2.0 67.9 1.3
Total 795 100.0 7,936.3 100.0 5,218.8 100.0
Source: BFI
Notes:
The data have been presented for a three-year period to show as many genres as possible without disclosing the budgets of individual films.
Table 5 shows the top 10 genres by share of UK spend for domestic UK films and inward investment/co-production
titles (inward investment and co-production films have been combined for data disclosure reasons). The table shows a
more even distribution of genres for domestic UK films compared with inward investment/co-production films. The top
three genres by share of UK spend for domestic UK films – drama, comedy, and thriller – accounted for 54% of total
UK production value for these films, while a single genre – action – accounted for 44.5% of the UK production value
for inward investment/co-production films.
161
Table 5 Top 10 genres for domestic UK and inward investment/co-production films, 2019-2021
(ranked by % UK spend)
Domestic UK Inward investment & co-production
Genre % of % of total Genre % of % of total

total films UK spend total films UK spend
Drama 18.1 24.1 Action 13.9 44.5

Comedy 11.7 18.4 Fantasy 2.8 17.1
Thriller 10.3 11.9 Adventure 1.8 6.6
Biopic 2.3 11.3 Drama 18.5 5.7
Documentary 21.4 9.2 Comedy 10.7 3.5
Horror 15.4 7.4 Animation 4.3 3.3
Action 3.9 3.8 Sci-fi 2.8 3.1
Romance 2.7 2.7 Crime 3.6 3.1
Crime 4.3 2.6 Thriller 10.0 2.8
Fantasy 1.8 2.3 Romance 8.2 1.5
Total top 10 91.8 93.7 Total top 10 76.5 91.2
Total other genres 8.2 6.3 Total other genres 23.5 8.8
Total films = 514 Total films = 281
Source: BFI
Notes:
The data have been limited to the top 10 ranking genres for disclosure reasons.
Percentages may not sum to sub-totals due to rounding.
Image: The Batman © Warner Bros 2021. All Rights Reserved.
162
2020 (£5.0 million) and 2021 (£4.3 million) the median was
Budget trends, the third and second lowest of the period respectively. In
contrast, the median budget for domestic UK
2012-2021 productions overall has shown a significant increase over
the period, rising by a factor of five, from £150,000 in
2012 to a period high of £760,000 in 2021. Looking just at
the median for UK domestic films with budgets of
Figure 4 shows the median budget for inward investment £500,000 or over shows a less steep increase over the
films, co-productions and domestic UK films between period, with a rise from £1.1 million in 2012 to a period
2012 and 2021. It also includes data on median budgets high of £2.3 million in 2021. At £3.2 million, the median
for domestic UK films excluding those with budgets of budget for co-productions was also at a period high in
less than £500,000. 2021 and was more than three times the median in 2012
(£1.0 million). It should be noted that the median budgets
While the median budget for inward investment features for all production categories in the most recent years are
has shown the greatest fluctuation over the period, likely to be revised downwards as more data on
ranging from a low of £2.5 million to a high of production activity become available.
£10.6 million, it has declined each year from 2017. In
Figure 4 Median feature film budgets, 2012-2021

£ million
Inward investment 2.48 10.62 9.55 5.25 5.97 9.02 6.04 5.54 4.96 4.28
Domestic UK - all productions 0.15 0.15 0.23 0.26 0.30 0.25 0.33 0.20 0.16 0.76
Domestic UK with budgets ≥ £500,000 1.14 1.35 1.17 1.21 1.17 1.37 1.99 2.23 1.92 2.30
Co-production 1.03 1.01 1.40 0.90 1.93 1.98 2.35 2.50 1.60 3.20
Source: BFI
Notes:
Median budget is the middle value of budgets (i.e. there are equal numbers of films above and below the median). The median in this case is a better measure of central
tendency than the mean, as it avoids the upward skew of a small number of high budget productions.
Data in this table are shown to two decimal places to gain a clearer picture of change over the period for domestic UK films.
163
£5 million (56% of inward features), which accounted for
Size distribution 4% of the total budget for these films.
of budgets In 2021, 40% of domestic UK features (51) had budgets

of less than £500,000, and only 16 productions (13% of
domestic UK projects) had budgets of £5 million or over
(Table 7). The domestic UK films in the highest budget
The budget size distribution for the three main categories band accounted for 53% of this category’s aggregate
of films made in 2021 is outlined in Tables 6 to 8. Figures budget, while those in the lowest budget band
in these tables are based on our current data and are accounted for 4%.
likely to be revised as more information on production
activity becomes available. Nine of the 28 co-productions that began shooting in the
UK in 2021 had budgets of £5 million or over, accounting
Table 6 shows that 16 inward investment features with for 70% of the total budget in this category (Table 8). A
budgets of £30 million or over (29% of all inward features) similar number had budgets of less than £2 million and
accounted for 91% of the total budget for this category. these accounted for 6% of the aggregate budget.
There were 31 inward features with budgets of less than
Table 6 Size distribution of budgets, inward investment films, 2021
Budget band Number Total budget in band % of total

of films (£ million) budget
≥£30 million 16 1,715.2 90.6

£10-£29.9 million
8 99.2 5.2
£5-£9.9 million
£2-£4.9 million 18 60.9 3.2
<£2 million 13 17.4 0.9
Total 55 1,892.7 100.0
Source: BFI
Notes:
The numbers of inward features with budgets of £5-£9.9 million and £10-£29.9 million have been aggregated for disclosure reasons, due to the low numbers in the individual
budget bands.
Table 7 Size distribution of budgets, domestic UK films, 2021

≥£5 million 16 135.4 53.0

£2-£4.9 million 22 71.6 28.0
£0.5-1.9 million 37 38.9 15.2
<£0.5 million 51 9.8 3.8
Total 126 255.7 100.0
Source: BFI
Note: Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Table 8 Size distribution of budgets, co-productions, 2021

≥£5 million 9 92.9 69.9

£2-4.9 million 10 31.5 23.7
<£2.0 million 9 8.5 6.4
Total 28 132.9 100.0
Source: BFI
164
Big budget productions, 2012-2021
The importance to the UK film economy of a small number of big budget productions – usually inward investment films
– is demonstrated in Table 9. In 2021, the 16 films with budgets of £30 million or over accounted for 73% of total UK
production spend. All of these films were inward investment features.
Table 9 Big budget films’ contribution to UK spend, 2012-2021
Number of films with Value of associated UK Total UK spend Big budget film
budgets ≥£30 million spend (£ million) (£ million) % of UK spend
2012 10 634.3 1,007.5 63.0

2013 16 817.0 1,168.9 69.9
2014 20 1,157.1 1,573.7 73.5
2015 16 1,135.2 1,594.2 71.2
2016 25 1,460.6 1,880.5 77.7
2017 27 1,755.0 2,221.9 79.0
2018 19 1,520.5 2,091.6 72.7
2019 25 1,570.4 2,152.6 73.0
2020 13 1,214.9 1,511.8 80.4
2021 16 1,130.4 1,554.3 72.7
Source: BFI
Note: Data updated since publication of the 2021 Statistical Yearbook.
UK spend as percentage of total production

budget, 2012-2021
Table 10 shows UK spend as a percentage of total production budget for inward investment films, domestic UK films
and co-productions from 2012 to 2021. Domestic UK films consistently had the highest proportion of UK spend over
the period while co-productions had the lowest. The greatest variation in UK spend as a percentage of total budget,
however, was seen in inward investment productions. In 2021, the UK spend of domestic films was 86% of total
budget, for inward investment films it was 67%, and for co-productions it was 43.5%.
Table 10 UK spend as percentage of total production budget, 2012-2021
Inward investment Domestic UK Co-production
2012 65.0 88.8 46.0

2013 68.9 85.6 45.0
2014 57.2 78.6 33.9
2015 60.4 89.6 40.0
2016 61.2 80.0 35.0
2017 52.5 87.0 37.8
2018 68.2 85.9 36.5
2019 63.8 87.5 45.7
2020 63.5 83.7 39.1
2021 67.4 86.4 43.5
Source: BFI
Note: Data updated since publication of the 2021 Statistical Yearbook.
165
Figure 5 underlines that a small proportion (8%) of titles with a UK spend of £30 million or over were responsible
for the majority (73%) of UK production spend in 2021. Conversely, the 25% of films with a UK spend of less than
£500,000 represented less than 1% of production investment in the UK.
Figure 5 Percentage of productions and UK spend by category of UK spend, 2021

%
72.7
27.3
25.4
23.9
7.7 7.5 10.5 7.8 7.8

5.3
3.5
0.6
% of productions % of UK spend
Source: BFI
Domestic UK productions by territory of shoot
The majority of domestic UK productions beginning principal photography in 2021 (105 out of 126) were shot
exclusively in the UK, while 21 were shot partly or wholly outside the country (Table 11). As a proportion of total
budget, the non-UK spend of domestic productions in the year was 14%.
Table 11 Domestic UK productions by territory of shoot, 2021
Shooting in... Number Budget Non-UK spend Non-UK spend as

of films (£ million) (£ million) % of total budget
UK only 105 173.0 3.5 2.0

UK and other 13 47.8 7.0 14.6
Other only 8 34.9 24.2 69.3
Total domestic UK films 126 255.7 34.7 13.6
Source: BFI
Table 12 shows the number of shoots by territory for domestic UK productions in 2021. As some films were shot in two
or more territories, the total number of shoots is greater than the total number of films. There were 30 non-UK shoots
in 22 different territories. Outside of the UK, the most popular production territory was the USA. The territories in the
table range from Europe and North America to the Middle East, Africa and Asia, reflecting the wide range of stories
being told by UK filmmakers.
166
Table 12 Domestic UK productions, shoots by territory, 2021
Territory of shoot Number of shoots
UK 159
USA 3
Australia 2
France 2
Germany 2
Italy 2
Japan 2
Malta 2
Belgium 1
Caribbean 1
Finland 1
Iceland 1
India 1
Israel 1
Morocco 1
New Zealand 1
Norway 1
Portugal 1
Spain 1
Sweden 1
Thailand 1
Turkey 1
United Arab Emirates 1
Total 189
Source: BFI
Co-productions by territory of shoot
Table 13 shows that in contrast to domestic UK features, co-productions were usually shot partly or wholly abroad.
Five out of 28 films, with a total budget of £25 million, were shot exclusively in the UK. Non-UK spend accounted for
56.5% of the total budget of co-productions in the year.
Table 13 Co-productions by territory of shoot, 2021
Shooting in… Number Budget Non-UK spend Non-UK spend as

of films (£ million) (£ million) % of total budget
UK only 5 24.6 6.8 27.8

UK and other 13 57.1 34.5 60.4
Other only 10 51.2 33.7 65.9
Total co-productions 28 132.9 75.0 56.5
Source: BFI
167
The territory distribution of co-production shoots is shown in Table 14. As with domestic UK productions, the total
number of shoots is greater than the total number of films. The majority of shoots were in the UK or elsewhere in
Europe. The most popular non-European territory was the USA.
Table 14 Co-productions, shoots by territory, 2021
Territory of shoot Number of shoots
UK 19
Republic of Ireland 5
Belgium 3
France 3
Italy 2
Sweden 2
USA 2
Bangladesh 1
Canada 1
China 1
Czech Republic 1
Germany 1
Greece 1
Hong Kong 1
Hungary 1
Netherlands 1
New Zealand 1
Philippines 1
Portugal 1
Romania 1
Serbia 1
Slovakia 1
South Africa 1
Spain 1
Syria 1
Total 54
Source: BFI
168
Production company activity levels
The BFI Research and Statistics Unit recorded 381 production companies associated with films shot in the UK or
co-productions involving the UK in 2021 (Table 15). Of these, 355 companies (93%) were associated with a single
feature. These were a mixture of distinct production companies and special purpose vehicles (i.e. companies set up to
make a single film).
Table 15 Film production company activity, 2021
Number of features per company Number of companies
1 355
2 24
3 0
4 1
5 1
Total 381
Source: BFI RSU
Note: Includes all production categories.
A record 211 HETV projects entered production in the UK

The value and volume in 2021; 117 of these productions were inward investment
and co-production projects and 94 were domestic UK
of HETV production, projects. The volume of both domestic UK productions
and inward investment/co-production projects was
2017-2021 higher than in any other year since 2013. As noted
previously, HETV projects can be either single
productions or series so numbers here can be
misleading. As with film production, these figures are
As Figure 6 shows, the UK production value associated likely to be revised upwards as more detailed information
with the filming of HETV projects in 2021 was on production activity becomes available.
£4.09 billion, up from £1.61 billion in 2020 and the highest
total recorded since the introduction of the tax relief for Inward investment and co-production HETV projects
HETV production in 2013. Co-productions and inward shooting in the UK in 2021 included Death in Paradise
investment projects contributed £3.44 billion (84%) to the (Series 11), House of the Dragon (Series 1) and The Old
total UK spend, up from £854 million in 2020, while Guard; domestic UK HETV productions included Call the
domestic UK productions contributed £648 million (16%) Midwife (Series 11), The Gallows Pole (Series 1) and The
up from £377 million in 2020. Midwich Cuckoos (Series 1).
169
Figure 6 UK spend and number of HETV productions produced in the UK, 2017-2021
£ million
UK spend domestic UK (£ million) 354.9 464.2 490.8 376.8 647.5

K spend co-production & inward
U 869.4 956.1 1,723.0 1,227.8 3,438.1
investment (£ million)
Total UK spend 1,224.3 1,420.3 2,213.9 1,604.7 4,085.6
Number of domestic UK productions 58 74 68 50 94
umber of co-production & inward
N 58 80 94 66 117
investment productions
Total productions 116 154 162 116 211
Source: BFI
Notes:
Productions are allocated to the year principal photography commenced; a production can be a single programme or a television series.
Data for co-production and inward investment projects have been combined to avoid disclosing budget data for individual titles.
Tax relief for HETV programmes was introduced in 2013.
Streamer-backed The UK production value associated with HETV projects

backed by the major streaming services increased
HETV production, substantially from 2017, rising from £409 million to a
record high of £2.79 billion in 2021. The number of these
2017-2021 productions also increased over the period, rising from
29 in 2017 to 89 in 2021. As a share of overall UK spend
for HETV projects, the production value of streamer-
backed projects increased from 33% in 2017 to 68% in
As the previous chart has shown, the rise in value of 2021. The value of projects co-financed by streaming
HETV productions shooting in the UK between 2017 and services and UK broadcasters also reached a new high,
2021 is due largely to an increase in international rising from £187 million in 2017 to £320 million in 2021.
commissions. A key driver of this growth is the surge in
demand for original programming for first-run showing Streamer-backed HETV projects entering production in
on subscription video-on-demand services. To gauge the 2021 included Disney+’s Willow (Series 1), Netflix’s
impact of this investment on HETV production in the UK, Bridgerton (Series 2) and Pistol (Series 1) which was
Table 16 shows the number of HETV projects produced produced by FX for distribution on Hulu in the USA.
or co-produced by the major global streaming platforms Streamer-backed HETV projects co-financed by UK
and their associated UK spend. (In past editions of the broadcasters included Peaky Blinders (Series 6; Netflix
Yearbook, this table focused solely on investment from and the BBC), Riches (Series 1; Amazon Prime Video and
Netflix and Amazon Prime Video but coverage has been ITV) and The Undeclared War (Peacock and Channel 4).
extended to include all major streaming services.)
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Table 16 Value and volume of streamer-backed HETV productions shot in the UK, 2017-2021
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
UK spend of all streamer-backed productions (£ million) 409.1 409.2 979.0 892.2 2,788.2
UK spend of those with UK broadcaster partners (£ million) 186.7 107.6 142.3 76.8 320.2
Total UK spend of HETV productions (£ million) 1,224.3 1,420.3 2,213.9 1,604.7 4,085.6
Streamer-backed productions as % of total 33.4 28.8 44.2 55.6 68.2
Total number of streamer-backed productions 29 35 50 41 89

Of which have UK broadcaster partners 16 10 15 11 22
Total number of HETV productions 116 154 162 116 211
Streamer-backed productions as % of total 25.0 22.7 30.9 35.3 42.2
Source: BFI
Notes:
A streamer-backed production with a UK broadcaster partner is a production financially backed at the production stage by both a streaming platform and a UK broadcaster.
Data updated since publication of the 2021 Statistical Yearbook, which only included Netflix and Amazon Prime Video productions. Now includes all major streaming
platforms with HETV productions shooting in the UK such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix and Peacock.
Genre of HETV productions
Table 17 shows a breakdown by genre of HETV productions filmed in the UK in 2021. (It should be borne in mind that
unlike the section on feature film production, comparisons here can be between single productions and series rather
than solely stand-alone productions.) Drama was the most popular genre for HETV projects accounting for 57
productions (27% of the total) and a UK spend of £892 million (22% of the total). Comedy was the second most
popular genre in terms of volume of production (22% of the total), while fantasy had the second largest share of UK
spend (16% of the total). Crime was third both in share of productions (18.5%) and share of UK spend (12%).
Table 17 Genre of HETV projects, 2021 (ranked by UK spend)
Genre Number of % of total Budget % of UK spend % of total UK

productions productions (£ million) total budget (£ million) spend
Drama 57 27.0 1,138.2 22.4 892.1 21.8

Fantasy 11 5.2 987.2 19.4 665.1 16.3
Crime 39 18.5 513.2 10.1 489.5 12.0
Sci-fi 6 2.8 549.8 10.8 451.9 11.1
Thriller 19 9.0 452.7 8.9 393.3 9.6
Comedy 47 22.3 402.8 7.9 342.6 8.4
Action 6 2.8 388.9 7.6 313.1 7.7
Documentary 11 5.2 85.3 1.7 55.2 1.4
Other 15 7.1 568.4 11.2 482.8 11.8
Total 211 100.0 5,086.6 100.0 4,085.6 100.0
Source: BFI
Notes:
Includes single productions and series.
The data in this table show the primary genre assigned by the BFI Research and Statistics Unit.
* Other includes adventure, biopic, children’s, family, horror, musical, romance and war. Data are combined to avoid disclosing budget details of individual projects.
171
According to our current data, qualifying animation
The value and programmes entering production in 2020 had a UK
production spend of £90 million (Figure 7). This figure
volume of animated has been revised from the £61 million reported in the
2021 Yearbook, and surpasses the UK spend of
television production, £77 million reported for 2019. This increase from the last
pre-pandemic annual total shows how successful the
2017-2021 sector had been in minimising the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic, in part because some of its
production techniques, such as 2D and 3D animation,
better allowed for remote working. The UK spend of
In contrast to our data collection on feature film and animation programmes currently recorded as going into
HETV projects for which we seek to track all production production in 2021 is £73 million, £49 million of which is
activity in the UK, with animation television programmes associated with domestic UK projects, the highest total
we currently only record production data on projects that for domestic UK animations since 2016 (£73 million).
have qualified as British for the purpose of benefitting
from the animation tax relief. While projects can apply for Our data show that 53 UK qualifying animation projects
certification as a qualifying production before or during began production in 2020 (revised from 34 projects as
the production process, many wait until completion reported in the 2021 Yearbook), while there were 30
before applying, so figures for the most recent years are production starts in 2021. UK titles entering production in
likely be revised upwards. (For more on qualification as a 2021 included Millie and Lou (Series 1), Duplo (pilot) and
British production, see the Certification chapter.) Terry Pratchett’s The Abominable Snow Baby.
Figure 7 UK spend and number of UK qualifying animated television productions, 2017-2021

£ million

K spend co-production & inward
U 38.0 67.8 40.8 61.8 23.9
investment (£ million)
Total UK spend 86.9 92.4 77.1 90.0 73.0
Number of domestic UK productions 49 48 39 36 21
umber of co-production & inward
N 13 20 18 17 9
investment productions
Source: BFI
Notes:
Productions are only tracked if they have been certified as British for the purpose of benefitting from the animation tax relief.
Productions are allocated to the year principal photography commenced.
Data for co-production and inward investment projects have been combined to avoid disclosing budget information for individual titles.
Tax relief for animation television production was introduced in 2013.
Data updated since publication of the 2021 Statistical Yearbook; figures for recent years are likely to be revised as additional productions apply for certification.
172
According to our current data, qualifying children’s
The value and television programmes entering production in 2020 had a
UK spend of £122 million (Table 18), the highest UK
volume of children’s production value since the introduction of the tax relief
for children’s television production in 2015. This figure
television production, has been revised from the £102 million reported in the
2021 Yearbook. The UK spend associated with children’s
2017-2021 television programmes currently recorded as going into
production in 2021 is £69 million.
Our data show that 89 UK qualifying children’s TV

We currently only record production data on children’s projects began production in 2020 (revised from 45
television projects that have qualified as British for the projects as reported in the 2021 Yearbook), while there
purpose of benefitting from the children’s television tax were 47 production starts in 2021. UK titles going into
relief. While projects can apply for certification as a production in 2021 included Almost Never (Series 3),
qualifying production before or during the production Dodger (Series 1) and Heartstopper (Series 1).
process, many wait until completion before applying,
so figures for the most recent years are likely be
revised upwards.
Table 18 UK spend of UK qualifying children’s television productions, 2017-2021 (£ million)
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

UK spend co-production and inward investment (£ million) 23.4 23.9 15.3 60.3 13.7
Total UK spend 73.1 117.6 85.1 122.2 69.4
Number of UK domestic productions 70 96 75 82 c
Number of co-production and inward investment productions 7 7 5 7 c
Source: BFI
Notes:
Productions are only tracked if they have been certified as British for the purpose of benefitting from the children’s television tax relief.
Data for co-production and inward investment projects have been combined to avoid disclosing budget information for individual titles.
Tax relief for children’s television production was introduced in 2015.
‘c’ indicates the data have been suppressed due to low numbers to avoid disclosing details of individual projects.
Data updated since publication of the 2021 Statistical Yearbook; figures for recent years are likely to be revised as additional productions apply for certification.
173
and a project applying for certification, figures for recent
The value and years are likely to be revised upwards.
volume of video According to our current data, qualifying video games

entering development in 2020 had a UK spend of
games development, £376 million (Table 19). This figure has been revised from
the £91 million reported in the 2021 Yearbook. The UK
2017-2021 spend of video game projects currently recorded as
starting development in 2021 is £13 million.
Or data show that 132 UK qualifying video game projects

We currently only record production data on video began development in 2020 (revised from 23 projects as
games that have qualified as British for the purpose of reported in the 2021 Yearbook), while there were 17
benefitting from the video games tax relief. While development starts in 2021. UK qualifying video games
projects can apply for certification as a UK qualifying released to consumers in 2021 included The Dark
game before or during the development process, many Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes, Goliath: Playing with
projects wait until completion before applying. As there Reality and Jurassic World Evolution 2.
can be many years between development commencing
Table 19 UK spend and number of UK qualifying video games, 2017-2021
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
UK spend (£ million) 540.3 474.4 480.6 376.0 12.6

Number of projects 350 314 278 132 17
Source: BFI
Notes:
Projects are only tracked if they have been certified as British for the purpose of benefitting from the video games tax relief.
Projects are allocated to the year development commenced.
The tax relief for video games projects was introduced in 2014; there are no co-production treaties for video games.
Data updated since publication of the 2021 Statistical Yearbook; figures for recent years are likely to be revised as additional video games projects apply for certification.
174
PUBLIC
INVESTMENT IN
FILM IN THE UK
Image: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris © 2021 Ada Films Ltd - Harris Squared Kft. Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLC
FACTS IN FOCUS
In addition to the film tax relief and National Lottery
investment, in 2020/21, the UK Government delivered an
enhanced package of fiscal support to help the UK film
industry weather the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Measures included the Culture Recovery Fund for
Independent Cinemas in England and the Film & TV
Production Restart Scheme, alongside the Coronavirus Job
Retention Scheme for businesses more broadly.
— Total estimated public funding available — In cash terms, funding dedicated solely to
for film in the UK in 2020/21 was film activity in the individual nations of the
£855 million, up 20% from £714 million UK was greatest in England but per
in 2019/20. capita investment was highest in
Northern Ireland.
— The principal sources of public funding
were the film tax relief (71.5%), grant-in- — Film production benefited from 78%
aid from the Department for Digital, (£697.5 million) of available public
Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) (9%) and investment, followed by distribution and
the National Lottery (7%). exhibition with 12% (£109 million).
— DCMS grant-in-aid in 2020/21 was

£77 million, an increase of 105%
compared with 2019/20 (£37 million).
176
Public investment in
film in the UK
Public funding for film Publicly owned national broadcasters and their film arms
continued to make substantial investments in UK film in
in the UK by source 2020/21: Film4/Channel 4 provided funding of
£25.3 million, while BBC Film/BBC provided funding of
£10.4 million.
Table 1 outlines the estimated levels of available public Funding from Arts Council England (ACE) in 2020/21
funding for film in the UK between 2018/19 and 2020/21. totalled £19.6 million, an increase from £17.6 million in
(The figures do not include some types of local authority, 2019/20. ACE funding includes National Portfolio
research council, higher or further education funding.) investments into organisations and venues which form
part of the national infrastructure for the arts alongside
Total public funding available for film in 2020/21 is project awards from Grants for the Arts and other
estimated to have been £855 million, up from £714 million schemes. In 2020/21, the film sector benefited from
in 2019/20. The largest single source of such funding in additional initiatives aimed at lessening the impact of the
the year was the UK film tax relief which provided pandemic on organisations and individuals such as
£611 million (71.5% of the total). This was followed by ACE’s Emergency Response Funds and the Culture
grant-in-aid from the Department for Digital, Culture, Recovery Fund (administered by the BFI for independent
Media and Sport (DCMS) to the BFI and the National Film cinemas).
and Television School (£77 million; 9% of the total) and
the National Lottery (£61 million; 7% of the total). Public funding from the Scottish Government increased
in 2020/21, rising from £10.1 million in 2019/20 to
DCMS grant-in-aid in 2020/21 was more than double the £18.5 million. This was largely due to investment via
level of funding in 2019/20, owing primarily to Creative Scotland into the planning and construction of
Government interventions aimed at supporting the UK new film studio spaces in Scotland. Public funding from
film industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, the administrations in Northern Ireland and Wales in
there was a £34.5 million increase in grant-in-aid to the 2020/21 was also up compared with 2019/20: investment
BFI for pandemic recovery support, the bulk of which from the Northern Ireland Executive increased from
comprised investment for the Culture Recovery Fund for £15.4 million to £16.8 million, while Welsh Government
Independent Cinemas in England which was created to investment increased from £0.5 million to £0.6 million.
ensure the financial security of hundreds of venues
impacted by closures and social distancing restrictions. UK film continued to benefit from European Union (EU)
(During this period the BFI also refocused its funding funding in 2020/21 with investment of £1.4 million via the
programmes for production, audiences and exports as EU structural funds. Investment from these funds (which
well as contributing to a Film and TV COVID-19 include Interreg, the European Regional Development
Emergency Relief Fund to support freelance workers in Fund and European Social Fund) are likely to be Interreg
the sector with the Film & TV Charity and other industry projects in which the UK is a junior partner. (Investment
partners.) from Creative Europe’s MEDIA sub-programme ended in
calendar year 2019.)
Further Government support for the industry in 2020/21
included the £0.5 billion Treasury-backed Film & TV
Production Restart Scheme, developed by Pact and the
BFI, which enabled productions to restart or begin
shooting while the market was unable to offer insurance
against COVID-19-related losses during production.
177
Table 1 Public funding for film in the UK by source, 2018/19 – 2020/21 (ranked by 2020/21 spend)
2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Source £ million % £ million % £ million %

DCMS grant-in-aid1 23.3 3.1 37.4 5.2 76.8 9.0
National Lottery Distribution Fund2 51.5 6.7 62.2 8.7 60.6 7.1
Film4/Channel 4 3
25.4 3.3 25.4 3.6 25.3 3.0
Arts Council England (ACE) 4
16.3 2.1 17.6 2.5 19.6 2.3
Scottish Government 10.4 1.4 10.1 1.4 18.5 2.2
Northern Ireland Executive 14.8 1.9 15.4 2.2 16.8 2.0
BBC Film/BBC 5
11.5 1.5 11.3 1.6 10.4 1.2
HM Treasury COVID-19 support 6
- - - - 5.1 6.0
Higher education funding7 2.7 0.4 2.8 0.4 3.3 0.4
Local Government8 2.4 0.3 2.7 0.4 2.5 0.3
Department for Education 9
1.0 <0.1 1.5 0.2 1.5 0.2
European Union (EU) 10
0.6 0.1 1.2 0.2 1.4 0.2
Foreign & Commonwealth Office 0.9 0.1 0.8 0.1 1.1 0.1
Welsh Government 2.0 0.3 0.5 0.1 0.6 0.1
Department for International Trade 0.2 <0.1 0.2 <0.1 0.2 <0.1
National and regional development agencies 0.1 <0.1 0.2 <0.1 0.2 <0.1
Other public sector11 0.0 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.2 <0.1
EU Creative Europe MEDIA sub-programme 3.5 0.5 2.4 0.3 - -
Total public sector selective investment 12
168.2 22.0 192.0 26.9 243.9 28.5
UK film production tax relief 595.0 78.0 522.0 73.1 611.0 71.5
Total public sector selective and automatic 763.2 100 714.0 100.0 855.0 100.0
Source: Named funding sources, Creative Cultural Associates analysis
Notes:
1
Grant-in-aid to the BFI and the National Film and Television School (NFTS). Includes funding for the Culture Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas in England which was
administered by the BFI on behalf of DCMS.
2
Allocations to BFI, Creative Scotland, Northern Ireland Screen, Ffilm Cymru Wales and Heritage Lottery Fund awards to film projects.
3
Includes Film4 direct investment in film production and Channel 4 investment in the NFTS.
4
Includes ACE National Lottery investments (for example from Grants for the Arts) into moving image projects, plus National Portfolio Organisation investments attributable to
film and the moving image, based on ACE calculations.
5
Includes BBC Film direct investment in film production, BBC investment in the NFTS and film production schemes.
6
Includes the cost of the Film & TV Production Restart Scheme (operated by the DCMS) in 2020/21.
7
This comprises Higher Education establishment-derived support for film archives and the NFTS. It does not include payments from educational funding councils to other film
courses (film studies, etc) in higher or further education.
8
Investment by local authorities in regional film archives, Creative England, Screen Yorkshire and Film London.
9
Includes funding from the Office for Students to the NFTS.
10
Residual funding from EU structural funds (Interreg, European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund).
11
Very small awards (under £10,000) from a range of public sector agencies made to national screen agencies.
12
Does not include transfers to and from reserves or earned/self-generated income.
178
Spend by agency or organisation
As Table 2 shows, the largest net spender on film in 2020/21 was HMRC (£611 million for film tax relief), followed by
the BFI (£140 million), the Scottish agencies (£27 million) and Film4/Channel 4 (£25 million).
Table 2 Net film spend by agency or organisation, 2020/21
£ million %
HMRC 611.0 68.8

BFI 139.7 15.6
Scottish agencies 1
27.2 3.0
Film4/Channel 4 25.0 2.8
Arts Council England (ACE)2 19.2 2.1
Northern Ireland Screen 17.8 2.0
National Film and Television School (NFTS) 16.2 1.8
BBC Film/BBC 10.0 1.1
Film London 6.2 0.7
Into Film 5.8 0.6
DCMS 3
5.1 0.6
ScreenSkills 4.5 0.5
Creative England4 3.1 0.3
Welsh agencies 5
2.7 0.3
English regional film archives 6
1.6 0.2
Screen Yorkshire, Screen South and Northern Film + Media7 1.2 0.1
British Council 1.0 0.1
Heritage Lottery Fund 0.4 <0.1
Total public agencies 8
897.7 100.0
Source: Named funding sources, Creative Cultural Associates analysis
Notes:
Net spend means spend after deducting grants and awards to other organisations in this table. Figures are presented net to avoid double counting.
1
Includes film expenditure on the part of Creative Scotland/Screen Scotland and the National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive.
2
Includes ACE National Lottery investments (e.g. from Grants for the Arts) into moving image projects, plus National Portfolio Organisation investments attributable to film
and the moving image, based on ACE calculations.
3
Payments to qualifying UK productions under the Film & TV Production Restart Scheme.
4
Creative England merged with the Creative Industries Federation under the banner Creative UK in November 2021.
5
Includes film expenditure on the part of Ffilm Cymru Wales and the Film Archive of Wales (part of the National Library of Wales) and direct investments by the
Welsh Government.
6
Includes East Anglian Film Archive, Media Archive for Central England (MACE), North West Film Archive, Screen Archive South East, South West Film and Television Archive
and Yorkshire Film Archive/North East Film Archive.
7
Northern Film + Media was rebranded as North East Screen in June 2022.
8
The spending tabulated above includes net transfers to and from reserves and spending financed by commercial income (e.g. from film rights) earned by agencies. For
these reasons the total net spending by agencies (£897.7 million) is higher than total public funding for film in 2020/21 (£855.0 million, Table 1).
179
(and TV) production had been able to restart relatively
Activities supported quickly as a result of the development by the BFI, British
Film Commission, Pact and other industry partners of
by public spending a raft of Government approved COVID-safe working
protocols and quarantine exemptions for the production,
on film post-production and VFX sectors, and interventions
such as the Government’s Film & TV Production
Restart Scheme.
Table 3 describes the areas of activity supported by Distribution and exhibition benefited from the second
public spend on film in the UK between 2018/19 largest share of public spending in 2020/21 at 12%
and 2020/21. (£109 million) while training and skills activity received
3% (£24 million). Investment in business support also
Production has consistently benefited from the largest increased in 2020/21 (£15 million, up from £5 million in
share of public investment, the majority of which derives 2019/20). This is largely due to Creative Scotland
from the funding available through the film tax relief. In support for the development of new studio businesses
2020/21, film production accounted for £697.5 million and spaces.
(78% of the total). Funding across production was
greater than in both 2018/19 and 2019/20 despite the
impact of the pandemic. This was due to the fact film
Table 3 Activities supported by public spend on film, 2018/19 – 2020/21 (ranked by 2020/21 spend)
2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
£ million % £ million % £ million %

Production 1
680.5 82.8 596.3 78.1 697.5 77.7
Distribution and exhibition 67.1 8.2 86.5 11.3 109.0 12.1
Training and skills2 28.3 3.4 30.9 4.0 23.7 2.6
Education, young people and lifelong learning 10.7 1.3 12.0 1.6 15.8 1.8
Business support 3
6.2 0.8 5.2 0.7 14.9 1.7
Development 11.5 1.4 11.8 1.5 13.7 1.5
Export and inward investment promotion4 7.0 0.8 8.4 1.1 9.3 1.1
Administration and services to the public 5.3 0.6 7.0 0.9 7.4 0.8
Film archives and heritage 5
5.3 0.6 6.2 0.7 6.1 0.7
Total 6
821.8 100.0 764.4 100.0 897.7 100.0
Source: Creative Cultural Associates
Notes:
1
Non-tax break production spend in 2020/21 was £86.5 million.
2
Skills Investment Fund, national/regional screen agency training investment.
3
National/regional screen agency investment: primary beneficiaries are independent production companies.
4
British Film Commission, British Council, locations services in the nations and regions.
5
BFI National Film and Television Archive, national/regional screen archives, Heritage Lottery Fund investments.
6
2020/21 total expenditure (£897.7 million) was greater than total public funding (£855.0 million, Table 1) as expenditure was supplemented by earned/self-generated
income, commercial sponsorship, grants from trusts and foundations and transfers from reserves.
180
investment from Ffilm Cymru Wales, Creative Scotland/
Spend across Screen Scotland and Northern Ireland Screen).
the UK nations Table 4 shows the level of investment dedicated to each

of the UK nations in 2020/21. In cash terms, England
received the greatest level of funding with £34 million. In
per capita terms, however, investment was highest in
Many sources of public investment for film, such as the Northern Ireland at £9.39 per person, almost twice the
production tax relief, are intended for the benefit of the level in Scotland, which had the next highest spend per
industry throughout the UK. However, some sources of person at £5.04.
funding are targeted to the individual UK nations (e.g.
Table 4 Investment in film in the UK nations 2020/21 (ranked by total dedicated investment)
Total dedicated investment for Population £ per

that nation (£ million) (million)5 capita
England1 33.9 55.3 0.61

Scotland 2
27.2 5.4 5.04
Northern Ireland 3
17.8 1.9 9.39
Wales4 2.7 3.1 0.88
Source: Creative Cultural Associates, Office for National Statistics
Notes:
1
Includes Creative England, English regional screen agencies, English regional screen archives and Arts Council England.
2
Includes Creative Scotland/Screen Scotland and the National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive.
3
Northern Ireland Screen.
4
Includes Ffilm Cymru Wales, Film Archive of Wales and Welsh Government direct expenditure.
5
ONS population figures rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.
Image: Supernova courtesy of StudioCanal
181
A total of 14 films were awarded funding of £250,000 or
BFI National over from the BFI in 2021 (Table 6). Five films received
funding of over £1 million. The value of awards listed in
Lottery awards the table includes all funding for individual projects in
2021, and may comprise separate awards for
development, pre-production, production and
distribution. (Funding may also include investment via the
Table 5 shows the National Lottery awards made by the Step Up programme which aims to improve diversity in
BFI in 2021. There were 427 awards in total (down from film crews by providing opportunities for
527 in 2020) with a combined value of £48 million (down underrepresented groups to work on productions
from £57 million in 2020). supported by the BFI Film Fund.)
Table 5 BFI National Lottery awards, 2021
Number of awards Total value (£ million)
Future talent 324 21.9

Future audiences 67 14.4
Future learning & skills 25 10.7
Leadership, Research, Certification and Delivery 11 0.6
Total 427 47.7
Source: BFI
Notes:
BFI awards data are for calendar year 2021.
‘Future talent’ includes awards relating to support for filmmakers and business support, ‘Future audiences’ includes awards for BFI Film Audience Network, audience
development and heritage, and ‘Future learning & skills’ includes awards for Into Film and BFI Film Academy, amongst others. More can be read about these awards at
https://www.bfi.org.uk/strategy-policy/policy-statements/bfi2022
Table 6 Large awards (£250,000+) for film made by the BFI, 2021
Project Total value of awards (£)
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry 1,236,500

Typist Artist Pirate King 1,084,500
Tuesday 1,060,000
Scrapper 1,055,000
Birchanger Green 1,017,125
Girl 997,255
Silent Roar 962,500
Aftersun 920,000
Nezouh 675,000
A House in Jerusalem 633,500
Sanatorium 573,490
In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats 431,000
A Gaza Weekend 400,000
Pretty Red Dress 352,273
Source: BFI
Note: BFI awards data are for calendar year 2021.
182
Leading public investors in UK film
production, 2019-2021
Table 7 shows the leading providers of public agency and public service broadcaster investment in UK films for the
calendar years 2019-2021. The BFI was involved with the greatest number of projects over the period with 47 films
(combined production budget £136 million) while Creative Scotland/Screen Scotland had the largest combined budget
at £407 million (21 projects) thanks to a small number of high budget productions such as 1917 and Fast & Furious 9.
The budget figures in Table 7 represent the total budget of the films, including the share of budget provided by other
public investors, private investors and pre-sales.
Table 7 Leading public investors in UK film production, 2019-2021, ranked by number of films
Public funder Number Estimated Selected titles

of films budget
(£ million)
BFI 47 136 Mothering Sunday; Supernova; Vibes and Stuff

BBC Film/BBC 36 94 Allelujah; His House; Sweet Sue
European agencies*/Creative Europe 17 72 Kensuke’s Kingdom;
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris; Silver Haze
Creative Scotland/Screen Scotland 21 407 1917; The Lost King; Fast & Furious 9
Film4/Channel 4 19 206 Enys Men; The Father; The Son
Northern Ireland Screen 17 95 Ballywalter; Belfast; The Northman
Welsh agencies/S4C/ 13 42 Dream Horse; Prizefighter:
Welsh Government The Life of Jem Belcher; Save the Cinema
Creative England 6 14 After Love; The Colour Room; Scrapper
Screen Ireland/Broadcasting Authority 6 14 Boys from County Hell;
of Ireland Heart of Darkness; Wildfire
English regional screen agencies 5 9 A Bit of Light; The Duke; Sweetheart
Source: BFI production tracking
Notes:
In some cases more than one public agency contributed funding to the same film, so there is double counting of budgets and hence no total budget row.
Data in this table are for the calendar years 2019-2021.
* Examples of ‘European agencies’ include Le Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, Deutscher Filmförderfonds and Film Fund Luxembourg.
183
FILM EDUCATION
AND INDUSTRY
EMPLOYMENT
Image: West Side Story © 2020 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
FACTS IN FOCUS
Film education offers children and young people the
opportunity to develop a lifelong relationship with film through
watching, understanding and making films. For some, it will be
a stepping stone to the development of a career in film. In
2021, 106,000 people were employed in the UK film industry,
the highest figure since our records began.
— In 2021/22, Into Film supported just under — In 2021, around 106,000 people worked
18,500 film clubs across the UK and there in the UK film industry, of whom 66,000
were 139,000 downloads of the worked in film and video production.
organisation’s film education resources by
teachers and educators. Over 160,000 — Women made up 28% of screenwriters of
children and young people participated in UK films released in the UK and Republic
the 2021 Into Film Festival; an estimated of Ireland in 2021 and 20% of directors.
32,000 pupils attending the festival had
never been to the cinema before. — In 2021, 44% of those engaged in film
and video production were self-employed
— In 2021/22, 36,400 students were entered compared with 13% of the total
for GCSE/Scottish National Level 4/5 film UK workforce.
and media related courses (down from
38,300 in 2020/21) and 22,000 students — In 2021, 60% of the UK film and video
were entered for GCE A Level/Scottish production workforce was based in
National Level 6 film and media related London and the South East, compared
courses (down from 22,200 in 2020/21). with 30% of the total UK workforce.
— In 2020/21 (the last year for which data — Most film industry businesses had low
are available), 30,500 students were numbers of employees, in particular those
enrolled in higher education film and involved in film and video production,
media related courses (up from 29,200 where 97% of workplaces employed 10
in 2019/20). people or fewer.
— In 2021/22, 814 talented 16-19 year olds

gained filmmaking experience through the
BFI Film Academy programme.
185
Film education and
industry employment
Learning about and The creation of the charity Into Film in 2013 represented
one of the largest ever investments in film education for
through film the formal sector in the UK. Part-funded by National
Lottery investment from the BFI, Into Film works to make
film an integrated part of education for every child and
young person in the UK and to support teachers and
Film education takes place in both formal and informal educators to achieve a wide range of effective learning
settings, from schools and colleges to voluntary interest outcomes in their use of film. This is done primarily
groups like youth clubs and film societies. Film is a rich through providing film-based materials to support the
and versatile medium for exploring subjects in the current curriculum and providing resources for watching,
classroom and elsewhere, as well as a worthwhile and making and learning about film within its network of
rewarding object of study in its own right. schools’ film clubs. (Film clubs supported by Into Film
also operate in non-school settings such as youth clubs,
The BFI continues to work with a range of partners in the cinemas and libraries.)
private, cultural and education sectors to develop and
deliver long-term strategies for film education and skills According to Into Film, in 2021/2022 there were just
in the UK. This work is rooted in the belief that in the new under 18,500 registered film clubs in the UK, an increase
digital landscape, the moving image should be of 5% compared with 2020/2021 (Table 1), and over three
acknowledged as having the same educational value as million people from a wide range of backgrounds
the printed text, and that film should be integrated into all benefitted from Into Film funded activities. Since the
forms of education, learning, training, cultural onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Into Film has
appreciation and understanding. The BFI is committed to spearheaded hybrid-led remote teaching and
the creation of opportunities for every young person programme delivery. In 2021/22, around 4,300 UK
across the UK to build a relationship with film from an educators were trained online and face-to-face (including
early age and to ensure all young people are encouraged 1,740 via Initial Teacher Training), and 139,000 classroom
and equipped with the right information, advice and resources were downloaded. Resources ranged from
guidance to seriously consider film as a career. curriculum-linked worksheets, lesson plans and
presentations to film discussion guides, supported by
the Into Film+ streaming platform which gives schools
and film clubs easy access to a collection of over 450 of
Film education in films.
formal education In 2021, over 160,000 children and young people

participated in the annual Into Film Festival which is held
settings in cinemas across the UK. (The event was a partial
capacity return following the cancellation of the festival in
2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The 2021 outing
screened over 65 titles, all mapped against current
In practice, film education activity has traditionally school curricula, together with Into Film resources and
involved watching and listening to a range of film texts, related activities. An estimated 32,000 pupils attending
discussing and analysing them; generating discursive the festival in 2021 had never been to the cinema before.
and written work, storyboards and scripts; making films;
and re-purposing archive material. Outside of dedicated
film and media studies courses, film is also used in other
parts of the curriculum, such as science, English or
modern languages.
186
Table 1 National/regional distribution of registered film clubs, 2020/21 and 2021/22 (ranked by number of
clubs registered in 2021/22)
2020/21 2021/22
Number of % of Number of % of
Nation/region
film clubs film clubs film clubs film clubs
England 13,812 78.7 14,559 78.8
London 2,516 14.2 2,673 14.5
South East 2,158 12.3 2,208 11.9
North West 1,866 10.6 2,013 10.9
East of England 1,442 8.2 1,564 8.5
South West 1,439 8.2 1,525 8.2
West Midlands 1,483 8.5 1,441 7.8
Yorkshire and The Humber 1,164 6.6 1,260 6.8
East Midlands 1,129 6.4 1,219 6.6
North East 615 3.5 657 3.6
Scotland 1,610 9.2 1,692 9.2
Wales 1,118 6.4 1,181 6.4
Northern Ireland 1,004 5.7 1,054 5.7
Total 17,544 100.0 18,486 100.0
Source: Into Film
Notes:
Data include active film clubs only.
Percentages may not sum to sub-totals due to rounding.
Image: Our Ladies © Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. 2020 / In A Big Country Films Ltd
187
Figures 1 to 4 show the number of students entered for examinations in film and media specific subjects taught in
schools and colleges across the UK between 2017/18 and 2021/22.
As Figure 1 shows, there has been a 25% decrease in the total number of students entering GCSE Media, Film or TV
Studies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland since 2017/18, compared with a 4% increase in overall GCSE entries.
There were 34,124 entries for Media, Film or TV Studies in 2021/22, which equates to 0.6% of all GCSE entries, the
lowest share of the five-year period.
Figure 1 Entries for GCSE Media/Film/TV Studies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2017/18-2021/22
Number of entries % of all entries
% change % change
2020/21 2017/18
2021/22 2021/22
Northern Ireland 1,789 1,529 1,366 1,392 1,252 -10.1 -30.0
Wales 1,663 1,416 1,594 1,644 1,625 -1.2 -2.3
England 41,832 36,437 34,711 32,528 31,247 -3.9 -25.3
Total 45,284 39,382 37,671 35,564 34,124 -4.0 -24.6
All GCSE entries 5,470,076 5,547,447 5,692,464 5,745,945 5,708,871 -0.6 4.4
edia/Film/TV Studies
M
0.83 0.71 0.66 0.62 0.60 - -
as % of all entries
Source: Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)
Notes:
Northern Ireland data include entries for the GCSE in Moving Image Arts offered by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment; it is the UK’s only
qualification in digital filmmaking at this level.
Scotland is not included because of its separate examinations system.
Figures for ‘Media/Film/TV Studies as % of all entries’ are shown to two decimal places to provide a clearer picture of change over time.
188
In total, there were 2,325 entries for Scottish National Levels 4 and 5 Media Studies in 2021/22, a 21% increase
compared with 2020/21 (1,924 entries), and an increase of 17% compared with 2016/17 (1,994). As a percentage of all
equivalent qualifications, entries for Media Studies have been broadly consistent over the period at around 0.5%
(Figure 2).
Figure 2 Entries for Scottish National Level 4/5 Media Studies, 2017/18-2021/22
% change % change
2020/21 2017/18
2021/22 2021/22
ational Level 4 Media

N 987 902 862 919 1,225 33.3 24.1
Studies entries

N 1,007 972 971 1,005 1,100 9.5 9.2
Studies entries
Total 1,994 1,874 1,833 1,924 2,325 20.8 16.6
National Level 4 entries 106,033 104,866 103,596 104,378 124,120 18.9 17.1
National Level 5 entries 281,785 288,552 300,639 297,973 310,170 4.1 10.1
Total all entries 387,818 393,418 404,235 402,351 434,290 7.9 12.0
edia Studies as % of
M 0.51 0.48 0.45 0.48 0.54 - -
all entries
Source: Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
Figures for ‘Media Studies as % of all entries’ are shown to two decimal places to provide a clearer picture of change over time.
189
The total number of students taking GCE A Level Media, Film or TV Studies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
decreased by 17% between 2017/18 (25,240 entries) and 2021/22 (20,947 entries), compared with an increase of 5% in
all equivalent entries (Figure 3). There was a slight increase in overall Media, Film or TV Studies entries in 2021/22
(+1%) compared with 2020/21 due to greater entries in England and Wales. However, as a percentage of all equivalent
qualifications, entries in 2021/22 were under 2.5%, the lowest share of the five-year period.
Figure 3 Entries for GCE A Level Media/Film/TV Studies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland,
2017/18-2021/22
% change % change
2020/21 2017/18
2021/22 2021/22
Northern Ireland 1,207 1,091 1,067 934 899 -3.7 -25.5
Wales 1,065 919 894 957 1,049 9.6 -1.5
England 22,968 19,765 19,517 18,810 18,999 1.0 -17.3
Total 25,240 21,775 21,478 20,701 20,947 1.2 -17.0
All GCSE A level entries 811,776 801,002 781,029 824,718 848,910 2.9 4.6
edia/Film/TV Studies
M 3.11 2.72 2.75 2.51 2.47 - -
as % of all entries
Source: Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)
Notes:
Northern Ireland data include entries for the GCE in Moving Image Arts offered by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment; it is the UK’s only qualification
in digital filmmaking at this level.
Scotland is not included because of its separate examinations system.
Figures for ‘Media/Film/TV Studies as % of all entries’ are shown to two decimal places to provide a clearer picture of change over time.
190
As Figure 4 shows, there were 1,105 entries for Scottish National Level 6 Media Studies in 2021/22, a rise of 7%
compared with 2020/21 and up 4% compared with 2017/18. As a percentage of all equivalent qualifications, Media
Studies entries in 2021/22 were just under 0.6%, the highest share of the five-year period.
Figure 4 Entries for Scottish National Level 6 Media Studies, 2017/18-2021/22
% change % change
2020/21 2017/18
2021/22 2021/22

N 1,061 999 918 1,035 1,105 6.8 4.1
Studies entries
All National Level 6 191,951 185,914 186,214 194,661 188,220 -3.3 -1.9
entries

N 0.55 0.54 0.49 0.53 0.59 - -
Studies as % of all
entries
Source: Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
Figures for ‘Media Studies as % of all entries’ are shown to two decimal places to provide a clearer picture of change over time.
191
Study of the moving image and allied creative industries around 1% of total enrolment in higher education
remains popular in UK higher education through Media courses between 2016/17 and 2020/21.
Studies, Film Studies and Film Production courses. In
2020/21 (the latest year for which data are available) Many of the film and media related courses in further and
30,495 students were enrolled on these courses, a rise of higher education have received endorsement from
5% compared with 2019/20 (29,155). ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the screen
industries, through its Select quality mark. The
It should be noted that while Figure 5 shows a significant ScreenSkills Select scheme identifies courses providing
increase in entries for Film Production courses between both industry-relevant skills and strong links with
2018/19 and 2019/20 (up from 4,535 to 8,090), this was industry professionals and potential employers. Currently
primarily due to a change in methodology used by the 120 accredited courses are offered across the UK,
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), which now including 58 film-related courses or programmes in areas
captures more courses than before under this category. such as directing, screenwriting, post-production, sound
design and cinematography.
Overall, these film and media courses accounted for
Figure 5 Higher education enrolments in film and media, 2016/17-2020/21

Number of enrolments % of all enrolments
35,000 1.4
% change % change
2019/20 2016/17
2020/21 2020/21
Media Studies 15,130 15,340 14,705 14,785 15,270 3.3 0.9
Film Studies 4,725 4,890 5,080 6,280 6,525 3.9 38.1
Film Production 3,325 3,855 4,535 8,090 8,700 7.5 161.7
Total 22,665 24,085 24,320 29,155 30,495 4.6 34.5
ll higher education
A 2,317,880 2,343,095 2,383,970 2,532,385 2,751,865 8.7 18.7
enrolments
% of all enrolments 0.98 1.03 1.02 1.15 1.11 - -
Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency

Notes:
Data have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 5.
Includes first degree, post-graduate and other degrees. Higher education data is only currently available up to 2020/21.
Figures for ‘% of all enrolments’ are shown to two decimal places to provide a clearer picture of change over time.
192
The BFI continued its support of the Film Academy
Film education as a Future Skills trainee programme which aims to provide
career opportunities in film to under-represented young
progression route people. In 2021/22, in partnership with Lucasfilm, the
scheme enabled 53 young people, the majority of whom
were Academy graduates, to work as paid trainees in a
variety of craft and technical roles. Trainees were placed
Learning about film can be enhanced by practical across three Lucasfilm productions: the feature film
involvement in filmmaking. In addition to the development Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and two high-end
of critical, creative and cultural skills, gaining filmmaking TV series, Willow and Andor.
experience, particularly at an early age, can be a key
stepping stone to the development of a career in the Across all Academy programme activity in 2021/22, 51%
film industry. of the participants were female, 23% were from ethnically
diverse backgrounds, 15% received free school meals,
In 2012, the BFI launched the Film Academy programme and 15% were disabled.
– supported now by the Department for Education in
England, the National Lottery, Screen Scotland and As a complement to the Film Academy scheme, in 2021
Northern Ireland Screen – which was designed to help the BFI began a pilot programme for practical filmmaking
16-19 year olds develop the necessary skills to enter the clubs for 12-15 year old aspiring filmmakers in some of
film industry. Since its launch, the Academy has enabled England’s most socially challenged areas. The pilot was
nearly 9,000 talented young people from a range of co-funded by the DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture,
backgrounds to enjoy out-of-school and residential Media and Sport) Youth Accelerator Fund and the
filmmaking experience, delivered through partner National Lottery. Clubs were delivered in community
organisations across the nations and regions. Despite settings, Pupil Referral Units and local colleges and
the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, in universities, and initially benefitted around 450 talented
2021/22, the Academy delivered 47 short courses, young people. Delivery partners for the pilot included
reaching 814 young people from across the UK (Table 2). local community providers, the BFI Film Academy and
In addition, a range of specialist courses were delivered the National Saturday Club.
utilising a mix of online and in-person learning, covering
specialisms such as animation, VFX, documentary and
art department.
Table 2 BFI Film Academy participants, 2017/18-2021/22 (ranked by 2021/22 enrolment)
Nation/region 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22
England 700 694 657 646 641

London 146 162 135 139 125
Yorkshire and The Humber 73 75 78 81 90
South East 81 80 89 83 82
East of England 83 75 71 73 76
South West 101 98 98 93 71
West Midlands 60 60 53 60 59
East Midlands 41 40 37 25 55
North West 69 56 56 53 45
North East 46 48 40 39 38
Scotland 79 60 72 76 70
Northern Ireland 84 82 74 78 54
Wales 30 56 44 55 49
Total 893 892 847 855 814
Source BFI
193
character development programme for North of England
Other film based writers and writer-performers from a range of
disciplines who want to develop careers in film or
education activity television, which supported five talented new
creative voices.
The BFI continues to run programmes for learners of all

In addition to the activity described above, there are ages at BFI Southbank and as part of its festival
many other organisations involved in the delivery of film outreach. Traditionally, film education for children and
education in the UK at both a national and regional level young people has been provided through events, study
including independent cinemas, regional film archives, days and INSETs for primary, secondary and A Level
training providers and community-based groups. As well students, while families have been able to learn about
as providing courses and learning opportunities for film together through creative workshops and activity
young and adult learners, several organisations provide days. For adult learners (including higher education
continuing professional development for teachers and students), the BFI has run an annual series of one-off and
training professionals. sustained learning experiences including library talks,
courses, introduced screenings and discussion events.
Provision in 2021/22 included: Northern Ireland’s Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020/21, many of
Shortcut Renewal Film project run by the Nerve Centre in these events took place online, including those
Derry/Londonderry, which gave six different groups of associated with BFI festivals such as Flare and the
disadvantaged or hard to reach young people the chance London Film Festival. In 2021/22, however, the BFI was
to work with an experienced filmmaker to make a short able to operate a more hybrid education programme with
film on a topic relevant to their world; a series of free a combination of online and in-venue participation.
online workshops for children and young people
interested in the art and craft of animation production As Table 3 shows, in 2021/22, there were 30,300
supported by Ffilm Cymru Wales and run as part of the admissions to BFI education events, up from 12,600 in
2021 Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival held in Cardiff 2020/21 but still below the 43,000 attendances seen in
and Aberystwyth; the second outing of Sharp Shorts, a 2019/20. The number of in-person visits to the BFI
development and production programme for new and Reuben Library increased substantially compared with
emerging filmmakers based in Scotland run by Glasgow- 2020/21, rising from 300 to 16,700. As in 2020/21 the
based talent initiative Short Circuit, which supported an library remained accessible throughout the year for
initial 16 filmmaking teams and a final nine film projects; virtual research and study.
and the second outing of Scratch Me, Film Hub North’s
Table 3 BFI education attendances, 2012/13-2021/22
BFI Southbank and festivals BFI Reuben

education event admissions Library visits
2012/13 43,363 62,000

2013/14 44,641 69,592
2014/15 48,365 72,502
2015/16 46,669 73,146
2016/17 48,108 80,234
2017/18 47,105 77,555
2018/19 46,972 72,516
2019/20 43,373 73,499
2020/21 12,636 324
2021/22 30,256 16,733
Source BFI
194
Employment in the film industry
The film industry employs substantial numbers of highly skilled workers. While employment levels are somewhat
volatile, reflecting the variable volume of demand for the sector’s services, employment has increased by more than
50% over the past decade. Research recently published by ScreenSkills suggests that according to current growth
forecasts, by 2025 the production sector (for both film and HETV) alone will require between 15,000-21,000 additional
full-time employees when also accounting for churn.1
According to the Annual Population Survey (APS) conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in 2021 around
106,000 people worked in film and video production, film and video distribution and film exhibition (Table 4). The
figures include full- and part-time workers.
Table 4 Film industry workforce, 2021
Sector Number in employment
Film and video production 85,000

Film and video distribution 7,000
Film exhibition 14,000
Total 106,000
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Population Survey
Notes:
Numbers in employment are taken from the Annual Population Survey for the period January-December 2021.
Figures are shown to the nearest 1,000.
People in employment include individuals aged 16 or over who undertook paid work (as an employee or self-employed), those who had a job that they were temporarily away
from, those on government-supported training and employment programmes, and those doing unpaid family work.
Figures are based on small sample sizes and are therefore subject to a margin of uncertainty.
Image: Willow © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
1
Forecast of labour market shortages and training investment needs in film and high-end TV production. ScreenSkills, Nordicity, Saffreys Champness,
June 2022, https://www.screenskills.com/media/5559/2022-06-23-labour-market-shortages-and-training-investment-needs-research.pdf
195
As Figure 6 shows, the overall growth in the size of the film workforce between 2012 and 2021 was driven primarily by
increases in the number of employees in film and video production. The production workforce grew by 89% over the
period, rising from 45,000 to 85,000. The data show a substantial expansion in production sector employment
between 2020 and 2021 (+29%) which reflects the strength of recovery seen by this sector as the industry began to
emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. (For more, see the Production and Public investment chapters.)
Employment levels in the industry’s other main sectors have been more even over the period: the number of workers
in film and video distribution ranged from 3,000-7,000, while employee numbers in film exhibition ranged from
13,000-18,000.
Figure 6 Size of the film workforce, 2012-2021

Number of employees
Film and video production 45,000 49,000 47,000 48,000 55,000 64,000 69,000 66,000 66,000 85,000
Film and video distribution 5,000 7,000 4,000 6,000 7,000 7,000 4,000 3,000 4,000 7,000
Film exhibition 18,000 17,000 15,000 13,000 17,000 17,000 18,000 15,000 16,000 14,000
Total 68,000 73,000 66,000 67,000 79,000 88,000 91,000 84,000 86,000 106,000

196
The production sector has traditionally employed a high proportion of freelance workers. In 2021, 44% of those
engaged in film and video production, a total of over 37,000 people, were self-employed (Table 5). In comparison, only
13% of the total UK workforce was self-employed in 2021.
Table 5 Film and video production workforce, 2012-2021
Year Total in employment Self-employed Self-employed as % of total
2012 45,000 22,000 49

2013 49,000 24,000 49
2014 47,000 28,000 61
2015 48,000 24,000 51
2016 55,000 27,000 49
2017 64,000 32,000 50
2018 69,000 31,000 45
2019 66,000 36,000 54
2020 66,000 32,000 48
2021 85,000 37,000 44
Notes:
Numbers in employment are shown to the nearest 1,000 but percentages are based on unrounded numbers.
Image: Mothering Sunday courtesy of Lionsgate Films
197
Female writers associated with UK qualifying films
The gender of released in 2021 include Alice Birch (Mothering Sunday);
Clare Dunne (Herself); Sara Gay Forden and Becky
writers and directors Johnston (House of Gucci); Dana Fox (Cruella); Rita
Kalnejais (Surge); Nella Larsen (Passing); Jojo Moyes and
of UK films Esta Spalding (The Last Letter from Your Lover); and
Krysty Wilson-Cairns (Last Night in Soho). Female
directors associated with UK films released in the year
In 2021, of the 191 identified writers of UK films released include Augustine Frizzell (The Last Letter from Your
during the year 53 (28%) were women, while 30 (20%) of Lover); Eva Husson (Mothering Sunday); and Phyllida
the 147 identified directors of UK films released during Lloyd (Herself); while directors who also wrote or co-
the year were women (Table 7). The share of female wrote the scripts for their films include Prano Bailey-
writers associated with UK releases in 2021 is the Bond (Censor); Cathy Brady (Wildfire); Emerald Fennell
highest since our records began, while the share of (Promising Young Woman); Rebecca Hall (Passing); Billie
female directors is the second highest. Piper (Rare Beasts); Martha Tilston (The Tape); and
Stephanie Zari (Zebra Girl).
Table 6 Gender of writers of UK films released in the UK, 2012-2021
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number of UK films released in the UK 162 139 154 209 176 159 197 191 96 132
Number of writers associated with these films 187 155 211 285 233 209 276 264 137 191
Number of male writers 162 133 181 244 195 165 211 202 101 138
Number of female writers 25 22 30 41 38 44 65 62 36 53
% male 86.6 85.8 85.8 85.6 83.7 78.9 76.4 76.5 73.7 72.3
% female 13.4 14.2 14.2 14.4 16.3 21.1 23.5 23.5 26.3 27.7
Source: BFI
Table 7 Gender of directors of UK films released in the UK, 2012-2021
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number of UK films released in the UK 162 139 154 209 176 159 197 191 96 132
Number of directors associated with these films 179 149 165 224 188 178 212 208 104 147
Number of male directors 165 128 148 203 163 150 183 174 80 117
Number of female directors 14 21 17 21 25 28 29 34 24 30
% male 92.2 85.9 89.7 90.6 86.7 84.3 86.3 83.7 76.9 79.6
% female 7.8 14.1 10.3 9.4 13.3 15.7 13.6 16.3 23.1 20.4
Source: BFI
198
The workplace location
In 2021, 60% of the film and video production workforce was based in London and the South East, compared with
30% of the UK workforce as a whole (Table 8).
Table 8 London and South East employment as percentage of total, 2021
Sector Total UK employment London and South East London and South East
employment as % of UK total
UK all industries 31,848,000 9,513,000 29.9

Film and video production 85,000 50,000 59.6
Notes:
The South East region wraps around London so includes the major studios to the west of the city.
Totals shown in this table are for the calendar year 2021.
Numbers in employment are shown to the nearest 1,000 but percentages are based on unrounded numbers.
As Figure 7 shows, the London and South East share of the film and video production workforce is consistently higher
than the equivalent share for all UK industries. While the data, which shows a range between 57%-72%, would seem
to reflect the differing levels of production activity based in the capital and the surrounding major studios, in part the
variation arises from the small sample size of the survey at industry sub-sector level. The percentage of the overall UK
workforce based in London and the South East has remained fairly stable at around 29%-30%.
Figure 7 London and South East percentage share of the film and video production and total workforce,
2012-2021
%
Film and video production 71.4 72.4 70.2 65.5 56.8 64.0 60.9 69.9 57.1 59.6
UK all industries 28.9 29.1 29.3 29.2 30.0 30.0 29.4 29.7 30.0 29.9

199
The scale of the workplace
Tables 9 to 11 show the numbers of employees, by size of workplace, for film and video production, film and video
distribution, and film exhibition.
Employment data
The data in tables 9 to 11 are from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), which is maintained by the
Office for National Statistics (ONS). These data differ from the estimates shown in the previous sections, which
are based on the Annual Population Survey (APS). The APS counts the number of people employed whereas the
IDBR, which is updated from administrative sources and from surveys of employers, includes numbers of jobs.
The numbers of jobs and the numbers of people employed are not the same thing, and the data come from
different sources, but the estimates arising from them should be similar. However, as the figures for 2021 show,
this is not always the case. The ONS has identified a number of reasons for differences between the estimates,
but the two most important ones when looking at particular industry sub-sectors are likely to be sampling error
arising from the small APS sample size at industry sub-sector level and the fact that there are two classification
processes involved. In the APS, individuals are classified by industry depending on the industrial information they
give, whereas in the IDBR the classification is based on companies’ activities. As people and companies often
work across more than one industry (television and film, for example) this gives rise to unpredictable variations
between the APS and the IDBR measures.
In 2021, the film and video production sector had a very large number of workplaces with low numbers of employees
(Table 9). Workplaces with 10 employees or fewer accounted for 97% of all workplaces in the sector and over half of
its total workforce (55%). At the other end of the scale, there were a small number of workplaces with high numbers of
employees. The 75 workplaces with 50 workers or more accounted for just under 11,800 employees, an average of
157 each.
Table 9 Numbers of employees in film and video production by size of workplace for the UK, 2021
Workplace size band Number of % of total Number of % of total

workplaces in band workplaces employees in band employees
50+ 75 0.5 11,777 26.7

11-49 435 2.8 8,231 18.6
1-10 15,015 96.7 24,128 54.7
Total 15,525 100.0 44,136 100.0
Source: Office for National Statistics, Inter-Departmental Business Register
As Table 10 shows, employment in the film and video distribution sector was less concentrated in small workplaces
than the production sector, with 82% of workers based in workplaces with 11 employees or more and 69.5% of
workers based in workplaces with 50 employees or more.
Table 10 Numbers of employees in film and video distribution by size of workplace for the UK, 2021

50+ 20 4.0 4,008 69.5

11-49 30 6.1 715 12.4
1-10 445 89.9 1,046 18.1
Total 495 100.0 5,769 100.0
200
Table 11 shows that the concentration of workplaces in the film exhibition sector was the reverse of the production
sector; workplaces with 1-10 employees accounted for 29% of all workplaces and just 4% of employees while
workplaces with 11 employees or more (71% of workplaces) accounted for 96% of employees.
Table 11 Numbers of employees in film exhibition by size of workplace for the UK, 2021

50+ 110 14.4 7,543 36.5

11-49 430 56.2 12,316 59.6
1-10 225 29.4 822 4.0
Total 765 100.0 20,681 100.0
Figure 8 shows the percentage of employees in workplaces with 1-10 employees and the percentage in workplaces
with 50 employees or more in the film and video production sector from 2012 to 2021. At the start of the period, 46%
of the workforce was employed in workplaces with 1-10 employees and 33% of the workforce was employed in
workplaces with 50 employees or more. Since then, the proportion of the workforce based in the smallest workplaces
has seen a rising trend, increasing to 55% in 2021 while the proportion of employees in the largest workplaces has
fallen, decreasing to 27% in 2021.
Figure 8 Film and video production employees by workplace size band, percentage of total, 2012-2021
%
50+ employees 32.6 31.0 37.3 34.1 35.3 30.5 31.5 27.6 28.6 26.7
1-10 employees 45.6 46.2 42.8 46.2 48.2 51.9 50.6 53.8 56.1 54.7
201
As Figure 9 shows, there was an overall decline in the share of film exhibition sector employees in large workplaces
(50+ employees) between 2012 and 2021, with a corresponding increase in the proportion of employees employed in
medium sized workplaces (11-49 employees) in the same period.
Figure 9 Film exhibition employees by workplace size band, percentage of total, 2012-2021
50+ employees 51.1 49.8 46.0 43.7 45.6 47.1 41.5 38.0 40.2 36.5
11-49 employees 46.0 46.9 50.6 52.6 50.7 47.3 52.3 56.1 56.2 59.6
202
FILM INDUSTRY
COMPANIES
Image: Cyrano © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved. Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLC
FACTS IN FOCUS
In the UK, the majority of film industry companies are in the
production and post-production sectors, although the largest
companies are found in distribution and exhibition.
— In 2021, there were over 8,700 film — Outside London and the South East there
production companies and over 3,000 were significant production and post-
post-production companies in the UK. production clusters in the East
of England, the South West and the
— There were 375 film distributors and 290 North West.
film exhibitors.
— The majority of companies were small

(turnover under £250,000).
— The production, post-production and

distribution sectors were concentrated in
London and the South East, while the
exhibition sector was more dispersed.
204
Film industry
companies
Number of companies production numbers may partly be explained by the rise
in demand for online audiovisual content over the period,
in the film industry while growth in film production numbers may reflect the
number of special purpose vehicles (SPVs) created for
specific productions but which remain in existence as
companies after the completion of those titles. (These
The number of companies involved in the film industry in SPVs will usually only be involved in the production of
the UK increased by 16% between 2017 and 2021, one film.)
compared with the all-industries average of 4% (Table 1).
This growth is primarily the result of an expansion in the In 2021, there were over 8,700 film production
number of companies working in the production sector: companies, over 3,000 post-production companies, 375
the number of video production companies increased by film distributors and 290 film exhibitors.
49%, while there was an 8% increase in the number of
film production companies. Increases in video
Table 1 Number of companies by sub-sector, 2017-2021
Sub-sector 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Growth

2017-2021
(%)
Film production 8,115 8,165 8,415 8,660 8,740 7.7

Video production 3,390 3,735 4,185 4,570 5,050 49.0
Film, video and TV post-production 2,965 2,915 2,970 3,005 3,040 2.5
Film distribution 395 420 430 405 375 -5.1
Video distribution 80 90 105 110 120 50.0
Film exhibition 255 270 275 270 290 13.7
Total 15,200 15,595 16,380 17,020 17,615 15.9
UK all industries 2,668,810 2,669,440 2,718,435 2,749,700 2,765,150 3.6
Source: Office for National Statistics Inter-Departmental Business Register
Notes:
Data as at March 2021.
All figures are rounded to the nearest 5 to avoid disclosure.
Companies in the post-production sector usually work on films, commercials, videos and television programmes, and therefore have a combined statistical classification.
Data are based on the 2007 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes: 59111 (film production); 59112 (video production); 5912 (film, video and TV post-production);
59131 (film distribution); 59132 (video distribution); and 5914 (film exhibition). The SIC codes can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standard-
industrial-classification-of-economic-activities-sic.
205
As Table 2 shows, overall turnover for film industry companies increased by 52% between 2017 and 2021, rising from
£13.4 billion to £20.5 billion. The greatest increase over the period was seen in turnover for video production
companies which grew from £477 million to £2.0 billion, an increase of 310%. There were also increases in company
turnover in film production (31%), film distribution (86%) and film exhibition (8%) but falls in turnover for film, video and
TV post-production (-7%) and video distribution (-14%).
Total company turnover in 2021 was 1% lower than in 2020, the first year-on-year decrease in value since 2015.
Table 2 Turnover of companies by sub-sector, £ million, 2017-2021
Sub-sector 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Growth

2017-2021
(%)
Film production 4,509.4 6,102.6 6,062.1 6,103.6 5,888.4 30.6

Video production 477.4 534.5 624.2 1,523.7 1,956.7 309.9
Film, video and TV post-production 1,800.6 1,844.1 1,370.4 1,374.6 1,673.6 -7.1
Film distribution 4,871.3 6,788.4 9,069.5 9,803.1 9,077.0 86.3
Video distribution 190.8 129.5 152.8 142.8 163.6 -14.2
Film exhibition 1,593.1 1,614.9 1,704.1 1,779.9 1,726.4 8.4
Total 13,442.6 17,013.9 18,983.0 20,727.7 20,485.8 52.4
Image: The Last Letter from Your Lover Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh. Courtesy of StudioCanal
206
Film distributors represented 2% of film industry companies in 2021 but accounted for 44% of industry turnover
(Figure 1). This reflects the dominant position of the UK subsidiaries of the major US studios in the film value chain.
Film production companies represented 50% of companies and 29% of turnover.
Figure 1 Percentage of film industry companies and turnover by sub-sector, 2021
% of companies
% of turnover
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
% of companies % of turnover
F
ilm production 49.6 28.7
V
ideo production 28.7 9.6
F
ilm, video and TV post-production 17.3 8.2
F
ilm distribution 2.1 44.3
Video distribution 0.7 0.8
Film exhibition 1.6 8.4
Size distribution of film companies
The size distribution of film companies in 2021 is shown in Tables 3 to 6. In most sectors, the majority of companies
were very small with an annual turnover of less than £250,000. The one exception is film exhibition, where 52% of
companies had a reported turnover of £250,000 or more.
Table 3 Size distribution of film production companies, 2021
Turnover size band (£ million) Number % Turnover %

(£ million)
≥5.0 180 2.1 3,747.3 63.6

1.0-4.99 470 5.4 966.7 16.4
0.5-0.99 375 4.3 248.7 4.2
0.25-0.49 715 8.2 246.5 4.2
0.1-0.24 3,225 36.9 500.3 8.5
0.05-0.09 1,895 21.7 140.9 2.4
<0.05 1,880 21.5 38.0 0.6
Total 8,740 100.0 5,888.4 100.0
Notes:
207
Table 4 Size distribution of post-production companies, 2021

(£ million)
≥5.0 55 1.8 1,044.9 62.4

1.0-4.99 105 3.5 248.1 14.8
0.5-0.99 95 3.1 68.0 4.1
0.25-0.49 175 5.8 62.8 3.8
0.1-0.24 1,245 41.0 175.2 10.5
0.05-0.09 810 26.6 60.7 3.6
<0.05 555 18.3 13.9 0.8
Total 3,040 100.0 1,673.6 100.0
Notes:
Table 5 Size distribution of film distribution companies, 2021

(£ million)
≥5.0 35 9.3 8,939.7 98.5

1.0-4.99 30 8.0 78.3 0.9
0.5-0.99 35 9.3 24.2 0.3
0.25-0.49 50 13.3 16.8 0.2
0.1-0.24 70 18.7 11.6 0.1
0.05-0.09 65 17.3 4.9 0.1
<0.05 90 24.0 1.5 <0.1
Total 375 100.0 9,077.0 100.0
Notes:
Table 6 Size distribution of film exhibition companies, 2021

(£ million)
≥5.0 20 6.9 1,568.4 90.8

1.0-4.99 45 15.5 101.4 5.9
0.5-0.99 40 13.8 29.3 1.7
0.25-0.49 45 15.5 14.6 0.8
0.1-0.24 55 19.0 8.5 0.5
0.05-0.09 40 13.8 3.0 0.2
<0.05 45 15.5 1.2 0.1
Total 290 100.0 1,726.4 100.0
Note: Data as at March 2021.
208
generated by companies located in these two regions.
National/regional The London concentration was particularly strong for
distribution (56% of companies and 98% of turnover) but
distribution of the exhibition sector was more widely spread across the
UK, with 74% of companies and 39% of turnover
film companies associated with companies based outside London.
While London and the South East dominate in production

and post-production, there are significant regional
Tables 7 and 8 show the national/regional distribution of centres, particularly in the East of England, the South
film companies and film company turnover in 2021. In West and the North West.
total, 69% of film companies were concentrated in
London and the South East, and 86% of turnover was
Table 7 National/regional distribution of film companies, 2021
Film production Post-production Film distribution Film exhibition Total UK film
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
England 8,240 94.3 2,860 94.1 360 96.0 240 82.8 11,700 94.0
London 4,620 52.9 1,540 50.7 210 56.0 75 25.9 6,445 51.8
South East 1,505 17.2 565 18.6 75 20.0 45 15.5 2,190 17.6
East of England 675 7.7 225 7.4 20 5.3 25 8.6 945 7.6
South West 500 5.7 200 6.6 10 2.7 25 8.6 735 5.9
North West 305 3.5 120 3.9 15 4.0 25 8.6 465 3.7
Yorkshire and 220 2.5 65 2.1 10 2.7 15 5.2 310 2.5
The Humber
West Midlands 200 2.3 70 2.3 10 2.7 15 5.2 295 2.4
East Midlands 145 1.7 55 1.8 5 1.3 15 5.2 220 1.8
North East 70 0.8 20 0.7 5 1.3 0 - 95 0.8
Scotland 245 2.8 85 2.8 10 2.7 20 6.9 360 2.9
Wales 155 1.8 65 2.1 5 1.3 20 6.9 245 2.0
Northern Ireland 100 1.1 30 1.0 0 - 10 3.4 140 1.1
UK 8,740 100.0 3,040 100.0 375 100.0 290 100.0 12,445 100.0
Notes:
The overall total differs from that in Table 1 as it excludes figures for video production and distribution.
Count of companies is rounded to the nearest 5 for disclosure reasons.
209
Table 8 National/regional distribution of film company turnover, 2021
Film production Post-production Film distribution Film exhibition Total UK film

Turnover Turnover Turnover Turnover Turnover
% % % % %
(£ million) (£ million) (£ million) (£ million) (£ million)
England 5,737 97.4 1,521 90.9 9,054 99.8 1,664 96.4 17,976 97.9
London 4,134 70.2 1,145 68.4 8,923 98.3 1,050 60.8 15,252 83.0
South East 388 6.6 115 6.9 55 0.6 18 1.0 575 3.1
East of England 793 13.5 142 8.5 36 0.4 28 1.6 999 5.4
South West 161 2.7 45 2.7 c c 27 1.5 c c
North West 99 1.7 c c 4 <0.1 c c 531 2.9
Yorkshire and 71 1.2 c c c c 8 0.5 c c
The Humber
West Midlands 50 0.8 9 0.6 3 <0.1 4 0.3 66 0.4
East Midlands 31 0.5 8 0.5 c c 133 7.7 c c
North East 10 0.2 3 0.2 c c c c 20 0.1
Scotland 56 1.0 18 1.1 c c 19 1.1 c c
Wales 31 0.5 29 1.7 c c c c 65 0.4
Northern Ireland 64 1.1 106 6.4 c c c c 209 1.1
UK 5,888 100.0 1,674 100.0 9,077 100.0 1,726 100.0 18,365 100.0
Notes:
‘c’ indicates the data have been made confidential by the Office for National Statistics to avoid disclosing details of individual companies.
The geographic distribution of turnover is given by the location of the company, not its local units, so a London concentration may be overstated for companies such as
cinema chains which have local units around the UK.
The overall total differs from that in Table 2 as it excludes figures for video production and distribution.
210
THE UK FILM
ECONOMY
Image: Downton Abbey: A New Era © 2022 FOCUS FEATURES, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FACTS IN FOCUS
The UK film industry is a valuable sector of the British
economy, making a substantial contribution to Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) and the balance of payments. Film exports
totalled £1.8 billion in 2020, generating a trade surplus of
£915 million.
— In 2021, the UK film industry had a total — Film industry exports in 2020 comprised
turnover of £20.5 billion. £1.6 billion in royalties and £223 million in
audiovisual and related services.
— In 2020 (the last year for which data are
available), the combined film and — In the years 2016-2020, 48% of film
television industries’ direct contribution to industry exports were to the European
Gross Domestic Product was £11 billion Union, the highest share for the region
which represented 11% of the GDP of all since our records began.
creative industries.
212
The UK
film economy
Film industry sources, including VAT and PAYE statistics from HMRC
as well as data from other business surveys conducted
turnover, 2017-2021 by the ONS.
Data from the ABS become available on a two-year lag,

so the estimates reported in the 2021 Statistical
In previous editions of the Statistical Yearbook we have Yearbook were 2019 statistics. From 2021 onwards,
reported estimates for film industry turnover based on however, ABS data for the film and television industries
data derived from the Annual Business Survey (ABS) are no longer disaggregated, so the estimates for film
conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). industry turnover we are reporting this year are based
The ABS collects data from a sample of businesses in instead on the IDBR. As the IDBR is a more timely
the UK drawn from the Inter-Departmental Business dataset, with a lag of only six months, we are able to
Register (IDBR), which is a comprehensive list of UK include figures for both 2020 and 2021.
businesses, compiled by combining several data
Image: Brian and Charles © Brian And Charles Film Ltd, Channel Four Television Corporation and The British Film Institute 2021
213
Figure 1 shows the total turnover of the UK’s three main film industry sectors (film and video production, film and video
distribution and film exhibition) for the five-year period 2017-2021. Each of the sectors has shown growth over the
period, with total industry turnover increasing by 52% from £13.4 billion in 2017 to £20.5 billion in 2021. While overall
turnover in 2021 was down very slightly compared with 2020 (-1%) the picture across sectors was mixed: turnover for
film and video production (including post-production) increased by 6% year on year, while film and video distribution
turnover decreased by 7% and film exhibition turnover decreased by 3%.
Figure 1 Total turnover of UK film industry by sector, 2017-2021

£ million
% change
2017-2021
Film exhibition 1,593 1,615 1,704 1,780 1,726 8.4
Film and video distribution 5,062 6,918 9,222 9,946 9,241 82.5
ilm and video production

F 6,787 8,481 8,057 9,002 9,519 40.2
(including post-production)
Total 13,443 17,014 18,983 20,728 20,486 52.4

Notes:
These figures differ from those published in previous editions of the Statistical Yearbook which were based on data from the Annual Business Survey.
‘Total turnover’ is expressed in current values, i.e. not adjusted for inflation.
Data are based on the 2007 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes which are used to classify businesses according to the type of their economic activity. We define
film and video production as the sum of 2007 SIC codes 59111 (film production), 59112 (video production) and 5912 (film, video and TV post-production), film and video
distribution is the sum of 59131 (film distribution) and 59132 (video distribution) and film exhibition is 5914 (film exhibition). The SIC codes can be found at https://www.gov.
uk/government/publications/standard-industrial-classification-of-economic-activities-sic.
214
Total industry turnover between 2017 and 2021 expressed in real terms, i.e. with the effects of inflation removed, is
shown in Figure 2. There were real increases for film and video production (including post-production) and film and
video distribution over the period, and a decrease for film exhibition. Film and video production turnover grew by 27%,
film and video distribution turnover grew by 66%, while turnover for film exhibition fell by 2%. Overall, in real terms, film
industry turnover in 2021 was 38% higher than in 2017.
Figure 2 Inflation-adjusted turnover of UK film industry by sector, 2017-2021

£ million (2021 pounds)
% change
2017-2021
Film exhibition 1,754 1,747 1,806 1,776 1,726 -1.6
Film and video distribution 5,572 7,485 9,772 9,927 9,241 65.8
ilm and video production

F 7,471 9,177 8,537 8,985 9,519 27.4
(including post-production)
Total 14,797 18,409 20,114 20,688 20,486 38.4
Source: Office for National Statistics Inter-Departmental Business Register, HM Treasury

Notes:
The deflator used to calculate real values is the UK whole economy deflator (December 2022), which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gdp-
deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp
Values expressed in constant 2021 pounds.
For sector classifications, see notes to Figure 1.
215
As government statistics on value added are derived in
Film and television part from the Annual Business Survey, our reporting here
continues to be based on ABS data. It should be noted,
industries’ contribution however, that these data now include television values as
well as film so are not directly comparable with figures
to GDP, 2016-2020 published in earlier editions of the Yearbook. Due to the
time delay in the publishing of ABS data, coverage
extends only to 2020.
The direct contribution an industry makes to UK Gross The UK film and television industries’ GVA in 2020 was
Domestic Product (GDP) is measured by its gross value £10.6 billion (Table 1). According to data published by the
added (GVA). ‘Value added’ is industry turnover minus government in March 2022, the GVA for all UK creative
the cost of inputs bought from other industries; its main industries in 2020 was £95.2 billion, so film and television
components are wages and salaries, interest and accounted for 11% of all creative industries’ value added.
company profits. Value added is therefore a measure of Between 2016 and 2020, total GVA for the film and
an industry’s ability to generate income for its workers, television industries increased by 49%.
company owners and investors.
Table 1 UK film and television industries’ gross value added, £ million, 2016-2020
Sub-sector 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 % change

2016-2020
Film, video and TV production 2,350 3,175 6,047 6,453 5,766 145.4
Film, video and TV post-production 893 1,092 915 860 c n/a
Film, video and TV distribution 3,268 3,886 4,012 4,141 4,111 25.8
Film exhibition 601 636 718 559 c n/a
Total 7,113 8,788 11,692 12,014 10,600 49.0
Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Survey
Notes:
‘Gross value added’ is expressed in actual values, i.e. not adjusted for inflation.
‘c’ indicates the data have been made confidential by the Office for National Statistics to avoid disclosing details of individual companies; n/a = not available.
Table 2 shows the industries’ value added expressed in real terms, i.e. with the effects of inflation removed. Real GVA
for the film and television industries as a whole in 2020 was 33% higher than its value in 2016.
Table 2 UK film and television industries’ real gross value added, £ million (2020 pounds), 2016-2020
Sub-sector 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 % change

2016-2020
Film, video and TV production 2,638 3,502 6,555 6,851 5,766 118.6
Film, video and TV post-production 1,003 1,204 992 913 c n/a
Film, video and TV distribution 3,669 4,286 4,349 4,396 4,111 12.1
Film exhibition 675 701 778 593 c n/a
Total 7,985 9,692 12,675 12,754 10,600 32.7
Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Survey, HM Treasury
Notes:
The deflator used to calculate real values is the UK whole economy deflator (December 2022), which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gdp-
deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp
Values expressed in constant 2020 pounds.
‘c’ indicates the data have been made confidential by the Office for National Statistics to avoid disclosing details of individual companies; n/a = not available.
216
Film exports, 2011-2020
The UK film industry exported £1.8 billion worth of services in 2020 (the latest year for which data are available), of
which £1.6 billion (88%) comprised royalties earned overseas from the exploitation of UK intellectual property and
£0.2 billion (12%) comprised the sale of UK-based audiovisual and related services to foreign investors (Figure 3).
Compared with 2019, earnings from royalties were down by 5% while earnings from audiovisual and related services
were down by 63%. The export value of audiovisual and related services in 2020 was the lowest since 2002
(£222 million) and underscores the disruption in production activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Figure 3 UK film industry exports, 2011-2020

£ million
% change
2011-2020
udiovisual and related

A 540 550 605 655 679 269 450 364 606 223 -58.7
services
Intellectual property 1,199 792 756 519 1,289 1,441 2,158 1,608 1,653 1,574 31.3
Total 1,739 1,342 1,361 1,174 1,968 1,710 2,608 1,972 2,260 1,798 3.4
Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of International Trade in Services (ITIS)
Notes:
This chart shows the results for film companies only.
217
Film imports, 2011-2020
The UK film industry imported £882 million worth of services in 2020, of which £667 million (76%) comprised
intellectual property and £216 million (24%) comprised audiovisual and related services (Figure 4).
While the payment of royalties for foreign films shown in the UK made up the majority of imports between 2011 and
2020, from 2013 to 2019 more than a quarter of imports were associated with audiovisual and related services. The
services share was particularly high in 2013 (35%), 2016 (32%) and 2019 (41%). The reasons for this are unclear as the
reported level of imports for services is relatively high in relation to total UK film production for these years. One
possible explanation could be the categorisation of the non-UK spend of UK/USA inward investment productions as
imports of services by the UK subsidiaries of major US studios. However, this explanation cannot be confirmed as the
survey returns are confidential.
Figure 4 UK film industry imports, 2011-2020
£ million
% change
2011-2020
udiovisual and related

A 98 108 155 121 188 249 304 174 404 216 120.4
services
Intellectual property 642 445 290 338 532 535 853 482 576 667 3.9
Total 740 553 445 459 720 784 1,158 656 980 882 19.2
218
The film trade balance, 2011-2020
As Figure 5 shows, the film industry made a continuous positive contribution to the UK balance of payments each year
between 2011 and 2020. The trade surplus (positive balance of exports over imports) in 2020 was £915 million, the
third lowest figure of the period.
Figure 5 Trade surplus of UK film industry, 2011-2020

£ million
1,450
1,316
1,279
1,247
999
916 926 915
789
715
Note: ‘Trade surplus’ equals exports minus imports. Where a company (e.g. the UK subsidiary of a US major) receives income from another country on behalf of its parent
company and subsequently passes it on to its parent company, this is recorded both as a receipt and a payment, leaving the measure of the trade surplus unaffected.
219
Film export markets
Figure 6 shows the geographic distribution of UK film exports for the years 2016-2020. The primary export destination
for the period was the European Union with 48% of UK film exports, the highest share for the region since our records
began. Conversely, the USA, which historically has been the leading destination for UK film exports accounted for only
20%, its lowest share since our records began.
It should be noted that this year the share of exports to Asia is included with the share for ‘rest of the world’ as the
data for exports to Asia in 2020 were not disclosed by the Office for National Statistics. (For the shorter period,
2016-2019, Asia was the destination for 19% of UK film exports, while ‘rest of the world’ had a 10% share.)
Figure 6 Destination of UK film exports as percentage of the total, 2016-2020
European Union 48.0

Other Europe 5.0
USA 19.9
Rest of the world 27.0
Total 100.0
Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of International Trade

in Services (ITIS)
Notes:
For 2020, the ITIS survey does not disclose Asia totals for confidentiality
reasons, so the share for Asia is combined here with the share for ‘rest of
the world’.
Percentages do not sum to 100 due to rounding.
Image: The Railway Children Return Photo by Jaap Buitendijk. Courtesy of StudioCanal
220
UK film exports compared with the global
market for filmed entertainment
A useful comparison can be made between UK film export shares and the geographical distribution of the global
market for filmed entertainment (Figure 7). For the European Union (EU) and ‘other Europe’ the shares of UK exports
were higher than the shares of the ex-UK global filmed entertainment market in those regions, whereas the reverse
was true for the USA and ‘rest of the world’ (including Asia).
Most notable were the higher proportion of UK exports to the EU (48% of the UK’s film exports were to the EU
compared with its 16% share of the ex-UK global filmed entertainment market), and the lower proportion of UK
exports to the USA (20%) compared with the USA’s share of the ex-UK global market (49%).
Figure 7 UK export shares, 2016-2020, compared with the ex-UK global market for filmed entertainment, 2020
%
48.0 48.8
32.4
27.0
19.9
16.2
5.0
2.6
European Union Rest of the world
% of total UK film exports % of total global film market (excluding the UK)
Source: Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of International Trade in Services (ITIS), Omdia, BFI
Notes:
For 2020, the ITIS survey does not disclose Asia totals for confidentiality reasons, so the share for Asia is combined here with the share for ‘rest of the world’.
221
The geographical distribution of the UK’s film
trade surplus
As Table 3 shows, the geographical distribution of the UK’s film trade surplus had significant differences in
comparison with the export pattern. In the years 2016-2020, more than half of the surplus came from the European
Union (52%), while the USA accounted for only 5%.
Table 3 International transactions of the UK film industry by geographical area, annual average, 2016-2020
Exports (£ million) Imports (£ million) Balance (£ million) % balance
European Union 994 370 623 51.9

Other Europe 139 28 111 9.2
USA 412 350 62 5.2
Rest of the world 612 166 405 33.7
Total 2,156 914 1,202 100.0
Notes:
For 2020, the ITIS survey does not disclose Asia totals for confidentiality reasons, so the share for Asia is combined here with the share for ‘rest of the world’.
Image: What’s Love Got to Do with It? Courtesy of StudioCanal
222
GLOSSARY
Animation television programme and videos released on physical media. It has worked
Within this publication, the animation television with the Video Standards Council (VSC) Rating Board to
programmes referred to are those that have accessed or produce voluntary Best Practice Guidelines for providers
intend to access the relevant UK creative industry tax of digital video services. See Cinema film classification
relief. To access the relief a production must qualify as (www.bbfc.org.uk)
British under the relevant cultural test or as an official
co-production, it must be intended for broadcast on Blu-ray disc
television and/or the internet, and at least 51% of its
An optical disc format that can store up to 50 Gb of
total core expenditure must be on animation
data, almost six times the capacity of a dual layer DVD.
It uses a short wavelength blue-violet laser to read and
Audiovisual and related services write information to disc
Term describing the services and fees related to the
production of motion pictures, radio programmes, Box office
television programmes and musical recordings, as
Total value of ticket sales for a film screened
detailed within the exports data provided by the Office
commercially at cinemas
for National Statistics (ONS)
Box office gross

BAFTA
Box office takings before deduction of Value Added Tax
British Academy of Film and Television Arts. An
(VAT)
independent charity supporting the arts of film,
television and video games in the UK. It hosts a number
of annual industry awards ceremonies including the CAA
British Academy Film Awards (www.bafta.org) Cinema Advertising Association. The trade association
for cinema advertising contractors operating in the
BARB UK and Republic of Ireland
(www.cinemaadvertisingassociation.co.uk)
Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board. The
organisation that compiles audience measurement and
television ratings in the UK (www.barb.co.uk) Children’s television programme
Within this publication, the children’s television
BASE programmes referred to are those that have accessed or
intend to access the relevant UK creative industry tax
British Association for Screen Entertainment, formerly
relief. To access the relief a production must qualify as
the British Video Association. The trade body
British under the relevant cultural test or as an official
representing the interests of publishers and rights
co-production, it must be intended for broadcast on
owners of pre-recorded home entertainment on digital
television and/or the internet, at least 51% of its total
and physical video (www.baseorg.uk)
core expenditure must be on live action, and its primary
target audience will be under the age of 15
BBFC
British Board of Film Classification. Independent body
responsible for classifying films exhibited at cinemas
223
Cinema film classification Download to Own (DTO)
Age rating given to a film by the British Board of Film A type of Video on Demand business model that allows
Classification (BBFC) for a theatrical or physical video users to purchase permanent film downloads for storage
release. Indicates the film’s suitability for audiences on a hard drive, and in some cases to burn an additional
according to their age copy to DVD. Also known as Electronic Sell Through
(EST)
Co-production
A film made by companies from more than one country, Download to Rent (DTR)
often under the terms of a bilateral co-production treaty A type of Video on Demand business model that allows
or the European Convention on Cinematographic users to download content to view within a limited time
Co-production period (often up to 48 hours following the first play)
Country of origin DVD – Digital versatile disc

The nationality of a film. In the case of co-productions, A digital optimal disc storage format capable of being
this may include more than one country viewed on different types of players
Creative Europe EEA spend

The European Commission's framework programme for The value of all production expenditure, from pre-
support to the culture and audiovisual sectors. It production to completion, on activity incurred in the
replaced the Culture and MEDIA programmes which ran European Economic Area (EEA)
from 2007 to 2013. Its first phase ran from 2014 to 2020
with a budget of €1.46 billion. A second phase was
Electronic Sell Through (EST)
approved in 2020; this runs from 2021 to 2027 and has a
budget €2.44 billion See Download to Own (DTO)
DCMS English Regions

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Formerly known as Government Office Regions (GORs),
Government department responsible for setting UK film an administrative classification used to establish the
policy and for administering the National Lottery boundaries of the Regional Development Agencies and
Distribution Fund (www.culture.gov.uk) the Regional Screen Agencies. In 2011 the administrative
function of GORs was abolished but the areas were kept
for statistical purposes and are now known just as
Digital projection ‘Regions’
The projection of a film onto a cinema screen using a
digital master and a digital projector, i.e. using electronic
Event cinema
signals to direct light onto the screen rather than
passing light through a celluloid strip Non-feature film programming in cinemas, such as the
live screening of events or performances happening
elsewhere. Event cinema has become a regular feature
Digital video of some UK cinemas in recent years, and has been
A term used in this publication to describe Video on made possible by the availability of digital projection
Demand (VoD), a system that allows users to stream
or download a film from a digital platform to view
Exhibitor
on a television set, PC or mobile device. See Video
on Demand A cinema operator that rents a film from a distributor to
show to a cinema audience. See Film rental
Distributor
Feature film
A person or company that acquires the right to exploit
the commercial and creative values of a film in the A film made for cinema release, rather than a film made
theatrical, video and television markets. Also undertakes for television
promotional and marketing activity to attract audiences
to a film Film download
A digital version of a film transferred (either officially or
Domestic UK feature unofficially) from the internet to a PC or mobile device.
A domestic (indigenous) UK feature is a film made by a Downloads may also go directly to television sets via
UK production company that is produced wholly or games consoles, internet protocol television or
partly in the UK, and one for which the majority of the dedicated set-top boxes
budget is from UK sources
224
Film rental GVA – Gross Value Added
The sum of money paid to the distributor by the exhibitor The amount that individual businesses, industries or
in return for the right to show a particular film. Usually sectors contribute to the economy. Broadly, this is
calculated as a percentage of net box office measured by the income generated by the business,
industry or sector less their intermediate consumption of
goods and services used in order to produce their
Film tax relief
output. GVA consists of labour costs (e.g. wages and
Tax relief on film production costs available for UK salaries) and an operating surplus (or loss). The latter is
qualifying films. To access the relief a film must qualify a good approximation to profits. The cost of capital
as British under the relevant cultural test or as an official investment, financial charges and dividends to
co-production, with the intention of being released for shareholders are met from the operating surplus
theatrical exhibition
High-end television (HETV) programme

Franchise
Within this publication, the high-end television
A film series such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s programmes referred to are those that have accessed or
Stone and its sequels intend to access the relevant UK creative industry tax
relief. To access the relief a production must qualify as
GCE – General Certificate of Education British under the relevant cultural test or as an official
co-production, it must be a drama (which includes
An academic qualification comprising Advanced Level
comedy) or documentary intended for broadcast on
(A Level) and Advanced Subsidiary Level (AS Level)
television and/or the internet and have an average core
available principally in England, Wales and Northern
expenditure per hour of slot length of not less than
Ireland. A Levels are recognised by many universities as
£1 million. (The slot length in relation to HETV
the standard for assessing the suitability of applicants
programmes must be greater than 30 minutes)
for admission
HMRC
GCSE – General Certificate of Secondary Education
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs during the reign of
An academic qualification generally taken by students
Queen Elizabeth II. Government department charged
aged 14-16 in secondary education in England, Wales
with collecting revenue on behalf of the Crown.
and Northern Ireland
Following the accession of King Charles III, this is now
His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
GDP – Gross Domestic Product
A measure of a country’s income and output. GDP is HMT
defined as the total market value of all final goods and
Her Majesty’s Treasury during the reign of Queen
services produced within the country in a given period
Elizabeth II. Government department responsible for
of time. GDP is also the sum of the value added at each
formulating and implementing the Government's
stage of the production process. ‘Gross’ refers to the
financial and economic policy. Following the accession
fact that GDP includes capital investment but does not
of King Charles III, this is now His Majesty’s Treasury
subtract depreciation
Independent film
Genre
A film produced without creative or financial input from
A style or category of film defined on the basis of
the major US studio companies. These are: NBC
common story and cinematic conventions (e.g. action,
Universal, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony
comedy, drama, etc)
Pictures Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios and Warner
Bros Entertainment
Global box office
Refers to the box office across all global territories Intellectual property
and total global box office revenues. See Worldwide
Something created using one’s mind, e.g. a story,
box office
invention or artistic work. Within this publication,
intellectual property includes trade marks, franchises,
Grant-in-aid brands and design rights; copyrighted works, sound
A payment by a public sector funder (normally a Central recordings, films, television programmes; and royalties,
Government department) to finance all or part of the as detailed within the exports data provided by the
costs of the body in receipt of the grant-in-aid. Grant-in- Office for National Statistics (ONS)
aid is paid where the Government has decided, subject
to parliamentary controls, that the recipient body should
operate at arm’s length
225
Inward investment feature ONS
A term used to denote a feature film which is Office for National Statistics. Executive office of the
substantially financed and controlled from outside the UK Statistics Authority, responsible for the collection
UK and which is attracted to the UK by script and publication of official statistics in the UK
requirements (e.g. locations) and/or the UK’s filmmaking (www.ons.gov.uk)
infrastructure and/or UK film tax relief
Over the top (OTT)
ISBA TV regions A description of streamed or downloaded media content
System for classifying regions developed by the delivered via the internet without the involvement of a
Incorporated Society of British Advertisers for use by multiple-system operator
the advertising industry (www.isba.org.uk)
PAYE
Mainstream programming Pay as you earn. A method of collecting income tax and
Category of films aimed at the general audience national insurance where these are deducted at source
by the employer and remitted to HMRC
Mean
A statistical term for the average of a set of values which Pay TV
is calculated by summing the values and then dividing A satellite or cable television system in which viewers
by the count of the values pay a subscription to access television content including
feature films
Median
A statistical term meaning the middle value in an Physical video
ordered set of values. Half of the values fall below the Refers to the various physical formats on which video
median and half of the values fall above the median can be distributed, such as VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, etc
Mixed-use site Post-production

A venue that screens films on a part-time basis All stages of film production occurring after the shooting
alongside other activities such as concerts and plays of raw footage. These typically include: editing the film,
adding the soundtrack, adding visual special effects and
sound effects and preparing a final cut
Multiplex site
A venue defined in this publication as a purpose-built
cinema with five or more screens Principal photography
The stage of film production in which the movie is
filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as
Multi-channel television
distinct from pre-production and post-production
Defined within this publication as digital television
channels carried by satellite, cable or freeview delivery
systems. This excludes the five main network channels Premium Electronic Sell Through (PEST)
(BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5). A type of Video on Demand business model that allows
See Terrestrial television users to purchase a permanent film download for
storage on a hard drive before it is available through
traditional release windows for a one-off fee. See
National Qualifications (Scottish)
Download to Own
National Qualifications are secondary school certificate
exams offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
These qualifications (Levels 4 and 5) replaced Premium Video on Demand (PVoD)
Intermediate and Standard Grade certificate An type of Video on Demand business model that allows
qualifications. National Qualifications are usually taken users limited-time access to a film before it is available
by learners in the senior phase of secondary school and through traditional release windows for a one-off fee
learners in colleges. Level 6 national qualifications are
equivalent to Scottish Highers
Pre-production
All stages of film production occurring once a film has
Net box office been greenlit and before the shooting of raw footage.
Box office takings after deduction of VAT This typically includes: recruitment of crew, location
scouting, set construction and scheduling
Online DVD rental
Selection and rental of DVDs via a website for
postal delivery
226
Producer Studio-backed film
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all A film produced with creative and/or financial input from
relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and the major US studio companies. These are: NBC
vision of the film Universal, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony
Pictures Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios and Warner
Bros Entertainment
Reach
Within this publication reach is the total number of
individuals who have watched, at least once, a film or Subscription VoD (SVoD)
television programme during a given period. Reach is A type of Video on Demand business model based on a
typically presented either as the number of individuals subscription payment (usually monthly) in return for
who have watched a film or programme or as that unlimited access to content
number expressed as a percentage of a total population
Terrestrial television
Rental VoD The five main free-to-air channels: BBC One, BBC Two,
A type of Video on Demand business model that ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5
involves a one-off rental of an individual film title for a
limited period of time, also known as Download to Rent
Traditional cinema
(DTR)
Defined here as a cinema with four screens or fewer and
that generally shows more mainstream films
Sites
Individual cinema premises
Transactional VoD (TVoD)
A type of Video on Demand business model that
Social group/social grade involves the payment of a one-off fee to view, rent or
A section of the population defined by social and purchase content. Includes Download to Rent and
economic status, based on a classification used by the Download to Own
Market Research Society. The ‘AB’ social group refers to
people in the upper middle and middle class groups, in
Turnover
higher and intermediate managerial jobs. The ‘C1’ social
group refers to people in in the lower middle class The revenue that a company receives from its normal
group, with supervisory or junior managerial jobs. The business activities during a period of time, usually from
‘C2’ social group refers to people in the skilled working the sale of goods and services to customers
class group, who are categorised as skilled manual
workers. The ‘DE’ social group refers to those in the UK and Republic of Ireland
working class group or those at the lowest level of The distribution territory comprising the UK and
subsistence, who are semi-skilled manual workers, in Republic of Ireland. Where this publication indicates a
receipt of a state pension, in casual employment or the film has been released ‘in the UK and Republic of
lowest grade jobs Ireland’ it refers to the distribution territory and not
necessarily to an actual release in both countries
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
A system used by the Office for National Statistics to UK film
classify businesses according to the type of their A film which is certified as such by the UK Secretary of
economic activity State for Culture, Media and Sport under Schedule 1 of
the Films Act 1985, via the Cultural Test, under one of
Statistically significant the UK’s bilateral co-production agreements or the
A finding that is the result of a quantitative investigation European Convention on Cinematographic Co-
or data analysis that is unlikely to be due to chance production; a film which has not applied for certification
but which is obviously British on the basis of its content,
producers, finance and talent; or (in the case of a
Streaming re-release) a film which met the official definition of a
The transmission of audiovisual content that is British film prevailing at the time it was made or was
constantly received by and presented to a user at the generally considered to be British at that time
same time as it is being delivered by the provider. The
client media player can start playing the data before the
entire file has been transmitted
227
UK spend Video on Demand (VoD)
The value of production expenditure, from pre- A system that allows users to select and watch films (or
production through to completion, on activity incurred in other content) on a television set, PC or mobile device at
the UK for films and programmes applying for one of the the time they want over an interactive network. See
creative sector tax reliefs as a UK qualifying production Digital video
under the relevant cultural test. For films and
programmes qualifying as British under one of the UK’s
Worldwide box office
bi-lateral treaties or the European Convention on
Cinematographic Co-production, the UK spend includes Generally refers to the box office across all global
all production costs incurred by the UK production territories and total global box office revenues. Within
company. For video games, UK spend is the value of all this publication, however, some worldwide box office
expenditure on project development incurred in the UK grosses are based on takings from 23 distribution
for games applying for video games tax relief as a UK territories only
qualifying project under the relevant cultural test
VFX
Visual effects. The various processes by which
imagery is created and/or manipulated outside of live
action material
Video game
Within this publication, the video games referred to are
those that have accessed or intend to access the
relevant UK creative industry tax relief; they are defined
by HMRC as electronic games intended to be played
through a video device. To access the relief a video
game must qualify as British under the video games
cultural test
228
SOURCES
Please note that no material in this Yearbook may be Cinema Advertising Association, Film Monitor
reproduced in any form without prior permission from
the authors or copyright owners. Comscore, International Box Office Essentials
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and

Assessment (CCEA), 2021 results
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,
Academy Awards® database Creative Cultural Associates
Berlinale Annual Archives Creative Europe
BFI – Certification unit Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
(DCMS)
BFI, Collections and Information database
Devolved administrations
BFI – Education and Skills
European Audiovisual Observatory, 2021 Yearbook
BFI – Film Fund
European Audiovisual Observatory, Lumiere database
BFI – Research and Statistics Unit, Production and
certification tracking Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), 2021
entrants
BFI/YouGov, Screen Engagement Survey
HMRC
La Biennale di Venezia (Biennale Cinema), awards
database HM Treasury, GDP deflators
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Internet Movie Database (IMDb), IMDb Pro database
(BAFTA), awards database Into Film
British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE), Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), 2021 results
2021 Yearbook
Motion Picture Association of America, theatrical market
British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), database of statistics
film classifications
National Film and Television School (NFTS)
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
National Lottery
Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB),
Establishment Survey Nielsen Media Research, advertising spend reports
Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), Ofcom, Media Nations 2021 and 2022
2021 Yearbook
Ofcom, Technology Tracker
Channel 4
Office for National Statistics, Annual Business Inquiry
Cinema Advertising Association, cinema admissions by
ISBA TV region Office for National Statistics, Annual Business Survey
229
Office for National Statistics, Annual Population Survey Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), 2021 results
Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of ScreenSkills, Forecast of labour market shortages and
International Trade in Services training investment needs in film and high-end TV
production
Office for National Statistics, Inter-Departmental
Business Register Sundance Film Festival, awards database
Office for National Statistics, population estimates by TechEdge/Broadcasters Audience Research Board
high level areas (BARB), television audience measurement service
Official Charts Company, video charts Toronto International Film Festival, awards database
Omdia, Cinema admissions & box office database TRP Research, TRP Codex
Omdia, Home entertainment intelligence database
230
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank the following organisations Written by:

for their various contributions to this Yearbook:
John Murray
British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE)
John Sandow
Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB)
Cinema Advertising Association (CAA)
Edited by:
Comscore
John Murray
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
(DCMS)
Additional material and support:
Digital Cinema Media
Ian Cade
European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO)
Chris Chandler
European Film Agency Research Network (EFARN)
Simon Fathers, Benjamin Brown and Into Film
Into Film
Michael Gannon
His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
Yvonne Harris
His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT)
Anna Mansi, Chris Halliday and the BFI Certification
Nielsen Media Research (NMR)
team
Ofcom
Paul McEvoy
Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Sean Perkins
Official Charts Company (OCC)
Leigh Adams, Zakiya Bale and the BFI Education and
Omdia Skills team
ScreenSkills Darren Wood and the BFI Design Studio team
TechEdge
TRP Research Design:
YouGov Incorporate Design (incorporatedesign.co.uk)
231

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Welcome to the 2022 BFI Statistical

Yearbook. Compiled by the Research

The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Tim Richards.

Research and Statistics Unit

The British Film Institute is registered in England as a charity, number 287780.

The box office 08 Weekend box office 67

Screen sector certification 143 Film education and

The UK film economy 211

— UK cinema admissions reached 74 million — UK films, including co-productions,

Figure 1 Annual UK cinema admissions, 2012-2021

Source: Cinema Advertising Agency (CAA), Comscore

Table 1 Largest film markets by admissions, 2019-2021 (ranked by 2021 admissions)

Territory Admissions 2019 Admissions 2020 Admissions 2021 +/- 2019

China 1,727 548 1,167 -32.4

Table 2 Monthly UK cinema admissions, 2019-2021

Admissions (million) 2019 2020 2021 % change on 2019

January 13.7 16.5 - -100.0

Figure 2 Monthly UK cinema admissions, 2017-2021

Table 3 Cinema admissions by ISBA TV region, 2021

Region Admissions % Population Admissions

London 16.9 22.8 13.7 1.2

Figure 3 puts UK admissions in a longer-term 54 million. However, the introduction of multiplex

1935 912.3 1957 915.2 1979 111.9 2001 155.9

Table 4 UK box office trends, 2012-2021

2012 1,099 5.7 -

£ million Number of releases

Source: Comscore, BFI RSU analysis

Source: Comscore, BFI RSU analysis

Source: Comscore, BFI RSU analysis

2012 547 92.9 22,073

Widest point of release

Number Number of % of Median Minimum Maximum

≥600 32 7.2 10,139,903 2,052,828 96,665,491

Country of origin Number of % of Box office gross % of total

USA 128 29.0 342.4 55.6

Figure 7 Market share by country of origin, 2012-2021

Source: Comscore, BFI RSU

Figure 8 UK films’ share of the UK theatrical market, 2012-2021

Source: Comscore, BFI RSU

Table 8 UK qualifying releases by box office band, 2012-2021 (£ million)

≥20 10 – 19.99 5 – 9.99 1 – 4.99 0.1 – 0.99 <0.1 Total

2012 Number 5 3 7 13 32 102 162

Five films earned £20 million or over in 2021, up from

Image: The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard courtesy of Lionsgate Films

1 No Time to Die* UK/USA 96.7 791 25.8 Universal

Rank Title Country Box office Widest Opening Distributor

1 No Time to Die* UK/USA 96.7 791 25.8 Universal

Generating £12 million from six releases, comedy was

The top grossing UK independent film in 2021 was The

1 The French Dispatch* UK/USA# 4.2 367 0.9 Walt Disney

Title First week Opening Box office Distributor Number of

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard 18/06/2021 1.6 3.8 Lionsgate 1

earned £12 million. (In 2019, foreign language films

English 300 605.3 98.2

Image: 83 courtesy of Reliance Big Entertainment

Rank Title Country Box office Distributor Main

Rank Title Country Box office Widest point Distributor

re-releases, the UK studio-backed title Harry Potter and

Genre in the Statistical Yearbook

— UK cinema admissions reached 74 million — UK films, including co-productions,

All film 6.8 11.3 31.0 42.1 8.1

All film 9.4 8.5 59.6 20.1 2.3

UK share (%) 24.4 27.4 28.7 13.0 19.0