Fuelled by Twilight success, E1 passes £100m in UK box office in 19 months

Since E1’s creation, among the UK independents only Entertainment has grossed more at the UK box office, taking £112.4m ($172m).

E1 has taken 5.93% of the market share since December 2008. Four of its 20 films released in the period - Twilight, Knowing, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and The Twlight Saga: Eclipse - were box office number ones.
While E1’s box office success largely derives from the Twilight franchise, last year the company also saw good returns on smaller UK productions such as Nativity (£5.2m/$8m) and An Education (£2.5m/$3.8m).

Alex Hamilton, Head of E1 Films UK said in a statement: “19 months, 20 movies, a £100 million box office.  Priceless! I’d like to thank everybody who works so hard here, and all our partners throughout the UK and international film industry.”

The company has also posted strong numbers in 2010. E1’s 6.9% share of the UK market in 2010 ranks it in sixth place overall among distributors, one place above Sony, whose films have yet to catch fire this year and whose 2010 market share currently stands at only at 2.9%. For E1 this year, Astro Boy, Remember Me and Furry Vengeance have each taken more than £3.5m ($5.4m) at the UK box office.

Among independents E1 has the highest percentage of cinemas screening its films in 2010, at 8.2%, an average of 446 cinemas per week. Entertainment comes in second with 7.8%, an average of 425 screens per week.

Still to come from E1 in 2010 are The Runaways, The Hole 3-D, Mr Nice, and big budget action-comedy Red.

Among other indies: After strong performances from dramas Edge Of Darkness, Precious and A Single Man in January and February, Icon has taken eighth most at the UK box office so far this year, with a total of £14m ($21.4m). Optimum films have grossed an impressive £13.9m ($21.3M) to date but its output of 23 films is also the highest among all distributors.