Market share of UK films slips at global box office

The market share of UK films at the global box office in 2009 was at an 8 year low of 6.7%, according to figures released by the UK Film Council today. The UK market share is the lowest since the UKFC started tabulating the statistics in 2002.

The percentage share is down from 15.1% in 2008, when films such as The Dark Knight, Quantum Of Solace and Mamma Mia – which qualify as “UK films” under the UKFC’s definitions, despite the fact that they were wholly financed by US studios – helped to boost the figures.

The UK’s market share was at its second lowest in the last eight years in 2003, when UK films accounted for 6.9% of the global box office. The UK’s global share peaked in 2005 at 15.5%, due to a rise in inward investment in the UK in 2003.

The highest grossing UK film of 2009 was Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince which took $934 million worldwide. Slumdog Millionaire came in second, grossing $327 million, followed by Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, which grossed $191 million in 2009, despite only being released in December. It has gone on to make $500 million worldwide.

Of the top ten UK films at the worldwide box office, only one – Pathe’s Slumdog Millionaire – was not funded by US money.

The UKFC said that it anticipated an increase in the UK share in 2010, with the release of “inward investment films” such as Christopher Nolan’s Inception and Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, which shot in the UK in 2009.

 “Whilst it’s disappointing to see the share drop in 2009, we’re anticipating a bounce-back next year, thanks mainly to the higher number of big event films made in the UK during 2009,” said John Woodward, CEO of the UKFC.