Inward investment to soar
Facilities are packed out across 2025 by major US fare. Features include Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday, Mattel Films and Amazon MGM Studios’ Masters Of The Universe, plus Warner Bros’ Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow and Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation.
On the TV side, the Harry Potter series, Disney+ shows Tin Man and Star Wars: Ahsoka, and Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power season three for Amazon are all poised to shoot in the UK.
At the other end of the scale, drawn by the indie tax credit for films budgeted up to £15m, US indie producers are also increasingly looking to film in the UK. This is being driven in part by the rising cost of US production, not helped by complications surrounding tax credit systems run at state rather than federal level and the strength of the unions and guilds in the US versus the UK. But watch this space: an ‘America First’ Trump presidency could work to keep US production in the US.
Artificial intelligence is coming in from the cold
One other area of difference between the US and UK is attitudes towards AI. Following the Hollywood strikes, US studios have seemingly backed away from embracing the technology. In the UK, calls are growing for government legislation to firm up how AI can be used in an ethical way to protect the rights of creatives, while helping the UK establish itself as a global leader in the tech. A pragmatic attitude that embraces AI in order to meet the challenge of rising costs is also gaining ground.
Impact of the indie tax credit will be felt
It is hoped the indie tax credit, introduced at a rate of 40% for films with core expenditure under £15m, on 80% of qualifying spend, will provide a shot in the arm to the homegrown production sector and resist the UK’s possible slide into the service industry status.
But the tax credit is just one part of a complex puzzle. The lack of serious equity financing for UK projects has many hankering for the return of government-backed programmes such as the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).
Cinemas bracing for further change
After Cineworld, Picturehouse and Odeon were forced to close sites in 2025, exhibitors are hoping for a steadier stream of big releases throughout the year to help keep the lights on and offset the impact of increased costs for employers introduced by the Labour government.
A shake-up to the distribution landscape is coming from cinema chain Vue, which has made a statement of intent by hiring Modern Films founder and chief executive Eve Gabereau as director of distribution of its direct releasing arm Vue Lumière. With a keen interest in smaller independent features and non-English language fare, it aims to handle 10 to 12 titles a year, making the films available to all UK-Ireland cinemas.
Further changes for Cineworld-owned exhibitor-distributor Picturehouse may be on the cards, while over at fellow exhibitor-distributor Curzon, Philip Knatchbull has returned as interim executive chairman following the company’s acquisition by US firm Fortress Investment Group in November. “Fundamentally, Curzon is stable,” said Knatchbull at the end of 2024.
Indie distributors looking for further support
Plenty of rising UK filmmakers enjoyed vibrant festival premieres in the past couple of years, but this energy has not, with a couple of exceptions (led by Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap for Curzon), carried through to paying audiences in 2024.
A surge in marketing costs is a key stumbling point for getting UK independent films to cut through the noise and connect with audiences, with some distributors calling for a print and advertising (P&A) specific relief for lower-budget films.
A couple of releases that may cut through include Mubi’s Bring Them Down, starring Barry Keoghan, in February, and Black Bear’s The Salt Path, starring Gillian Anderson, which opens in late April.
UK festivals poised for a refresh
Kristy Matheson is looking forward to making her mark in her third year as BFI London Film Festival director. When Matheson inherited the position from now-Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle in 2023, she remained committed to Tuttle’s five-year plan for the festival, which came to an end in 2024.
American Express, the festival’s headline sponsor since 2010, is on board again for the 2025 edition. But since the end in 2022 of the National Lottery funding mechanism through which the festival received backing, a long-term public funding strategy has not been established. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will help fund the festival in 2025, as per 2024, but the exact level of support has yet to be unveiled.
Sheffield DocFest’s managing director Annabel Grundy is stepping down, with her replacement yet to be announced. Further north, the Scottish festivals are also in a transitional period. Paul Ridd has his debut leading the Edinburgh International Film Festival under his belt, so will be looking to iron out any minor teething issues and hit the ground running in 2025.
In Glasgow, the March 2025 edition of the Glasgow Film Festival will be well-respected and long-running director Allison Gardner’s last edition. While Gardner is not planning to leave the film industry, she is departing her dual role as chief executive of Glasgow Film and director of Glasgow Film Festival after more than 30 years with the organisation. A decision on future staffing of the two roles will be taken in the coming year – but they are big boots to fill.
Film and high-end TV inquiry delivers its verdict
The UK parliament’s ongoing film and high-end TV inquiry is expected to present its findings and recommendations to the government in early 2025. The inquiry has been in-depth and far-reaching, with subjects covered so far including the challenges of the skills gap, AI, exhibition, independent production, the public funders and tax incentives. Topics still expected to be dissected include whether the IFTC will be enough to help revive indie film and the work of the BFI.
If and how the government chooses to respond, however, will be out of the inquiry and industry’s hands.
Where is James Bond?
It has been six years since Eon Productions started filming the last James Bond film, No Time To Die, in 2019. Although the rumour mill is having fun with talk of who may play the next Bond – Aaron Taylor-Johnson, James Norton, Theo James or Jack O’Connell? – there is no sign of the serious business of a start date.
The problem could be a difference in expectations between Eon, which owns the copyright, and Amazon, which now owns the rights to release the Bond films through its acquisition of MGM. Eon and Amazon both declined Screen’s request for comment.
The box office is looking forward to a Bond hit, as must be Eon. As per Companies House, UK company Eon’s pre-tax profit in 2023 was down 75% on 2022. Revenue increased 39% year on year, from £15.8m to £22m, thanks to other production and commercial enterprises including merchandise, but this is slim compared to the £234.7m revenues hit in 2021 when the last Bond film was released.
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