Laura Carollo
Research expert covering cinema and film
Film industry in the United Kingdom - statistics & facts
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the robustness of the UK cinema industry is expected to defy the odds throughout the 2020s. The United Kingdom indeed remains one of the most dynamic cinema markets and filmmaking player worldwide. In 2022, the UK/Ireland region was the leading European market in terms of box office revenue, garnering a total of 1.2 billion dollars. On a regional level, the UK maintained a solid second place in movie ticket sales.
An international filmmaking player
From regional productions such as Harry Potter and Doctor Who, to international hits belonging to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars franchises, many international studios opt to shoot in the UK. Pinewood Studios, one of the oldest and biggest studios, is known for housing the productions of many large-scale projects such as the upcoming “Deadpool 3”. Several of the highest-grossing movies of 2023 in the UK were shot there, such as “Barbie”, which was mostly shot in Warner Bros.’s studio in Leavesden, or “Wonka” in London. In 2021, domestic and co-production spending amounted to around 220 thousand and 58 thousand pounds respectively.An industry on the mend
As a result, the number of film video production companies has indeed exponentially increased and has reached an all-time high value in 2021. When it came to box office revenues of movies made in the UK, they barely surpassed one-third of the 10.3-billion-dollar revenue recorded in 2019. Since 2018, British films produced with studios from the U.S. accounted for around one-third of the box office revenue in Ireland and the UK. However, that value dropped to 21.4 percent in 2022, its lowest over that time period. In 2022, box office gross of films made in or co-produced by the United Kingdom accounted for 16.2 percent of the box office revenue generated in 23 markets across the world, while the figure peaked in 2019 at around 29 percent.A brighter future ahead
While the industry has yet to fully bounce back, it already shows signs of recovery. Viewers are indeed eager to go back to the theater as cinemas across the United Kingdom sold approximately 117 million tickets throughout 2022, up from less than 75 million movie tickets a year earlier. Forecasts indicate that the UK will rank third overall in terms of filmed entertainment revenue by 2026, with an estimated turnover of about 4.7 billion dollars. Moreover, the market is expected to grow by almost 50 percent overall between 2021 and 2026.
