MUMBAI: UK films took a 7% ($2 billion) share of the global box office in 2009, in a year when global box office receipts increased by 8% year on year (to $29.9 billion).
UK inward investment films (UK films wholly or partly financed by US studios but qualifying as British through the Cultural Test – i.e. using UK cast, crew, locations, facilities, post-production and often with UK source material) earned 4.4% of the worldwide box office in 2009, thanks to the success of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Sherlock Holmes, whilst UK independent films took a 2.3% share of global revenues, with Slumdog Millionaire grossing $327 million alone.
UK Film Council chief executive officer John Woodward said, "It’s always tempting to look for trends in statistics, but this isn’t really possible when we look at UK films’ share of the global box office. That’s because these figures can fluctuate quite significantly every year thanks to only one or two massive films, like Mamma Mia or the latest James Bond. So, 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."
