UK independent films hit all time high at UK box office

Independent British films scored an all time high at the UK box office last year.

Thanks to homegrown hits like The King's Speech, The Inbetweeners Movie and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, the market share of UK indie films rose to an all-time high of 13.5%, in figures announced today by the BFI.

The year also saw an encouraging rise in overall ticket sales. A total of 172 million tickets were sold at the UK box office, a 1.4% increase on 2010 and the third highest total of the last decade. The gross value of the box office was £1.04 billion, a 5% jump from 2010 and the first time the £1 billion barrier has been broken.

Overall, the market share for all British films – whether they be independents or pictures shot locally but financed from abroad – hit 36.2%, up from 24.0% in 2010. Total investment in UK-based film production reached £1.26 billion. Spend on domestic features, however, was down to £194 million from £214 million the previous year as fewer films were made. British co-productions increased to 40 from 30 in 2010 for a UK spend of £59 million up from £56.3 in 2010.

Earlier this month, David Cameron caused controversy by calling on British filmmakers to make more movies with the explicit aim of being "commercially successful".

NME: 1/2/12