The British Film Industry

The British Film Industry-Booklet 3

Why do you think 3D takings went down when the number and variety of 3D films increased in 2011?

The 3D film experience is an experience for most people but as it is becoming a normal way of viewing films and so the number of people going to watch 3D films would have dropped.

Where do you think these films end up being shown?

Picture house cinemas and small cinemas around the UK.

Why do you think there are more people going to the cinema mid-week? Who are more likely to attend the cinema outside of opening weekends?

There are more people going to the cinema mid-week as there are deals such as the Orange Wednesday 2 for 1 deal. This encourages more people to see films mid-week so that they can get money off and still see the latest films. People go to the cinema to watch the latest films outside of opening weekends as the opening weekends will be when the cinemas are most packed for the latest films and so the cinema is more quiet mid-week after opening showing.

Why do you think there has been a decline in DVD sales in the last few years?

This is because films are now being consumed over the internet and streaming. You can also rent or buy the films to download via various sites such as the Apple Store, Play Store, Youtube. Piracy and Illegal streaming is also reasons why DVD sales have dropped.

Summarise what has remained the same about the UK film market over the last ten years and what has changed dramatically?

There have been far more Multiplex cinemas opened in the last Ten years, meaning more places to go and watch films on the big screen. However there have been a large amount of screens around the UK in the last decade. The number of movies shown in 2002 (369) has increased at a fairly slow rate to 558 in 2011 – more films shown. Many more digital screens have been made. Unlike in 2002 when only four screen were digital.Smartphone and tablet ownership is on the rise – more places to watch movies other than on the television or in the cinema. Broadband speed increase – easier to watch films on tablets and Smartphone’s.

How does film production in the UK seem to be very different from the Hollywood model of large, powerful studios?

Many UK film production companies are actually subsidiaries of American film companies. Warner Bro’s is a subsidiary of the American Company, Time Warner. BBC and Film 4 films are an important source of funding for the British Cinema companies – they invest into films that eventually make it onto the big screen. Doesn’t have the financial backing that the US film industry has.

What is the benefit to a film producer of their ilm being branded as british? What is it about 'Britishness' that is attractive to investors from outside the UK? What is it about 'Britishness' that makes it easy for Hollywood films to dominate our film market?

Britain produces many good Actors and Directors and we are a respected country in the film industry. Britain could be seen as an untapped film department as London for example has rarely been used in films apart from recently. Many people in Britain go to the cinema every year and so film companies outside Britain see this as a chance to get their name recognised. British films may be owned or funded by the Hollywood companies and so do not have the size to produce bigger films than Hollywood.

How many of these could be considered British films? How many of them are co-productions where the majority of money leaves the country? What does this say about the Scale of the UK film industry?

The films that can be considered as being truly British are 'The King’s Speech' and 'The Inbetweeners'. 16 of the top 20 UK films released in 2011 are co-productions that involve other countries, such as USA and Germany. Other countries dominate the UK film industry, especially America who is involved in almost every film apart from the films listed above.

Which one of these two films recently released in the UK do you think is a BBC co-production and why?

My week with Marilyn because it seems to be sort of like a documentary with a true story of a known character whereas The boy in the striped pyjamas is a story in history and although based on the true events of concentration camps it is a film with made up characters.