UK film growth set to slow in 2004 after bumper year

by Staff,, Brand Republic 23-Jan-04, 11:00

LONDON – Growth in the UK film industry is set to taper off in 2004 after spending almost doubled on new productions such as 'Cold Mountain', 'Troy' and 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.

Talking to The Times, Steven Norris, chairman of the UK Film Council, said that the industry was already "operating at or close to full capacity" having expanded rapidly to produce big-budget films.

"The industry is working at not absolute capacity, but pretty much close to it -- we're certainly not going to get much growth beyond this."

He added: "In order to grow more, we need further investment."

However, the production schedule remains strong despite last year's lukewarm box office takings and the spread of film piracy on the internet.

Current big-budget films in production or development include: 'The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy'; the next Batman film; Tim Burton's 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' starring Johnny Depp; as well as Oliver Stone's biopic of Alexander the Great.

Norris claimed that it would be extremely difficult to enlarge at the same rate as last year, when the industry almost doubled in size.

Total film spending last year amounted to £1.17bn, almost 10 times the figure a decade ago. This was dominated by 102 co-productions but also included 45 British feature films, along with 30 inward investment films that were made in Britain but funded from offshore.

Last year's top five films in the UK according to box-office takings were 'Finding Nemo' (£37.3m); 'The Matrix Reloaded' (£33.3m); 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' (£29.7m); 'Love Actually' (also £29.7m); and 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' (£28.2m).

The box office success of 'Finding Nemo' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' propelled the Walt Disney Company to top of the rankings among British film distributors for the first time last year.

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