Film industry in the United Kingdom - statistics & facts

The United Kingdom remains one of the leading cinema markets worldwide. In 2021, it tied in fourth with France by box office gross, each reporting approximately 800 million U.S. dollars in revenue. On a regional level, the UK maintained a solid third place in movie ticket sales. Between 2019 and 2021, it stood among the European countries with the highest cinema attendance, behind Russia and France but ahead of Germany and Spain. The robustness of the British film industry is also likely to continue throughout the 2020s. Forecasts indicate that, by 2025, the UK will rank fourth by overall filmed entertainment revenue, with an estimated turnover of more than 4.5 billion dollars.

British movies' performance at home and overseas

Despite its stable position amidst the world's top film markets, the country struggled to bounce back from the lockdowns. In 2021, box office revenue in the UK reached nearly 557 million British pounds, up 88 percent from the previous year. Yet the latest figure amounted to less than 45 percent of the annual results between 2015 and 2019. And, despite the UK's successful history of exporting titles and acting talents, the global box office gross of British movies in 2021 barely surpassed one-third of the 10.3-billion-dollar revenue recorded in 2019. The performance in the domestic market also failed to catch up with pre-pandemic patterns. 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. When it came to independent UK movies, however, their share in the two countries' gross stood below five percent in 2021, the lowest percentage since 2006.

UK theaters charged more, but viewers spent less

The financial results could not discourage cinema chains from pushing for more sites and higher prices. Between 2016 and 2021, the number of movie theaters across the UK grew by over nine percent, amounting to 860 in the latter year. During that same five-year period, the average cinema ticket price in the UK increased by around 1.5 percent, reverting a declining trend that started in 2018 and reaching an all-time high of more than 7.5 pounds. That seemed to inhibit moviegoers or at least their willingness to treat themselves. The annual average cinema spending per person in the UK stood at 8.16 pounds in 2021. For comparison, from 2011 to 2019, audiences had been spending twice as much.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Jan 6, 2023

Key insights

Box office revenue in the UK
557m GBP
Global box office revenue of UK films
3.6bn USD
Global theatrical market share of UK films
19%
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Gross revenue of the filmed entertainment market in the United Kingdom from 1998 to 2020 (in billion GBP)

Cinema & Film

Gross revenue of the filmed entertainment market in the UK 1998-2020

Cinema attendance in the United Kingdom from 2001 to 2021 (in millions)

Cinema & Film

Cinema attendance in the United Kingdom 2001-2021

Number of film and video production and post-production companies in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2020

Cinema & Film

Number of film and video production and post-production companies in the UK 1996-2020

Related topics

Recommended

5

Recommended statistics

Overview

7

Overview

Movies

9

Movies

Companies

6

Companies

Movie theaters

7

Movie theaters

Viewer behavior

5

Viewer behavior

Outlook

3

Outlook

Reports & StudiesGet the best reports to understand your industry

Film industry in the United States and Canada
Film industry in the United States and Canada
Online media & entertainment usage in the United Kingdom (UK)
Online media & entertainment usage in the United Kingdom (UK)
Film industry in Europe
Film industry in Europe
Film production worldwide
Film production worldwide
Coronavirus impact on media consumption in the United Kingdom
Coronavirus impact on media consumption in the United Kingdom

Contact

Get in touch with us. We are happy to help.
Statista Locations
Contact Meredith Alda
Meredith Alda
Client Support Specialist– Contact (United States)
Email
support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm (EST)

Contact Yolanda Mega
Yolanda Mega
Operations Manager– Contact (Asia)
Email
asia.support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9am - 5pm (SGT)

Contact Kisara Mizuno
Kisara Mizuno
Senior Business Development Manager– Contact (Asia)
Email
support.japan@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 10:00am - 6:00pm (JST)

Contact Lodovica Biagi
Lodovica Biagi
Director of Operations– Contact (Europe)
Email
eu.support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9:30am - 5pm (GMT)

Contact Carolina Dulin
Carolina Dulin
Associate Director - LAC– Contact (Latin America)
Email
support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm (EST)

Menu