British Films Hit New Box Office Record High Jul 23rd 2013, 12:29
Cinema box office receipts rose 6% in 2012 to hit a record of £1.1bn, according to newly released figures.
According to the British Film Institute (BFI) 2013 Statistical Yearbook, cinema admissions in the UK reached 172.5 million, the third highest level in the last 40 years.
The BFI said UK films took £3.45bn at the global box office, claiming a 15% share of the international market - the third highest global box office take ever recorded.
The yearbook also revealed that filmgoers over the age of 45 became the largest proportion of the British cinema audience for the first time.
Skyfall, the latest film of the James Bond franchise, was the year's biggest movie and it took £715m around the world.
It took £103m at the UK box office, setting a new domestic record as the highest earning film of all time.
British films are now in the leading two spots for the most successful film franchises of all time, with the Harry Potter series taking over £5bn worldwide, followed by Bond with more than £3.97bn.
Although a number of top films have foreign funding, according to the BFI statistics British actors have also been big winners.
It said that two-thirds of the top 200 films released worldwide since 2001 feature UK actors in "lead or prominent roles".
It added that 31 films based on stories and characters created by UK writers were in the top 200 global box office successes between 2001 and 2012 - together earning more than £14.3bn.
The appeal of cinema in 2012 came despite competition for the public's attention from the Olympics, Paralympics, the Diamond Jubilee and Euro 2012 football.
Overall, the number of tickets sold in Britain was up 0.5%.
BFI chief executive Amanda Nevill said: "UK films captivated audiences and 007 spearheaded another strong year for UK film internationally.
"(They) collectively pulled in £3.45bn and helped export British culture and creativity around the world in 2012.
"Our Yearbook shows film's continued importance to the UK economy overall, with a record turnover of £7.7bn and trade surplus of £1bn in 2011."
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