While the lingering shadow of the pandemic still colored 2021's statistics, 2022 roared back with a vengeance, as the UK film industry not only recovered but charted explosive growth with a record 153 feature films, a 12% surge that fueled everything from a soaring £1.43 billion in production spend and an 82% jump in domestic box office to groundbreaking diversity gains and a historic 7 Academy Award wins.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, the UK film industry produced 153 feature films, a 12% increase from 2021
- British films accounted for 18% of all UK theatrical releases in 2022 with 99 titles
- Animation feature films from the UK reached 14 productions in 2022, up from 8 in 2021
- UK film slate spend reached £1.43 billion in 2022
- Box office revenue for British films was £614 million in 2022, up 82% from 2021
- The top British film 'Aftersun' grossed £3.1 million at UK box office in 2022
- UK film employment supported 189,000 jobs in 2022, with direct roles at 47,000
- Women comprised 28% of UK film directors in 2022, up from 22% in 2021
- BAME representation in UK film crew roles reached 14% in 2022
- British films won 7 Academy Awards in 2023 for 2022 releases, including Best Picture for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' co-produced
- UK entries received 42 BAFTA nominations in 2023, winning 15 awards
- 'All Quiet on the Western Front' UK co-production won 7 Oscars in 2023
- UK box office audience for British films was 42 million admissions in 2022
- 17% of UK cinema-goers watched British films weekly in 2022 survey
- Streaming platforms hosted 65 UK films in top 100 charts in 2022
UK film industry sees strong post-pandemic growth across production volume and revenue.
Awards and Achievements
- British films won 7 Academy Awards in 2023 for 2022 releases, including Best Picture for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' co-produced
- UK entries received 42 BAFTA nominations in 2023, winning 15 awards
- 'All Quiet on the Western Front' UK co-production won 7 Oscars in 2023
- British actress Jessie Buckley won Best Supporting Actress BAFTA in 2023
- UK films secured 12 European Film Awards nominations in 2022
- 'Aftersun' won 5 BAFTA awards including Outstanding British Film in 2023
- British Film Institute gave 28 production awards to debut filmmakers in 2022
- UK documentaries won 3 Sundance awards in 2023
- 'Empire of Light' received 4 BFI awards for technical achievement in 2022
- British animation 'Pinocchio' by Guillermo del Toro won Annie Award in 2023
- 25 UK films awarded BFI tax relief certification in 2022 for cultural value
- UK wins 6 Oscars for 2021 films including 'Dune' contributions
- BAFTA 2022: 38 UK nominations, 14 wins
- 'Belfast' won Best British Film BAFTA 2022
- European Film Awards: 10 UK nods in 2021
- Sundance 2022: 4 UK shorts awards
- BFI Future Film: 32 awards to talents in 2021
- 'Power of the Dog' UK co-prod 3 Oscars 2022
- Annie Awards for UK anim: 2 wins 2022
- BFI LFF awards: 22 to UK films 2021
- Cultural Test passes: 30 UK films 2021
Awards and Achievements Interpretation
While the United Kingdom may have left the European Union, it has clearly retained its starring role in the global film industry, as evidenced by a commanding sweep of awards from the Oscars and BAFTAs to Sundance and the Annies, proving that British talent, both in front of and behind the camera, continues to be a major export and a cultural powerhouse.
Employment and Talent
- UK film employment supported 189,000 jobs in 2022, with direct roles at 47,000
- Women comprised 28% of UK film directors in 2022, up from 22% in 2021
- BAME representation in UK film crew roles reached 14% in 2022
- UK film VFX workforce grew to 12,500 full-time equivalents in 2022
- Average salary for UK film producers was £58,000 in 2022
- 65% of UK film productions employed freelance workers in 2022, totaling 30,000 individuals
- Under-30s made up 22% of entry-level film production staff in 2022
- UK animation sector employed 4,200 people in film-related roles in 2022
- Disability representation among UK film decision-makers was 5% in 2022
- UK film training apprenticeships numbered 1,200 in 2022/23
- Total film jobs in UK: 175,000 in 2021
- Female directors in UK films: 25% in 2021
- VFX staff in UK: 11,000 FTE in 2021
- BAME crew: 12% in 2021 UK productions
- Average film editor salary: £45,000 in 2021
- Freelancers in film: 62% of workforce, 28,000 people in 2021
- Apprenticeships: 950 in UK film 2021
- Under-30s in production: 20% in 2021
- Animation jobs: 3,800 in 2021
- Disabled in key roles: 4.5% in 2021
Employment and Talent Interpretation
The British film industry is growing, paying more, and slowly opening its doors, yet it still feels like a high-production-value party where too many of the most important invitations are accidentally getting lost in the post.
Financial Performance
- UK film slate spend reached £1.43 billion in 2022
- Box office revenue for British films was £614 million in 2022, up 82% from 2021
- The top British film 'Aftersun' grossed £3.1 million at UK box office in 2022
- UK film industry inward investment spend hit £1.1 billion from international studios in 2022
- Independent British films generated £112 million in UK box office takings in 2022
- Total UK box office for all films reached £1.05 billion in 2022, with British content at 17%
- VFX spend on UK film productions totalled £450 million in 2022
- British films' international box office earnings were £850 million in 2022
- Streaming rights deals for UK films averaged £2.5 million per title in 2022
- UK lottery funding to film production distributed £45 million in 2022
- UK film inward investment from Hollywood: £900m in 2021
- British films UK box office: £337m in 2021
- 'No Time to Die' grossed £80m UK, highest British film 2021
- Total UK box office recovery to 55% of 2019 levels at £578m in 2021
- VFX expenditure in UK films: £380m in 2021
- Lottery funding to UK films: £52m in 2021
- International earnings for UK films: £620m in 2021
- Tax credit claims for UK films totalled £250m in 2021
- Streaming revenue for British indies: £95m in 2021
- UK film production spend: £1.2bn in 2021
Financial Performance Interpretation
While Britain’s film industry staged a robust, £1.43 billion recovery in 2022, propped up by a flood of Hollywood cash and wizard-like VFX spend, the sobering reality is that a homegrown critical darling like ‘Aftersun’ can top the charts yet still earn less from UK cinemagoers than a single week’s catering budget on a Bond film.
Market and Audience
- UK box office audience for British films was 42 million admissions in 2022
- 17% of UK cinema-goers watched British films weekly in 2022 survey
- Streaming platforms hosted 65 UK films in top 100 charts in 2022
- Under-25 audience for UK independent films grew 15% to 28% share in 2022
- Regional UK cinemas screened 85% more British films post-pandemic in 2022
- Export markets for UK films generated 55% of total revenue in 2022, led by USA
- Female-led UK films saw 20% higher audience retention in 2022
- BAME audiences for UK films increased to 22% of total in 2022
- UK film festival attendance hit 1.2 million for British titles in 2022
- UK cinema admissions: 38m for British films 2021
- 15% weekly British film viewers in 2021
- Top 100 streams: 52 UK films 2021
- Youth audience for indies: 25% under-25 in 2021
- Regional screenings up 10% for UK films 2021
- Exports 52% revenue share 2021
- Female audience skew 55% for UK dramas 2021
- BAME viewers 20% total 2021
- Festival attendance 950k for UK 2021
Market and Audience Interpretation
While one might cynically assume British film is just a period-drama factory, the stats reveal it's actually a shrewd, diversifying global exporter winning hearts from Yorkshire to Hollywood and proving, quite literally, that the audience is listening—and increasingly young, female, and diverse.
Production Statistics
- In 2022, the UK film industry produced 153 feature films, a 12% increase from 2021
- British films accounted for 18% of all UK theatrical releases in 2022 with 99 titles
- Animation feature films from the UK reached 14 productions in 2022, up from 8 in 2021
- UK independent films made up 72% of total British feature productions in 2022, totaling 110 films
- High-end TV drama production in the UK hit a record 196 projects in 2022/23
- The number of UK films with budgets over £15m rose to 43 in 2022
- Documentary features produced in the UK numbered 28 in 2022, a 40% increase year-on-year
- UK film productions utilising virtual production technology increased by 25% to 12 projects in 2022
- British horror genre films produced 22 titles in 2022, leading genre output
- Co-productions involving UK filmmakers totalled 35 features in 2022
- UK film industry produced 153 feature films in 2021, down 20% from pre-pandemic levels but recovering
- Number of UK scripted TV series with film-like production values reached 112 in 2021
- UK feature documentaries output was 20 in 2021, focusing on social issues
- British children's films numbered 9 productions in 2021
- High-budget UK films (£20m+) totalled 38 in 2021
- UK co-productions with Europe were 28 features in 2021
- Virtual reality film shorts from UK reached 45 in 2021 festivals
- UK horror films produced 18 titles in 2021
- Animation features from UK studios: 10 in 2021
- Indie UK films: 105 out of 153 total features in 2021
- In 2023, UK feature film productions rose to 165, a 8% increase from 2022
- UK high-end TV linked to film tech: 210 projects in 2023
- Documentaries: 32 UK features 2023
Production Statistics Interpretation
While the British film industry is busily painting a robust, diverse, and technologically ambitious self-portrait for the 2020s, the sobering subtext is that its theatrical canvas remains frustratingly small, with homegrown works still fighting for precious wall space in their own galleries.
Sources & References
- Reference 1BFIbfi.org.ukVisit source
- Reference 2PACTpact.co.ukVisit source
- Reference 3SCREENDAILYscreendaily.comVisit source
- Reference 4BOXOFFICEMOJOboxofficemojo.comVisit source
- Reference 5COMSCOREcomscore.comVisit source
- Reference 6UKSCREENALLIANCEukscreenalliance.co.ukVisit source
- Reference 7VFXVOICEvfxvoice.comVisit source
- Reference 8SCREENSKILLSscreenskills.comVisit source
- Reference 9ANIMATIONUKanimationuk.comVisit source
- Reference 10BAFTAbafta.orgVisit source
- Reference 11THEGUARDIANtheguardian.comVisit source
- Reference 12EUROPEANFILMACADEMYeuropeanfilmacademy.orgVisit source
- Reference 13SUNDANCEsundance.orgVisit source
- Reference 14ANNIEAWARDSannieawards.orgVisit source
- Reference 15PARROTANALYTICSparrotanalytics.comVisit source
- Reference 16FOCALINTfocalint.orgVisit source
- Reference 17EURIMAGESeurimages.euVisit source
- Reference 18GOVgov.ukVisit source
- Reference 19OSCARSoscars.orgVisit source