Film throws some light on the Economy

Another month of economic doom and gloom provided by headline numbers from the Office for National Statistics.

21 Sep 2023

Well, another month of economic doom and gloom was provided by headline numbers from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The July dip was far deeper than feared by the City. A perfect storm of negative factors including torrential rain, higher borrowing costs, and strikes contributed to a fall in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 5 percent. Throw in the threat of an interest hike next week of .25% which follows 14 successive rate rises merely adds to the depressing news. Retail, Manufacturing, Services, and Construction have all suffered in the past few weeks

However, there is some bright news from one Sector: namely Arts, Entertainment, and Sport. Whether these industries are being driven by a desire by many to escape from the doom and gloom, I know not but this sector grew by a mighty 12.4% in July.

So, come in Barbenheimer which saved the economy from an even deeper slump. The UK box office took £160m in July, up by 78% in June and 28% in July. Out of a worldwide box take of $1.4 billion, UK receipts for Barbie are around $120m to date and still counting. Oppenheimer has taken close to $900m worldwide with UK receipts contributing a healthy $72m to date. The Odeon chain alone reports admissions of one million in the first 4 days of release for these films. That is staggering!

We are continually hearing support for the Film and TV industries from Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt for the Sector and it is no wonder when one considers the benefits for the UK economy

Sadly, the current blight remains the Writers and Actors Strike. Productions have had to be shut down and many stalled. One hopes a resolution will follow shortly when it is predicted there will be a boom to get products made.