The lowdown on the UK Film Market Trends in 2024

Each year the European Audiovisual Observatory alongside Lumiere publishes a comprehensive report on World Film Market Trends during the Cannes Film Festival. The report covers not only key statistics, box office grosses, cinema attendance and film production, but other trends.... Read more

Each year the European Audiovisual Observatory alongside Lumiere publishes a comprehensive report on World Film Market Trends during the Cannes Film Festival.

The report covers not only key statistics, box office grosses, cinema attendance and film production, but other trends. Since 2015 Lumiere has been tracking gender inequality in the production of European films. This covers all personnel including producers, directors, composers, cinematographers and editors. Worrying, the latest figures show there is still a long way to go to achieve parity, but there is no further detail in the report presented at Cannes.

Overall, UK cinema numbers did not change from 2023 to 2024:

UK cinema admissions in 2024 were 127 million, a 2% increase from 2023.

Total UK box office revenue reached €1.2 billion, up 3% from 2023.

The number of cinema screens in the UK dropped to 4,682, 68 fewer than in 2023.

According to the British Film Institute:

• 191 films began principal photography in 2024.
• Combined production budgets totalled £2.12 billion.
• Final production spend is expected to be significantly higher, suggesting growing production activity.

UK independent films’ market share at the box office increased from 3.89% in 2023 to 6.9% in 2024.

The Independent Film Tax Credit, introduced in October 2024, offers:

• A 40% tax credit for eligible productions.
• Increasing the relief for visual effects to 29.3 overall points.

This new tax credit is expected to boost UK independent film production in both volume and spend, as likely reflected in the 2025 report.

The noise about the independent sector at Cannes would certainly suggest this will be the case.

There were 847 films released in the UK in 2024: the highest total in recent history. 34 films attracted over a million admissions.

In 2024 the top three admissions films were (no surprises here):

Inside Out 2                                                     6,972,654 admissions

Deadpool and Wolverine                                  6,969,230 admissions

Wicked                                                            6,647,665admissions

The only UK film to appear in the top 20 was Paddington in Peru, with 4,072,586 admissions.

The UK market contrasted with the broader European trend, where European films comprised around one-third of total admissions.

In other European countries:

• France had 6 local films in its top 20; the top 2 most attended films were French productions.
• Germany featured 3 local films in its top 20.
• Italy had 5 local films in its top rankings.
• Spain included 2 local films in its top 20.

Across Europe, Poor Things performed strongly, drawing 6,469,704 admissions.

As for the overall global cinema numbers, here is a snapshot:

World Gross Box Office Revenue (in Euros)

• The UK box office revenue ranks as the 6th highest worldwide.

Cinema Admissions year on year

The joy of a trip to the cinema

One would presume that the overall trends in cinema attendance will continue to decline as watching from the couch at home becomes an ever increasing easier and cheaper option. But there are some films that just demand a visit to the local cinema, the new Mission Impossible to name just one. If anyone is still doubtful about the delight of going to the cinema, please watch Cinema Paridiso. A masterpiece.

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