Total figures up 1% in 2005
by Annika Pham
According to final figures just published by research company EDI Nielsen, the UK box office ended the year beautifully with a phenomenal 146m euro gross in December, up 30% on the previous year, providing the theatrical marketplace the opportunity to increase its 2004 box office results by 1% to a total of 1,229 billion euro in 2005.
Such positive results could not have been anticipated by the end of the first half of the year when box office revenues were down 1.3% on the same period in 2004, an undeniable slowdown in the marketplace, although much less pronounced than in other major EU countries such as Italy or Germany where admissions during the same period fell by over 16%.
But then the phenomenal final quarter of the year –thanks to a slate of diverse homegrown productions or co-productions-provided much a needed boost to the UK film industry, and in particular the production sector which went through a very difficult year with uncertainties over local tax incentives.
Released in November by Warner Bros, Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire took the Nº1 position at the 2005 Top 20 chart with over 67m euro. At Nº5, Wallace & Gromit:The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit [+see also:
trailer
film profile] released by UIP had a cracking theatrical run with almost 47m euro. Working Title made two highly successful films in 2005, Nanny McPhee (24m euro) at Nº11 and Pride & Prejudice [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (21,2m euro) at Nº13, both for UIP. At Nº19 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy scored 14,6m euro for BVI and the animated film Valiant gave a 12,4m euro gross to Entertainment.
Other UK productions or co-productions that had a good theatrical run include The Constant Gardener (UIP, 6,7m euro), and the Pathe releases The Magic Roundabout (8,4m euro), Mrs Henderson Presents (4,2m euro), and Oliver Twist [+see also:
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film profile] (3,6m euro).
Non-English language titles are harder to track, but according to Nielsen/EDI figures for the first half of 2005, the German Downfall [+see also:
film review
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interview: Bernd Eichinger
interview: Joachim Fest
interview: Oliver Hirschbiegel
film profile] released by Momentum was the most successful (2,8m euro) followed by the French/US A Very Long Engagement (Warner Bros, 1,4m euro) and the French The Chorus [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Pathe, 1,4m euro).
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