Rowling magic gives UK films record year

Published on Monday 21 July 2008 22:13

JK ROWLING and Kiera Knightley have helped the British film industry enjoy its best year, earning a record £1.65 billion around the world.

Figures released yesterday show Britons are flocking back to cinemas – with July 2007 the biggest single month of cinema-going in almost 40 years.

British films, including Atonement and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, pulled in 1.65 billion worldwide – an increase of 50 per cent on the previous 12 months.

John Woodward, the chief executive officer of the UK Film Council, said: "These statistics show that in the UK we make films in every genre, from comedy to fantasy to thrillers.

"The real success story of UK film is that we not only make big-budget films such as Harry Potter, but we also make hugely successful smaller indie films such as Control and This is England."

According to the statistical review published yesterday, 60 per cent of people in the UK went to the cinema at least once last year, while almost one in five people went once a month or more.

The Scotsman's film critic, Alistair Harkness, said: "I hope it leads to more diverse British films being made.

"Atonement and Hot Fuzz are the triumphs. These are well-made films with good storytelling and they are instances of audiences responding to quality, rather than going to see films because they are popular franchises."