UK film industry braced for credit crunch
Filmmakers will struggle to raise funds after record 2008, UK Film Council warns
UK box office sales reached a record high last year, helped by hit films such
as Quantum of Solace and Mamma Mia!, but the industry faces a tough twelve
months as finance and credit dries up, according to a new report.
An increased appetite for cinema in Britain and Ireland helped increase box
office sales to £950m last year, up 5% from the previous year, according to the
UK Film Council, a government agency.
But it said the outlook for British films in 2009 was gloomier due to a sharp
fall in foreign and UK investment and the impact of the credit crunch.
‘We will begin to see the full effects of the economic situation take their
toll on independent British movies,’ said John Woodward, chief executive officer
of the UK Film Council. ‘It’s going to be even harder for these types of films
to raise credit, especially through bank loans.’
Further reading: