The Future of British Cinema #3: Getting British Audiences to Fall in Love With British Cinema All Over Again

In the previous two instalments of my speculative trilogy pondering the future of British cinema, I’ve explored how innovative, non-mainstream films will continue to get funded and whether or not filmmakers will change their style in order to get their films made. In this final article, the concluding chapter of this epic trilogy, I aim to explore how British films can get into British cinemas. If British films aren’t being funded due to worry about a lack of box office returns, is there any possible way for a business model that allows all British films the same wide releases as blockbusters in their home country?

European Success Stories

Even though Hollywood’s influence looms large over the global cinematic landscape, there are plenty of countries that have a strong film industry. The third largest film market in the world and the largest in Europe is France; in 2011, 40% of cinema admissions were for homegrown French productions. France also produces the highest number of films per year out of any country in Europe, with the majority turning a profit. However, with the biggest foreign markets not providing a big enough outlet for subtitled films, most French productions are low-budget affairs, with funding being donated from TV channels under a government law that requires many TV channels to fund films as well as TV shows under their broadcast licences. As explored in the previous two articles, the British government is reluctant to use public money to fund film production, so a similar method would likely never come to fruition in the UK.

However, this method isn’t even that successful; in a 2012 article in French magazine Le Monde, founder of Distribution company Wild Bunch Vincent Maraval claimed that, despite the positive-looking nature of general admissions for French films, most French movies were box office flops. Analysing his editorial, The New Yorker summarised his arguments that French films aren’t funded by “direct subsidy (public TV channels, advance on receipts, regional funding)” but rather “indirect subsidy (mandatory investment by private TV channels).” The fact that TV channels have a legal requirement to fund films in order to keep broadcasting ensures that money-losing films can keep getting made at a constant production rate.

Even with a similar French law requiring that all cinemas have to have a certain percentage of French films showing at all times, box office success is far from an invevitability. The argument in favour of state funding is that many recent French productions have become internationally critically acclaimed, such as Holy Motors and Blue is the Warmest Colour, even if they haven’t become financial successes on a global scale. Not every film can have the global success of Intouchable, the 2011 hit that generated $444.7 million globally to become the highest grossing French film of all time.

Then there are a plethora of other recent international hits, such as Amelie ($173.9 million) and The Artist ($133.4 million). However, the fact that these are all released internationally in their native French tongue (or in the case of The Artist, no tongue at all) makes them far harder to cross over than British productions, with a French crossover smash happening once in a blue moon. An equivalent British ruling that TV channels had to support a high number of British film productions as part of a broadcasting remit would likely result in an equal amount of box office casualties. Even the ones that do get funded now aren’t guaranteed hits; this year, the BBC has funded flops including X&Y and The Falling.

Looking East

A more extreme method ushered in to boost homegrown box office revenues is the “Blackout Period” used by China. This summer, the Chinese government begun a seven week blackout period that stopped all Hollywood productions from getting cinema releases (although smaller international productions, such as The Imitation Game, Begin Again and The Shaun the Sheep Movie all were released), in order to drive Chinese audiences to Chinese films. This was a roaring success; 3D fantasy film Monster Hunt grossed $375 million to become the highest grossing Chinese film of all time and the second highest grosser overall, behind Fast and Furious 7.

However, audiences in the country were clearly starved of variety and in demand of Hollywood once again. When the blackout period ended with the release of Terminator: Genisys on Sunday, the film (a flop in the Western world) grossed $27 million on its opening day alone. With Inside Out, Ant-Man and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation yet to hit China, homegrown productions may suffer a blow after the success of the past seven weeks, as Chinese cinemagoers finally get to see the films that international audiences have been talking about for months.

A similar effect would happen if the “blackout period” was to be introduced in any country; it would help boost homegrown films undoubtably, but would prove detrimental once Hollywood films returned and audiences flocked in droves to catch up with what they’ve missed. It would only save the British film industry for a few weeks – with Jurassic World, Age of Ultron and Minions being the UK’s three highest grossing films of 2015, it proves that British cinemagoers are too in love with the blockbuster to avoid them in favour of homegrown films, no matter the business model.

Conclusion

So, although British cinema isn’t producing as many internationally acclaimed films as other European countries, it cannot be blamed for doing so. When many international countries have similar audience shares between homegrown and foreign hits, 2015 has produced only box office hits from overseas – something that won’t change until Spectre is released in two months time. The British films that are being released are not engaging British audiences. Only an investment in better talent, rather than investment in British film as a whole, will ensure that the nation’s cinema begins to find its audience once again.

Are there any British films that you are looking forward to? And are there any international film industries currently in a major crisis?

(top image: Spectre – source: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures)