Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The success of The King's Speech and The Inbetweeners has helped independent British films to a greater share of box office receipts than ever before.
Figures released by the British Film Institute (BFI) show they accounted for 13.5% of the £1.4 billion spent at the UK box office in 2010.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the finale of the teenage wizard's adventures, was the highest earning film of 2011 pulling in £73 million at the box office in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
The next most successful were The King's Speech and The Inbetweeners which earned £45.6 million and £45 million respectively.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and The Hangover 2 rounded off the top five biggest earners.
The figures also reveal that more money than ever before was spent on film production in the UK in 2011 - £1.26 billion - but the total number of UK films produced with budgets of £500,000 and more fell to 71 from 78 in 2010.
BFI boss Amanda Nevill said: "Film is at the very core of Britain's cultural life and today's figures show that the appetite for cinema-going across the UK is as healthy as ever. 2011 was a phenomenal year, with the box office results showing that independently produced British films captivated audiences.
"That said, we are pragmatic; it's still a challenging time for filmmakers trying to raise finance to make independent British films in this tough economic climate.
"As we enter 2012 many challenges remain, but today's figures clearly show that keeping audiences at the heart of everything we do will help the British film industry to enjoy even greater success in the future and continue to be an important contributor to the UK economy."
Top 10 biggest films in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2011
1 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - £73.09 million
2 - The King's Speech £45.68 million
3 - The Inbetweeners Movie £45.03 million
4 - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides £32.92 million
5 - The Hangover 2 £32.83 million
6 - The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 £30.73 million
7 - Transformers: Dark of the Moon £28.11 million
8 - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows £23.11 million
9 - Bridesmaids £23.02 million
10 - Arthur Christmas £20.79 million
PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments