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Film industry

Research guide

Published: 27 Apr 2017 Updated: 01 Nov 2023 Update History

Exclusive content
Access to our exclusive resources is for specific groups of students, subscribers and members.

Use our industry guide to find key background information, market research, import and export guidelines, statistics, legislation, trade bodies and trade publications.

The Business & Industry Guides series is produced by the Library & Information Service for ICAEW members and ACA students.

We can compile tailored key players reports, mailing lists, market reports, benchmarking reports and industry news. Our enquiry team can also research other industry-specific information, such as taxation, for you. Call us on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or email library@icaew.com.

Trends and forecasts

Post-Brexit migration and accessing foreign talent in the Creative Industries
Research paper published by the Creative Industries Policy and Education Centre in March 2023. Explores how the UK's Creative Industries, including Film, have been impacted by Brexit with a particular focus on migration and foreign workers.

Global entertainment and media outlook
PwC's annual in-depth report on advertising and consumer spending covers a variety of different industry sectors, including cinema and TV and video. Selected data and commentary on each sector is available free of charge.

Market research

Market research reports focusing on this business sector are available from a number of market research specialists. In most cases these reports are available to fee-paying subscribers or on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Some free information is available from the following market research specialists, ranging from industry news to executive summaries of the reports.

IBISWorld
Business and industry research specialists offering reports on a wide range of sectors, including motion picture and television production. Report snapshots, table of contents and a sample report are available. The company also produces globalindustry research reports.

Mintel
Report from Mintel covering the UK cinema sector. The website includes a summary and the option to view a contents listing.

Industry news

The Library can carry out industry news searches for ICAEW members and ACA students.

Statistics on the UK

British Film Institute

The British Film Institute provides research and statistics, including weekly box office figures, production statistics and an annual Statistical Yearbook.

Office for National Statistics

The Annual Business Survey (ABS) from the Office for National Statistics collects financial information covering UK production, construction, distribution and service industries. Statistics available include:

  • number of enterprises;
  • total turnover;
  • approximate gross value added at basic prices;
  • total purchases of goods, materials and services;
  • total employment costs;
  • total net capital expenditure;
  • total net capital expenditure – acquisitions;
  • total net capital expenditure – disposals;
  • total stocks and work in progress – value at end of year;
  • total stocks and work in progress – value at beginning of year;
  • total stocks and work in progress – increase during year.

The dataset Non-financial business economy, UK: Sections A to S includes statistics for:

  • Motion picture, video and television programme production activities
  • Motion picture, video and television programme post-production activities
  • Motion picture, video and television programme distribution activities
  • Motion picture projection activities

See Section J: Information and Communication

Statistics on Europe

Eurostat

Eurostat, the EU statistics hub, collates detailed Structural Business Statistics giving the latest figures for industry, construction, trade and services by sector and country. The indicators available include:

  • number of enterprises
  • turnover or gross premiums written
  • production value
  • value added at factor cost
  • gross operating surplus
  • wages and salaries
  • social security costs
  • gross investment in tangible goods
  • gross investment in land
  • gross investment in existing buildings and structures
  • gross investment in construction and alteration of buildings
  • gross investment in machinery and equipment
  • number of employees
  • number of persons employed per enterprise.

Statistics within the database are available for:

  • Motion picture, video and television programme activities (J591)
    See database section ‘SBS – services’

International Video Federation

The International Video Federation produces annual market information reports covering consumer spending in Europe and internationally and average annual sales figures and consumer prices.

Statistics on the Americas

Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)

The MPAA produces industry reports, which include an economic contribution report factsheet and theatrical market statistics.

Employment

UK

The Office for National Statistics publication Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) includes average employment costs within this sector which can be found in Table 14. Average employment costs are provided for full-time employees, part-time employees and all employees.

The data includes average employment costs for:

  • authors, writers
  • actors, entertainers
  • arts officers, producers and directors
  • audio-visual equipment operators.

The annual Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), published by the Office for National Statistics, includes total employee and employment estimates for different industries for Great Britain and the UK. Figures are broken down to show full-time/part-time and public/private splits. The dataset Industry – Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES): Table 2 includes statistics for:

  • Motion picture production activities (59111)
  • Motion picture, video and television programme production activities (59113)
  • Motion picture, video and television programme post-production activities (59120)
  • Motion picture distribution activities (59131)
  • Motion picture projection activities (59140)

Other regions

Please see individual country profile pages for links to sources of national statistics.

UK key players, ratios and trends

A range of reports on this sector are available to ICAEW members and ACA students via the Library.

UK benchmarking

The Library can supply benchmarking reports to ICAEW members and ACA students.

Trade bodies

Trade journals and publications

Trade journals, B2B magazines and specialist consumer magazines are another useful source of news and statistics.

Further resources

TV and film industry guide: British Library
British Library industry guides provide listings of resources for industry-specific information, including print directories and materials held by the British Library.

Contact the British Library Business and IP Centre for more information.

Further reading

Articles and books in the Library collection

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to book loans.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports by post or email through our document supply service.

Can't find what you're looking for?

The ICAEW Library can give you the right information from trustworthy, professional sources that aren't freely available online. Contact us for expert help with your enquiries and research.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information given in this Business & Industry Guide is correct. However, the content of websites changes frequently and users should satisfy themselves that the information they contain is suitable for the purposes for which they wish to use it. We would be grateful to receive notification of any broken links at library@icaew.com.

Disclaimer

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided ‘as is’ with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

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