HOME VIDEO UNDERPINNING BRITISH FILM INDUSTRY

In the U.K. home video sales — in particular, sales of physical DVD and Blu-ray discs — account for the principal source of funding for film and TV production, according to a study by Oxford Economics commissioned by the British Video Association. The study found that half of feature-film revenue and a third of TV revenue comes from home video sales. It concluded that “video entertainment [contributes] more to the finance of original film and TV content than any other single source.” Commenting on the study’s results, Eddie Cunningham, president of Universal Pictures International Entertainment, which distributes the U.K.’s Working Title productions, agreed that “the revenue generated from video … is hugely important in helping British producers like Working Title reinvest back into production and continue to create great films.” The study found that in many cases, filmmakers earned more from home video sales than they did from theatrical ticket sales. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, for example, reaped 43 percent of its revenue in Britain from home video and 57 percent from theaters and television outlets combined.