07 May A closer look at London film premieres and their impact
Above: Jennifer Connelly & Emma Watson at the Noah premiere, shot by Rick Guzman
Much like Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood is a host to many movie premieres London’s Leicester Square currently hosts many such premieres sometimes on a weekly basis. Not to anyone’s surprise fans sometimes travel thousands of miles and wait hours or days for a chance to see their favorite starts on the red carpet. According to a report published in 2012 by Oxford Economics titled “The Economic Impact of the UK Film Industry”, the core UK film industry supports 117,400 full time equivalent jobs and has contributed £4.6 billion to the national GDP. Below is a quick summary of the economic impact of UK films;
- £4.6 billion to UK GDP and supports 117,000 jobs
- Despite recession the UK film industry thrives
- Estimated £2.1 billion of visitors spend a year is attributed to UK film
- Opening of major tourist attractions such as the Warner Bros. Making of Harry Potter tour demonstrates the value of film to the economy
- Approx 75% of the UK film industry is based in London, average of 35 crews shooting on the streets of London every day
- London is the 3rd busiest production industry in the world
From 1946 Leicester Square has been used for movie premieres starting with the Odeon Theatre and the Empire Theatre hosting Royal Film Performances. One example for an early Royal Film Performance at the Odeon Leicester Square was in 1947 with Cary Grant in attendance to his film “The Bishops Wife”. An article published in Event Magazine from 2009 interviewed a panel of four movie premiere event manager and this is what they had to say about the growth of budgets for film premieres in the past 5 years;
Christsie Ferber (managing director Concorde Media)
More money is going into the premiere event at the cinema and less into the party on average. However, there are always some exceptions, where there is an opportunity to organise a big, themed party.
Emma Gold (co-founder GSP)
I have found that budgets have increased, especially for the big blockbusters. If you’re going to have an after-party, you want to ensure you have one to remember.
Caroline Lockyer-Nibbs (managing director Nibbs Events)
Budgets pretty much follow the economy, which means at the moment we have to get as much bang for our buck as possible. The biggest budget goes to the country that hosts the world premiere because all eyes will be on it.
Rachel Rolfe (researcher Fisher Productions)
Big blockbusters are coming with larger budgets for premieres that will draw media attention. As well as showcasing the film for the first time, premieres are all about the glitz and the glamour that surround them, so doing the next big thing with regards to the dressing and the venue is becoming more important.
As mentioned before movie premieres draw fans from all over the world. To catch a glimpse, get an autograph or even take a picture with your favorite actor/actress seems to be a fair trade off for the effort. After an opportunity to interview and photograph some of the fans the results can be seen below:
With the benefits to the UK economy and with the growing number of fans attending movie premieres this industry can only grow. There is no doubt that much dedication from the fans to the film industry to the event organizers goes into bringing movie premieres to life and in the end the benefits are far greater than any possible downside.
