The Barbie movie directly contributed over £80m to the UK economy and created 685 jobs, its parent studio Warner Bros said, as part of its statement to a government inquiry.
The Hollywood studio was one of scores of organisations that submitted written evidence to a parliamentary committee inquiry into the British film and high-end television industry, which is designed to “investigate what needs to be done to maintain and enhance the UK as a global destination for production and how the independent film production sector can best be supported”.
In its submission, Warner Bros described Barbie, which was almost entirely shot in the UK at Leavesden studios in Hertfordshire, as its “most successful theatrical release of all time”. It added: “During its production in the UK, it contributed over £80m in direct spend to the local economy, created 685 jobs, involved over 6,000 extras, supported 754 local businesses, paid over £40m in local wages.”
Fulwell 73, a production company part-owned by James Corden, which is involved in a joint venture to build a 20-stage film studio in Sunderland, said that the UK faced “a shortage in studio space and a skills deficit that threatens its future growth” and that the high-end TV industry “could be a £10bn UK success story in the next few years, or it could rapidly decline as our competitors improve their offer – what we do now will determine which road we take”.
However, voices from the independent sector were less upbeat. Veteran producer Michael Kuhn, with films such as The Duchess, Suite Française and Florence Foster Jenkins among his credits, said that in the UK “the independent film sector is almost dead, and the UK studio sector is hostage to the fortunes of (mainly) US based entities … and the exhibition sector is in a death spiral because of the strategic decision of the studios to favour streaming over the interests of theatrical release”.
Another independent producer, Mike Goodridge, who has worked on films including Love & Friendship, The Florida Project and The Triangle of Sadness said that it was “incredibly hard” to operate as an independent in the UK. “Our government has historically encouraged US productions to shoot in the UK and employ our craftspeople, actors and technicians, rather than creating a sustainable domestic industry.” He added: “UK producers need help … I shake my head in sadness that all our talent is working on US movies and series and that our rich and wonderful UK movie tradition is collapsing so visibly on the world stage.”