Editing Cinema of the United Kingdom (section)

===2000s===
[[File:David Heyman1 in 2009.jpg|right|150px|thumb|[[David Heyman]], who produced all eight instalments of the [[Harry Potter (film series)|''Harry Potter'' film series]]]]

The first decade of the 21st century was a relatively successful one for the British film industry. Many British films found a wide international audience due to funding from BBC Films, Film 4 and the UK Film Council, and some independent production companies, such as Working Title, secured financing and distribution deals with major American studios. Working Title scored three major international successes, all starring Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, with the romantic comedies ''[[Bridget Jones's Diary (film)|Bridget Jones's Diary]]'' (2001), which grossed $254 million worldwide; the sequel ''[[Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason]]'', which earned $228 million; and Richard Curtis's directorial debut ''[[Love Actually]]'' (2003), which grossed $239 million. The most successful of all, [[Phyllida Lloyd]]'s ''[[Mamma Mia! (film)|Mamma Mia!]]'' (2008), grossed $601 million.

The new decade saw a major new film series in the Harry Potter films, beginning with ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'' in 2001. [[David Heyman]]'s company Heyday Films has produced seven sequels, with the final title released in two parts – ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1]]'' in 2010 and ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2]]'' in 2011. All were filmed at Leavesden Studios in England.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/travel/studio-tour-casts-spells-like-harry-potter.html|title=Studio Tour Casts Spells Just Like Harry|date=29 March 2012|work=The New York Times|access-date=29 June 2012|archive-date=23 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523095552/http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/travel/studio-tour-casts-spells-like-harry-potter.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Aardman Animations' [[Nick Park]], the creator of Wallace and Gromit and the Creature Comforts series, produced his first feature-length film, ''[[Chicken Run]]'' in 2000. Co-directed with Peter Lord, the film was a major success worldwide and one of the most successful British films of its year. Park's follow up, ''[[Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit]]'' was another worldwide hit: it grossed $56 million at the US box office and £32 million in the UK. It also won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

[[File:KeiraKnightleyByAndreaRaffin2011 (cropped).jpg|left|150px|thumb|[[Keira Knightley]] at the [[68th Venice International Film Festival]]]]

However it was usually through domestically funded features throughout the decade that British directors and films won awards at the top international film festivals. In 2003, [[Michael Winterbottom]] won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for ''[[In This World]]''. In 2004, Mike Leigh directed ''[[Vera Drake]]'', an account of a housewife who leads a double life as an abortion provider in 1950s London. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. In 2006 Stephen Frears directed ''[[The Queen (2006 film)|The Queen]]'' based on the events surrounding the death of Princess Diana, which won the Best Actress prize at the Venice Film Festival and Academy Awards and the BAFTA for Best Film. In 2006, Ken Loach won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival with his account of the struggle for Irish Independence in ''[[The Wind That Shakes the Barley (film)|The Wind That Shakes the Barley]]''. [[Joe Wright]]'s adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel ''[[Atonement (2007 film)|Atonement]]'' was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Film and won the Golden Globe and BAFTA for Best Film. ''[[Slumdog Millionaire]]'' was filmed entirely in Mumbai with a mostly Indian cast, though with a British director ([[Danny Boyle]]), producer ([[Christian Colson]]), screenwriter ([[Simon Beaufoy]]) and star (Dev Patel)—the film was all-British financed via Film4 and Celador. It has received worldwide critical acclaim. It has won four Golden Globes, seven BAFTA Awards and eight Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Film. ''[[The King's Speech]]'', which tells the story of King [[George VI]]'s attempts to overcome his speech impediment, was directed by [[Tom Hooper (director)|Tom Hooper]] and filmed almost entirely in London. It received four Academy Awards (including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay) in 2011.

The start of the 21st century saw Asian British cinema assert itself at the box office, starting with ''[[East Is East (1999 film)|East Is East]]'' (1999) and continuing with ''[[Bend It Like Beckham]]'' (2002). Other notable British Asian films from this period include ''[[My Son the Fanatic]]'' (1997), ''[[Ae Fond Kiss ... (film)|Ae Fond Kiss...]] (2004)'', ''[[Mischief Night (2006 film)|Mischief Night]] (2006)'', ''[[Yasmin (2004 film)|Yasmin]]'' (2004) and ''[[Four Lions]]'' (2010). Some argue it has brought more flexible attitudes towards casting Black and Asian British actors, with [[Robbie Gee]] and [[Naomie Harris]] take leading roles in ''[[Underworld (2003 film)|Underworld]]'' and ''[[28 Days Later]]'' respectively.

2005 saw the emergence of The [[British Urban Film Festival]], a timely addition to the film festival calendar, which recognised the influence of urban and black films on UK audiences and consequently began to showcase a growing profile of films in a genre previously not otherwise regularly seen in the capital's cinemas. Then, in 2006, ''[[Kidulthood]]'', a film depicting a group of teenagers growing up on the streets of West London, had a limited release. This was successfully followed up with a sequel ''[[Adulthood (2008 film)|Adulthood]]'' (2008) that was written and directed by actor [[Noel Clarke]]. The success of ''Kidulthood'' and ''Adulthood'' led to the release of several other films in the 2000s and 2010s such as ''[[Bullet Boy]]'' (2004), ''[[Life and Lyrics]]'' (2006), ''[[The Intent]]'' (2016), its sequel ''[[The Intent 2: The Come Up]]'' (2018), ''[[Blue Story]]'' and ''[[Rocks (film)|Rocks]]'' (both 2019), all of starred Black-British actors.

Like the 1960s, this decade saw plenty of British films directed by imported talent. The American [[Woody Allen]] shot ''[[Match Point]]'' (2005)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2006/jan/06/1|title=Match Point|access-date=29 June 2012|author=Peter Bradshaw|work=The Guardian|date=6 January 2006|archive-date=16 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316110121/http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2006/jan/06/1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2005/12/28/movies/28matc.html|title=London Calling, With Luck, Lust and Ambition|access-date=29 June 2012|work=The New York Times|date=28 December 2005|archive-date=18 July 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120718003125/http://movies.nytimes.com/2005/12/28/movies/28matc.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and three later films in London. The Mexican director [[Alfonso Cuarón]] helmed ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' (2004) and ''[[Children of Men]]'' (2006); New Zealand filmmaker [[Jane Campion]] made ''[[Bright Star (film)|Bright Star]]'' (2009), a film set in 19th century London; Danish director [[Nicolas Winding Refn]] made ''[[Bronson (film)|Bronson]]'' (2008), a biopic about the English criminal [[Michael Gordon Peterson]]; the Spanish filmmaker [[Juan Carlos Fresnadillo]] directed ''[[28 Weeks Later]]'' (2007), a sequel to a British horror film; and two [[John le Carré]] adaptations were also directed by foreigners—''[[The Constant Gardener (film)|The Constant Gardener]]'' by the Brazilian [[Fernando Meirelles]] and ''[[Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (film)|Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy]]'' by the Swedish [[Tomas Alfredson]]. The decade also saw English actor [[Daniel Craig]] became the new James Bond with ''[[Casino Royale (2006 film)|Casino Royale]]'', the 21st entry in the official Eon Productions series.

Despite increasing competition from film studios in Australia and Eastern Europe, British studios such as [[Pinewood Studios|Pinewood]], [[Shepperton Studios|Shepperton]] and [[Leavesden Film Studios|Leavesden]] remained successful in hosting major productions, including ''[[Finding Neverland (film)|Finding Neverland]]'', ''[[Closer (2004 film)|Closer]]'', ''[[Batman Begins]]'', ''[[Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film)|Charlie and the Chocolate Factory]]'', ''[[United 93 (film)|United 93]]'', ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (2004 film)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'', ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007 film)|Sweeney Todd]]'', ''[[Fantastic Mr. Fox (film)|Fantastic Mr. Fox]]'', ''[[Robin Hood (2010 film)|Robin Hood]]'', ''[[X-Men: First Class]]'', ''[[Hugo (film)|Hugo]]'' and ''[[War Horse (film)|War Horse]]''.

In February 2007, the UK became home to Europe's first DCI-compliant fully [[digital cinema|digital multiplex cinemas]] with the launch of Odeon Hatfield and Odeon Surrey Quays (in London), with a total of 18 digital screens.

In November 2010, [[Warner Bros.]] completed the acquisition of [[Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden|Leavesden Film Studios]], becoming the first Hollywood studio since the 1940s to have a permanent base in the UK, and announced plans to invest £100 million in the site.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/nov/09/warner-bros-leavesden-studios|title=Warner Bros buys Harry Potter studios in £100m boost for UK films|date=9 November 2010|work=The Guardian|access-date=18 November 2011|archive-date=18 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118044413/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/nov/09/warner-bros-leavesden-studios|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-warner-britain-idUKTRE6A73MW20101108|title=Warner to purchase and invest £100 million in film studio|date=8 November 2010|work=Reuters|access-date=18 November 2011}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

A study by the [[British Film Institute]] published in December 2013 found that of the 613 tracked British films released between 2003 and 2010 only 7% made a profit. Films with low budgets, those that cost below £500,000 to produce, were even less likely to gain a return on outlay. Of these films, only 3.1% went into the black. At the top end of budgets for the British industry, under a fifth of films that cost £10million went into profit.<ref>Ben Beaumont-Thomas, [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/03/7-percent-british-film-profit-bfi-study "Only a small fraction of British films turn a profit, BFI study finds"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103112745/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/03/7-percent-british-film-profit-bfi-study |date=3 January 2017 }}, ''The Guardian'', 3 December 2013.</ref>