King's Speech makes UK film investing fashionable

Britain knows it will never be Hollywood, but the domestic film industry has carved out a unique niche in the movie world, cemented by the success of The Kings Speech.

In short, a good British film is often low budget ($15m for the The King’s Speech) with a gripping narrative and featuring British acting royalty.

British history, literature or culture often play a key role – it is these films that are, more often than not, the biggest successes in the US.

So it's no surprise the likes of Pinewood want a piece of the action - the studios group has committed to investing in a slate of British films.

And Pinewood was by no means the first. Ealing Studios has invested in film production for more than a century.

Ealing is a studio in the old-fashioned sense - producing, developing and filming movies from scratch. St Trinian's (2007), starring Rupert Everett, was one of its recent investments.

Aside from giving the studios obvious brownie points with the Government, the recent spate of British successes signals there is actually serious money to be made in UK-originated film. The King’s Speech, after all, grossed $414m at the worldwide box office.

However, a British film does have to be exceptional to make a lot of money. More often than not, UK film makers don't have the budget to spend on special effects and the latest in 3D technology.

Cutting-edge technology appeals to the masses and often enables weak films to become multi-million pound blockbusters.Take Fox's Gulliver’s Travels, for instance, which grossed $237m at the worldwide box office.

But for Pinewood, this investment in film is by no means a gamble. These are relatively small investments that don't hurt its balance sheet.

Pinewood is seen to be nuturing upcoming talent and, at the same time, stands a chance of backing a winner.