Cinemas are reporting record figures at the box office thanks to a big increase in attendance by the over-45s.

Although audiences are dominated by the young – with nearly half of filmgoers under the age of 25 – older viewers are making a significant difference. The number of people aged 45 and over attending the cinema has doubled from 19 million a decade ago to 38 million last year, despite the availability of DVDs and other forms of home entertainment.

Film-makers have realised that there is a huge market to be tapped, and that older audiences have more discerning tastes. High-quality British dramas – The Queen, The Wind that Shakes the Barleyand The Last King of Scotlandin the past year – have lured the over-55s away from their small screen, unlike films such as Borat, about the spoof Kazakh reporter, which they left to the under-25s.

The growth in the number of older filmgoers is so substantial that they now make up 24 per cent of the total audience, compared with 14 per cent in 1997.

The figures were published yesterday by the UK Film Council research and statistics unit. Its Statistical Yearbook paints a comprehensive picture of the British film industry last year, covering everything from cinema-going and audience taste to exhibition and exports.

The rise in older audiences at the cinema is mirrored by a “much older profile” for films shown on television, the report says, with 16 per cent of the audience being under 25, and 56 per cent being over 45.

Although the 156.6 million cinema admissions recorded for the UK last year were down 5 per cent on 2005, British box-office takings have jumped 56 per cent in the past ten years, from £489 million in 1997 to £762 million last year. British films took $2.2 billion at the global box office – approximately 500 million admissions. The Da Vinci Code was the strongest British film, grossing $758 million despite mixed reviews.

John Woodward, the chief executive officer of the UK Film Council, said: “The British film industry is in rude health. Film remains one of the most popular forms of entertainment and British writers, directors and actors are in demand around the world and achieving great success.”

The hit parade

Youthful appeal

The most popular films among the 15-24 age group last year
Severance
Borat
V for Vendetta
The Break-Up
Confetti

Mature films

Top five among those aged 45-54
The Wind that Shakes the Barley
Brokeback Mountain
The Queen
The Da Vinci Code
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Senior attraction

Top five among the 55-plus group
The Queen
The History Boys
The Wind that Shakes the Barley
Walk The Line
Brokeback Mountain

Top 10 UK and Ireland
Casino Royale
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
The Da Vinci Code
Ice Age 2
Borat
Night at the Museum
X-Men 3
Happy Feet
Cars
Superman Returns

Female favourites
The Devil Wears Prada
The Queen
The Holiday
Brokeback Mountain
The Break-Up

Male favourites
United 93
V for Vendetta
Match Point
Borat
X-Men 3

Decade’s top ten, 1997-2006
Titanic
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Casino Royale
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
The Full Monty
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

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