Screen test

By Katherine MacColl

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ALL but one of eleven UK films financed by a �92 million lottery award have flopped, according to a progress review by accountants KPMG. An Ideal Husband, starring Rupert Everett, is the sole success at the box office, fully recouping its grant.

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The grant was made three years ago to create a 'sustainable' British film industry by establishing three lottery-funded franchises to make commercially successful movies.

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The three franchises are the Film Consortium (allocated �33.55 million), French-owned Pathe Productions (�33.12million) and London-based DNA (�29 million). DNA has yet to release a single picture.

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The films that flopped at the box office were:

• Hideous Kinky , with Kate Winslet
• Love's Labour's Lost, with Kenneth Branagh
• Janice Beard: 45wpm, with Patsy Kensit
• It Was An Accident, starring Max Beesley
• Hold Back the Night, with Sheila Hancock
• There's Only One Jimmy Grimble, with Robert Carlyle
• Love's Labour's Lost, with Alicia Silverstone and Kenneth Branagh
• Ratcatcher, with William Eadie
• Fanny and Elvis, starring Ray Winstone
• The Lost Son, with Daniel Auteuil
• Darkest Light with Stephen Dillane.

The biggest�disappointment was the Patsy Kensit comedy Janice Beard: 45wpm. It recouped only �8,192 of its �1,078,000 lottery investment.

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So what went wrong

After the success of UK movies such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Full Monty and Billy Elliot, surely the film industry is thriving

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According to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the lottery awards were never designed for big blockbuster movies. Culture Secretary Chris Smith claims that by enabling film-makers to qualify for bigger grants, he is paving the way for greater long-term investment and greater profitability.

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What do you think What makes a British film successful, and why are we always surprised when�one does well Air your on The AnswerBank message boards. Click here