Animation has replaced action as the UK's favourite film genre for the first time.
Figures from the British Film Institute show British audiences are being drawn to the cinema in their millions for films such as Despicable Me 2, Disney's Frozen, Monsters University and The Croods, all of which were in the top 10 films at the UK box office last year.
Despite only 33 animated films being released last year, compared with 153 comedies, they represented more than 20% of the total UK box office and generated £247m in 2013 – a £100m increase on the previous year.
The popularity of animated films was attributed to the fact that young people between the ages of seven and 24 were the UK's biggest filmgoers in 2013, making up 47% of total cinema admissions.
Oliver Hyatt, the chairman of Animation UK, said the figures made him optimistic about the future of the genre. "Part of the recent success of animated films is that they are becoming more sophisticated and appealing to a broader audience. There is no longer the feeling that they are just for a young audience and adults don't feel strange going to see them any more. I would say that within the film industry, animation has been playing catch-up for years but the medium is maturing quite fast and there's more of these films, creating more competition, which has been good for driving up the quality of the genre."
He added: "The really pleasing thing is that there is now a focus on making these family-oriented animated films in this country as well, and in the next couple of years there is some high-profile talent voicing UK animations. Hopefully, we won't just be watching animation, we'll be making these high-quality animated films ourselves."
Other genres that pulled in UK audiences this year were action, with Iron Man 3 the biggest box office hit, while the Hangover Part III was the top performing movie in comedy and Alfonso Cuarón's Oscar-winner Gravity, which generated £31m, also ensured it was a good year for sci-fi at the British box office.
Total UK box office revenues exceeded £1bn for the third year in succession. Although the success of British films such as Fast and Furious 6, Les Misérables and Philomena meant UK films generated $4.1bn (£2.4bn) worldwide – 11% of the global box office – this was a decrease from 2012, when Bond film Skyfall generated $5.3bn.
The BFI report also revealed for the first time the performance of British films in China and Russia – the UK share of their box offices was 8% and 12% respectively, driven by Red 2, the UK-made action film starring Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren.
The figures also indicated that with the exception of Gravity, British cinema audiences were becoming less enamoured with 3D films, which Ben Roberts, director of the BFI Film Fund, attributed to the "novelty value wearing off."Amanda Nevill, chief executive of the BFI, added: "It is a vibrant and buoyant picture for UK film. The government's solid commitment to the screen industries combined with our fantastic talent, skills and infrastructure is keeping the UK at the top of its game. Han Solo's Millennium Falcon, currently docked at Pinewood, is just one tantalising indication of just how much we remain the destination of choice for international film-making."
