Cinema of the United Kingdom

British cinema has significantly influenced the global film industry since the 19th century.

The oldest known surviving film in the world, Roundhay Garden Scene (1888), was shot in England by French inventor Louis Le Prince. Early colour films were also pioneered in the UK. Film production reached an all-time high in 1936, but the "golden age" of British cinema is usually thought to have occurred in the 1940s, which saw the release of the most critically acclaimed works by filmmakers such as David Lean, Michael Powell, and Carol Reed.

Many British actors have accrued critical success and worldwide recognition, including Patrick Stewart, Julie Andrews, Michael Caine, Joan Collins, Sean Connery, Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Craig, Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Olivia de Havilland, Audrey Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, Glynis Johns, Vivien Leigh, Ian Mckellen, Peter O'Toole, Gary Oldman, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright, Emma Thompson, and Kate Winslet. Some of the films with the largest ever box office profits have been made in the United Kingdom, including Harry Potter and James Bond, the fourth and fifth highest-grossing film franchises of all time.

The identity of British cinema, particularly in relation to the cinema of the United States, has been the subject of debate. Its history has often been affected by its attempts to compete with the United States; the career of producer Alexander Korda was marked by this objective, which the Rank Organisation also attempted to do in the 1940s, as well as Goldcrest in the 1980s. British filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock, Christopher Nolan, and Ridley Scott achieved success primarily through their work in the United States, as did British performers such as Charlie Chaplin and Cary Grant.

In 2009, British films grossed around $2 billion worldwide and achieved a market share of around 7% globally and 17% in the United Kingdom. UK box office earnings totalled £1.1 billion in 2012, with 172.5 million admissions. The British Film Institute has produced a poll ranking what it considers to be the 100 greatest British films of all time. The annual BAFTA Awards hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts are considered to be the British equivalent of the Academy Awards.