The BBC is to invest another 100 million pounds into the British film industry. But is this a shot in the arm or a drop in the ocean? To be spread over the next 10 years, the cash injection wouldn't even pay for a single Hollywood blockbuster. Then again, they won't be making one.
It is no coincidence that the extra money has been announced in the run-up to the new BBC charter, which is expected to require an increased commitment to British film. The BBC will also spend an extra £5 million a year on acquiring British films, assuming it gets the licence fee settlement it wants.
The figures probably won't make too much of a splash in Hollywood, where Peter Jackson's King Kong remake became the most expensive film ever, with a budget reported to be $207m, or £118m. The new Superman film is likely to cost $250m - $350m when global marketing costs have been added.
So is the extra money good news for the British film industry or a public service fig leaf?
Big screen projects backed by BBC Films include Billy Elliot, My Summer of Love and Woody Allen's Match Point. Then again they also made Ben Elton's Maybe Baby.
