BASE Awards 2023 announce winners

The British Association for Screen Entertainment hosted 600 industry friends and colleagues at the 43rd annual BASE Awards at Camden’s Roundhouse last night.  

A total of 37 awards were presented across the night, celebrating the commercial and creative achievements of a sector that was worth £4.43bn in the UK last year.  

Warner Bros. Discovery and Universal Pictures both took home four awards each, with the coveted Distributor of the Year awarded to Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount Pictures took home the 2022 Title of the Year for Top Gun Maverick, with more than 350k units sold on physical, and 1.5 million units on EST and TVoD.  

BBC Studios secured Independent Label of the Year – Physical and Lionsgate UK took home Independent Label of the Year – Digital.  

Physical Retailer of the Year was won by a resurgent hmv, reflecting their period of confidence and growth in the UK high street.  

Digital Retailer of the Year was awarded to Sky Store, for a sector of the industry buoyed by the growth of in-home viewing during recent years.  

Sony Pictures took home the most submitted award of the evening: Commercial Initiative of the Year, for their work on SVOD & Transactional Optimisation.  

Amazon Prime Video and full-service agency Once Upon A Time won Best In Class- Video Asset for their outstanding work on The Devils Hour.  

Creative audio-visual content agency Silk Factory won the prestigious Agency of the Year, which was reintroduced to the awards this year.  

Hidden Gem, the award that celebrates the title that best captured audience imagination irrespective of commercial performance, was voted for by both the industry and the general public, and this year was supported by Discussing Film for the first time. The award went to MUBI for the emotionally piercing Aftersun.  

A second consumer choice award was introduced this year, the BASE & hmv Fan Choice Award, celebrating a pivotal moment in visual entertainment for 2022, across all channels, including theatrical and linear TV. The award was won by Netflix for the jaw-dropping climax of Stranger Things Season 4, when Max Escapes Vecna, soundtracked by the Kate Bush song Running Up That Hill.  

The hugely popular Category Hero Awards returned allowing the 600-person crowd to celebrate the stand-out individuals in the industry. The introduction of the BASE Awards Champion Category Hero award prompted an incredible moment, with an emotion-fuelled standing ovation for retiring industry veteran Tim Friend, of Spark Agency. 

The night was packed full of new partners and surprises. Crosstown Doughnuts, Liberty Wines, MOTH cocktails, The Uncommon sparkling wine, and Wholefoods/Betty Buzz sponsored the awards for the first time, reflecting the importance and vitality of the Home Entertainment sector. Birra Moretti returned as the beer sponsor, a firm favourite and friend of the awards.  

The 2023 BASE Awards were sponsored by:  

Action for Children, BB Media, BBC Studios, BDSWest10, BIFA, Carbon Quota, Discussing Film, Fero, Frontline, hmv, Huckleberry Recruitment, JustWatch Media, Lionsgate, OC, Official Charts Company, Paramount Pictures, Premier, Silk Factory, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Spark, Spirit Entertainment, StudioCanal, The Walt Disney Company, VDC, Warner Bros. Discovery, and White Label. 

Entertainment from returning favourite the award-winning Twisted Time Machine ensured another night of surprise and delight, as they showcased mind-blowing salutes to Title of the Year Top Gun: Maverick in honour of Paramount Pictures. A Hunger Games-inspired tribute celebrated Lionsgate’s win for Independent Label of the Year – Digital, and a thrilling audience participation based on the phenomenon Traitors celebrated BBC Studios’ win for Independent Label of the Year – Physical.  

The final performance of the night played homage to Warner Bros. Discovery’s Distributor of the Year win, showcasing the studio’s past 100 years in a twisted mash-up of The Wizard of Oz, Magic Mike and, of course, a nod to the biggest theatrical title of 2023, Barbie.  

Liz Bales, Chief Executive at British Association for Screen Entertainment, said: “Each year, the BASE Awards are the moment when the whole of the UK home entertainment industry gets the chance to celebrate together. We get to see old friends and make new ones. There has been so much change, growth, challenge, and transformation recently, but some things remain: the importance of visual entertainment, giving fans the films and shows they love, and working as a community to always move forwards. Congratulations to all the winners, and a huge thanks to the BASE team, and our sponsors and partners, who ensure it is such an important night in the entertainment calendar. In a year of growth, with so many new partners and players alongside us and with us on our journey, the breadth of winners last night perfectly demonstrates BASE as champions all of Home Entertainment.”

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Agency of the Year (sponsored by BDSWest10) 

Winner: Silk Factory 

Audience Engagement Initiative of the Year (sponsored by Sony Pictures) 

Winner: The World of Batman, Warner Bros. Discovery & Apple TV 

BASE & hmv Fan Choice Award (sponsored by hmv)  

Winner: Stranger Things Season 4: Max Escapes Vecna, Netflix 

Best in Class – Bonus Features 

Winner: The Queen of Spades, Studiocanal 

Best in Class – Insights (Sponsored by Spirit Entertainment) 

Winner: Connected Devices Market Analysis & Insights – Looper Insights 

Best in Class – Packaging & Artwork (Sponsored by Spirit Entertainment) 

Winner: Three Colours Trilogy: A Curzon Collection, Curzon Film & Wim Wenders Stiftung 

Best in Class – Social/PR (sponsored by Just Watch Media) 

Winner: Pink Flamingos: 50th Anniversary, DnA PR & The Criterion Collection & Sony Pictures 

Best in Class – Video Asset (sponsored by White Label) 

Winner: The Devil’s Hour – Teaser and Trailers, Once Upon A Time & Amazon Prime Video 

Campaign of the Year for Catalogue (Sponsored by Crunchyroll) 

Winner: The Film Vault Range, Universal Pictures & Warner Bros. Discovery 

Campaign of the Year for Film – Up to £15m Box Office (sponsored by FERO) 

Winner: M3GAN (Universal Pictures) 

Campaign of the Year for Film – Over £15m Box Office (sponsored by FERO) 

Winner: The Batman (Warner Bros. Discovery) 

Campaign of the Year – Independent Film (sponsored by BIFA) 

Winner: Lionesses: How Football Came Home, Altitude Film Entertainment 

Campaign of the Year for Specialist (sponsored by BBC Studios) 

Winner: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Universal Pictures Content Group 

Campaign of the Year for TV (sponsored by OC) 

Winner: Chucky: Season 1 – Universal Pictures  

Commercial Initiative of the Year  (sponsored by Lionsgate UK) 

Winner: SVOD & Transactional Optimisation – Sony Pictures 

Creative Initiative of the Year (sponsored by Lionsgate UK) 

Winner: Wednesday for Outernet, Spark & Netflix 

2022 Distributor of the Year (sponsored by OCC) 

Winner: Warner Bros. Discovery 

Hidden Gem (sponsored by Discussing Film) 

Winner: Aftersun, MUBI 

2022 Independent Label of the Year – Digital (sponsored by OCC) 

Winner: Lionsgate UK  

2022 Independent Label of the Year – Physical (sponsored by OCC) 

Winner: BBC Studios  

2022 Physical Retailer of the Year (Sponsored by Paramount Pictures) 

Winner: hmv 

2022 Digital Retailer of the Year (Sponsored by Studiocanal) 

Winner: Sky Store 

Script to Screen – in its inaugural year – (sponsored by Action for Children) 

Winner: Spitfire Over Berlin, Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment 

Social Impact (sponsored by Silk Factory) 

Winner: Subject & the Human Impact of Documentary Filmmaking – Dogwoof 

2022 Title of the Year (sponsored by OCC) 

Winner: Top Gun: Maverick