Billy Elliot Trivias

Worldwide, the film grossed near $110m.

Set against the backdrop of the 1984-1985 miners' strike, filming for the movie took place in Seaham and Easington Colliery, both mining towns of the East Durham coalfield. However as a result of the strike, both towns had lost all of their coal mines by the early 1990s, so the crew had to travel to Ellington, in Northumberland, to find an operational pit to use for filming in 1999-2000.

Billy's brother listens to music in his room while wearing headphones but in cuts to the father and grandmother in other rooms in the house they hear the music as well. Some stereos allow the use of headphones and speakers together.When Jackie is inside the bus leading to the mine, an egg hits his window, but when the bus is viewed from outside, the window is clean.When Billy visits Debbie at her house, he has his school bag with him, but he doesn't have it any more when he is driven home.

When Mrs. Wilkinson drives Billy home, they go across the Transporter Bridge, which is in Middlesbrough, about 30 miles south of Durham. Assuming they both live in the same town, this is some detour.The punch-bag in the dimly lit shot of the gymnasium when Mrs Wilkinson is talking to Billy is moving in one shot, then stationary in the next, then moving again.In the mobile library scene, several book spines are clearly visible, revealing titles published well after the 1984 setting of the film.

When Billy goes to visit his mother's grave, her gravestone describes her as "wife of Peter". However, later in the film, Billy's dad is referred to as Jackie.Right after Mrs. Wilkinson slaps Billy on the face, at the locker room, we see her from behind with her hands on her face. In the next shot, her hands are in a totally different position.Police cars shown during the miners strike confrontation scenes appear to be from around 10 years prior to the '84-'85 strike.

Partly inspired by Royal Ballet dancer Philip Marsden whom writer Lee Hall met while researching the script. Marsden is from the North of England, and his family had a militant mining background.

Originally titled "Dancer".Jamie Bell took ballet and other dance classes while in secondary school, which caused him to often be ridiculed by his peers. He used some of these experiences as inspiration while playing Billy Elliot.The ballet that Billy performs in in the final scene is Mathew Bourne's version of "Swan Lake" where all the Swans are played by men. Billy plays the part of the Swan, the same part he discusses with Mrs Wilkinson earlier in the film.