A record £5.64bn was invested in the UK Film and Television industry last year. This was “far ahead” of pre-pandemic spending.
The industry also recorded its highest ever quarter, with £2.29bn spent between April and June 2021.
Film production accounted for £1.55bn, which is a 3% increase on 2020, while High End Television was almost double pre-pandemic 2019 levels at £4.09bn. That includes “film” productions made for streaming platforms.
The figures were released today by the BFI’s Research and Statistics Unit.
Productions included:
North East
- Indiana Jones 5
- The Thief, His Wife & The Canoe
- This Sceptred Isle
North West
- Dali Land
- Bolan’s Shoes
- Brassic (series 4)
- Funny Girl, Help
- Stay Close
- Peaky Blinders (series 6)
- The Responder
- The Bay (series 3)
Yorkshire
- City Girls
- Emily
- The Railway Children Return
- A Bit Of Light
- Typist Artist Pirate King
- All Creatures Great And Small (series 2)
- Hullraisers
- Secret Invasion
“The record-breaking level of film and TV production in the UK revealed today is good news for our industry and the UK economy and demonstrates the speed of the sector’s recovery. The groundwork for further growth is underway with expansion of studio spaces and production hot spots across our nations and regions, and working with industry to build up the skilled workforce that we need to meet demand and stay on top of our game. Government support for production with the screensector tax reliefs and the Film & TV Production Restart Scheme have played an important part in the industry’s growth and recovery,” said Ben Roberts, BFI Chief Executive.
“The Culture Recovery Fund has been a lifeline for independent cinemas and it’s great to see audiences returning to the big screen with Bond and Spiderman leading the way with phenomenal success and independent UK films, such as Spencer, offering such a range of different cinematic stories.”
The 2021 statistics show that streaming platforms are investing more in single long-form productions. In 2021, there were 36 single domestic UK and inward investment productions which contributed £737 million to the HETV spend of £4.09 billion.
“The demand for content has never been greater. As today’s figures show, the UK is enjoying a once-in-a-generation growth in production. The benefits are being felt right across our nations and regions, with large scale investment in infrastructure and revenue into UK plc that will directly benefit local communities,” added Adrian Wootton OBE, Chief Executive of the British Film Commission.
“Existing production hubs are growing to accommodate the demand, and new hubs are developing throughout the UK, bringing with them thousands of new jobs. The BFC is proud to have provided support to projects and companies accounting for 94% of the total inward investment high-end TV spend, and 90% of inward investment feature film spend in the UK in 2021. We and our partners are determined to harness this phenomenal demand and support an ever-widening workforce to produce world-class content for global audiences.”
[Pictures – All Creatures Great and Small, Channel 5/Playground]
