31/01/2014 - Production boost good news offset by the fact that local production is in decline

Figures published by the British Film Institute (BFI) show that the UK film production sector generated a total spend of £1.075 billion in 2013, a 14% increase on 2012’s £945 million.  Within this figure, 37 major international films making the UK their production base generated £868 million. Following the introduction of new television tax reliefs, over £276 million of investment was made in domestic UK productions in nine months.

However, it isn’t all good news for the British film industry. Domestic UK film production saw a similar number of films budgeted at £500,000 and upwards made during the year (62 in 2013, down from 65 in 2012), but the total spend of these films was lower – £139 million, down from 2012’s £229 million. The number of co-productions was 36 - down from 45 in 2012, with a production spend of £54 million (£75 million in 2012).

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Amanda Nevill, CEO of the BFI, said, “Internationally, our filmmakers, talent and creativity are wowing audiences and attracting critical acclaim at festivals around the world, and have garnered a crop of well deserved awards nominations. However, these figures show that there is still work to be done to grow audiences for British film at home – something which lies at the heart of our Film Forever strategy and is an economic and cultural imperative for the future success of British film.”