Record breaking year for international film and TV production in the UK

Record-breaking figures released today highlight the strength and creativity of the UK’s film and high-end TV industries, with inward investment spend from major international productions topping £2.37 billion ($3.35 billion).

Many of the titles, including Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom, Trust and Wes Anderson’s animated feature Isle of Dogs received direct production support from the British Film Commission (BFC), the UK agency responsible for attracting and supporting major international films and TV productions.

Indeed, it was a BFC business development initiative in Los Angeles that first led the producers of Krypton to consider the UK as a potential base. A bespoke UK recce later, organised by the BFC in partnership with regional and national partners, and the Superman origin story eventually found its home at Northern Ireland’s newly-opened Belfast Harbour Studios with the expert support of Northern Ireland Screen.

The figures, released by the BFI’s Research and Statistics Unit, show inward investment spend on feature films reached £1.69 billion ($2.39 billion) – the highest figure since records began and a 23% increase on the previous year’s figures. UK-shot titles contributing to this stand-out year include Solo: A Star Wars Story, the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them sequel and Mission: Impossible 6. As well as productions making the most of the UK’s world-class studios and diverse and unique locations, our VFX and post sector has also had a busy year with major titles including Altered Carbon, season 2 of The Last Kingdom and Disney’s live-action re-imagining of The Lion King, all based at award-winning facilities in London’s Soho.