Films shot in the UK over the first six months of this year include The Runner and Ghost Writer

UK film production spend was down slightly during the first half of 2025, compared to the same time last year, while HETV spend rose for the same period, according to statistics from the BFI published yesterday (7 August).

Film production

From January to June 2025, 66 films started principal photography, with a total spend of £1.09bn; 1% lower than the £1.11bn first reported for the same period last year.

£999m of this total was from 22 inward investment projects, with 27 domestic productions making up £62m of the total. 17 co-productions spent £35 between them. Inward investment features to have filmed in the UK during this time include: The Runner, Masters of the Universe, Ghost Writer and Avengers: Doomsday.

HETV production

82 HETV productions began principal photography in H1 2025. These productions had a total UK spend of £2.1bn, an increase from the £1.8bn that was first reported for H1 2024 productions.

H1 2025 spend on inward investment HETV productions was £1.8bn (83% of the total); domestic productions accounted for £332m (16% of the total) and co-productions accounted for £27m – just 1% of the total.

Some of the inward investment projects that began filming during the time period are: the third series of The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power; Rivals S2 two for Disney+ and Apple TV+ drama The Wanted Man with Hugh Laurie.

In the rolling year July 2024 to June 2025, the combined total spend on film and high-end television (HETV) production was £5.7bn.