UK film production spending down in first quarter

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Statistics released from the BFI on Thursday (25 April) reveal film production spending in the first quarter of 2013 was down compared to the same period last year.

The UK spend on features produced in Q1 totals £84.5m, roughly £65m less than in the first quarter of 2012 which saw a total of £149.1m spend on film. These figures include the spend on co-productions, inward investment and UK domestic features.

Co-production are down nearly half at £6.1m, compared to 2012's figure of £12.1m and the BFI calculated that the amount spend on UK domestic features is down by over £60m -  £22.2m in the first quarter of this year compared to £82.3m over the same period last year.

However, the BFI does state that figures might be giving a pesimistic view due to a time lag in obtaining complete information about all low and micro-budget film activity in the UK.

There were 40 films that commenced principal photography in the UK in Q1 in 2013 compared to 75 in the first quarter of 2012. Titles that started shooting included Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Bypass and The Muppets…Again.

The substantial difference in the number of films which began prinicpal photography in the UK this quarter can mean that as the year advances the gap between the 2012 and 2013 figure will grow smaller.

Out of the films produced this year:

  • Six were co-productions
  • 29 were domestic UK features (nearly half had a budget of under £500,000)
  • Five were inward investment films (features which are substantially financed or controlled from outside of the UK)

To see the results for UK film production spending at the end of last year, click here.