Journal

UK film and TV production spend falls 25.5% as Ireland is named a rival

By Céin O'Brien, Collective Films · 13 November 2026

New BFI statistics show combined UK film and high-end TV spend down 25.5% in the first nine months of 2026, even as a senior BFI figure names Ireland among the territories outcompeting the UK.

UK film and high-end TV production spend fell to £4.1bn between January and September 2026, down 25.5% on the same period last year. For Irish producers and commissioners, the figures show how hard territories such as Ireland are competing for the same international shoots, crews and budgets.

What the BFI figures show

The BFI published official statistics for UK film and high-end TV (HETV) production on 10 November 2026. Combined spend from January to September was £4.1bn, a 25.5% drop from £5.5bn in the same period of 2025, according to the figures reported by Screen Daily.

The BFI revises these figures upwards as more data comes in, so the totals for 2025 quoted in comparison are the first reported numbers rather than final ones. Over the 12 months to September 2026, combined spend was £5.18 billion, down 20% on the previous 12-month period, with HETV accounting for 64% of it, per the BFI Research and Statistics Unit.

Film versus high-end TV, and the bright spots

Film spend overall fell 37% to £1.3bn in the first three quarters of 2026. Inward investment spend on films shot in the UK dropped 40% year on year, although co-production spend rose 31% (Screen Daily).

There was one counterpoint on volume: 123 films started production, three more than first reported for the same period of 2025. HETV spend was £2.8bn from 133 productions, with spend down 20% and programme starts down 4% on first reported figures (Screen Global Production). A BFI spokesperson attributed the figures to "a complex picture, ranging from significant shifts in the global industrial context through to increased competitiveness from other international territories, and set against a backdrop of a strong Q1-3 period in 2025".

"Ireland, our neighbouring territories in Europe, Australia, definitively are much more competitive environments, as we look ahead also to the US federal tax incentive."

The US incentive worry and where Ireland fits

The day after the statistics were published, the UK Culture, Media and Sport Committee took evidence on the state of the industry. Claire Mundell, managing director of Synchronicity Films, told the hearing: "In the production community we are very concerned about the proposed US incentives that are on the horizon and what they will do to inward investment in the UK" (Screen Daily).

BFI deputy CEO Harriet Finney went further, naming Ireland as one of the territories that are "much more competitive environments" alongside neighbouring European countries and Australia. That recognition is hard to separate from the Section 481 tax credit, which is worth up to 32% of eligible Irish expenditure with a minimum spend of €125,000 (Screen Ireland).

What this means for production companies and brands in Ireland

The UK slowdown is concentrated in big inward studio shoots, the kind of large-scale film and HETV work that books stages and crews for months at a time. The same crew base serves projects on both sides of the Irish Sea, which is why the figures matter to us as a film and TV production company in Dublin.

The competitive pressure Finney described points to tightening demand for crews, stages and budgets across these islands. It is also worth remembering that commercial production in Dublin draws on the same talent pool as film and television. Brands and agencies planning campaigns can see examples of broadcast work in our TV work, and weigh budgets using our guide to what a TV commercial costs.

With cinema attendance rising and Irish incentives holding their ground, the competition for production across these islands looks set to continue into 2027.