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British film, high-end television programmes, animation television programmes, children’s television programmes and video games certification1 (H1) 2020 BFI Research and Statistics Unit 30 July 2020 1. Key points Covid-19

Production activity in the UK was severely affected by the nationwide lockdown in Q2, 2020 due

to the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis of certification largely relates to films, programmes and

video games that were completed before we saw large scale suspension of activity, particularly

in film and HETV production.

Feature Film

In the last 12 months, July 2019 — June 2020, 415 films received final certification, the highest since the introduction of the tax relief. These films had a UK spend of £1.54 billion and total budget of £2.87 billion, both of which are the second highest rolling annual total for July to June since the introduction of the tax relief. Of these 396 were cultural test films, with a UK spend of £1.52 billion and total budget of £2.79 billion; 19 films were co-productions, with a UK spend of £27 million and total budget of £84 million.

High-end television programmes

In the rolling year, July 2019 — June 2020, 119 high-end television (HETV) programmes received final certification under the cultural test. Total UK spend and total budget was £1.37 billion and £1.81 billion respectively. All of these figures are the highest July - June rolling year total since the introduction of tax reliefs.

Animation television programmes

In July 2019 — June 2020, 61 animation programmes received final certification under the cultural test. These had a UK spend of £61 million and total budget of £88 million, the highest since the tax relief was introduced.

Children’s television programmes

In the last 12 months, 98 programmes have received final certification under the cultural test, with a UK spend of £116 million and a total budget of £117 million. All these figures are the highest since the introduction of the children’s programme tax relief.

Video games

In the rolling year July 2019 — June 2020, 260 video games received final certification, the highest since the introduction of the video games tax relief. They had a UK spend of £380 million and total budget of £407 million.

1 For definition and outline of certification, see Notes.

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Table 1 Final certifications for film, high-end television programmes, animation television programmes children’s television programmes and video games, rolling year 2019/20

Film High-end television

Animation television

programmes

Children’s television

programmes

Video games

Cultural test (number) 396 119 61 98 260 Co-production (number) 19 0 c 0 N/A*

UK spend £m 1,544.1 1,369.8 61.4 † 115.8 379.8

Total budget £m 2,872.8 1,808.5 87.7 † 116.7 407.4 UK spend as % of budget 53.7 75.7 70.0 99.2 93.2

Source: BFI ‘Total budget’ in the case of cultural test films is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK; in the case of co-productions it is the sum of investments made by all participating countries in the film. c Data not disclosed as the number of films, programmes or video games is five or fewer † Data for cultural test UK spend and budget only, because co-production data has been suppressed for disclosure reasons. *Not applicable - There are no video-games co-productions as the legislation only covers certification under the cultural test.

This release looks at UK spend, total budget and the number of projects certified as British in a rolling year highlighting change in the number of projects, UK spend and total budget in 12 month periods, from July 2010. Rolling year data give a broader representation of certification trends. In this release, the rolling year period covered is July 2019 — June 2020.

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2. Feature film certification 2.1 Film final certification2 A total of 415 films received final certification in July 2019 — June 2020, up from 357 films in July 2018 — June 2019 (Figure 1). Total UK spend in July 2019 — June 2020, at £2.1 billion was a 42% decrease from £2.6 billion during the same period in the previous year which was a record high. The total budget was also down from £3.9 billion to £2.8 billion making it the second highest for the July — June rolling year period since analysis began (Figure 2). Overall, there is an upward trend for the number of films, UK spend and total budget over the period, though there is a drop in the financial aspects from the unprecedented high of 2018/19 which was caused by a cluster of several large budget projects. For the rolling year, the trend in number, UK spend and budget for films with certification under the cultural test was similar to the trend for all certified films as they account for around 95% of all certified films. In the period July 2019 — June 2020, 396 films were certified under the cultural test, the highest since the tax relief was introduced. They had a UK spend of £1.5 billion and a total budget of £2.8 billion; both metrics were a large decline from the record high of the previous 12 month period. July 2019 — June 2020 saw 19 official co-productions receive final certification. They had a UK spend of £27 million and a combined budget of £84 million. The number of co-productions is the highest since the tax relief was introduced and has increased by 10 from July 2018 — June 2019, but UK spend has decreased. The number of official co-productions and UK spend has fluctuated over the time period, July 2010 to June 2020.

2 For explanation of how certification statistics differ from production in the UK statistics, please see the Notes section.

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Figure 1 Number of final certifications for film, rolling years, July 2010 — June 2020

Source: BFI See Appendix A for supporting data

Figure 2 UK spend and total budget (£m) of final certifications for film, rolling years, July 2010 — June 2020

Source: BFI ‘Total budget’ in the case of cultural test films is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK; in the case of co-production it is the sum of investments made by all participating countries in the film. See Appendix A for supporting data

2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Co-production 17 8 15 19 11 13 10 10 9 19

Cultural test 189 187 184 211 221 287 249 308 348 396

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Co-production 57 22 41 70 41 28 26 17 30 27 135 78 74 119 82 70 82 50 60 84

Cultural test 745 1,551 503 1,565 828 1,347 1,517 1,280 2,632 1,517 1,098 2,133 671 2,235 1,091 2,176 2,141 2,281 3,790 2,789

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2.2 Film interim certifications Interim certification precedes final certification and can point to expected levels of future film production and spend in the UK. There were 346 films with interim certification in July 2019 — June 2020, up from 335 films over the previous period. There was a substantial increase in UK production spend and budget in 2019/2020 due to some high budget UK/USA collaborations being awarded interim certification. As such UK spend and total budget both increased substantially in the most recent 12 months to £2.3 billion and £3.5 billion respectively. Whilst slightly lower than the record high of 2017/2018, UK spend accounts for a higher percentage of the total budget of these films (Figures 3 and 4). From July 2019 — June 2020, 327 films received interim certification under the cultural test (up from 304 in the previous 12 months), with a UK spend of £2.3 billion and a total budget of £3.4 billion, substantial increases from the previous year, but not quite as high as the record figures seen in 2017/2018 (Figures 3 and 4). There were 19 official co-productions that received interim certification during the rolling year, down 12 from the previous 12 months. These films had a UK spend of £18 million and a total budget of £55 million, both of which are a substantial drop from 2018/19. Figure 3 Number of interim certifications for film, rolling year, July 2010 — June 2020

Source: BFI See Appendix A for supporting data

2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Co-production 24 14 15 20 17 21 20 16 31 19

Cultural test 145 160 152 192 193 248 266 278 304 327

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Figure 4 UK spend and total budget of interim certifications for film, rolling year, July 2010 — June 2020

Source: BFI ‘Total budget’ in the case of cultural test films is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK; in the case of co-production it is the sum of investments made by all participating countries in the film. See Appendix A for supporting data 2.3 Film median budgets The median budget for final cultural test certifications have fluctuated between £0.30 million and £0.47 million over the last decade. The exception is the most recent rolling year where it is £0.15 million, this is the result of a large quantity of short films with very small budgets receiving final certification (Table 2). The median budgets for interim certification have tended to be higher than those receiving final certification, reflecting the fact that larger budget films are more likely to apply for interim certification to support the financing of their films. The figure has fluctuated slightly but remained in a broadly similar range across the last decade, with the last 12 months registering as the middle of the range for the 10 year period. Table 2 Median budgets of cultural test certifications

Year Final £m Interim £m

2010/11 0.45 1.19

2011/12 0.44 0.82

2012/13 0.38 0.78

2013/14 0.47 0.98

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

UK spend (£m) Total budget (£m)

Co-production 68 54 40 38 19 28 43 18 41 18 176 96 76 115 74 77 104 52 101 55

Cultural test 770 1,568 620 1,164 1,196 1,699 1,678 2,259 1,472 2,286 1,119 2,083 929 1,639 1,906 2,527 2,713 3,742 2,082 3,393

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2014/15 0.43 0.83

2015/16 0.34 0.78

2016/17 0.41 0.98

2017/18 0.30 0.98

2018/19 0.35 0.80

2019/20 0.15 0.88 Source: BFI The ‘median’ is the middle value, i.e. half the productions have higher budgets than the median; the other half have lower budgets.

Table 3 shows the median budget of co-productions since 2010/2011. In the latest 12 months 2019/2020 the median budget for final certification was £3.31 million, whilst for interim certificates it was £2.99 million. Median budgets have fluctuated with no particular trends. The median budgets tend to be higher than those of cultural test films, reflecting fewer low budget co-productions and also a smaller number of films. Table 3 Median budgets of interim co-production certifications

Year Final £m Interim £m

2010/2011 3.74 5.68

2011/2012 3.33 3.70

2012/2013 2.21 4.04

2013/2014 4.02 3.48

2014/2015 5.67 1.24

2015/2016 4.00 2.96

2016/2017 4.40 2.15

2017/2018 5.27 2.74

2018/2019 2.62 2.25

2019/2020 3.31 2.99 Source: BFI The ‘median’ is the middle value, i.e. half the productions have higher budgets than the median; the other half have lower budgets.

2.4 Film co-production treaties In the rolling year July 2019 — June 2020, the official co-productions with final certification were ratified under the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production (ECCC), UK/Canada, UK/Australia and UK/New Zealand treaties. The interim co-production films qualifying as official co-productions were ratified under the ECCC, UK/Canada, UK/New Zealand and UK/South Africa co-production treaties.

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3. High-end television certifications 3.1 HETV final certifications In the rolling years between July 2015 and June 2020 there has been an upward trend in the number, and associated UK spend and budget, of HETV programmes receiving final certification under the cultural test (Figure 5). In July 2019 — June 2020 the total number of programmes with final certification under the cultural test was 119, an increase of 5 on the previous 12 months but one short of the highest total in 2017/18. UK spend and budget both increased from previous record highs in the previous rolling year; UK spend increased by 31% to £1.4 billion and total budget increased by 25% to £1.8 billion. This increase from the years before July 2016 is due, in part, to the increase in the number of big budget UK/USA collaborations (e.g. War of the Worlds, The Crown and The Mandalorian). There were no HETV co-productions with final certification from July 2019 — June 2020. Figure 5 Cultural test final certifications for HETV, rolling year, July 2015 —June 2020

Source BFI. ‘Total budget’ is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK. See Appendix A for supporting data

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

UK spend £m 565 681 959 1,046 1,370

Total budget £m 641 848 1,402 1,452 1,809

Number 77 78 120 115 119

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3.2 HETV interim certifications A total of 110 HETV programmes received interim certification under the cultural test in the rolling year July 2019 — June 2020, with a UK spend of £1.7 billion and total budget of £2.3 billion (Figure 6). The number of projects is a slight decline from the high of 2018/19. The financial figures are the highest figures since the introduction of HETV tax relief. UK spend as a percentage of total budget has increased from 72% last year to 76% in 2019/2020. There has been an upward trend in the value of programmes with interim certification and their associated UK spend and budget, despite slightly lower volume in the latest 12 month period. There was one HETV official co-production with interim certification in the latest rolling year, down from three in July 2018 – June 2019, however we are not able to report full information for disclosure reasons. Figure 6 Cultural test interim certifications for HETV, rolling year, July 2015 — June 2020

Source: BFI ‘Total budget’ is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK. See Appendix A for supporting data

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

UK spend £m 613 629 1,127 1,190 1,665

Total budget £m 777 905 1,459 1,513 2,268

Number 79 76 95 116 110

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3.3 HETV total budgets This release presents the median total budget per minute of content for HETV3. The median budget per minute of final cultural test HETV projects has increased from £20,593 in 2015/2016 to £26,098 in the most recent 12 months. There has been growth each year in the last five years with the most recent year being the highest since HETV tax relief was introduced in 2013 and 27% higher than in 2015/16 (Table 4). Table 4 Median budget per minute of HETV cultural test final certifications

Rolling Year Budget per minute £1

2015/2016 20,593

2016/2017 22,860

2017/2018 23,862

2018/2019 25,849

2019/2020 26,098 Source: BFI 1 Median budget is actual amount, unlike film certification median budget which is reported in £ million

For disclosure control reasons, median budget per minute for interim co-productions is not provided. 3.4 HETV co-production treaties In the rolling year July 2019 — June 2020, the two official co-productions with interim certification were ratified under the UK/Australia and UK/Canada co-production treaties.

3 Certification applications are received for one-off programmes as well as series (that can be any length of time greater than 31 minutes), this

median provides a better representation of the average HETV programme budget. Advice was obtained from the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (Pact) regarding appropriate median budgets.

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4. Animation programme certifications

4.1 Animation final certification

In the rolling year July 2019 — June 2020 a total of 61 animation programmes received final certification under the cultural test, 10 more than in the previous 12 months making it the highest figure since the introduction of the animation tax relief (Figure 7). The UK spend and total budget have dropped slightly from the previous 12 months and stand at £61 million and £88 million respectively; these figures have remained consistent since 2015, with only 2016/17 showing a different picture. UK spend was 70% of total budget in the last 12 months, a decrease year on year from 77%. There were two official co-productions that received final certification in the period July 2019 — June 2020 and 12 animation programmes that have received final certification as co-productions in the period July 2015 — June 2020, however breakdowns are not shown for disclosure reasons.

Figure 7 Cultural test final certifications for animation programmes, rolling year July 2015 — June 2020

Source BFI. ‘Total budget’ is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK. See Appendix A for supporting data

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

UK spend £m 61.1 42.6 62.3 69.7 61.4

Total budget £m 84.9 55.5 87.5 90.2 87.7

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4.2 Animation interim certifications In the rolling year, a total of 43 animation programmes received interim certification under the cultural test, 17 more than the previous year (Figure 8). UK spend for July 2019 — June 2020 was £106 million and the total budget was £123 million. UK spend in this period accounted for 86% of total budget, an increase from 84% recorded in July 2018— June 2019. The trend for animation programmes interim certification has fluctuated over the last five years with a period of growth from 2014 — 2016 followed by a similar period of contraction and a record high in the most recent rolling year. This pattern is not echoed in final certifications indicating that not all animation projects apply for certification at the interim stage. There have been 15 animation programmes that have received interim certification under co-production treaties since July 2014, however for disclosure reasons we are not able to report UK spend, total budgets or annual breakdowns. Figure 8 Cultural test interim certification for animation programmes, rolling year, July 2015 — June 2020

Source BFI. ‘Total budget’ is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK.

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

UK spend £m 71.3 103.8 76.2 60.8 105.9

Total budget £m 96.5 119.4 102.5 72 123.2

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4.3 Animation total budgets This release presents the median total budget per minute of content for animation programmes4. The median budget per minute of final cultural test animation programmes in 2019/2020 was £8,583, this is the highest figure since the introduction of the tax relief and against the trend of declining budgets since 2015/16 (Table 5). Table 5 Median budget per minute of animation programme cultural test final certifications

Year per minute £1

2015/2016 7,060

2016/2017 6,625

2017/2018 6,674

2018/2019 5,615

2019/2020 8,583 Source: BFI 1 Median budget is actual amount, unlike film certification median budget which is reported in £ million

For disclosure control reasons, median budget per minute for co-productions is not provided. 4.4 Animation co-production treaties In the rolling year July 2019 — June 2020, the two official co-productions with final certification were under the UK/Canada co-production treaty. There were no co-productions with interim certification.

4 Certification applications are received for one-off programmes as well as series (that can be any length of time), this median provides a better

representation of the average animation programme budget. Advice was obtained from Pact regarding appropriate median budgets.

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5. Children’s television programme certifications 5.1 Children’s TV final certifications

In the year July 2019 — June 2020 a total of 98 children’s television (CTV) programmes received final certification under the cultural test, with a UK spend of £116 million, and a total budget of £117 million, all of which are the highest since the introduction of the tax relief. The trends below show consistent increases since the introduction of children’s programme tax relief in the volume and value of UK children’s TV certified programmes, underlining the effectiveness of these measures in supporting growth in this sector. There have been three CTV programmes awarded final certification as official co-productions since the introduction of the tax relief in 2015; further details are not shown for disclosure control reasons. Figure 9 Cultural test final certification for CTV programmes, rolling year, July 2015 — June 2020

Source BFI. ‘Total budget’ is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK.

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

UK spend £m 16.7 28.2 70.7 102.9 115.8

Total budget £m 16.7 28.7 74.5 106.0 116.7

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5.2 Children’s TV interim certifications The number of CTV programme interim certifications was 39 in July 2019 — June 2020, a decrease of 17 from July 2018 — June 2019 which was a record high (Figure 10). However, UK spend increased to £91 million and total budget also increased to £95 million. Both of these financial metrics are the highest since the children’s television programme tax relief was introduced. UK spend as a percentage of total budget has decreased year on year from 97% to 96%. There was one official co-production with interim certification in July 2019 — June 2020, and in total there therefore UK spend and total budget cannot be shown for disclosure reasons. Figure 10 Cultural test interim certification for CTV programmes, rolling year, July 2015 — June 2020

Source BFI. ‘Total budget’ is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK.

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

UK spend £m 30.0 41.2 70.8 62.9 91.3

Total budget £m 34.0 43.7 85.0 65.0 95.3

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5.3 Children’s TV total budgets This release presents the median total budget per minute of content for CTV programmes5. The median budget per minute of final cultural test CTV programmes has fluctuated over the past rolling years since the introduction of the tax relief showing no identifiable trend; the median budget of £2,106 in the most recent rolling year is in the second lowest since the introduction of the tax relief (Table 6). Table 6 Median budget per minute of final CTV programme cultural test certifications

Year per minute £1

2015/2016 2,392

2016/2017 1,582

2017/2018 2,748

2018/2019 2,217

2019/2020 2,106 Source: BFI 1 Median budget is actual amount, unlike film certification median budget which is reported in £ million

As there are a very low number of official co-productions since the inception of the tax relief, median budget per minute for these productions cannot be reported for disclosure reasons. 5.4 Children’s TV co-production treaties The co-production with interim certification in 2019/2020 was ratified under the UK/Canada treaty.

5 Certification applications are received for one-off programmes as well as series (that can be any length of time), this median provides a better

representation of the average CTV programme budget. Advice was obtained from Pact regarding appropriate median budgets.

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6. Video Games Certification 6.1 Video games final certifications In the last rolling year, July 2019 — June 2020, 260 video games received final certification, an increase from 203 in July 2018 — June 2019 (Figure 11). There was a decrease in UK spend to £380 million from the record high of the previous 12 months. An even greater decrease was seen with total budget which dropped to £407 million, less than half that of the previous year. The chart shows clearly the anomaly that was last year, caused by a small number of very high budget projects that received final certification in 2018/2019 and which had appeared as interim certifications in the previous year. The figures for the most recent 12 months are the second highest since the introduction of the tax relief. Figure 11 Cultural test final certification for video games, rolling year, July 2015 — June 2020

Source: BFI ‘Total budget’ is the sum of development activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK.

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

UK spend £m 250.1 187.0 234.7 479.4 379.8

Total budget £m 346.5 214.7 253.1 1,095.9 407.4

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6.2 Video games interim certifications In the rolling year July 2019 — June 2020, 148 video games received interim certification, the lowest since the introduction of the video games tax relief (Figure 12). The projects had an expected UK spend of £938 million and a total budget of £1,494 million which is the highest since the introduction of the tax relief. The number of video games receiving interim certification has fluctuated over the past five years and does not show a direct correlation with UK spend and total budgets. There has also been a large fluctuation in UK spend and total budget which is due to a small number of video games with large development budgets and this explains the total budget for the most recent 12 months being more than double that of the previous 12 months and UK spend being 80% higher. Figure 12 Cultural test interim certification for video games, July 2015 — June 2020

Source: BFI ‘Total Budget’ is the sum of development activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK.

6.3 Video games total budgets The median budget of final video game certifications in 2019/2020 was £100,400, a decrease on the previous year. In the rolling years since the video games tax relief was introduced the median budget illustrates that despite some projects with very large total budgets the majority of video games receiving final certification are small budget projects (Table 7). Table 7 Median budgets of final video game cultural test certifications

Year Budget rounded £1

2015/2016 146,700

2016/2017 101,900

2017/2018 209,100

2018/2019 201,600

2019/2020 100,400 Source: BFI 1 Median budget is actual amount rounded to the nearest 100, unlike film certification median budget which is reported in £ million

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

UK spend £m 549.3 335.3 508.8 490.6 938.3

Total budget £m 636.8 359.2 1,076.8 642.7 1,494.3

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Appendix A

Table A1 Final certifications for film, rolling year, from July 2010 — June 2020

Type of certification 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Cultural Test

Number 189 187 184 211 221 287 249 308 348 396

UK spend £m 745.0 1,550.5 503.2 1,564.6 827.6 1,347.3 1,517.0 1,279.5 2,632.1 1,517.3

Total budget £m 1,098.3 2,133.1 670.5 2,235.2 1,090.8 2,175.5 2,141.2 2,281.3 3,789.7 2,789.2

UK spend as a % of total budget 67.8% 72.7% 75.0% 70.0% 75.9% 61.9% 70.8% 56.1% 69.5% 54.4%

Co-production

Number 17 8 15 19 11 13 10 10 9 19

UK spend £m 56.9 22.1 41.1 70.0 40.6 27.7 26.3 16.7 30.0 26.8

Total budget £m 134.8 78.4 73.6 119.3 82.3 70.0 82.1 49.8 59.9 83.6

UK spend as a % of total budget 42.2% 28.2% 55.8% 58.7% 49.3% 39.6% 32.0% 33.5% 50.1% 32.1%

All Types

Number 206 195 199 230 232 300 259 318 357 415

UK spend £m 801.9 1,572.6 544.3 1,634.6 868.2 1,375.0 1,543.3 1,296.2 2,662.1 1,544.1

Total budget £m 1,233.1 2,211.5 744.1 2,354.5 1,173.1 2,245.5 2,223.3 2,331.1 3,849.6 2,872.8

UK spend as a % of total budget 65.0% 71.1% 73.1% 69.4% 74.0% 61.2% 69.4% 55.6% 69.2% 53.7% Source: BFI ‘Total budget’ in the case of cultural test films is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK; in the case of co-production it is the sum of investments made by all participating countries in the film.

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Table A2 Interim certifications for film, rolling year, from July 2010 — June 2020

Type of certification 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Cultural Test

Number 145 160 152 192 193 248 266 278 304 327

UK spend £m 770.2 1,568.0 620.4 1,163.8 1,196.1 1,698.5 1,678.5 2,258.7 1,472.1 2,286.0

Total budget £m 1,119.2 2,083.0 928.6 1,639.3 1,905.9 2,527.0 2,712.9 3,741.9 2,082.5 3,393.5

UK spend as a % of total budget 68.8% 75.3% 66.8% 71.0% 62.8% 67.2% 61.9% 60.4% 70.7% 67.4%

Co-production

Number 24 14 15 20 17 21 20 16 31 19

UK spend £m 68.4 53.7 39.7 37.7 18.8 27.6 42.5 18.1 40.7 18.3

Total budget £m 176.1 96.1 76.5 114.8 73.7 76.9 104.0 52.0 101.1 55.0

UK spend as a % of total budget 38.8% 55.9% 51.9% 32.8% 25.5% 35.9% 40.9% 34.8% 40.3% 33.3%

All Types

Number 169 174 167 212 210 269 286 294 335 346

UK spend £m 838.6 1,621.7 660.1 1,201.5 1,214.9 1,726.1 1,721.0 2,276.8 1,512.8 2,304.3

Total budget £m 1,295.3 2,179.1 1,005.1 1,754.1 1,979.6 2,603.9 2,816.9 3,793.9 2,183.6 3,448.5

UK spend as a % of total budget 64.7% 74.4% 65.7% 68.5% 61.4% 66.3% 61.1% 60.0% 69.3% 66.8% Source: BFI ‘Total budget’ in the case of cultural test films is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK; in the case of co-production it is the sum of investments made by all participating countries in the film.

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Table A3 Cultural test final certifications for HETV, rolling year, from July 2015 — June 2020

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Number 77 78 120 115 119 UK spend £m 565 681 959 1,046 1,370 Total budget £m 641 848 1,402 1,452 1,809 UK spend as a % of total budget 88.2% 80.2% 68.4% 72.0% 75.7%

Source: BFI ‘Total budget’ in the case of cultural test films is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK Table A4 Cultural test interim certifications for HETV, rolling year, from July 2015 — June 2020

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Number 79 76 95 116 110 UK spend £m 613 629 1,127 1,190 1,665 Total budget £m 777 905 1,459 1,513 2,268 UK spend as a % of total budget 78.9% 69.5% 77.2% 78.7% 73.4%

Source: BFI ‘Total Budget’ in the case of cultural test films is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK Table A5 Cultural test final certifications for animation television programmes, rolling year, from July 2015 — June 2020

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Number 26 52 40 55 51 UK spend £m 27 61 43 62 70 Total budget £m 44 85 56 88 90 UK spend as a % of total budget 62.2% 72.0% 76.8% 71.2% 77.3%

Source: BFI ‘Total Budget’ in the case of cultural test films is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK Table A6 Cultural test interim certifications for animation television programmes, rolling year, from July 2015 — June 2020

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Number 22 34 36 34 26 UK spend £m 53 71 104 76 61 Total budget £m 57 97 119 103 72 UK spend as a % of total budget 93.7% 73.9% 86.9% 74.3% 84.4%

Source: BFI ‘Total Budget’ in the case of cultural test films is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK

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Table A7 Cultural test final certifications for Children’s television programmes, rolling year, from July 2015 — June 2020

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Number 23 50 69 98 98 UK spend £m 17 28 71 103 116 Total budget £m 17 29 75 106 117 UK spend as a % of total budget 100.0% 98.3% 94.9% 97.1% 99.2%

Source: BFI ‘Total Budget’ in the case of cultural test films is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK Table A8 Cultural test interim certifications for Children’s television programmes, rolling year, from

July 2015 — June 2020

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Number 32 29 44 56 39 UK spend £m 30 41 71 63 91 Total budget £m 34 44 85 65 95 UK spend as a % of total budget 88.2% 94.3% 83.3% 96.8% 95.8%

Source: BFI ‘Total Budget’ in the case of cultural test films is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK Table A9 Cultural test final certifications for Video Games, rolling year, from July 2015 — June 2020

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Number 166 213 185 203 260 UK spend £m 250 187 235 479 380 Total budget £m 347 215 253 1,096 407 UK spend as a % of total budget 72.2% 87.1% 92.7% 43.7% 93.2%

Source: BFI ‘Total Budget’ in the case of cultural test films is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK Table A10 Cultural test interim certifications for Video Games, rolling year, from October 2014 to September 2018

Source: BFI ‘Total Budget’ in the case of cultural test films is the sum of production activity in the UK and production activity outside the UK

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Number 177 155 172 174 148 UK spend £m 549 335 509 491 938 Total budget £m 637 359 1,077 643 1,494 UK spend as a % of total budget 86.3% 93.3% 47.3% 76.3% 62.8%

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Notes: 1. British film, high-end television programmes (HETV), animation television programmes, children’s

television programmes (CTV) and video games certification statistics collected and reported by the BFI

The British film, high-end television programmes, animation television programmes, children’s television programmes and video games certification statistics in this report are based on data collected by the BFI’s Certification Unit, on behalf of the DCMS. The data reported are all British films, HETV programmes, animation television programmes, CTV programme and video games certified as British in the reference period, not a sample. The BFI Certification Unit assesses all British films, HETV programmes, animation television programmes, CTV programmes and video games certification applications on behalf of the DCMS and makes recommendations to the Secretary of state. The certificates are then issued by the BFI Certification Unit. Certification may occur some time after both the production/development and release (theatrical or broadcast in the case of films, HETV, animation programmes and CTV programmes or supply in the case of video games) of the film, television programme or video game. 2. Definitions Cultural test films are British films certified under the cultural test (as amended in July 2014 in the Films Act 1985). To qualify under this definition, films commencing principal photography on or after 1 July 2014 must pass a UK cultural test awarding points for UK and EEA elements in the story, setting and characters, cultural contribution and for where and by whom the film was made. On the basis of recommendations made by the BFI, the Secretary of State grants interim certification prior to the completion of the film to those films that meet the criteria and final certification once the film has been completed and final documents submitted. Under the cultural test, applicants are not obliged to apply for interim certification and can apply just for final certification when the film is complete. Cultural test high-end television programmes are British television programmes certified under the cultural test, Schedule 16 to the Finance Act 2013. To qualify under this definition, television programmes commencing principal photography on or after 1 July 2013 must pass a UK cultural test awarding points for UK and EEA state elements in the story, setting and characters, cultural contribution and for where and by whom the television programme was made. On the basis of recommendations made by the BFI, the Secretary of State grants interim certification prior to the completion of the HETV programmes to those programmes that meet the criteria and final certification once the programme has been completed and final documents submitted. Under the cultural test, applicants are not obliged to apply for interim certification and can apply just for final certification when the HETV programme is complete. A HETV programme is a drama (which includes comedy) or documentary production that is intended for broadcast and has core expenditure per hour of slot length of not less than £1 million. The slot length in

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relation to the HETV programme must also be greater than 30 minutes. Slot length in relation to a television programme means the period of time which the programme is commissioned to fill. Cultural test animation television programmes are British animation programmes certified under the cultural test, Schedule 16 to the Finance Act 2013. To qualify under this definition, animation programmes commencing principal photography on or after 1 July 2013 must pass a UK cultural test awarding points for UK and EEA state elements in the story, setting and characters, cultural contribution and for where and by whom the animation television programme was made. On the basis of recommendations made by the BFI, the Secretary of State grants interim certification prior to the completion of the animation television programmes to those programmes that meet the criteria and final certification once the programme has been completed and final documents submitted. Under the cultural test, applicants are not obliged to apply for interim certification and can apply just for final certification when the animation programme is complete. Cultural test children’s television programmes are British children’s television programmes certified under the cultural test, Schedule 16 to the Finance Act 2013. To qualify under this definition, animation programmes commencing principal photography on or after 1 July 2015 must pass a UK cultural test awarding points for UK and EEA state elements in the story, setting and characters, cultural contribution and for where and by whom the children’s television programme was made. On the basis of recommendations made by the BFI, the Secretary of State grants interim certification prior to the completion of the CTV programmes to those programmes that meet the criteria and final certification once the programme has been completed and final documents submitted. Under the cultural test, applicants are not obliged to apply for interim certification and can apply just for final certification when the animation programme is complete. Cultural test video games are British video games certified under the cultural test, Schedule 17 and 18 to the Finance Act 2013. To qualify under this definition, video games commencing principal development on or after 1 July 2014 must pass a UK cultural test awarding points for UK and EEA elements in the story, setting and characters, cultural contribution and for where and by whom the video game programme was made. On the basis of recommendations made by the BFI, the Secretary of State grants interim certification prior to the completion of the video game to those video games that meet the criteria and final certification once the video game has been completed and final documents submitted. Under the cultural test, applicants are not obliged to apply for interim certification and can apply just for final certification when the video game is complete. Official UK co-productions are British films, HETV programmes, animation television programmes or CTV programmes certified under one of the UK’s official co-production treaties. Interim certification is granted in conjunction with the co-producing party competent authority or authorities for multi-lateral projects prior to the start of principal photography to films, HETV, animation television programmes or CTV programmes that meet the criteria and final certification once the film, HETV, animation television programme or CTV programme has been completed and final documents submitted. Films, HETV programmes, animation television programmes or CTV programmes made as official co-productions are not required to pass the film, HETV programme, animation television programme, or CTV programmes cultural tests.

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For full details for the cultural test, co-productions and other information on British film certification see http://www.bfi.org.uk/film-industry/british-certification-tax-relief. In comparison to film and other screen sector production statistics, certification statistics are based on date on which the film, programme or video games received certification, whereas production statistics are based on date of principal photography UK spend is the value of the production or development activities in the UK cultural tests and UK expenditure for co-productions (bilateral and European Convention of Cinematographic Co-production). UK spend for co-productions may include some expenditure on UK goods and services which took place outside the UK. 3. Revisions As the status and certification dates of individual films, HETV programmes, animation television programmes CTV programmes or video games may change as a result of changing circumstances, the numbers published in this release are subject to revision. Each release in this series includes revisions of previous quarter, so the latest release should be referred to as the most accurate summation available of the certification numbers. 4. Disclosing individual film, HETV programme, animation programme, children’s television

programme and video games information Film, HETV programme, animation television programme, CTV programme and video game data (number of films, programmes and video games, UK spend, UK spend, total budget and median) are not disclosed when the number of films, programmes or video games is five or fewer. In the case where data that would be disclosive has already been released into the public domain, this data is shown within the release, with an accompanying note. 5. Feedback We welcome feedback from users of our statistics releases to help us improve what we do. If you have any feedback on these statistics or if you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance please contact us using the named contact details listed below. 6. Statistical contact details This release was prepared by Ian Cade, Research and Statistics Unit, BFI, ian.cade@bfi.org.uk, tel: +44 (0)20 7957 4815.