Broad talent How Britain's creative sector could be affected

How big is the UK film industry?

- Phillip Inman

By some measures, spending on film production in the UK is small in relation to an economy worth £2.5tn. In 2022, it reached £1.97bn, according to industry figures. But its importance at the heart of the creative industries goes much further, as successive governments have recognised.

About 16,000 companies were involved in video production, or film video and television and post-production in 2020, according to industry figures, supporting 86,000 jobs, of which 75% were in movie production and distribution.

More broadly, film, television and video sectors contributed £12.6bn to the UK economy in 2019, an increase of 35% since 2014.

How does that relate to wider creative industries?

The film and TV industry lies at the heart of the UK's cultural sector. Theatres feed off the work of TV and film; actors who make their money in TV and film work in other venues; and thousands of contractors, from electricians to make-up artists, move between jobs in all areas of the industry. The culture minister, Lisa Nandy, said the creative industries contributed an estimated £124bn in 2023, accounting for 5.2% of the UK's economic output.