According to the latest figures from the BFI Research and Statistics Unit, 66 films started shooting in the UK in the first half of 2025 with a total UK production spend of £1.1bn.
There were six fewer production starts than first reported for the first half of 2024, while production spend went down by 1%.
Inward investment productions accounted for £999m – or 91% – of the total film starts, while domestic productions accounted for £62m (6% of the total) and co-production spend was £35m (3% of the total).
Films that started shooting in the UK in 2025 included: Avengers: Doomsday, directed by the Russo Brothers; Ghost Writer, directed by JJ Abrams; The Runner, directed by Kevin Macdonald; and Masters of the Universe, directed by Travis Knight.
Domestic UK films include A Hand Rises, Louise Stern’s directorial debut, and Chork, directed by Shane Meadows.
For high-end TV (HETV) productions, the BFI figures have shown improvement over the previous year. In total, 82 HETV productions began principal photography in the first half of 2025 with a total UK spend of £2.1bn, an increase from the £1.8bn first reported for productions in the first half of 2024.
In the first half of 2025, inward investment production spending was £1.8bn (83% of the total). Domestic productions accounted for £332m (16% of the total) and co-productions accounted for £27m (1% of the total).
Inward investment HETV productions starting principal photography in the first half of 2025 included: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3; Ahsoka Season 2; Rivals Season 2; and The Wanted Man. Domestic HETV productions included A Woman of Substance, The Lady, Secret Service, Waiting for the Out, and Betrayal.
The British Film Institute recently published a report setting out key recommendations for the UK screen sector to capitalise on AI opportunities. Discover more here.
Blackmagic Design unleashes a wave of technologies
In the lead-up to NAB 2026, Blackmagic Design has revealed a slate of new production technologies.
Avid and Google Cloud partner to bring agentic AI for media production
Avid and Google Cloud have signed a multi-year strategic partnership to embed Google’s Gemini models and Vertex AI directly into Avid’s solutions.
Channel 4’s longest-serving Chief Content Officer steps down
After almost nine years leading the broadcaster’s content strategy, Ian Katz, Chief Content Officer at Channel 4, will step down from his role in October 2026.
BBC to cut 2,000 jobs: "Put simply, the gap between our costs and our income is growing"
In an internal, all-staff call held today, Rhodri Talfan Davies, Interim Director General for the BBC, revealed that the organisation is planning to cut between 1,800 and 2,000 jobs.
AJA to acquire video encoding company Comprimato
AJA Video Systems has agreed to acquire Comprimato, a live video encoding and processing software provider for virtualised and cloud productions and broadcasts.
