Golden age for the UK’s movie makers as Barbie and Indiana Jones films rely on British talent
- Big-name TV shows and films lean on the top-notch skills of UK workers
- This has boosted firms like ITV, whose studio arm raked in £1billion this year
British TV and film production – buoyed by the rise of Netflix and the public’s return to the cinema – has entered a new golden age.
The fruits of homegrown talent, along with foreign-backed projects shot at the country’s major studios, have been showered with accolades in recent years, boosting the UK’s status as a hub for top-end content creation.
Successes have included the massively popular Barbie movie, starring Margot Robbie in the titular role.
The blockbuster was mostly filmed in the UK and the set for the pink-washed Barbieland, including the iconic Dreamhouse, was built at the Warner Bros studio in Leavesden, Hertfordshire.
The latest Harrison Ford adventure epic, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, was partly filmed on the 007 stage at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.
Made in Britain: Margot Robbie plays the lead role in hit film Barbie
Those two films follow a run of British success stories including the Netflix period drama Bridgerton, most of which was shot at stately homes across England. Another winner has been the Northern crime drama Happy Valley.
Such is the demand for UK skill and talent that spending on film and TV production hit a record high of £6.27billion last year, according to figures released in February by the British Film Institute.
The boom has delivered a boost to British firms including ITV, whose studio production arm raked in £1billion in half-year revenue for the first time in 2023.
A key draw is thought to be the UK’s generous tax relief system. Film production firms can claim up to 25 per cent in cash rebates on a maximum of 80 per cent of qualifying spending, regardless of the film’s budget, so long as at least 10 per cent is spent in Britain.
The UK is also home to a vast number of visual effects (VFX) artists who help to create the computer-generated imagery and other special effects used in many films and TV shows.
According to the UK Screen Alliance, which represents firms across the VFX and production sectors, the industry supported nearly 30,000 jobs in 2019 and contributed almost £1.7billion to the economy.
Heroics: Indiana Jones star Harrison Ford
However, in spite of all the very encouraging news, there are dark clouds gathering. Some crew at Shepperton, which is owned by Pinewood, have been forced to down tools in recent weeks as work dries up on some of the studio’s most lucrative hits.
Construction teams have been told that projects – including Netflix hit The Sandman – have been put on hold for the foreseeable future as Hollywood writers continue their strike.
The industrial action, organised by the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), has more than 160,000 members seeking higher pay and better protection against the rise of artificial intelligence. The dispute is bringing hundreds of productions to a standstill. One insider said the effect on UK crew was ‘worse than Covid’ with no sign when work may pick up again.
Netflix’s upcoming season of Bridgerton is due to start filming in the coming weeks, but it is unclear whether writers and crew will be able to begin production in the UK. Netflix declined to comment.
Bectu, the union that represents those behind the camera on TV and film shoots, said although it stands by SAG-AFTRA, the strike action is having a dangerous ripple effect.
Philippa Childs, head of Bectu, said: ‘Many of our members know only too well the knock-on effects of the US strikes and are justifiably worried about their future. The slowdown will only be exacerbated if no agreement is made with SAG-AFTRA.’