Drama Report: Qld rakes in $465m in a record year for the Australian screen industry
Screen Australia’s annual report has revealed a record $2 billion spend in the last financial year, with Queensland pulling its weight with its slate of blockbuster films
QLD News
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Queensland’s screen industry has continued to benefit from big-budget productions in the state during a bumper $2 billion year in screen spend nationally.
Despite losing some of the momentum gained through the pandemic, Queensland recorded a total $465 million expenditure in the last financial year through a number of blockbuster productions filmed in the state, including Ticket to Paradise and Wizards!
It was a drop of 16 per cent from the previous year’s record $555 million total, which was largely due to the state reaping the rewards of Covid lockdowns elsewhere.
However, the result was still 55 per cent above the five-year average and pre-Covid total of $300 million, indicating that the state has managed to maintain some of the momentum gained during the past two years.
Australia is continuing to increase its filming reputation, with an all-time record of $2.29 billion spent on screen production in Australia across 162 productions.
The findings were published in Screen Australia’s 32nd annual drama report for 2021-22, released on Thursday.
The figure – split into $1.51 billion on Australian titles and $777 million on foreign productions – eclipsed the previous year’s total of $1.94 billion.
Screen Australia chief executive Graeme Mason said reaching the $2 billion mark was “an incredible milestone” for the Australian screen sector.
“To have local productions make up 66 per cent of this spend is extraordinary,” he said. “Distinctly Australian stories continue to captivate audiences here and overseas, with Heartbreak High reaching the top 10 on international Netflix charts, and shows from Bluey to Bump taking the world by storm.”
Queensland accounted for 20 per cent of the national spend, behind NSW and Victoria, which each set record highs of $1 billion and $556 million respectively.
NSW’s total was driven by several big-budget productions, including new Mad Max movie, Furiosa.
Titles contributing to Queensland’s spend included George Clooney and Julia Roberts blockbuster Ticket to Paradise, Joe vs Carole, Young Rock, Netflix’s Jessica Watson biopic True Spirit, Wizards! starring Pete Davidson and Orlando Bloom and Stand series Black Snow with Travis Fimmel.
In feature films, the Federal Government’s Producer Offset, which was boosted last year, accounted for 35 per cent of total finance, at $274 million; however foreign investors provided the largest share of finance, at $347 million across 18 titles.
Funding from all Australian government sources was more than double last year, jumping to $78 million.
“This is a great result and testament to the strength of our local screen industry. It shows the importance of the creative sector and the appetite for Australian drama,” Federal Arts Minister Tony Burke said.
“It’s fantastic to see Australian stories being told here at home and to global audiences.”
Mr Mason added that global productions such as Ticket to Paradise and the Godzilla vs Kong sequel also upskilled the industry by offering opportunity for local creatives to “cut their teeth on big international productions”.
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