New research published by Screen Scotland shows Scotland’s screen sector is on course to contribute £1 billion a year to the Scottish economy by end 2030-31.

The research shows continued economic growth in Scotland’s film and television sector, and the value of sustained public investment in film and television production, cinema exhibition, screen education, talent and skills development.

Commissioned by Screen Scotland and produced by Saffery LLP and Nordicity, the independent report — titled The Economic Value of the Screen Sector in Scotland in 2023 — finds that the overall value of the sector continued to grow in 2023, with both cinemas and screen tourism rebounding as COVID restrictions were lifted.

“This is despite 2023 being a challenging year for production globally, with industrial action from the US actors and writers’ unions halting much film and high-end TV drama production across the second half of the year,” said Screen Scotland.

Key findings of the research show:

• GVA in Scotland’s screen sector increased by 15%, from £627 million in 2021 to £718 million.

• Employment in Scotland’s screen sector increased by 12.1% from 10,940 full-time equivalents (FTEs) in 2021 to 12,260 FTEs in 2023.

• Having more than doubled between 2019 and 2021, inward investment film and HETV (high end TV) production in Scotland fell back to £173.5 million in 2023 in line with global trends, from £347 million in 2021, as a consequence of the US writers and actors strikes. Several projects of scale moved to a 2024 start of production. The level of spending in 2023 was still higher than the £165 million recorded in 2019.

• The recovery in cinema box office has been slightly faster in Scotland compared to the overall UK. In 2023, Scotland’s cinema box office (£79.9 million) had recovered to 80% of its 2019 level (£99.8 million), whereas across the entire UK, the cinema box office (£980 million) had recovered to 78% of its 2019 level (£1.254 million).

• The PSBs – primarily the BBC and Channel 4 – remain the core source of demand, financing and commissioning of TV programmes and documentary films made by Scotland-based producers. The overall PSB spend figure for 2023 was £222.4 million, almost identical to 2021’s £223.3million.
• Supported by Screen Scotland, independent film production spend rose by 10% to £8.4 million in 2023 compared to £7.6million in 2021 although as for PSB funded content, in real terms this does not represent an increase.