Record Spend for Australian Drama Production

According to Screen Australia’s 27th annual Drama Report, overall drama expenditure in Australia totaled nearly A$1.3 billion ($1 billion) in 2016-17, compared to the previous four years when the figure hovered between A$830 million and A$870 million.

Of the A$1.3 billion, A$610 million came from foreign project spend and A$667 million from Australian projects. The increase was largely driven by feature films, which saw the highest-ever level of foreign spend (A$567 million) and an increase in local film production (A$284 million). Spending on Australian TV drama (A$321 million) and the number of titles (46) produced also broke records. However, Australian children’s television was an exception to the upward trend, with expenditure down 20 percent on the five-year average.

In the most recent financial year, 46 new homegrown TV drama series went into production in Australia, and another 13 were made for children. During the same period, 41 new Australian feature films started principal photography. Production also began on 22 Australian dramas for online distribution. In the 2016-17 period, 29 foreign productions undertook some filming or post-production in Australia.

There was a resurgence in series production in 2016-17, the majority of which were half-hour comedy formats such as The Family Law (season two), Here Come the Habibs! (season two) and Get Krack!n. Miniseries production remained strong and included the returns of Cleverman, The Secret Daughter and Wentworth, as well as adaptations such as Wake in Fright and Picnic at Hanging Rock. Three foreign TV dramas, including The Leftovers (season three) and The Bold and the Beautiful special episodes, began shooting in Australia in 2016-17, helping deliver a 39-percent increase in expenditure to A$43 million, 84-percent higher than the five-year average.

Graeme Mason, CEO of Screen Australia, said: “Crossing the $1 billion expenditure threshold is an incredible milestone for the Australian screen industry and has not happened by accident. There is a whole ecosystem of support measures that keep our industry firing, including direct government funding, tax incentives and Australian content quotas.”

“We know television is becoming more expensive to make, but the demand for that content both locally and abroad is clearly increasing when you have shows like Picnic at Hanging Rock securing U.S. sales before production had even wrapped.”

“It is great to see Australian film continuing to grow, and to have features like Sweet Country taking awards at Venice and Toronto speaks to the quality of production, not just volume.”

“The financial dividend from foreign feature production is undeniable and is of particular benefit to our crews who have the opportunity to work on big budget projects.”

“Although the production of children’s television works in a cycle that mirrors the quota requirements, this year’s sharp decline in expenditure is notable.”