New statistics from the BFI have shown that spending on film production in the UK is at a record high, with the total for Q1 of this year hitting an unprecedented £652m.

Of this figure, a huge proportion came from inward investment and co-production features, together making up £620m while production on domestic features contributed £32m.

Although the spend was considerably higher on international projects, they made up exactly half of the 34 features that began shooting in the first three months of this year, demonstrating the massive budgets involved compared to domestic ones, which also saw principal photography begin on 17 features during the same period.

Some of the big-budget inward investment features which fell into this category include Mary Poppins Returns and Avengers: Infinity War. Domestic features include period drama The Favourite.

Another record-breaking statistic in the report clearly illustrates the purple patch experienced by the UK production industry since the introduction of high-end tax relief: total production spend in the last 12 months, since April 2016, was at an all-time high of £1.9bn, an increase of 27% on the April 2015-March 2016 period.

An unparalleled amount was also spent on high-end TV drama during Q1, with 17 projects starting their shoot and totalling £145m. In the case of TV, although domestic production made up more than half of those recorded, with ten indigenous dramas recording a spend of £77m, the proportion of spending was more closely matched with inward investment drama accounting for 47%.

Some of the high-end TV dramas which saw cameras roll during the last three months include Philip K Dick”s Electric Dreams, The Woman in White and The Tunnel: Vengeance.

Overall spend on high-end TV production over the past 12 months also hit an unequalled high, registering £830m.

Mary Poppins Returns photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.