Screen production cools

New Zealand's screen production revenue fell 20 percent to $1.0 billion in 2018, Stats NZ said today.

Production is all the work leading up to and including filming of a screen production, such as writing, development, pre-production, and principal photography.

Revenue from production was down $245 million on 2017.

"We had a big year in 2017 for film production, while in 2018 we saw a cooling of production work," business performance manager Geraldine Duoba said. "Although there were fewer films, those being worked on in New Zealand over the 2018 year included Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Daffodils, and Mulan."

In contrast, post-production revenue increased $130 million (21 percent) to $764 million in 2018. This increase from 2017 was driven by Auckland, which was up $86 million, and Wellington, up $45 million. Post-production activities are those that occur after filming, such as editing, and visual and special effects.

"Big budget films such as Avengers: Infinity War, Mortal Engines, and Alita: Battle Angel require large amounts of post-production work," Ms Duoba said. "Increased post-production revenue in 2018 follows a big year for production in New Zealand in 2017."

Total screen industry revenue was $3.3 billion in 2018, down $268 million from 2017. As well as the fall in production revenue, broadcasting and distribution also fell, largely in the Auckland region.

Television broadcasting revenue fell $153 million to $1.2 billion in 2018.

"This drop in traditional TV broadcasting revenue could be caused by audiences shifting from pay TV, to the newer online-based TV streaming platforms such as Netflix and Lightbox," Ms Duoba said.