Foreign location shooting, mostly by Hollywood, fell in Quebec in 2022, according to the Quebec Film and Television Council as it issued its annual report on direct expenditure figures for the French speaking province’s audiovisual sector.
Statistically, Quebec posted a record $526 million in direct spending by foreign producers last year, up 12 percent in expenditures over 2021. But the QFTC said that spending line represented Hollywood projects like Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and TV series like Three Pines for Amazon Prime that were produced in the province in 2021.
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The expenditures only showed up on Quebec’s books in 2022 when applicable tax credits were certified by SODEC, which regulates the province’s film and TV industries. “In reality, Quebec has attracted fewer projects in 2022 and is currently facing stiff competition from many jurisdictions in Canada and abroad that are also trying to attract international film productions,” QFTC reported.
Quebec’s film and TV industry, centered in Montreal, continues to enjoy strong local French language film and TV production, and has an expanding animation and visual effects sector that services U.S. and other international projects.
Quebec is also the first Canadian province to report its foreign production expenditure levels for 2022, with market leaders Ontario and British Columbia yet to follow later this year. But industry sources point to a similar slowdown in those rival jurisdictions, especially in Vancouver as it felt the impact of a labor dispute involving the Directors Guild of Canada B.C. and North American producers last year.
The 2022 expenditures as they come in across Canada are expected to show a cooling film and TV production climate as major studios and streamers pull back after investing heavily in content for new direct-to-consumer platforms, with Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal doubling as Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago.
Quebec said it had 20 foreign film productions, or ten TV series and 10 films, shoot locally in 2022, but no movie blockbusters as in earlier years. “The international filming sector is experiencing a genuine slowdown. This downturn is currently felt in the industry and will be reflected in the figures for 2023,” the QFTC warned in its commentary.
