A leafy region in west Watford was transformed into a jungle setting in preparation for the filming of a movie last year. The meticulously designed set at Sky Studios Elstree, used for the production of Jurassic World: Rebirth, allowed Universal Pictures to claim a substantial portion of the costs from UK taxpayers. This marks the third dinosaur movie filmed in the UK by Universal, with previous installations, namely Jurassic World: Dominion and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, also benefiting extensively from the incentive scheme. The UK government launched this initiative in 2007 to boost the film industry locally, offering a reimbursement of up to 25.5% of the expenses incurred in the UK, provided that at least 10% of the movie’s total budget is spent domestically.
Incentives from the UK government for Jurassic World: Dominion amounted to £89.1m, believed to be the largest such payment for a film since the inception of the scheme. The movie’s total expenditure was £453.6m, edging out Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘s budget of £452m. Despite these significant expenditures, the scheme, alongside a £2.8m grant from the coronavirus job retention scheme, reduced the net cost of producing Dominion to £361.7m. Its predecessor, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, garnered an additional £70.7m in incentives, bringing the cumulative amount for the two films to £159.8m. Universal’s film division reported combined profits of £3.9bn ($5.2bn) during the production of these films.
The effectiveness of the incentive scheme has been debated. Critics argue that the UK’s filming facilities, talent, and scenery are sufficient to attract studios without the need for financial incentives. Nonetheless, data from the British Film Institute indicates that every £1 repaid through the scheme generates approximately £8.30 of additional economic benefits. Filming activities contribute significantly to the local economy by creating jobs and stimulating service sectors such as security, equipment rental, transportation, and catering. Universal alone spent £37.5m on staff for both Dominion and Fallen Kingdom.
In an interview, William Sargent, chair of visual effects firm Framestore, defended the scheme, indicating that the tax revenue generated from film-related expenditures and salaries far exceeds the payouts made through the incentive. He argued that the film industry injects significant money back into the economy, creating a beneficial cycle of spending and taxation.
For Universal’s and other movie studios’ production costs and benefits from the incentive scheme to remain transparent, studios set up separate entities for their UK-based films, angling to prove that over 10% of the production costs were incurred locally. These entities are compelled to file annual reports, revealing detailed financial information, including personnel counts, salaries, and total expenses.
The movie Dominion, starring a cast including Chris Pratt, Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum, was filmed during the peak of the pandemic, leading to a five-month quarantine period for the cast at the luxurious Langley hotel. This marked an unusual period in film production history, highlighting the lengths to which the industry has adjusted to accommodate filmmaking amidst global challenges.
Universal Pictures has yet to comment on the matter.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/apr/20/uk-taxpayers-contributed-89m-to-the-most-expensive-movie-ever-made
