Screen Australia’s latest national Drama Report showed that 25 per cent of all scripted feature films and series across broadcast, streaming and online platforms were made in Queensland in the past financial year.

Nationally, the spending for overseas titles hit record levels at $1.22 billion, with money from foreign productions shooting in Australia jumping 83 per cent following the pandemic.

These included big-budget productions such as The Fall Guy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, and The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, both due for release in 2024.

Queensland was second only to New South Wales in terms of the volume and value of productions filmed locally, reflecting a growth of 9 per cent since the previous record-breaking period in 2020–21, according to Screen Queensland.

There were 28 Queensland-led productions in the financial year. Filming for new Australian feature How to Make Gravy, based on the iconic Paul Kelly song, has now commenced on the Gold Coast, where production recently wrapped on Season 2 of hit ABC TV series Troppo.

“The value of Australian feature films made in Queensland more than tripled in the last financial year with Screen Queensland supporting productions such as Audrey, A Savage Christmas, Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back, and global sensations like Love is in Air, which reached number 2 on the Netflix charts.

Screen Queensland chief executive Jacqui Feeney said it was a robust result and showed the economic benefits and that there were jobs for skilled Queensland practitioners.

“Screen Queensland proudly supports Queensland stories to reach Australian and international audiences through our Screen Finance and Development funds, including series like In Limbo, Dawn of the Dolphins, Strait to the Plate and In Our Blood.

“While Queensland’s post-production houses continue to draw demand from some of the producers around the world, increased work on local projects also contributed to the upward national trend in this arena.

“As Russell Crowe said earlier this year, ‘when it comes to production, Queensland is leading the way’ and decades of investment in our industry and infrastructure has underpinned our winning combination of competitive incentives, highly experience crews, world-class facilities and stunning locations.

The industry spent $2.34 billion on a record 213 scripted shows in 2022-23, with Total Control series 3, RFDS series 2 and dramedy While the Men are Away among the titles.

Spending fell from the peak reached in the 2022 financial year, but 2022/23 was still the second highest year on record, said Screen Australia chief executive Graeme Mason.

“It has been remarkable witnessing the unprecedented surge in production in Australia in recent years,” he said.

There were fewer big-budget feature films in the works, but spending on children’s drama has increased.