In 2018, domestic and foreign film, television, digital and commercials production investments in Toronto achieved their second highest level ever at $1.96 billion.
This is the third consecutive year that this important sector has contributed more than $1.8 billion to Toronto’s economy. While the 2018 numbers are marginally below the $2.01 billion record achieved in 2016, they demonstrate the continued strength of the sector. These investment numbers were part of an annual report presented today to the City of Toronto’s Economic and Community Development Committee.
Last year’s investment numbers reinforce Toronto’s strength as a key global film production hub, with internationally distributed projects such as Star Trek: Discovery, The Handmaid’s Tale, American Gods, Schitt’s Creek, Condor, IT, Kim’s Convenience and Workin’ Moms all shooting sequels here through to 2019. Major new projects include Shazam!, The Umbrella Academy, Titans and October Faction.
2018 highlights include:
• Domestic and international screen-based production investments exceeded the $1 billion mark for an eighth consecutive year.
• Investment in commercials production continued its rapid rise, growing to $432 million in 2018. Investment in this area has more than doubled in the last five years.
• Foreign and domestic television series continue to be the dominant type of production in the city, accounting for nearly half of all major production investments.
• The number of projects shooting in Toronto achieved one of the highest levels ever with 1,412 projects shooting more than 6,322 days of production.
More information about Toronto’s 2018 screen-based production statistics is available at http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2019.EC3.2.
Toronto has one of the largest screen-based (film, television, commercials, animation) industries in North America, employing more than 30,000 people. More information is available at http://www.toronto.ca/film or follow xoTO on Twitter at https://twitter.com/xoto, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/xoTO.ca and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/xoTO_/.
Quotes
“Our work to attract film, television and digital productions to Toronto has helped ensure another year of investments in the $2 billion range. We are determined to continue this success and will keep working with the industry to provide attractive location options to new and returning productions.”
– Mayor John Tory
“The success and diversification of Toronto’s screen production investments reveal that we are not only a top choice for TV series and film productions, but we are also a favoured location for the production of commercials, animation and visual effects.”
– Deputy Mayor Michael Thompson (Ward 21 Scarborough Centre), Chair of the City’s Economic and Community Development Committee
Toronto is Canada’s largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of more than 2.9 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world’s most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cityoftoronto, on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cityofto.