Go West! 2.5

The Go West! 2.5 Bristol's Film and Television Industries report, focusing on research undertaken between 2022 and 2025, demonstrates that during this period, Bristol went through a severe boom-and-bust cycle, that reflected the UK film and television sector as a whole. The huge surge in productions following the ending of the COVID-19 restrictions, led by the streaming platforms such as Netflix, was unsustainable and the increases in 2022 were followed by an equally dramatic slump in 2023 and 2024. This has led to widespread redundancies and company closures.

Although the industry has recovered, 2025 and 2026 look set to be difficult years as well. In response, companies are diversifying and increasingly moving to digital productions as the audience for film and television migrates to online sites.

Go West! 2.5 Bristol’s Film and Television Industries, revises all the statistical information from the previous 2022 report and documents how these sector-wide changes have impacted on Bristol’s screen ecology. Its principal findings are:

• 53 Bristol companies ceased trading
• Natural History has experienced the most pronounced contraction: down from 17 companies and 44.2% of Bristol’s aggregate turnover in 2022 to 13 companies and 30% of the aggregate turnover in 2025
• Widespread issues of employment and wellbeing in sector
• There are less commissions, drawn from a narrower range, which are more risk-averse, factors that threaten sustainability, growth and creative renewal in the screen industries
• Mature infrastructure mitigation: the work of Bristol Film Office, UNESCO City of Film, the Bottle Yard Studios, training providers and regional R&D has all helped to offset these threats and helped sustain Bristol’s screen ecology

Spicer, A. and Krisovic, J. Go West! 2.5 Bristol’s Film and Television Industries. Bristol: UWE Bristol

Read or download the full report below.