Ontario’s film and television industry contributed $1.5 billion to the provincial economy in 2015, marking a record-breaking year for the industry, according to information released by the OMDC Wednesday.

The report and figures were revealed by Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Michael Coteau at Cinespace Studios in Toronto. The OMDC data indicated the industry also supported nearly 32,500 full-time direct and associated jobs in 2015, nearly 4,500 more jobs than it supported the previous year. Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (The Strain, Pacific Rim) also spoke at the event, revealing he will shoot a still-untitled feature in Toronto this summer at the Cinespace studios.

The greatest area of growth in 2015 was in foreign animation, the OMDC reported. The number of projects were up by 136%, from 11 in 2014 to 26 in 2015. Spending on foreign animation in the province hit $108 million in 2015, up from $44 million in 2014. Domestic animation was also up year-over-year, from $48 million to $65 million.

While domestic production numbers accounted for about half of the total spending on film and TV in the province in 2015, the sector was down on a year-over-year basis. Domestic production contributed nearly $762 million to the Ontario economy in 2015, down from $790 in 2014. Domestic feature films shot in the province also decreased from 43 to 27, with spending dropping from $105 million to $57 million. The OMDC did note in its report, however, that the current levels are closer to what was seen in 2013, implying that the large increase in 2014 was an anomaly.

On the domestic television front, production spending hit nearly $705 million in 2015, up from $684 million in 2014. While the number of domestic television series shot in Ontario dropped on a year-over-year basis, from 127 to 113, spending on domestic TV series stayed relatively steady around $640 million.  Specials, miniseries, pilot and MOW production was up from 61 projects in 2014 to 64 in 2015. Spending was also up in this category, from nearly $45 million to just under $64 million.

Foreign production spending increased by 52% in 2015, driven primarily by growth in the TV sector. Foreign production contributed $763 million to the province’s economy in 2015, compared to $503 million in 2014. Spending on foreign TV MOWs and miniseries increased by 96% year-over-year, to $88.2 million in 2015 over $45.1 million in 2014. The number of projects also increased from 15 to 26.  Spending on foreign TV series was up by 46%, to $465 million in 2015 from $319 million in 2014, with the number of projects also up from 26 to 44. Spending on feature film production hit $209 million in 2015, up from $139 million in 2014. Budgets overall for foreign film production was up by 50%, thanks to tentpole Suicide Squad, the OMDC reported.

As of mid-February 2016, about 27 productions were either in prep or shooting in Ontario, including Paramount/Maple Cage Productions’ tentpole feature xXx 3: The Return of Xander Cage and Alexander Payne’s Downsizing.

Photo: Guillermo del Toro, centre, speaks at Cinespace on March 9, 2015; Minister Coteau (left) Cinespace VP Jim Mirkopoulos (right)/ Credit: Kimon Korkodilos