New Zealand film production revenue increases 15 pct in 2017

WELLINGTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's film production revenue increased 15 percent to 1.1 billion NZ dollars (800 million U.S. dollars) in 2017, the country's statistics department Stats NZ said Tuesday.

Auckland's film sector led this growth in 2017. However, Wellington still remains the main player in film production, Stats NZ said.

"New Zealand's largest city is becoming a filming destination," business performance manager Laura O'Leary said in a statement.

Auckland's film production revenue was estimated at 489 million NZ dollars in 2017, up 37 percent from 2016. The number of businesses involved in the screen industry in Auckland grew 9 percent in 2017, O'Leary said.

While Wellington's film production revenue decreased slightly from 2016, it is still the main player in film production, accounting for gross revenue of 631 million NZ dollars in 2017, statistics showed.

In 2017, Wellington's film production revenue was more than half of New Zealand's total, while Auckland's share rose to 43 percent, she said.

Overall gross revenue for New Zealand's screen industry businesses increased 8 percent in 2017. Total screen revenue has grown over the last four years to reach 3.5 billion NZ dollars in 2017.

Revenue from businesses involved in production and post-production was the main driver of the overall growth, O'Leary said. (1 NZ dollar = 0.73 U.S. dollar) Enditem