Production Accelerates Into 2026: +52% YoY, UK New Starts Share 27% - new report now live

The Sohonet Screen Production Index (SPI) February report is live.

A bottoms-up read of real production activity across the US, Canada, the UK, and Ireland - built from confirmed active productions and forward pipelines, it cuts through sentiment to show what’s actually happening on the ground.

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Q1 2026 outlook: accelerating versus last year

Our projected production count for Q1 2026 is +52% on Q1 2025. This has grown by 14% since last month’s report, reflecting a continued strengthening in near-term activity.

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January starts: up year-on-year, below peak

The count of new productions in January was up 24% on January 2025, and down 34% on January 2022 (peak). This count was down by 18% on last month’s projection, largely due to a handful of productions shifting within the quarter.

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Budgets: steady versus 2025, trending upwards

The smoothed value of production budgets, representing the total value of budget being spent in the market at this instant, is level with the same point in 2025, but trending upwards. We would expect this to follow a positive trajectory similar to 2024.

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Tentpoles are building early for 2026

We already see 77 tentpole ‘L’ and ‘XL’ productions slated for 2026. In the complete data for 2025, there were only 86.

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The UK starts strong

The UK started 2026 strong, with a 27% share of new productions versus a 2025 share of 22%.

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Studio view: Warner strength despite noise

Despite noise around the prospective acquisition, WB is in line for a strong year, with 5 of the 16 upcoming ‘XL’ productions belonging to Warner.

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Download the latest report

Inside the full SPI report, you’ll find:

• A clear comparison of current activity versus the 2022 peak
• Early indicators for 2026 production momentum
• A detailed view of the confirmed production pipeline
• Insight into where production share is shifting geographically
• Analysis designed to support strategic, operational, and investment decisions
  
  

Don’t forget - you can also purchase the full Insight report. Move beyond surface-level updates with a 10+ page deep-dive packed with data visualisations, granular production-line data, and market trends, designed to help you understand the why behind the numbers.

Access the February Sohonet Screen Production Index report to explore the full data, charts, and analysis and gain unmatched clarity on where screen production is heading next.

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