ANIMATION projects accounted for €372m of the total film production spend here last year, according to Screen Ireland.
The amount spent on the animation sector has jumped from €85m in 2014, when the spend was just 20pc of the total.
Screen Ireland bases its figures on the number of projects that have availed of Section 481 tax relief.
“Ireland is now a major global player when it comes to animation production, and this is something we should all be extremely proud of,” said Animation Ireland chief executive Ronan McCabe.
“The creativity, talent and expertise we have on this island is extraordinary, We have been saying for years that the Irish animation sector has enormous potential and these figures back that up.”
Among the high-profile animation projects being undertaken in Ireland is Cartoon Saloon’s ‘Wolfwalkers’. The movie is set to make its debut on Apple TV+. It features the voice of Sean Bean and is due to be released this year.
The animation sector directly employs more than 2,000 people in Ireland, with the number having grown significantly in the past number of years. Animation Ireland now has 33 member studios, up from 25 in 2018 and just 14 in 2015.
Live action movie and TV production worldwide have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.Learn more
Los Angeles went from 1,091 film shoots in February to none in March.
Additional reporting: Bloomberg