Penticton's 200 block of Main Street was the scene for movie action as filming for the Hallmark movie, "Summer in the Vineyard," June 9, 2017.

(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

Movie-makers spent $67.5 million filming in the Okanagan last year.

From the feature movie Cry Wolf which splashed out $9 million filming in the region to a Destination B.C. commercial which coughed up $35,000, filmmakers made 46 projects in 2022.

The amount is a significant increase from 2021 when the industry brought in $44 million.

The numbers were given in the 2023 annual report from the Okanagan Film Commission.

The film commission costs taxpayers $253,265.

After Cry Wolf, the next biggest budget production to come to the Okanagan was Buzz Feed Puppy Movie which spent $6 million.

Two other feature films, Missing and Stolen Memories both spent $4 million filming in the Okanagan and Indian singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh spent $100,000 making a music video.

Seadoo spent $350,000 on a commercial and the TV series Farming For Love spent $1.75 million.

The Kelowna-based animation studio Yeti Farm Creative brought in $8 million and Vancouver-based animation studio Bardel brought in $2 million.

The Amazing Race spent $1 million while in was filming in the Okanagan.

READ MORE: Kamloops filmmakers form non-profit to encourage industry growth

Not all productions were multi-million-dollar flicks though.

The movie The Hammer spent $750,000 and the National Geographic Studios spent $20,000 on a documentary.

The Okanagan is becoming well-known for its Christmas movies and 2023 saw at least five Christmas-themed films shot in the area.

Christmas at the Retreat, An Old Friend for Christmas, A Baby For Xmas!, Stay For Christmas, and It's A Christmas Thing! together splashed out $12,300,000 filming.

The numbers may sound staggering but it's not hard to spend a lot when filming.

READ MORE: How to get a job in the Okanagan film industry as an extra

The report says a high-end budget movie with a full unionized crew costs US$100,000 a day, with an average budget movie with a full crew of mixed unionized and non-unionized workers costing $75,000 per day.

A "low-end" non-union film spends $35,000 a day.

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