The government’s figures showed that the total awarded in tax relief in the creative sector rose by a third year on year from £564m in 2015.
Animation tax credits fell from £61.8m to £49.3m. Children’s TV qualified for just £5m in tax relief.
Last year there were 175 films completed in the UK that claimed tax relief, with the Treasury paying out £415m, up from £339m the previous year.
Theatre, the newest creative sector to benefit from the tax relief system, surged, with £46m paid out across 1,570 productions, treble the £14m paid out across 175 productions the previous year.