It was panned by critics and barely covered its costs, but Leap Year, a romantic comedy filmed in Ireland last year, has proved a smash hit for the Irish investors who backed it.

The investors are set to share almost €9 million from the Irish company incorporated to raise finance for the film. The funds for Leap Year, which starred American actress Amy Adams and British actor Matthew Goode, were raised under the government’s Section 481 tax break scheme, through a company called Lef Productions.

Lef is now being wound up, and its surplus of €8.87 million will be distributed among the investors, according to company documents. The company was set up by James Flynn and Morgan O’Sullivan, two of the country’s most successful television and film producers. Leap Year was filmed in Dublin, Wicklow and Galway.

It was one of 18 films and 46 television series that received investment through Section 481 financing last year. This was the highest number since 1995, and came after the government introduced enhancements to the scheme in late 2008. Under the new rules, the amount of a film’s budget that could be offset against tax was increased from 80 per cent to 100 per cent, while the amount that an individual could invest was also raised significantly.

A total of €99.9 million was invested through the Section 481 tax scheme in the film and television sector last year.

The Revenue Commissioners estimate that the scheme cost the exchequer €40.9 million in foregone revenue.

Several major productions are scheduled to start filming in Ireland this year, including Knockout, which is directed by Stephen Soderbergh and stars Michael Douglas, Dennis Quaid and Ewan McGregor.