As part of the California Jobs First initiative, the California Film Commission (CFC) yesterday awarded a total of $51.6 million in tax credits to 19 projects set to film in California.
Through the Film and Television Tax Credit Program, $39.6 million was allocated to three big-budget feature films and 15 independent films, while another $12 million was awarded to a new television series through the Soundstage Filming Tax Credit Program.
These projects across both programs are expected to spend an estimated $284.4 million in California qualified expenditures (defined as wages to below-the-line workers and payments to in-state vendors) with $112.1 million attributed to qualified wages. This spending will employ 2,768 crew members, 1,086 cast members, and 16,997 background performers—measured in days worked—and generate approximately 618 filming days across California, according to the California Film Commission (CFM).
“Keeping jobs here in California and bringing jobs back to California have always been top priorities for our state,” said Colleen Bell, executive director of the California Film Commission. “We’re not only helping people get back to work but also keeping major projects like ‘Suits LA’—which was planning to film elsewhere—right here in Los Angeles where it belongs. This is crucial for our economy and the well-being of our crew that call California home.”
The Soundstage Filming Tax Credit Program, in particular, is proving to be an important lever in keeping television projects in California, the CFM said. Launched in 2022, this program incentivizes productions filmed on soundstages certified as part of a studio construction project built, renovated, or converted under the program.
Additionally, the Film and Television Tax Credit Program continues to bolster major feature films. The three non-independent projects are expected to generate nearly $64 million in qualified California expenditures, including $32.5 million for California-based below-the-line workers, with $85 million in total spending (qualified and unqualified) across the state.
Fifteen independent features will receive funding as part of this round of Film and Television Tax Credit Program awards. Collectively, these 15 features will spend $169.9 million in qualified California expenditures, with $61.6 million in qualified wages supporting 2,588 jobs for cast and crew and 12,354 background performers.
Thirteen of the feature films the CFM awarded yesterday will account for 187 out-of-zone filming days—nearly 30% of the total filming days projected for California in this latest round of awards. These projects will take place across a range of counties, including Orange, Riverside, Ventura, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, and San Francisco, helping to sustain and create entertainment jobs across the state.
For the full list of productions that are part of the Film and Television Tax Credit Program, see here.
Looking ahead, the California Film Commission will hold its next television application window October 21-23, 2024. Application dates and deadlines are posted on the California Film Commission website.
