California just approved 41 new films in the final round of its expanded Film and Television Tax Credit. Here is what the headlines miss.
By count, this looks like an indie town. 35 of the 41 films are independent, with 30 under $10M. By dollars, not so much. One Warner Bros. feature carries $121M in qualified spend, more than all 30 sub-$10M indies combined. The weight still sits with the studios and animation.
The real headline is breadth. California now approves a $600K indie and a $121M tentpole in the same round, under the same program. Very few places can say that.
Two changes would pour fuel on it. Above-the-line costs- your stars, directors, and producers- still do not qualify here. Not yet; here's hoping for next year.
And a standalone Post-Production and Visual Effects credit is pending this year, a real game changer for work California has quietly lost for a decade.
One round is not a trend, but applications are up 82% year over year. The demand is real.
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