There’s Still Big Money in Movie Production Studios

UPDATED: Feb. 22, 5 p.m.: The halcyon days of the movie industry may be over, thanks to the pandemic and the relentless rise of streaming services, but there’s still big bucks to be made in making movies.

That’s why movie studios are going up like wildflowers, from Wildflower Studios in New York to a proposed $70 million facility in Dallas. Some states, like Arizona, are offering generous tax incentives to lure developers.

With that said, here are some of the most exciting movie studio projects in the works around the country:

Construction is well underway on the $600 million Wildflower Studios project in Astoria, Queens, according to Adam Gordon, the managing partner of Wildflower Studios. The 775,000-square-foot studio, which is projected to open in 14 months, is being hailed as “the world’s first vertical commercial film, television and creative studio,” CNN reports. The building, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, will have seven stories and will house 11 sound stages when it’s completed later this year. Robert De Niro’s son, Raphael, head of the De Niro Team at Douglas Elliman, is also involved with the project, CNN reports.
In further evidence that Netflix has lost the plot post-password sharing, they’re forking money hand over fist to be in New Jersey. Yes, you read that right: New Jersey. The company announced late last year it’s building an $848 million studio in Fort Monmouth, according to Fierce Video. Developing the 292-acre parcel will create 1,500 permanent production jobs and 3,500 construction jobs, according to state officials.
Not to be outdone, Lionsgate is building a $100 million studio of its own in Newark, New Jersey, according to The New York Times. The project will erase 15-acres of blighted housing in the city’s downtown area. The Times reports that demand for streaming content is behind the studio investments in New Jersey, in proximity to New York’s acting industry and union labor. Those two will add to the Garden State’s growing number of production studios.
Chicago’s South Shore is also getting a $100 million film studio. The 222,000-square-foot studio, being built on a lot that’s been vacant for more than 20 years, will have five soundstages, a gym and a cafeteria. The privately funded studio is backed by Regal Miles Studios.
Mansfield, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, is getting a $70 million studio, according to the Dallas Morning News. The project is expected to create more than 2,000 jobs. The facility will be home to five sound-stage clusters that can accommodate medium to large-scale productions. Each cluster will include a 50,000-square-foot studio building and a 15,000 to 20,000-square-foot millshop. Each studio building will have two 25,000-square-foot soundstages.