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California Awards Tax Credits to 41 Films, Pulling Major Animation and Indies Back In-State

Officials say the expanded $750 million program is driving billions in local production spending and thousands of jobs.

Overview

  • The California Film Commission approved 41 films on Tuesday, granting credits to 35 independent projects and several major studio animated and live-action titles.
  • Disney’s Hexed received an $18.5 million credit and DreamWorks’ Donkey got $19.2 million while an untitled Warner Bros. live-action film received the largest award at $42 million.
  • The round is tied to about $1.1 billion in direct production spending, more than 6,100 cast and crew jobs, over 13,000 background roles, and 993 shoot days in California.
  • Lawmakers raised the program cap to $750 million and opened eligibility to animation last year, a change that spurred an 82% rise in applications and about 170 total recipients in the program’s first expanded year.
  • Studio leaders say the credits help keep animation work that had been sent to places like Vancouver in California, a shift that could boost local crews, vendors, and regional spending in coming years.