Overview
- The California Film Commission approved 41 projects on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, bringing the first year total since the 2025 overhaul to 170 approved productions.
- Four animated features from Disney, DreamWorks and Pixar received roughly $71–72 million in credits in this round, with DreamWorks’ Donkey getting about $19.2 million, Disney’s Hexed about $18.5 million, and an untitled Pixar project about $26.2–26.7 million.
- State officials say the expanded program generated about $6.6 billion in direct production spending, nearly 35,000 cast and crew jobs and roughly 6,630 shoot days across the year, figures governors and studios cite as evidence production is returning to California.
- Policy design quirks are now visible because animation lacks a principal-photography phase, which means some projects can qualify for credits even if substantial work was completed before application.
- The changes trace to a 2025 law that raised the annual cap from $330 million to $750 million and opened eligibility to animation without creating a separate animation bucket, a move that produced an 82% jump in applications and shifted how studio and independent projects compete for funding.