Rolling!

Production in the Peach State

May 19, 2017

What do Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Gifted, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Fate of the Furious have in common? Location, location, location. Production of each of these films largely took place in Georgia – a state rapidly becoming one of the country’s largest film and television production hubs.

In part, Georgia’s production success can be attributed to the supportive production incentive program in the state. As Senator Dodd explained, “Thanks to Governor Nathan Deal and the State Legislature, Georgia’s competitive production incentive program has allowed the state’s motion picture and television industry to flourish. Their work significantly benefits local workers and businesses, as well as audiences everywhere.”

Thanks to numbers provided by the respective studios (Disney, 21st Century Fox, Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox) we can begin to grasp the extensive local benefit of these productions:

  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, hired nearly 1,400 local crew and extras and spent $75 million across the state.
  • Gifted hired 750 local cast and extras and spent an average of $200,000 per day on expenditures to local businesses.
  • Fate of the Furious contributed over $65 million to Georgia’s economy, employing over 1,600 local workers.
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid generated more than $14 million in local economic activity, hiring nearly 2,000 local workers.

Last year, the film and television industry directly employed over 25,000 people in Georgia and paid more than $1.7 billion in wages. There were over 9,000 production related jobs in the state in 2016 alone. And momentum continues. The incentive program in Georgia consistently draws major productions to the area, resulting in ongoing local job growth and economic development.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Gifted, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Fate of the Furious are just some of many films to come out of Georgia, and you can be certain there will be many more.

For more information, please visit Georgia’s Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office.