MPA Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin Highlights State of the Industry at 2025 CinemaCon
LAS VEGAS – Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin today delivers his annual State of the Industry address at CinemaCon. The following are his remarks as prepared for delivery:
Ladies and gentlemen: It’s always a highlight of my year to be back here at CinemaCon with you, with Michael O’Leary and his great team at the new Cinema United, with this community of theater lovers – who are all here to celebrate the magic of movies.
And clearly, there’s no better time to take the stage in Vegas than first thing in the morning, on April Fool’s Day, in the middle of March Madness, when everyone really wants to hear that D.C. guy talk about policy.
But in all seriousness, we’re here, bright and early, because we love cinema.
At the Motion Picture Association, we want what you want: great movies that draw big audiences to your theaters.
We believe in the potential of films to educate and entertain, to illuminate and inspire.
That spirit animates the MPA’s work as the leading voice for the motion picture industry worldwide, and it energizes our efforts to bring more films to theaters across the globe.
That conviction fuels the commitment of Prime Video/Amazon MGM Studios, who we’re proud to have as the newest member of the MPA – and who will be here at CinemaCon for the very first time this year – showing their commitment to theatrical exhibition.
Last month at South by Southwest, they pledged to release 12-14 films in theaters next year – and that’s a reflection of what we’re all going to see this week: our industry’s steadfast determination to keep bringing amazing stories to life on the big screen.
This belief in the importance of movies comes from a personal place for so many of us. Myself included.
The first film my mother saw in a movie theater was The Wizard of Oz.
I remember her telling me that when she visited our distant cousins in L.A. as a 9-year-old girl in 1939, she sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as she toured Hollywood with her parents. And she made sure to dress up – just in case she was “discovered” and made into a movie star, which was her childhood dream.
That memory was so powerful that when she raised her own children, whenever we went to the movies with her, she’d watch every minute, then insist that we stay for the entire credits, even after most people had already left the theater.
And at one point, I remember asking her why we needed to stick around.
Her answer: Respect.
Respect for the people who make movies. The people she had once imagined joining in this business. The people responsible for building the sets, dressing the actors, designing the backdrop, editing the film, performing the stunts.
The people behind the production.
The people behind the magic.
That’s what I want to dive into today: what it takes to develop and deliver incredible films to your theaters – and how the United States can and should take steps to be a more competitive destination for production.
I think all of us can point to our own origin stories of when, why, where, and how we fell in love with this industry and came to realize just how much effort and energy go into taking an idea from script to screen.
For the MPA, our work spans that entire process – from the creator mapping out a storyboard, to the fan buying a ticket, to the studio distributing their content to eager audiences.
Our focus starts with what we can do to support casts and crews and defend their rights to free expression, and how we can bring the benefits of filmmaking to workers and businesses everywhere.
Our efforts are founded on a core tenet: production is an investment in local growth, local prosperity, and local jobs.
States, countries, and communities across the board recognize this, which is why so many compete to attract production to their cities and towns.
The fact is, our studios make their magic everywhere, across the world and here at home.
But America is where this industry was born over 100 years ago. Where it’s grown and thrived and emerged as an economic powerhouse. Where we’ve built the infrastructure, the sound stages, and the workforce to transform cinema into a cornerstone of our nation’s strength and a pillar of global culture.
And more can be done to bring production to our hometowns and reinforce our country’s competitive edge – to get more storytellers, producing more stories, in more places, which translates into more films coming to a theater near you.
Everyone here appreciates why this is so critical. Your theaters are already bedrocks of your neighborhoods.
Urban, rural, suburban: wherever you live, open your theater’s doors, welcome customers, and show films, you see what movies mean to people.
At the MPA, we share that appreciation.
Day in and day out, we make the case to policymakers in Washington DC and U.S. state capitals that film production matters. That production is worth their time and attention. That production is a boon to their constituents – and a down payment on our nation’s future.
We talk to them about how a major motion picture will pump, on average, $1.3 million per day into the local economy when we’re in production – paying over $17 million in wages to nearly 1,600 local hires on location, all of them doing jobs that pay 64 percent higher than the national average.
We shed light on the ways that hubs of production become hubs of economic activity.
We do what our industry does best – we tell a story about the power of production.
And at the center of it all is a vital tool called production incentives.
For anyone who doesn’t know what that means, the concept is really quite simple:
Incentives are a way for elected officials to draw production into their communities.
A way for them to say to creators:
Build your stories in our backyard.
Shoot your next hit in our cities.
Hire technicians and construction crews out of our workforce.
Fire up your imaginations where we live.
There’s a reason that legislators in nearly 40 states view these incentives so positively, and many are considering even stronger programs:
Productions pay off for economies. They’re good for business. Good for workers. Good for communities.
And if anybody needs further evidence for this case, they can just ask the Governor of Georgia, where every dollar invested in their incentive program generates over $6 in economic impact.
Or call leaders in New Mexico, where the number is about $8.
Or talk to lawmakers in New York State, where every dollar invested yields about $9 in economic returns.
Or look at California, which just announced a record 51 films set to receive tax credits – a slate that’ll lead to nearly $580 million in economic activity in the state.
And right now, from California to New York, we’re working with legislatures to bring more production jobs to these communities.
Add that up nationwide, and an unmistakable message starts to emerge:
When done right, incentives bring production.
Production brings jobs.
Jobs bring paychecks to local households and opportunity to local businesses.
All of it brings movies to your theaters – and injects growth into the communities that buy tickets at your box offices.
These U.S. state programs work, and the effects ripple out across our country.
But there’s more we can, and should, do if we want to sustain a future of American leadership in production.
So together with our Union and Guild partners, we will be pushing for greater action at the federal level this year.
We will keep fighting to extend tax measures that encourage investments by studios.
We will explore new policies designed with a singular goal in mind: to ramp up filmmaking and create jobs for our workforce.
And to those voices who might need a reminder that production and incentives aren’t just about dollars and cents and fiscal policies, but about people – about your neighbors and friends and fellow business owners:
I’d encourage them to visit Covington, Louisiana, where food providers deliver local seafood to sets and rely on moviemaking to stay afloat. As one caterer said, “The film business is crucial to keeping us going. I would not have growth in my business without it.”
Or travel to Savannah, Georgia, where a fabric store has become a go-to spot for prop masters and set designers. As the owner put it, “Each year has shown significant growth in sales as more and more films are made in our area.”
Or try Portland, Oregon, where a security firm gets nearly one third of its business protecting movie sets – activity that’s allowed the company to retain over 100 employees, pay them a living wage and good benefits, and turn their jobs into careers.
The stories go on and on, coast to coast, everywhere we do business. All of them – painting a clear picture: that movies make a difference in people’s lives.
That our industry will play a starring role in our country’s strength and our common future.
At the end of the day, our shared belief – in the power and impact of film – will carry us all forward.
And I recognize that our path can seem uncertain right now – that we’re all feeling a bit of volatility on the road ahead.
We get it.
We hear you.
And just know that the MPA remains your partner. We are standing with you, and we always will, in pursuit of our shared mission:
To bring the next generation of remarkable movies to your theaters.
To build robust hubs of production in your communities.
To create a thriving culture of creativity everywhere and a dynamic industry for audiences, casts, crews – for everyone.
And no matter the challenges we confront, or the changes we face, the state of this industry will stand strong and stand the test of time.
Because we have one constant on our side:
People will always want to watch great stories, well told.
People will always want the experience of sitting in a movie theater and seeing the latest adventure unfold.
And if we need any motivation, any reminder of what cinema means, we can peer west to the birthplace of moviemaking in L.A.
We can look at how the creative community is stepping up to the plate – to lead the project of recovery, rebuilding, and renewal after those devastating fires.
And we can think about how our industry, our productions, our theaters, can, and will, and must remain vital to lifting up communities everywhere:
Always a symbol of resilience and opportunity.
Prosperity and possibility.
Innovation and inspiration.
Imagination and hope.
That, my friends, is a great story that we can all tell – together.
Thank you.
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About The Motion Picture Association:
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) serves as the leading voice and advocate of the motion picture, home video, and television industries. It works in every corner of the globe to advance the creative industry, protect its members’ content across all screens, defend the creative and artistic freedoms of storytellers, and support innovative distribution models that bring an expansion of viewing choices to audiences around the world. Its member studios are: Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO.
Media Contact:
Tom Zigo