CA Film Commission - Animated / 2am
CA Film Commission’s latest funding cycle 41-project round is expected to bring $1.1bn in direct production spending to California, with $544M in qualified spend, $352M in qualified wages, 6,198 cast and crew jobs, 13,153 background performer days, and 993 total California shooting days.
The biggest award:
Untitled Warner Bros. Project
82 days filming in CA
$132.3M qualified CA spend
$42M CA tax credits
279 cast and crew jobs
1,846 background performer days
The California tax incentive is now officially becoming a major animation incentive:
4 animated features
$204.7M qualified CA spend
$71.6M CA tax credits
1,977 cast and crew jobs
The big animated projects:
Untitled Pixar Film
Studio: Pixar
$74.9M qualified CA spend
$26.2M CA tax credits
669 cast and crew jobs
Donkey
Studio: DreamWorks Animation
$54.7M qualified CA spend
$19.2M CA tax credits
282 cast and crew jobs
The film is the Shrek universe’s Donkey spinoff and is currently set for release in 2028.
Hexed
Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios
$52.9M qualified CA spend
$18.5M CA tax credits
773 cast and crew jobs
The film is Disney’s upcoming original animated feature and is currently dated for November.
Untitled DreamWorks Animation Feature
Studio: DreamWorks Animation
$22.2M qualified CA spend
$7.8M CA tax credits
253 cast and crew jobs
Studio live-action projects:
Untitled 20th CS Comedy
Studio: Twentieth Century Studios
30 days filming in CA
$22.7M qualified CA spend
$8.2M CA tax credits
132 cast and crew jobs
The studio live-action side is small in project count, but massive in dollars. Just these two films (including the WBD) account for $50.2M in credits and $155M in qualified California spending.
Independent films still dominate by volume.
The official press release says 35 indie films were approved, including 30 below $10M and five above $10M.
Indie totals:
32 projects
$175.8M qualified CA spend
$61.8M CA tax credits
3,641 cast and crew jobs
806 CA shooting days
The five indie films above $10M:
Gingerbread Men
Prod Co: Artists Equity
32 days filming in CA
$22.4M qualified CA spend
$7M CA tax credits
261 cast and crew jobs
Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity received one of the biggest indie awards of the round. Affleck said the film will shoot in Los Angeles near the company’s office.
South Beach
Prod Co: South Beach Films
60 days filming in CA
$20.4M qualified CA spend
$7M CA tax credits
205 cast and crew jobs
This is the biggest indie production in the visible list by shooting days and background performer days.
DGITHB!
Prod Co: DGITHB Productions LLC
30 days filming in CA
$13.6M qualified CA spend
$4.7M CA tax credits
144 cast and crew jobs
My Darling California
Prod Co: 2am
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Chris Evans, Chris Pine
37 days filming in CA
$12M qualified CA spend
$4.2M CA tax credits
160 cast and crew jobs
Power
Prod Co: Star Thrower Entertainment
35 days filming in CA
$10.2M qualified CA spend
$3.6M CA tax credits
202 cast and crew jobs
Some interesting sub-$10M indie projects:
Breakaway Ray
Prod Co: Crossroad Productions
28 days filming in CA
$6.2M qualified CA spend
$2.45M CA tax credits
118 cast and crew jobs
This one is about Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis’ childhood in the San Francisco foster care system. Gary Fleder, who directed episodes of Reacher, is attached to direct. The project is expected to film in San Francisco in February 2027 and has also qualified for the Scene in San Francisco incentive.
The Magician
Prod Co: Catchlight Studios
30 days filming in CA
$8.2M qualified CA spend
$2.9M CA tax credits
100 cast and crew jobs
This is the biggest sub-$10M indie credit allocation visible in the June 22nd data.
I’m With Stupid
Prod Co: 2am (The Materialist, Babygirl)
30 days filming in CA
$7.1M qualified CA spend
$2.5M CA tax credits
147 cast and crew jobs
700 background performer days
2am also has the over-$10M indie My Darling California, meaning the company has two projects in this single funding round.
Twenty-Seven
Prod Co: Bristol Pictures
25 days filming in CA
$6.3M qualified CA spend
$2.2M CA tax credits
136 cast and crew jobs
Tony’s Money
Prod Co: Table 21 Films
24 days filming in CA
$5M qualified CA spend
$2M CA tax credits
101 cast and crew jobs
670 background performer days
Farewell To Thieves
Prod Co: Farewell To Thieves, LLC
20 days filming in CA
$5.7M qualified CA spend
$2M CA tax credits
114 cast and crew jobs
Seedless
Prod Co: Seedless Movie Co, LLC
25 days filming in CA
$4.9M qualified CA spend
$2M CA tax credits
115 cast and crew jobs
The Big Burn
Prod Co: Redwire Pictures LLC
33 days filming in CA
$5.6M qualified CA spend
$2M CA tax credits
92 cast and crew jobs
How To Make A Movie Star In 9 Months
Prod Co: Cold Iron Pictures
27 days filming in CA
$5.5M qualified CA spend
$1.9M CA tax credits
121 cast and crew jobs
Doll
Prod Co: Jalapeno Goat
25 days filming in CA
$5.1M qualified CA spend
$1.8M CA tax credits
96 cast and crew jobs
Mini tidbits:
Thick received the smallest visible credit allocation, with $242K on $686K in qualified CA spend.
Listing received $270K on $772K in qualified spend.
Time Windows received $385K on $938K in qualified spend.
The Big Burn has the most filming days of any sub-$10M indie in the visible list, with 33 days in CA.
I’m With Stupid has the biggest visible background-performer count among the sub-$10M indies, with 700 background performer days.
South Beach is the biggest indie in the whole visible round by filming days, with 60 days in CA.
The larger takeaway:
The expanded California Film & TV Tax Credit Program is working, but in a very specific way. The state is still supporting a large volume of indie films, but animation and studio-scale projects are taking an increasingly meaningful share of the money.
For the full fiscal year, California says Program 4.0 awarded 170 projects, representing:
$6.6B in direct production spending
$4.3B in qualified expenditures
$2.58B in qualified wages
34,921 cast and crew jobs
212,065 background performer days
6,630 total California filming days
Allocating the money to these projects is a great step toward driving business back to the state. This is much needed, as the film industry’s dire contraction has driven production jobs out of California.
Full listing here.