Governor announced 35 films received credits from the California Film Commission’s expanded Film & Television Tax Credit Program, the governor’s office said.
The slate includes 28 independent films and studio projects such as New Line Cinema’s Last Friday and Lionsgate’s Michael 2 (working title); additional projects come from Warner Bros. and Pixar.
The administration provided headline economic figures: $1.08 billion in direct California production spending; $635 million in qualified spend; $423 million in qualified wages; 5,453 cast and crew jobs; 24,842 background performers measured in days worked; and 1,049 total California shooting days, including 457 out-of-zone filming days.
Governor Newsom said, “We’re making sure independent filmmakers and the next generation of storytellers and creators have a real shot to build, hire, and produce right here in California. More productions, more good jobs, more California stories told by California workers.”
Colleen Bell, director of the California Film Commission, said the round mixes independent filmmaking with returning franchises such as Last Friday, Clueless and The Rockford Files and that the tax credit program helps keep the jobs and investment in California.
The release highlighted independent-film growth under the program; it listed eight independent features with budgets over $10 million and 20 independent films with budgets under $10 million, and quoted producers of Leaves of Glass and American Wolf saying they could not make those films outside California.
The announcement placed the awards in the context of the expanded program’s recent record; since July 2025 the administration says 179 projects have generated $7.2 billion in California production spending, including $4.7 billion in qualified expenditures and $2.87 billion in qualified wages, supporting nearly 38,000 cast and crew jobs and 237,000 background performers measured in days worked.
The release also summarized recent legislation the governor signed: a new post-production tax credit; changes to make credits more valuable through enhanced refundability and partial exemptions for independent productions starting in 2027; a new requirement that video or audio ads disclose use of AI-generated performers; and strengthened protections for performers’ digital likenesses.
State
Gavin Newsom
Governor · Democrat
Named 3 times in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
Sources & methodology
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