- Hon Nicola Willis
The Government is providing certainty to New Zealand's film industry by providing the funding needed to sustain the International Screen Production Rebate, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis announced today. "This funding will help bring investment, jobs and income to New Zealand, boosting our economic growth. "We are sending a clear message to the world: New Zealand is the best place in the world to make movies. Bring your productions here to take advantage of our talent and locations. "The Budget increase of $577 million across this year and the next four takes total funding for the rebate scheme to $1.09 billion over the forecast period, better reflecting expected demand for the scheme. Settings remain unchanged," Nicola Willis says. "The rebate scheme is working and we want New Zealand's film industry to know the Government is backing them to grow into the future. "At last count our screen sector provided work for about 24,000 people and generated about $3.5 billion in annual revenue. "While industry incentives are not generally our favoured approach, the reality is we simply won't get the offshore investment in our highly successful screen sector without continuing this scheme," Ms Willis says. "New Zealand competes with more than 100 territories world-wide that provide screen incentives, including countries like Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom that provide more generous incentives than ours. "Eligible productions can access a 20 per cent cash rebate on qualifying New Zealand production expenditure where production costs are more than $15 million for feature films and $4 million for TV productions. "A further 5 per cent rebate is available to productions spending more than $30 million which meet additional criteria for industry and economic growth. "Inbound productions invested nearly $7.5 billion in New Zealand in the past 10 years, supported by $1.5 billion in rebate payments. "Following a review of the rebate settings completed in late-2023, 10 big international productions have been attracted here, including eight from the major Hollywood studios. They include A Minecraft Movie, the second highest-grossing film of 2025 so far, and Taika Waititi's Klara and the Sun now in production. "Along with investment and jobs, New Zealand has benefited from acquiring a highly skilled screen industry workforce. Film production companies provide work for thousands of people and create fantastic opportunities for young New Zealanders. "The Government will continue to work with the New Zealand Film Commission to ensure we continue to attract high-value productions from around the world." Notes for editors
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