Budget 2025: Nicola Willis announces half-billion-dollar boost for film industry

RNZ News

15-05-2025

Stone Street Studios in Miramar, where Nicola Willis is announcing film subsidy expansion on 16 May, 2025.
Photo:
RNZ/Russell Palmer
The government is playing catch up with other countries that provide more generous film production incentives by announcing more than half a billion dollars for the sector.
Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis made the pre-Budget announcement on Friday, which will inject $577 million into film and television production over the next four years.
While industry incentives aren't the favoured approach, Willis said they were necessary to compete with the likes of Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Eligible productions can access a 20 percent rebate where production costs are more than $15 million for feature films, and $4 million for television productions.
"A further five percent rebate is available to productions spending more than $30 million, which meet additional criteria for industry and economic growth," Willis said.
Photo:
RNZ/Russell Palmer
The New Zealand screen sector keeps about 24,000 people in work and has generated about $3.5 billion in annual revenue, she said.
"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," Willis said.
They include A Minecraft Movie, the second highest-grossing film of 2025 so far, and Taika Waititi's Klara and the Sun which was in production.
The Budget 2025 increase will increase baseline funding for the screen production rebate to better reflect "current forecast demand".
The new money will increase funding for 2024/25 to $250 million, and to $210 million from 2025/26 onwards.
Willis said inbound productions invested nearly $7.5 billion in New Zealand in the past decade, which were supported by $1.5 billion in rebate payments.
"The reality is we simply won't get the offshore investment in our highly successful screen sector without continuing this scheme," she said.