Could DC Studios’ appetite for filming in Georgia boost the industry?

After emerging as a top filming location outside California and New York, Georgia has struggled in recent years as producers have shifted production overseas and studios have scaled back their budgets.

Film incentives remain controversial. Critics say the jobs created locally are often low paying and easily moved if the credits were to ever dry up. Or in the case of what’s happened recently, other locations start giving away more.

James Gunn, the co-chief executive of DC and director of the film, told screening attendees in a recorded message he loves working in Georgia. It’s his home, and both the crews and facilities are world class, he said.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Gunn, and now Winther, have publicly waxed poetic about filming in Georgia during the promotional cycle for “Superman,” which filmed all across Georgia: at Fayetteville’s Trilith Studios and in Macon, Roberta and LaGrange. In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ahead of the film’s release, Gunn said he wants to shoot more DC projects in the state.

DC choosing to film more projects in Georgia won’t uplift the industry entirely. But it will bring high-paying jobs and contracts to the table, relative to smaller-budgeted productions, keep vendors busy and serve as positive marketing for the state’s film office.

“Superman” is the last-of-its-kind superhero film shot in Georgia to be released at the box office within the next few years, coming at the tail end of a deluge of Marvel Studios projects that set up shop at the state’s various soundstages. After years of pushing forward sequels, reboots and brand new story arcs, Marvel has cooled its output to no more than three movies and two TV shows per year, and the projects in its current slate are filming overseas.

It’s not a decision unique to Marvel. After ramping up production in the years before and after the COVID-19 pandemic to fill out streaming libraries, a number of studios have cut down and begun to offshore many of their projects to save costs.

This puts Georgia in a precarious position. The state has one of the most attractive film incentive programs in the U.S., but faces stiff competition from foreign countries offering more generous incentives, cheaper labor and an exemption of having to pay employment related withholding and social security tax.

Credit: DC Studiios

Credit: DC Studiios

Since upgrading the program more than a decade ago, Georgia’s film industry has seen a lot of business from studio tentpoles. Many of the stages developers added to the state within that time period were built to accommodate them.

DC is at the starting point of a 10-year vision set forth by Gunn and fellow co-CEO Peter Safran, one conceived after several bombs for the studio. “Superman” is the keystone of the first phase of their plan.

Gunn is no stranger to Georgia. The executive, which DC parent company Warner Bros. Discovery poached from Marvel, first came to metro Atlanta when he directed “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” in 2016. He then bought a home for $1.3 million in Fayette County in 2018, according to the Robb Report. During the Tuesday screening, Winther said Gunn lives seven minutes from Trilith.

Last year, the studio moved its HBO Max series “Peacemaker” with John Cena from Canada to Georgia for its second season. But the films in DC’s near-term slate have all shot or will be shot in Europe. “Supergirl,” which will debut in 2026, was filmed in England and Scotland. “Clayface” will also film in Europe.

“It’s hard to compete with England,” Gunn said in an interview with the AJC in early July. “I’ve had to convince people to shoot in Georgia even if it cost more. It’s worth it for the quality of the crews I get here. … I’ve seen people rise through the ranks.”

Where a film will shoot is largely an accountant’s decision. But it’s possible the success of “Superman” could give Gunn the leverage he needs to choose where he wants to film. Powerful people in Hollywood have always found ways to get what they want, said Kate Fortmueller, an associate professor in Georgia State University’s School of Film, Media and Theatre.

“If you have James Gunn already saying ‘I want to film here, I have a house here, this movie was very successful,’ I think that there are going to be a lot of people in the state who are interested in trying to play to that,” Fortmueller said.

Marvel mostly exiting Georgia for Europe could, in theory, be an opportunity for DC, Fortmueller said. That means Georgia’s stages, primarily at Trilith, aren’t occupied by its chief competitor. While filming both “Superman” and “Peacemaker,” DC occupied about eight or nine stages, Winther said during his screening remarks.

According to numbers provided by the MPA, “Superman” spent more than $82.7 million in the state, about one-third of the film’s total budget, which was about $225 million after credits. This includes $10.5 million on lighting and electrical equipment; $3.5 million on transportation and vehicle rentals; $2.8 million on local hotels, lodging and catering; and $1.5 million on location fees and permits. It hired 3,861 local cast and crew members, who earned more than $43.6 million in wages.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

In an interview a day after the screening, Georgia Rep. Kim Schofield, D-Atlanta, said the film exemplified the value productions bring to small businesses, actors and vendors. DC filming in Georgia should open the door to see Georgia’s “rich resources for filming, from locations to business to vendors.”

“We know the value of making sure that we keep our film community alive, and we know that we’re attracting multiple projects and have the capacity to handle more,” Schofield said. “We want to keep these film studios packed. We want to keep quality films like ‘Superman’ being made here.”