Film productions across North Carolina generated more than $300 million in direct in-state spending in 2024, state officials announced in December.
Recently touting its achievements over its first decade, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) mentioned that film production has had a more than $1 billion economic impact on the state since the partnership launched in October 2014.
That $1 billion-plus figure represents direct spending by film projects in the state and does not consider additional economic ripples – and one wave – into the communities where it takes place, Johnny Griffin, director of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission, pointed out.
One recent example is the creation of, and last year’s additions to, Dark Horse Stages in Wilmington. It now boasts four sound stages and support facilities on its campus just off Market Street.
“Kirk (Englebright, president and CEO of Dark Horse) spent over $20 million on that, money that goes into the local economy,” Griffin said.
Guy Gaster, director of the EDPNC’s N.C. Film Office, along with Griffin, is optimistic about the state’s continuing role in the making of feature films, TV series and filmed ads.
“We pitch statewide for (studios’) consideration,” Gaster said. “There’s certainly a reason Wilmington gets the number of productions it does: It has the infrastructure and the number of crews. But we’re also seeing an uptick in the Charlotte area. Western North Carolina is on pause to see how that area recovers (from Hurricane Helene).”
Part of Wilmington’s longtime infrastructure is Cinespace Studios on 23rd Street, previously EUE/Screen Gems. Cinespace bought the EUE/Screen Gems campuses in Wilmington and Atlanta in 2023.
The Film Office doesn’t track spending of projects that don’t apply for the North Carolina film grant incentive, so there is no measured impact of smaller productions and reality shows that have used the state as a backdrop. Along the coast, home improvement shows Battle on the Beach, Divine Renovation and 100 Day Hotel Challenge have shot in Oak Island, Wilmington and Salter Path, respectively. While their budgets may not be large enough to qualify them for the incentive, they spend locally and may employ some local crew members.
“We do get inquiries from (reality TV shows), and several have been shot here partially or in whole,” Griffin said. “Since they are not applying for the incentive, they do not report expenditures. They usually bring crews but do spend money on locations, housing, food, cars, construction materials, etc. And we get the added benefit of the fact that the shows depict Wilmington and surrounding areas for what they are, and they always shoot ‘B roll’ to show the beauty of the area.”
The growth of Wilmington’s film industry since the 1980s, when Dino De Laurentiis built his studio here, has not been steady or even predictable. For example, planned projects were sidelined when COVID hit. Screenwriters and actors staged strikes in 2023.
Last year could have been one of those “down” years but staged a turnaround, Griffin said.
“Film activity in the first part of the year was slow because IATSE contracts expired in the summer, and there was an anticipated work stoppage,” he said, referring to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees – the union of many behind-the-scenes film crew members. “Nobody moved forward. But once those contracts were renegotiated, we were extremely fortunate. All of a sudden, things picked up, and we had our second-biggest year out of the past 10 years: $201 million in direct film project spending.”
A few projects can create significant impact. In the second half of 2024, the area hosted four productions: Season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty, Netflix series The Waterfront, Amazon’s The Runarounds (directed by Jonas Pate of Outer Banks fame) and Capsized, a small feature film.
Griffin is optimistic that 2025 will be issue-free, allowing studios to plan and make movies and new TV shows. There’s just one hitch.
“Companies are not spending as much as they once were; they’re not doing as many projects,” Griffin said. “Streaming services now realize they have to make money. People want more (content), but (streaming services) have to look at how to make it sustainable.”
Gaster also noted this uncertainty in the film industry. After introducing many new shows, often with big names in them, the competing streaming services are now faced with budgetary realities.
“Will they pull money from other places? Will they get new money?” he asked. “They are asking, ‘What direction are we going?’ We are still getting inquiries, we’re putting together pitch packages, but there’s not a lot of shooting now. And the (Los Angeles) fires will probably delay some starts,” Gaster said.
Even when film activity is low, however, one wave it has created continues to boost the Wilmington area’s – and the state’s – economy: film-related tourism. The exposure that Wilmington and other areas get from serving as film backdrops is invaluable, according to Gaster.
“The publicity that comes from shooting in the state,” he said, “is probably worth more dollars than the state could ever pay to run a commercial.”
