California Awards Film Tax Credits to 28 New Productions Across the State
Snoop Dogg∙Photo Credit: California Governor’s Office
SACRAMENTO, December 19, 2025 (CALIFNORNIA NEWS TODAY) — The California Film Commission has announced that 28 film projects have received awards through the state’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program. The latest round includes productions from Academy Award–winning filmmaker Ang Lee and a Snoop Dogg–produced biopic set in Long Beach.
According to the state, the selected projects are expected to generate $562 million in total economic activity throughout California. The productions will collectively employ 4,837 cast and crew and 22,614 background performers, measured in days worked, across 831 statewide filming days. The Film Commission reports that the films will also generate $337 million in qualified spending, including $209 million in qualified wages.
“California’s film and television industry isn’t just an economic engine — it’s part of who we are. For more than a century, the world’s most iconic stories have been imagined, produced, and shared from right here, powered by unmatched talent, creativity, and innovation. This latest round of tax credit awards builds on that legacy while delivering real results across the state: good-paying jobs, stronger local economies, and thriving small businesses. It’s a clear signal that California remains the global home of storytelling — yesterday, today, and for generations to come,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.
This round marks the midpoint of Program 4.0, the expanded iteration of the tax credit program that took effect in July 2025. To date, Program 4.0 has generated $4.17 billion in economic activity and supported more than 25,000 cast and crew jobs over 4,000 filming days statewide.
“We’re very proud to feature so many California-centric stories with this round. These aren’t just movies shooting here, they’re also telling the stories of the places where they’re shooting, drawing from our vivid history, vibrant neighborhoods and diverse and storied culture that are so uniquely California. By supporting these talented artists’ storytelling, we’re not only keeping entertainment jobs in-state, we’re reinforcing California’s status as the entertainment capital of the world and a larger-than-life character that no fictional one could ever rival,” said Colleen Bell, Director of the California Film Commission.
Highlight projects include Gold Mountain from Fifth Season; Business Women from Twentieth Century Fox; an untitled Sony project produced by Glen Powell; Guerrero, an independent film directed by Gina Rodriguez; and an untitled Snoop Dogg project from Universal.
“Big love to the California Film Commission and Gov. Newsom for holdin’ it down with that tax credit. Y’all making it possible for us to tell my story right here where it all began. California raised me, inspired me, and now helpin’ bring this biopic to life in 2026. Much respect – that’s real teamwork, ya dig…” said Snoop Dogg, Producer, Untitled Snoop Dogg Project.
“This film is a love letter to a community that is woven into the fabric of our state, so it’s only right that we shoot this project here. I’m so fortunate that a movie with cultural resonance to and about Los Angeles and California has been selected for the Tax Credit, and I’m excited to bring these stories to the screen,” said Scott Budnick, CEO, 1Community and Producer of Guerrero.
“I’m deeply honored that our film has been selected for the California Tax Credit. Having the opportunity to bring this project to life in Los Angeles means a great deal to me, not only because this city has shaped so much of my creative path, but because it allows us to collaborate with the inimitable crews and craftspeople who make California such a singular home for filmmaking,” said Gina Rodriguez, Director, Guerrero.
Seventeen of the newly approved projects will film in locations outside the 30-mile Los Angeles zone, representing 286 shoot days in areas including Alameda, Contra Costa, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Sonoma counties, as well as Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo and Temecula. According to the state, five independent productions will film entirely outside the Los Angeles zone. Gold Mountain will film 50 days in Sacramento County.
For more information about the tax credit program, visit www.film.ca.gov.
Source: California Governor’s Office
