While most of the headlines about SUPERMAN this week have been its blockbuster performance at the box office, a new report from the Motion Picture Association indicates that even before its release, it had already delivered tens of millions of dollars in economic impact.
The MPA report showed that Ohio and Georgia, two states where much of the filming for SUPERMAN took place, had benefited from more than $100 million in “direct spending” into the local economies.
“Direct spending” was calculated based on the amount paid out in local wages to workers involved in production shoots, along with revenue to local businesses such as hotels, car rentals, and catering. The report estimated that Georgia, where 68 days of SUPERMAN’s filming took place, received $82.8 million in increased spending, and Ohio, where 21 days were spent, received $17.5 million.
The MPA report provides further justification for states to offer tax credits for film and television production activity. According to the argument, this reduction in taxes paid by the production companies creates more local economic activity, which increases employment and wages and tax revenue from that activity.
It is meant to counter the contrary argument that the reduction in tax receipts from offering these credits results in net lower revenue to the state, even after all the secondary benefits are taken into account. For now, the tide seems to be flowing in favor of offering these credits, with state governments including California, New York, Texas, and others all passing laws recently to shore up these film & tv tax credits.
