Australia has always been known for its jaw-dropping beauty and diverse landscapes, but its burgeoning film industry is providing a new reason as to why the land down under is garnering international acclaim. Screen Queensland, the official governmental agency dedicated to growing the production industry in the Australian state of Queensland, has been at the forefront of facilitating world-class film and TV projects, and as a result, Queensland has become the country’s centralized film hub, both domestically and internationally.
Screen Queensland operates two soundstage facilities in Brisbane and in their brand-new studio in Cairns. The Brisbane location features two soundstages, totaling 64,582 square feet, offering filmmakers a convenient and flexible studio facility that is ideal for low to mid-range productions. In 2023 alone, the studio hosted acclaimed Australian projects like Boy Swallows Universe and Fear Below, and recently secured the services for the production of the second season of the Amazon Prime series Deadloch, with filming starting later this year.
The Cairns studio, the newest state-of-the-art addition to the Screen Queensland portfolio, officially opened its doors in April 2024 and includes an 11,517 square foot soundstage. The new facility meets the growing demand from both Australian and international productions to film in Queensland and utilizes the stunning locations of tropical Far North Queensland. Productions that have filmed in this beautiful part of the world include Ticket to Paradise and Godzilla x Kong.
Queensland has become the home for several new exciting projects, and there are no signs of the momentum slowing down. Production on Season 2 of the popular show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is underway, and the series is slated to bring in over $115 million to their economy, making it the largest-ever series to be filmed in Queensland. Upcoming productions set to come to Queensland include The Bluff, Balls Up, Eden, and the highly anticipated Mortal Kombat 2.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is just the latest collaboration between Legendary Entertainment and Screen Queensland, following three Godzilla and King Kong films that were produced in Queensland: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla vs. Kong, and Kong: Skull Island.
“Securing Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the fourth production to be made in Queensland by this acclaimed studio, is a testament to our winning combination of talented local screen practitioners, world-class facilities, diverse locations and competitive incentives,” said Jacqui Feeney, CEO of Screen Queensland.
Balls Up is another exciting project that Screen Queensland has in its pipeline. The Amazon MGM Studios and Skydance film starring Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser, follows two American marketing executives who are fired for blowing a client sponsorship opportunity and decide to use their free tickets to a major soccer match.
Brad Carlson, EVP of Physical Production at Skydance, said that several factors were influential in their decision to shoot Balls Up in Queensland.
“With its wide variety of urban and rural locations coupled with a robust incentive program and talented crew base, Queensland was the perfect choice to base our production,” said Mr Carlson.
Other projects from 2024 that were shot in Queensland include Eden, The Bluff, Good Cop/Bad Cop and Australian productions Dangerous Animals, Black Snow, and Rock Island Mysteries.
Highly competitive tax incentives for production and post-production also ensures that Queensland will remain a filming destination of choice for years to come. Thanks to Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy (PAS) and the Australian Government’s Location Offset, the tax rebate for productions that begin principal photography on or after July 1, 2024, has been increased to 30%.
The 2023-2024 financial year yielded very encouraging results for Queensland, as there was a 37.5% year-over-year increase in the number of high-end productions that were secured through the PAS Incentive , which focused on bringing more productions to the state. Local employment opportunities for cast, crew, and creatives rose 28% as well, indicating that the state’s plan to reel in more film productions is indeed providing an economic boost to its own citizens. The ongoing production of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters will certainly add to this figure.
Filmmakers have the luxury of an incredible array of visually striking locations that can double for nearly any environment around the world when shooting a project in Queensland. The white, sandy beaches, tropical rainforests, vast deserts, swamps, green meadows, dry grasslands, and urban cityscapes all provide unique opportunities for filmmakers looking to immerse audiences in diverse settings. The state also sports contemporary and historical architecture that provide the perfect backdrop for productions, allowing filmmakers to bring their creative visions to life without the need to leave the state.
“I chose to shoot in Queensland because I saw firsthand what I’d already heard from friends who had based productions there,” said John Quaintance, Showrunner and Executive Producer of Good Cop/Bad Cop, which filmed in Queensland earlier this year. “The facilities are first class, the talent pool in front of and behind the camera is deep, and everyone I met was welcoming and excited to help us make our show.”
Some of Hollywood’s biggest names have also been vocal about their admiration for what Queensland has to offer. Annette Bening, who starred in Season 1 of Apples Never Fall, which was shot on the Gold Coast of Queensland, said “Australia is heavenly. It’s a beautiful place, and the crews were superb… I loved it.”
Jen Conroy, Executive Producer of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, echoed those same sentiments on why Queensland is such an attractive place to film.
“The incentives, the locations, the great facilities,” Conroy said. “But for me, it’s really the crew—the best in the world, honestly. I’ve shot all over and to be able to come back to this crew that we’ve gone to time and time again, seeing them feels like family you know. But also, they are very, very talented at what they do.”
