Bring us blockbusters: Frontrunners emerge for Sydney’s second film studio

2 months ago 20

The NSW government says it is advancing plans for a second major film studio to bring international film and television blockbusters to the state as new data reveals Queensland has officially overtaken NSW as Australia’s premier screen production hub.

Expressions of interest will open late March to deliver the Minns government’s promised $100 million investment in new sound stages and production facilities.

Market criteria suggest disused railway yards at Redfern owned by Transport NSW and a site at Sydney Olympic Park, near the Armoury, are the likely front-runners for the new-generation Sydney facilities to make new film and television content. The only existing production facility in NSW is Disney Studios at Moore Park.

Site of a new film studio? The industrial Paint Sheds at Eveleigh.

The move comes as Screen Australia’s latest drama report shows Queensland snared 34 per cent of national production spending in 2024-25, doubling its sharing for the previous year, eclipsing NSW (31 per cent), Victoria (27 per cent), and South Australia (3 per cent).

Queensland’s growth has been fuelled by big-budget “tent pole” productions lured to the Gold Coast, including Godzilla x Kong: Supernova and Voltron, and other competitive incentives and infrastructure offered overseas and interstate. NSW auteur Baz Luhrmann established his production company in “Goldiewood” after filming Elvis.

As Queensland thrives, the NSW screen and digital games sector, worth more than $1 billion a year to the NSW economy, has issued stark warnings. Industry leaders claim they can’t get studio time in Moore Park at a critical time when skyrocketing production costs in the US and UK are driving international projects toward Australia.

The shortage of infrastructure was recently highlighted by Amazon’s Spaceballs sequel, due for release in 2027. Unable to secure space at Disney’s 32-acre site, the parody production co-written by Josh Gad shot key studio scenes in a repurposed feight warehouse in Granville.

Wayne Pashley, audio wizard behind Australian blockbusters Mad Max: Fury Road, Elvis and The Great Gatsby applauded the government for committing to do what successive previous governments have failed to do despite repeated industry warnings.

“It is why so many craftspeople and companies are moving north. Frankly there is nothing more urgent for NSW’s screen sector than the construction of soundstages where the industry is actually located. The irony is that we know US studios and producers are desperate to shoot in Sydney, but they can’t for want of soundstages. It’s a deeply frustrating economic own-goal.”

In a Christmas Eve message to the film industry, Screen NSW says recent market soundings and investigations confirmed the urgent need for additional production space, acknowledging reports Sydney is missing out on major international productions due to a lack of available sound stages and production spaces.

The winning partner will be asked to deliver a film studio on government-owned land located within approximately 35 kilometres of the Sydney CBD, with strong connections to major road networks, and “key success factors identified by industry during previous market soundings”.

Submissions will be evaluated against the government’s objectives to strengthen capacity, attract international blockbusters, create local jobs, and ensure NSW remains the nation’s screen powerhouse, with development supported by a co-investment from the $100 million capital fund, it said.

Renders of Sydney Studios, proposed for green space next to Silverwater jail.

The proposed criteria appeared to rule out government investment in separate film studio proposals for the Central Coast and at Oran Park, which lie outside the government’s 35-kilometre preferred zone.

Private consortium Distillery Capital wants to build eight state-of-the-art sound studios, co-located editing suites and rehearsal spaces, community green space and up to 500 affordable inner-city dwellings on disused railway yards at Redfern. The consortium of local filmmakers, architects and a construction giant have presented their informal proposal for North Eveleigh to the government.

University of Sydney vice chancellor Mark Scott sees the Eveleigh plans as a way to finally realise a long-desired bridge linking Australian Technology Park with Carriageworks and its surrounding Tech Central precinct while providing much-needed student accommodation.

The procurement process begins amid leadership change at Screen NSW, following the resignation of head Kyas Hepworth, ahead of the appointment of a new executive director She was the first First Nations woman to lead the agency.