New Houston film incentive aims to draw big-budget productions
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Houstonians may soon spot more of their city on screen thanks to a new local film incentive program designed to lure major productions.
Why it matters: Houston First, parent organization of the Houston Film Commission, is introducing the most competitive local film incentive in Texas, a move they say could be a game changer for attracting movie and television productions.
How it works: The initiative, years in the making, will offer 10% on local spend with a cap of $100,000 back per qualifying project, with a total of $400,000 allocated annually for productions.
- To qualify, projects must achieve 60% of principal photography within a 60-mile radius of downtown Houston and demonstrate at least $500,000 in local expenditures. At least 55% of the cast and crew must also be Texas residents, and the principal production office must be located in Houston.
What they're saying: "We're excited we have incentives now to compete with other markets around the country. Because production can happen anywhere and Houston is such a diverse city as far as locations…it's a wide swath of land in that 60-mile radius," Alfred Cervantes, the executive director of the Houston Film Commission, tells Axios.
- "You can get a whole bunch of different looks, from piney woods, the beach in Galveston, small towns, rolling hills that producers can take advantage of to tell their story." He adds that Houston has doubled for cities like New York, Miami and St. Louis with a little movie magic.
Follow the money: The program targets big-budget narrative films and television series, an area where Houston has lagged.
- Cervantes says the initiative also functions as a workforce development tool, encouraging productions to hire local crew and vendors.
- "The more locals you hire, the more money you get back, so the goal is for producers to spend as much as possible in the immediate area," he says.
Between the lines: Texas has long lagged behind states like New Mexico and Georgia when it comes to film incentives. Within Texas, Houston has trailed Austin and North Texas in drawing productions. Dallas film incentives have supported shows like "Yellowstone" and "Landman."
State of play: Texas lawmakers recently boosted the state's film incentive to $300 million every two years through 2035. Houston's new program aims to build on that momentum to further entice producers.
Zoom in: The Houston Film Commission helped drive more than $81 million in economic impact last year from projects like the Netflix series "Mo" and the Paramount series "1923."
- "Charliebird," "Do No Harm" and "ICK" were recently filmed in the area.
What's next: Cervantes says three feature films are currently shooting in the greater Houston area, with several more expected in early 2026.
- Houston First Corporation, which receives a share of the city's hotel occupancy tax, anticipates renewing the program annually based on funding and performance.