SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio’s Arts & Culture Department and the city’s film commission are celebrating a jump in MovieMaker Magazine’s “Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker.”
The city jumped from 20th to 14th in the top 25 “Big Cities” in the U.S. and Canada category, according to a city news release. This is the eighth year San Antonio has been ranked.
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“San Antonio thrives in filmmaking and livability, with the best incentives in Texas and simply some of the best incentives anywhere,” said Tim Molloy, editor of MovieMaker Magazine.
MovieMaker Magazine compiles its rankings using industry surveys, production spending, tax incentives and personal visits to cities and the local film offices, the release said.
Five other Texas markets fill out the rankings — Fort Worth, Houston, Dallas and Austin rank above the Alamo City. To view the full 25 cities ranked, click here.
San Antonio the ‘most financially competitive destination in Texas’ for film projects
Perhaps the city’s most well-known production to film in town in recent memory was “1923,” a prequel to “Yellowstone.”
“San Antonio’s film industry is gaining momentum, with more productions recognizing the value of our crews, locations, and resources,” said San Antonio Film Commissioner Christine Hill. “With strong incentive support in place and growing industry confidence, the city is well-positioned for continued growth in media production.”
Hill was tapped as the commission’s new leader last March following the departure of former commissioner Kim LeBlanc.
In November, the city pushed through a record expansion to its film incentives package. The updated program offers a 45% rebate package that can be combined with statewide incentives for prospective projects filming in the San Antonio metropolitan area.
The maximum award for any single project is $250,000, subject to available funds, city officials said. The program in San Antonio and state incentives encourage local hires and veterans on a production’s cast and crew.
The base rebate increases from 7.5% to 10% and includes two potential 2% uplifts for meeting local and veteran hire thresholds.
“These enhancements position San Antonio as the most financially competitive destination in Texas for film projects,” Thursday’s news release said.
All eyes on the Lone Star State
San Antonio’s film incentives push was compounded by work at the state level to churn new funding into resources around tax incentives and support.
During the regular session of the 89th Texas Legislature, lawmakers — with the help of some media figures — pushed those incentives through with a new state law increasing funding for the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP).
Senate Bill 22 increases funding for TMIIIP from $200 to $300 million per biennium. Control of the fund will be housed within Governor Greg Abbott’s office, specifically the Music, Film, Television and Multimedia Office.
However, with incentives and funding sources relatively secured, calls for production spaces, both big and small, arise.
Austin Monthly Magazine reports that the area could see “more than a million square feet” of studio space built out over the coming months. At least two studio lot projects are expected in Bastrop.
In San Marcos, Hill Country Studios, a 12-stage production lot, was supposed to break ground in August 2025; however, photos taken by KSAT of the site early last year showed an empty, tree-filled lot.
However, the San Marcos Daily Record newspaper reported in October that the team behind Hill Country Studios expects “to get the ball rolling” in 2026 following the passing of SB 22.
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