Australia

“Cost, cost, cost,” says producer Marc Butan when asked the principal reasons US independent action thriller Empire City was filmed in Melbourne, Australia. “The film business is tough right now. Inflation means costs have risen dramatically, revenue is slowly drifting down, cost is a big deal.”

This “love letter to first responders” stars Gerard Butler and Hayley Atwell as a husband and wife facing a hostage crisis in New York City. He plays a firefighter and former US Navy SEAL; she is in Special Operations with the NYPD. “If we shot entirely in New York, factoring in all costs including flights and accommodation, it would have made a $15m difference,” says Butan of the Michael Matthews-directed film.

Around 85% of the shoot was interiors, spread across three stages at Docklands Studios Melbourne. Stage 6, the newest and biggest, also housed a 19-metre-high section of facade from the skyscraper that saw the most action.

Keeping Melbourne’s trams, or trollies, out of shot was one challenge but (tram-free) Sydney does not have sufficient studio space and crew to meet demand. One of New York’s distinctive fire trucks, shipped to Australia for outdoor sequences, also presented an unusual challenge. Port of Melbourne customs officers voiced concerns about pine needles and cones scattered in the vehicle, despite it having been cleaned ahead of shipping. State agency VicScreen helped clear this hurdle, along with organising road closures and supplementing the federal government’s Location Offset.

Casting was easier than expected, with local actors adopting US accents with ease. “We brought out 15 actors. I thought it would be 30,” says Butan.

The production designer, cinematographer and a VFX person were imports — potential local hires were either unavailable or had not encountered a film of this scale. Costume, casting and stunt personnel were all sourced in Australia. “Distance is a negative,” admits Butan. “In the UK, you feel closer [to the US] — you can fly home for a long weekend. The Australia trip kills me.”

Australia’s rebate covers production and post and is paid out all at once after a film’s completion. Payments are separate under the UK incentives, explains Butan, hence post was conducted in London. “If we had done post in Australia, it would have cost $1m in interest. If Australia broke it up, the odds of staying for post would go up considerably.”

Queensland hosted submarine thriller Subversion and an untitled film about US Navy veteran Mike Thornton, both for Amazon MGM Studios. Spy thriller The Mark also utilised the state.

Sydney welcomed Greyhound 2 for Apple and Legendary Pictures’ Street Fighter. Insidious: The Bleeding World, the sixth in the franchise, chose Melbourne. Local series Two Birds was first through the doors at the new Perth Film Studios.

Most offshore productions opt for Sydney’s Disney Studios, Village Roadshow on Queensland’s Gold Coast or Docklands in Melbourne. A second Sydney film studio is under discussion, with the state government contributing $71m (a$100m) in capital contribution. About a dozen offshore projects, predominantly features, filmed during the six months ending March 2026. There is no shortage of service producers, and state agencies to advise.

“The quality of natural light is exceptional,” says Thomas. “We’ve been able to capture skylines that echo Brooklyn through to cool art deco buildings. There’s also Sydney’s natural backdrop of incredible ocean vistas, rock faces and jungle-type rainforests.” 

Australia is big but the east coast dominates filmmaking. Melbourne and Sydney, each with about 5.5 million people, both have inner-city studios. The third is an hour’s drive south of Queensland’s capital of Brisbane. In all cases, airports with flights to the US can be reached within an hour. Traffic can be heavy but is rarely at a standstill. It costs $140-$200 (a$200-a$300) and two hours or so to fly the 1,400 kilometres from Melbourne in the south to Brisbane in the north, but productions tend to opt for one city and surrounds.

Contact:

Erin Stam, executive vice president of international production, Ausfilm
erin.stam@ausfilm.com