Wellington’s film industry generated $828 million in revenues in the year to April 2012 according to figures from Statistics NZ . This was up 67 per cent on 2011, with films like The Hobbit. Tintin and Rise of the Planet of the Apes doing their bit to pull in the money.
Film New Zealand chief executive Gisella Carr told stuff.co.nz,
“It’s outstanding and it shows how significant Wellington is in the feature film business.
“Often people don’t understand that there are a number of companies sitting out on the peninsula, not just obviously the production company shooting The Hobbit.”
Statistics NZ said Wellington was a leader in digital graphics, animation and effects, which generated $427m in revenues for the region
Carr added,
“We’re seeing a significant dominance of Weta Digital in visual effects and their outstanding global reputation.”
“All the other companies on Miramar are contributing to that; they work both independently and together so it’s multiple companies out on Miramar peninsula and that diversification’s very good for Wellington.”
The number of post-production businesses in Wellington grew from 420 in 2009 to 789 in 2012, helping the film industry to riches that Smaug himself would be proud of.
