The motion picture industry had an economic impact of nearly $80 million in the Greater Cincinnati area in 2017 and 2018, according to a new study by the University of Cincinnati Economics Center.
The 11 projects shot in the Cincinnati area in 2017 created 361 jobs, with a total economic impact of $49.1 million and earnings of $10.6 million pumped into the region’s economy. It’s the largest yearly economic contribution that Film Cincinnati projects have made in the non-profit’s 30 years of bringing productions to Cincinnati.
In 2018 movie productions added another $30 million to the Cincinnati-area, including 215 added jobs and more than $172,000 in increased income tax revenue to the city of Cincinnati. In the last five years motion pictures have had an economic impact of $141.9 million, with more than $30 million in added earnings and more than 1,000 new jobs, according to the study. The full study can be read here
In addition, Movie Maker magazine lists Cincinnati on its 2019 list of best places to live and work as a moviemaker. “Cincinnati, described as an ‘open-air film set’ in last year’s list, is becoming booked,” the article says. Read the article here
“These reports are indicative of what a major force the motion picture industry has become to our region’s economy,” said Kristen Schlotman, executive director of Film Cincinnati. “This could not have been possible without the wealth of local talent, both on screen and behind the scenes, that we have to offer producers and directors, and the industry is taking notice.”
Cincinnati’s film industry has been aided by the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit Incentive program, amended in 2016 to double the tax credit to $40 million each year to encourage motion picture and television studios to move to Ohio. The program was amended again in 2017 to expand tax credit priority for television series or miniseries.
Among the projects shot in Cincinnati in 2017 and 2018 are Blood Heist and Blood Ride, with Hamilton natives Jay Davis and Vince Jolivette; Gotti, starring John Travolta and directed by Kevin Connolly; Inconceivable, starring Nicolas Cage; My Days of Mercy, starring Ellen Page and Kate Mara; Surviving Compton, the story of R&B artist Michel’le; The Killing of a Sacred Deer, starring Nicole Kidman, which held its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival; The Old Man & the Gun, starring Robert Redford which screened at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF); the public, written by and starring Emilio Estevez, also screening at TIFF; Point Blank, starring Frank Grillo, and Reprisal, with Bruce Willis.