16 Apr 2016

Big movies to reverse film revenue drop - Commission

10:49 am on 16 April 2016

Several big film productions - including the remake of an iconic New Zealand feature - will help reverse a 55 percent slump in Wellington's production revenue, says The Film Commission.

Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell

Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell Photo: Supplied / Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks

Statistics New Zealand figures released this week revealed the amount of money made in the capital from film revenue fell from $645m in 2014 to $289 million last year.

But Film Commission chief executive Dave Gibson said that was not a sign the industry was in a slump.

He said the country's total revenue from the screen industry last year was up by $66 million to $3.2 billion since 2014.

The yellow mini used in the remake of the classic NZ film Goodbye Pork Pie.

The yellow mini used in the remake of the classic NZ film Goodbye Pork Pie. Photo: RNZ / Michael Cropp

Mr Gibson says plenty of big film projects are under way in Wellington.

"We've got a very, very big film - Ghost In the Shell - shooting here, but also the remake of Goodbye Pork Pie is shooting in Wellington at the moment. So there is certainly plenty of activity in the industry across the country at the moment, so we're not particularly worried."

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Photo: SUPPLIED

Director James Cameron, who now lives in New Zealand, revealed this week that there will now be four Avatar sequels, rather than the previously announced three, saying his crew had "decided to embark on a truly massive cinematic process".