Bollywood comes to Blacktown? Western Sydney in the mix for Sydney’s new film studio

The hunt for a private partner to build a second major film studio in Sydney has officially begun, with the NSW government resurrecting western Sydney as a potential location for a mega-complex of six new sound stages.

From tomorrow, developers will have eight weeks to pitch for a slice of the Minns government’s $100 million fund, a catalyst designed to kick-start the building of the city’s first new film and television studio in a quarter of a century.

Labor has relaxed geographic requirements for a studio, nominating three Crown land sites near Blacktown – at Bungarribee, Eastern Creek and Prospect – for investors to consider for a “world-class” facility.

The process will effectively test the market and industry interest of a studio in western Sydney – an area of jobs growth near the second airport, due to open in October – some three years after the state arts agency Create NSW first explored and dropped a $1 billion government-led plan for a studio on Crown land near Prospect Reservoir.

But the government appears to have kept its options open, saying it will consider an experienced private partner to build on government and private land more widely in the “Greater Sydney area”.

This is likely to capture private plans for a $259 million studio and entertainment precinct on the Central Coast, a $127 million development at Oran Park in south-west Sydney, as well as in Sydney Olympic Park and North Eveleigh, where industry support has generally coalesced.

In December, the state’s film agency, Screen NSW flagged it would be looking for projects strictly within a 35-kilometre radius of the CBD in line with screen industry calls for the studio to be closer to the city centre and technical crews, talent and existing film infrastructure.

Mad Max director George Miller told the Herald last year the key was finding the right location “that can’t be too far out” from existing infrastructure such as transport, post-production facilities, a back lot, and even places to eat.

NSW Arts Minister John Graham said the new studio should aim to tap into demand from Bollywood, as well as Hollywood, citing massive demand from Indian filmmakers seeking Australia’s visually striking landscapes.

“We know the demand is there, and the need for more studio space is critical,” Graham said. “This call for expressions of interest is the first step in delivering a long-awaited second studio.”

The lack of production facilities in Australia’s screen capital is a handbrake on a sector that NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey estimates is worth more than $1 billion to the state’s economy.

Screen Australia’s latest drama report reveals that Sydney’s crown as Australia’s gateway film city is under threat. Queensland snared 34 per cent of national production spending in 2024–25, doubling its share from the previous year, while NSW slipped to 31 per cent. Queensland’s ascent has been marked by “tent pole” blockbusters such as Godzilla x Kong: Supernova and Voltron, lured to the Gold Coast by generous state incentives.

Create NSW first identified the need to add to the nine studios at Disney’s Moore Park more than four years ago, costing a mega-studio next to Prospect Reservoir which stalled for its near $1 billion cost to taxpayers.

Market soundings last year identified cost and land availability in Sydney as the biggest barrier preventing delivery of a large scale commercial studio.

It unearthed private interest in more centrally located infrastructure. At Redfern, the Distillery Capital consortium – comprising local filmmakers, architects, and a construction giant – has briefed Screen NSW on plans for state-of-the-art sound stages and an associated cultural precinct complementing the next door arts venue Carriageworks.

Similarly, land at Sydney Olympic Park near the Newington Armoury remains a popular contender for the industry, due to its proximity to the city.

These locations are understood to have been included in the expressions of interest process.

To be eligible for the $100 million state contribution, bids must include a minimum of six sound stages, show evidence of capability in operating screen infrastructure, and align with the government’s objective to reclaim NSW’s status as the nation’s screen powerhouse.

A key requirement is proximity to the existing workforce and access to the Sydney CBD. The $100 million capital contribution will be the limit of government support.

The exact locations of the three western Sydney sites have not been publicly disclosed.

While not nominating a preferred site, Emile Sherman, founder of See-Saw Productions (The King’s Speech, Slow Horses), noted that the chronic lack of infrastructure has made shooting in NSW increasingly difficult, forcing the state to turn away international blockbusters and high-end local productions.

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