Source: Radio New Zealand
An empty studio at Auckland Film Studios in Henderson. PHIL GREGORY
Auckland Council has sold the city’s biggest film studio to a private company.
Dozens of major films, including Minecraft and Predator Badlands, were filmed at the long running Auckland Film Studios.
Auckland’s mayor Wayne Brown confirmed Xytech, an Auckland lighting supplier turned major industry player, had bought the studios for an undisclosed price.
“This is a win for our region’s outstanding screen production industry. Paired with Auckland’s stunning scenery it will increase the appeal of Auckland to a global screen industry,” he said in a statement.
“This is a good move that also delivers for ratepayers. We’ll be handing this over to a seasoned operator, and that’s where it should be.”
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ
The sale, which will be settled on 27 February, came after the central government invested $30 million in the studio to build a pair of new sound stages in 2022.
In a statement, the council said it couldn’t confirm the sale price, but said the government’s $30m contribution would come back to the council to be held in a fund to reinvest in further screen infrastructure.
The terms of the sale would also require the site to remain a film studio for at least 10 years.
Auckland-based Xytech has grown into a major supplier of lighting and other film equipment for productions in the southern hemisphere since its founding in 1997, and opened its own X3 Studios in Wiri in 2020.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
