Why Toronto’s Film Industry is About to Explode

Toronto’s Film Industry is Exploding

Toronto’s “Hollywood North” is considered one of North America’s largest film and television production centres.

Let’s wrap our head around what this means for our city:

Brings in production development worth upwards of $2.2 billion
Employs well over 30,000 Torontonians
Creates 1,500 productions annually

And to boot, Los Angeles’ MovieMaker Magazine named Toronto the number one “Best Place to Live and Work as a Movie Maker” in 2024.

Pretty Impressive, right? But here’s the kicker: We’re Just Getting Started.

Just Getting Started? Why? What’s Coming?

The Basin Media Hub, as it begins its construction in the Port Lands, will be a $250 million, state-of-the-art media centre.

CreateTO, the city’s agency responsible for developing film production properties, selected The MBS Group and Hapman Capital Partners (HCP) back in 2021 to construct and operate the Basin Media Hub on our city-owned land.

Oh, It Gets Super Cool. Check This Out.

The Project:

Located on 8.9-acre waterfront property in the Port Lands
Complete with 8 sound stages, office and production spaces
Public Promenade along Water’s Edge for the community (that’s us!)
$280 million in economic activity expected
$119 million in net contribution to GDP expected
$32 million in tax revenues expected across multiple levels of government
Creation of 750 on-site jobs and 880 indirect jobs

The Basin Media Hub is currently in the design/review stage, with a guess-timate of a final completion most likely a couple years away.

Adding this additional 500,000 square feet of production space will definitely kick our city’s film industry into high gear as we roll out the red carpet for major global production companies, streaming services and top dog studios, with the City of Toronto a key stakeholder.

Why Does Everyone Want to Film Here, Anyway?

Production companies love filming in Toronto due to these factors that get two thumbs up:

MONEY!

Productions made in Ontario receive an uncapped 21.5% tax break for qualifying production expenditures incurred in this province. The Feds then kick in another 16%. That’s a total tax break of 34.1% to both Canadian and Foreign Owned corps.

Sweet deal.

PRODUCTION SPACE AND SUPPORT

Even without the future Basin Media Hub, Toronto currently has 2 million square feet of studio space.

The City of Toronto’s Film Office helps with scouting locations, local industry connections and permit procedures.

Oh, and We Know Techie Stuff

Toronto is a leader in technology specific to filmmaking, animation and visual effects. Yay, Us!

So Who Are Our Biggest Film Houses?

Let’s get to know our filming neighbours, shall we?

PINEWOOD TORONTO STUDIOS

Head Office: England
Location: 225 Commissioners Street, Port Lands
Formerly known as Filmport
16 Production Stages, 1 Converted Warehouse, 490,000 square feet of production space
Bragging Point: Has one of North America’s largest Mega Stages
Productions/Clients: James Bond, Marvel, Disney, Indiana Jones, Batman

CINESPACE

Head Office: Etobicoke
Locations: 225 Commissioners Street, 777 Kipling Avenue, 30 Booth Avenue, 8 Unwin Avenue (Marine Terminal, under expansion)
29 Production Stages over 3 sites, 1.4 million square feet of production space
Bragging Point: Largest film studio in Toronto
Productions/Clients: Netflix, Marvel, FX, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures

STUDIO CITY TORONTO

Head Office: Toronto
Location: 915 Lakeshore Blvd. East
7 Production Stages, 148,000 square feet of production space
Bragging Point: Home to ‘Jumbo Stage’ at 36,000 square feet and a 55’ ceiling
Productions/Clients: X-Men, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, CBC’s Kim’s Convenience, The Expanse

REVIVAL STUDIOS

Head Office: Toronto
Formerly known as Toronto Film Studios
Location: 629 Eastern Avenue
11 Stages, 240,000 square feet of production space
Bragging Point: Known as a bustling studio and significant player in the industry
Productions/Clients: Suicide Squad, Downsizing, Rocky Horror Picture Show

It’s Been a Historical and Creative Journey

Toronto has come a long way since shooting our first moving picture (with a run time of less than a minute) at the corner of Adelaide and Yonge inside a wax museum shop.

The spotlight is definitely leading us toward a bigger and brighter stage.

And the whole world is watching.