ATLANTA — Entertainment company Lionsgate is backing a $200 million, Douglas County film studio.
Great Point Studios, a media-focused company specializing in film and television infrastructure, announced its deal with Lionsgate Tuesday.
Lionsgate has agreed to be a long-term anchor tenant of the studio complex, which will be known as Lionsgate Studios Atlanta.
Lee Thomas is the deputy commissioner of the Georgia Film Office. She says Georgia is becoming a mecca for film studios.
"In 2010, we had 45,000 square feet of purpose-built soundstages. Now, we have about three million square feet of space," Thomas said.
Thomas says she expects that number to double in the next 18 months.
The complex will be in Douglas County, where some of the location filming was done on Lionsgate's hit franchise "The Hunger Games." It's expected to be up and running later this year.
Thomas compares its potential to Trilith Studios, in Fayette County.
"Back in 2013, that was an empty piece of land with— it was, basically, a wheat field. So, we are excited about what this is going to do for Douglas County and the Douglasville area," Thomas said. "I think it'll be transformative."
The 500,000-square-foot entertainment complex will include 12 large sound stages, office space, and a back lot and parking for 400 cars and 100 trucks, according to a news release. It will sit on 40 acres.
Thomas expects the studio to bring thousands of jobs.
"This facility is going to have restaurants on-site, just like they do at Trilith, but all of the jobs, I mean, those are people that are going to be from the Douglas County area that will be able to work at the facility, take that money, and spread it throughout the economy," Thomas said.
Not only that, Thomas expects that it could bring big business to Georgia.
"The great thing about the film industry is it impacts so many different businesses; from hotels to restaurants, to florists, to caterers, to barbers—you name it," Thomas said.
Great Point Studios is the owner and will operate the media complex. It will offer on-site production services, including equipment, props, set building, restaurants, location catering, cleaning service, and security.
Below are renderings of the complex:
Lionsgate Studios Atlanta | Renderings
Lionsgate Studios Atlanta will be strategically located less than half an hour from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Great Point Studios founder Robert Halmi, a founder of the Hallmark Channel, calls this a natural next step in the evolving industry.
“The state of Georgia has seen a record year in terms of film and television productions. With the rising demand for production facilities, a studio location in Atlanta was an ideal next step for our partnership with Lionsgate as we continue to bring best-in-class production facilities to the East Coast,” Halmi said in a news release.
Georgia now has the second-most film and television production space in the U.S., behind only Los Angeles, according to previous reporting by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.