Hollywood Comes Home: California Lands 35 New Films, Including Ice Cube’s Last Friday

Hollywood is getting a major new wave of production activity as California moves to bring more movies, jobs and entertainment spending back to the state. On October 7, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that 35 film projects received awards in the latest round of California’s expanded Film and Television Tax Credit Program. The new slate includes 28 independent productions alongside major studio projects, with anticipated direct production spending of $1.08 billion in California. Among the biggest attention-grabbers is Last Friday, the next installment of Ice Cube’s beloved comedy franchise, which is expected to film in Southern California. The announcement also names Lionsgate’s Michael 2 (working title), an untitled Paramount crime thriller, a new Mike Mills film, Leaves of Glass, Pure and American Wolf. For movie fans, the return of recognizable franchises is exciting; for California’s film workforce, the bigger story is that new projects could keep cameras rolling, crews employed and local businesses busy across the state. These are newly awarded projects, however, not 35 films that have already completed production.

The economic projections behind the announcement are substantial. According to the California Film Commission, the 35 productions are expected to generate approximately $635 million in qualified spending, including $423 million in qualified wages, and support 5,453 cast-and-crew jobs. The state also estimates 24,842 background-performer days worked and 1,049 California shooting days, including 457 days outside the Los Angeles-area production zone. That activity can extend well beyond the soundstage: film productions routinely purchase transportation, hotel rooms, catering, construction supplies, wardrobe services, equipment rentals and post-production work. The independent-film share is particularly notable: eight approved independent features have budgets above $10 million and another 20 are budgeted at $10 million or less. That mix suggests the incentives are intended to support both established entertainment companies and smaller filmmakers trying to produce original stories. Still, these figures are forecasts associated with the tax-credit awards, so actual jobs and spending will depend on projects moving forward and meeting their production plans.

The announcement also highlights California’s larger effort to compete for film and television projects that might otherwise be made elsewhere. The expanded tax-credit program is paired with a newer incentive for post-production work and additional protections related to performers’ digital likenesses. The state says that since July 2025, 179 approved projects have been associated with $7.2 billion in projected California production spending, although those totals should not be mistaken for independently audited final expenditures. For independent filmmakers, the opportunity is especially meaningful: local production can make it easier to work with established crews, locations and creative talent without moving an entire project out of state. For audiences, the promise is a combination of familiar Hollywood titles and original films with distinctly California settings and voices. Whether every project ultimately reaches theaters remains to be seen, but the October awards offer a concrete sign that California is actively investing in the future of its entertainment industry—and that the next chapter of Hollywood could be filmed closer to home.