Hollywood of the South: How Atlanta Became a Film Capital

The credit that changed everything

For most of the 20th century, a film crew in Georgia was a rare sight. That changed after the state strengthened its Entertainment Industry Investment Act in May 2008. The updated law gives productions a transferable income tax credit worth 20 percent of what they spend in Georgia, as long as they spend at least $500,000. Add an approved Georgia promotional logo to the credits and the credit climbs by another 10 percent, which is why that little peach shows up at the end of so many movies and shows.

Because it is a credit rather than a capped rebate, there is no annual limit on how much productions can earn. Studios noticed fast. By 2022, film and television productions were spending about $4.4 billion a year in the state across more than 400 projects.

Soundstages built for blockbusters

Big productions need big rooms, and metro Atlanta built them. The headliner is Trilith Studios in Fayetteville, south of the city in Fayette County. It opened in 2013 as Pinewood Atlanta Studios and took the Trilith name in October 2020. Today the campus covers around 700 acres, with 34 soundstages and a 400 acre backlot, making it the largest production facility in Georgia.

For nearly a decade it was home base for Marvel Studios. Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home all worked there, along with series such as WandaVision and Loki. Superman (2025) also filmed at Trilith. City streets became sets too: in 2015 an Atlanta block was dressed as a crowded open-air market for Civil War. Tyler Perry Studios in southwest Atlanta added another 12 stages when it opened in 2019.

Zombies, the Upside Down and the Capitol

Television made the region famous with fans. The Walking Dead ran for 11 seasons from 2010 to 2022 and filmed around Atlanta and the small town of Senoia, whose downtown played the community of Woodbury in season three. Its first season poster, a lone rider heading into an empty city, was framed from the view near the Jackson Street Bridge, now a favorite photo stop.

Stranger Things turned the town of Jackson, southeast of Atlanta, into downtown Hawkins, Indiana, and used a former high school in Stockbridge for school scenes. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and the Mockingjay films also filmed locally, using the Swan House at the Atlanta History Center as President Snow's mansion and the glass elevators of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis as the tributes' quarters.

Hometown talent

Atlanta does not just host stars, it raises them. Chris Tucker was born in Atlanta and grew up in Decatur before Friday and Rush Hour made him famous. Kenan Thompson moved to Atlanta as a baby and became the longest-tenured cast member in Saturday Night Live history. Dakota Fanning was born in nearby Conyers.

Donald Glover, who grew up in Atlanta, brought it all full circle with Atlanta, the FX series he created and starred in from 2016 to 2022. It won him Emmys for acting and directing and showed the world a version of the city only a local could film. Production has cooled since its 2022 peak, but the stages, crews and locations that earned the nickname are still here.

← The 1996 Olympics Legacy in AtlantaTyler Perry Studios: A Hollywood Lot in Southwest Atlanta →