San Francisco Film Shoots Rose 28 Percent in a Year: What Film SF’s New Report Shows

Film and television shoots in San Francisco climbed 28 percent in a year, and the money they spent locally nearly doubled, according to the annual Impact Report from Film SF, the city’s film commission office. The city permitted 309 productions in fiscal year 2025-26, up from 241 the year before, and those productions spent an estimated $32.3 million directly in San Francisco, up 84.6 percent from $17.5 million.

The report came out on September 17, 2026, and Film SF Executive Director Manijeh Fata discussed the results with ABC7 News on October 25. Here is what the numbers show, what changed in the city’s rebate, and which productions used San Francisco as a set.

The numbers from Film SF’s report

• 309 productions permitted, up 28 percent from 241.
• $32.3 million in estimated direct local spending, including hotels, restaurants and local crew.
• 555 shoot days.
• More than 3,600 local crew hires and 5,630 SAG-AFTRA bookings, according to the city’s announcement.
• 4,303 hotel room nights booked in San Francisco by productions.
• $12.50 spent locally for every $1 rebated through the city’s film incentive.

“Our role is to make it as easy and competitive as possible to film here,” Fata said in the city’s announcement. Mayor Daniel Lurie said, “The arts are driving San Francisco’s economic recovery.”

What changed in the city’s film rebate

The city’s incentive, called the Scene in San Francisco Rebate Program, dates to 2006. The Board of Supervisors approved an overhaul unanimously, and Mayor Lurie signed it in February 2026. Under the old version, the program mainly paid back city fees and required a large share of principal photography to happen in San Francisco. The new terms, as laid out in the Impact Report:

• A 10 percent rebate on the first $1 million of qualified San Francisco spending, and 20 percent on spending above $1 million.
• A rebate of 100 percent of eligible city agency fees.
• A cap of $1 million in cash rebate per project.
• A minimum of five days of principal photography in the city.
• Productions can combine it with California’s expanded state film and television tax credit.

Across the 48 productions that have used the program, the report counts $7.64 million in rebates, more than 16,100 local crew and actor hires, $26.3 million in wages paid to local crew and background actors, and $69.2 million spent at San Francisco businesses.

Productions that filmed in San Francisco

The report and the city’s announcement name these recent projects:

• Josephine, directed by Beth de Araújo and starring Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan, filmed in the city with support from the rebate. It won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
• Artificial, directed by Luca Guadagnino, filmed in part at Stable Cafe.
• Mr. Obsolete, filmed at the Asian Art Museum.
• A Man on the Inside, Season 3 (Netflix), which has committed to filming substantially in San Francisco under the new incentive.
• Voicemails for Isabelle (Netflix), directed by Leah McKendrick; Deep Cuts, directed by Sean Durkin; The Steel Harp, directed by Kelly O’Sullivan; and The Invite, directed by Olivia Wilde.
• Live and branded work, including NBC’s Super Bowl coverage from Alcatraz and Treasure Island and a Red Bull skydiving and windsurfing stunt at the Bay Bridge.

Who runs Film SF and how it is paid for

Film SF permits shoots on city property and runs the rebate. Its fiscal 2025-26 budget was $569,310: $400,000 from the city’s hotel tax through Grants for the Arts and $162,900 from permit fees, with no General Fund money for the incentive, plus a carried-forward balance of about $2.6 million. The office has merged with the San Francisco Arts Commission and Grants for the Arts under the city’s arts and culture leadership, and a new fundraising group, the Film SF Alliance, has launched.

Several locations named in the report are public attractions, including the Asian Art Museum and Alcatraz, where ferry service is paused for dock repairs with a reopening expected November 19. Our guide to things to do in San Francisco covers these and other sights.

Sources: City and County of San Francisco announcement, September 17, 2026; Film SF Impact Report, FY 2025-26 (PDF); ABC7 News, October 25, 2026. The mayor’s letter in the report gives the spending total as $32.2 million; this article uses the $32.3 million figure in the report’s data and the city’s announcement.

Photo: Runner1928, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.