Is New Jersey the New Hollywood?

For decades, when people thought of New Jersey, a few things probably came to mind: diners, the Turnpike, and maybe a certain reality show on the Shore.

But lately we might need to add movie studios to that list.

If you’ve been following along with my newsletters, you might remember I wrote recently about the Lionsgate studio project in Newark & The big Netflix project that broke ground last year in Monmouth county. Those developments alone are enough to raise eyebrows, but it turns out it’s only one piece of a much bigger story unfolding across the state.

All of a sudden, New Jersey is starting to look a little cinematic.

A massive new studio campus called 1888 Studios is being developed in Bayonne, a project that could become one of the largest movie studio complexes in North America when completed. The campus is expected to include more than one million square feet of production space and over twenty sound stages designed for major film and television productions.

And this Netflix project? It’s just a $900 million production hub at Fort Monmouth, transforming the former Army base into a film campus with sound stages, backlots, and production facilities.

So the question is becoming harder to ignore…

Is New Jersey becoming the new Hollywood?!

Maybe not overnight, but the momentum is real.

One of the biggest reasons for the sudden attention is New Jersey’s Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program, which offers studios some of the most competitive incentives in the country. 

In some cases the program can cover up to 40% of production costs for projects filmed here! Since the program was revived in 2018, film and television production spending in New Jersey has surged into the hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

But incentives are only part of the story.

New Jersey also offers something many places can’t replicate. The state has an incredible variety of locations packed into a relatively small area. Within a short drive you can film dense urban streets, quiet suburban neighborhoods, historic downtowns, beaches and boardwalks, forests, farmland, and everything in between. All of it sits just across the river from New York City and its massive creative talent pool.

If the film industry continues expanding here, it could bring more than just celebrity sightings. It means jobs, infrastructure investment, and economic activity flowing into communities across the state.

It will also influence real estate.

When major studios commit to an area long term, it often attracts waves of supporting industries. Production crews, creative professionals, housing demand, restaurants, retail, and new development often follow. The tax credits may attract the cameras, but the ripple effects can reshape entire neighborhoods.

And for homeowners and buyers, that kind of investment can matter. When an area experiences new job creation, business growth, and infrastructure improvements, it often strengthens long term housing demand and local property values.

Will New Jersey replace Hollywood?

Maybe, who knows!

But could we become one of the most important production hubs on the East Coast?

That’s starting to look like a real possibility.

New Jersey may finally be getting its close up.