Why international features such as 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' have chosen to film in Spain

The number of international films shooting in Spain has risen steadily year-on-year, buoyed by an increase to 30% in the national tax rebates for film, TV, documentaries and animations — and higher still in some regions (see sidebar).

The tax rebates were enhanced in 2020 and are part of a package of government-backed measures that were introduced to position Spain as a film-friendly country, attracting international investment and invigorating the local screen sectors.

Indeed, inward investment in the country totalled $1.34bn (€1.3bn) between 2019-22, generating $1.86bn (€1.8bn) in gross value added and a return on investment to the Spanish economy of $9.30 (€9) for every euro invested through the incentives programme, according to research by Olsberg SPI commissioned by Spain Film Com­mission and service provider association Profilm in 2024.

Rich pickings

International features to have filmed recently in Spain include Disney’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which used locations in Asturias; Karim Aïnouz’s Rosebush Pruning for The Match Factory, which shot in Catalonia; Lasse Hallström’s The Map That Leads To You for Amazon MGM Studios, which used several locations in Catalonia, including Barcelona, the medieval village of Besalu and the Costa Brava as well as Navarre; and Renny Harlin’s The Beast for WME Independent, which shot in Madrid and the Canary Islands.

Spain has also hosted the third season of AMC’s The Walking Dead spin-off The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon in several places, including Madrid and the regions of Aragon and Andalusia; the Channel 5 and Paramount miniseries Catch You Later, which shot in Alava in the Basque Country; and Robin Wright’s The Girlfriend, which filmed in Malaga in Andalusia for Prime Video.

The Canary Islands offers a rebate of up to 50% and is particularly busy. Recent shoots include Netflix’s People We Meet On Vacation, UK TV series Nine Bodies In A Mexican Morgue and the Paramount+ series Stags.

Tenerife is hosting the shoot of the German series Alea Aquarius, as well as the ITV series Frauds, and animation projects such as Warner Bros’ The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, while Rodrigo Sorogoyen shot local title The Beloved, with Javier Bardem, on Fuerteventura.

A rise in studio and post-­production facilities is helping to fuel the growth. Ciudad de la Luz Studios in Alicante, on the east coast, has re-opened after being closed for several years and is fully operational. The facility has the largest soundstage in Spain, with six stages that total 11,160 square metres plus an exterior water tank of 8,000m².

California’s MBS Group recently won the tender to manage Ciudad de la Luz for the next five years.

Spain has also invested significantly in virtual stages and state-of-the-art technology. Local VFX studio El Ranchito created the aeroplane crash for Net­flix’s Society Of The Snow, combining CGI with the real mountains of the Sierra Nevada in Andalusia.