Film funding battle 2: Waikato Screen gains another backer amid unknown future

Thursday, 25 June 2026

Actor Jack Black greets fans in Thames as the town doubled as Chuglass, Idaho during filming for The Minecraft Movie sequel recently.

Waikato Screen is meeting success in scraping up funding for the next 12 months from smaller councils, but the region’s biggest city is not committing to a sequel just yet.

Matamata-Piako District Council confirmed on Wednesday it would provide additional funding for the regional office, following Hauraki District Council’s decision to also provide the full amount asked for.

The regional film office sought 38%, or $97,000 of its required $400,000 from Hamilton City Council, howeverthe council told the Waikato Times there’s no room in the budget to provide Waikato Screen with more funding.

There’s no room for Waikato Screen in the budget, city council’s strategy, growth and planning general manager Blair Bowcott says.

“Any decisions about funding for Waikato Screens will need to be made through the 2027-2037 Long-Term Plan process, alongside all other matters and priorities of Council,” council’s general manager of strategy, growth and planning Blair Bowcott said.

“Council has not done any independent review of the film industry’s economic impact.”

Matamata-Piako District Council mayor Ash Tanner said the investment provides an “opportunity for our district”.

It undermines Matamata-Piako councillors’ unanimous vote to grant Waikato Screen their requested $37,600 amount on Wednesday, equating to an 8% share.

The decision came with the stipulation neighbouring councils chip in their share, and Waikato Screen has to provide updates of operations to council every six months. Matamata-Piako Mayor Ash Tanner however is confident the investment, if made, will reap rewards for the local economy.

Waikato Screen’s attractions and facilitations manager Erin Griffith likened the economic impact on local town’s as “an instant release”.

“Things are tough out there but I see this as an opportunity if we’ve got economic development and it brings some benefits to our communities through businesses. If there’s anything we can do as council to boost that, I believe that’s worth doing.”

Waikato Screen figures showed a 76:1 dollar return on investment to Matamata-Piako. It continues the trend of high returns throughout the region, with Thames-Coromandel receiving 168:1, the Waikato Times previously reported.

A breakdown of Waikato Screen’s proposed council funding.

Waikato Screen’s attractions and facilitations manager Erin Griffith said she’s “extremely happy” with the decision, but now urges big players such as Hamilton City to follow the smaller councils’ example. She said they have “held up” the office with a fraction of the budget.

“We’re a proven model that’s creating economic benefit for our region… it’s kind of crazy that they wouldn’t [invest],” Griffith said.

“We have always superseded our KPI’s and we’ve always brought in a lot more than what was expected so we can’t imagine that trajectory changing. What is required now is full council buy-in to deliver the results we do… we’re sustainable but it’s not just about keeping the lights on, it’s about maximising the opportunity for our area.”

Griffith added Waikato Screen’s budget “is probably one of the smallest with the biggest returns” when compared to other agencies and organisations.

It lead to her questioning why Waikato Regional Council scrapped funding in the first place. She claimed money in the regional development fund left for the now folded Te Waka organisation could have been used - the same approach Matamata-Piako took.

In response, a regional council spokesperson said the fund was dis-established in 2024, on the reasoning that its benefit “was unclear and that regional councils should not provide money for significant projects”.

“With the closure of the RDF, the council advised Waikato Screen it no longer had a funding mechanism to support this request,” the spokesperson added.

“A submission was made by Waikato Screen to the council’s 2024-2034 Long Term Plan, requesting $220,000 plus inflation to be paid in 2026/27 to support its ongoing activities.”