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Abu Dhabi increases rebate to attract more TV and film

Tom Cruise filming a scene in Abu Dhabi's Liwa desert for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, released in 2023 Wam
Tom Cruise filming a scene in Abu Dhabi's Liwa desert for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, released in 2023
  • Rebate to 35% from 30%
  • Covers expenses and services
  • Emirate hosted Star Wars

Abu Dhabi has increased the rebate available to TV and film production companies as regional competition hots up. 

In a bid to entice further production from Hollywood, Bollywood and the Arab world to shoot in the emirate, Abu Dhabi Film Commission (ADFC) announced that from 2025 productions can apply for a 35 percent rebate, up from 30 percent at present.

ADFC said the new cashback rebate will start from 35 percent “but can increase based on a set of criteria” that will be released closer to January 1. 

Abu Dhabi, which first offered the rebate in 2013, has earned a name as a destination for film and TV production both globally and regionally.

The emirate has hosted more than 150 shoots to date, including some of the top-grossing films worldwide, like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Dune and Dune: Part Two and Fast And Furious 7.

ADFC said hosting productions gives a threefold return on the money paid through the rebate scheme. 

“This generates a huge impact on our economy as independently verified research shows that for every dirham paid through the scheme, more than three dirhams flow back into the economy through hosting large-scale productions in the emirate,” said Sameer Al Jaberi, head of the ADFC.

In addition, visiting productions offer learning and training opportunities for local people in the industry. 

Current guidelines require minimum spending requirements of $200,000 for films and $50,000 for TV productions

The current maximum rebate is capped at $5 million for films and $1 million for TV productions.

The rebate covers expenses incurred for goods and services supplied in Abu Dhabi for the production, including catering, equipment rental, set construction, filming costs, extras, travel within Abu Dhabi and post-production services. 

While Abu Dhabi has established itself as a film hub, it faces growing competition in the region from Saudi Arabia, and worldwide from more than 20 countries that offer similar schemes. 

Its closest rival will be Saudi Arabia, which launched its 40 percent rebate production incentive in 2022. 

It has built TV and film production facilities in Neom, where nearly 40 productions of various formats have been shot since it opened two years ago.

AlUla – which doubled for Afghanistan in Gerard Butler’s Kandahar – is also emerging as a popular location for shoots in the kingdom. 

Part of its Vision 2030 plan, Saudi has set a target to produce and shoot 100 international and local films by the end of the decade.