Estimating Direct Income and the Multiplier Effect of Film Production in Yogyakarta

Abstract

When issuing permits for film production, many provincial officials use the logic of using films to promote their areas as tourist destinations. How, however, do they see the direct economic benefits from these productions? Do they have any idea of how much these benefits amount to, exactly? These questions might not be easy to answer because of the lack of data and relevant research in this topic. Given this dearth of data, this study turns to a qualitative study focusing on producers, and tries to make an estimation of economic income of the locals from film production budget that can be used for further research. The paper concludes an estimation that at least 50–68% of all films' production budget is spent locally. More precisely, films with a budget of more than IDR 10 billion spend approximately 50% of their budget locally; this increases to 58.5% for mid-range film productions and 68% for lower-budget films (with a budget of IDR 5 billion and lower). Moreover, these films have a multiplier effect, that is, they stimulate further spending and other business transactions.