Docklands Studios Melbourne

Docklands Studios Melbourne
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Film and television studios complex
Location	Docklands, Victoria, Australia
Completed	2004 (2004)
Owner	State of Victoria
Website
www.dsmelbourne.com

Docklands Studios Melbourne is a major film and television production complex located in Melbourne’s redeveloped Docklands precinct. The site is approximately two kilometres (1.2 mi) from Melbourne’s Central Business District. The complex opened in 2004 and its primary function is to support Victoria's film and television industry and attract international and Australian productions to Melbourne.

It is one of three major studios in Australia, the others being Village Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast and Disney Studios Australia in Sydney. The facility has recently expanded, with completion in early 2022 of a new super stage (Stage 6) that is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.

Background

Aerial perspective of the Docklands: Melbourne Flyer, the District and Docklands film studio

The push for Melbourne to build a major studio complex arose in the late 1990s amid concern that it was "losing some of its media city position to arch-rival Sydney and to the Gold Coast". The strategic objectives were that construction of a major studio complex would represent Melbourne's maturity and global ambitions, develop production capacity to its next stage, and service the needs of the local film and television industry. At the time, Melbourne had a number of smaller facilities with sound stages, but did not have a large state-of-the-art complex.

History

Construction and early years

Construction began in 2003 on a parcel of land provided by the Victorian Government in the Docklands precinct. The studios were a partnership between the Victorian Government and a private consortium, Central City Studio Holdings. The complex opened in April 2004 under the name Melbourne Central City Studios and that year hosted the Australian feature film production, Hating Alison Ashley.

In 2005, the American-backed Ghost Rider became the first international production at the studios and, with a budget of around A$120 million, was the biggest feature film ever to be made in Victoria. However, the number of international productions in the first few years of operation did not live up to expectations, partly because of the fluctuating Australian dollar.

2008 upgrade

In 2008 the private consortium withdrew and the Victorian Government took control of the facility, later financially supporting a A$10 million infrastructure upgrade. Shortly afterwards, the complex changed its name to Docklands Studios Melbourne, formally adopting the name by which the studios were commonly known.

2020s expansion

In October 2019, the Victorian government unveiled plans for construction of a $46 million super stage to enable the studios to host large international productions. The 3,700-square-metre (40,000 sq ft) building was officially opened on 26 March 2022 and was immediately hired for production of Better Man, a biopic about Robbie Williams due for release in late 2024.

In April 2022, it was announced that the studios would host Victoria’s biggest ever screen production, a TV series remake of Fritz Lang’s 1927 Metropolis for NBC Universal’s Universal Studio Group. On June 18, 2023 news site Deadline reported that production of Metropolis had permanently shut down as a result of push costs and uncertainty related to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.

On May 31, 2024 the state government of Victoria announced that a major new feature film from Sony Pictures would be filmed at the studios.

Since April 2022 the CEO of the complex has been film industry executive Antony Tulloch.

Facilities

The studio complex consists of six sound stages with a total area of close to 10,000 m² (110,000 sq ft), various production offices, a workshop divided into bays of different sizes and parking for more than 650 vehicles. The sound stages vary in size from 2,323 to 743 m² (25,000 to 8,000 sq ft). They are hired for production of feature films, drama series and audience-based television programs as well as television commercials, music videos and corporate events.

Productions

Feature films and TV dramas

by year of release or broadcast

• Hating Alison Ashley (2005)
• The Extra (2005)
• Last Man Standing (Seven Network, 2005)
• Charlotte's Web (2006)
• Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006)
• Ghost Rider (2007)
• Chak De! India (2007)
• Storm Warning (2007)
• Satisfaction (2007–2009)
• As the Bell Rings (Disney
• Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
• Knowing (2009)
• The Pacific (miniseries) (2010)
• Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010)
• Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010)
• The Eye of the Storm (2011 – production base only)
• Winners and Losers (2011–2016)
• Killer Elite (2011)
• Jack Irish (2012/2016/2020)
• Crawlspace (2012)
• Patrick (2013)
• INXS: Never Tear Us Apart (2014)
• I, Frankenstein (2014)
• Predestination (2014)
• The Dressmaker (2015)
• Oddball (2015)
• Childhood's End (2015)
• The Menkoff Method (2016)
• Restoration (2016)
• Lion (2016 – production base only)
• The Legend of Ben Hall (2016)
• The Leftovers (2017)
• Berlin Syndrome (2017)
• Guilty (2017)
• Brothers' Nest (2018)
• Winchester (2018)
• Upgrade (2018)
• Bad Mothers (2019)
• The Wheel (2019)
• Choir Girl (2019)
• The Whistleblower (2019)
• Preacher (2019)
• Shantaram (2021)
• Clickbait (2021)
• La Brea (2021–2023)
• The King's Daughter (2022)
• Foe (2022)
• Late Night with the Devil (2023)
• Better Man (2024)
• The Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky (2024)
• The Survivors (2024)

Audience-based and reality TV

Past

• The Rich List (Seven Network, 2007)
• 1 vs. 100 (Nine Network, 2007–2008)
• Hole in the Wall (Nine Network, 2008)
• Project Runway Australia (Foxtel, 2008)
• Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Network 10, 2008–2009)
• Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation (Network 10 and Nine Network, 2009–2012, 2018–2019)
• Beat the Star (Seven Network, 2010)
• Iron Chef Australia (Seven Network, 2010)
• Australia's Got Talent (Seven Network, 2010–2012)
• Ben Elton Live from Planet Earth (Nine Network, 2011)
• The Million Dollar Drop (Nine Network, 2011)
• Millionaire Hot Seat (Nine Network, 2011–2023)
• The AFL Footy Show (Nine Network, 2011–2019)
• Everybody Dance Now (Network 10, 2012)
• SlideShow (Seven Network, 2013)
• MasterChef Australia (Network 10, 2014)
• Q&A, Melbourne episodes (ABC TV, 2016–2017)
• The Big Music Quiz (Seven Network 2016)
• Dancing With the Stars (Network 10, 2020)
• The Masked Singer (Australian season 2) (Network 10, 2020)
• Come Dance with Me (TV series) (CBS, 2022)
• Would I Lie to You? (Network 10, 2022–2023)
• Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe (ABC TV, 2023)
• Taskmaster Australia (Network 10, 2023)
• Blow Up (Australian TV series) (Seven Network, 2023)
• The 1% Club (Seven Network, 2023–present)
• Deal or No Deal (Network 10, 2024–present)
• The Quiz with Balls (Fox, 2024)

Ongoing

• Racing.com

External links

Official website