Could Netflix’s takeover of Warner Bros. bring more productions, jobs to New Mexico?

For boom operator and sound mixer Eric Olvera, working in film is a lot like what he imagines it’s like to be a pirate.

“Always jumping on the next bus, the next crew — we’re basically like pirates running around, going in one area, taking it over, filming and then leaving and going to the next area,” Olvera said. “It can be a little bit intense, but I love the pirate life.”

Olvera is one of several thousand New Mexicans who make a living going from one film project to the next. Between April 2024 and March 2025, New Mexico’s film industry directly and indirectly employed 8,418 people and paid full-time New Mexico crew members a median hourly wage of $35.22, according to an economic impact report released by the New Mexico Film Office last year.

The state has received national recognition for the environment it offers filmmakers, with MovieMaker Magazine naming Albuquerque and Santa Fe as the best places to live and work for those in the industry in 2025.

Local industry workers are now wondering what this year will look like as New Mexico continues to reel from a multi-year industry downturn, marked by declining production volume and spending and increased international competition, and how a potential $72 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery by Netflix could shape the future of film and job opportunities in the Land of Enchantment.

Netflix isn’t the only company interested in acquiring Warner Bros., along with its film and television studios.

Paramount also made a bid for the entertainment company, for $77.9 billion, but Warner Bros. directed its shareholders on Wednesday to reject that offer in favor of the Netflix deal, slated to close in late 2026 or summer 2027. Either deal would still be subject to regulatory approval.

If the Netflix deal goes through, it could have implications for New Mexico, with one of Netflix’s major facilities situated in Albuquerque’s Mesa del Sol community, local industry experts say. Asked for comment, a Netflix spokesperson said “it’s too early to get into any specifics.”

But in a public letter addressed to Warner Bros. stockholders, Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said the acquisition would create “more opportunity for the entertainment industry.”

“With Warner Bros.’ studio capabilities, we’ll be able to ramp up our investment in original programming and production in the U.S.,” the CEOs said. “This will mean more and steadier work for crews, post-production teams, creative professionals and on-screen talent.”

Netflix has brought major projects, like “Stranger Things” and “Ransom Canyon,” to New Mexico since acquiring Albuquerque Studios in 2018. The company significantly expanded the facilities, debuting four new soundstages, three mill studios, one production office, two-stage support buildings and two dedicated backlot areas in 2024. The additions grew the facility from 28 acres to 108 acres.

Total spending by Netflix productions in New Mexico since 2019 is upward of $812 million, according to Jey Bernal, outreach program manager for the New Mexico Film Office. These productions collectively employed 4,575 New Mexico residents with an average wage of $34.70 an hour, Bernal said.

“Netflix has been a great partner to us,” said Steve Graham, director of the New Mexico Film Office. “They’ve more than fulfilled their obligations to bring hundreds of millions of dollars worth of productions to the state.”

While the streaming company has brought what Olvera described as “a really important presence” to New Mexico — and despite other major projects like Apple TV’s “Pluribus” being filmed in the state — work remains slow for Olvera and local film-adjacent businesses.

Gary Marsh — owner of Albuquerque’s Production Outfitters, a video production rental and crewing company — said business is down 60% from 2021.

“This is probably one of the longer downturns I’ve experienced,” Marsh said. “I’ve been doing it since (the) late ‘80s, early ‘90s, and we’ve weathered a year, maybe two, but not three.”

Film activity skyrocketed in the two years following 2020 but has since declined significantly across New Mexico and the nation — largely due to a Writers Guild of America strike in 2023 and filmmakers more frequently opting to shoot overseas because of lower production costs.

The latter prompted President Donald Trump to propose a tariff on films made outside the U.S. in May and again in September. The president said the proposed tariffs, which have not been formally decided, would help combat foreign incentive packages from pulling film operations overseas, which he called a threat to national security and a hindrance to Hollywood and local film hubs.

“The film industry has always been cyclic,” Graham said. “We have our booms, our peaks and our troughs. This is a particularly long and heavy reduction in work.”

New Mexico saw a steady decline in productions since hitting a five-year peak of 112 productions in fiscal year 2022, according to the state’s most recent economic impact report. That number dropped to 84 productions in fiscal year 2023, 62 productions in fiscal year 2024 and bumped slightly to 76 productions in fiscal year 2025. Production spending also dropped from $855 million in fiscal year 2022 to $323 million for fiscal year 2025.

Graham, like many others, said he is unsure of how the potential Netflix and Warner Bros. deal will impact New Mexico — but he hopes the state’s industry reaps some benefits.

“What matters most on the ground in New Mexico is how productions translate into jobs and long-term opportunity here,” Graham said.

The film office director said he isn’t qualified to speak on the potential acquisition but that he hopes any boost for Netflix means more film and television work in New Mexico

With an established local crew base, quality infrastructure and a compelling base tax credit of 25%, Graham said he could see the deal opening the door for more Warner Bros. and HBO productions to consider New Mexico.

“So that part of it, I’m very optimistic about,” Graham said.

Albuquerque Film Office Liaison Cyndy McCrossen shared Graham’s outlook, saying that the only potential downside is less industry competition that could result in lower wages for workers.

“Too early to tell,” McCrossen said. “We’re all just going to wait and see.”

IATSE Local 480 New Mexico’s business representative, who goes by the single name of Dooner, said some of the nearly 2,000 film technicians the union represents in the state have also expressed optimism.

As the acquisition saga unfolds, however, Dooner and local workers only adopt more questions and a more conservative take.

“When they start to think about it and consider that Netflix doesn’t just own a studio here and that — as a part of this deal — they’re also getting a gigantic (Warner Bros.) studio facility in Hollywood, then you start to wonder, ‘How much of an impact will it have here?’” Dooner said. “And it brings everyone back to the same answer, which is that we don’t know yet.”

Netflix’s significant investment in its Albuquerque facilities has led Dooner to believe the streaming giant will continue to have a vested interest in keeping the studios busy with as many productions as possible.

“We remain hopeful that they’re going to bring more production here and we encourage them to do that,” Dooner said. “We think this is one of the best places in the country and world to bring a production.”

Ryan Halsey — owner of Albuquerque’s Serious Grippage & Light Co., a lighting and grip equipment provider and concierge-esque resource for all things film — agreed.

“Even though it’s been tough as of late, I think the state’s in good shape,” Halsey said. “It’s the old adage usually in film — that everything’s a roller coaster and it’s feast or famine.”

This “feast or famine” effect is especially strong in a state the size of New Mexico, Halsey said, because it doesn’t take much for the local industry to feel busy or dead. That is partly why Halsey sees a potential Netflix and Warner Bros. deal as a positive.

“If Netflix ended up — with the Warner Bros. acquisition — bringing a show or two extra here that they wouldn’t have done otherwise, that would be massive for our industry,” Halsey said. “That would go a long way.”

Deal or no deal, local film leaders say they expect New Mexico’s film activity to slowly pick up this year, which is all a local film technician — or self-proclaimed pirate — can hope for, Olvera said.

“Everyone wants more work,” Olvera said. “We have a lot of workers available, a good landscape, good light (and) tax incentives. I don’t see any reason why more projects wouldn’t be interested in New Mexico. I have faith.”

Journal staff writer John Miller contributed to this report.

Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.