Change of Ownership for Avalon Studios, Wellington

Avalon Studios has been sold and the new owner has taken over the site from 1 March 2023.

For now, it means “business as usual,” Gary Watkins (CEO) and Anita Burnside (Office Manager) remain at Avalon to manage the facility and business for the new owner. The previous owners felt that after 10 years of private ownership of the facility that it was time to review their investment strategies.

Prior to April 2013, the facility was owned by TVNZ; they moved all productions away from Wellington at that time which included moving the Lotto Draw to Auckland. Avalon was therefore deemed surplus to TVNZ requirements and the challenge to rebuild the business by the new owners began. The NZ Racing Board, after 18 months, decided to move their two live racing channels to Auckland also, so the first two years of independent ownership was a difficult period.

Over time Avalon was able to attract some significant key tenants to the premises (Kordia, Parliament TV, Maritime NZ Rescue Centre, and more recently Memnon – digital archiving operation) for the surplus spaces on level one of the studio building. A number of smaller industry-related tenants also moved into Avalon, creating a screen production community, including the Whitireia Film School, Metro Productions, Libertine Pictures, Moments Productions, and many more.

Avalon has continued to attract over the years a run of local film and documentary productions (Savage, Daffodils, Catching the Black Widow, Belief: The Janet Moses Story, One Thousand Ropes, Cousins, Coming Home in the Dark, Low Down Dirty Criminals, and many more) and TV series (Wellington Paranormal, Thunderbirds UK).

Avalon has also serviced some major international productions including A24's X and Pearl films, Mr. Corman, Pete's Dragon, Ghost in the Shell, Avatar, Mortal Engines, Blade Runner 2049, and Frontiersmen.

Avalon Studios certainly is still open for bookings for screen production space but with only limited studio availability for a few months having recently leased some of the workshop and studios (not all) for Tesla car storage and distribution due to the current lack of film production inquiry for the current year. This decision is a prudent move until screen production activity improves. Avalon still has production office space, makeup, wardrobe, and various support rooms and yard space available for hire this year, areas which most local productions predominantly utilize.

Part of the Avalon ethos is to support and help new and existing local screen producers, from short films to commercials and features, often providing resources for free or providing investment. This will continue.

So despite a change of ownership, the facility and business continue to operate and be part of the screen production industry.