Playas de Rosarito will host the first branch of Estudios Churubusco, Mexico’s most famous film production complex, after Baja California’s state government signed a collaboration agreement with the studio on Thursday. The deal brings Estudios Churubusco outside Mexico City for the first time in the institution’s 80-year history, and it plants a federal film presence in a coastal town that already has deep ties to Hollywood production.
Estudios Churubusco Rosarito Builds on Decades of Baja Filmmaking
Estudios Churubusco Azteca, founded in 1945 in the Coyoacán district of Mexico City, has served as the production home for thousands of Mexican and international films. Its soundstages have hosted everything from Golden Age Mexican cinema classics to major Hollywood co-productions. The studio operates under Mexico’s federal culture ministry and functions as both a commercial rental facility and a guardian of the country’s film heritage.
Rosarito’s own filmmaking pedigree dates to the mid-1990s, when 20th Century Fox built Fox Baja Studios on the coastline south of town. That facility’s 17-million-gallon water tank, one of the largest purpose-built filming tanks in the world, was constructed for James Cameron’s 1997 film “Titanic.” The tank and surrounding stages later hosted “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003), “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997 post-production water sequences), and parts of “Deep Blue Sea” (1999).
Fox Baja Studios changed ownership after the Disney-Fox merger in 2019 and was rebranded as Baja Studios. The facility has continued to attract productions, but activity has been uneven. The addition of a federally backed Estudios Churubusco branch could stabilize Rosarito’s identity as a production hub by tying it directly to Mexico’s national film infrastructure.
Cristián Calónico Lucio, the director general of Estudios Churubusco, signed the agreement alongside state and municipal officials. During the ceremony, representatives from Baja California’s tourism and economy ministries presented an architectural proposal for a cinema production forum designed to meet Churubusco’s technical standards. Officials from Rosarito’s culture and economic development departments also participated.
New Federal Film Tax Credit Offers Up to 30% for Productions
The announcement arrives alongside Mexico’s new Federal Film and Audiovisual Law (Ley Federal de Cine y el Audiovisual), which created a tax incentive program offering productions up to a 30% credit on income tax (ISR). The national fund backing this incentive totals 400 million pesos annually (roughly $22 million USD at current exchange rates).
That incentive is designed to compete with aggressive tax credit programs in other countries and in U.S. states like Georgia, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Georgia’s program, for comparison, offers a 20% base credit with a 10% bonus, and it helped turn Atlanta into one of the busiest production centers in North America. Mexico’s new law aims to attract a share of that mobile production spending by combining tax savings with lower labor costs and diverse filming locations.
Rosarito’s geography makes it a natural candidate. The town sits roughly 20 miles south of the San Ysidro border crossing, giving it easy access to Los Angeles talent and equipment. Crew members can commute from San Diego County. Hotel rooms in Rosarito run a fraction of Los Angeles prices, and the Valle de Guadalupe wine region, about 45 minutes east, adds a lifestyle draw that location scouts and producers notice.
Jobs, Hotel Stays, and Restaurant Traffic Could Follow Production Activity
When Fox Baja Studios was operating at peak capacity during the “Titanic” production, the economic impact on Rosarito was substantial. The film employed roughly 1,000 local workers at the studio and generated significant spending at local hotels, restaurants, and supply vendors. Rosarito’s population at the time was around 50,000. The town’s economy had grown dependent enough on the studio that production lulls created visible downturns in the local service sector.
A permanent Estudios Churubusco presence could bring more consistent activity than the boom-and-bust cycle of individual film shoots. Studio branches typically maintain year-round staff, rent stages to multiple productions simultaneously, and attract post-production and equipment rental businesses that cluster around anchor facilities. For Rosarito’s hotels, restaurants, and rental housing market, that steady demand matters more than occasional blockbuster productions.
The new studio could also create skilled jobs for bilingual residents. Film production crews need electricians, carpenters, painters, caterers, drivers, and administrative staff alongside the specialized technical roles. Rosarito’s bilingual workforce, shaped by decades of cross-border commuting, is well positioned for an industry that frequently mixes English and Spanish on set.
No opening date has been confirmed for the Estudios Churubusco Rosarito facility. The signed agreement establishes the legal framework, but construction timelines and funding details remain pending. The next visible milestone will likely be approval of the architectural proposal presented during Thursday’s ceremony. This story was first reported by La Jornada Baja California.