Why Woody Allen and Other Big Names Shoot in Madrid and How Spain’s Capital Set a Record

From next week, Woody Allen is scheduled to shoot his latest movie in Madrid. Still untitled, the filmmaker is understood to have agreed that “Madrid” will be part of the title. Also among the conditions for the city’s financial backing of the project is that it must showcase Madrid via a certain percentage of exterior scenes in the film.

Film and series buffs have in recent years spent screen time with the Spanish capital thanks to such series as AMC‘s The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon and Netflix’s Money Heist and spinoff Berlin, with such recent productions as Netflix’s Safe Houses and HBO’s Carlota joining that illustrious company. Among the movies that the city has recently hosted have been 2026 festival circuit favorites, such as Florian Zeller’s Bunker, starring Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Stephen Graham, Paul Dano and Patrick Schwarzenegger, La bola negra (The Black Ball), directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, and Pedro Almodóvar’s Bitter Christmas.

Has Madrid further enhanced its appeal as a production hub over the past year or two with financial incentives or qualitative support programs, or how do you explain the city’s continued success in attracting film and TV productions?

It is not just an impression. Madrid hosted the filming of 71 films and 52 series in 2025, reflecting the strength of an industry built over many years. Its appeal combines outstanding creative and technical talent, experienced production companies, diverse locations and excellent international connectivity. The City Council supports this through close collaboration with the industry and practical assistance from Madrid Film Office, part of the Madrid City Council’s Tourism Area, helping productions find locations, connect with local professionals and navigate filming in the city.

Alongside Spain’s national tax incentives, the City Council’s grants for film production, promotion and distribution had provided nearly €15 million ($17 million) between 2021 and March 2026. This year, we also launched support for the development of series and miniseries. Our commitment is long-term as we want productions to choose Madrid with confidence, generating skilled jobs and opportunities for local businesses while bringing the city’s identity and cultural richness to audiences worldwide.

What do you think is the most overlooked reason for Madrid’s success in attracting film and TV shoots and companies? I feel everyone by now knows about the beauty of the city, its great food and its skilled crews…

Perhaps the most overlooked factor is the confidence Madrid gives producers. Beyond its locations and skilled crews, the city brings together the connections, accommodation, infrastructure and specialist services needed to organize a complex production. This makes Madrid a practical base for projects filming across Spain and gives companies strong foundations for establishing a lasting presence here. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is a very good example of that model.

That confidence also comes from having an experienced industry, a solid ecosystem, including VFX, animation, post-production, and virtual production and a city council committed to supporting it. Through Madrid Film Office, we help producers connect with local expertise and navigate the city. For a producer, knowing where to turn when a challenge arises can be decisive. For Madrid, those relationships help turn individual shoots into sustained investment, skilled employment and opportunities for local talent

What are some of the big films and series that have shot in Madrid in the past year?

Those titles are actually very good examples of the internationalization we are seeing. Florian Zeller’s Bunker, starring Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem alongside Stephen Graham and Paul Dano, filmed in Madrid and London and is a French-Spanish co-production involving Madrid-based MOD Producciones.

Safe Houses also filmed in Madrid in 2026: it is an Apple TV+ international espionage series, starring Ana de Armas and Jennifer Connelly, with a story that itself revolves around events in Madrid. And Carlota, the large-scale historical production from Sony Pictures Television for HBO Max, also filmed in Madrid and elsewhere in Spain, as well as Mexico and Colombia.

This year, Madrid is also receiving the filming of The Interrogator, a spy drama series for Fox, Love Affair, a Korean drama series for Netflix or the sci-fi show Murderbot for Apple TV+.

Those projects sit alongside the international productions we have been tracking over the last year or so, such as Day Drinker, directed by Marc Webb; The Beast, directed by Renny Harlin with Samuel L. Jackson; Ceniza en la boca, directed by Diego Luna; and further seasons of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon and Has Fallen.

What interests us is not simply the number of titles, but the range: Spanish projects, European and Ibero-American co-productions and increasingly ambitious U.S. and U.K. projects are all making use of the same Madrid ecosystem.

The word is out that Woody Allen’s new film will start shooting in Madrid next week and feature the city like a star. What can you share about how important a project that is for Madrid and its infrastructure and about the financial support the city and region provide for it? And is it true that Madrid will be in the film title under the contract with the city?

Woody Allen has a distinctive ability to make cities part of his cinematic legacy. New York, Paris or Rome have become integral to his stories, leaving images that stay with audiences long after the film ends. For Madrid, the opportunity lies in that lasting cultural presence, bringing the city’s character to international audiences while showcasing the talent and professional capacity of our audiovisual industry.

Filming is scheduled to begin on Oct. 5, with Madrid as its principal setting and much of the shoot taking place in locations in the city center. The project is a contemporary comedy produced by Wanda Visión, Gravier Productions Inc. and 3Six9 Studios, and the announced cast includes Alexi Wasser (Messy, Girls), Jemima Kirke (Girls, Sex Education), Peter Vives (El tiempo entre costuras, Velvet), Marton Csokas (El Señor de los Anillos, The Equalizer) and Jakob Oftebro (Kon-Tiki, Hamilton).

As already announced, the City Council is supporting the project through a €1.5 million ($1.7 million) institutional sponsorship aimed at promoting Madrid internationally and the announced plans include “Madrid” in the title. The regional government is also supporting the production; questions about its contribution are best addressed to them. Further creative and production details are for the filmmakers to share. Our focus is on the opportunity this represents for Madrid’s cultural profile and local creative economy.

Are there any key numbers that Madrid has hit in terms of TV and film productions in recent years?

The clearest record is film production. In 2025 alone, the city hosted at least 71 feature films, 52 series and more than 410 medium and large-scale commercials, while the Madrid Film Office provided more than 4,115 specialized assistance services, almost 7 percent more than the previous year. The 71 features are particularly significant because they comfortably surpass the 47 filmed in 2022, which had previously been our highest figure since the Madrid Film Office was established.

But perhaps the numbers I find most revealing are the economic ones. Our recent study with the Universidad Autónoma of Madrid estimates that feature films and series filmed in Madrid generated €1.54 billion ($1.75 billion) in economic output in the city between 2021 and 2024, supporting more than 10,100 full-time-equivalent jobs, generating €883.6 million ($1.0 billion) in gross value added and €367.3 million ($418 million) in tax revenues.

That gives us a much clearer picture of why filming matters and that the industry has a substantial multiplier effect across hospitality, transport, construction, professional services and many other parts of the city’s economy. This enables us to gradually build an increasingly detailed and comprehensive picture of the audiovisual sector’s contribution to the city and the region, incorporating data from the various studies we carry out as part of our strategic focus on the generation and analysis of quantitative data.

How important is Iberseries & Platino Industria for showcasing Madrid as a production and creative hub?

It has been enormously valuable because it allows Madrid to demonstrate something we consider fundamental to our positioning: we are not only a location or a production center, but also a meeting point between Europe and Ibero-America. Iberseries & Platino Industria brings platforms, broadcasters, producers, creators, distributors, buyers, financiers and talent together in Madrid, creating opportunities for co-production, financing and internationalization.

The fifth edition attracted more than 2,700 accredited professionals from 50 countries, half of them international, as well as over 1,500 companies and more than 180 buyers and commissioners from 30 countries.

For the Madrid Film Office, our support has been sustained from the beginning because the event fits perfectly with our wider strategy. We want Madrid to be the place where an Ibero-American creator can meet a European producer, where a Spanish company can find an international partner and where a global platform can discover talent, projects and production capacity. That positioning also connects with our support for initiatives such as ECAM Forum, the Platino Awards or the Film Academy Residencies, among other programs. In that sense, Iberseries & Platino Industria does more than showcase Madrid: by bringing international business and talent here every year, it actually helps build the ecosystem we are promoting.

Is there anything else you would like to highlight?

Our ambition is to ensure that growth in filming creates lasting value for Madrid. That means attracting international productions and co-productions while strengthening local companies and talent. In line with the decentralization strategy of the Madrid City Council’s Tourism Area, which oversees Madrid Film Office, we also want to spread filming activity more widely across Madrid’s 21 districts. Areas such as Usera, Villaverde, Carabanchel and Tetuán offer distinctive settings and new storytelling possibilities, helping extend the economic and cultural benefits of filming to more neighborhoods.

This growth must work for residents too. Our Best Practices Guide for Filming encourages positive coexistence between productions, residents and local businesses. Alongside this, we are developing screen tourism, promoting Madrid’s audiovisual heritage and connecting emerging talent with the industry. Better data will help us assess the sector’s impact and guide our work. Ultimately, we want productions to choose Madrid and companies, professionals and creators to find lasting reasons to stay, return and grow here.