Tyler Perry Studios Announces $500M Expansion, Adding Six New Soundstages to Atlanta Complex

ATLANTA — Tyler Perry Studios announced Monday a $500 million expansion of its Fort McPherson campus that will add six new soundstages, a state-of-the-art virtual production facility, and a new film school — moves that will make the complex the largest privately owned film and television production facility in the United States.

The expansion, which Perry said he has been planning for three years, will bring the studio's total soundstage count to 18 and its total campus size to more than 350 acres on the former Army base in southwest Atlanta. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025, with the new facilities opening in phases through 2027.

"When I bought Fort McPherson, people thought I was crazy," Perry said at a press conference on the studio lot. "They said a Black man couldn't own something like this. They said Atlanta wasn't a real film city. I think we've answered both of those questions."

The centerpiece of the expansion is a 40,000-square-foot LED volume stage — the largest in the Southeast — that will allow filmmakers to create photorealistic virtual environments without leaving Atlanta. The technology, which has been used on productions including The Mandalorian and several major studio films, is increasingly in demand as productions seek to reduce location shooting costs.

“The expansion also includes a new Tyler Perry School of Film and Television, a tuition-free program that will train 100 students annually from underrepresented ”

The expansion also includes a new Tyler Perry School of Film and Television, a tuition-free program that will train 100 students annually from underrepresented communities in all aspects of film and television production. Perry said the school is the part of the announcement he is most proud of.

"The industry has a pipeline problem," Perry said. "There are not enough people who look like me, who come from where I come from, in positions of creative and technical power. This school is how we fix that."

The announcement was welcomed by Georgia Governor Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Dickens, both of whom credited Perry's studio with helping to establish Georgia as the nation's leading film production state. Georgia's film and television industry generated $4.4 billion in direct spending last year, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

Tyler Perry Studios currently employs approximately 400 full-time workers and supports thousands of additional jobs through productions that use its facilities. The expansion is expected to add 200 permanent positions and support an additional 1,500 production jobs annually.