‘Kong’ brings $70 million to Hawaii

“Kong: Skull Island,” a fantasy adventure film that made its U.S. premiere Thursday night in Hawaii, generated $70.5 million for the state’s economy during the 42 days spent filming on Oahu.

The PG-13 film, which stars Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John Goodman and John C. Reilly, follows a scientific expedition to an uncharted island in the Pacific, with the explorers unaware that they are crossing into the domain of monsters, including Kong. The film, which becomes a war between monster and man, premiered globally Feb. 28 in London and is scheduled for nationwide release today.

“Hawaii’s film and media industries are strong economic drivers for the state,” Luis Salaveria, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said in a statement Thursday. “These type of large-scale creative projects help strengthen our workforce and support local businesses, while providing global awareness of Hawaii as a creative hub in the Pacific.”

On Oahu, filming took place in 2015 and 2016 in Chinatown, Kualoa Ranch and the Ohulehule Forest Conservancy in Waikane Valley. Filming also took place in Vietnam and on Australia’s Gold Coast.

“Kong: Skull Island” was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures and Tencent Pictures and resulted in the hiring of more than 400 workers in Hawaii.

“Our film and television industry directly employs over 2,200 Hawaii residents and pays more than $100 million locally in wages,” Chris Dodd, chairman and chief executive officer of the Motion Picture Association of America, said in a statement. “Thanks to the state’s competitive production incentive program, and of course the gorgeous scenery and landscape, Hawaii has been an outstanding location for major productions like ‘Jurassic World,’ ‘Hawaii Five-0,’ and now the visually impressive ‘Kong: Skull Island.’”

Georja Skinner, head of DBEDT’s Creative Industries Division, which oversees the Hawaii Film Office, called “Kong: Skull Island” “one of our biggest projects for the year.”

“We’re fortunate as many of our productions do really value the quality of our professional crews in the state,” Skinner said in a phone interview. “We appreciate how much the industry brings to Hawaii’s economy.”

During its stay in Hawaii, the three film studios spent more than $8 million on local rentals and purchases for set decoration, production and other supplies; more than $2 million on transportation, including truck and car rentals; nearly $2 million on local catering and other food items for the cast and crew; more than $2 million on hardware and lumber supplies; and nearly $5 million on lodging.

“We are looking at developing more studio space for our industry here in Hawaii so we can keep some of the productions, especially a major production like this, for a long period of time,” Skinner said. “If we had more stage capacity in the state, we could certainly have more business.”