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Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Chris McCall

Batgirl earned Glasgow 'significant economic benefit' despite film being canned by studio bosses

The filming of Batgirl earned Glasgow "significant economic benefit" despite the movie being canned by studio bosses, the city council has insisted.

Movie fans were stunned when it was announced Warner Bros had decided to scrap plans to release the thriller - despite having spent £58 million on the project.

Batgirl was the first big-budget Holywood blockbuster to be filmed entirely on location in Glasgow.

It saw several city centre streets closed and traffic rerouted when filming began in late 2021 and carried on through January.

The Glasgow Film Office, set-up in 1997 to sell the city as a location for movies, previously claimed the production helped deliver an economic boost of £42 million to the local economy last year.

Asked by the Record if the city council was still confident of the economic benefit of the project, a spokesman said: "The city received a very significant economic benefit from the filming of this production - and this impact is unaffected by any decision on its release or non-release.

"The reported decision will have no impact on future productions coming to Glasgow as this has nothing do with the filming location, and is purely a company decision.

"We work closely with productions to ensure that filming goes as smoothly as possible while minimising the impact on residents and businesses.

"We look forward to working with productions of all sizes in the future, with the economic boost that they bring to Glasgow."

Members of the public walk around the set of Batgirl in the Trongate area on January 19, 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Batgirl received £150,000 in public cash from Glasgow City Council as an incentive to film in the area.

Screen Scotland previously said that any production given public money was expected to hire locally.

Warner Bros also confirmed that Scoob! Holiday Haunt would be scrapped.

A spokesperson for the studio told the BBC: "The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership's strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max.

"Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance.

"We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future."

The unusual move follows a change in leadership after Warner Bros merged with Discovery in May 2021, with David Zaslav its new CEO.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Zaslav has prioritised cost-cutting measures and refocusing the company on creating theatrical films rather than projects for streaming.

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