CLEVELAND — It closed the streets and brought in big names from Hollywood.
The latest installment of Superman, originally labeled as "Genesis" but quickly decoded, is already on track to be one of the most expensive movie productions of all time, and Ohio saw some of that seep into the economy as filming took place for weeks in Cleveland.
Now that the sets have been taken down, News 5 wanted to take a closer look at the impact of the film's production.
Local businesses talk highlights (and headaches)
Mike Lombardy had a front-row seat. At Dave’s Cosmic Subs, his crew kept busy helping out as Cleveland transformed into the fictional Metropolis.
"There was crew coming every day the entire time they were filming," Lombardy reminisced. "The people in charge of food would come on the spot and say, 'Can you make us as many party trays as possible in the next four hours?'"
Lombardy said some days, Dave’s Cosmic Subs saw a bump in business anywhere from 15-30%, much more than they saw from other large sporting events such as the NFL Draft in 2021 and the NBA All-Star Game in 2022.
"It was better, 100% better," Lombardy said. "We weren’t expecting Superman to pay off, and we were expecting All-Star [events] to, and it ended up being the opposite."
Doug Price, vice president at K&D Group, watched as their buildings morphed into icons such as the fictional newspaper "The Daily Planet."
A back and forth that took months before filming even started.
"Obviously it was great for the city but certainly having different streets closed different days was fun to navigate," Doug Price said. "It's an inconvenience but a good one. It's great to see the city in that spotlight."
"The prep that went into just getting them here in the first place was immense," Aaron Price, director of public relations at K&D Group, added. "It wasn't like we took an exuberant sum from the filming at all. For us, it was more of the opportunity to work with them and have them here in general."
However, some business owners told News 5 off camera they were "happy when it was over,” and they wouldn’t agree to take part in allowing to film at their business again.
One told News 5 that while they were compensated, they also saw a 40% drop in business. Others cited the headaches and confusion that came with all the road closures and days they were forced to close.
RELATED: More road closures announced as Superman movie continues filming in Cleveland
And how much did it cost to close all those roads?
News 5 obtained all 22 permits provided by the City of Cleveland, and the Superman production only paid Cleveland a total of $845 for all of those permits, with some as inexpensive as $20. These permits included closures of the Detroit-Superior Bridge, East 9th Street and several sections surrounding Public Square.
That amount does not include any costs associated with the security of closing roadways, renting the Muni Lot, or other expenses reimbursed by production.
The state of Ohio's Film Tax Credit
Right now, Ohio is one of 38 states that offer a film tax credit. That credit expanded in 2024 from $40 million to $50 million, with an additional $25 million available as part of an infrastructure tax incentive that can be used toward production as well.
"This is a business Ohio should take advantage of," Bill Garvey, president of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, said. "We're seeing growth and look for more to come."
Since the tax credit program's inception in 2009, Garvey said 300 productions have been filmed in Ohio.
Superman is slated for $11 million of that 2024 credit, promising to spend an estimated 201 days of pre-production and shooting in Cleveland and Cincinnati, with more than 3,400 hundred jobs tied to the project —1,148 in Cleveland, Garvey said.
"There's nothing spotting us except for our cap [on the tax credit]," Garvey said. "Everybody is chasing Georgia, the biggest dog in the hunt nowadays."
Data provided to News 5 shows the tax credit has helped fuel more than 25,000 hotel room nights booked in 2024 as part of Superman and other video productions.
At The Buckeye Institute, a conservative think tank, Greg Lawson worries that the film industry will request more and more funding for this tax credit to compete with other states.
"They basically like having states compete with each other on that so that they basically can pay the least amount," Lawson said. "I don't blame them for doing that. But the question then becomes, 'Is that really in Ohio's interest,' because you're going to get into a bidding war with a lot of other states on something that has a relatively marginal impact on the overall state economy. "
The long-term impact of some films shot in Northeast Ohio
When it comes to filming in Northeast Ohio, you can’t ignore memorable locations like the house associated with A Christmas Story and The Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, arguably the biggest local businesses built on success from the big screen.
The Shawshank Redemption was a box office flop but became one of the most revered movies of all time and remains synonymous with Mansfield today, helping attract more than 170,000 visitors annually.
Nowadays, the property that was once up for demolition now hosts historical tours and offers Airbnbs, escape rooms, and a seasonal haunted house.
The property also became popular after it was used for filming for movies such as Air Force One, Judas and the Black Messiah, as well as a music video for Lil Wayne and hosted online phenom Mr. Beast.
As part of the film's 30th anniversary celebration, the state calculated that the movie, over the years, had contributed $200 million in economic impact long before Ohio established its film tax credit program.
"It includes the tour tickets people spend money on, the hotels they stay in, really the whole impact the Shawshank Tour brings," Ashleigh Ramey, program director at the Ohio State Reformatory, said.
Ramey told News 5 that while efforts were underway to try to salvage the property, it was unlikely to survive without the help of the movie's success.
"The prison gets a huge draw from the history buffs, the architecture buffs, and recently, in the last 10 years, dark tourism has become a thing," Ramey added. "The movie played a huge role. Shawshank got us so many people."
So, was it worth it?
"Once they're done shutting down the streets, once the Daily Planet [globe] is no longer hanging, what is the long term legacy that is going to be there," Lawson asked. "It makes you feel good. It's a little bit like a sugar high but it's not something that is sustainable and we have real questions about that."
"There was a giant spotlight on us from around the industry looking at what we were doing in Cleveland," Garvey said.
Superman is slated to hit theaters in summer 2025.
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard, on Facebook Clay LePard News 5 or email him at Clay.LePard@WEWS.com.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
