New Jersey has its sights set on being the next major film production destination—and the momentum is building. Netflix is opening a studio at Fort Monmouth. Lionsgate is anchoring a $125 million facility in Newark’s South Ward. Now, a South Jersey-based filmmaker wants to add another one, this time in Egg Harbor City.
Jonathan Sachar, a Cape May native and film producer, is awaiting final approval to build Atlantic Motion Pictures Studios on an 80-acre former industrial site in Egg Harbor City. The project is currently valued at approximately $123 million and is expected to generate anywhere from 50 to 100 jobs, according to Mayor Lisa Jiampetti, per NJ.com. It’s partially funded by a $1 million state grant. Sachar has not requested a tax abatement.
The site—a former brownfield that has since been overtaken by wilderness—would be converted into a full-scale film and television production complex. About 35 acres of the 80-acre parcel have been designated for the studio as part of the city’s broader redevelopment plan.
The Holdup
Construction has yet to begin. The New Jersey Pinelands Commission, which regulates land use across hundreds of acres of South Jersey forestland, has not issued final approvals—a delay that has forced Egg Harbor City to postpone a vote on the redevelopment agreement with Sachar multiple times.
Local residents have raised concerns about tree clearing and increased traffic. Others are pushing the city to ban data center development at the site in case the studio falls through—a growing theme across South Jersey. City officials describe the project as “very low impact.”
NJ Eyes ‘Hollywood East’ Title
Atlantic Motion Pictures Studios is part of a broader wave of film infrastructure investment across New Jersey, fueled by generous tax incentives introduced under former Gov. Phil Murphy. The state has pumped over $2 billion into its film and television industry since 2018, vying to become “Hollywood East,” as some are calling it.
Not every project has succeeded—ACX1 Studios in Atlantic City filed for bankruptcy earlier this year after three years in business. But the pipeline remains active, and New Jersey’s appeal as a production hub with proximity to New York and strong incentives isn’t going anywhere.
If the Pinelands Commission signs off, South Jersey could be another chapter in New Jersey’s growing efforts to become the next big film production destination.