Docklands Studios Melbourne

Docklands Studios Melbourne is a major film and television production complex located in the redeveloped Docklands precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Situated approximately two kilometres (1.2 mi) from Melbourne central business district, the facility opened in 2004 to support Victoria's screen industry and attract both international and domestic productions to Melbourne. It is one of Australia's three major studios, alongside Village Roadshow Studios (Gold Coast) and Disney Studios Australia (Sydney). Docklands Studios Melbourne is a hybrid campus, with a mix of conventional stages, a purpose-built broadcast stage, and two LED Volume stages operated by NantStudios. Background The push for a major studio in Melbourne arose in the late 1990s. At the time, industry leaders expressed concern that the city was "losing some of its media city position to arch-rival Sydney and to the Gold Coast". Establishing a state-of-the-art facility was viewed as a strategic necessity to reflect Melbourne's global ambitions, develop production capacity, and support the needs of the local film and television industry. At the time, Melbourne had a number of smaller facilities with sound stages, but did not have a large state-of-the-art complex. History Construction began in 2003 on government-provided land as a partnership between the Victorian Government and a private consortium. The complex opened in April 2004 under the name Melbourne Central City Studios with the Australian feature film production, Hating Alison Ashley as its first major production. In 2005, the facility hosted its first major international project, Ghost Rider. With a budget of around A$120 million, it was the biggest feature film ever made in Victoria. In 2008, following the withdrawal of the private consortium, the Victorian Government took control of the facility and it was officially renamed Docklands Studios Melbourne. Recent Expansion In October 2019, the Victorian Government announced a $46 million investment to construct a 3,700-square-metre (40,000 sq ft) super stage. Officially opened on 26 March 2022, Stage 6 immediately housed the production of Better Man, a biopic about Robbie Williams released in late 2024. In 2024 and 2025, the studio experienced a period of high activity, hosting several major productions including Netflix’s The Survivors and War Machine, Sony Pictures’ Untitled Tommy Wirkola film and Insidious: Out of the Further, and Peacock's All Her Fault. Smaller productions filmed at the studio in 2024 and 2025 include Together, Saccharine, and Wilderness. Antony Tulloch, a film industry veteran, has served as CEO since 2022. Facilities The studio complex consists of six sound stages with a total area of close to 10,000 m2 (110,000 sq ft), various production offices, a workshop divided into bays of different sizes and parking for more than 650 vehicles. The sound stages vary in size from 743 to 3,700 m2 (8,000 to 39,830 sq ft) and two stages have water pits. They are hired for production of feature films, drama series and audience-based television programs as well as television commercials, music videos and corporate events. Productions Feature films and TV dramas By year of release or broadcast (* denotes production base only) Hating Alison Ashley (2005) The Extra (2005) Last Man Standing (2005) Charlotte's Web (2006) Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006) Ghost Rider (2007) Chak De! India (2007) Storm Warning (2007) Satisfaction (2007–2009) As the Bell Rings (Disney Where the Wild Things Are (2009) Knowing (2009) The Pacific (miniseries) (2010) Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010) Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010) The Eye of the Storm * (2011) Winners and Losers (2011–2016) Killer Elite (2011) Jack Irish (2012/2016/2020) Crawlspace (2012) Patrick (2013) INXS: Never Tear Us Apart (2014) I, Frankenstein (2014) Predestination (2014) The Dressmaker (2015) Oddball (2015) Sucker * (2015) Partisan * (2015) Childhood's End (2015) The Menkoff Method (2016) Restoration (2016) Lion * (2016) The Legend of Ben Hall (2016) The Leftovers S3 (2017) Berlin Syndrome (2017) Ronny Chieng: International Student * (2017) Guilty (2017) Brothers' Nest * (2018) The Cry * (2018) Winchester (2018) Upgrade (2018) Bad Mothers (2019) Judy and Punch (2019) Ride Like a Girl * (2019) The Wheel (2019) Choir Girl (2019) The Whistleblower (2019) True History of the Kelly Gang (2019) Preacher S4 (2019) Relic * (2020) Shantaram (2021) Clickbait (2021) La Brea S1, S2 (2021–2023) The King's Daughter (2022) Foe (2022) Late Night with the Devil (2023) Better Man (2024) Windcatcher (2024) Force of Nature: The Dry 2 * (2024) Together (2025) The Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky (2025) The Survivors (2025) All Her Fault (2025) Saccharine (2026) Thrash (2026) Last Seen (2026) Insidious: Out of the Further (2026) War Machine (2026) Wilderness (tba) Empire City (tba) Play Dead (tba) Stake Out (tba) Hotel Hotel Hotel Hotel (tba) Fog City (tba) Audience-based and reality TV Current The 1% Club (Seven Network, 2023–present) Deal or No Deal (Network 10, 2024–present) Millionaire Hot Seat (Network 10, 2025-present) Ongoing Racing.com Past The Rich List (Seven Network, 2007) 1 vs. 100 (Nine Network, 2007–2008) Hole in the Wall (Nine Network, 2008) Project Runway Australia (Foxtel, 2008) Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Network 10, 2008–2009) Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation (Network 10 and Nine Network, 2009–2012, 2018–2019) Beat the Star (Seven Network, 2010) Iron Chef Australia (Seven Network, 2010) Australia's Got Talent (Seven Network, 2010–2012) Ben Elton Live from Planet Earth (Nine Network, 2011) The Million Dollar Drop (Nine Network, 2011) Millionaire Hot Seat (Nine Network, 2011–2023) The AFL Footy Show (Nine Network, 2011–2019) Everybody Dance Now (Network 10, 2012) SlideShow (Seven Network, 2013) MasterChef Australia (Network 10, 2014) Q&A, Melbourne episodes (ABC TV, 2016–2017) The Big Music Quiz (Seven Network 2016) Dancing With the Stars (Network 10, 2020) The Masked Singer (Australian season 2) (Network 10, 2020) The Weakest Link (2021) Come Dance with Me (TV series) (CBS, 2022) Would I Lie to You? (Network 10, 2022–2023) Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe (ABC TV, 2023) Taskmaster Australia (Network 10, 2023) Blow Up (Australian TV series) (Seven Network, 2023) The Quiz with Balls (Fox, 2024) References External links Official website