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Jul. 18—New Mexico continues to pull in some impressive numbers when it comes to the film industry. On Tuesday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that the industry spent more than $794 million in the state from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. "The investments in New Mexico by the film and media industry are delivering higher wages and creating cascading positive economic impacts in communities large and small across the state," Lujan Grisham said in a statement. "Our continued efforts to create a thriving and robust film industry means more money in the pockets of New Mexico families and businesses." The $794 million in direct spending is down from fiscal year 2022, which had a record high of $855.4 million. Over the course of the last three fiscal years, film industry spending in the state is over $2.2 billion. According to the New Mexico Film Office, the state hosted 85 productions in fiscal year 2023, down from 109 total productions in fiscal year 2022. New Mexico-based productions include Nickelodeon's "The Loud House" franchise, Walt Disney Pictures' untitled reimagining of "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day," the upcoming Netflix series "American Primeval" and the feature "Rez Ball," as well as second seasons of Amazon Studio's "Outer Range" and AMC's "Dark Winds." The state also saw "Better Call Saul" end its six-season run. Production for the AMC series had been steady from 2014 through 2022. State-filmed series ABC's "Big Sky: Deadly Trails" and The CW's "Walker: Independence" premiered last fall, but were both canceled in their third and first season, respectively. Data shows that median hourly wages for industry workers was $35.51 in fiscal year 2023, up from $29.36 the prior year. The rural uplift credit, which gives a production an extra 5% in rebates for filming at least 60 miles outside the Albuquerque/Santa Fe corridor, continues to bring productions to every corner of the state. Though in fiscal year 2023, the direct spending for productions receiving the credit is $16.5 million, which is down from the $50 million in fiscal year 2022. The New Mexico Media Academy, located in the Albuquerque Rail Yards, is on track to open in 2025. The academy will also have a satellite campus in Las Cruces. Students at the academy will enter a competitive and growing film and television industry workforce. "We are building our film, television and digital media ecosystem from the ground up, with a particular focus on staying competitive and not just being relevant but leading the way into the next frontier of how content is made," said Amber Dodson, New Mexico Film Office director, in statement. "Our best-in-class incentive, workforce, training programs, and soon, the film academy, are all essential to generating opportunity, access, and prosperity for New Mexican residents and businesses, which are the foundation of our sustainable, thriving industry." New Mexico remains a hotspot for filming as Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces were named to MovieMaker's list of best places to live and work as a filmmaker. Currently, the industry is being impacted globally by the ongoing Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strike.