Studio Ciudad de la Luz has entered a new phase in 2026, with Disney’s live-action Tangled and the permanent arrival of The Good Films Studios Spain reinforcing the Alicante complex’s standing as a destination for major international productions.
Directed by Michael Gracey and produced by Kristin Burr, Tangled filmed at Ciudad de la Luz from February to October 2026 during a 10-month production period. The shoot used the complex’s stages and exterior spaces, alongside locations across the region of Valencia.
The production has delivered more than €40 million in direct economic impact to Ciudad de la Luz, mobilized over 1,000 professionals and generated 2,500 local contracts. It also helped the studio reach 90 percent occupancy in 2026. The movie, starring Teagan Croft, Milo Manheim and Kathryn Hahn, is scheduled for a theatrical release in 2028.
The project follows the 2010 animated film about Rapunzel joining forces with local outlaw Flynn Rider, which earned nearly $600 million at the worldwide box office.
Gracey said Ciudad de la Luz allowed his team to blend interior and exterior work without an obvious visual break. “There’s an extraordinary level of passion and dedication here,” he said ahead of the American Film Market. “That energy comes across on screen.”
He also praised the area’s crews, locations and proximity to Alicante, which is 15 minutes away. Burr called the complex her “favorite location” and described its stages as among the most spectacular she has encountered. “I’m very demanding when it comes to production design, and I think this is some of the best I’ve seen in my career,” she said.
The wider region offers more than 300 days of sunshine annually, with beaches, mountains, salt flats and protected natural areas among its landscapes. An international airport and hotel capacity exceeding 70,000 beds in the surrounding area add to its logistical appeal.
Ciudad de la Luz’s technical infrastructure is another central part of the pitch. The site has six climate-controlled stages connected in pairs, plus two indoor floodable pits measuring more than three meters deep. Its outdoor water tank spans 100 by 80 meters and includes wave-generation systems, water cannons, slides, seawater pumping and partial fill-and-drain capability.
The 14.8-hectare backlot has a natural horizon as well as power, water and telecommunications. The complex also provides more than 4,000 square meters of workshop space, 7,000 square meters of storage and three production-support buildings containing dressing rooms, hair and makeup facilities, offices and other services. It is currently the only European facility offering indoor, outdoor and aquatic filming on one site.
The studio’s roots date to 2005, when Spanish filmmaker and screenwriter Luis García Berlanga pursued a plan to reindustrialize Spain’s audiovisual sector. Its initial seven-year run produced 63 projects, including J.A. Bayona’s The Impossible and Francis Ford Coppola’s Tetro. Ciudad de la Luz reopened in 2023 with updated facilities and a renewed strategy.
Productions filmed there between 2023 and 2025 included Venom: The Last Dance with Tom Hardy, which generated €35 million and 570 contracts, and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, which used the outdoor water tank. French Netflix projects Nero and Under Paris, Alberto Rodriguez’s Los Tigres and Alejandro Amenabar’s El Cautivo also worked at the complex. El Cautivo had an estimated economic impact of €8 million.
The second major development is The Good Films Studios Spain establishing a permanent base at the site. The venture brings together Miriam Segal, the Spanish government and Canadian-U.S. company Orogen Media, backed by a €19.8 million investment from the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation and private partners. Its long-term plan targets 20 international features over the next decade.
Its first film from Alicante is People of the Book, directed by Michael Haussman and adapted from the novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks. The cast includes Ziad Bakri, Rania Ben Fattoum, Ankido Hussen, Luca Ferrini, Giorgia Sinicorni, Pasquale Esposito and Jose Luis Ferrier. Filming used the outdoor water tank, stages and workshops.
Ciudad de la Luz is also building its workforce through the Film Trades School initiative, developed with the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya. Thousands of students have received training across more than 30 specialisms, including construction, lighting, camera, sound, visual effects, green filming, costume and production.
Financial incentives remain part of the package. Valencia offers a non-repayable grant covering 25 percent of production and post-production spending, with relief capped at €1.5 million per project. Nationally, eligible Spanish productions and co-productions can claim 30 percent on the first €1 million and 25 percent on the remainder, up to €20 million per production. The same rates apply to foreign shoots meeting a minimum €1 million spend in Spain.
ShowBiz Take
Tangled gives Ciudad de la Luz a high-profile demonstration of its ability to accommodate a lengthy, technically demanding production across stages, exterior sets and regional locations. Combined with thousands of local contracts, heavy occupancy and The Good Films Studios Spain’s decade-long commitment, the project marks more than a single major booking: It shows how the Alicante hub is positioning itself for sustained international production.
What Happens Next?
Tangled is set to reach theaters in 2028, while The Good Films Studios Spain will pursue its goal of producing 20 international features from its new Alicante base over the next 10 years.