1898
Indian Day School (Thomas A. Edison, Inc.)
Less than a minute long, the first film shot in the territory shows children entering and exiting Isleta Indian School.
Early 1900s
The industry gets its start.
“During the shift from New York to Los Angeles, filmmakers all stopped in Santa Fe or Albuquerque, got off the train, and looked around,” says Paul Andrew Hutton, a historian and historical film consultant. “The landscape is fabulous. So is the culture. That was the beginning of the film industry here.”
1911
Billy the Kid (The General Film Company)
The silent film is the first of 75 about the outlaw. “There are more films about Billy the Kid than on any other historical character,” says Hutton, who has worked on films such as Cowboys and Aliens, The Missing, and Jane Got a Gun. “Most of them get filmed here.”
1929
Redskin (Paramount Famous Lasky Corp.)
While many early movies reinforced Native stereotypes, “certain films, especially those based on novels that use New Mexico as a setting, are quite respectful,” Hutton says, including Laughing Boy, based on Oliver La Farge’s 1929 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel.
1940
The Grapes of Wrath (20th Century Fox)
With Henry Fonda in the leading role, John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize–winning story uses Gallup, Laguna Pueblo, and Santa Rosa as filming locations.
Late 1940s–’50s
The Golden Age of Westerns
Westerns made up one third of all Hollywood films during this time. “New Mexico is perfect for that,” Hutton says. “Landscapes are critical to the Western and to the success of New Mexico as a film location.”
1949
Fast and Furry-ous (Warner Bros.)
The rivalry between Looney Tunes characters Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner plays out against the cartoon landscapes of New Mexico.
1950
Fancy Pants (Paramount Pictures)
In this rom-com that plays off the popularity of Westerns, Bob Hope—an American actor posing as a refined English butler—is hired by Lucille Ball, an heiress in New Mexico. Filming took place in Santa Fe, Lamy, and California.
1954
Salt of the Earth (Independent Productions)
The docudrama tells the story of a miners’ strike in southwest New Mexico. “It’s the ultimate labor film and one of the most important films dealing with race relations,” Hutton says.
1958
The Left Handed Gun (Warner Bros.)
Paul Newman stars as Billy the Kid for the first time on the big screen, after taking the same role for NBC’s Philco Television Playhouse anthology series (1955).
1962
Lonely Are the Brave (Universal Pictures)
Hutton calls the film based on Edward Abbey’s novel The Brave Cowboy (1956) one of the most important films both set and shot in New Mexico.
1988
Young Guns (20th Century Fox)
“The decline of the Western in the seventies led to a decline in New Mexico filmmaking,” Hutton says. “The success of Young Guns helped to bring about the renaissance of filmmaking in New Mexico.”
1989
Lonesome Dove (CBS)
The miniseries based on Larry McMurtry’s 1985 novel built on the Western’s renewed relevance. Production took place at Bonanza Creek Ranch, a privately owned property near Santa Fe, that today offers multiple Western film sets.
1990s
The Civil War (PBS)
“New Mexico has been a huge venue for documentaries, which exploded with Ken Burns’s miniseries,” Hutton says. It claimed 40 awards, including two Emmys and two Grammys.
1991
The Dark Wind (Seven Arts)
The TV movie was the first of Tony Hillerman’s novels to be adapted for the screen. In the 2000s, PBS aired movies based on Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits, and A Thief of Time. AMC’s Dark Winds series continues the New Mexico author’s legacy.
1999–2002
Roswell (The WB, UPN)
The series exemplifies that “the whole science fiction thing plays well in New Mexico,” Hutton says. A reboot of the show, Roswell, New Mexico, returned in 2019 and starred Amber Midthunder.
2003
Film Production Tax Credit goes into effect.
The New Mexico program offers companies a 25–40 percent tax credit with additional credits available for TV series and stand-alone pilots filming at least 60 miles from Santa Fe or Albuquerque, or at one of the state’s qualified production facilities.
2008–2013
Breaking Bad (AMC)
Paired with filmmaker tax incentives, the success of Breaking Bad fueled the growth of the industry statewide and sparked spin-offs Better Call Saul (2015–2022) and El Camino (2019) that further developed the Breaking Bad universe.
2009
Crazy Heart (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Yellowstone regular Ryan Bingham (who was born in Hobbs) won an Academy Award for “The Weary Kind,” which he and T Bone Burnett composed for the soundtrack of this film, both set and shot in
Santa Fe.
2011
Cowboys & Aliens (Universal Pictures)
Aliens and superheroes love landing in New Mexico. “Jon Favreau came here on purpose,” Hutton says of the Cowboys & Aliens director. “He really wanted to make a Western. The only way he could make a huge, big budget Western was to throw in aliens.”
2012
Bless Me Ultima (Arenas Entertainment)
Adapted from Rudolfo Anaya’s 1972 novel, this film was reportedly spurred into production by Christy Walton, the widow of Walmart’s founder.
2012–2017
Longmire (A&E, Netflix)
While many TV series have been set in New Mexico, Longmire was one of the few filmed here. Set in Wyoming, the show was filmed in Las Vegas and Santa Fe.
2018
Netflix purchases Albuquerque Studios.
New Mexico became the company’s first production hub in the United States. Since opening the facility in 2019, Netflix has produced more than a dozen film and TV projects here.
2020
Netflix expands.
The so-called West Coast production facility has four new soundstages, three mills, one production office, two stage support buildings, and two dedicated back-lot areas across 108 acres.
2022
Poker Face (Peacock)
From the desert to the city streets, Albuquerque is recognizable in the TV series that follows a casino worker who can tell when someone is lying.
2025
Eddington (A24)
Filming wrapped on the upcoming Western horror comedy starring Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone. Set in New Mexico and shot in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Truth or Consequences, the production is written and directed by Albuquerque’s Ari Aster.
