Angels & Demons, the prequel to Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, may be set mainly in Rome but Ron Howard, the director, is understood to be planning only three weeks of shooting in the Italian capital.

Most filming is instead expected to take place at the Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City, California. Angels & Demons is not alone, with some of Hollywood’s biggest film producers returning to the United States, rejecting once popular low-cost locations such as Eastern Europe and Asia. A weak dollar and soaring euro, coupled with improved tax breaks in some states in the US, have been the main incentives.

The Producers Guild of America, which represents and promotes American film producers, said that the US was thriving as a location for film makers in recent months, luring back producers once won over by low-cost, high-specification studios in developing film markets.

Kathleen Courtney, a member of the guild’s national board of directors, said: “So many film producers are coming back to the US. The dollar has fallen so much and more film producers are choosing the US instead of places such as the Czech Republic. Until very recently, you would get a lot more for your dollar if you used studios abroad but now there is little incentive. It is very good news for the United States.”

Chris Green, a guild spokesman, said that while increased filming was positive news, currency valuations fluctuated and further incentives were required to keep producers in America. There were plenty of factors working against the US in the current economic climate, from a possible actor’s strike in the country to difficult conditions in financial markets. However, Mr Green highlights that the icing on the cake for producers considering a move back to the US is the aggressive incentives on offer from some states.

He said: “New Mexico was one of the first states to offer large tax incentives and Louisiana has also become popular.” Two states east of California and a far cry from the glamour of Hollywood, New Mexico has been successful in its pursuit of film-makers.

The state, home to 22 native American tribes, was recently the setting for a variety of films and television productions such as the quadruple Oscar-winner No Country for Old Men, the box office hit Transformers and the Terminator television adaptation, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

New Mexico offers a 25 per cent tax rebate or no state sales tax and, for those staying in a hotel for longer than 30 days, the lodger’s tax is waived. It is understood that the generous scheme has helped the state’s film revenue to grow from virtually nothing in 2000 to close to half a billion dollars (£253 million) last year. The state has received a further boost from the creation of Albuquerque Studios at Mesa del Sol last year, a 500,000 sq ft (46,451 sq m) space costing $75 million which producers say is constantly in use.

Louisiana has also become a hub for film production in recent times, becoming the chosen location for films including Big Momma’s House 2, The Dukes of Hazzard and Factory Girl.

The state offers productions a 25 per cent tax credit based on in-state production expenditures and an additional 10 per cent on the payroll of local hires. There is also a 15 per cent infrastructure tax credit.

However, not all producers are welcome. There is a minimum spend requirement of $300,000 per production. According to Variety, the US film industry magazine, film spending in Louisiana in the form of wages, profits and sales taxes increased from $7.4 million in 2003 to nearly $342 million last year.

Other states are now planning to get in on the act, with a number considering launching incentive schemes, realising the tourism potential a successful film can bring.

While the weak dollar may be one of the main draws for Hollywood producers at the moment, currencies do fluctuate and it is widely available incentive schemes that will keep them coming.

“We are seeing an increased domestic film landscape throughout the United States, thanks particularly to the incentive schemes, but the weak dollar has also been a huge draw,” Ms Courtney added.

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