That's the bit I don't understand. That money they spent on developing the film will get written off against tax whether the film is launched or not. How is it different if they scrap the film?
Normally, that is the case. But the tax code is riddled with special exceptions and carve outs for all kinds of special interests, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was some kind of special tax credit or write off of unrealized profits specifically for the film industry.