A disappointing report from
FilmLA showed the city’s film and television production continuing to decline
despite the state’s expanded film and tax credits. The report showed the number
of production shoot days declined 4.8% from last year’s third quarter and 11.5%
from this year’s second quarter.
According to FilmLA Chief Executive Denise Gutches, “Where the tax
credit applies, it’s working to bring productions back to Los Angeles and put
local crews to work. Still, overall
production remains far below where Los Angeles needs it to be.”
The decline of production in
Los Angeles has been a growing crisis for the region. The number of
“production shoot days”, which is the accepted unit of measurement for tracking
activity, has been declining year-over-year since its peak in 2021. The reasons are multifaceted. One is the correction
that took place in 2022 when financial analysts evaluated
streamers on their profitability over the number of subscribers they had, causing
them to pull back on the number of movie and TV series they produced.
Another major factor has
been the competition with other production centers. U.S. states including New
York,
Georgia,
and New
Jersey and foreign centers in Canada and U.K. have
put in place appealing tax incentives that have drawn productions away from Los
Angeles. California Governor Gavin
Newsom has reacted by championing
new film & tax incentives that passed through the California state
legislature in 2025.
FilmLA’s report indicate that the incentives are having some effect,
with over 40% of productions taking advantage of the incentives. However, they have not stopped a net outflow
of production, causing LA-based production workers to wonder whether their
local industry will ever rebound fully.
