Los Angeles Sees Significant Decline in Film and Television Production

By Daniel Whitaker

staff writer

April 14, 2025

The first quarter of 2025 has brought troubling news for the Los Angeles entertainment industry, with on-location filming dipping across all major categories. Between January and March, the region recorded just 5,295 shoot days, a drop of over 22 percent compared to the same period last year, according to a new report from FilmLA, the nonprofit that oversees film permits in the city and surrounding areas.

Despite the industry moving past last year's strikes, production hasn’t picked up the way many had anticipated. Studio spending cuts and growing competition from other filming destinations have left L.A. struggling to bounce back. In fact, last year marked the lowest level of filming activity tracked by FilmLA since 2017, excluding the pandemic shutdown in 2020.

The most severe drop has come in television production, a key pillar of L.A.’s creative economy. TV shoot days declined by roughly 30 percent from Q1 of last year and have fallen nearly 50 percent when compared to the five-year average. Only 13 TV pilots were shot in Los Angeles during the last quarter, the lowest number ever recorded by FilmLA.

Half-hour comedies were hit especially hard, with just 110 shoot days, a nearly 30 percent decline. These shorter-format shows currently don’t qualify for California’s tax credit program, a limitation that lawmakers are now looking to address.

In response, state legislators have proposed updates to the tax incentive program that would broaden eligibility. Under the new proposals, projects with at least two episodes running 20 minutes or longer, including sitcoms, animation, limited series, and large-scale competition formats could qualify for tax credits, provided they meet a $1 million budget minimum. Reality shows, documentaries, talk shows, and game shows would still be excluded.

These proposed changes come at a critical time. In 2024, total shoot days for television in Los Angeles fell to around 7,700, a more than 58 percent decline from their high in 2021.

Feature films haven’t fared much better. The region recorded only 451 shoot days for movie productions in Q1, which is a drop of nearly 29 percent year-over-year. Soundstage activity has also weakened. A recent FilmLA analysis found that major studios operated at an average occupancy rate of 63 percent last year, down from 69 percent in 2023.

Meanwhile, the recent wildfires in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena created short-term disruptions for some productions and forced evacuations, but their broader impact on regional filming appears to have been limited. The affected areas accounted for just 1.3 percent of all shoot days over the past four years, and 545 permitted locations remain temporarily inaccessible due to fire damage.

“Although the fires caused logistical headaches and displaced several crews, the effect on total filming activity has been relatively contained,” said FilmLA spokesperson Philip Sokoloski.

As L.A. grapples with these ongoing declines, there’s growing urgency to revamp the local production landscape and keep industry jobs from slipping away to other regions.