Following a strong close to 2024 that saw a 6.2% rise in production, there was a significant drop of 22.4% in shooting days for films within the Greater Los Angeles region between January and March 2025, as per FilmLA’s recent data.
A total of 5,295 shooting days were recorded for all filming categories, which represents a decrease of 2.1% in commercial shootings, with a total of 796 shooting days.
The number of shoot days for television decreased by 30.5% to approximately 1,670 days, while the production of feature films reduced to 28.9% or about 451 shoot days.
Despite the destructive L.A. fires that hit Altadena and Pacific Palisades, these incidents had minimal disruption on local film production. According to a study by FilmLA, these specific areas accounted for only about 1.3% of the total regional filming over the last four years, with a total of 1,405 shoot days. Furthermore, approximately 545 different locations used in filming were within the fire’s impact zone. Due to safety regulations issued by both the City and County, these burned areas are currently closed off for production.
Phil Sokoloski, Vice President of Integrated Communications at FilmLA, noted that the loss of filming opportunities pales in comparison to the human toll, displacement, and property damage caused by the Eaton and Palisades Fires. These fires forced numerous productions to rearrange their shoots and left hundreds of industry professionals without homes. However, it seems that the impact on local film production has been short-lived.
The significant decrease in shooting incidents is primarily due to worldwide reductions in production and California’s continuous job losses to competing regions.
Television production in the Greater Los Angeles area hit a high of 18,560 shooting days per year in 2021. However, this figure dropped significantly to only 7,716 shoot days recorded in 2024, marking a steep 58.4% decline over a three-year period.
During the first three months of 2025, there was a further decrease in TV drama production, amounting to a 38.9% drop to approximately 440 filming days. Out of this total, around 77 days (equivalent to about 17.5% of all TV drama-related activities) were attributed to productions associated with the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program. Similarly, TV comedy production dropped by 29.9%, resulting in 110 filming days, and TV reality production decreased by 26.4%, accounting for 969 filming days.
Currently, half-hour TV comedies don’t qualify for California’s film incentives, leaving them vulnerable to competition from productions based outside of the state.
Unscripted series had long been a mainstay of the Los Angeles film industry during the 2023 strikes. However, last year’s sudden decline in reality programming came as an unexpected surprise, resulting in 2024 being one of the slowest years for filming in Greater L.A., second only to some previous year.
As worldwide production decreases, key figures within the industry are concentrating on Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to broaden the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program. FilmLA advocates for increasing California’s film subsidy to $750 million or more annually and making improvements to make it more attractive for international productions through bills SB630 (Allen) and AB1138 (Zbur / Bryan). Paul Audley, president of FilmLA, recently spoke in Sacramento about the significance of filming to California.
Sokoloski stated, “The California Production Coalition approximates that a single location shoot contributes approximately $670,000 and 1,500 jobs daily to the local economy. Furthermore, it’s reported by the County of Los Angeles and Beacon Economics that there are about 10,500 entertainment-related businesses in California. Such figures clearly illustrate that California cannot afford to lose any more work to its competitors.
The number of lower-priced productions like still photography, student films, documentaries, music videos, and industrial projects decreased by approximately 20.2%, dropping to a total of around 2,378 shooting days during the previous quarter.
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2025-04-14 22:18