Filming in Los Angeles is bouncing back, though overall production last year finished at historically low levels.
The three-month period from October to December saw gains across most types of production except reality TV, which logged its ninth consecutive quarterly decline compared to previous years, according to the latest report from film permitting office FilmLA on Wednesday. Shooting in L.A. increased roughly six percent versus 2023 to 5,860 shoot days.
The overall bump in shooting, however, came too late to rescue last year from the combined impact of yearslong runaway production fueled by film and TV shows opting to shoot in locations with more generous tax incentives, slower-than-expected strike recovery and industry contraction. Local shooting in 2024 recorded 23,480 shoot days — the second lowest figure observed by FilmLA outside of 2020 when filming was halted amid the pandemic.
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The report doesn’t account for the impact of Los Angeles’ historic wildfires on production, which could further undercut filming in the short term.
In a statement, FilmLA President Paul Audley stressed that many workers in Hollywood, as well as ancillary industries, have been “directly affected by this tragedy” and that “many places beloved by nationwide audiences may never return to the screen.” He added, “As we await signs of continuing business growth in 2025, it is important we recognize that no aspect of life in Greater Los Angeles is unaffected by recent fire events and the heartbreaking loss of lives, homes, businesses and cherished community spaces.”
While most major types of production saw gains last quarter, filming for TV slipped 6.5 percent compared to the previous year. The 1,596 shoot days in the category is just 53 percent of the five-year average.
Most alarming is the ongoing drop in production for reality TV, which saw a roughly 45.7 percent decline versus the same three month period in 2023. It dragged down the entire TV category, which has long been an anchor of production in the region. Shooting for TV dramas, meanwhile, increased over 2023 levels to 528 shoot days, though it still trails its five year average by 36.6 percent.
One bright spot appeared in feature film production, which increased over 82 percent last quarter to 589 shoot days. FilmLA analysts attributed the uptick to independent film activity.
Amid L.A.’s historic slump in filming, a spotlight has been put on California’s film and TV tax incentive program. Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month approved a budget proposal that vastly increases the state’s current cap for tax credits to the entertainment industry from $330 million to $750 million a year. If passed, the subsidy would be the most generous offered by any state except Georgia, which doesn’t have a ceiling on the amount it gives to productions per year.
The success of the program will largely swing on other changes, like broadening the types of expenditures and categories of production that qualify for tax credits and upping the maximum amount a single title can receive in subsidies. California is the only major film hub to bar any portion of above-the-line costs — like salaries for actors, directors and producers — from qualifying for tax credits.
Several of the productions that shoot in L.A. get tax incentives to shoot in California.
