On-location filming in Greater Los Angeles continues to decline, though early signs from California’s newly expanded Film & Television Tax Credit Program suggest that recovery could be on the horizon. Can this really offer a turnaround as LA film production declines? FilmLA’s latest quarterly report, released yesterday, paints another challenging picture for California’s production capital, following the prior decline in Q2 2025, which we also reported about. The organization recorded just 4,380 shoot days between July and September 2025, a 13.2% decrease compared to the same period last year. The decline spans most categories, yet there are glimmers of progress as incentive-backed projects begin to ramp up following the passage of Assembly Bill 1138 (Zbur/Bryan) earlier this year. Slight rebound in feature film production compared to the same quarter last year, but commercials took a hard hit. Screenshot from FilmLA Q3 2025 report. Feature films rebound slightly Feature film production was one of the few positive notes of the quarter, climbing 9.7% year-over-year to 522 shoot days. According to FilmLA, about 22% of those projects were tied to the new tax incentives, an early indication that the expanded credits are starting to gain traction. Local productions included independent titles such as Animals, Misty Green, The Musical, The Seekers, and You Can’t Be Happy, all part of a continued trend toward indie-led shoots in the region. This modest rebound follows the steep 21.4% drop in feature activity reported in Q2 2025, when all local productions were independent. The improvement suggests that...
Published By: CineD - Yesterday