The numbers tell a sobering story. On-location film and television production in Greater Los Angeles dropped 6.2 percent in the second quarter of 2025, marking another chapter in what has become a persistent narrative of production decline in the entertainment capital of the world. But for the first time in months, there’s genuine reason for optimism despite the severe LA film production drop. FilmLA’s latest quarterly report, released yesterday, reveals the complex reality facing California’s signature industry. While overall shoot days fell to 5,394 in Q2 2025 compared to the same period last year, the long-awaited modernization of the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program has finally become reality – and it’s more substantial than many industry observers expected. We already reported about the Q2 numbers from last year exactly a year ago, and they didn’t look great either. The scale of the challenge The production decline isn’t hitting all sectors equally. Feature film production took the hardest blow, generating just 553 shoot days in Q2—a devastating 21.4 percent drop from the previous year. What’s particularly striking is that all feature films shot locally during this period were independent productions, including titles like Animals, I’ll Take the Hamm, and Whalefall. The absence of major studio features speaks to the fundamental economics driving production elsewhere. The amount of shoot days in LA has significantly declined over the last 5 years, but recent incentives slowed the decline. Screenshot from FilmLA’s latest quarterly report. Commercial production fared even worse on a relative...
Published By: CineD - Wednesday, 23 July