FilmLA, partner film office for the City and County of Los Angeles and other local jurisdictions – issued an update regarding regional
filming activity. In the midst of a global decline in production and intensifying competition for film projects and jobs, on-location production in Greater Los Angeles declined by -22.4 percent from January through March 2025 to 5,295 Shoot Days (SD)* according to FilmLA. All of the major filming categories tracked by FilmLA declined during the period, with Commercials -- down just -2.1 percent to 796 SD -- coming closest to breakeven.
By contrast, Television production fell -30.5 percent to 1,670 SD for the quarter, and Feature Film production fell -28.9 percent to 451 SD. Each drop reflected the impact of global production cutbacks and California’s ongoing loss of work to rival territories.
The wildfires that devastated the Pacific Palisades and Altadena communities had only a small effect on L.A. area filming. A recent FilmLA analysis determined that combined, these areas had hosted 1,405 Shoot Days over the past four years – or roughly 1.3 percent of all regional filming. Approximately 545 unique filming locations fell within the fires’ burn zones. At the order of the City and County, burn areas remain off-limits.
“Loss of filming opportunity in no way compares to the cost of the Eaton and Palisades Fires in terms of loss of life, resident displacement and property damage,” noted FilmLA VP of Integrated Communications Philip Sokoloski. “The fires sent many productions scrambling to reschedule shoots and displaced hundreds of industry workers from their homes. But their impact on local filming levels appears to have been temporary.”
As the largest and hardest-hit segment of L.A.’s film production economy, declines in Television carry wide employment repercussions. Television production peaked in Greater Los Angeles in 2021 at 18,560 annual Shoot Days. With just 7,716 Shoot Days logged in 2024, annual Television production declined by -58.4 percent in just three years.
In the first quarter of 2025, TV Drama production declined again, down -38.9 percent to 440 SD. Of that, 77 SD (or 17.5 percent of all TV Drama activity) came from projects attached to the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program.
Meanwhile, TV Comedy production declined -29.9 percent to 110 SD, and TV Reality declined -26.4 percent to 969 SD. Most TV Comedies are half-hour series, which are currently ineligible for California’s film incentive. This makes them rich targets of opportunity for out-of-state competitors. Unscripted series had been a staple of the LA filming economy during the strikes of 2023. Last year’s reality plunge delivered an
unexpected shock, and made 2024 the second-slowest year for filming in Greater L.A.
With global production in decline, industry stakeholders are focused on Governor Gavin Newsom’s call to expand the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program. FilmLA supports the expansion of California’s film incentive to $750 million or more per year, including proposed changes to make the program more internationally competitive through bills SB630 (Allen) and AB1138 (Zbur / Bryan). FilmLA President Paul Audleytestified in Sacramento in March about the importance of filming to the state.
“The California Production Coalition estimates that the average location shoot adds $670,000 and 1,500 jobs a day to a local economy. And the County of Los Angeles and Beacon Economics report that there are 10,500 entertainment related businesses in the state,” Sokoloski noted. “Numbers like these make it plain: California can’t afford to surrender any more work to its competitors.”
FilmLA’s “Other” category, which aggregates smaller, lower-cost shoots such as Still Photography, Student Films, Documentaries, Music and Industrial Videos and other projects, dropped -20.2 percent (to 2,378 SD) last quarter.