Hollywood production dips 13% in Q3 despite signs of recovery from new incentive program

The Los Angeles on-location production market continued to contract in Q3 2025, with total shoot days (SD) falling by 13.2% compared to the same period last year, according to FilmLA’s quarterly production report. From July through September, the city recorded 4,380 permitted shoot days across all categories, marking a continued decline from both 2024 and the five-year historical average, which excludes the disrupted 2020 pandemic year.

Television, historically the region’s biggest production driver, was the most impacted category, plunging 20.7% year-over-year to 1,441 shoot days. The drop was largely driven by a steep decline in TV reality programming, which recorded 649 SD — down nearly 42% from Q3 2024 and 66.9% below the five-year average. TV drama production fell 19% to 545 SD, while TV pilots dipped 34.5% to just 19 SD. TV comedy was a rare bright spot, increasing 41.1% year-over-year to 79 SD, though still trailing historical averages by 73.7%.

Feature film activity provided a counterweight to the overall downtrend. The category grew by 9.7% year-over-year to 522 shoot days in Q3, boosted in part by incentive-backed projects. Notable independent films in production included “Animals,” “Misty Green,” “The Musical,” “The Seekers,” and “You Can’t Be Happy.” Approximately 22% of all feature film activity was linked to California’s newly enhanced Film & Television Tax Credit program, which was recently expanded through legislation AB 1138.

Commercial production declined 17.9% to 668 SD and remains unsupported by California’s incentive framework. National brands like McDonald’s, Walmart, BMW, Lululemon, American Express, and Spotify were among those filming ads in the region during the quarter. The “other” category — which includes music videos, student films, short-form content, and documentaries — fell by 9.9% to 1,749 shoot days.

The results highlight both the continuing pressure on the L.A. production ecosystem and the early signs of potential rebound linked to policy interventions. “We know that it will take a little while for new incentive-backed projects to get underway and be reflected in our data, so we were not surprised to see on-location production continue to slip this summer despite the state’s increased investment,” said FilmLA Vice President Philip Sokoloski. “Fortunately, we’ve already begun to see early signs of these incentives having their desired effect; we’re excited to be taking calls from productions looking to line up their locations and pull permits.”

Of the 22 projects that received awards under the updated California incentive program in Q3, 18 are planned for Greater Los Angeles. These projects have up to 180 days to start production. Sokoloski added, “LA’s creative industry is too important to let go without a fight. As part of our ongoing focus on streamlining and enhancing the on-location filmmaking process, we are convening industry listening sessions and using what we learn to improve our service delivery and recommend actionable process and policy improvements to our valued government partners.”

Despite the quarter’s setbacks, FilmLA remains cautiously optimistic that the combined efforts of industry stakeholders and public sector partners will yield positive momentum heading into 2026. The next quarter’s results will be a critical indicator of whether policy efforts are translating into meaningful production recovery.