The American film and television landscape is witnessing a geographic shift in where the cameras are rolling. While the broader domestic industry experienced a cooling period in the first quarter of this year, New Jersey has emerged as a significant outlier, bucking the national trend as film shoots declined in U.S. markets across the board.
According to a quarterly report from production intelligence platform ProdPro, the Garden State saw a 45 percent increase in filming count year-over-year. This surge was accompanied by a 37 percent rise in production spend, contrasting sharply with a national 10 percent decrease in overall filming counts during the same period.
The disparity highlights a growing divide between traditional production hubs and emerging “tax haven” states. While the U.S. Saw a 21 percent drop in feature film production, television activity remained more resilient, increasing by 4 percent. This shift suggests that while the “large screen” appetite may be fluctuating, the demand for episodic content continues to drive regional economic booms.
The Rise of ‘Hollywood East’
Industry insiders have begun referring to New Jersey as “Hollywood East,” a nickname earned through a strategic combination of aggressive tax incentives, a growing pool of available crew, and a massive expansion of physical infrastructure. The state is currently positioning itself not just as a backdrop for New York City exteriors, but as a primary production destination in its own right.
The growth is being fueled by a wave of massive studio investments that are still in the pipeline. Netflix is currently investing $1 billion to establish an East Coast base, which will include 12 soundstages at the former site of Fort Monmouth. Similarly, Paramount has secured a 10-year lease for 85,000 square feet at the 1888 Studios in Bayonne, and Lionsgate has signed on as the anchor tenant for Great Point Studios in Newark.
These infrastructure plays are already attracting high-profile projects. Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi feature Disclosure Day, a Universal summer tentpole scheduled for a June release, filmed in the state. Amazon MGM’s biopic I Play Rocky—timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the original film—utilized New Jersey locations. Toby Emmerich, a producer on the project, noted that while the film would typically have been shot in New York or Pennsylvania, the decision to move to New Jersey was driven by the state’s superior tax deals.
Traditional Hubs and the Incentive War
Despite the rise of New Jersey, California remains the dominant force in the industry. The state maintained the top spot with $1.48 billion in production spend, a slight 2 percent increase over the previous year. However, the volume of shoots in California fell by 14 percent, suggesting that while fewer projects are filming, the ones that remain are higher-budget “tentpole” productions.
California’s resilience is partly due to a policy shift by Governor Gavin Newsom, who signed legislation doubling the state’s annual tax incentive to $750 million. This move was designed to stem the “runaway production” trend and encourage studios to maintain their stories centered on California locations. Current high-profile projects benefiting from these breaks include a Snoop Dogg biopic in Los Angeles, a Baywatch revival at Venice Beach, and an Ang Lee-directed Gold Rush film near Sacramento.
New York, the traditional second-place rival, mirrored California’s volume decline with a 14 percent drop in shoot counts, while its total production spend remained essentially flat. This stagnation in the two largest hubs has created a vacuum that states like New Jersey and Illinois are attempting to fill.
The Mid-West and Southern Shift
Illinois has also seen steady growth, bolstered by a strong contingent of “staple” productions including FX’s The Bear and three NBC Chicago procedurals. In March, the state reported that its full-year film production expenditure reached $703 million in 2025, up significantly from $560 million in 2019.
Conversely, regions that were once seen as the “new frontiers” of production are now feeling the pinch. Georgia and New Mexico both saw notable declines in both spend and shoot counts to start 2026. Victor Coleman, CEO of Hudson Pacific and owner of Netflix-occupied Sunset Studios, suggested that production is beginning to flow back toward traditional hubs as some emerging markets turn into “depressed.”
| State/Market | Shoot Count Trend | Spend Trend | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | +45% | +37% | Tax Incentives & New Studios |
| California | -14% | +2% | Increased Tax Credits ($750M) |
| New York | -14% | Flat | Traditional Hub Stability |
| Georgia/NM | Declining | Declining | Market Correction/Return to Hubs |
What This Means for the Industry
The current volatility in location filming reflects a broader industry correction. The 21 percent drop in feature film production suggests a tightening of belts at major studios, likely a lingering effect of labor disputes and a shift in streaming strategies. However, the 4 percent increase in TV activity indicates that the “episodic” model remains the safest bet for studios and the most reliable engine for state economies.
For crew members and local vendors, the shift toward New Jersey represents a significant opportunity. The “Hollywood East” movement isn’t just about tax breaks; it is about the creation of permanent infrastructure. When a company like Netflix invests $1 billion in soundstages, it creates a localized ecosystem of technicians, caterers, and artisans that makes the state more attractive to future productions regardless of the current tax climate.
The next major indicator of this trend will be the completion of the 1888 Studios in Bayonne and the Great Point Studios in Newark. As these facilities move from construction to active operation, the industry will see whether New Jersey’s current growth is a temporary spike or a permanent realignment of the American production map.
We invite readers to share their thoughts on the shifting geography of film production in the comments below.
