Los Angeles Film & TV Production plummets in 2025, Despite Incentive Efforts
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Los Angeles’s once-dominant film and television industry faced another challenging year in 2025, with on-location shoot days declining by 16.1% compared to the previous year,according to a newly released report. The 19,694 shoot days recorded represent the lowest total since 2020, signaling a continued struggle to retain production within the city and state.
Runaway Production & Industry Headwinds
The decline in film and television production is attributed to a complex interplay of factors, including the ongoing issue of “runaway production” – projects relocating to states and countries offering more competitive incentives – and also lingering effects from the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruptive 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes. Additionally, budget cuts at major studios have contributed to the downturn.
The impact of this slowdown has been significant, leaving many industry professionals unemployed for extended periods. This prompted a concerted lobbying effort last year to strengthen California’s production incentive program. Lawmakers responded by increasing the annual cap and broadening eligibility criteria, aiming to revitalize the industry and lure productions back to the “Golden State.”
New Incentives Offer a Glimmer of Hope
A key change to the incentive program is the inclusion of productions for 20-minute shows, a move expected to especially benefit TV comedy production in Los Angeles. FilmLA, the nonprofit organization that tracks filming activity in the greater L.A. area, anticipates this will attract new projects.
So far, over 100 film and television projects have been awarded incentives to film in California under the revised program. These include high-profile productions such as a reboot of “Baywatch” and a new installment in the “Jumanji” franchise. In the final quarter of 2025, projects benefiting from these incentives accounted for approximately 13% of all shoot days in the L.A. area.
Notably, several projects have already returned to California after initially filming elsewhere. The action series “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” such as, relocated from New York and Italy to take advantage of the state’s incentives.
Data Lags Behind Policy Changes
However, industry observers caution that the full impact of these incentives won’t be immediately reflected in the data. “While the year-end numbers are disappointing,they are not unexpected,” stated Philip Sokoloski,FilmLA vice president of integrated communications. “Even though our overall numbers remain low, there are dozens of incentivized projects that have yet to begin filming.”
Fourth Quarter Declines Across the Board
On-location production in the fourth quarter of 2025 totaled 4,625 shoot days, a 21.1% decrease compared to the same period in 2024. The steepest declines were observed in the commercials sector, which experienced a 23.2% drop to 586 shoot days. Television production fell by 21.9% to 1,247 days, while feature film shoot days decreased by 19.7% to 473. FilmLA’s “other” category – encompassing student films, documentaries, and music videos – also saw a decline of 20.4% to 2,319 days.
Within the television landscape, pilot filming experienced a particularly sharp downturn, plummeting 62.5% to just 9 days in the fourth quarter of 2025. TV dramas also saw a significant decrease, falling 36.4% to 336 days.Reality TV shoot days were down 9.8% to 698, and TV comedy filming decreased by 6% to 110 days.
Despite the challenging figures, industry stakeholders remain cautiously optimistic that the recent incentive program changes will eventually stem the tide and restore Los Angeles’s position as a leading global production hub-a sentiment echoed by many within the industry.
