Film and TV production in the Los Angeles area has hit an all-time low, sinking to levels worse than the SAG union strike of 2023. The city has introduces new tax incentives to generate enthusiasm but many in Tinseltown are questioning if the industry will ever recover.
FilmLA, the city and county’s film permitting office, said Tuesday that on-location production in the greater Los Angeles area declined 13.2% from July through September 2025 compared to the same period last year. Once again, this continues a multi-year trend in declining local production.
LA motion picture employment dropped from 142,000 in 2022 to 100,000 by end-2024 – a 30% cut (42,000 jobs gone). Below-the-line crew were hit hardest; 63% earned less in 2024, and 41% are considering an exit. High taxes in LA and California have forced some productions to leave the area, but total US film and TV productions are still in decline no matter where you go in the country. There has been a 28% drop in theatrical releases since 2019 and a 25% drop in scripted TV projects.
The vast majority of film and TV media are shot in the greater Los Angeles area due to proximity to studios, editing facilities, effects houses and actor pools. A drop in Hollywood and LA production indicates are decline in the film industry as a whole. The plunge in activity coincides with the overall drop in box office receipts since 2019.
Profits never recovered after the pandemic shutdowns and this has been used for years by the progressive media as the excuse for Hollywood’s failures. However, by 2023 US markets were wide open along with most foreign markets and the covid scapegoat no longer exists. Adjusted for inflation, theatrical numbers were already in decline after 2015.
Another factor that many analysts don’t take into account is Democrat mismanagement on cities and states, leading to higher costs, higher crime and an underlying malaise that suffocates business. This has been taking place for many years; well before covid.
From 2015 to 2019 audience numbers had already dropped around 10%. Today, audience numbers are at least 30% below 2015 levels. What no one in the business wants to address is the woke takeover and its negative effects on media. The industry’s woke shift has clearly been affecting receipts.
Production companies cite the rise of inflation and higher ticket costs as a ticket killer. This makes more sense than the covid claims, but it does not explain why movies without woke messaging continue to greatly outperform movies that push woke messaging. The solution to Hollywood’s dilemma seems clear: Stop making woke garbage, hire decent writers, and the cash will roll in.
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