(Bloomberg) — Movie and TV filming in the Los Angeles area declined 6.2% in the second quarter, an improvement from a 22% slump earlier in the year, but still indicative of the challenges California faces in competing for the business with other states and countries.
Television production, the biggest part of the industry, rose 17%, while feature film production was down 21%, the permitting office FilmLA said Tuesday in a statement. TV was buoyed by scripted dramas and reality shows, including Netflix Inc.’s The Lincoln Lawyer and ABC’s American Idol. Production of TV commercials, as measured in days of shooting, fell 15%.
All of the movies shot locally last quarter were independent productions, FilmLA said, which reflects a trend that’s seen the major Hollywood studios “offshore” film shoots to places such as the UK and Australia where tax incentives are higher and the cost of labor cheaper. Shooting abroad became especially attractive on the back of the dollar’s strength in recent years prior to its decline in 2025.
Other trends are at work. A new generation of global streaming services has sought to source more content locally. Entertainment giants have also cut back on spending, leading to dips in production.
To better compete with the rebates offered by other locales, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an expansion of California’s film and TV tax credit program to $750 million annually earlier this month. FilmLA President Paul Audley said in the statement that the organization was “elated” with the news, and that it was grateful that government and industry had joined together “to advocate for a stronger, modernized, and revitalized California where production can thrive once again.”
Production spending in California was $1.42 billion in the second quarter, down 7% from the same period last year, according to a report earlier this month from industry tracker ProdPro.
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