How much Los Angeles film and TV production has fallen due to the strike – The Hollywood Reporter

The impact on production caused by the ongoing actors’ strike and recently resolved writers’ strike has become more apparent, with filming in Los Angeles down by nearly half compared to the same period last year.

This decline marks the seventh consecutive quarterly decline in filming numbers, primarily due to an increase in production companies choosing to film in other states with more generous tax credit programs in recent years. This is what is happening. Filming for television programs saw the sharpest decline. The small-scale location filming seen in the area was primarily due to reality TV, with independent titles temporarily exempted from filming during the strike.

FilmLA’s report reflects the entire first quarter of the strike. According to the station, the number of filming days in the three months from July to September was 5,311, which is a decrease of about 41% from the same period last year. FilmLA noted that “contract disputes are not the only reason for the downward trend, as overall location filming in the region has continued to decline since 2021.”

The steepest drop comes as scripted television filming, the busiest filming location in Los Angeles, has been almost completely halted since May. The TV show shot just 2,225 days, down 50% from the second quarter of last year. Overall, this category has declined for three consecutive quarters since the beginning of 2023.

Reality TV filming was a sustaining force in the third quarter, with 2,166 days of filming. Approximately 97 percent of all television filming during the period was for reality series, which accounted for nearly 41 percent of all location filming in the third quarter. This number is down an estimated 23% compared to the same period last year, but is also nearly 22% higher than the five-year average.Includes local TV reality shows basketball wives (VH1), Murder case that actually happened in Los Angeles (oxygen)side hustler (Roku) and vanderpump rules (Bravo).

On the other hand, the TV drama and comedy took a combined 14 days to shoot. These categories are expected to record a portion of last year’s production. No projects or television pilots received tax credits for filming in California.

Feature film production also fell sharply, dropping an estimated 55% in the third quarter. Most of the projects shot in Los Angeles were independent productions, including those granted tentative contracts by SAG-AFTRA.They included Adult Best Friends, Don’t Trip, Eyes in the Tree, From Ashes, Isaac, Lake George, Rose on the Vine, and Who said you can’t go home?

Commercial production continued to decline from the previous quarter, dropping nearly 26% year over year. Although the category was not directly affected by the strike, FilmLA said that “the loss of production to competing jurisdictions is an ongoing concern.” Commercial shoots are down about 43% compared to the five-year quarterly average.

In its analysis of scripted productions, FilmLA found that while Los Angeles remains the nation’s top filming location for scripted content, the region’s growth in gross filming levels is flat from 2021 to 2022. . Meanwhile, other regions such as Georgia and the UK have seen significant growth.

“The changes our industry has experienced over the past few years have been profound,” FilmLA president Paul Audley said in a statement. “At a time when many are predicting a decline in industrial production, this study establishes a baseline for us to understand the challenges ahead.”