Los Angeles maintained its position as a global hub for film and television production last year, even as the overall market shrank, according to a report released Tuesday by FilmLA.
Of the 857 movies and scripted television series released in 2024, 18.3% were filmed in Los Angeles. This is almost unchanged from the 18.5% share in 2023. Its closest competitor is Georgia, where 9.8% of its 2024 releases were filmed.
The UK is increasing its share of the overall market thanks to the proliferation of streaming and cable TV series filmed in the UK. Market share increased from 6.6% to 8.8%.
FilmLA processes location permits around the LA area and is an important source of data on production volumes in Los Angeles. For this report, the agency sought to measure LA’s overall market share by collecting location data from IMDbPro. FilmLA releases a scripted content study since 2022 that found LA accounts for 21.9% of the total market.
This study aims to collect all English-language movies and scripted television productions released by US-based companies. This study doesn’t take into account production budgets or filming time; it simply counts each film.
The total number of such works decreased from 1,040 in 2022 to 990 in 2023 and 857 in 2024. Part of that decline was due to the 2023 actors and writers strike, which halted production for about half the year. But since then, the industry has continued to scale back production as companies rein in their streaming ambitions.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is leading an effort this summer to expand the state’s tax incentives for production from $330 million to $750 million, and the effects should start showing next year.
“Ultimately, this study reveals little that California’s creative community does not already understand on an individual level,” agency spokesman Philip Sokolowski said in a release. “Far fewer film projects are being produced in Los Angeles than in recent years. The expanded options for attracting and retaining film jobs enacted in July of this year are not only good for California’s economy, but are also important safeguards for working families.”
British Columbia and New York have seen significant declines, while Ontario and New Jersey have seen slight increases, according to the report.
In Los Angeles, the number of cable TV series released in 2024 decreased significantly from 26 to 11, but the number of theatrical movies increased from 21 to 25. Streaming series also decreased significantly from 49 to 37, but streaming movies recovered from 17 to 29.
