Shoot days fall to pandemic-era levels as industry awaits impact of California’s $771 million incentive program
Los Angeles film and television production continued its steep decline in 2025, reaching the lowest levels since the pandemic shutdown despite a major expansion of California’s production incentive program.
The region recorded just 19,694 shoot days across film, TV and commercials last year, according to FilmLA’s latest report. That represents a 16 percent drop from 2024 and marks the lowest figure outside of 2020, when production was halted due to COVID-19. The industry has not seen year-over-year increases in filming levels since 2021.
The fourth quarter of 2025 brought little relief, with production days falling 12.3 percent compared to the prior quarter, according to Variety. For the full year, production volume stood at roughly half of what it was in 2019, underscoring the severity of the downturn that has persisted since 2022.
Tax Credits Yet to Stem the Tide
The disappointing figures come despite California Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing of a major expansion to the state’s film and TV production incentive program in July. Since then, the California Film Commission has allocated $771 million in tax incentives to 119 productions, including high-profile projects such as “Jumanji,” “Heat 2,” and “Baywatch,” according to Variety.
However, the impact of these incentives has yet to materialize in production statistics. Approved projects have 180 days to begin filming from the issuance of a credit, and dozens of subsidized titles have not yet started production.
“FilmLA has consistently projected that the full effect of the expanded Film and Television Tax Credit Program would take time to materialize, and although our overall numbers remain low, there are dozens of incentivized projects that have yet to begin filming,” Philip Sokoloski, a FilmLA spokesperson, said in a statement.
Growing Share of Subsidized Projects
While overall production volumes remain depressed, the proportion of subsidized projects has been increasing, particularly in television. According to The Hollywood Reporter, roughly 13 percent of all feature film and TV projects shooting in the region last year received subsidies, with over 31 percent of TV comedies and dramas receiving tax credits.
Among location shoots in the fourth quarter, 17.3 percent of film projects were state-subsidized, according to Variety. In television, the growth has been more dramatic: the share of subsidized TV projects climbed from 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 11.1 percent in the same period of 2025. TV comedies saw 31.8 percent of shoot days tied to subsidized projects, while TV dramas reached 31 percent.
The expanded program now offers a base credit of 35 percent of eligible production costs for shorter TV shows, sitcoms, animated titles and large-scale competition shows, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Dramatic Declines Across Categories
Despite the increasing state support, the overall decline remains severe. TV production days finished the fourth quarter 50 percent below their five-year average and 22 percent down from the same quarter in 2024, according to Variety. Film production was 31.7 percent below the five-year average and 19.7 percent down year-over-year.
TV dramas experienced particularly sharp declines, falling 36.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, and landing 43.3 percent below the five-year average. TV comedies fared slightly better, dropping only 6 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter, though they remained 66 percent below the five-year average.
Industry Looks Ahead
FilmLA CEO Denise Gutches, who was appointed to the position in October, expressed optimism about future initiatives. “Many exciting initiatives are currently in development, and we look forward to seeing film-friendly policies expand throughout the region in the coming months,” Gutches said in a statement. “It’s time to bring production back home where it belongs, and put our talented, highly skilled entertainment workforce back to work.”
The industry is now watching closely to see whether the expanded tax incentive program will reverse the multi-year decline once subsidized projects begin production in earnest.
