Los Angeles film and TV production fell 19.7% to just 183 projects in 2023, according to an updated three-year analysis of scripted content by FilmLA released Wednesday.
The figure marks 45 fewer projects for the region than 2022 and only a fraction of the 990 total projects captured by all jurisdictions in 2023, leaving viewing audiences with 31 fewer TV shows, seven fewer TV movies, two fewer theatrical films and five fewer streaming movies that were made in Los Angeles.
Total releases for scripted productions were down 4.8% overall in 2023, and even more so for television (18.3%), offset by year-over-year increases in theatrical releases (up 24.4%) and TV movie releases (10.5%). Television output totaled 365 releases in 2023, compared to 447 in the prior year, with streaming falling 14.7%, cable down 19.6% and broadcast plunging 25.8%.
When looking specifically at Los Angeles, total television releases shot locally fell 22.8%, compared to an 18.3% decline for the whole category. The number of streaming movie releases filmed in L.A. fell 22.7% year over year, compared to a 19.3% decline for the category as whole.
Despite being the second top production center for TV movies behind British Columbia, the number of releases shot in Los Angeles declined by 14.9%, compared to the category’s 10.5% increase (284 projects in 2023 versus 257 in 2022). While theatrical releases increased 24.4% in 2023, projects captured in Los Angeles fell 8.7% (40 versus 47 films).
The decline came as Hollywood faced two labor strikes in 2023 from SAG-AFTRA and the WGA as actors and writers fought for better working conditions, pay increases and protections from artificial intelligence.
California has also faced increased competition over the last 30 years from other areas offering financial incentives and making infrastructure investments to woo producers and projects away from the Golden State. About 27% of the nation’s domestic film and television workforce resides in the Greater Los Angeles area, according to Otis College’s 2024 report on the creative economy.
Over the past three years, the state has lost market share to the United Kingdom, Ontario, New York, Georgia and others, going from a nearly 23% capture of qualified projects in 2021 to an 18% share by 2023. Rival jurisdictions now capture four out of every five film and television projects and their associated jobs.
Total TV series counts declined 35.2% in Georgia and 33.3% in the United Kingdom, while New York and Ontario saw gains of 7.7% and 29.4%, respectively, over the same period. Streaming series fell 21.4% and 27.3% in Georgia and the U.K., while New York and Ontario saw gains of 30.8% and 25%. As for cable series, the totals fell 47.1% in Georgia and 45.5% in the U.K. The broadcast sector fell 55.6% in Georgia, 46.7% in New York and 40% in Illinois.
Output for the TV movie category saw a 6.9% decrease in British Columbia, but grew 22.2% in Georgia, 133% in Manitoba and over 50% in California. As for streaming movie releases, Georgia fell 20%, New York fell 56% and the U.K. fell 7.1%, while Illinois grew 66.7%. The U.K. claimed the top spot for filming destinations among all theatrical releases in 2023, racking up a total of 26, followed by New York with 22, Los Angeles at 21 and Georgia with 12.
FilmLA president Paul Audley called for additional support for California’s film industry, including an expansion of the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program, to increase the rate of industry investment in the state. The program currently offers a tax credit of 20-30% for productions that film in the state and spend a minimum of $1 million, with an annual funding cap of $330 million.
“The entertainment industry feeds around $43 billion in wages into the state economy. But how long can California subsist – or help businesses and families thrive — on an ever-thinner slice of a shrinking production pie?,” Audley said. “We’re now at a place where inadequate investment in this industry places other economic supports at risk. For each film industry supplier that closes his or her doors due to lack of steady work – those entrepreneurs no longer employ people, generate sales taxes or pay rent. Their former employees, lacking an income, then have no money for groceries, tuition and bills. When local industries decline the effects can be far ranging, so this is definitely a problem California needs to address.”
In comparison, New York offers a tax credit of 30-40% on productions that spend a minimum of $1 million in the NYC and metro area and $250,000 in the rest of the state, with an annual funding cap of $700 million. And Georgia offers 20-30% on productions with a minimum spend of $500,000 with no annual funding cap and 20% coverage for directors, actors, writers and producers who are not residents.
Meanwhile, productions that shoot in British Columbia and Ontario can receive credits of 28% and 21.5%, respectively, with minimum spends of 100,000 to 1 million CAD. As for productions overseas, the U.K. offers a 25.5% credit, which covers directors, actors, writers and producers who are not residents, with the stipulation that 10% of the project’s core expenditures must be based there.
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