Los Angeles has seen a decline in local film and TV production, causing some to worry the city could face the same fate as Detroit did with the auto industry several decades ago.
“As the auto industry left Detroit, it really hollowed out that city, and now there’s some concern that the same thing could be happening here in Los Angeles and in Hollywood as movie productions move out of town,” FOX Business correspondent Max Gorden reported Tuesday.
In a report released last week, FilmLA said the greater Los Angeles area’s on-location production for movies, TV, commercials and other projects amounted to just shy of 5,300 shoot days in the first quarter of the year, marking a 22.4% drop from the same three-month period in 2024.
That came amid a “global decline in production and intensifying competition for film projects and jobs” from other places, the not-for-profit organization said.
Los Angeles faced massive wildfires in January but, according to FilmLA, they had a “small effect on L.A. area filming” during the quarter.
On-location production in Los Angeles during 2025’s first quarter was also lower than that seen in the first quarter of 2021, when the local industry notched over 7,000 shoot days, Gorden reported, citing FilmLA data.
The head of a Los Angeles location agency told Gorden that small companies were having trouble.
“A lot of the smaller companies I know are unfortunately struggling to the point where they’re having to call it a day in this industry, and especially for the people that work here, I’ve hired countless people over the years, and it’s getting harder and harder for below-the-line crew to find work,” Real to Reel Location Agency CEO Gary Onyshko said.
Industry experts want fewer regulations and more incentives from the California government to encourage productions to return and film in the Golden State, according to Gorden.
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“People feel like, ‘Well, why does Hollywood need handouts from the government? Like they’re rich, they’re all a bunch of rich people.’ It’s like, that’s not true at all,” location scout Dale Dreher told Gorden. “This is my backyard. I live in South LA. I’ve lived here for 21 years, and I’m worried about my next house payment just like anybody else.”
In late October, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed upping California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program to $750 million per year, representing a $420 million increase from the $330 million currently allocated.
His office said at the time that it would “allow California to outpace other states offering tax credits, luring more entertainment industry projects back to the Golden State.”
More recently, in February, state lawmakers introduced legislation to revamp California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program. On top of raising the overall program amount to $750 million, the bills would make more productions eligible for tax credits and up the size of the tax credits each project could receive, among other things, according to a press release.
The entertainment industry in Los Angeles “brings over $30 billion to California and supports over 200,000 local jobs,” according to the City of Los Angeles’ Economic And Workforce Development Department. It is also a major driver of tourism for the city.
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