LA Soundstage Occupancy Hits Historic Lows

A new report by the nonprofit FilmLA found that the occupancy of soundstages — the large, warehouse-like spaces where movies and shows are filmed — fell to their lowest levels ever (other than in 2020).

The Big Picture: Film and TV production has yet to bounce back from the pandemic, two strikes in 2023, and high inflation as much as the industry had hoped. While that’s a global problem, LA has been hit the hardest… which could endanger production infrastructure (which supports 618,000 jobs and generates $115 billion in economic activity) in the very home of the entertainment industry.

Behind the Scenes: What’s Hollywood without film and TV production?

• The average occupancy rate at the seventeen studios that operate most of the stages in LA sank to 63% last year… down from 69% in 2023 during the strike.
• That’s a steep drop in comparison to the occupancy rate from 2016 to 2022 (excluding 2020), when the average was 93.5%.
• Additionally, there was less soundstage occupancy in the third and fourth quarters last year than in the first half, meaning production is only decreasing.

Final Take: A major culprit of the drop was the end of the “peak-TV era,” which has resulted in fewer shows being greenlit. That’s further hampered by the new normal of shows having fewer episode counts and longer delays between seasons. Additionally, many lower- and mid-budget projects have had to leave LA to film in states with better tax incentives (New York, Georgia) to stay on budget. Filming in LA is simply too cost-prohibitive for those movies.

It’s no wonder that grassroots movements like the “Stay in LA” initiative, Governor Gavin Newsom’s push to more than double film and TV tax incentives, and two other production-focused bills in the state legislature are gaining so much momentum.