Updated
Updated · Variety · Jul 23
Los Angeles Shoot Days Fall 3.1% in Q2 as Tax Credits Fail to Revive Filming
Updated
Updated · Variety · Jul 23

Los Angeles Shoot Days Fall 3.1% in Q2 as Tax Credits Fail to Revive Filming

3 articles · Updated · Variety · Jul 23

Summary

  • FilmLA said Los Angeles production volume slipped 3.1% from Q1 in Q2 2026, showing the early rebound from late 2025 has stalled.
  • TV shoot days rose about 34% from the prior quarter, but declines in films and commercials outweighed that gain, with all three categories still below historic norms.
  • State incentives are supporting a larger share of the work that remains: one-third of feature-film shoot days came from subsidized projects, up from 22% in Q1, while TV dramas and comedies were also heavily tax-credit backed.
  • The report points to a smaller, more subsidy-dependent local industry, even as Mayor Karen Bass and runoff rival Nithya Raman press Sacramento to lift the program's $750 million cap.

Insights

As Hollywood's soundstages empty, why is film production booming in the rest of California?
Did a new state law accidentally sabotage California's billion-dollar effort to save its film industry?
With tax credits failing to stop the exodus, is an uncapped subsidy Hollywood's last hope?