Los Angeles Remains Top Filming Site as Global Production Shrinks

Los Angeles maintained its place as the global hub for film and TV production last year, even as the overall marketplace shrank, according to a report issued Tuesday by FilmLA.

Out of 857 films and scripted TV series released in 2024, 18.3% were shot in Los Angeles — nearly unchanged from the 18.5% share in 2023. Its closest competitor is Georgia, where 9.8% of productions released in 2024 were shot.

The U.K. is growing its share of the overall market, thanks to a surge in streaming and cable TV series shot there. Its marketshare grew from 6.6% to 8.8%.

FilmLA handles location permits around the L.A. region, and is the key source of data for production volume in Los Angeles. For this report, the agency sought to measure L.A.’s overall marketshare by gathering location data from IMDbPro. FilmLA has been issuing its Scripted Content Study since 2022, when it found that L.A. held 21.9% of overall marketshare.

The study aims to capture all English-language film and scripted TV productions released by U.S.-based companies. The study does not factor in production budgets or the duration of film shoots, instead simply counting each production.

The total number of such productions declined from 1,040 in 2022, to 990 in 2023, and to 857 in 2024. Some of that decline is attributable to the actors and writers strikes of 2023, which disrupted production for about half the year. But the industry has also continued to pull back on production since then, as companies rein in their streaming ambitions.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom led an effort to expand the state’s tax incentive for production from $330 million to $750 million this past summer, which should start to show an effect next year.

“Ultimately, this study reveals little that California’s creative community does not already understand on a personal level,” said Philip Sokoloski, a spokesperson for the agency, in a release. “There are far fewer film…