FilmLA released its second quarter production report today, revealing a 6.2 percent drop in on-location filming compared to the same period in 2024. From April through June, Greater Los Angeles logged 5,394 shoot days — another reminder that California’s film and television ecosystem continues to recover from post-strike turbulence.
The decline came as stakeholders across California’s creative industry mounted an aggressive, months-long campaign in Sacramento to bolster the state’s signature industry. Independent filmmakers, studio execs, unions and guilds, vendors, grassroots organizers, and film offices joined forces to push for expanded support. FilmLA played a critical role, providing testimony before the State Assembly, publishing research briefs, and working closely with the California Production Coalition and Film Liaisons in California, Statewide (FLICS).
That advocacy paid off. Nine months after FilmLA publicly called for a “vast expansion” of the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program, Governor Gavin Newsom and the California State Legislature responded with a sweeping modernization effort. Under AB1138 (Zbur/Bryan), California increased the tax credit per project from 20 to 35 percent and raised the per-production cap from $100 million to $120 million. Funding for independent productions tripled from $26 million to $75 million, and — for the first time — California’s tax credits are refundable, starting with the 2025-26 fiscal year.
“FilmLA is elated with the news of the passage of the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program,” said FilmLA President Paul Audley. “We are grateful to our partners across the industry and in government who came together to advocate for a stronger, modernized California — one where production can thrive again.”
The relief couldn’t come fast enough for feature film producers, who generated just 553 shoot days in Q2 — a 21.4 percent decline year-over-year. Still, it’s an improvement over Q1 2025, with a 22.6 percent uptick. All the features shot locally last quarter were independently produced, including titles like Animals, I’ll Take the Hamm, Totally Ghosted, Unravel, and Whalefall. The California Film Commission also recently approved 48 new features for upcoming production, including five major studio projects and six independent films with budgets exceeding $10 million.
Television, by contrast, showed signs of life. The TV category posted 2,224 shoot days — up 17 percent from Q2 2024, and the highest total FilmLA has seen since early 2024. That includes major gains in both TV dramas and reality. TV dramas rose 9.5 percent with 782 shoot days — the highest since the pre-strike period of Q4 2022. Shows in production included High Potential (ABC), 9-1-1 (Fox), the Snowfall spinoff (FX), The Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix), Paradise (Hulu), Shrinking (Apple TV+), and The Burbs (Peacock).
Reality TV soared even higher, with 1,124 shoot days — a 29.5 percent bump from last year. That includes hits like American Idol (ABC), Let’s Make a Deal (CBS), 90 Day Fiancé (TLC), House of Villains (E!), Vanderpump Rules (Bravo), and Everybody’s Live in LA (Netflix).
Not every category fared as well. Commercial production — which receives no incentives in California — dropped 15.3 percent to 692 shoot days, making it the weakest of the three major production categories. That figure sits a staggering 38.3 percent below the five-year average. Still, notable campaigns filmed in LA for brands including Adidas, Amazon, Geico, McDonald’s, Iron Mountain, Walmart, and numerous carmakers like BMW, Nissan, and Ford.
FilmLA’s “Other” category — encompassing student films, short films, still shoots, docs, online content, music videos, and more — fell 17.3 percent from last year and is nearly 30 percent below its five-year average.
“While there is work ahead to bring Los Angeles-area production back to its full potential, we are optimistic,” said Audley. “We’re grounded in our mission to keep production affordable, accessible, and straightforward. With continued collaboration between the industry, government, and communities, we can return to being the best place in the world to film.”
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