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On-location film and TV production increased at the end of 2025, but still lags behind 2024 totals
A film crew works on the set of author Michael Connelly's "Bosch," shooting in the San Fernando Valley. On-location film shoots in the last three months of 2025 rose 5.6% but were 16.1% lower overall during the year than in 2024.
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Al Seib
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Getty Images
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Topline:
On-location filming in L.A. increased over the last three months of 2025 but still lagged behind where it was at the end of 2024, according to an end-of-year report from Film L.A., the official filming office for the city and county.
By the numbers: Film and television shoot days totaled 4,625 in the final three months of 2025, up 5.1% in that timeframe. But overall last year, there were 19,694 shoot days, which is down 16.1% from 2024's total of 23.480.
Why it matters: Production in Los Angeles has been slow to rebound since the COVID-19 pandemic and the Hollywood writers and actors strikes in 2023. There is also increased competition from other states that offer appealing film tax credits and other incentives for productions that decide to take their shoot outside of California. This summer, Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded California's Film and TV Tax Credit Program in an effort to lure productions back to the Golden State.
What's next: Film L.A.'s Phil Sokoloski says that many of the productions approved under the expanded tax credit program are just now getting underway, and he hopes the industry will start to see the effects of not only the tax incentive expansion in 2026, but also L.A. Mayor Karen Bass' directives to streamline the permitting and shooting process in the city.
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