LA filming to drop 12% from 2023 due to ‘post-strike paralysis’

In its latest quarterly study, FilmLA reports that on-location filming in Los Angeles is down 12% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2024, even taking into account the start of the Writers Guild of America strike in May 2023.

This is despite the resumption of scripted production, which was halted during last year’s industrial action. The year-on-year decline is mainly due to a 56% drop in shooting days for reality TV shows.

“In general, unscripted television is a location-heavy format that generates significant permitting volume,” said Philip Sokoloski, vice president of integrated communications at FilmLA. “The employment impact of reality production is less than scripted production, and projects are not eligible for funding from the state of California. It remains an important part of LA’s production economy.”

As for TV series scripts, FilmLA recorded 714 days of shooting for dramas, 171 days for comedies and 17 for pilots. These were all recoveries from last year, when filming on all of those productions stopped in early May. However, the number of shooting days for all three categories is below the five-year average, with dramas down 19.2%, comedies down 44.4% and pilots down an astonishing 72.5%.

For feature films and commercials, the declines were smaller compared to the previous year: for feature films, shooting days fell by 3.3% to 704 and for commercials by 5.1% to 817 days. However, the figures in these categories are also well below the five-year average: for films, shooting days fell by 23.8% and for commercials by 36.1%.

In total, 5,749 shooting days were recorded in the second quarter of 2024, 33.4% less than the five-year average. FilmLA attributes this to the industry-wide decline in production spending that was already forecast before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, as studios reduce the number of films and TV shows they approve in order to make their streaming services profitable.

This has created significant financial strains for entertainment workers, whose finances were already depleted by last year’s 191-day work stoppage. Some crew members and writers have told TheWrap in recent months that they have not been able to find work in the entertainment industry since the strikes began.

“Streaming content spending is down, and Los Angeles and its many global competitors are still reeling from post-strike paralysis,” Sokoloski added. “Workers in this industry, wherever they work, are seeing fewer options at a time of content reductions due to ongoing collective bargaining.”

Another reason for the drop in production is likely the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations between the studios and their labor representatives, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The AMPTP recently reached a tentative agreement with the IATSE, which is currently undergoing a ratification vote. The result is expected to be announced on Thursday.

Meanwhile, negotiations with the Hollywood Teamsters and the Basic Crafts over their contract will continue ahead of the July 31 deadline, with the last scheduled day of negotiations set for Friday. While the Teamsters remain open to additional days of negotiations this month, they have informed the AMPTP that they will not agree to an extension of the deadline at the end of the month when their current contract expires.

While averting a strike could prompt studios to increase their production schedules, FilmLA believes any such increase will be “cautious and measured, with benefits distributed across the globe.”