FilmLA, partner film office for the City and County of Los Angeles and other local jurisdictions – today issued an update regarding regional filming activity.
FilmLA reported a total of 9,066 Shoot Days (SD)* in the third quarter (“Q3”), which covers the period between July 1 through September 30, 2022. This is down -10.5 percent from the same period last year and also down -1.7 percent from the previous quarter this year (9,220 SDs).
“We’re seeing an expected slowdown taking shape,” noted FilmLA President Paul Audley. “To that point we note that the COVID-19 Delta wave forced an out of season production shift last year. That shift led to record-breaking filming levels in the latter half of 2021, so in light of that, this is a modest decline.”
Among the major categories of production, Shoot Day activity for Feature Films and Commercials declined, both year-over-year and compared to the five-year averages.** Activity in the Television and Other categories was more mixed.
Feature films ended the quarter with 828 SD, compared to 1,100 in Q3 2021. Local productions included Barbie (Warner Bros.), Beverly Hills Cop (Netflix), Destroy All Neighbors (Shudder), Fast X (Universal Pictures) and Young. Wild. Free. (Confluential Films). A total of 115 SD – 13.9 percent of the category total – were generated by projects that received the California Film & Television Tax Credit, which is overseen by the California Film Commission.
Commercial production activity in the region continued to decline with a total of 1,021 SDs this quarter, compared to 1,533 last year. Commercials that shot in the region include spots for Kohl’s, Peloton, Southwest Airlines and Walmart. Many car companies also filmed new spots locally, including Hyundai, Maserati, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen.
The Television category was down by -10.5 percent compared to the same period in 2021, but remained 4.7 percent above the five-year average. For the first time since the pandemic recovery began in Q2 2021, TV drama activity declined by -11.7 percent year over year (1,198 SD in Q3 2022 vs.1,356 SD in 2021) and -5.5 percent compared to the five-year average. Local TV dramas include 9-1-1 (Fox), American Gigolo (Showtime), Barry (HBO), Bel-Air (Peacock), Bosch Legacy (Amazon), CSI: Vegas (CBS), For All Mankind (Apple TV+), Snowfall (FX) and The Rookie (ABC). TV dramas that were recipients of the CA film tax credit generated a total of 161 SD – 13.4 percent of the total.
TV Comedies (352 SD) posted a stronger performance with an increase of 4.1 percent year over year. The category is still down by -36.9 percent compared to the five-year average. Local sitcoms included Abbott Elementary (ABC), Home Economics (ABC), Grand Crew (NBC), and Young Sheldon (CBS).
TV Reality, which has been robust throughout the recovery, was flat compared to last year (2,824 SD in Q3 2022 vs 2,825 SD in 2021) but still up an impressive 90.5 percent compared to the five-year average. TV Reality series included Black Ink Crew: Compton (VH1), Dancing with the Stars (ABC), Growing Up Hip Hop (WeTV), Million Dollar Listing (Bravo), Selling Sunset (Netfiix) and The Voice (NBC).
Notes on This Report
* * On-location production figures are based on days of permitted production within the jurisdictions served by FilmLA. One “Shoot Day” (or “SD”) is defined as one crew’s permission to film at one or more defined locations during all or part of any given 24-hour period. This measure determines how many days of work film crews perform during a given time period.
** FilmLA’s reported five-year average excludes 2020, which due to the significant impact of COVID-19 on production that year, distorts all historical comparisons.
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About FilmlA
FILML.A., INC® is a not-for-profit organization and the official film office of the City and County of Los Angeles, among an ever-increasing roster of local municipalities. Through expedited permit processing, comprehensive community relations, film policy analysis and other services, FilmLA works to streamline and enhance the on-location filmmaking process for communities and content creators, to ensure the Greater Los Angeles economy continues to thrive.
Integral to FilmLA’s work is ongoing research into the benefits that local filming brings to the Los Angeles region. To that end, we maintain an internal research division devoted to the production, collection and dissemination of information regarding the U.S. film production economy and global production trends.
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