Los Angeles’ post-strike production rebound has been slow to materialise in the first quarter of 2024 for both on-location shoot days (SD) and film permit-associated cast and crew jobs, according to a report by the city’s film office FilmLA.
Total LA-based production shoot days were down 8.7% to 6,823 SD compared to Q1 2023, and down 20.5% compared to the last five-year average. (The average discounts 2020).
For television, the rebound was particularly slow, with production down 16.2% year on year and down 32.8% compared to the five-year average. This loss of television production is the main contributor to the decline, according to the report.
In the TV category, projects qualifying for the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program logged 94 SD of the quarter’s total 2,402 SD, or 3.9%, compared to 5.3% last year.
Feature film production was the sole category to see a year on year growth of 6.6%. Of these, seven feature films qualified for the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program, clocking 72 SD (11.4 %) of the category’s quarterly 634 SD total.
The report cites series cancellations and planned reductions in content spending as further limiting industry output and work opportunities.
Based on analysis from FilmLA Research, cast and crew jobs connected with film permits active in Q1 2024 were also down year on year (30.6% in January, 5.1% in February, and 0.4% in March).
In a statement, FilmLA president Paul Audley said the figures were “meeting our predictions while falling short of our hopes.”
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