All posts tagged: Production News

Hollywood Production Canada Rebounded 2025 From Dual Strikes Impact

Hollywood Production Canada Rebounded 2025 From Dual Strikes Impact

Published by Daniella Wilson

U.S. film and TV production in Canada rebounded in 2025 as the local industry finally put the devastating impact of Hollywood’s year of strikes in 2023 in the rearview mirror. The latest annual economic report from the Canadian Media Producers Association, representing local indie producers, points to foreign location and service production in Canada, mostly by American producers, rising 9.5 percent to CAN$5.32 billion (US$3.9 billion, compared to a year-earlier CAN$4.86 billion. That production activity includes visual effects work done by Canadian VFX studios for foreign films and TV series. Hollywood production growth was due mainly to TV series production rising 12.1 percent to CAN$3.42 billion (US$2.51 million) and the total volume of other foreign production – including TV movies, specials, pilots and single-episode shoots — increasing by 54.4 percent to CAN$366 million (US$268.2 million). The overall increase in Hollywood TV production last year offset a 2.2 percent fall in foreign movie production across Canada. The major American players active north of the U.S. border continues to be led by Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ …

Film Shoots Declined in U.S. This Year, Except In New Jersey

Film Shoots Declined in U.S. This Year, Except In New Jersey

Published by Daniella Wilson

Across the United States, the volume of movie and TV on-location production filming slowed in the first quarter of this year, with one state marking an exception: New Jersey. The Garden State made gains in both filming count (up 45 percent year-over-year) as well as production spend (up 37 percent), while other major markets either saw declines or were relatively flat, according to production intelligence platform ProdPro’s quarterly report released on Tuesday. The tracking firm attributes New Jersey’s gains to a “surge in episodic activity” as more series shoot in the state that’s been deemed “Hollywood East” due to its mix of tax incentives, studio infrastructure and available crew. And that’s before a trio of major studio complexes are even completed. Netflix is investing $1 billion to build its East coast base with 12 soundstages at the former site of Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Paramount inked a 10-year lease in October to occupy 85,000 square feet of the in-construction 1888 Studios in Bayonne, while Lionsgate is set as the anchor tenant of Great Point Studios in …

The U.S. Has Been Losing Production for Years. Where Were Lawmakers?

The U.S. Has Been Losing Production for Years. Where Were Lawmakers?

Published by Daniella Wilson

A few numbers to consider when thinking about the current state of Hollywood: Nearly half of all film and scripted series shot outside the United States last year; Los Angeles County lost more than 42,000 entertainment jobs from 2022 to 2024; and Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery made just 15 theatrical movies combined that filmed in the country over the last two years. The narrative that the U.S. is losing its grip as the production capital of the world took centerstage at a hearing on Friday in Burbank City Hall convened by Sen. Adam Schiff, who’s looking to build support for a federal tax incentive to bring jobs back stateside. “The urgency cannot be greater,” he said, before proceeding to call out “unprecedented consolidation” in Hollywood as Paramount Skydance looks to acquire Warner Bros. While the hearing was representative of the many issues plaguing the entertainment industry and Los Angeles-based film community, it also highlighted the lack of clarity and urgency by the federal government, state and city in how to address them. For …

L.A. Soundstages Struggled to Fill Up in Early 2025

L.A. Soundstages Struggled to Fill Up in Early 2025

Published by Daniella Wilson

The first few months of 2025 didn’t give the new and upcoming soundstages in Los Angeles much in the way of hope for a rebound in production. The average occupancy rate for major soundstages in the city was 62 percent during the first six months of 2025, down one percent from the anemic 63 percent recorded in 2024, according to new data from local film office FilmLA released on Wednesday. Contrast that with the period between 2016 and 2022, when soundstages participating in the annual report survey reported an average occupancy rate of 90 percent or higher. The report also tallied shoot days and number of projects filmed in 2024 for the first time. It found that the total number of projects shot increased five percent between 2023 and 2024 (from 1,225 to 1,287), though it’s important to note that 2023 was the year of the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which threw a major wrench into the production pipeline. The total number of shoot days dropped eight percent in this period as well, from …