A snapshot of production levels in Los Angeles shows a steep decline in soundstage occupancy over the past two years, highlighting the plunge in filming in the region.

Seventeen studios that operate the majority of stages in L.A. posted average occupancy rates of 63 percent last year, down from 69 percent in 2023, according to the new report from FilmLA, the nonprofit group that handles film permits for the city and county. The figures mark a dramatic departure from the 93.5 percent rate that studios reported their stages were occupied from 2016 to 2022. The report serves as another datapoint that filming in the region has failed to bounce back from the combined impact of the strikes and the global production crunch. Shooting levels in L.A. in 2024 recorded the lowest figure observed by FilmLA since it started tracking the data in 2017 (excluding 2020, when filming was halted amid the pandemic).

In a sign that shooting levels arent steadily increasing as hoped, studios saw lower occupancy in the third and fourth quarters of last year than the previous two, according to the report. And in 2023, there were 8,671 on-stage shoot days across 1,225 productions, down from an average of 12,240 from 2018 to 2022.

FilmLA attributed the decline to TV filming in 2023 accounting for only 20 percent of activity on stages and backlots in L.A. In previous years, they comprised roughly 30 percent. One explanation: the drop-off in episode counts, with long delays in between seasons.

Betting on continuing demand for soundstages amid a global shortage before the strikes, private equity and real estate firms engaged in acquiring, constructing and expanding soundstages at a rapid pace. This included BARDAS Investment Group and Bain Capital Real Estate, which announced in 2022 a $600 million redevelopment of the former Television Center.

Competing regions, including the U.K., New York, Georgia and Ontario, have more than doubled their stage-based production capacity over the last five years. L.A., which has an estimated eight million square feet of production space and 13 planned studio projects in the pipeline, maintains an infrastructure advantage, but the decline in production has made it more challenging to fill vacancies.

During an earnings call in February, Mark Lammas, president of studio operator Hudson Pacific Properties, was bullish that production would recover and said that TV shows are coming back to L.A. looking for stages in the area as opposed to other competing markets. He added, We were seeing, on average, one long-term TV episodic type show come through our available stages, about on average for October, November, December. As of last month, six of those shows came through in January. So a good early indicator that were starting to see that recovery coming from these bigger shows that use more stages use heavier lighting and grid packages, all the things that we rely on to make the stages work.

The company cut $7.5 million in expenses for Quixote Studios, which it bought in 2022 for $360 million, across two quarters last year and plans more.

In a statement, FilmLA spokesperson Philip Sokoloski stressed the significance of Californias plans on expanding the program that gives subsidies to the entertainment industry on filming in the region. The jurisdictions that perform well from here on out the ones with sustainably high levels of sound stage occupancy and job creation will be those invested in film project attraction at the country, state and regional level, he said.

In a bid to curb runaway production, local industry folk have launched the Stay in L.A. initiative, which calls for emergency measures to restore local filming. It also urges studios to pledge at least 10 percent more production in L.A. over the next three years.

FilmLAs report is based on aggregated data sourced from 17 studios that collectively operate roughly 82 percent of soundstages in Los Angeles. It reflects occupancy over the past two years, as well as a comparison of available stage space in the region compared to other major film hubs.