The Great Hollywood Exodus
Why the Film Industry Is Abandoning LA
Los Angeles in 2025 feels like a faded movie star clinging to past glory. The Hollywood sign looms over a city where soundstages are half-empty, their occupancy rates slipping to 63% in 2024 from 69% in 2023. On-location shoot days have nosedived, down 22.4% in Q1 2025 to a mere 5,295, with 2024 ranking as the second-lowest production year since FilmLA began tracking in 2017. Reality TV, once LA’s bread and butter, saw a 45.7% drop in shoot days in Q4 2024. The entertainment sector, where film and TV now account for just 52% (down 12% from 2013), is shrinking as studios chase cheaper horizons.
As the All In Podcast revealed, LA’s filming is down 50% from its peak, a secular decline that’s hollowing out the local economy, with the city lagging 50% behind the national average in post-COVID recovery.
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