Los Angeles sound stage use rates fell to historic 63% low in 2024, report shows

Sound stage use in LA has fallen sharply since 2019

Izayah Ramos

Los Angeles sound stages had an average occupancy rate of just 63% in 2024, a precipitous drop from more than 90% between 2016 and 2022, according to an eye-opening report from FilmLA, the city’s official film office.

The 2024 figure was down from 2023 – a year heavily impacted by the writers and actors’ strikes – when the average occupancy rate was 69%.

According to the report, sound stages in the greater Los Angeles area were at their busiest in 2019 when occupancy rates hit 96%.

The report is based on data from 17 studio participants, including all the major legacy studios, and represents roughly 82% of the total studio space in LA.

In total, the city has 6.6 million square feet of stage space across 77 certified production facilities, FilmLA said. There is an additional 1.4 million square feet of uncertified stage space. A certified stage space is defined as a building or portion of a building that is insulated from outside noise and natural light.

In terms of stage shoot days (SSDs), which FilmLA says is the best measure of job losses, the report shows a production sector in marked decline. For hour-long series, the number of SSDs has fallen from 6,769 in 2018 to 3,768 in 2023. Over the same time frame, half-hour series fell from 3,813 to 1,550.

The statistics are another stark sign of the challenges confronting the Los Angeles production sector, which has contracted rapidly over the past few years due to a combination of a global commissioning pullback, the 2023 strikes and intensifying competition from other domestic and international jurisdictions.

FilmLA highlighted the fact many other states and international markets now provide “highly competitive tax incentives” and have boosted their sound stage capacity.

The statistics also reinforce the urgency of the proposed plan to more than double the California film and TV tax credit from US$330m annually to US$750m.

California lawmakers fleshed out that plan last week, amending the proposed bill with provisions meaning a single project could receive up to 35%, up from the existing 20%, on costs incurred in the state. Projects could also receive an additional 5% for shooting in specific places outside of LA.

The increase to California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program is still subject to the state’s approval of the 2025-26 budget.

“If the efforts now underway are successful, California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program is set to become one of the largest incentive programmes in the country, second only to Georgia’s, which has no spending cap,” said FilmLA. “This is certain to provide economic advantages and relief to the Golden State’s struggling entertainment workforce, which remains the largest in the nation.”