Los Angeles County still boasts the world’s biggest concentration of soundstage area– 8.3 million square feet of accredited and uncertified phases– however approximately a third of it sits uninhabited. Typical occupancy throughout the area’s significant facilities held steady at 62% in the first half of 2025, according to FilmLA’s 8th annual Noise Stage Production Report launched March 18, 2026. That figure is essentially unchanged from 63% for full-year 2024 and well listed below the 69% recorded throughout the 2023 strikes. It marks a stark departure from the mid-90% usage rates that defined the marketplace from 2016 through 2022, before the double Hollywood strikes, the “Great Netflix Correction,” studio belt-tightening and intensifying competitors from the U.K., New York and incentive-rich jurisdictions elsewhere.
The data, drawn from 17 participating studios that represent about 75% of the county’s 6.9 million square feet of licensed stage space, highlights a sector that has stabilized at depressed levels rather than rebounded. While the number of jobs shot on individual phases increased modestly by 5% year-over-year, the general volume remains far listed below pre-pandemic peaks. On-location filming in Los Angeles likewise continued its slide, dropping another 16% in 2025 after a 14% decrease the previous year.
New supply keeps arriving anyway. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, two major facilities opened: East End Studios’ five-stage Mission Campus in Boyle Heights in January and Cinespace Studios’ six-stage, 180,000-square-foot school in Forest Hills in March– the Canadian operator’s very first foothold in Los Angeles. FilmLA is tracking a minimum of seven extra tasks in preparation or under building and construction, consisting of Sylmar Studios’ six-stage center anticipated to open quickly. The increase threats intensifying oversupply unless scripted-television and function production volumes climb up meaningfully.
Performance varies sharply by operator. Vertically incorporated majors with captive content pipelines are faring best. Warner Bros. Discovery reported 91% tenancy throughout its Burbank phases in 2025 and is on track to match or exceed that level this year. In mid-March the studio cut the ribbon on Cattle ranch Lot Studios, a nearly 1-million-square-foot campus featuring 16 new soundstages, extensive production workplaces, a huge building and construction workshop and high-end support facilities. The addition brings WBD’s overall Southern California phase count to approximately 50 and has currently secured commitments from a number of tax-credit-qualified productions, including “Bliss,” “Latitude,” “The Resurgence” and “I Love LA.” President of international experiences and studio operations Simon Robinson described the demand as “a good problem to have,” keeping in mind the main lot frequently turned away reveals last year.
Independent and REIT-owned operators face a tougher truth. Hackman Capital Partners, as soon as the world’s biggest independent studio property owner, defaulted on a $1.1 billion home mortgage connected to the historical Radford Studio Center in Studio City and ceded the 55-acre property to loan providers led by Goldman Sachs in January. Profits at the lot had covered just about 21% of financial obligation service amid tenancy that lagged wider averages. Goldman has because put the asset on the market. Hudson Pacific Residence, which manages a large portfolio including Sundown Bronson, Sunset Gower and the Quixote phases, published tracking 12-month studio tenancy of roughly 67% at year-end 2025– with premium Hollywood residential or commercial properties at 86% but the Quixote portfolio mired at 53%. The REIT has reported nine-figure annual losses for three straight years, pursued aggressive cost cuts and signified prospective property sales.
Policy makers are trying to stanch the bleed. California broadened its film and tv tax credit program last year, and a companion Soundstage Filming Tax Credit uses additional incentives for productions using recently built or upgraded qualified phases. Because the growth took effect in mid-2025, 119 tasks have been granted credits, however lots of have yet to begin shooting. Local authorities, consisting of Mayor Karen Bass, went to the Cinespace ribbon-cutting and promoted the potential for job production. Yet market executives and experts caution that the complete effect will require time to materialize, and competing centers continue to tempt productions with richer refunds and faster allowing.
The broader backdrop remains tough. Streaming giants have actually cut output after years of over-spending, significant studios have actually consolidated and moved toward event movies, and global competitors have actually doubled their phase stocks over the previous five years while providing aggressive rewards. Team layoffs and supplier distress have become commonplace; one Bloomberg documentary this month explained empty phases and “existential dread” amongst Hollywood employees.
Still, some see glimmers of a bottom. Long-running series are returning, several high-profile pilots and features have actually greenlit, and the tax-credit pipeline could lift usage later on in 2026. FilmLA itself describes the present environment as one of “resiliency” rather than collapse. In the meantime, however, the math is unforgiving: Los Angeles has more soundstage area than ever, but not nearly sufficient productions to fill it. The winners are those with deep-pocketed studio renters and exceptional assets; the rest are navigating a recalibrated market that has yet to deliver the long-promised rebound.