Sound Stage Occupancy In LA Drops Again In 2024: Film LA Study

LOS ANGELES, CA — Sound stage occupancy in the Los Angeles area continued to decline for a second year in 2024, dropping 6% from the year before, according to a report released Thursday.

The report, released Thursday by regional film office Film LA, found that the region's sound stages were around 90% occupied from 2016 through 2022. Occupancy declined sharply in 2023, to 69%, and fell to 63% in 2024.

The decline comes as the industry continues to rebound from the pandemic and recover from the writers and actors strikes in 2023.

Competing jurisdictions, including the U.K., New York, Georgia, and Ontario, have doubled their stage-based production capacity over the last five years, according to Film LA.

The Sound Stage Production Report is based on aggregated data from 17 participating studios in the region. Data captures stage and backlot filming data for 2023 and occupancy data for 2024. It also provides a comparison of available stage space in the L.A. region and major competing markets in 2025 and five years earlier.

In 2023, a total of 1,225 projects were filmed in 447 stages included in Film LA's analysis. Those projects generated 8,671 stage shoot days — fewer than were recorded in any studied period except 2020, during a period when COVID-19 halted all production for a time.

Data also showed that production of television series declined by 10%. The latest figures showed that such projects accounted for only 20% of all production happening on certified stages and backlots in Los Angeles, but in previous years television series production comprised 30% of all stage-based filming.

"A set on a stage can only create jobs when it is under construction or in use. Television budgets have increased, but episode counts have declined and there can be long delays between seasons. To see the real loss of work opportunity in this data, you have to focus on stage shoot days," Film LA spokesman Philip Sokoloski said in a statement.

With an estimated 8 million square feet of stage production space in Los Angeles, and 13 planned and proposed studio projects in the pipeline, the same issue will persist. Film LA noted such infrastructure does provide an advantage.

Sokoloski predicted that jurisdictions that perform well from here on out will be ones with sustainable high levels of sound stage occupancy and job creation, which will in turn attract film projects.

"We're supportive of state leaders' interest in expanding California's film incentive program, and we're engaged in ongoing conversation with city and county partners about ways to improve the local filming environment," Sokoloski said in a statement.

View the complete report at Film LA.

City News Service contributed to this report.