L.A. Soundstages Struggle: Occupancy Steady but Still Low in 2025, FilmLA Reports

Los Angeles holds the global lead in terms of available soundstage space, although a significant portion remains unoccupied. FilmLA’s recent report from Wednesday reveals that for the first half of 2025, the average soundstage occupancy rate stands at 62%, a slight decrease from 63% in 2024.

This trend of declining occupancy, which has persisted since the strike-affected year of 2023 where occupancy was at 69%, represents a substantial 35.4% drop from the 96% peak in 2016, as stated in the first “Sound Stage Production Report” by FilmLA. Occupancy rates stayed in the mid-90s throughout the Covid period before experiencing a steep 25.6% fall from 2022 to 2023. Here’s a detailed comparison:

FilmLA, serving as the collaborative film office for the City and County of Los Angeles along with other local areas, noted a minor increase of 5% in the number of projects filmed on participating stages from January to June 2025, rising from 1,225 in 2023 to 1,287 in 2024. However, the total number of filming days saw an 8% reduction, dropping from 8,671 to 7,940, largely due to a 23% decrease in days allocated to scripted TV productions on these stages.

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FilmLA defines a “shoot day” as a single crew’s authorized filming at one or more locations within a 24-hour period.

The 17 studio participants in FilmLA’s report include all major legacy studios and larger independent companies, which collectively account for approximately 75% of the total 6.9 million square feet of certified stage space in the Los Angeles market. Despite its leading position, L.A. faces increasing competition as markets like New York and the UK have doubled their stage inventories over the past five years.

The report also highlights a concerning decline in on-location filming in L.A., which fell 16.1% in 2025 following a 14% decrease in 2024 and a 20% reduction in 2023.