Hollywood is losing billions as film and TV production declines

The U.S. film and television production market has been losing ground, according to an alarming new report examining the industry over the past 25 years.

Twenty-five years ago, studios spent 74 percent of their film production budgets in the United States, and they now spend 42 percent, according to a report from a coalition of Hollywood unions, including IATSE, the Directors Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. The number of televisions fell by about a third, from 94% to 64%.

The report comes just as Paramount Skydance is expected to complete its acquisition of Warner Bros. on Tuesday. Discovery, officially abandoning the corporate name of Paramount Skydance to become “Skydance Corporation”.

The new data was also released as Congress considers whether a 20 to 30 percent production incentive would help boost the nation’s film and television industry. Those who support this incentive say the United States must counter incentives already offered by other countries like Canada, the United Kingdom and others, arguing that state incentives are not enough.

Members of Congress have been addressing the issue of declining production jobs in the United States since Peak TV ended in 2022.

However, the report, carried out by EY, highlights the longevity of the economic downturn, as the film and television sector globalized in the early 2000s.

The report indicates that although production has increased significantly, the United States shares only a smaller share.

The study looked at films and television episodes that require significant funds to make, such as films with a budget of $5 million or more, in 2025 dollars, and television episodes costing at least $1 million, for approximately 40 minutes or less, and at least $1.7 million for episodes longer than 40 minutes.

Over the past 25 years, the amount spent by major studios on production has increased from $3 billion to $7 billion. TV spending grew even more during this period, from $933 million to $8.4 billion.

However, given all the differences that exist between the television landscape today and that of the early 2000s, the report says it is difficult to make comparisons.

“The rise of streaming has fundamentally altered production scale, budgets, season lengths, and release models, creating discontinuities in what constitutes comparable television series across time periods,” the report said.

The report also only quantifies the number of productions sent abroad, but does not explain the reason.

Most films released abroad have big budgets.

The US market share of the 25 most expensive films has declined from 74% to 34% over the past 25 years. These films made up a quarter of all those made by the major studios, but they represent half the crew and two-thirds the budgets.

“This highlights that production budgets are heavily concentrated on a small subset of films,” the report said. “The trends observed within this group generally reflect the broader analysis trends, although with a somewhat larger decline.”

The report states that if the U.S. film industry had remained the same over the past 25 years, an additional $4 billion would have been spent annually on television and film in the country.

Last month, the Motion Picture Association released a study indicating that a federal incentive would generate about $22 billion in annual domestic production spending by 2035. The report warned that if Congress did not act, U.S. market share would continue to decline.

Unions will gather Tuesday for a protest in Glendale, Calif., with Sen. Adam Schiff and other Democrats.

Schiff, along with other lawmakers, introduced a federal credit proposal that would create a fairly generous incentive for studios.

With the support of President Donald Trump, the bill is expected to be signed into law by the end of 2026.

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