Another wake-up call was sounded Monday about the state of U.S. film and television production with the release of a detailed report commissioned by several Hollywood unions that illustrates what industry insiders have feared for some time: After a quarter century of rapid transformation and external disruption, American film and television production is on the brink of collapse.
From 1999 to 2024, the share of production spending by major U.S. studios devoted to films shot partially or primarily domestically decreased by 32 percentage points, from 74% to 42%. The share of television production spending decreased by 30 percentage points, from 94% to 64%, according to the report.
This figure is not surprising, considering the exodus of major studios like Marvel and Lucasfilm, which have relocated virtually all of their big-budget productions overseas, including for the next film. Avengers movies. Paramount, Warner Bros. and NBCUniversal have all done the same for recent tentpoles like barbie, WickedAnd Sonic the hedgehog.
The report found that the share of actual number of films made by major U.S. studios in films shot partially or primarily in the United States decreased by 12 points, from 66% to 54%. Television episodes saw a 26-point decline, from 96% of major U.S. studio television episodes filmed partially or primarily in the United States to just 70%.
The impact on workers is obvious. For all cast and crew working on major studio films, the share of cast and crew working on films shot partially or primarily in the United States decreased 29 points, from 72% to 43%. For TV, the share is down 28 points from 86% to 58%.
“Read in conjunction with a recent study by the Motion Picture Association, unless action is taken, America will continue to lose ground in sustaining this industry and the middle-class jobs it provides,” the unions said in a statement Monday.
Last month, the MPA warned of a continued bonanza of jobs and spending if the federal government did not step in to implement its proposed tax incentive. This report also states that the 20% federal tax credit, which could be “stacked” on state benefits, could create $250 billion in additional gross economic value and support an annual average of 143.50 additional jobs across the country.
The latest economic report released Monday was commissioned by the Directors Guild of America (DGA), the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Teamsters), the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW).
The analysis focused on live-action scripted productions made by major studios with budgets of at least $5 million for feature films and $1 million for television episodes under 41 minutes or $1.7 million for longer episodes.
Read the full report here.
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