A Hollywood Reset: Restoring Stability in the California Entertainment Industry

Filmed entertainment itself has seen many highs and lows in California over the past century or more, but it has not faced as significant and wide-ranging a threat as has impacted Hollywood production in the wake of reaching “peak television” in 2021. While previous disruptions to Hollywood have involved technological disruption, such as the advent of television (in the late 1940s), a strong dollar (in the 1990s), and competitive film incentives (in the early 2010s), never has Hollywood faced all of these issues at the same time. Combined with high levels of financial strain facing the studios in the wake of the 2023 strikes, driven by stagnating streaming growth and the loss of prior revenue streams in DVDs and broadcast television, the need to find less expensive locations has never been stronger. And the consequent impact on California’s workers and businesses, both inside and supporting production, has never been felt more quickly and more severely.

California suffered a $4.14 billion loss in total output and 17,234 job losses due to a declining share of the US entertainment industry between 2019 and 2023. From the second quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2024, entertainment jobs decreased by 15 percent in California.

Actions must be taken now to address the lack of work before the loss of talented workers, prop houses, costume shops, catering firms, camera rentals, and others becomes irrecoverable.