California continues to have significant competition when it comes to hosting film shoots, coming in fourth among international competitors in 2016, according to a report released Tuesday by a nonprofit film office serving the greater Los Angeles region.
FilmL.A.’s research division analyzed the 100 highest-performing U.S. feature films released theatrically last year, identifying where they were filmed and how much was spent to produce them.
Of those films, a total of 12 California-made projects were released theatrically in 2016 (seven live-action and five animated), giving the Golden State a fourth-place rank in terms of projects hosted.
Georgia took first place with 17 projects — all live-action — followed by the United Kingdom with 16 projects, also all live-action.
California was second in 2015, first in 2014 and tied for first in 2013, indicating it may now have permanent competition from other filming hubs.
“California’s top competitors are investing substantial sums to attract new feature projects with large production budgets,” FilmL.A. President Paul Audley said. “This study provides an updated look at California’s position within this space, and reaffirms the highly competitive nature of tax credits and rebate programs worldwide.”
In terms of project spending, the dozen projects that filmed in California brought an estimated $851.2 million in total production spending to the state, second only to the UK, which attracted $1.1 billion in production spending, according to FilmL.A.
Despite the competition for feature projects, California remains the world’s top film and television production center, the study showed. With more than $30 billion in direct spending annually, the volume of film and TV production activity in California is more than New York, Georgia, Louisiana, the UK and Canada combined, according to the report.
Feature filming grew a total of 12 percent in 2016 in Los Angeles, making it the biggest year for feature production in the city since the state introduced a film incentive program in 2009, according to FilmL.A.
However, the report notes that the incentive programs are often more generous and aggressive in the countries and states that compete with California.
According to the report, the cost of Georgia’s film tax credit in terms of credits issued was $606 million in fiscal year 2016. That’s the largest amount spent by any jurisdiction in North America or Europe on a film tax credit program in a single year. By comparison, California’s credit is capped at $350 million per year.
