While Hollywood's red carpets and premieres capture the world's imagination, the true blockbuster story is found in the numbers: the Los Angeles film industry is a colossal economic engine, injecting $17.5 billion directly into the regional economy in 2022 alone.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, the Los Angeles film and television industry contributed $17.5 billion in direct economic output to the regional economy
- The LA entertainment sector supported 775,000 jobs statewide in 2022, representing 4.3% of California's total employment
- FilmLA reported that permitted film production in LA generated $1.2 billion in local spending in 2022
- The LA County film workforce totaled 194,000 jobs in 2022, representing 3.8% of total employment
- Film and video production occupations in LA had 25,600 employees with average wage $98,500 in 2022
- LA's motion picture industry employed 76,000 direct workers in 2022
- In 2022, LA issued 5,672 film permits for on-location production
- Feature films shot in LA: 92 in 2022, down 20% from 2019
- TV series episodes filmed in LA: 1,248 in 2022
- LA's 2022 box office from locally produced films totaled $2.1 billion domestically
- Top LA-produced film 'Top Gun: Maverick' grossed $718 million domestic in 2022
- LA studios' global box office share: 65% of top 20 films 2022
- LA infrastructure includes 45 major studios with 1,200 soundstages
- Hollywood's Sunset Gower Studios: 18 soundstages, 500,000 sq ft
- Warner Bros. Burbank: 35 soundstages, largest backlot at 110 acres
The Los Angeles film industry provides billions in economic output and hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Box Office Revenue
- LA's 2022 box office from locally produced films totaled $2.1 billion domestically
- Top LA-produced film 'Top Gun: Maverick' grossed $718 million domestic in 2022
- LA studios' global box office share: 65% of top 20 films 2022
- 'Avatar: The Way of Water' LA post-prod contributed to $1.6 billion worldwide 2022 gross
- LA indie films box office: $450 million domestic 2022
- Warner Bros. Burbank output: $4.2 billion global revenue 2022
- Disney's LA animation films like 'Lightyear' added $226 million domestic
- Paramount Pictures LA revenue from 'Sonic 2': $191 million domestic 2022
- Universal Pictures LA horror 'Smile' grossed $105 million domestic 2022
- LA streaming revenue from originals: $15 billion estimated 2022
- A24 LA films like 'Everything Everywhere' $77 million domestic post-2022
- Sony Pictures Culver City output: $2.8 billion global 2022
- LA VOD rentals from local films: $1.2 billion 2022
- Top Gun Maverick IMAX LA premieres contributed 30% of $149 million IMAX global
- LA blockbusters average domestic gross: $250 million per major release 2022
- Netflix LA content drove 40% of subscriber revenue growth $31.6B total 2022
- Amazon MGM LA acquisitions boosted Prime Video to $2.5B film revenue 2022
- LA Lionsgate films 'Prey' $67 million VOD/streaming 2022
- Domestic box office recovery in LA films: 85% of 2019 levels $6.2B 2022
- LA international box office for US films: $12.5 billion 2022
- Hulu originals LA-produced: $800 million revenue 2022
- LA family films 'DC League of Super-Pets' $93 million domestic 2022
- Apple TV+ LA shows contributed to 28 million subscribers $6.5B revenue 2022
- LA horror genre box office: $1.1 billion worldwide 2022
- Oscar-nominated LA films grossed 2x average post-noms 2022
- LA LA Film Festival films average box office $5.2 million 2022
- LA County residents spent $450 million on cinema tickets 2022
- LA's share of global box office: 22% via Hollywood majors 2022
- LA produced 18 of top 50 domestic grossers 2022 totaling $3.8B
Box Office Revenue Interpretation
Los Angeles may run on creative dreams and sunshine, but its real export is a calculated, multi-billion dollar formula where a single jet-fueled sequel can bankroll a small country, proving Hollywood's box office clout is still its sharpest special effect.
Economic Impact
- In 2022, the Los Angeles film and television industry contributed $17.5 billion in direct economic output to the regional economy
- The LA entertainment sector supported 775,000 jobs statewide in 2022, representing 4.3% of California's total employment
- FilmLA reported that permitted film production in LA generated $1.2 billion in local spending in 2022
- The motion picture and sound recording industries in LA County accounted for $14.8 billion in GDP contribution in 2021
- LA's film industry tourism generated $2.4 billion in visitor spending in 2019 pre-pandemic
- In FY2022, California’s film tax credit program delivered $2.78 billion in economic impact, with 80% in LA region
- The LA film sector's multiplier effect created $30.7 billion total economic output from $17.5 billion direct spend in 2022
- LA's creative industries, including film, contributed 7.5% to the county's GDP in 2021
- Film production spending in Greater LA reached $4.1 billion in 2022, up 15% from 2021
- The LA entertainment industry's exports totaled $1.1 billion in 2022
- In 2021, LA County's film and video industry paid $8.2 billion in wages
- The film tax credit ROI in LA was $7.60 returned per $1 invested in FY2021-22
- LA film production supported 76,000 direct jobs in 2022
- Pre-pandemic 2019, LA film industry generated $30 billion in total economic activity
- In 2023 Q1, LA TV production spend was $650 million
- LA's film sector attracted $1.5 billion in foreign investment in 2022
- The industry's property tax contributions in LA County reached $250 million in 2022
- LA film exports grew 12% to $900 million in 2021
- Vendor payments from film shoots in LA totaled $800 million in 2022
- LA's screen industries supported 1 in 10 jobs in the county in 2022
- In 2022, LA film industry labor income was $12.4 billion
- Hotel bookings from film crews added $150 million to LA economy in 2022
- LA's film sector VAT/sales tax revenue was $1.1 billion in 2022
- International co-productions in LA generated $500 million in 2022
- LA film industry's indirect jobs numbered 400,000 in 2022
- Streaming production spend in LA hit $2.8 billion in 2022
- LA's film cluster effect boosted regional GDP by 2.5% in 2021
- Location fees for film permits in LA totaled $25 million in 2022
- LA film industry's total output multiplier was 1.75 in 2022
Economic Impact Interpretation
The Los Angeles film industry is essentially a $30 billion economic engine disguised as a dream factory, where every dollar spent on a set magically multiplies into seven dollars for the local economy, proving that Hollywood's real blockbuster is its staggering financial impact.
Employment
- The LA County film workforce totaled 194,000 jobs in 2022, representing 3.8% of total employment
- Film and video production occupations in LA had 25,600 employees with average wage $98,500 in 2022
- LA's motion picture industry employed 76,000 direct workers in 2022
- IATSE Local 80 grips and set lighting technicians numbered 3,500 members in LA in 2023
- California film industry supported 705,000 total jobs in 2021, 90% in LA area
- LA post-production workers totaled 42,000 in 2022
- Directors and producers in LA film sector: 12,400 employed, avg salary $142,000 in 2022
- SAG-AFTRA performers in LA: over 150,000 members active in film/TV
- LA VFX artists employment reached 18,000 in 2022
- FilmLA permits employed 28,000 crew days per month average in 2022
- LA sound recording studios employed 5,200 in 2021
- Writers Guild members in LA: 40,000 working in film/TV
- LA costume and wardrobe supervisors: 2,100 employed
- DGA directors in feature films: 1,200 annually in LA
- LA animation industry jobs: 15,000 full-time in 2022
- Below-the-line crew in LA film: 150,000 total workforce
- LA film editors: 8,500 employed, avg wage $110,000 in 2022
- Stunt performers registered in LA: 4,000 via SAG-AFTRA
- LA location managers: 1,800 active
- Cinematographers in LA: 3,200 members of Local 600
- LA production assistants: 12,000 entry-level jobs annually
- Makeup artists and hair stylists in film: 6,500 in LA
- LA prop makers and set designers: 9,000 employed
- Teamsters Local 399 drivers: 8,000 members serving LA film
- LA script supervisors: 1,200 via Local 161
- Casting directors in LA: 2,500 active firms
- LA film accountants: 1,000 certified via Local 479
- Publicists for LA film: 3,400 members of Local 818
Employment Interpretation
While a star may earn millions, the real story of Hollywood is that it's a surprisingly normal, if glitter-dusted, industrial city of 194,000 clock-punchers, from the 3,500 grips tightening bolts to the 1,200 directors calling "action," all held together by 28,000 daily cups of craft-service coffee and the quiet hope that their 150,000 union cards will guarantee a middle-class life in a town built on dreams.
Infrastructure
- LA infrastructure includes 45 major studios with 1,200 soundstages
- Hollywood's Sunset Gower Studios: 18 soundstages, 500,000 sq ft
- Warner Bros. Burbank: 35 soundstages, largest backlot at 110 acres
- Radford Studio Center in Studio City: 18 stages, 650,000 sq ft
- LA soundstage vacancy rate dropped to 5% in 2023
- Over 400 miles of fiber optic networks for LA film post-production
- LA has 2,500+ film-friendly locations registered
- LAX handles 70% of international film crew flights annually
- LA Metro rail used by 15% of film crews for location access 2022
- 120+ equipment rental houses in LA serving film industry
- LA's 110 soundstages added since 2020 total 5 million sq ft new
- CBS Studio Center: 20 stages in 444 acres
- LA virtual production LED volumes: 50+ facilities in 2023
- 1,200 prop houses operating in LA metro area
- LA has 300+ post-production houses with 10,000 editing suites
- Disney Hyperion lot: 51 acres with 10 stages
- LA film permit processing time averaged 2.5 days in 2022
- 75 commissaries and catering services dedicated to LA film sets
- LA's 405 freeway impacts 20% of shoot delays annually
- 200+ wardrobe rental/showrooms in LA fashion district for film
- LA County beaches host 800 permitted shoots yearly
- Netflix Albuquerque but LA HQ drives 200 stages equivalent
- LA has 50 crane/boom operators certified facilities
- Downtown LA lofts converted to 15 new production spaces 2022-23
- LA water usage for film effects: regulated at 10 million gallons/year
- 100+ grip/electric rental yards in San Fernando Valley
- LA Film School campus: 125,000 sq ft with 12 stages
- Pasadena's Rose Bowl hosts 50 major shoots annually
Infrastructure Interpretation
This relentless grid of fiber, concrete, and elbow grease, studded with over a thousand waiting soundstages and flanked by prop houses and taco carts, is the beating, occasionally traffic-choked heart that still pumps the world's stories onto its screens.
Production
- In 2022, LA issued 5,672 film permits for on-location production
- Feature films shot in LA: 92 in 2022, down 20% from 2019
- TV series episodes filmed in LA: 1,248 in 2022
- Commercial production days in LA: 2,150 in 2022
- LA studio shoot days: 12,500 in 2022, up 50% from 2021
- On-location shoot days in LA neighborhoods: 18,200 in 2022
- LA permitted 1,672 TV productions in 2022
- Feature film shoot days in LA: 4,200 in 2022
- Music video production days: 850 in LA 2022
- LA still photography permits: 1,200 in 2022
- Hollywood studio space utilization: 85% in 2022 for LA productions
- LA served as primary location for 45% of top 100 grossing films in 2022
- Independent films produced in LA: 350 features in 2022
- LA soundstage square footage: 28 million sq ft operational in 2023
- TV pilots shot in LA: 78 in 2022 development season
- LA exterior location scouts: 15,000 annually via FilmLA
- Blockbuster franchises filming in LA: 12 major ones in 2022
- LA post-production facilities processed 2,500 projects in 2022
- Virtual production volumes in LA: 150 stages active in 2023
- LA film festivals premiered 450 features in 2022
- Student films permitted in LA: 2,800 via FilmLA 2022
- LA high-budget SVOD shows: 120 seasons in 2022
- Night shoots permitted: 1,200 in LA 2022
- LA aerial filming permits: 450 drone ops in 2022
- Multi-camera sitcoms taped in LA studios: 320 episodes 2022
- LA film LA program supported 200 local projects in 2022
- Remotely scouted locations in LA: 5,000 via virtual tools 2022
- LA accounted for 25% of US feature film production in 2022
- Netflix productions in LA: 85 active in 2022
Production Interpretation
Los Angeles cemented its status as Hollywood's backlot in 2022, with studios humming at 85% capacity and over 12,500 shoot days, while reminding us the city's real magic is still found on its streets, with 18,200 neighborhood shoot days and 45% of the year's top films calling it home.
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