Movie, commercial shoots see big drop in Los Angeles as post-pandemic production surge recedes
As the first month of 2020 approached, a big chunk of production in Los Angeles was set to take place in the coming months.
That would soon change. By week’s end, production had dwindled considerably, and a total of 13 productions had pulled out of the city, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A handful of those productions had returned to Los Angeles by the end of the week, though, with a surge in productions planned in the weeks ahead; a number are said to be set to roll out this weekend.
The drop in new production in Los Angeles came as a surprise to many, including longtime industry observers. Just two weeks earlier, the city was bustling with productions, including the biggest movie shoot in history in the city, and nearly all filming had been on hold to conserve resources.
A weeklong shooting in L.A. was set to begin Nov. 9, with the first set for a film about the Ebola crisis as well as the upcoming awards season, which had been scheduled to begin on Nov. 10.
The shooting, however, was abruptly called off the day before. It’s unclear why, other than that all of the actors were quarantined in the hospital and were not allowed to speak with the media.
The shutdown was in spite of multiple announcements by LA County health officials that it would be a good idea, citing the growing number of cases in the area and the potential spread of the virus.
Even before that, production in Los Angeles had dropped significantly, down by as much as 25% or 40% in just the last month, depending on the studio involved.
Production had seen a big jump in the first month of 2020, with productions up nearly 70% since this time last year, at the same time also seeing its biggest surge in the last 30 days.
Production in L.A. has also been on a steady pace heading into the new year, with the first two weeks ending up ahead of the same time last year in