Hollywood unions report major decline in U.S. film and TV production

A coalition of Hollywood unions, including SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild of America (DGA), IATSE, and LIUNA, has released a report detailing a significant long-term decline in U.S. film and television production market share. The study, prepared by EY, reveals that over the last 25 years, the proportion of film production budgets spent in the U.S. has dropped from 74% to 42%. Television production investment within the country has seen an even sharper decline, falling from 94% to 64%.

The report highlights that while total global production spending has grown substantially, the U.S. is capturing a smaller share of the market due to the globalization of the industry. This shift threatens the domestic industry, which supports more than two million jobs.

The findings arrive as the U.S. Congress debates potential legislative action, including production incentives of 20% to 30%, to help the domestic industry compete with international locations like Canada and the United Kingdom. The report notes that while the rise of streaming has fundamentally altered production scales and budgets, the trend of moving production abroad has been consistent since the early 2000s.