Commercial Real Estate News
Los Angeles Soundstages Stay One-Third Empty as Slump Continues
Los Angeles County still boasts the world's largest concentration of soundstage space -- 8.3 million square feet of certified and uncertified stages -- but roughly a third of it sits vacant. Average occupancy across the region's major facilities held steady at 62% in the first half of 2025, according to FilmLA's eighth annual Sound Stage Production Report released March 18, 2026. That figure is essentially unchanged from 63% for full-year 2024 and well below the 69% recorded during the 2023 strikes. It marks a stark departure from the mid-90% utilization rates that defined the market from 2016 through 2022, before the dual Hollywood strikes, the "Great Netflix Correction," studio belt-tightening and intensifying competition from the U.K., New York and incentive-rich jurisdictions elsewhere.
The data, drawn from 17 participating studios that represent about 75% of the county's 6.9 million square feet of certified stage space, underscores a sector that has stabilized at depressed levels rather than rebounded. While the number of projects shot on participant stages rose modestly by 5% year-over-year, the overall volume remains far below pre-pandemic peaks. On-location filming in Los Angeles also continued its slide, dropping another 16% in 2025 after a 14% decline the prior year.
New supply keeps arriving anyway. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, two major facilities opened: East End Studios' five-stage Mission Campus in Boyle Heights in January and Cinespace Studios' six-stage, 180,000-square-foot campus in Woodland Hills in March -- the Canadian operator's first foothold in Los Angeles. FilmLA is tracking at least seven additional projects in planning or under construction, including Sylmar Studios' six-stage facility expected to open soon. The influx risks exacerbating oversupply unless scripted-television and feature production volumes climb meaningfully.
Performance varies sharply by operator. Vertically integrated majors with captive content pipelines are faring best. Warner Bros. Discovery reported 91% occupancy across its Burbank stages in 2025 and is on track to match or exceed that level this year. In mid-March the studio cut the ribbon on Ranch Lot Studios, a nearly 1-million-square-foot campus featuring 16 new soundstages, extensive production offices, a massive construction workshop and high-end support facilities. The addition brings WBD's total Southern California stage count to roughly 50 and has already locked in commitments from several tax-credit-qualified productions, including "Euphoria," "Latitude," "The Comeback" and "I Love LA." President of global experiences and studio operations Simon Robinson described the demand as "a good problem to have," noting the main lot frequently turned away shows last year.
Independent and REIT-owned operators face a tougher reality. Hackman Capital Partners, once the world's largest independent studio landlord, defaulted on a $1.1 billion mortgage tied to the historic Radford Studio Center in Studio City and ceded the 55-acre property to lenders led by Goldman Sachs in January. Revenue at the lot had covered only about 21% of debt service amid occupancy that lagged broader averages. Goldman has since put the asset on the market. Hudson Pacific Properties, which controls a large portfolio including Sunset Bronson, Sunset Gower and the Quixote stages, posted trailing 12-month studio occupancy of roughly 67% at year-end 2025 -- with premium Hollywood properties at 86% but the Quixote portfolio mired at 53%. The REIT has reported nine-figure annual losses for three straight years, pursued aggressive cost cuts and signaled potential asset sales.
Policy makers are trying to stanch the bleed. California expanded its film and television tax credit program last year, and a companion Soundstage Filming Tax Credit offers additional incentives for productions using newly built or upgraded certified stages. Since the expansion took effect in mid-2025, 119 projects have been awarded credits, though many have yet to begin filming. Local officials, including Mayor Karen Bass, attended the Cinespace ribbon-cutting and touted the potential for job creation. Yet industry executives and analysts caution that the full impact will take time to materialize, and rival hubs continue to lure productions with richer rebates and faster permitting.
The broader backdrop remains challenging. Streaming giants have curtailed output after years of over-spending, major studios have consolidated and shifted toward event films, and international competitors have doubled their stage inventories over the past five years while offering aggressive incentives. Crew layoffs and vendor distress have become commonplace; one Bloomberg documentary this month described empty stages and "existential dread" among Hollywood workers.
Still, some see glimmers of a bottom. Long-running series are returning, several high-profile pilots and features have greenlit, and the tax-credit pipeline could lift utilization later in 2026. FilmLA itself describes the current environment as one of "resiliency" rather than collapse. For now, however, the math is unforgiving: Los Angeles has more soundstage space than ever, but not nearly enough productions to fill it. The winners are those with deep-pocketed studio tenants and premium assets; the rest are navigating a recalibrated market that has yet to deliver the long-promised rebound.
