BURN, HOLLYWOOD, BURN — NOT EVEN AN ALAN SMITHEE FILM: See How Hollywood’s Job Market Is Collapsing.
Most big-budget movies and a growing number of TV series now shoot overseas to take advantage of those tax credits. Some are shooting in non-English-speaking countries like Hungary, where labor and construction costs are particularly cheap.
California last year more than doubled the size of its state tax incentive, though experts say it still isn’t as attractive as those in New Jersey, New York or Georgia. Studios, labor unions and soundstage owners have all been lobbying the Trump administration and Congress to support a federal incentive of around 15%. When combined with state incentives that typically range from 20% to 40%, backers believe it would be enough to bring most Hollywood productions back to the U.S.
Repatriating production would be only a partial solution. The other reason entertainment workers are struggling is economic incentives have driven their employers to produce less.
The early 2020s marked the apex of a production boom known as “peak TV,” during which streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and HBO Max tried to add subscribers as fast as possible.
By the time strikes by actors and writers ended in 2023, Wall Street was demanding that streaming services give priority to profits over growth. The easiest way to get into the black was to cut production spending.
Meanwhile, Netflix — which probably contributed to this trend more than any other single production house — keeps raising prices for algorithm-chasing “second screen” slop meant for people to kinda-sorta watch on the living room TV while they scroll X or Instagram on their phones.
Previously: Who Killed Hollywood? Or Did it Kill Itself?
