US Film Production Spending Increased 11 Percent to $7 Billion in 2015

California holds onto top position in the world, with 19 movies made in the state

Film production spending study

Hollywood producers spent $7 billion making movies in 2015, a new FilmL.A. study has found.

That amounts to a $700 million — or 11 percent — increase from 2014.

The study, in its third year, focused on the six major studios: Disney, Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount, Sony and 20th Century Fox. It also included “mini majors” DreamWorks, Lionsgate/Summit Entertainment, the Weinstein Co., CBS and Blumhouse.

The number of total films remained relatively stable; it went up by just two, to 109.

Aided by increased government incentives, California remained the world’s leader in studio productions, with 19 filming locations. The U.K. surged to second place, with 15 locations.

Film L.A.

The study illustrated the impact of the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program. Of the 16 live-action movies filmed in the Golden State, seven were incentivized projects: “Straight Outta Compton,” “Entourage,” “Freaks of Nature,” “Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse,” “The Wedding Ringer,” “The Perfect Guy” and “Insidious Chapter 3.”

When comparing one country to another, the U.S. remained dominant:

Film L.A. 2015 study

Budgets for the films studied by FilmL.A. ranged from $1 million to more than $300 million.

But California isn’t as competitive when it comes to drawing the biggest-budgeted films. The only movies made for more than $100 million that were produced in the state were animated projects. None of the large-budget live-action films, including Disney-Marvel’s  “Captain America: Civil War,” were produced primarily in California.

This year, FilmL.A. was also able to compare production spending between the biggest production centers around the world for the first time:

Film L.A. 2015 study

The entire study can be viewed here.

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