[Hollywood signage installation. Photo Credit to Pixabay]

Los Angeles’ share of global production has slipped from 21.9% in 2022 to 18.3% two years later, highlighting a sustained contraction that is now showing up across box office performance and audience behavior worldwide.

The global film industry is showing sustained signs of contraction as production activity, box office revenue, and domestic screening audiences decline across major markets.

In the United States, Los Angeles continues to lose its position as a primary production hub even as studios remain headquartered there.

Contributions to the U.S. motion picture pension plan have dropped by roughly one-third over the past three years, reflecting reduced work for unionized actors, writers, and crew.

The number of shooting days in Los Angeles fell more than 20% between early 2024 and early 2025, while the region’s share of global production dropped from 21.9% in 2022 to 18.3% two years later.

Industry suppliers tied to production, such as costume houses, equipment rental firms and specialty vehicle providers, have either shuttered or seen business collapse amid lower domestic demand.

The theatrical sector in the U.S. has also faced difficulty in staging a meaningful comeback.

2025 domestic ticket sales tracked closely to 2024 levels and are positioned well below the $9 billion domestic benchmark analysts expected, according to Variety reporting.

Variety attributed this trend to shrinking theatrical “windows”, the period before films go to home viewing, and competition from streaming platforms are major factors behind weak attendance.

Premium large-screen formats like IMAX have helped offset some revenue loss, but overall audience numbers remain below pre-pandemic norms.

South Korea offers a useful comparison because it is both a mature theatrical market and a globally visible content exporter, meaning shifts in audience behavior and investment patterns tend to surface quickly.

If the downturn were limited to Hollywood’s labor costs or local production incentives, Korea would be an outlier.

Instead, Korean admissions, revenue, and release volumes are declining in ways that mirror the same structural pressures reshaping the U.S. market.

In South Korea, data indicates similar structural pressures on the film industry.

According to a report by Star News Korea citing The Guardian, Korean film admissions plummeted from approximately 226 million in 2019 to about 123 million, a roughly 45% fall.

Box office revenue in South Korea declined from about $1.3 billion to around $812 million over recent years, as investment slowed and fewer films were produced.

Korean distributors that once released more than 40 domestic films annually are now expected to release roughly 20 in 2025, with projections of even fewer in 2026.

Industry analysts cited in the Korean reporting characterized the downturn as structural, driven by rising costs, shrinking margins and a post-pandemic shift toward streaming platforms when competing for audiences.

South Korean theaters have sought to innovate with technological upgrades like IMAX and Dolby formats, and chains are consolidating screens to operate more efficiently under lower demand.

Across Asia, broader market trends suggest divergent recovery patterns rather than a uniform rebound.

Panels at the Asian Content & Film Market noted that while international co-productions and cross-border sales remain active, domestic box office performance in several countries is not yet strong enough to sustain historical production volumes.

Technology and global competition have lowered barriers to entry but also dispersed production worldwide, enabling crews and facilities far from legacy centers to handle major projects once concentrated in Hollywood.

Advances in filmmaking and post-production have shortened location schedules and reduced crew sizes, contributing to fewer shooting days and lower local spending in traditional markets.

Although streaming platforms continue commissioning content, intense competition for viewer attention has created boom-and-bust cycles rather than stable growth.

Taken together, these indicators suggest the global film market is undergoing a significant rebalancing in ways that challenge theaters, production hubs and the business models that sustained the industry for decades.

Whether this reflects a temporary contraction or a longer-term structural reset remains a central question for studios, filmmakers, and exhibitors worldwide.