A sobering economic report released on October 5, 2026, by a coalition of Hollywood unions reveals a dramatic 25-year erosion of the United States' role as the world's primary location for film and television production. The study, commissioned by powerful industry groups including IATSE, the Directors Guild of America, and SAG-AFTRA, quantifies a seismic shift of production overseas. According to the report's findings, the U.S. share of major studio film production budgets has plummeted from 74% a quarter-century ago to just 42% today.
This extensive analysis details a multi-faceted decline that extends beyond just spending. The report documents significant drops in the number of U.S.-based projects and, consequently, a sharp reduction in the share of American cast and crew employed on major films. The data indicates that while the global production market has grown, the U.S. has steadily lost its grip, with the most lucrative, high-budget productions leading the exodus to international locations that offer competitive financial incentives. The findings present a stark challenge to the domestic industry, framing the issue as a critical economic and labor crisis.
US Production Decline: A 25-Year Snapshot
The union-backed report provides a comprehensive, data-driven look at the decline by examining several distinct metrics. It contrasts the U.S. market share in 1999 with the landscape in 2024, revealing how the erosion of domestic production has manifested differently across film and television, and in terms of budgets versus the sheer number of projects. This comparative view illustrates that while the decline is broad, its impact is most pronounced in the areas of highest value: production spending and the workforce for major motion pictures.
The data shows that the drop in the share of production budgets spent in the U.S. has been more severe than the drop in the number of projects filmed here. This suggests that the productions leaving the country are often the larger, more expensive ones. For television, while the U.S. still retains a majority of production spending, it has lost the near-total dominance it held 25 years ago.
| Metric | Film Production | TV Production |
|---|---|---|
| Production Budget Share | Declined from 74% to 42% | Declined from 94% to 64% |
| Share of Projects | Declined from 66% to 54% | Declined from 96% to 70% |
| Workforce Share (Cast & Crew) | Declined from 72% to 43% | Not specified in evidence |
The Outsized Impact on High-Budget Films
While the overall figures are alarming, the report isolates a particularly troubling trend: the flight of Hollywood's biggest and most expensive productions. According to an analysis of the report's data, the U.S. market share for the 25 most expensive films produced by major studios has collapsed, falling from 74% to just 34% over the 25-year period. This decline is significantly steeper than the overall drop in film budget share, indicating that the industry's tentpole projects are the most likely to be produced abroad.
The economic significance of this specific exodus cannot be overstated. The report, as cited by Variety, notes that these top 25 films, while representing only a quarter of the movies produced by major studios, account for a staggering two-thirds of the total budgets and half of all crew jobs. This heavy concentration of spending and labor in a small number of projects means that the loss of even a few of these films to overseas locations has a disproportionately severe impact on the domestic economy and employment opportunities for American production workers.
Economic Consequences and Union Concerns
The cumulative effect of this 25-year production shift represents a substantial economic loss for the United States. The report argues that if the domestic market share for film and television production had held steady at its 1999 levels, an additional $4 billion would be spent in the U.S. each year. This figure quantifies the direct economic activity—from wages for skilled labor to spending on local services—that has migrated to other countries.
For the unions that commissioned the study, this economic loss translates directly into fewer jobs and diminished career stability for their members. The data on workforce share provides the clearest evidence of this impact. The proportion of total cast and crew working on major studio films filmed at least partially in the U.S. has fallen by 29 percentage points, from 72% to 43%. This precipitous drop affects a wide range of American workers, from actors and directors to the thousands of craftspeople, technicians, and artisans who form the backbone of the production industry.
Industry Response and Future Outlook
The release of the report has intensified the debate over how to reverse this long-term trend. While the study itself focuses on quantifying the shift rather than explaining its causes, the context of global competition, particularly the rise of generous tax incentives in other countries, is a central part of the conversation. The report serves as a powerful data-driven argument for intervention, providing unions with concrete evidence to bring to lawmakers and studio negotiation tables.
In a sign of the industry's growing concern, the Motion Picture Association released its own report last month advocating for a federal production incentive to make the U.S. more competitive. The MPA argues that such a policy could generate an additional $22 billion in annual domestic production spending by 2035. The stark numbers presented by the unions are likely to amplify these calls for legislative action, creating a new sense of urgency in Washington.
What's Next for US Film and TV Production?
The industry faces a critical juncture requiring strategic responses to stem the outflow of production and jobs. The unions' detailed report has clearly defined the scale of the problem, shifting the focus toward potential solutions. The immediate future will likely be defined by a two-pronged effort: a political push for government support and renewed pressure on studios during collective bargaining.
For affected workers and industry observers, the key indicator to watch will be legislative developments regarding federal production incentives. The debate over whether, and how, to implement such a policy will be a major battleground. Simultaneously, the data from this report will almost certainly become a central point of leverage in future union-studio negotiations, where clauses related to production locations and the safeguarding of domestic jobs will be fiercely contested.
