Study: California Not Getting Its Share of Big Action Films

California was the location for 10 of the 100 highest-performing U.S. feature films released theatrically last year, according to a study released Wednesday by FilmL.A. The 2017 Feature Film Study by the Hollywood nonprofit that coordinates location film permits in Los Angeles, unincorporated Los Angeles County and other jurisdictions concluded, however, that the state remains at a disadvantage in attracting films with budgets of $100 million or more. Last year was the third in a row that California did not benefit from a single major live-action film with a budget of $100 million or more. “In fact, the largest live-action movie budget spent in California was “The House,” which had an estimated budget of $40 million,” the study said. Only Georgia had more film production in the U.S., with 15 feature films among the top 100. Canada led the list with 20 feature films made there that were released in 2017. Still, California remains a popular state for film production. It was the primary location for music scoring for 37 of the 100 films in the 2017 study. It was also a location for the production of films released by streaming services like Netflix and Amazon. “While these streaming films will not have an impact on the future FilmL.A. reports about the top 100 theatrical films, they have a major impact on the local economy in terms of jobs and spending,” the report said. FilmL.A. President Paul Audley said that California remains a top competitor in an age when film production is an established global enterprise. “This report reinforces a fact that is increasingly well understood – that a skilled local workforce, robust infrastructure support and a competitive film incentive are prerequisite for film project attraction at scale,” Audley said in a statement. The California Film & Television Tax Credit Program 2.0 will help in keeping film production here for the foreseeable future and secure L.A.’s status as the entertainment capital of the world, the study concluded. “Over the next two years, ‘A Wrinkle in Time,’ ‘Bumblebee,’ ‘Captain Marvel’ and other key projects that qualified for the (state tax credit program) will help increase California’s share of top 100 films,” the study said.