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Down Bad in Hollywood
Streamers and Studios continue to struggle in Hollywood
Jason Sigmon
February 04, 2025
Grok | Down bad
TL;DR: Variety’s new report paints a bleak picture of the state of filming and content in Hollywood.
Key Points:
Rising Costs: Costs increases in Hollywood are moving productions out of Tinseltown
Low ROI: Streamers have not seen a return on straight-to-streamer releases which is causing a change in strategy
Eastern Europe Expansion: Many studios are moving production to Eastern Europe trying to lower their costs
Why it Matters: The recent L.A. fires only exasperated the lingering problems that Hollywood has suffered since COVID. Last year’s strike didn’t help the problem and Hollywood can not catch a break. Many productions are moving to Vancouver, the UK, or Eastern Europe to try and offset costs.
Streamers outside of Netflix also appear to be major losers. They are unable to recoup their investments on films and even their TV shows are not doing well. The idea of "build it and they will come" has not worked out, made more difficult by Netflix being the streaming winner.