With the amount of layoffs the entertainment industry is going through, you’d think the industry was struggling. Last week Lucas Shaw, managing editor of Bloomberg news publicly asked Dana Walden, Disney President, “How are there still people [left] to fire?”. But the economic forecast of E&M tells a very different story.
The Entertainment and Media industry is projected to hit $3.6 Trillion in revenues for 2026, with a projected CAGR of 3.4% to hit $4.2 Trillion by 2030. Global advertising revenues make up nearly 25% of that figure, with a projected growth to $1.4 Trillion by 2030 driven by AI personalisation as reported by accounting firm PwC.
FilmLA’s quarterly report shows a continued decrease in filming in Los Angeles for 2026. For Q2 feature length filming showed a 19.9% decrease YoY, commercials a 21.5% decrease YoY and strongest of all, reality television filming down 39.9% YoY.
Conversely the United Kingdom is attracting significant investment and filming commitments with London driving entertainment and media investment. In 2025 production spend in the UK reached £6.8 Billion ($9 Billion), an increase of 22%. This saw significant growth across all areas of entertainment:
Of the total £2.77 billion spend on 193 film productions in 2025:
Inward investment films contributed £2.51 billion, a 35% increase on 2024
Domestic UK films accounted for £193 million, a 4% increase on 2024
Co-production spend accounted for £68 million, a 14% decrease on 2024.
The inward investment figure is the one to pay attention to. While Los Angeles is losing filming days, London is gaining blockbuster films such as the production of Avengers: Doomsday, Supergirl, The Odyssey and The Batman Part II.
This may be impacted to just how the tax break economics have a defining difference between the two territories, whilst the tax relief of 34% and 35% respectively are similar, the allowances mean London and the United Kingdom come out ahead on pure numbers. California has a yearly allowance of $750 Million to distribute to E&M tax breaks, but the United Kingdom keeps this open with no limited pool.
Additionally, per project California has a $120 Million cap. Whilst only a handful of films—F1, Avatar, Mission Impossible—reach above this budget number, it’s a notable difference in savings for mega blockbusters.
In short, it’s clear cut that the United Kingdom offers a better financial structure for producing film and television as the E&M market expands. Entertainment is healthier for investment than the headlines portray, but understanding where investment is positioned is a key factor.
Sources:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DisneyCM/comments/1wvjpq0/disney_president_says_layoffs_are_necessary/
