Georgia overtakes New York in soundstage space; in US, only L.A. has more

Georgia has the second most soundstage square footage domestically behind only Los Angeles County, according to FilmLA Research, a non-profit research group out of Los Angeles.

The state, with an estimated 3 million square feet in soundstage space as of the end of 2021, has now passed New York (2.8 million). Soundstages are the large, sound-proofed areas of a movie studio where filming takes place.

A year earlier, Georgia had an estimated 2 million square feet in soundstage space, behind New York (2.4 million), according to FilmLA Research.

Georgia has the fourth-most square footage in the world based on how FilmLA Research breaks down square footage, sometimes by province (in Canada), country (the U.K.), state (Georgia and New York) or county (Los Angeles County.)

Los Angeles County by the end of 2021 had 6.2 million square feet in soundstage space, up from 5.4 million in 2020. The United Kingdom grew from 4.7 million to 5.4 million. Ontario in Canada, focused largely around Toronto, expanded from 3.3 million to 3.8 million. British Columbia, which covers Vancouver, increased square footage from 2.5 million to 2.8 million.

The date collected by the organization is already more than a year out of date. Soundstage space is growing rapidly worldwide to fulfill growing demand for content in recent years, fueled by streaming services. But in 2023, there are signs of a slow down in scripted programming with cutbacks at HBO Max and Netflix.