A recent studio-merger settlement with California and 11 other states comes with specific commitments: at least 30 films a year in U.S. theaters for the first two years, rising to 32 annually for the following three. The merged company also committed to at least $1.5 billion in additional U.S. film production spending over five years.
Those commitments put the business behind the screen in focus. Beyond how many films reach theaters, where are they shot, which companies are behind them and how much do they cost?
To explore those questions, Giggster reviewed 639 film records drawn from IMDbPro searches covering 2020 through 2025. The report compares the most frequently listed production companies, their films’ recorded locations in the U.S. and abroad, and the companies and genres most common at different budget levels.
Key Takeaways
- Across the six-year period, Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, A24 and Warner Bros. had the highest film counts in the 2020-2025 review. Universal Pictures leads with 40 films, followed by Columbia Pictures with 31, while A24 and Warner Bros. tie with 29 each.
- Films associated with the most frequently listed companies often include locations outside the U.S. Among the 242 films associated with the 10 most frequently listed companies, 67% include at least one non-U.S. filming location. The U.K. is the top international filming country for eight of those companies.
- California’s filming count is more than double Georgia’s. California appears as a filming location in 20% of the reviewed films, compared with 9% for Georgia. New York sits between them in the state ranking, at 14%.
- About 60% of films with recorded budgets in the 2020-2025 dataset fall below $50 million. Drama is the most common genre in the $10 million to under $50 million ranges, while action and adventure dominate films budgeted at $200 million or more.
Production Companies Behind the Most Films
What the Data Shows
- Universal Pictures leads the 2020-2025 review with 40 films. That represents 6% of the 639 films reviewed.1
- Columbia Pictures ranks second with 31 films. A24 and Warner Bros. tie for third with 29 each, followed by Paramount Pictures in fifth with 26.
- Nearly three-quarters of the company names appear only once. Of the 276 company names recorded, 200, or 72%, are associated with just one film.
1 The review covers 639 retained records from IMDbPro searches for 2020 through 2025, originally filtered for U.S. origin, U.S. releases, selected narrative genres and at least $1 million in combined U.S. and Canadian box office. Each film is grouped under its single recorded production-company name. The years refer to the release search, not filming dates.
Where Production Companies Film Outside the U.S.
The 10 companies that appeared most often in the dataset also show very different patterns in where their films were shot outside the U.S.
What the Data Shows
- Nearly all of Marvel Studios’ reviewed films list a filming location outside the U.S. Twelve of its 13 films (92%) include at least one non-U.S. location, the highest share among the 10 companies compared.1
- The U.K. is the most common filming country outside the U.S. for eight of the 10 companies. Canada takes that position for the other two, A24 and Lionsgate.
- Warner Bros. has the most films listing U.K. locations among these companies. It leads with 11 films, followed by Universal Pictures with 10 and Paramount Pictures with nine.
Elsewhere in Europe
- Italy follows the U.K. as the most common European filming country among these companies. Fourteen films list Italian locations. Warner Bros. and 20th Century Studios tie with three each, including “Dune: Part Two” under Warner Bros. and “A Haunting in Venice” under 20th Century Studios.
- Hungary appears in 10 reviewed films, including three listed under Lionsgate. Its examples include “Ballerina” and “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.”
- Germany and Spain each appear in nine films, while Ireland appears in eight. Lionsgate has three films listing German locations. Universal Pictures has three listing Irish locations, including “Cocaine Bear” and “Drop.”
1 These comparisons cover the 242 films associated with Section 1’s 10 companies. Each film counts once per country with a recorded filming location. Films can list several countries and were not necessarily filmed entirely in any one of them.
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One of the clearest findings is how common international filming is among the companies that appear most often in our sample. Two-thirds of their 242 films include at least one location outside the U.S., and the U.K. is the most common international filming country.
Tyler Quiel
CEO, Giggster
What U.S. States Appear Most Often as Filming Locations?
What the Data Shows
- California is listed as a filming location for 20% of the 639 films reviewed in the 2020-2025 dataset. Universal Pictures is listed on 12 of those titles, more than any other company.1
- New York appears as a filming location in 14% of the reviewed films. Columbia Pictures has the most films listing the state, with 11.
- More than half of U.S. states each appear as filming locations in less than 1% of the reviewed films. Seven states are not listed for any of the 639 films: Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, New Hampshire, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming.
1 A film counts for California if at least one recorded filming location is in the state; it was not necessarily filmed entirely there.
Which Companies’ Films Combine U.S. and International Locations?
What the Data Shows
- Marvel Studios has the highest share of films combining U.S. and non-U.S. filming locations. Ten of its 13 reviewed films list both, compared with 14 of 31 films for second-place Columbia Pictures.1
- Most of Focus Features’ reviewed films list only locations outside the U.S. Ten of its 19 films fit this pattern, making it the only company among the 10 compared with a majority.
- Searchlight Pictures has the highest share of films listing only U.S. locations. Seven of its 14 reviewed films fit this pattern, compared with 13 of 29 A24 films.
1 The comparison covers the same 10 companies, with percentages calculated from each company’s reviewed films. “Both” means at least one recorded location inside the U.S. and one outside it. “Only” describes the recorded locations, not proof that no filming occurred elsewhere.
How Film Budgets Vary by Company and Genre
What the Data Shows
- A24 has more reviewed films budgeted below $25 million than any other company. It has 18 titles in this range: four under $10 million and 14 from $10 million to under $25 million.
- Warner Bros. leads among films budgeted from $100 million to under $200 million, with 14 titles. At $200 million or more, Marvel Studios leads with 11.
- Horror appears in 50% of films budgeted under $10 million, while action and adventure each appear in 85% of films budgeted at $200 million or more.
Key Terms
Films Reviewed
The 639 retained film records from IMDbPro searches covering 2020 through 2025. The original searches filtered for U.S. origin, U.S. releases, selected narrative genres and at least $1 million in U.S./Canada box office.
Production Company
The single company name recorded in each film’s IMDbPro Production Co. field. Company names are not filtered by nationality or combined under parent companies.
Filming Location
A place listed in a film’s recorded filming locations where filming took place. A listed location does not mean the entire film, or most of it, was shot there.
Non-U.S. Filming Location
Any recorded filming location outside the United States. A film can list both U.S. and non-U.S. locations.
U.S. Locations Only
Films whose recorded filming locations are all within the United States, including Puerto Rico.
Non-U.S. Locations Only
Films whose recorded filming locations are all outside the United States.
Both U.S. and Non-U.S. Locations
Films with at least one recorded filming location in the U.S. and at least one outside the U.S.
Recorded Production Budget
The production budget listed for a film in the dataset. Budget comparisons use U.S.-dollar figures and exclude films with missing budgets or budgets recorded in other currencies.
FAQs
Methodology
Data Sources and Film Selection
This report examines production-company names, recorded filming locations and production budgets across 639 reviewed film records. The primary source was IMDbPro Discover. The original research notes specify searches for movie titles with U.S. country of origin, U.S. releases from Jan. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2025, and at least $1 million in combined U.S. and Canadian box office. No budget, rating or popularity restrictions were applied.
Selected genres were Action, Adventure, Biography, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Family, Fantasy, History, Horror, Music, Musical, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller, War and Western. Films could carry multiple tags, so these filters did not automatically exclude every documentary, animated title or special-event release.
IMDb, Box Office Mojo, The Numbers and film-office sources supported targeted checks. Release dates and eligibility were not independently verified for every retained film.
Production Company Film Counts
Each distinct film, identified by its IMDb title ID, counts once toward the single name captured in its Production Co. field. Companies were not filtered by nationality, and studio labels were not combined under parent companies. Verified spreadsheet-formatting errors were corrected.
Companies are ranked by film count. Each company’s percentage is its count divided by 639, multiplied by 100.
The 10 companies with the highest counts account for 242 films. These same companies are used in the international and mixed-location comparisons. They were selected by film count, not international filming percentage.
The analysis does not reconstruct complete production-company credits. The recorded company is not assumed to be the sole producer, financier or decision-maker for filming locations.
Non-U.S. Filming Locations
The analysis uses the supplied IMDb filming-location records. IMDb defines filming locations as places where filming occurred, not necessarily where the story is set. A location’s inclusion does not establish how much of a film was shot there.
Each film counts once per country. Companies are ranked by the number of their films listing at least one non-U.S. location divided by their own reviewed film total, multiplied by 100. This includes films listing only non-U.S. locations and those listing both U.S. and non-U.S. locations.
The top non-U.S. country is the country appearing in the largest number of each company’s reviewed films. U.K. constituent-country locations are grouped under the United Kingdom. Puerto Rico is treated as U.S. geography.
The European table highlights six selected countries among the same 242 films. It shows country film counts, the most frequently listed companies and selected examples from those companies. Company ties are included. This is not a complete European ranking.
U.S. Filming Locations
The state comparison considers all 50 states and displays the 10 appearing in the most reviewed films. Each film counts once per state but can count toward several states.
Each state’s percentage is its film count divided by all 639 reviewed films, including those with no recorded U.S. location. The company column considers all company names in the dataset, not just the top 10, and includes ties.
Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories are not counted as states. Article calculations incorporate location corrections supported by the supplied text and targeted outside-source checks, including distinguishing Georgia, the state, from Georgia, the country.
State and country percentages overlap because films can list multiple places. A state with no recorded films should not be interpreted as having no film production.
U.S. and Non-U.S. Filming Patterns
The same 10 companies’ films are grouped into three mutually exclusive categories: U.S. locations only, non-U.S. locations only, or both. “Both” requires at least one recorded location inside the U.S. and at least one outside it.
Percentages use each company’s reviewed film total, not all 639 films. Companies are ranked by the percentage listing both U.S. and non-U.S. locations. “Only” describes the available records, not proof that no filming occurred elsewhere.
Production Budgets and Genres
Budget calculations use 436 films with recorded U.S.-dollar budgets. Another 198 films have no recorded budget and five have budgets in other currencies. These 203 films remain in the broader analysis but are excluded from budget calculations. Missing values were not treated as zero, and currencies were not converted.
The six mutually exclusive ranges are: under $10 million; $10 million to under $25 million; $25 million to under $50 million; $50 million to under $100 million; $100 million to under $200 million; and $200 million or more. They were defined for this analysis, not taken from official industry classifications.
Each range’s share uses the 436 budget-recorded films. Company comparisons consider all company names within that range. The most common genre is the most frequently recorded tag; films count once for each applicable tag. Genre percentages use each range’s film total, and ties are included.
The highest-grossing examples are the two films with the largest recorded worldwide grosses within each range. They do not necessarily belong to the company or genre shown beside them.
Budgets, grosses and the selection threshold are not adjusted for inflation. Worldwide gross means recorded box-office receipts, not company revenue or profit. Film budgets are not allocated to individual filming locations.
Ranking Convention
Rankings use exact film counts or unrounded percentages, as specified for each table. Equal values share a rank marked “Tie,” with subsequent positions skipped. Identical displayed percentages do not create a tie when underlying values differ.
Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number unless stated otherwise. Combined shares use underlying counts rather than sums of rounded percentages. Rounded totals may differ from 100%.
The budget table runs from lowest to highest budget range, without ranks. The European table presents selected country profiles.
Things to Keep in Mind
The findings describe a selected, U.S.-market-focused set of records, not all films, complete company output or industry market shares.
The 2020 through 2025 period refers to the original release search, not verified filming dates. IMDb title years can reflect festival premieres, and release-year checks remain incomplete. References to 2026 identify the report’s publication year.
Location lists may be incomplete, and full IMDb location pages were not independently rechecked for every film. Budgets were not independently verified for every title or standardized to a common accounting basis, such as before or after production rebates. Films with missing budget data may differ from those included.
Film origin, company nationality and filming location are different attributes. A U.S.-origin search does not establish that every recorded company is American or that filming occurred entirely in the U.S.
The records do not measure filming days, spending by location, employment or responsibility for location choices. The analysis cannot establish that incentives, strikes or production costs caused filming to occur in or move to a particular place. Figures reflect the supplied records and documented corrections, not a continuously updated database.
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