A well-known Los Angeles film studio lot is up for sale with an eight-figure price tag.
The owners of Occidental Studios are looking to sell the historic film studio for $45 million.
“This is a place with a whole lot of history. It was first built back in 1913 before some movies even had sound,” FOX Business correspondent Max Gorden reported Wednesday. “It comes complete with office space. It comes complete with bungalows, and then there’s also four sound stages here.”
Stage 1, the biggest of its sound stages, sprawls 14,000 square feet and has ceilings that tower 54 feet high, he reported.
“If we can’t sell at $45 million or there about on terms that we’re comfortable with, it’s not going to be just a money play, it will be a successor play,” Occidental Entertainment Group Holdings CEO Craig Darian told FOX Business. “We’re holding a piece of art, and we’re going to be stubborn in the next generation. It’s not gonna be sold to just anybody.”
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They want the next owner of Occidental Studios to keep filming at the property, according to Gorden.
Another film studio was reportedly acquired by singer John Mayer and film producer McG last year for a price similar to what the owners of Occidental Studios are asking. That property, Jim Henson Studios, traded hands in a roughly $44 million deal.
Sound stages in Los Angeles saw an average occupancy rate of 63% last year, according to FilmLA. That marked a five-percentage-point decline from 2023.
Hollywood has been vying with other places in the U.S. and other countries for the filming of movies and television in recent years, according to Gorden.
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He also reported California lawmakers recently approved a measure to lift the amount of money allocated to the state’s film and television tax credit program to $750 million per year. It had previously been $330 million.
“It’s more reactive, candidly, than proactive,” Darian told FOX Business. “Whether it’s too little, too late, it’s a game that we’ll have to pay attention to. Our legislators will have to be very attentive to how important this industry is.”
The entertainment industry in Los Angeles “brings over $30 billion to California and supports over 200,000 local jobs,” according to the City of Los Angeles’ Economic and Workforce Development Department. It is also a significant driver of tourism for the city.
Los Angeles is currently home to roughly 8 million square feet of stage production space, according to FilmLA.
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