Nationwide Trends
In May 2016, 17 permits were authorized on public land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for filming purposes. This is compared to 10 authorized in May 2015. 110 acres were acquired with these 17 authorized permits. That is a increase of 71.99 acres in contrast to the 38 acres authorized in May 2015.
While 17 film site permits were authorized through the BLM in May, 36 permits were closed over the same month. This is a decrease of 44 permits as opposed to May 2015 when there were 80 closed permits. 3,272 acres were released with these 36 closed permits. This is 322,094.05 fewer acres released in May compared to the 325,366 released in the same month in 2015.
| May 2016 | May 2015 | Net | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authorized Permit | 17 | 10 | 7 | 70% |
| Authorized Acres | 110 | 38 | 71.99 | 189.4% |
| Closed Permit | 36 | 80 | 44 | 55% |
| Closed Acres | 3,272 | 325,366 | 322,094.05 | 98.99% |
Chart 1: Authorized Permits By Year
in the United States Of America
State Trends
California, Nevada, and New Mexico are the three most active states when ranked by total authorized filming permits on public land overseen by the BLM. California is the most active state with 167 authorized permits, accounting for 77.67% of the overall filming permits in the United States. This is 154 more permits than Nevada, the second most active state, which hosts 13 filming permits and accounts for 6.05% of the overall filming permits in the United States. New Mexico has 3 fewer permit than Nevada, making it the third most active state, with 10 filming permits—6.05% of the authorized filming permits overseen by the BLM.
| State | May 2016 (Authorized Permits) |
|---|---|
| California | 167 |
| Nevada | 13 |
| New Mexico | 10 |
| Utah | 7 |
| Arizona | 5 |
Chart 2: States By Authorized Permit
in the United States Of America
Closed Permits In May
Utah, California, and Nevada had the most closed BLM film site permits over the course of May 2016. Utah is distinguished by its 21 closed permits, the most closed that month and 12 more than May 2016. This is 15 more permits than California, which lost 6 film site permits—a decrease of 61 permits from last May. Nevada jettisoned 3 fewer permits than California. The 3 filming permits closed in Nevada are 3 greater than May last year.
| State | May 2016 (Closed Permits) |
May 2015 (Closed Permits) |
Net | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 21 | 9 | 12 | 133.33% |
| California | 6 | 67 | 61 | 91.04% |
| Nevada | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| New Mexico | 2 | 2 | ||
| Colorado | 1 | 0 | 1 |
County Trends
Closed Permits In May
Grand, San Juan, and Inyo counties had the most closed BLM film site permits over the course of May 2016. Grand County, Utah is distinguished by its 10 closed permits, the most closed that month and 7 more than May 2015. This is 5 more permits than San Juan County, Utah, which lost 5 film site permits—an increase of 4 permits from last May. Inyo County, California jettisoned 2 fewer permits than San Juan. The 3 filming permits closed in Inyo County are 2 more than May last year.
| County | May 2016 (Closed Permits) |
May 2015 (Closed Permits) |
Net | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand, Utah | 10 | 3 | 7 | 233.33% |
| San Juan, Utah | 5 | 1 | 4 | 400% |
| Inyo, California | 3 | 1 | 2 | 200% |
| Clark, Nevada | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| Sandoval, New Mexico | 2 | 2 |
View Individual State Trends Reports
While this report focuses on those states and counties with the greatest amount of authorized permits or significant change in activity on public land, this is hardly to neglect the extensive activity occurring elsewhere. For more locally focused reports, complete with graphs and time series tables, visit any of our listed states below or search for a particular county’s trend report on The Film Locations™.
Get Report Alerts
Each month, we release a new report on film site permit trends. Get notified when the next report is published, updated data is released, or new features are available on The Film Locations™ by joining our mailing list.
*These reports are summarizing film site permits on public land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management and do not encompass sales or transfers occurring on private land.