The film and entertainment industry continues to reel from the economic effects brought about by the global COVID-19 pandemic. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, there has been a drop in the filming of productions in the Los Angeles area.

According to the publication, filming has dropped by 18 percent, with that number set to increase as the world heads further into 2020 without a cure or a vaccine for COVID-19.

Before the coronavirus became a pandemic ravaging the United States and the rest of the world, filming in the greater Los Angeles area was actually at a promising start. 

From the months of January and February, there were 1,091 total productions ongoing. However, that number shrunk to 644 projects by the time March came around, with all productions stopping filming by the middle of the month because of the coronavirus-induced lockdowns. Since the shutdown is expected to continue into the following months, the drop is expected to continue as the year progresses.

Variety provided a breakdown of all the productions that were ongoing during the first quarter of the year. According to the publication, the first quarter saw filming in Greater Los Angeles perform 21.5 percent below their five-year average. Shoot days fell by 1,591 to 7,252 days. Shoots for television decreased by 20 percent to just 2,491 days.

Suffering from an even bigger increase is television comedy production, with shoot days dwindling to 251 days, a decrease of 53.9 percent. Shoot days for television dramas dropped to 889 shoot days, a decrease of 25.7 percent. Shoots for television productions for the web shrunk 13.1 percent to 225 days. Shoots for pilots clocked in at 87 days, a 19.4 percent decrease.

These dismal numbers echo the gloom descending upon the entertainment industry as a whole. Back in March, the North American box office suffered a $600 million deficit due to lockdowns that have resulted in moviehouse closures. The global film industry as a whole is also expected to suffer a $5 billion loss because of closures in the big markets like South Korea and Japan.

Perhaps the only part of the film and entertainment industry that has gained something from the coronavirus pandemic are the streaming services. Netflix has experienced an increase of 16 million subscribers due to people staying at home because of the pandemic, while Disney+ has ballooned to 50 million subscribers.

There doesn’t seem to be a slowdown among the rising cases of COVID-19 around the world. According to the Apr. 24 situation report by the World Health Organization, there are now 2,626,321 confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world. There are now 181,938 deaths caused by COVID-19.