98th Oscars: No Best Picture Nominees Filmed in Hollywood

"A Ghost Town?" Zero Best Picture Nominees Filmed in Hollywood for 2026 Oscars

The 98th Academy Awards marks a historic first as every Best Picture nominee was produced outside of California, signaling a massive shift to international filming hubs.

Ryan Kowalski

Mar 15, 2026, 1:08 PM PT · 2 min read

The 98th Academy Awards features a slate of Best Picture nominees filmed entirely outside

THE RUNDOWN

No 98th Oscar Best Picture nominee was filmed primarily in California or Hollywood.
This marks the first total shutout of Los Angeles-based productions in Oscar history.
Major productions moved to the UK, Georgia, and New Zealand for financial incentives.
California's $750 million tax credit failed to retain the year's top-tier nominated films.
Reports from CoStar confirm a significant economic impact on traditional L.A. soundstages.

Hollywood is facing a historic identity crisis. Following a milestone reached during the 97th awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, many Best Picture nominees for the 2026 Oscars were not primarily filmed in Los Angeles or the state of California. As reports from The Guardian and CBS Sunday Morning noted for the 2025 season, the films competing for the top prize were produced in locations ranging from the United Kingdom and New Orleans, Louisiana to New Zealand.

The shift highlights a growing "runaway production" trend driven by massive financial incentives. While California officials recently moved to expand the state’s film tax credit to $750 million annually, it was not enough to keep the year's biggest critical hits at home. Major studios like Warner Bros. Discovery and independent powerhouses like A24 have increasingly opted for regions with more aggressive rebates or authentic "on-location" backdrops to manage rising production costs.

Industry experts told CoStar and IndexBox that the lack of local filming has significantly impacted the Los Angeles economy and its traditional studio infrastructure. Iconic soundstages at Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures are being bypassed for more modern facilities in London or real-world environments globally. As the 98th Oscars ceremony approaches at the Dolby Theatre, the industry is reckoning with a year where "Hollywood" became more of a brand than a physical location.