Quixote Studios Lays Off 70, Winds Down L.A. Locations Amid Production Slump

Quixote Studios is shuttering its Atlanta-based production services business and winding down its soundstage business in L.A. amid an ongoing production slump, the company announced Tuesday.

The changes will mean layoffs for about 70 people in Atlanta and Los Angeles.

Hudson Pacific Properties bought the company in 2022 for $360 million, but has since had to write down the entire value of its Quixote unit due to heavy operating losses.

Related Stories

Taylor Swift Leads 2026 American Music Awards Noms With Eight, as Olivia Dean and Sombr Follow Close Behind: Complete List of Nominees

Spotify Reveals All-Time Most-Streamed Artists, Albums, Songs and More: Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and the Weeknd Top Lists

“Obviously, clearly it was not the best deal we’ve ever done, but if you compare that to everything else we’ve done, then we’re doing okay,” said Victor Coleman, the chairman and CEO of Hudson Pacific, at an investor conference in March. “We think that we have multiple alternatives with that asset that we can make it zero or at least flat at the end of the year.”

Hudson Pacific also owns Sunset Studios, a separate portfolio of L.A.-based soundstages. Those properties — which are leased to Netflix and other production companies — are unaffected by the change, and the company said that they are 96% leased.

Hudson leased additional soundstages under the Quixote brand, including facilities in Pacoima, Panorama City and West Hollywood. Occupancy on those properties was considerably lower — just 53.3% last year. Those properties will be relinquished, though the firm is hanging on to its Atwater Village location, across the L.A. River from Griffith Park. The cost reductions are expected to save the company about $21-$27 million a year.

“Quixote is taking steps to move away from leased sound stages and markets characterized by structural cost or demand disadvantages, which will allow Hudson Pacific to focus financial and operational resources on our office portfolio and higher performing segments of our studio business,” said Mark Lammas, president of Hudson Pacific, in a statement.

The company is closing down its production services business in Atlanta, after closing its services businesses in New Orleans and Albuquerque last year, as it looks to refocus that side of the business on L.A. and New York.

At the investor conference in March, Coleman argued that L.A. and New York are faring better in the downturn than second-tier hubs like Atlanta, Chicago, Albuquerque and New Orleans.

“Those markets are much more depressed,” he said. “The tax credits in both Los Angeles and New York have enhanced what we see as the production flow.”

Hudson also owns the Icon, Cue and Epic office towers on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, which are leased to Netflix as its L.A. headquarters through 2031.

Netflix is believed to be closing in on a deal to acquire the Radford Studios lot in Studio City, though there is no sense yet how that might impact its current studio leasing arrangements.