10/10/2025
Heads up to the visual effects / post-production industry! ICYMI:
Asked about the biggest changes and trends he’s seen over the last year, our client Joseph Bell tells Animation World Network, “The VFX and Animation industry continued to experience significant volatility over the past 12 months. Globally, the industry grew by almost 10% in the second half of last year, a partial rebound from the larger decrease in content commissioning that took place during and after the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes. The trend then reversed in the first half of 2025, and the industry today is approximately the same size as it was 12 months ago, at least in terms of headcount. Production levels remain well below their peak in 2022.”
He adds, “Technicolor was one of the largest employers in the industry when the group collapsed in February of this year. The city most impacted was their longtime production hub in Bangalore. Technicolor studios in Europe and North America were either acquired (along with Technicolor Games in India) or relaunched.”
Explaining that the closing of Technicolor and the Scottish studio, Axis, for example, should be analyzed carefully, Bell shares, “It’s tempting to view high-profile studio closures as a sign that the industry is in decline. However, the reality is more nuanced. Over the past year, numerous new VFX and animation studios have launched, often in the same locations where established companies recently shut down. Many of these new ventures are led by executives and talent from studios that closed in the same location just months, weeks, or even days before. They are able to secure financial backing, and sometimes inherit projects and clients directly from the shuttered studios. While new ventures don’t diminish the shock of hundreds or thousands of people losing jobs overnight, it’s clear that you can still find plenty of people who see a future in leading and financing VFX, animation, and post-production companies.”
Click through to download your free copy of Bell's latest 2025 Visual Effects & Animation World Atlas--a treasure trove of data on the global industry:
Bigger in size and broader in scope with the inclusion of animation company data, the comprehensive research report, available as a free download, is packed with clear, concise, and easy to digest information that charts and assesses 2,450 companies within the global animation and VFX industries.
