The total turnover of the Czech audiovisual industry decreased by 27% last year to under CZK 10 billion, according to the Association of Audiovisual Producers (APA), including an expected drop of 40% in revenue from foreign productions, as the 20% incentives offered by the Czech Republic could not compete with other countries.
The demand from foreign producers for filming in the Czech Republic is nevertheless increasing again, thanks to measures adopted last year. According to APA, however, It will take more time for it to return to 2022 levels.
2022 saw the highest ever spending by filmmakers in the Czech Republic, around CZK 15.4 billion, of which around CZK 11.3 billion was spent by foreign producers.
“The 2024 decline reflects what [we] warned about,” said APA. “If the government failed to reform the audiovisual system, the Czech audiovisual industry would fall into stagnation or decline. Fortunately, this is not happening. As of January 2025, we have the new Czech Audiovisual Fund with a doubled budget and improved incentives. So this year is bringing growth and new opportunities once again.”
“The long-needed reform of the financing of public television went hand in hand with this,” said APA head Vratislav Slajer. “The broadcaster is a major investor in audiovisual production, including minority and non-commercial projects, documentaries, animation and children’s and youth programming.”
The amendment to the audiovisual law, passed by the Chamber of Deputies last October, increased the basic film incentive from 20% to 25%. At the same time, the maximum possible amount of the incentive per project was increased to CZK 450 million.
The incentive for animation and digital production is 35%. In addition, incentives in the Czech Republic are available very quickly to filmmakers in terms of administration and advantageous in terms of other procedural financial costs.
The amendment also introduced a separate pillar for animation and gaming. In addition, thanks to the creative vouchers administered by the Culture Ministry from the National Recovery Plan, an additional CZK 200 million has been added to the audiovisual sector.
After a slight decline of 13% last year, the advertising industry’s turnover of just under CZK 2.5 billion has grown again and surpassed the previous record in 2022.
The Czech Republic remains a key destination for international film projects, despite last year’s decline in the volume of foreign production. Last year, Prague hosted two prestigious science fiction productions. The first was the Blade Runner 2099 series for the Amazon Prime platform. The second was another series of Foundation, inspired by Isaac Asimov’s book series.
Czech VOD (video on demand) production recorded a record growth to CZK 381 million last year, even while the production of films and series declined. Domestic production, however, continues its long-term upward trend, although the volume is lower than in 2023.
