'IT WILL ROCKET'
Foreign investment in the Czech film industry leapt nearly 1.2 billion crowns to a record 4.8 billion ($210 million) on 1,072 shooting days for 38 foreign series and films in 2018, according to the Czech Film Commission.
Investment is expected to remain at that level or higher this year, though Czech plans to increase cash rebates on offer for film makers from 20 percent now could be a game changer.
"It will rocket once the incentives are raised," Pavlina Zipkova, head of the Czech Film Commission, told Reuters. "The government has not increased it yet but we strongly believe it will happen later this year."
In Hungary, spending on a total of 333 productions last year amounted to 110 billion forints (385 million), with 84 percent of the investment coming from international productions including Hollywood blockbusters "Terminator: Dark Fate" and "Gemini Man."
This was up from 108 billion in 2017, when "Red Sparrow" and "Colette" were made in Hungary but Havas at Hungary's Film Fund expects the new EU rules to accelerate the streaming-fuelled production boom.
The rise of streaming services has also shifted the types of productions in the region. Hungary attracts more blockbuster films these days while episodic series tend to gravitate towards the Czech Republic, said Tomas Krejci, founder of Milk and Honey Pictures and Prague Studios.
This helped Prague Studio's turnover jump more than 50 percent in 2018 - and Krejci predicts demand will remain strong as top notch crews shooting historical shows are more than a third cheaper than in rival countries such as Spain.
"The demand for historical shows is getting stronger," Krejci said whose company has produced "Haunted" for Netflix and Amazon's "Patriot" and the second season of "Lore."
"Here it's not just the phenomenal historic architecture but also the vast amount of props, costumes and local talent that make it cheaper and easier to make these kinds of shows."
