27/10/2015 - The current annual turnover amounts to €53 million, with 82% coming from foreign productions shot in Romania

A study undertaken by audit company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) shows that the annual turnover of the Romanian film industry could increase from €53 million to €350 million, if the state were to support the industry. Romania is one of the very few countries in Eastern Europe where the state offers no incentives for foreign film production companies.

“Although Romania benefits from a film infrastructure comparable to that of the developed markets in Europe, very gifted film professionals, wide acclaim on the global stage and very diverse film locations, which have helped to attract some significant foreign productions, the local film industry has faced relative stagnation in recent years. The overall costs for film productions in Romania are competitive, but the cost difference compared to other countries in the region (estimated at 3% to 5%) is not high enough to compensate for the lack of tax incentives that most of the countries in the region offer,” stated Bogdan Belciu, of Management Consulting Services, PwC Romania, one of the authors of the study, as quoted by Business Review.

According to the PwC study, the sector currently employs 650 to 750 film professionals, but the number could increase to 5,600.

The situation could change over the next few years, as the country’s main film studio, formerly known as the MediaPro Studios, owned by MediaPro Entertainment, part of Central European Media Enterprises, has new owners and is being rebranded as the Bucharest Film Studios. Together with Castel Film Studios, which has attracted important film productions such as Ghost Rider, Bucharest Film Studios may finally convince the Romanian government that the film industry can become more profitable for the country, as is the case in neighbouring Bulgaria and Hungary.