Following months of research, SPI has determined that there is a significant opportunity for the development of a new facility for film and television production in Croatia. Although production is currently limited due to the pandemic, they estimate that there is a “very high need” for a space that would help film production increase, “upon completion of the period of stagnation caused by the virus”.

According to data presented by the Institute for Public Finance, there were 521 active production and distribution companies in Croatia in 2017, a 15% increase since 2011. As of 2017, these companies employed a total of 1,493 professionals and actively generated 1.3 billion HRK / 171.6 million EUR in 2017 alone.

In the same period, the turnover in the AV activity increased by a total of 74%, an average annual growth of almost 10%. Croatian AV companies also grew in value added, which in 2017 reached the level of 421 million HRK / 55.6 million EUR.

According to SPI, tax rebates that are offered to international productions through the programme Filming in Croatia bring a return on investment that is three to four times higher than the amount invested for the same project in the private sector. Although international producers have already filmed large projects in Croatia, the availability of newly built studios would allow future projects to stay longer in the country and make larger investments in Croatia. During consultations for this project, leading international producers expressed a strong interest in the development of a new study complex in Croatia.

The Croatian Ministry of Culture, as well as other state and local bodies, are expected to formally start a project that would include the launch of a public tender for a production company or a consortium that would be contracted to develop and run the studio in a public/private partnership.