At panel discussion on new trends in Czech filmmaking held as part of the industry events at the Karlovy Vary IFF on 7 July 2016, producer Pavel Strnad of Negativ said that 260 titles were released in 2015, compared with 170 films three years earlier, and increase of some 50 percent, while attendance grew only a few percentage points over the same period. In addition, Strnad said, “The distribution cycle is much faster.” Instead of a 6-9 month cinemas release, a film now receives a 6-9 week release. The end result is that Czech domestic films, which were box office hits in the past, could garner attendance of anywhere from 500,000 – 1 million. Now Czech box office hits are reaching audiences of 250,000 - 500,000.

Art films, however, are doing much better. Previously they might attract a few thousand viewers, with a hit topping out at 30,000. Now a top art house Czech film will see attendance in the range of 50,000 – 60,000.

Documentary films are suffering most, while at the same time also seeing an increase in prestige, thanks to such activities as the Jihlava IDFF and the introduction of the Institute of Documentary Films. “There are too many documentaries in distribution, so they get small audiences,” Strnad said.

A relatively new situation on the Czech film scene resulted from a study of the film industry that showed Czech films spending too little time on development. The study caused the Czech Film Fund to increase development funding. The fund also began supporting minority coproductions, which has given Czech filmmakers greater access to the international market.