Czech Republic’s lasting appeal as a filming destination for national and international productions was given a major boost at the beginning of 2025 when the Czech Film Fund was transformed into the Czech Audiovisual Fund (CAF), following the adoption of a new audiovisual act.
Among the changes, CAF’s production incentives were raised from 20% to 25%, while the rebate on eligible expenses for animated and digitally produced projects was set at 35%, and a 25% rebate was introduced for documentary series at the beginning of 2026.
The more generous levels of rebate subsequently resulted in production companies applying for incentives totalling $447m (czk9.3bn) in 2025, a massive 140% increase on the previous year.
One of the many international productions coming to the Czech Republic in 2025 was Skydance Television’s action series Ride Or Die, starring Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham. “A lot of the storyline takes place in London and, as much as I love Prague and how it can double for many other cities, London was a little difficult for downtown exteriors,” says unit production manager and co-producer Austin Lapierre. “But location manager Filip Doruska and his team did an incredible job finding what we needed. And we also used Prague to backdrop as a handful of cities and towns throughout Europe.
“The rebate system in the Czech Republic is on a par with all the European Union rebates,” he adds, “and they have one of the best local crew depots in the world. These were the two biggest contributing factors that brought the project to Prague. We only ended up hiring a few foreign crew HoDs, with the rest of them and all 2nds being local.”
Barrandov Studios had a particularly busy year. Its soundstages and backlot were occupied by Amazon MGM Studios’ Blade Runner 2099 series, gothic horror film The Face Of Horror and the French production Once Upon A Time.
The International Emmy Award-winning series The Empress returned for its third and final season last autumn, and another Netflix production, The Age Of Innocence (based on Edith Wharton’s novel), was shooting in studios and on location in Prague and Liberec from October 2025 until February 2026.
Apple TV will be returning to Prague Studios as the primary production hub for the fourth season of its sci-fi saga Foundation, after being based in the territory for portions of earlier seasons. The streamer also shot scenes from Martin Scorsese’s feature What Happens At Night, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence and Mads Mikkelsen, in Prague over February and March 2026.
The Lowdown
European status
Czech Republic is a member of the European Union and a participant in the Schengen Agreement. Its currency is the Czech crown.
Financial incentives
The production incentive programme is administered by the Czech Audiovisual Fund to support local and international audiovisual works produced in the Czech Republic. Foreign producers should note they need a Czech production service company to benefit from the programme, since the application documents are available only in the Czech Language.
The rebate on eligible expenses for fiction and fiction series is now set at 25%, while animation and digital production without live-action can receive a rebate of up to 35%.
The amount of the incentive is calculated as a return on Czech and certain international costs with a cap per project of $21.6m (czk450m), up from a previous $7.2m (czk150m).
Infrastructure and crews
Barrandov Studios celebrates its 95th anniversary in 2026 and should see two new soundstages being launched at the end of June, with the first productions expected to move in as early as July. The studio complex will then be able to offer a total of 18 soundstages, including facilities in the nearby district of Hostivar.
Expansion has also been underway at the Czech capital’s other production complex, Prague Studios. It has invested in the construction of a further four soundstages as part of the fully integrated HIVE production hub, bringing soundstages, VFX studios, animators and creative agencies together under one roof. They will complement the existing seven soundstages totalling 123,000 square feet.
No comments yet