Hungarian film industry is skyrocketing

According to National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) records, the remake of the famous Blade Runner meant 28.5 billion forints for Hungary’s film industry in 2016, says Kreatív Online. The total spending of the year increased to 125.5 billion forints, which means a 75% increase compared to last year. Movies attracted 12 percent more viewers, who favored even art cinemas.

Hired labor, co-production and local films

According to NMHH’s report, more money was spent on filmmaking in Hungary during the past two years than ever: it was 125.5 billion forints in 2016 and 72 billion one year earlier, and these data beat the 56.4 billion of 2014 and the 54.2 billion of 2013.

NMHH National Film Office’s records reports that the production of 299 films was registered last year in Hungary and 239 in the year before. Every movie that demanded state support was counted into this amount, from the big international productions through Academy Award-winner Sing to documentaries.

The most expensive film produced in Hungary during 2016 was Blade Runner 2 starring Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling and Jared Leto. This production was the most expensive work for hire: its local costs of production were 28.5 billion altogether. Emerald City is also significantly important, 12.6 billion forints were spent on it. Among Hungarian films, Viszkis came in in the first place with a budget of 1.7 billion forints.

The most expensive movies in Hungary in 2016:

For hire

1. Blade Runner 2 (feature film, Triboro Productions): 28.5 billion
   2. Emerald City (TV series, OZ Films): 12.6 billion
   3. Tyrant, Season 3 (TV series, Tyrant Films) 6.6 billion
   4. The Last Kingdom, Season 2 (TV series, Air Films): 5.9 billion
   5. Jamestown (TV series, JT Films): 4.3 billion

Coproductions with Hungary

1. X Company III (TV series, Pioneer Diamond): 2.1 billion
2. A felesleges ember (feature film, Repülő Proton): 1 billion

Hungarian films

1. Viszkis (feature film, Viszkis Film): 1.7 billion
2. Zene nélkül (feature film, Zene nélkül): 1.4 billion
3. Budapest Noir (feature film, Pioneer Noir): 1.3 billion
4. Ruben Brant, collector (animation film, Ruben Brant): 1.1 billion
5. Golden Life, Season 2 (TV series, HBO Holding) 1.1 billion

Note: The registered dates mark the beginning of shooting, but the sums cover the entire production periods – including pre- and post-production.

More tickets were sold than the population of Hungary

The local distributors report that Hungarian movie theaters attracted 14.62 billion viewers in 2016. It is a 12% increase compared to 2015, when 13.02 viewers were registered in Hungary. This increase also brought growth in income: the gross sum was almost 20 billion forints (19.8 billion, to be exact) last year, which is a 13 percent increase compared to the year before (17.5 billion). Movie theaters ran with a better usage compared to last year: due to the 502,000 screenings, one occasion generated 39,000 forints on average, while this sum was four thousand less in 2015. The average ticker price only increased by a minimum: it became ten forints more expensive from the earlier 1347.

From January 2016, the monthly commerce data of cinemas became also available for NMHH: it was revealed that the number of viewers was the highest in August and December. In both cases, more than one and a half million viewers visited the cinemas: 1,58 million were registered in the end of the summer, and 1,63 in the last period of the year – including the holiday.

Star Wars was not the top

According to last years data based on the subsequently corrected data collection, Star Wars spinoff Rouge One failed to achieve the number one position: though it stood out in the fourth quarter (550,000 viewers), but The Secret Life of Pets that premiered in August beat it with its 654,000 viewers. The bottom rank of this imaginary pulpit was taken by superhero movie Deadpool (430,000 viewers).

A Hungarian production ended up on top in art cinemas: best foreign film Academy Award-winner Son of Saul attracted more than 66,000 viewers. László Nemes Jeles’ movie was followed by A lovasíjász (32,000) just ahead of The Secret Life of Pets (27,000). Art cinemas also got more viewers: 1.16 million people purchased tickets last year, 45,000 more than one year earlier. The improvement in the audience of art cinemas is spectacular, especially when we take a look at recent years’ data: 2013: 679,000, 2014: 871,000. Art cinemas also gained a proportionate increase: they recorded 1.226 billion forints last year (602 million in 2013, 840 million in 2014, 1.109 billion in 2015).

Ce: bm

Source: Kreatív Online