Among them is A24’s The Entertainment System Is Down directed by Ruben Östlund and starring Keanu Reeves, Kirsten Dunst, Woody Harrelson, Daniel Brühl and Harris Dickinson, which is expected to start filming in Hungary from early to late Q1 2025.
The Entertainment System Is Down will more likely use the 30% incentive that was set to expire at the end of 2024 and which has been approved by the European Commission.
Hungary is now reaching 910 m USD direct annual film production spend, a massive fourfold increase in volume in the last five years.
The list of the international projects shot in Hungary in 2024 includes: the 6-episode miniseries Inspector Maigret directed by Patrick Harbinson, Faye Gilbert and David Evans; Ballerina Overdrive starring Uma Thurman and Lana Condor, serviced in Hungary by Pioneer Pictures; the third instalment of Now You See Me starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Morgan Freeman, serviced in Hungary by Mid Atlantic Films; the fourth season of CBS’ series FBI: International (serviced by Pioneer Pictures); Hulu’s Amanda: A Coming of Age Horror Story serviced in Hungary by Pioneer Pictures; Sky Max TV series Amadeus directed by Julian Farino and Alice Seabright, serviced in Hungary by Mid Atlantic Films; and the historical drama Nuremberg directed by James Vanderbilt, starring Russell Crowe, Rami Malek and Michael Shannon, which was serviced in Hungary by Filmsquad, among others.
Other recent productions benefiting from the tax incentive are: Lee starring Kate Winslet and directed by Ellen Kuras, serviced in Hungary in 2022 by Pioneer Pictures; multiple Oscar-winner Poor Things directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and serviced in Hungary in 2022 by Pioneer Pictures; Rumours starring Cate Blanchett, directed by Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson and Guy Maddin, serviced in Hungary in 2023 by Laokoon Filmgroup; Dust Bunny starring Mads Mikkelsen, directed by Bryan Fuller and serviced in Hungary in 2023 by HeroSquared; US/British/Hungarian coproduction The Brutalist (2024) directed by Brady Corbet, produced by Brookstreet Pictures and Andrew Lauren Productions in coproduction with Intake Films and Proton Cinema; and Maria (2024) starring Angelina Jolie, directed by Pablo Larraín, and serviced in Hungary by Pioneer Pictures.
Along with the financial advantages, the tax incentive boosts Hungarian film professionals’ portfolio as well. A notable recent success is the Oscar-win in 2022 of set decorator Zsuzsanna Sipos (along with production designer Patrice Vermette) for Dune, and that of set decorator Zsuzsa Mihalek (along with production designers James Price and Shona Heath) for Poor Things in 2024.
