Why American Producers Are Looking For Their Next Big Project Abroad
- maxchristopher6
- Jan 26
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 26
By Aviv Spitz
For the last century of the silver screen’s roughly 150 years of eminence, Hollywood has been the bona fide motion picture capital of the world. If you’re reading this blog, you likely already know the story: While Europe was entrenched in World War I & II and early European pioneers of the medium were forced to put down their cameras, American studios ascended to power, producing movies for the world’s collective entertainment and respite for years to come. From 1912 to 2024, the highest-grossing film has been an American one. However, that streak was snapped this past year by the box-office-topping Zhe-Na 2, a Chinese film that grossed over $500 million more than the US best, Zootopia 2 (which brought in $1.7 billion). American films are still the most popular worldwide, but over the last two decades, the US global box office share has shrunk from 92% to 66%. American film & TV is losing its cultural luster, and more pertinently, American-made film & TV is struggling to hold its appeal amongst producers. In this article, I’ll break down why the global guard of film & TV is shifting, as well as how indie producers can take advantage of it.
Over the last four months, I had the pleasure of studying and working out of the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (more commonly referred to by its Czech acronym, FAMU). The school is known as the birthplace of the Czech New Wave, and has produced filmmakers such as Miloš Forman (Amadeus, 1984), Věra Chytilová (Daisies, 1966), and Jiří Menzel (Closely Watched Trains, 1966). FAMU remains an important cultural hub in the city and regularly turns out student-made Cannes and Berlinale selections, as well as experienced crew members for the large international productions that roll through town each year. As I learned, the Czech Republic has proved a popular location for US films shooting abroad, its track record including Mission: Impossible (1996), Casino Royale (2006), and most recently, Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). The latest numbers from the Czech Audiovisual Producers’ Association suggest that international productions in Czechia spent CZK9.2 billion, or $448 million, in 2023, with a large share of that coming from American projects. As an American producer living abroad, I naturally became curious as to why there was such a strong US production presence in Czechia. Wouldn’t it be more cost-effective for American pictures to shoot in America, where they wouldn’t need to front presumably massive transportation and housing costs? As it turns out, the Czech Republic is just one of the many international film & TV hubs that have quietly become favored by American studios for two major reasons:
1. Tax Incentives
California now ranks out of the top five preferred production locations according to a survey of studio executives by ProdPro. Toronto, the United Kingdom, Vancouver, Central Europe (which includes the Czech Republic, Germany, and Hungary), and Australia all rank higher than The Golden State, and it’s not difficult to understand why. The majority of these countries' tax benefits have grown to match, if not outpace, California’s 35% credit, while also having less stringent rules that allow more productions to qualify. Take competitive credits together with favorable currency exchange rates, and you’re looking at a significant edge for international production. In 2025, California announced it would increase its film & TV tax credits from $330 million to $750 million annually. New York also nearly doubled its 2022 subsidy, investing $800 million per year through 2036. However, increases in subsidy funds will boost the amount of productions in LA and NYC, not necessarily lower production costs. The underlying challenge for American-made film & TV competitiveness boils down to the high cost of labor.
2. Labor Costs
Although the 2023 SAG and WGA protests rightfully raised minimums for actors and writers, they created unintended pressure on indie producers working with tight budgets, leading more productions to migrate abroad. It’s less likely that the push to move production abroad stems from studios trying to skirt union rates (although this may undoubtedly be a factor), but rather because labor is significantly cheaper when the government pays for healthcare. A budget document viewed by the New York Times in a recent article on Hollywood’s mass production exodus noted the cost of seven grips on a 30-day shoot in Budapest was roughly $59,000. Yet, because of healthcare and pension expenses, it would cost around $53,000 to employ just one senior grip in the Los Angeles area for the same period of time. Savvy indie producers trying to squeeze more out of their budget may seriously consider shooting overseas to bring their project’s vision to life. Not only does the influx of productions shooting abroad indicate a decline in American production dominance, it is also one of the many needles shifting toward new powers in the international film market, half a century after WWII.
A Growing Demand For International Film & TV
Following Parasite’s Best Picture win in 2020, making it the first international feature to receive the award, American consumer interest in foreign films has grown rapidly. Since 2019, demand for international film & TV skyrocketed from 17.1% to 25.3% in 2025, according to an Axios study. UK film & TV imports maintain the largest share of foreign content in the US, but that has dropped from 33% in 2019 to about 24% in 2025. Tracking with a broader shift toward non-English programming, the combined share of the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand has fallen from 47% in 2019 to 37% in 2025. These changes in content distribution are in no small part due to Netflix and other streaming giants turning to international content to inject growth into a saturated market. It should come as no surprise that in 2023, Netflix pledged $2.5 billion to South Korean film and TV production over four years, doubling what it spent in Korea since 2016. Those investments are paying off, considering the success of K-Pop Demon Hunters in 2025 (albeit an American product, it draws significantly from Korean culture), which became Netflix’s most-watched title ever over a six-month period, with 482 million views. Netflix continues to see success with international content, representing more than a third of all viewing. Korean, Spanish, and Japanese shows and films take the top three international spots, with Brazil, France, and Indonesia following suit. While earnings are still largely flowing through American-made content, these trends should signal to indie producers, in particular, the need to expand their horizons alongside the American consumer and consider international film & TV as a viable means to elevate their slates.
We consider the world through a lens rose-colored by our country’s economic and geopolitical power. On my flight home from Prague to Boston, I lingered on the thought that after 100 years of total American dominance in theaters and living rooms across the globe, the balance of power now appears to be dispersing overseas. This shouldn’t worry American producers, but instead, present an opportunity to give new stories with rich global perspectives the light of day.
---------
To see more from Aviv, visit:
Comments