German film and TV industry representatives in Berlin on Thursday welcomed plans by the federal government to increase film funding to €250 million ($297 million) annually and introduce an investment commitment with an opt-out clause that ensures streamers and broadcasters contribute to financing German and European productions.
At its annual industry meeting ahead of the official opening of the Berlin Film Festival, the German Producers Alliance hosted Wolfram Weimer, Germany’s commissioner for culture and media (BKM), who played a key role in finding a compromise somewhat acceptable to producers, streamers and broadcasters that could result in a successful reform of the country’s film law and make Germany a more attractive location for both domestic as well as international film and TV productions.
“This Berlinale has the chance, the potential, frankly, the obligation, to become a Berlinale of new beginnings,” Weimar said, speaking to a packed house at the Colosseum movie theater in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district.
The government’s new investment commitment plan is in line with the European Union’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), which governs E.U.-wide coordination of national legislation on all audiovisual media, including traditional TV broadcasts and on-demand services. The German investment commitment calls for a legal base quota of 8% of annual company revenue, which the BKM says “is moderately above the European average.”
The guidelines include sub-quotas for German-language content, independent producers, and the production of new works, as well as requirements for fair rights sharing with independent producers. The investment obligation is also meant to incentivize voluntary commitments from streamers and broadcasters that are willing to increase their involvement: If they invest a quota of 12% or more, deviations from the legal requirements are permitted.
The investment commitment is designed to ensure that streamers and broadcasters contribute to the financing of German and European productions in proportion to their market strength. According to the BKM, the plan aims to secure funding without disproportionately interfering with the business models of streamers and broadcasters.
Additionally, the funding reform, which is expected to be approved by parliament, also includes the Film Booster program that nearly doubles film funding to €250 million a year for the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) and the German Motion Picture Fund (GMPF).
The agreement follows an increase last year in the DFFF and GMPF incentives from 25% to 30% of the German spend, which comes as a non-repayable grant.
Noting the necessity of the funding reform, Weimer noted that the local industry had suffered significantly the past seven years. “We haven’t just lost market share in this industry, we haven’t just lost competitive positions: we’ve also lost our creative spark.”
Weimar said the the investment pact and the Film Booster would greatly enhance Germany as a film location by creating a reliable, internationally competitive framework.
“The government has decided to invest more money in this sector than ever before. And we have done so across party lines.”
Yet he also demanded that the producers, streamers and broadcasters use the opportunity to invest in the local industry and embrace competition in order to improve the sector.
“It will only be successful if you invest now and invest properly, in technology, creativity and production. And of course, accept this competition.”
Weimer pointed out that Germany’s biggest producers are about 100 times smaller than the U.S. majors. “We can’t avoid this competition; it’s unpleasant, but it’s there. To put things in perspective, we are the friendly little mice, and they are the elephants, and the elephants are dancing right now.”
At the same time, incentive boosts are already bearing fruit, he said, noting that last year’s rebate increase to 30%. of eligibale expenditure resulted in a flood of emails, inquiries and applications compared to last year.
Indeed, Jörg Bachmaier, CEO of Studio Babelsberg, said last week that due to the incentive boost, they had already been able to attract several international and German productions to the studio, where the Netflix series “The Boys from Brazil” from “The Crown” creator Peter Morgan is currently shooting.
Praising the reform, Bachmaier said: “The agreement on the investment commitment and the doubling of film funding to €250 million provide a strong boost. German studios, producers and service providers now have a positive outlook and long-term planning security. This strengthens Germany’s position in international competition, secures skilled jobs and stimulates investment.”
Not so happy are the major streamers and commercial broadcasters represented by industry lobby group Vaunet, whose members include Netflix, Disney, Sky, RTL, Sat.1 and Pro7. The organization said the government plan “to introduce a statutory investment obligation including rights retention is a bitter disappointment for the media industry and disregards existing commitments from streaming providers. This abandons the possibility of a swift and unbureaucratic solution.” It added that the investment pact was “a decidedly poor starting point for finding such a compromise.”
There was, however, more positive news from the German Federal Film Board (FFA), which published its 2025 box office report on Wednesday showing a major upswing in the performance of German films: The market share of local movies rose nearly 7 percentage points to 27.4% — the highest figure in the last five years — and a German film even proved the biggest moneymaker of 2025: Michael Herbig’s comedy Western “Manitou’s Canoe,” which raked in more than 5 million admissions and over €50 million ($59.5 million) via Constantin Film.
With 91.9 million admissions sold, Germany’s total box office revenue last year jumped 6.4% to €924 million ($1.1 billion).