🎥 CIS Film Market Transformation and Co-Production Challenges

Roman Isaev, Managing Director of Rentrak Russia/CIS and Board Member of the Association of Cinema Owners (AVK), presented an analytical overview of the Eurasian region’s markets. Experts suggested using 2019 as a baseline. Prior to the pandemic, American content accounted for up to 75% of box office revenues in Russia and the CIS; however, the departure of Hollywood majors from the Russian market has accelerated the sovereignty and self-reliance of local film industries.

Box office dynamics across neighboring countries have shown varied trends:

• Kazakhstan: National releases occupy roughly half of the top 10 theatrical rankings, while their share in the top 20 exceeds that of foreign content. As Short Brothers producer Serik Abishev noted, the local market has outgrown purely commercial comedies, with socially conscious horror films now generating billions at the box office. Language adaptation maintains a clear balance: approximately 70% of dubbed family and children’s content is released in Russian, and 30% in Kazakh.
• Kyrgyzstan: Local productions account for 15 of the top 20 highest-grossing titles, leaving just 5 for Hollywood releases.
• Armenia: Seven out of the ten most popular films at the box office are projects created by Armenian filmmakers.
• Azerbaijan & Georgia: Hollywood and Turkish releases dominate in Azerbaijan (driven by linguistic affinity), whereas Georgia’s film industry has yet to achieve industrial-scale production of regular box-office hits.

Olga Boriskevich, representative of the Belarusian Union of Cinematographers, emphasized that Belarusfilm’s production base remains a sought-after infrastructure hub for historical, military, and period costume projects. In collaboration with Chinese partners, Belarus has already launched a vertical micro-drama project. A joint Russian-Belarusian platform is currently under development to distribute vertical video content tailored for mobile consumption and real-time viewership analytics.

Anna Shalashina, CEO of WISH Media and co-founder of the WRAP Association, highlighted Moscow’s appeal for foreign film crews (particularly from India), citing the city’s tax rebate system (30–45%) and the extensive capabilities of the Moskino Film Park. The sports drama Smash and a production by India’s Dharma Productions in Saint Petersburg were cited as successful examples of cross-cultural filmmaking.

Roman Isaev noted that mid-budget Russian films are losing audience share across CIS markets, relying primarily on well-known franchises (Cheburashka, Prostokvashino) to maintain a presence. Conversely, reverse-flow distribution has set notable records: the second installment of the Kyrgyz-Russian dilogy Heaven Is Beneath Mother’s Feet grossed over 200 million rubles during its run, demonstrating strong demand for universal dramatic stories unconstrained by narrow ethno-religious contexts.