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As global studios rethink where—and how—they produce, Origo Studios executive Adam Ruzsinszki warns that Hungary’s future as a top-tier production hub will depend less on tax rebates and more on stability, risk management, and ESG readiness.
For more than a decade, Hungary has been one of Europe’s most reliable production magnets: a 30% tax rebate, deep crews, competitive costs, and studio infrastructure that regularly hosts Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros., and A24. But according to Adam Ruzsinszki, General Manager of Productions at Origo Studios, that playbook is no longer sufficient.
“It is crucial for the Hungarian film industry to maintain its significance,” Ruzsinszki wrote in a January 27, 2026 Facebook statement. “We must take action to ensure we remain among the world’s elite, despite these changes.”
Those “changes” go far beyond rebate percentages.
Incentives are no longer the only major deciding factors
Ruzsinszki points to a structural shift that has unfolded over the last two to three years. “Over the past 24–36 months, the location strategy for global film and high-end TV production has fundamentally changed,” he wrote.
Where incentives once dominated greenlight conversations, studios are now applying far more sophisticated filters. “Whereas tax incentives were previously the primary decision-making factor, production decisions are now increasingly shaped by complex risk-management models.”
This mirrors what industry executives have been saying quietly in Cannes, London, and Los Angeles: the cheapest territory is not necessarily the safest one. Currency volatility, political intervention, labor uncertainty, permitting delays, and incentive bottlenecks all factor into those models.
The European Stability Club
Ruzsinszki explicitly references Screen Daily’s reporting on which territories are weathering this shift best. “According to trends identified by Screen Daily, countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, and certain Central European regions remain competitive not only because of financial incentives, but because they also offer operational stability.”
This framing matters. In recent Screen International roundtables, studio and commission leaders increasingly described Europe as a network of trusted hubs rather than a collection of isolated bargain destinations. Hungary has long been part of that conversation—but trust, once shaken, is slow to rebuild.
The 2025 rebate registration freeze and capped allocations, even though resolved, remain fresh in the minds of studio finance teams accustomed to multi-year forecasting.
Goodbye One-Offs, Hello Long-Term Bases
Perhaps the most consequential insight in Ruzsinszki’s statement is about how producers now approach geography.
“Producers are becoming far less willing to enter new territories on a one-off project basis,” he wrote. “Instead, they are seeking multi-year production presence, repeat use of infrastructure, and a reliable local partner ecosystem.”
This is a quiet but profound shift. Studios want territories where they can return season after season, amortize relationships, and minimize learning curves. That favors countries with predictable policy, stable labor markets, and scalable capacity.
“As a result,” Ruzsinszki warned, “regions that cannot guarantee continuous capacity, a skilled workforce, and political predictability are increasingly excluded from premium-tier productions.”
In other words: being “open for business” is no longer enough. You have to be boringly reliable.
Hungary’s Strength—and Its Risk
Hungary still checks many of the boxes studios care about. World-class crews, Origo and Korda Studios, decades of Hollywood-facing experience, and a rebate extended through 2030 all reinforce its credentials.
But the industry also knows how fragile confidence can be. Even short-term uncertainty—registration pauses, annual caps, election-year ambiguity—can push projects toward countries perceived as administratively dull but dependable.
From the perspective of a Head of Production who manages budgets, cashflow, and lender expectations, those signals matter.
ESG Is No Longer Optional
The most forward-looking part of Ruzsinszki’s warning concerns sustainability.
“A significant shift is the transformation of sustainability and ESG considerations into concrete production requirements,” he wrote. “These factors now manifest not at a PR level, but in cost structures, insurance frameworks, and permitting processes.”
This reflects a reality already hitting line producers across Europe. Insurers increasingly ask about carbon reporting. Streamers embed sustainability criteria into delivery requirements. Municipalities link permits to environmental compliance.
“Studios and countries that have not prepared for this shift are likely to face long-term competitive disadvantages,” Ruzsinszki cautioned, “regardless of the level of tax incentives offered.”
For Central Europe, this could be the next dividing line: territories that professionalize ESG infrastructure versus those that treat it as marketing.
Ruzsinszki is not speaking as an outsider
A former finance and risk analyst turned production executive, he has overseen budgets for projects ranging from Midsommar to Barbarians, and now helps steer one of Europe’s largest studios.
His vantage point—where studio expectations, lender risk, and government policy collide—offers a clear-eyed view of how decisions are actually made.
The Bigger Picture
Hungary remains a major player. But as global production recalibrates around stability, repeatability, and ESG compliance, the competition is no longer just about who offers the biggest rebate.
The question, as Ruzsinszki implicitly frames it, is whether Hungary wants to compete on short-term attractiveness—or long-term trust.
In today’s production economy, trust is the hardest incentive to replace.
