Co-Production · Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia × Hungary.

How to structure a Saudi Arabia–Hungary film or TV co-production: stack Hungary's 30–37.5% cash rebate with Saudi Arabia's incentives (40%, scaling toward 60%). Worked $10M example, location strategy and a calculator.

Structuring a Saudi Arabia–Hungary co-production

Saudi Arabia has become one of the most aggressive incentive markets in the world. A Saudi–Hungary structure combines a very high Gulf rebate with Hungary's European infrastructure and craft.

The incentive stack

Saudi Arabia offers a 40% base cash rebate that scales toward 60% with local-content and cultural criteria. Against Hungary's 37.5%, this is one of the highest combined-return structures available anywhere — attractive for MENA-facing features and ambitious international projects.

Worked example — a $10M budget

Leg	Spend	Rate	Return
Hungary (60%)	$6,000,000	37.5%	$2,250,000
Saudi Arabia (40%)	$4,000,000	40%,	$1,600,000
Combined	$10,000,000	38.5% eff.	$3,850,000

Indicative only. Real numbers depend on the qualifying-spend split, treaty status and points tests in each territory. Bonuses and top-ups (e.g. Telefilm, regional funds, labor uplifts) can raise the Saudi Arabia figure further.

Locations: who shoots what

AlUla and the Saudi deserts deliver epic, otherworldly exteriors; Hungary provides the stages, European looks, crowd scenes and post. Between them you can build worlds that span antiquity, science fiction and the modern Middle East.

How Dopamine runs it

As your Hungarian partner — Dopamine Ventures Kft. is a registered Hungarian company — we structure the Hungarian leg to 37.5%, run the cultural test, and coordinate with your Saudi Arabia partner and its funding bodies so the two incentives are additive rather than in conflict. And we can arrange to finance the Hungarian rebate upfront. Model this structure in the calculator →

Frequently asked

Questions producers ask us

How does a Saudi Arabia–Hungary co-production work?

Qualifying spend earns an incentive in each territory: Hungary's 30–37.5% cash rebate on the Hungarian leg, and Saudi Arabia's incentives (40%, scaling toward 60%) on the Saudi Arabia leg. A treaty or qualifying structure lets both apply to one picture.

What is the combined return on a Saudi Arabia–Hungary structure?

On a $10M budget split 60% Hungary / 40% Saudi Arabia, the indicative blended return is around 38.5% of total budget, before any Saudi Arabia bonuses or top-ups.

Can Dopamine finance the Hungarian rebate upfront?

Yes — Dopamine Ventures Kft. is one of very few partners able to arrange upfront financing of the Hungarian rebate, so it funds the production rather than arriving after wrap.

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Bring your production to Hungary.

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