Publisher: IRMO – Institute for Development and International Relations
Year: 2025
ISSN 2757-0614
In the new issue of IRMO Aktualno, Jaka Primorac, PhD, analyses the active role of audiences and the viewership of domestic films from small European markets, with a special focus on Croatia. In addition to analyzing the production volume in the context of domestic film financing and cinema infrastructure, an overview of the genre profile of local production is provided. The author also addresses audience engagement with domestic content on online platforms, especially with domestic comedies. The paper shows that audiences are never passive, both when visiting the cinema and when using streaming platforms. Viewers are active creators of content, whose selection is a complex process that involves algorithmic recommendations, curation through third-party platforms, personal recommendations, and the social moment. The author shows how domestic content finds its way with difficulty due to the small production volume, modest marketing budgets, structural limitations of the global film industry, the dominance of American online streaming platforms and third-party platforms, and the algorithmic format. The analysis is based on data from the CresCine project (Enhancing the international competitiveness of the film industry in small European markets), funded by the European Union through the Horizon Europe program (contract number: 101094988).
