"With today's cabinet resolution, we are ensuring that the German film industry will become a global player in film production," Germany's Culture and Media Minister Wolfram Weimer said on Wednesday.

He described the coalition government's draft bill, which still needs to be voted on by parliament, as a "film booster."

According to Weimer, never before has so much money been allocated to the domestic film industry. In fact, it will be almost double anything previously allocated, totaling €250 million ($291 million). Along with other funding programs, the government is reportedly committing more than €300 million to film productions. Additional funding from Germany's federal states is expected to be added to this total.

That being said, government funding alone will not bring about major changes. That's why streaming services like Netflix, Amazon and Disney would be required under the bill to make investments on par with private and public German broadcasters. With nearly 84 million residents, the German market is the largest in Europe, and has proven to be lucrative for all of these companies.

Streaming services and private broadcasters

The bill will require media companies to invest at least 8% of the revenue they earn from subscriptions and advertising into the German film industry. The German Association of Private Media (VAUNET) expects a revenue of €6.5 billion in 2026. Based on this forecast, streaming services and pay TV broadcasters would have to invest €520 million — whether they want to or not.

"Our goal is for more film projects to come to Germany and Europe," said Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil.

"We want European content to be streamed. And we support the work of independent producers," the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) politician added.

Weimer: 'Film industry should seize the opportunity'

The German government also hopes that streaming services and broadcasters will voluntarily invest even more, and is willing to provide incentives to encourage them. It would waive some specific legal requirements for film investments of 12% or more.

Which requirements these are exactly has yet to be agreed upon. The purpose of this exemption clause is to secure contracts for the German film industry while avoiding undue interference with companies' business models.

Weimer thinks the whole package is "fair and realistic" and should make it possible for the whole film industry to be able to plan years ahead for the first time.

"Now it's up to the industry to seize this opportunity to produce a series of blockbusters 'made in Germany,'" he said.

If the plan passes, traditional studios are likely to benefit the most, like Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam and Bavaria Film south of Munich.

Sven Lehmann, the chairman of the Culture and Media Committee in the German Bundestag, is hopeful that this will reverse recent trends.

"Finally, we're making progress in film policy," said the politician from the environmentalist Green Party.

He added that, given the high revenues of Netflix, Amazon and other media companies in Germany, one thing is clear: "Those who do good business here must also make a fair contribution to financing Germany as a film production hub."

Have cinemas been forgotten?

However, Lehmann fears that movie theaters might be left empty-handed: "They are an indispensable part German film culture."

That is why he believes a mandatory quota is needed to ensure that a fair share of investments also benefits silver screen productions.

Whether his wish comes true will depend on the German parliament. Its members will have the final say and could still have an influence on the government's draft bill.

According to the proposed schedule, the new film subsidy program would take effect in early 2027. The German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (Bitkom) has expressed concern about this new course of action.

"We share the goal of strengthening Germany as a hub for film and television production," emphasized CEO Bernhard Rohleder.

However, he argued that the proposed bill in its current form would not achieve this goal.

Rohleder believes that imposing requirements on new productions would significantly interfere with editorial and business autonomy. This would result in content being created not only based on quality and audience interests, but also on regulatory mandates.

"Germany needs more compelling stories, more creative excellence and better conditions for the industry — not more coercion and micromanagement," said Rohleder.

This article was originally written in German.