The Czech film industry ended 2024 with a combination of successes and setbacks, according to annual statistics published by the Czech Union of Film Distributors (UFD). While cinema attendance experienced a slight decline of 2.2%, falling to 13.04 million admissions compared to 2023, total box office revenues remained stable. This stability was largely attributed to an increase in the average ticket price, which rose by 2.5 CZK (€0.099) to 172.93 CZK (€6.90), resulting in total earnings of 2.255 billion CZK (€89.97 million).

Jiří Mádl’s Waves [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Jiří Mádl
fiche film] emerged as the most-watched film of the year, narrowly surpassing Pixar’s Inside Out 2. Waves, the Czech submission for the Oscars, ultimately failed to secure a spot on the shortlist but won the Satellite Award for Best Foreign Language Film from the International Press Academy. The film drew 885,767 viewers, just ahead of the animated blockbuster, which recorded 883,152 admissions. This marks the fourth time in six years that a domestic production has led the annual box office.

The top ten list for 2024 was predominantly occupied by American animated films, including Despicable Me 4, Moana 2, and Kung Fu Panda 4. Animated films accounted for nearly 30% of total admissions, followed by comedies (15.8%), dramas (9.6%), and thrillers (8.8%), according to data from Kinomaniak.

Two other Czech productions made it into the annual top ten. Dan Svátek’s Her Drunken Diary, based on Michaela Duffková’s autobiography detailing her struggle with alcohol addiction and recovery, secured a place alongside Jiří Vejdělek’s The Aristocrats. The latter, a sequel to the 2019 comedy The Last Aristocrat, continues the adaptation of Evžen Boček’s humorous book series. Notably, Her Drunken Diary ranked fourth in the 2024 opening weekend box office among Hollywood blockbusters.

The top 50 films of 2024 included 16 Czech productions. Among them were Radek Beran and David Lisý’s 3D animated film The Proud Princess, which ranked 16th with 208,509 admissions (€1.19 million), Tomáš Hoffman’s comedy The Sweet Life, which placed 14th with 220,167 admissions (€1.45 million), and Petr Hátle’s true-crime drama Mr. and Mrs. Stodola [+lire aussi :
critique
interview : Petr Hátle
fiche film], which secured the 42nd spot. Jiří Havelka’s The Gardener’s Year [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film] and Petr Slavík’s Waltzing Matilda, the latter having premiered in 2023, ranked 45th and 46th, respectively.

The new year began with a promising start as Marty Pohl’s politically incorrect comedy Na Plech quickly gained traction. Known for his earlier gross-out comedies Párty Hard and Párty Harder, Pohl built on his reputation by creating a spin-off centred on a fan-favourite Roma drug maker from the previous films. Described by the director as “a family comedy,” Na Plech debuted at the top of the box office and has retained its leading position for three consecutive weeks, amassing 190,761 admissions (€1.52 million) so far. Even typically popular US animated releases struggled to match its momentum.

Other domestic productions anticipated to make an impact in 2025 include Jan Těšitel’s fairy tale Princess Goldenhair, the sequel to the successful comedy Vyšehrad, the highest-grossing Czech film of 2022 (see the news), Vyšehrad Dvje, and Agnieszka Holland’s anticipated biopic Franz (see the news), which should tackle the life of Franz Kafka in an unconventional manner.