The government has raised next year’s film budget by nearly 81 percent compared to this year.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Friday that the 2026 budget for the local film industry has been set at 149-point-8 billion won, about 108 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 66-point-9 billion won from this year.

It marks the largest allocation on record, excluding 2022 when emergency COVID-19 support was included.

The ministry said the increase reflects urgent calls from the film industry for support to revive Korean cinema amid stagnant production and a decline in audiences.

Funding for mid-budget productions will double from 10 billion to 20 billion won, while planning and development support will nearly double from four-point-seven billion to eight billion won.

Additional initiatives include one-point-eight billion won for independent and art film screenings, doubling contributions to the state-run “mother fund” to 140 billion won, two-point-two billion won for AI-based film production, and 16-point-four billion won to build a new virtual production studio at the Busan Gijang Film Studio.