Currently, Iranian cinema is experiencing a growing trend compared to the past 10 or 15 years. In 2024, the number of Iranian cinema audiences broke a 24-year record; therefore, it has also been growing in terms of quantity and number of audiences.

In terms of global awards, in the first half of 2025, Iran won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature with the short film In the Shadow of the Cypress by Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani and the Palme d'Or award at the 78th Cannes International Film Festival with the feature film It Was Just an Accident by Jafar Panahi, and there are few countries that have such a situation; therefore, in this regard, the situation of cinema is more or less favorable.

One thing is for sure: cinema in Iran is run by the government. In order to be shown in cinemas, films must obtain a screening permit from councils appointed by the government; they must first obtain a production permit and then a screening permit.

The movie The Old Bachelor set a new record at the box office as a social film, and despite the fact that comedies always have a very good market; currently, it is still the best-selling film of 2025. The release of this film can be mentioned as one of the prominent policy changes in Iranian cinema in the last few months.

Given the expanding cinema market, which is indicated by the increase in the number of tickets sold in Iranian cinemas, the investment trend is also somewhat increasing.

In the field of screening in Iran, since 2020, a system or terminal for screening movies and connecting all Iranian cinemas to this terminal has been designed, built, and launched. It is supported by the “Cinema Shahr” Institute, which is under the supervision of the Iranian Cinema Organization, and all active theaters throughout Iran that have a license and have been able to achieve the necessary standards in terms of laws and regulations and are included in the screening cycle are connected to the “Cinema Shahr” site under the name “Samfaa”.

4 Ticket sales systems that sell cinema tickets in Iran are connected to “Samfaa” and can make tickets for all Iranian cinemas available to viewers.

The advantage of "Samfa" is that producers and distributors can find out at any moment how many cinemas, halls, and cities their film is currently showing in, and at any given moment, which cinemas have managed to sell tickets, and they can control their accounts with distributors and cinema owners, and it's a good opportunity to clarify and have information about filmmakers, and to analyze which films have been best seen in which cities.

In the first half of 2025, 62 feature-length films, including 23 social films, 14 comedies, 6 war and sacred defense films, and other genres, have requested production licenses from the Iranian Cinema Organization's Production Supervision Department.

193 short films, including 60 films in Tehran and 133 films in different provinces of Iran, have received production licenses. 83 documentary films, including 14 films in Tehran and 69 films in different provinces, have also received licenses. 15 non-cinematic films have also received production licenses.

In Iranian cinema, there is a law that divides films into cinematic and non-cinematic; those who obtain a license to make non-cinematic films, meaning they do not have a guarantee of screening their films in cinemas. They must release their films on VOD platforms or elsewhere. Cinematic films can enter VOD platforms for distribution; However, non-cinematic films cannot enter the screening process in cinemas unless they meet certain conditions, such as receiving a license to be released and distributed in Iranian cinemas after being requested and reviewed by the Screening Council.

Naturally, during these 6 months, independent filmmakers in Iranian cinema have also made works without obtaining official permission from the government and without observing the hijab requirement, for which exact statistics are not available; in the terminology, they are called “underground cinema”. These types of films are screened in their first world premiere at major international film festivals in different countries and win prestigious awards.

In the first half of 2025, 55 feature films were released, and the film Seventy Thirty, directed by Bahram Afshari and starring Bahram Afshari, Hootan Shakiba, and Elahe Hesari as well as the film Dinosaur directed by Masoud Atyabi and starring Pejman Jamshidi and Amir Jafari were the most successful films at the box office.

During these 6 months, 35 documentary films and 12 animated films have been prepared and produced at the Center for the Documentary, Experimental & Animation Film Center (DEFC), a subsidiary of the Iranian Cinema Organization affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

In the “Art and Experience Cinema Group”, which is dedicated to screening artistic, experimental, and independent films by Iranian and foreign filmmakers; valuable and non-commercial films are presented there, and in the first half of 2025, a total of 21 films, including 13 feature films, 2 documentaries, and 4 foreign films, have been screened, and 2 films have been distributed online through platforms.

In Iran, most films are produced in the social and comedy genres, and a number of government organizations also produce strategic and value-based films. It is anticipated that most of these works will be produced about the recent 12-day Iran-Israel war, the Gaza war, and the 8-year Iran-Iraq war.

The film year in Iran usually begins with the Fajr Film Festival. After the Fajr Film Festival, the release season in Iranian cinema begins because it is close to the Iranian New Year and the national celebration of Nowruz; therefore, the number of films is usually much higher in the second half of the year.

About 100 films reach the production stage in Iran every year, and the filmmaking process is usually more national in the second half of the year. That is, from October and November, the films, one by one, approach the final stages of production and are prepared to appear at the film festival.

About 100 films reach the production stage in Iran every year, and the filmmaking process is usually more national in the second half of the year. That is, from October and November, the films, one by one, approach the final stages of production and are prepared to appear at the film festival.

The film production ecosystem in Iran can be divided into three categories: low-budget independent or art films, films that receive government support, and commercial films that are made in the hope of making a profit.

Art and independent films are not studio-based, they are person-based. Another form of filmmaking is the production of state-owned films. In Iran, there are four major production centers, namely actors and major studios, including; the “Farabi” Cinema Foundation, which is affiliated with the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the “Owj” Media Arts Organization, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, The “Simafilm” center is affiliated with the Iranian state television Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting and the “Soureh” Cinema Organization is a subsidiary of the Artistic Sector affiliated with the Islamic Propaganda Organization of Iran, all of which are part of the government and use government funds.

The producers and distributors of the commercial sector of Iranian cinema include: “Amerian Film” company both produces and distributes films, it is one of the important producers in Iran; because in the past few years, it has produced and distributed the most important and best-selling films, this year the company is responsible for distributing the movie The Old Bachelor.

In production studios, “Hedayat Film” is still one of the important production studios in Iran. “Filmiran” company also produces films, but it is also an important distributor. Khaneh Film Institute, which is both a producer and distributor of films.

In the government-supported sector, the distribution organizations include “Noor Taban” Cinema Company affiliated with the Mostazafan Foundation and “Soureh” affiliated with the Soureh Cinema Development Organization, which are important government distributors.

Iranian Youth Cinema Society helps those who want to start their filmmaking journey, and filmmakers can sometimes use the facilities and equipment of the youth cinema for free.

In the first half of 2025, more than 500 films were made by short filmmakers from all over Iran, and more than 50 films were made by students and graduates of the Iranian Youth Cinema Association. Some of them are participating for the first time in the Tehran International Short Film Festival (TISFF), which is one of the most important and prestigious short film festivals in the world and is approved by the Academy of Oscars (OSCAR® qualifying).

There are 280 independent film schools active in Iran, 100 of which are in Tehran and 180 in other cities. Because these schools usually select teachers from the film industry, the quality of their education is very good and they are often more successful than universities.

One of the most important challenges in Iran is film distribution, as the country has a limited film distribution capacity; its production capacity exceeds its distribution capacity; in the first half of 2025, 55 films were released, but about 150 to 200 films have been produced. Therefore, a large number of films that are produced do not find a suitable release opportunity and are forced to go directly to VOD platforms, and often producers do not get the capital they have invested.

The largest distributors of Iranian cinema are: “Amerian Film”, Hedayat Film, “Filmiran”, and “Khaneh Film”; the four private distributors of Iranian cinema, as well as “Soureh” and “Noor Taban”, are also state-owned distributors.

The Soureh Cinema Organization, with more than 100 cinemas, remains the largest cinema owner in Iran. Nearly 30 percent of Iran's cinema halls belong to Soureh. Cinemas in Iran have separate owners.

There are a total of 824 cinema screens and 307 movie theaters in Iran, and in the first half of 2025, 13,931,286 moviegoers watched movies in theaters.

Government regulations prohibit the release of Hollywood films in Iran, and the release of foreign films is very limited; therefore, there is no Hollywood distributor. However, foreign films are screened at international film festivals and cinemas.

About 120 cities in Iran have a population of over 50,000 that do not have movie theaters; there are about a thousand cities in Iran, and the cinemas in some cities do not have the necessary quality, but in the past 10 years, the construction of movie theaters has been booming, and parts of the country's needs in this area have been met. It is predicted that by the end of President Peziskian's administration and by the end of 2028, the number of screens will reach 1,000.

The old-generation cinemas were retired in the 1990s and 2000s and replaced by new-generation cinemas, which are more technologically advanced and have smaller theaters and more screens. This new trend in cinema construction in Iran has resulted in a variety of screenings and, in fact, higher occupancy rates.

In Iran, there is a screening schedule, even films that are very key and important to the political system and have received huge investments; without observing the frameworks that are set by the Film Guild Council, which is a combination of the government, cinema owners, and filmmakers, they cannot be screened without passing this filter; so, to some extent, these laws exist and special supervision is carried out so that quotas are not set for specific films. However, they try to screen the desired films according to the occasions of the year, such as the month of Ramadan, Holy Defense Week, etc.

Ticket pricing in Iran is centralized, meaning that cinemas are not free to increase or decrease it; the theater guild council sets a price that the government is very influential in determining and, to protect the audience, usually does not change the price much in line with inflation.

After the Covid-19 pandemic, due to the restrictions that existed, the number of audiences in Iranian cinema dropped significantly for two years, but then it gradually recovered, and last year, 2024, three years after the Covid-19 pandemic, the Iranian cinema box office was extremely booming, breaking the record of the past 24 years.

The majority of Iranian cinemas are dedicated to films produced domestically; that is, in principle, foreign or non-Iranian films are not shown in Iranian cinemas and are usually screened as single screenings and very, very special.

After the 1979 revolution, major global distribution companies banned the sale of films to Iranian cinemas, and as modern Iranian cinema was taking shape, a policy of focusing more on domestic filmmakers was considered, even minimizing the number of foreign films that could be screened in theaters so that Iranian directors would have the opportunity to grow.

Cinema in Iran is the cheapest form of entertainment offered to the public, and its ticket price does not correlate very much with the cost of film production; here, the government intervenes in the pricing of cinema tickets so that more people can use the cinema. For this reason, Tuesdays are half-price tickets and are among the best-selling or most-viewed screening days.

Cinema screening is entirely in the hands of Iranian films, and every year, 60 or 70 films are screened in Iranian cinemas. In addition to the general screening section, there is also the “Art and Experience Group” screening section, where works of art and experimental films are screened. They are subsidized by the government to screen art films, student films, and films with a special perspective.

There was a time when distributors in Iran only distributed films; but now distribution companies also own cinemas, and some of them have completed their chain and are even producers; meaning they are involved in film production, distribute films, and own cinemas.

The construction of cinema campuses began with the “Hoveyzeh” cinema in Mashhad, where the single-screen cinema expanded to several screens and became a popular and high-selling cinema campus. This method was also replicated in many provincial centers, such that multi-year cinema campuses were built. For example, the VIP cinema in the “Hadish Mall” Cineplex in Tehran and the Azadi Cinema in Kermanshah are available to the public at a slightly higher price and with more services, and are well received by them. These cinemas have their VIP halls booked for several weeks.

The technology and services sector plays a very important and growing role in the Iranian film industry for several main reasons: advances in filmmaking technology, digital distribution and broadcasting, facilitation of independent and short-term production, cultural exports, and international interactions.

In early 2025, the Iranian film industry is experiencing significant developments in the field of technology and production services, particularly in the fields of virtual production, artificial intelligence, and digital realities. At the 43rd Fajr Film Festival, two Iranian films produced using artificial intelligence technology won awards. This move demonstrates the attention paid to new technologies in the film production process.

Iran and Russia are negotiating to jointly produce films, and this cooperation could help exchange experiences, improve the quality of productions, and expand target markets for Iranian films.

Although in the past, the investment sector or new facilities faced limitations, now we are witnessing new investment and greater attention to the development of infrastructure and new technologies. In 2025, the Iranian government has increased investment in the cinema industry by allocating $63.50 million in the annual budget. This amount is a 50% increase compared to the previous year, indicating greater attention to this sector. However, some regions of the country still lack well-equipped cinemas, and there is a need for further investment in this area.

In the first half of 2025, the Iranian cinema industry is making significant progress in various areas of production, including; virtual production studios and LED stages; studios such as “Studio Farda” in Tehran, which enable the production of quality films with advanced equipment such as Blackmagic URSA Mini cameras, professional lighting systems, and high-quality microphones.

Technical services such as color grading, special effects, CGI and sound post-production are increasingly central to film production. The Iranian film industry is witnessing the presence of leading and innovative companies in various fields of technology and production services, including: “Nikrad Cinema” Industry Designers, “D Iranian Cinema Design and Development”, “Zigorat Stage Construction” a pioneer in digital cinema servers, “Tajhiz Gostar” Tahmourt Company, “Pirouz Gostar” Cinema Technology Development”, “Resaneh Fekr Farda”, “Tanin Andazan Royaye Sedaa” and “Fam Nogher Film” Sound Recording Laboratory, “Aseman Sepehr's Hypothetical Line” and “Majd Cinematic Technology Development” Center - Majd DiLab.

Alongside the cinema industry, a thriving VOD industry is also active in Iran; in 2024, around 480 episodes of series were produced for online streaming platforms with VOD investment. The size of the cinema market in Iran is around 2000 billion Tomans, and the size of the VOD market is around 13000 billion Tomans, meaning that VODs have a market 6 or 7 times larger than the Iranian cinema industry; the business plan of VODs is diverse. They earn income through bandwidth, subscription sales, and advertising, so they have more diverse income. If we consider all of these together, along with the cinema box office, investment in the Iranian film industry is growing at a good rate.

Most platform players have usually moved there from cinema, online streaming platforms are a combination of communication infrastructure, namely the Internet, and art, and most of the players in this field have moved there from cinema. In this field, there are three key players, including; “Filimo”, “Filimnet” and “Namava”, and of course a large number of small players. A total of 530 platforms have received operating licenses from “SATRA”, which stands for The Organization for the Regulation of Comprehensive Audio and Video Media in Cyberspace of Iran.

The Satra organization is an entity affiliated with the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation. Satra is responsible for regulating the pervasive audio and video media in Iran's cyberspace, and as such, it can block programs from being broadcast on home viewing networks or platforms.

Naturally, these three platforms have more than 90% of the market share. At one time, “Filimo” had an 80% market share. Currently, there is no accurate and transparent figure for the activity of these platforms; but “Filimo” has more than 50% of the Iranian online market share.

“Filimo” belongs to the “Saba Edea” company, which owns the “Aparat” site, or “Iranian YouTube”, and the “Cinema Ticket” site, which is the largest platform for selling cinema, theater, and concert tickets in Iran, belongs to this company, and a large volume of cinema tickets are sold through Cinema Ticket.

“Filimnet” was purchased by the “Golrang” investment group, and its manager is one of the most important filmmaking trusts in Iran, which owns cinemas and is also active in the field of film production and distribution.

“Namava” is affiliated with “Shatel”, an internet provider. In the past 5 years, “Namava” has lost out to its two traditional competitors and has lost a large portion of its market share to “Filimnet”. It used to even compete with “Filimo”. It is now the third platform in the field and remains an important platform.

There is no direct public funding for international co-production, but institutions supported by the Iranian Cinema Organization in the fields of feature films, documentaries, and animations have the opportunity to collaborate on co-production projects. Given that the Iranian Cinema Organization is an official and governmental institution, it does not confirm or deny unofficial cases.

In order to expand and develop cultural and cinematic cooperation with friendly countries, the Iranian Cinema Organization has signed a memorandum of understanding on cinematic cooperation with neighboring Islamic and friendly countries. Planning is underway to conclude a memorandum of understanding on cinematic cooperation, including the production of joint films with priority given to Asian countries, and matters are being followed up.

For the first half of 2025, there are at least three projects, including two feature film productions and a Russian multi-part series.

The Iranian Cinema Organization, while welcoming partnerships with other countries to jointly produce films on topics that benefit the public and the well-being of humanity, expresses its readiness to uphold and comply with the country's laws.

The National Cinema Organization's program during the current term of the 14th government is to focus on identifying opportunities and expanding co-production projects.

The Farabi Cinema Foundation, as the national institution of Iranian cinema, has put these missions on its agenda: effective presence in international content markets, attention to interactions with countries in the region and the Islamic world, and the formation of a joint film market, efforts to co-produce with countries, and the launch of the Islamic World Cinema Co-Production Office, holding purposeful and effective film weeks with foreign countries, holding joint international events with other countries, such as pitching sessions, in order to attract foreign capital and increase the share of screenings and develop the sales market of Iranian cinematographic works.