Odesa region is among the leaders of the film business

The southern regions of Ukraine are increasing their presence in the film distribution industry despite the difficult wartime conditions and economic challenges. Odesa, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions are among the regions with the most active development of the movie screening business.

This is evidenced by YuoControl research.

Odesa region is among the regions of Ukraine with the largest number of companies engaged in film screenings. As of April 2026, 11 such legal entities were registered in the region, while in Mykolaiv region - 8, and in Kherson region - 10.

According to YouControl analysts, there are 278 companies in Ukraine with the main activity 59.14 "Demonstration of films". The largest concentration of such businesses is traditionally in Kyiv - 66 companies. At the same time, the southern regions also demonstrate significant activity in the film distribution market.

Odesa region has become one of the centers of cinema business development in the south of the country. With 11 registered companies, the region is ahead of a number of central and western regions, second only to the country's largest film markets - Kyiv, Dnipro, Donetsk and Lviv.

ILLUSTRATION: YouControl

Kherson region also showed a high result - 10 companies, which actually equalized the region with Kharkiv and Cherkasy regions. Mykolaiv region has 8 legal entities in the field of film screening, which indicates that interest in the industry remains even in wartime.

In general, the leading regions after the capital are Dnipropetrovska oblast (21 companies), Donetsk oblast (19), and Lviv oblast (17). At the same time, Chernihiv region has no companies engaged in this type of activity.

Analysts also note that the total revenue of film distribution companies in Ukraine in 2025 exceeded UAH 4.1 billion, which is 20% more than a year earlier.

In April, the Odesa International Film Festival opened a call for applications for participation in Film Industry Office pitchings. Creators of feature, documentary and animated films are invited to participate in the presentations. This year, the festival will take place from August 27 to September 4, and will be held in Kyiv for the third time.

Анна Бальчінос