Hollywood hit Cocaine Bear among film projects securing Irish tax credits

The Irish production firm behind the hit Hollywood horror comedy Cocaine Bear this year secured movie corporation tax credits of between €2 million and €5 million from the Revenue Commissioners, new figures show.

The global hit, shot on location in Co Wicklow and starring Keri Russell and the late Ray Liotta, is loosely inspired by the story of a bear who reputedly ingested a large amount of lost cocaine that was dropped from a drug smuggler’s aeroplane in the rural areas of Georgia in the United States in the 1980s.

New figures show that Wild Atlantic Pictures Ltd obtained between €2 million and €5 million in corporation tax credits in May of this year. Data on the section 481 credits is published in bands.

The movie, which opened to positive reviews and grossed more than $89 million (€81 million) at the global box office – was one of a number of high-profile productions to obtain section 481 tax credits for the first six months of 2023.

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The Revenue figures show that Sharon Horgan’s multi-award winning Bad Sisters also obtained movie tax and TV production tax credits of between €2 million and €5 million.

The critically acclaimed black comedy set in Dublin and starring Horgan, Eve Hewson and Sarah Greene, won four Iftas and two Baftas, including best drama series. The original title of the drama was Emerald and the Revenue figures show Merman Television (Dublin) Ltd obtained tax credit of between €2 million and €5 million for Emerald (Bad Sisters).

The Revenue figures also show that the largest budget production to date this year – season three of Netflix hit Valhalla – secured tax reliefs between €10 million and €30 million in late May.

The producers of fantasy romantic comedy Irish Wish, which starred Lindsay Lohan and Jane Seymour, Wild Atlantic Pictures Ltd, secured tax relief in the €2 million to €5 million band this year. The movie – slated for release next year – was shot in Dublin, Wicklow and Westport last year.

The figures also show that Blade Rights Ltd’s Sand & Stones, which starred Hollywood star Nicolas Cage and was shot in Dublin and Wicklow, secured corporation tax credits of between €1 million and €2 million.

The second season of RTÉ prime-time drama Kin and season two of Wild Harry both received tax credits of €2 million to €5 million, as did the multi-award winning Element Pictures Productions Ltd for its psychological thriller The Wonder.

A Revenue spokesman confirmed on Tuesday that the value of section 481 claims paid out to production companies for the first six months of this year totalled €79 million, compared with €55 million for the corresponding period last year.

He said it should be noted that these figures relate to payments which comprise a mixture of first instalment (90 per cent) claims and final balancing claims made on completion, and also relate to projects certified over multiple years.

The value of payments made under the section 481 film corporation tax credit scheme last year was €127.3 million.