Madrid allocates 961,309 euros to movie theaters with the FECE

The Community of Madrid will allocate 961,309.52 euros in direct aid for cinema halls in the region through an agreement with the Spanish Cinema Federation (FECE), published in the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (BOCM) no. 267, dated November 6, 2026. The agreement is signed by the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sport, Mariano de Paco Serrano, and Álvaro Postigo Solana on behalf of the federation. Each venue may receive a maximum of 80% of the cost of the project they declare and justify.

The agreement, signed on October 26, 2026, complies with the agreement of the Plenary of the Sectoral Conference on Culture of April 30, 2026, regarding the distribution criteria for credits transferred to the autonomous communities for aid to cinema halls, a proposal submitted by the Interterritorial Commission for Cinematography and Audiovisual (COMICA) on March 25, 2026. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport processes the grant as a direct award under article 4.5.c) 3rd of Law 2/1995, of March 8, on Grants of the Community of Madrid, with a justifying report of exceptional reasons issued on July 28, 2026.

The agreement does not finance the ordinary commercial operation of screenings nor does it compensate for losses: it partially contributes to the costs that allow venues to maintain their “cultural availability” during 2026, understood as the capacity to operate as an open, technically operational, and accessible cultural facility.

Up to 80% of the cost of each venue

The amount will be paid in a single payment upon the signing of the agreement, charged to item 48100 of budget program 334A, according to the authorization of July 27, 2026, from the General Directorate of Financial Policy and Treasury. The effective distribution is as follows:

• 961,309.52 euros: total contribution from the Community of Madrid.
• 28,839.28 euros: maximum that FECE will retain for auditing and management, with a cap of 3% of the aid.
• 932,470.24 euros: net amount to be distributed among the halls.
• 80%: maximum financing limit per venue based on the declared and justified cost.

The aid falls under Regulation (EU) 651/2014, in its article 53.2.a), and, where applicable, the de minimis regime of Regulation (EU) 2023/2831, with a ceiling of 300,000 euros per beneficiary over three years.

Requirements to access the aid

Private companies, cooperatives, associations, and other entities with economic activity that are owners and direct operators of halls in the Community of Madrid may be beneficiaries, provided that exhibition is their effective, habitual, and primary activity. They must prove:

• Continuous activity between January 1 and September 30, 2026, and a commitment to maintain it until December 31, 2026.
• Open to the public and programming for at least 80 continuous days per year.
• Registration in the Administrative Registry of Cinematographic and Audiovisual Companies of the ICAA or the equivalent regional registry.

Excluded are administrations and the public sector, foundations that do not exclusively engage in exhibition, holders with tax residence in non-cooperative jurisdictions, companies owning X-rated theaters, and managers of public venues with temporary management or a legal title with a duration equal to or less than two years. Proven force majeure—fires, floods, storms, or declared emergencies—allows closure days to be counted, but not closures due to business decisions, construction work, vacations, or low demand.

Distribution by screens, population, and opening days

FECE will distribute the funds based on an average per screen over the total number of eligible screens and three correcting factors: the size of the venue, the threshold of 250,000 inhabitants within a 15-kilometer radius, and the effective opening period. Single-screen cinemas will receive a percentage above the average, and those with 13 or more screens, one below; the opening factor applies only to venues with fewer than 180 days and is calculated by dividing the effective days by 180. In general, the difference between the maximum and minimum average amount per screen may not exceed 50%.

Payment to the final beneficiaries must be completed before December 31, 2026, following an external audit and the signing of an addendum with the list of recipients and amounts. The justification to the General Directorate of Culture and Creative Industries is due by January 31, 2027, and the agreement will remain in effect until December 31, 2027, with no possibility of extension.

The agreement comes at a time when, according to the sectoral conference agreement, the survival of programming diversity and the theaters themselves is at risk. The text identifies cinemas as local cultural facilities and nodes of territorial cohesion, and sets as a priority those municipalities far from large population centers, where the screen is often the only in-person means of access to cinematographic culture.

Source: Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (BOCM), no. 267, of November 6, 2026, section I.D Announcements, pp. 550-566 (official reference: BOCM-20261106-52).