Tom Cruise was in Norway – and so what? An overview of the Norwegian film and series incentive scheme

This article provides the first examination of Norway’s film and television incentive scheme, introduced in 2016 as the first in Scandinavia. The scheme, offering a 25 per cent cash rebate on qualifying production costs, was designed to attract international productions, reduce domestic runaway production and promote regional development. Drawing on policy documents, evaluations and industry perspectives, the article explores the scheme’s implementation, objectives and ongoing debates. While the incentive has created work opportunities and boosted film tourism by attracting high-profile productions like Mission: Impossible , Norway has lost big productions due to limited budgets and restrictive conditions. Paradoxically, Norway is experiencing a ‘golden age’ of screen production, yet domestic film workers leave the industry due to limited work opportunities. Despite criticism, the government has remained passive. A high turnover of culture ministers since the implementation in 2016 has contributed to the scheme’s unsettled state and lack of strategic continuity.