This research aimed to identify and strategically analyze the challenges of competition law in the Iranian cinema industry and provide practical solutions to address them. The research method is qualitative and of an applied-developmental type. The required data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 19 experts and activists in the cinema industry and analyzed using the content analysis method and within the framework of the Brown and Clark (2006) model. The findings led to the identification of 27 basic themes, 9 organizing themes, and 4 overarching themes. The main challenges were categorized into four general areas: 1- Legal and legislative challenges (including legislative gaps and regulatory fragmentation), 2- Institutional and executive challenges (including the inefficiency of the Competition Council and the lack of an independent regulatory body), 3- Monopolies and anti-competitive structures in the market (including state monopolies, private mafia networks, and anti-competitive agreements), and 4- Cultural and knowledge challenges (including the lack of awareness of cinema professionals about competition law). These challenges form a vicious and self-reinforcing cycle that severely undermines the competitiveness and health of the cinema industry.
The overall conclusion suggests that resolving competition law issues in Iranian cinema requires a fundamental transformation and simultaneous reform at the legislative, institutional, structural, and cultural levels. The formulation of a comprehensive competition law for cultural industries, the establishment of an independent and specialized regulatory body, the breaking of structural monopolies, and the implementation of extensive awareness programs are among the key suggestions of this study to break the current deadlock.