25/11/2011

86.8 million viewers against 94.5 million last year. Data for the 2010-2011 season (from January 1 until November 20) provided by Anica and Anec indicate a drop of 8% in the number of cinemagoers and a 10.6% fall in takings, which amount to €564.6 million against €631.8m in 2010 (vedi tabella PDF).

However, there is positive news for Italian cinema, which this year has reached a market share, including co-productions, of 36% of takings and 38% of attendance, against 26.88% and 29.60% in 2010 (see PDF table. "By the end of the year Italian films' share of the market could reach the fateful 40% - it's the largest in the world (excluding the US), we are even overtaking France," said Anica President Riccardo Tozzi.

The US films share has fallen significantly, with 48% against 60% in 2010. The film with the most takings was the Italian What a Beautiful Day [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] (photo) with €43.4 million, and as many as nine Italian films are in the year's top 20 (vedi tabella PDF), precisely the fall in attendance for American films that is bringing about the negative balance. "Italian films should be distributed in the summer too, in order to plug the gap left by American films," said Anica distributors President Filippo Roviglioni.

"A new audience has emerged that we don't know as well," addded Tozzi, who is urging for greater investment in production for more 'popular' Italian films that might reinforce the cinema circuit, while ANICA producers President Angelo Barbagallo is hoping for more resources for good-quality films, which have been penalised by the closure of many cinemas in old town centres. "There are fewer cinemas and a decreased film education," said Lionello Cerri, nominated Anec President (Associazione nazione Esercenti Cinematografici) on November 16. "The cinema needs to be a centre for social aggregation, a meeting-place where the product is promoted, with the involvement of local authorities".

(Translated from Italian)