Distributors are increasingly adapting their campaigns to platform codes, now one of the most decisive instruments in film marketing, as highlighted by an Italian study

A moment of the panel

In just a few years, TikTok has gone from being a curiosity for young people to one of the most decisive instruments in film marketing and distributors are increasingly adapting their campaigns to TikTok’s codes, using trends, vertical trailers and content creator networks to bring a new audience to theatres. This isn’t new. From 2022, an unexpected alliance has been created: TikTok, the global icon of short and viral videos, has become the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival, the sanctuary of feature films, auteur cinema and film excellence. “This partnership, which just a few years ago would have seemed improbable, reflects a greater cultural reality: the profound transformation of recommendation, influence and desire mechanisms that surround cinema”, reflects Lucas Leclercq on the website of the consulting agency Antidox. “Cannes no longer shines a spotlight on stars of the big screen only, but also on those of the phone screen”.

At the Sorrento Industry Days, organised by the ANEC (Associazione Nazionale Esercenti Cinema) in collaboration with the ANICA from 1 to 4 December, a study on the effect of TikTok on the box office was presented, conducted by the “TikTok Measurement” department led by Alice Porrati and integrated with GWI and Cinetel data, which revealed how visibility, creativity and community influence cinema performance. The conversation–as explained Giuseppe Suma, Head of Media & Entertainment, GBS, TikTok Italy–originates in the personalised “For You” feed, but materialises into concrete actions that influence the film industry’s performance. The films aren’t just promoted: they get reinterpreted, commented on and prolonged beyond the period of release thanks to the spontaneous engagement of users, converting curiosity into passion that’s measurable at the box office.

In Italy, TikTok affirms itself as a primary motor of discovery in entertainment: 71% of users have discovered new films, actors or series on the platform. 84% of users have attended cinemas in the last six months, revealing a strong correlation between digital usage and moviegoing. Generational preferences favour genre as a decisive factor (67%), such as comedy at 49%, and thriller and action at 45% each. Yet the community embraces a plurality of niches: romance, horror, blockbuster franchises, but also original titles (73% of interest), films based on true stories (71%) and literary adaptations (48%), enhanced by the growing #BookTok phenomenon. This heterogeneity of micro-fandoms generates cultural trends that channel the audience towards cinemas.

An analysis of 60 titles distributed between late 2023 and early 2025 has quantified the relationship between investments on media, organic visualisations, virality and box office performance, integrating platform data, proprietary insights and sales metrics. Porrati confirms TikTok’s role as a strategic lever: beyond awareness, it generates a multiplying effect between paid and organic content, amplifying conversations and sustaining prolonged revenue.

A distinctive characteristic is the organic predominance [that is, traffic increased without paid sponsored advertisement, editor’s note]: 99% of content about a film comes from users, against 1% from official accounts, and generates 95% of views across reviews, POV interpretations, memes and spontaneous recommendations. Top box office performers allocate 75% of their media budget pre-Day 0, extending the post-launch presence. A +68% positive correlation emerges between paid investments and organic views, with paid content enhancing rather than replacing user-generated chatter.

The relationship between organic dynamics and box office revenue is crucial: a +67% positive correlation between organic views and revenue: when conversations increase on TikTok, so does cinema attendance. The effect is even stronger for films that become viral on platforms, with an impact up to 1.5x higher. Regarding paid content, the results show that TikTok also generates a measurable and relevant impact in terms of economic returns. Each euro invested in Paid Media on TikTok generates an average of €5,2 in box office revenue, fully repaying the investment and generating added value. When one also considers the “halo effect” of organic content, this value increases further: the interaction between paid and organic multiplies visibility, reinforces word of mouth and translates into over €10 of box office sales for each euro invested. It is the combination of both elements, strategic planning and authentic community participation, that reveals itself to be the most effective driver to sustain attention over time and transform it into concrete results in theatres.

Suma added that TikTok is working in order for the Italian experience to evolve towards a more advanced model, such as the Spanish one, where the platform has been experimenting with direct interaction between users and cinematic content. The comment by Arturo De Simone, VP Marketing Theatrical and Digital Distribution Italy & Spain and VP Local Productions Italy with Warner Bros. Discovery, who confirmed that TikTok is a structural element in strategies and who highlighted the hypothesis of integrating ticketing, so as to facilitate the purchasing process and transform online interest into real ticket sales.

(Translated from Italian)