04/09/2003

Italy has seen a rise in audiences and an increase in the number of multiplex cinemas according to the latest Cinetel figures. This positive trend has been put down to the collaboration between cinema operators and distributors The results for the Italian cinema market have been extremely positive so far this year, showing significant increases in both ticket sales and the number of screens in operation. The figures for the first 8 months of the Italian cinematographic year were presented to the press in Venice this morning, by the presidents of the Cinema Operators Associations, Walter Vacchino (ANEC) and Carlo Bernaschi (ANEM) together with Richard Borg, the president of the Italian distributors’ association, UNIDIM. They emphasised the extremely positive results obtained, especially when compared with the rest of Europe, which has reported a downturn in the market.

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Audience figures for the period covering January 1 to August 31, 2003 reached more than 51.6m, which is an increase of 7.79% over the same period last year, with box office takings reaching a total of Euro 307.7m (+ 5.38%). "It’s certainly a positive trend that shows the importance of collaboration between distributors and cinema operators, which has been underway for a few months" stressed Richard Borg "And so it is necessary to continue and improve this enterprise, through the introduction of specific initiatives". With this in mind, a market survey has been started up to provide a breakdown of audiences, and more specifically looking at people who don’t go to the cinema. "Given the competition from the ‘home cinema’ offered by the new Italian satellite TV platform, we have to focus on our objectives" added Walter Vacchino "Initiatives like ‘Films for Euro2 day" brought people into cinemas who don’t usually go to see films, a spur to create new promotional activities targeted in a similar way".

It’s a complicated but not impossible task, that could also bring further relief to Italian production, opening the doors to a wider audience and to a range of programming that is no longer limited to the usual 7 months, but extended to cover 9, or even 11 months of the year. According to Carlo Bernaschi this "would be a considerable help, not just enabling the distributors to drawn up a better programme for their releases, but also giving producers a higher visibility for their films in cinemas".
Even though Italian films still occupy the lower positions of the 30 most successful works at the box office over the last 8 months, they are slowly making progress, both in terms of numbers and quality. "The results of the cinematographic productions we presented a few months ago show that Italian cinema is alive and kicking, especially thanks to private investment" concluded Gianni Massaro the president of the Association of Italian Producers (ANICA), who went on to say: "We’re expecting a lot from the new cinema law, which is still at the planning stage, because it will finally free great and small producers from the current oppressive legislation".

(Translated from Italian)