13/10/2025 - According to the report presented at the MIA, there are greater numbers of viewers visiting cinemas but fewer tickets sold, with growth among younger audiences

Michele Casula during the presentation of ANICA's study

The sixteenth edition of ANICA’s “Sala e Salotto” study, edited by ERGO Research partner Michele Casula, was presented at the MIA | Rome International Audiovisual Market, revealing a rise in cinema-goers juxtaposed by a drop in the average number of admissions, as well as a younger overall audience age and a change in the way audiovisual products are consumed.

According to the study, 2024 was marked by a rise in one-off viewers, with over 2 million additional Italians returning to cinemas at least once compared to 2023, but an overall drop in admissions: almost 2 million fewer tickets were ultimately sold. As such, the average frequency ratio fell to 2.8 admissions per viewer per year, despite the fact that 42% of the population above 3 years old visited the cinema at least once across the year. In this sense, Italy is also seeing a change in its big screen audiences’ loyalty, with 2024 characterised by a “dilution” in the frequency of cinema visits: regular cinema-goer numbers are dropping while occasional viewers are on the rise (by 2.2 million).

Indeed, audience demographics are changing. The 3-14-year-old and 15-24-year-old age groups are on the rise, recording an 11% increase in admissions. The under 25s, which only represent 20% of the population, are responsible for 43% of overall admissions. By contrast, the contribution made by the over 50s, who account for 50% of the population, has fallen to 22% of all admissions, despite representing 40% of cinema-goers. In particular, the over 60s contingent, albeit large, only visited cinemas on a limited basis, whereas, in the first six months of 2025, the number of tickets bought by this demographic had already accounted for almost 60% of the overall total in 2024. More generally speaking, admissions in the first semester of 2025 exceeded 18 million, but the per-viewer average (over the semester) was a mere two tickets.

The paper also explores promotional initiatives, such as the new Happy Cinefamily project, which is geared towards audiences under 12 – representing 10 million admissions (but only 1.5 million relate to Italian films) – and families more generally, or the Cine Carnet hypothesis: the option to buy 10 admissions at a pre-purchase cost of 30 euros is slightly more appealing to an adult, female audience, while the offer of 5 tickets for 20 euros has been well-received by young people who are already cinema regulars.

Going by the analysis put forward by ERGO Research, the audience’s perception of Italian productions proposed in cinemas is positive: two out of three viewers believe that Italian film is showing a qualitative improvement while 4 out of 5 hope for more room for new talent, with a strong demand for inclusion of women directors and auteurs.

56% of cinema-goers still don’t feel overly represented by the stories put forward by Italian film, and there’s particularly strong demand for content for children and young people which is still lacking today, even in the field of animation.

Last but not least, the Italian audience is also changing its audiovisual habits. In ten years, the number of over 50s with access to Pay TV and platforms has doubled. As it stands, this age group accounts for 46% of SVOD users, compared to 31% in 2015. The under 35s, meanwhile, who were already digitally savvy before Covid, are effortlessly combining streaming with cinema-going, while the number of admissions for over 50s has halved in this post-pandemic period.

The conclusions emerging from the report underline the need to produce an offer which lives up to the expectations of younger generations whilst also appealing to more mature cinema-goers. “Italian cinema seems to be facing a challenge, which is also an opportunity: we need to consolidate people’s return to cinemas with accessible price policies and deliver more representative storylines, alongside a strategy which takes new consumption habits into account”. 

(Translated from Italian)