13% less admissions since the beginning of 2005
This year, Italian theatres have not had a good start. The leader, Cinetel (74% of the market) has registered a 13% decrease in admissions for January and February.
‘Dvd, pay TV, satellite, illegal downloading and other illegal forms of circulation...with such range of possibilities, you really have to really like cinema to go to the theatre nowadays,’ says Walter Vacchino, President of the Anec, the National Exhibitors’ Society. This is a real concern for us because, Vacchino adds, ‘of all the main markets in Europe, Italy is the weakest and the less competitive, which is surprising, for, with the recent increased investments regarding theatres, we expected a significant raise.’
For Carlo Bernaschi, President of the Anem, the National Multiplex Exhibitors Society, on the contrary, the public’s interest depends solely on the quality of the offer. ‘Last year in January, a few big movies were released while this year, there has not been great quality films yet.’ Paolo Pozzi, marketting manager for Medusa, agrees with this view: « To tell the truth, we have been lacking « big hits » lately, unlike last year".
As far as Paolo Ferrari, president of Warner Bros Italia, is concerned, he notes the decrease in admissions as a more general phenomenon, and blames it on offer : ‘For me, the results we got in January and February are not alarming ; it is the next months I am worried about.’.
Alberto Pasquale, general director of 20th Century Fox, has a different explanation for the negative results : ‘cinema lost its glamour, which is a key element to attract the public. Great divas, here —as the case of Stefano Accorsi reveals—and everywhere, are gradually disappearing.’
(Translated from Italian)
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