Cinema in Italy has had its best summer in six years. With increased earnings and more public filling theaters, Moviement, the initiative that promotes cinema as a whole-year activity, has become a successful experiment.
During the first six months of 2019, box office revenue has risen 5,1% compared to the same period of 2018, almost reaching € 310 million. The audiences in theaters have also grown from 45,7 million in 2018 to 49 million this year.
The numbers of the season will be revealed by Anica (Associazione Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche e Audiovisive) at the Italian Pavilion in Venice, but as it is already known, the summer has been very positive. Moviement, the initiative born from the distribution companies to ensure the scheduling of big and spectacular cinema productions all year round, has therefore been a success.
The first objective of Moviement was to create a summer market, from this year forward, adequating Italy to the rest of the world with a calendar that is active the 12 months of the year. The scheduling of summer 2019, in fact, came with great titles, from both Italian and international directors, and revealed itself as the best of the last years.
“This process of ‘de-seasoning‘, thanks to the united industry and the work of the sub-secretary Lucia Borgonzoni, has been a significant step forward”, Anica President Francesco Rutelli has declared. The big American productions have led to this rise. “We still need some more from Italy, but if we look towards this autumn and the first months of 2020, 7-8 titles of big potential have been announced”, he added. For Francesco Rutelli it is important to “have products more oriented to the international market. It is clear that we can’t stop betting on new productions, but quality has to be our compass”.
