28/01/2003

2002 was a good year for Italian cinema according to the traditional end-of-year report presented in Rome by Anica, the national film producers’ association presided over by Gianni Massaro. The number of films produced rose by 27 from last year’s 103 to this year’s 130. The best result since 1991.

The number of co-productions was unchanged although a drop was reported in majority co-productions, i.e. where Italy is the biggest single contributor. Capital investment experienced an authentic boom: in 2002 Euros277.6m were earmarked for film production, a 29 per cent increase on 2001.

130 films were produced in 2002, 34 of which funded through the Guarantee Fund for Films of Cultural Interest to the Nation, three more than in 2001. These 34 films shared a total of Euros58m, or Lire112b, compared to Lire 100b in 2001. 24 of them got a theatrical release in 2002 with four coming out in January 2003. The titles include Mu Mother’s Smile [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Marco Bellocchio, Callas Forever [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Zeffirelli, Il cuore altrove by Pupi Avati, The Soul Keeper [+see also:
interview: Roberto Faenza
film profile] by Roberto Faenza and Angela [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Roberta Torre.

The Italian state funded 52 films in 2002, (a 10 per cent increase on 2001) for a total of Euros73.6m (an increase of Euros13.1m). All told, the state contributed 26.5 per cent of all capital invested. "It is important to remember the huge contribution made by film industry entrepreneurs to Italian cinema, " said Massaro. “They invested over Euros200m. Box office results aside, this in itself is a clear demonstration of just how healthy and vital Italian cinema really is, as well as its courage in launching new talent. "

IMPORTS AND DISTRIBUTION
There was a 19 per cent drop in the number of films Italy imported in 2002 with respect to 2001, in confirmation of a trend that emerged earlier. It is especially true of American films, 12 per cent fewer of which came to Italy. The number of European imports also fell by 6 per cent and extra-EU films (not American ones) reported a 1 per cent drop. "French films are gaining ground while English ones are losing it – a see-saw effect trend that has been ongoing for a number of year. "

DISTRIBUTION FILMS MARKETS THEATRES
Italian cinema reported an increase both in terms of attendance and box office takings. Almost 20m tickets were sold to either an Italian film or co-production in 2002, fully 4m more than in 2001.
The Italian share of the domestic market also grew significantly and is currently at 22.2 per cent compared to 19.4 per cent the year before.
American films held onto their market share of 60.18 per cent, a small 0.48 per cent increase on last year’s 59.7 per cent.
Significantly, French films now have a 6.04 per cent share of the Italian market.

Five films are responsible for 63.4 per cent of the total Italian box office gross for the year, ten for 77 per cent and 87 per cent for the first sixteen. Consequently, the remaining 200 films, 100 of which were premieres, share 13 per cent of the total Italian box office take for the year. "We believe that this concentration of the overwhelming majority of the box office take in a few films is the strongest sign of the weakness of the Italian film industry, " said Massaro.

EXHIBITION
Multi-screens continue their upward trend, at least those with 8 or more screens, of which there are 51 in Italy, 15 of which were opened in 2002 supplying 154 more screens.
Over 25million Italians, 30 per cent of the filmgoing population, chose to see a film in a multi-screen complex. The forecast for 2004 is for a degree of market penetration of 50 per cent.

HOME VIDEO
There are more Italian titles available in the home video formats: 2002 saw the release of 235 new films "and significantly, half of them were in DVD. Perhaps we should increase our efforts because that is only 2 Italian DVDs more than in 2001. We would like to see measures taken that will cut the cost of old and new support systems, and levying the same rate of VAT on VHSs and DVDs as books, i.e. 4 per cent. That is something the industry has wanted to see for some considerable time. It would be fair and would encourage people to buy DVDs and original VHS cassettes instead of the black-market ones that infest both the home video market and theatrical exhibition sector."

PROGRAMMING ITALIAN FILMS ON TV
Films are still the number one programming genre on television both in numerical terms and duration. 25 per cent of all TV programming in 2002 was made up of films. However the data concerning the programming of Italian films on television are "worrying in terms of prime time lots where a steadily diminishing number of films gets air time. "
Nevertheless, 68 fewer Italian films were screened at prime time in 2002 with respect to the previous year and this negative trend also applies to European films, more of which were aired over the 24-hour period but fewer at prime time.

ITALIAN TV DRAMA
The total number of hours of air time for Italian drama (both made-for-TV films and miniseries) on the three RAI channels went from 752 in 2001 to 764 in 2002, according to Studio Frasi. RAI channels aired 407 hours of Italian TV films and miniseries, and Italian co-productions in 2002. Three hours more than in 2001. Mediaset’s line up included 357 hours’ worth of drama, compared to 348 hours in 2001. "A positive result, especially since it is confirmed by bigger audiences, an average of 4m viewers for flagship channels RAI 1 and Canale 5.

(Translated from Italian)