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“This has been a positive summer, with data that should make us reflect: if there is the product and with the right support from the Government, the sector grows and can do so even more”. This is what Mario Lorini, president of Anec (National Association of Cinema Operators) said when reached by Sun 24 Hours while he is in Venice for the 81st Film Festival and the day after the presentation of the data on a very positive summer for the box office to which Cinema Revolution contributed.
Tickets at 3.50 euros
The Mic initiative, organized and promoted by the Undersecretary of Culture Lucia Borgonzoni and now in its second edition, started on June 9 and will end on September 19 and was designed to give a boost to the number of cinema audiences in the summer months, with reduced admissions to 3.50 euros for Italian and European films (and for all films from June 9 to June 13 and from September 15 to 19). In the end, the picture that emerged for the period June 9-August 25 is made up of a whole series of plus signs, indicating a summer season that actually went beyond expectations.
Summer on the rise
Takings stood at 98.2 million euros, driven by Disney’s “Inside Out 2” which reached almost 46 million in the period. Attendances thus reached 13.7 million. Which means: +13.2% in takings and +8.8% in attendance compared to 2023. And +36.7% in takings and +23.7% in attendance compared to pre-pandemic 2019. With reference, then, to the 2017-2019 average, takings were 70.2% higher with +50.8% in attendance.
“What seems clear to me – Lorini points out – is that the commonality of intent within the supply chain, together with the ability of the public sector to provide the right support, have given results that we have been hoping for for a long time. Summer can have an important weight in the calculation of the entire season for cinemas. The fact that such numbers have arrived with such a hot summer and without particularly surprising titles is also an indication to reflect on”.
Lorini: «The rooms should also be opened to other uses»
Of course, Lorini himself knows that summer 2024 can be a starting point, “but there is still a lot of work to do. We ourselves, as theaters, know that we have to face a change that is first and foremost cultural. Our theaters must also be opened to other activities, such as training. They can be places of aggregation and community. In this sense, there is a future even in the face of the advance of platforms and individual viewing of audiovisual content.”