ROME, Italy’s box office revenue saw a significant rise in 2023, reaching €495 million ($542,000), accompanied by a total of 70.5 million admissions. Although this marks a 60% increase from the previous year, it still falls short of the country’s average box office intake between 2017 and 2019 by approximately 23%. Prior to the pandemic, a good year was defined as 100 million admissions, so the current figures are below par.
One notable success in the Italian film industry is the surprising triumph of the feminist black-and-white dramedy “There’s Still Tomorrow.” Directed by popular Italian actor Paola Cortellesi, this film, which explores the struggles of an abused housewife in post-war Rome, earned an impressive $36 million and claimed the number one spot at the box office. It even surpassed the earnings of “Barbie,” which ranked second with approximately $35 million. “Oppenheimer,” in the third spot, brought in $30 million in Italian cinemas.
Francesco Rutelli, the head of Italy’s motion picture association ANICA, expressed his satisfaction with the resurgence of theatrical moviegoing, stating that it has sparked conversations within society, families, and among young people after the dark period caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Rutelli also acknowledged that there is still work to be done to further progress in this area.
Despite the positive developments, Italy is still trailing behind major European markets such as France and Germany in terms of theatrical admissions. However, in 2023, the country came close to Spain, which recorded 75.4 million admissions, according to Comscore.
While “There’s Still Tomorrow” outperformed “Barbie” at the box office, Hollywood movies continued to dominate the Italian market, accounting for 55% of total theatrical intake. Local films, including “There’s Still Tomorrow,” contributed a healthy 22% to the overall box office revenue. Other notable Italian productions, such as Matteo Garrone’s immigration epic “Io Capitano,” which is now the country’s shortlisted candidate for the international Oscar, earned almost $5 million in Italian cinemas.
Warner Bros. emerged as the top distributor in Italy in 2023, followed by Disney, Universal, and local distributors Vision Distribution and Eagle Pictures, the latter of which also distributes Sony titles in the country.
In summary, Italy experienced a rise in box office revenue and admissions in 2023. The success of “There’s Still Tomorrow” contributed significantly to the overall performance, but the industry still has progress to make in order to match pre-pandemic levels. Hollywood films dominated the market, while local productions also made a noteworthy contribution. Italy’s top distributors for the year were Warner Bros., Disney, Universal, Vision Distribution, and Eagle Pictures.