The Italian box office experienced a slight dip of 0.4% in 2024, grossing $508 million, despite a 1.3% decrease in audience numbers, which fell to 69.7 million. According to data released on Thursday by Italy’s official box office monitor, Cinetel, the results reflect a challenging year for the film industry, with major distractions like the Euro 2024 soccer championships and the Paris 2024 Olympics, along with a reduced slate of blockbuster releases due to the lingering effects of the 2023 Hollywood strikes.
Leading the pack in terms of box office performance was Inside Out 2, which attracted 6.4 million viewers and earned $47 million (€46.5 million). It was followed by Moana 2 with a $19.9 million gross, Deadpool & Wolverine ($18.5 million), Despicable Me 4 ($18.1 million), and Mufasa – The Lion King ($15.1 million).
Despite these numbers, no Italian film made it into the top five, a stark contrast to 2023 when There’s Still Tomorrow, a surprise hit by Paolo Cortellesi, outperformed Barbie with a $35 million gross. However, Cinetel pointed out that Italian productions still managed to maintain a strong market presence.
“In spite of the absence of a standout title like There’s Still Tomorrow, Italian films (including co-productions) accounted for 24.6% of the box office gross, slightly up from 24.3% in 2023, and 25.7% of the total attendance, just under 25.9% last year,” Cinetel reported.
Italian films collectively grossed $144.9 million, a 0.6% increase from 2023, though audience numbers for domestic films fell by 2.2% to 17.8 million. The overall market share for Italian cinema was above the 2017-2019 period average, and comparable to the decade-long trends from 2010-2019.
The highest-grossing Italian films included the teen suicide drama The Boy with Pink Trousers ($9.2 million), Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope ($7.7 million), the comedy-drama A World Apart ($7.5 million), Ferzan Özpetek’s Diamanti ($7.7 million), and the police comedy Io e te dobbiamo parlare ($7.6 million).
A noteworthy trend was the increase in younger audiences, with a 31% rise in cinema attendance from children and teens aged 3 to 14, as well as a 13% increase in moviegoers aged 15 to 24—Italy’s largest demographic, representing 25% of all ticket sales.
Cinetel also compared Italy’s 2024 box office performance to other European markets. France was the only country in Europe to report an increase, with a 0.5% rise in overall revenue to $1.36 billion. Meanwhile, Italy’s result was aligned with the UK, which saw a marginal 0.1% decrease, and surpassed Spain, where the box office fell by 2.6%, with attendance dropping by 5.5%. In Germany, the box office faced a sharper decline of 7.4%, alongside a 6.4% drop in ticket sales.
Despite the challenges, Italy’s box office has shown resilience, with domestic productions holding steady and younger audiences continuing to flock to cinemas, signaling potential for recovery in the coming years.
Related topic:
Victoria Film Festival to Showcase Record 90+ Films in February
“Wicked” Breaks Records in Digital and Box Office Sales
Who Kills Ofelia in Pan’s Labyrinth?