With the successful performance of “Amelie” (1.7 million admissions), “Asterix” (1.5 million admissions for “Caesar” and 0.6 million for “Cleopatra”), “The Crimson Rivers” (1.3 million admissions), not to mention “Brotherhood of the Wolf,” “8 Women,” “The Closet” and “The Taste of Others,” French films have enjoyed a record market share in Italy since 1999, even topping the 6% mark in 2002.
Based on results from these excellent years, a recent report from the CNC (France’s Centre National de la Cinématographie) on “The Export of French films in 2003” ranks Italy as the number 1 country around the world in terms of box office receipts generated from the sale of recent French films. In terms of total receipts for French films, Italy took out second place behind Germany, but ahead of Japan and the United States. In 2003, Italy accounted for 12.5% of receipts from the sale of French films around the world and 24% of receipts generated in Western Europe. The report noted that the Italian market is “dynamic, and purchase prices are still high. Italy shows a genuine competition between distributors, which works to the benefit of French films.”
In 2003, French films captured 4% of the market in Italy, with 3.5 million spectators registered, thanks to the performance of films such as “Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran,” “Euro Pudding” and “Man on the Train.” The results for 2003 are thus in line with the average scores for the past ten years, which are higher than those earned by French films in 1994/1998, but lower than those for 1999/2000/2002. In 2003, 46 French productions hit movie screens in Italy, representing close to one film released per week.
30 French films have been released in the country since the beginning of 2004 and, from initial results, we can observe an overall downturn in results for these films. We can nonetheless predict admissions to French films at around 2.5 million spectators this year. “The Crimson Rivers 2: Angels of the Apocalypse” has already clocked up more than 650,000 admissions and we must now wait for the results of “Chorists,” “Like an Image,” “Secret Agents,” “Immortel (Ad Vitam)” and “Intimate Strangers” to confirm this prediction.
For Valerio de Paolis (Bim Distribuzione), distributor of recent films by François Ozon, Cédric Klapisch and of “Amelie,” the message is clear: “I retain full confidence in French cinema. Of course there are highs and lows, but for the future, I am already counting on the new film by Klapisch, “Les Poupées russes” (“The Russian Dolls”), and I am co-producing the upcoming films by Michael Haneke and Bertrand Blier with France.” As for Andrea Occhipinti (Lucky Red), who has just released “Like an Image” by Agnès Jaoui on October 23, he considers that for Italian spectators, French films are the most highly regarded after American films. “For ‘Like an Image,’ the reaction from the press has been incredible and I receive positive responses to the film every day. And the public is following suit, since in its opening week, ‘Like an Image’ was showing in 29 theaters, and then in 37 theaters in its second week and 46 in its third. And my Christmas film this year will by Patrice Leconte’s ‘Intimate Strangers.’”
