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What considerations on cinema-going in Italy in 2025?
by Tina Bianchi
The press conference that Cinetel holds at the beginning of each year is always a highly anticipated moment for the Italian cinema community, and this was also the case in 2026, even though the defining feature of 2025 was already known: “Buen Camino”, the comedy starring Checco Zalone, provided a breath of relief during a period in which the weakness of international cinema affected revenues and admissions, while also opening up favorable prospects for the months ahead, which have so far been confirmed.
In summary, 2025 admissions stood at 68,361,056, showing a slight decline compared to the previous year (-2%), offset by a modest increase in box office revenue (+0.5%), which reached 496,552,723 euro, due to a small rise in the average ticket price.
The downturn in North American cinema, which nevertheless remains the most represented in Italy, is evident: in 2025, U.S.-made films in Italy generated 201.5 million euro in revenue, a decrease of 24.7% compared to 2024. Their market share stood at 40.6%.
Similarly, admissions, totalling 27.0 million, dropped by 25.9%, reaching a market share of 39.4%. In absolute terms, Hollywood films lost 9.4 million spectators compared to the previous year.
For completeness, it should be added that the negative performance of U.S. cinema was partially offset by the growth of British cinema, under whose nationality several co-produced titles between the two countries are classified.
The cracks in the “stars and stripes empire”, as noted by many geopolitical analysts, are also visible in Hollywood: a careful analysis of phenomena such as writers’ strikes, ongoing mergers and acquisitions, and the growing influence of streaming platforms on studio production evolution seems to point to the risk of a creative crisis in the United States and a reduced ability to deliver truly new content. Instead, there appears to be a reliance on exploiting existing IP, continuously digging into vast libraries and properties - essentially the same model used by current AI.
One might therefore wonder why there is fear of AI when, in reality, a similar method is already being adopted in recent industrial Hollywood productions.
Even without such analysis, exhibitors and audiences are aware of the trend of increasingly self-referential titles coming from overseas: Marvel and DC productions, repetitive biopics aiming to attract fans of singers and rock bands, live-action remakes of successful cartoons, sequels, prequels, spin-offs, and so on.
In 2025, Italy therefore recorded overall stability thanks to domestic production, which reached a 32.7% share of box office revenue and 33.3% of admissions - amounting to over €162.4 million in revenue and 22.7 million tickets sold.
It is also useful to analyze the number of films distributed in theatres: 1,002 new titles were released (61 more than in 2024), of which 462 were Italian productions or co-productions (+29 compared to 2024), representing 46.1% of all titles. These films generated 162,433,176 euro at the box office (+33.7% compared to 2024) and 22,780,815 admissions (+27.2% year-on-year).
Excluding the 317 documentaries, of the 685 new titles, 322 (98 Italian and 224 international) were distributed in more than 50 theatres (47%, compared to 46.5% in 2024). The remaining 217 international titles and 146 Italian titles were distributed in fewer than 50 theatres.
This highlights both the large number of films entering the market and the extreme difficulty of achieving wide distribution. As a result, revenue distribution shows that 81.5% of total gbo comes from just 96 titles - less than 10% of those released.
So, nothing new?
While the overall data pattern leaves little room for major surprises, some points in Cinetel’s analysis deserve attention:
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The excessive number of productions reaching screens creates overcrowding in programming, giving audiences the impression that there is so much to watch that perhaps nothing feels truly essential. Few titles generate so-called FOMO (fear of missing out), strong enough to drive people to theatres. Most films rely on the usual communication strategies: star power, the latest work by a well-known director, awards, or festival recognition. Films like “Le città di pianura/The last one for the road”, lacking big names yet drawing large theatrical audiences, are rare.
At a systemic level, there is a clear imbalance: production companies generate films without real market feedback (resources are funding rather than investments), while distributors and exhibitors must face a shrinking market, with rising promotional costs (events and digital marketing, now essential, increase P&A expenses).
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The distribution of revenue and admissions by day of the week shows growing importance for Mondays and declines for Tuesday through Thursday, likely due to competition from soccer or changes in audience habits. Weekends, of course, remain dominant, with Friday gaining weight.
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Among the top ten titles of the year, the four Italian films consist of three comedies and one drama. Two - “FolleMente/Madly” and “Diamanti/Diamonds” - are supported by large ensemble casts featuring well-known names. The other two are built around highly popular comedians and are directed by the same filmmaker, Gennaro Nunziante: “Buen Camino” (with Checco Zalone) and “Io sono la fine del mondo/I am the end of the world” (with Angelo Duro). These films share several elements beyond direction, such as references to a specific community and similar communication strategies that avoid traditional promotion (press tours, repetitive interviews, etc.). Both the films and their marketing rely heavily on the actor’s persona, targeting a broad audience with a strong personalization effect.
- Finally, regarding audience composition, it is interesting to note that, alongside the overall 2% decline in admissions (from about 69.7 million in 2024 to 68.4 million in 2025), the drop in female audiences is greater than that of male audiences. Moreover, when analyzing viewers by age group, the only segment that has grown compared to the pre-pandemic three-year period is the 15 - 24 age group, while all others have declined to varying degrees - especially those aged 60 and over. As a result, whereas between 2017 and 2019 the largest audience segment was 35 - 49-year-olds (followed by those over 60), in 2025 the top position is held by young people aged 15 - 24, i.e., the core of Generation Z.
Graphs from 2025 Cinetel report "I dati del mercato" presented during the yearly press conference, 8 January 2026
The cinema market in Italy
* admissions of all domestic titles and co-productions with Italy screened during the year
Source: Cinetel - MEDIA Salles whenever possible uses the most updated figures
Source for data on population: Eurostat |
the new issue of DGT online informer offers a close-up look at cinema in Italy, based on data published by Cinetel, accompanied by a commentary that focuses on audience choices and the propensity of various age groups to watch films on the big screen.
The cinema has about fifty seats; the velvet armchairs have a somewhat old-fashioned look but are comfortable. The programming is far from trivial: a mix of films from world cinema heritage, masterpieces from other eras from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and obviously Palestinian and Israeli cinema. There are also carefully selected premieres, making this venue a reference point for art-house cinema and a meeting place for film enthusiasts, also thanks to numerous events featuring directors and other creative community members.
