No country for old moviegoers? New data show Italians over 60 seem disenchanted with film theatres.
As the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of the Covid pandemic approaches, Europe finally seems to have entered an endemic stage of cohabitation with the virus. In terms of theatrical film consumption, the negative effects of the pandemic have continued to echo across European markets long after the restrictions were lifted, and life-saving vaccines had become widely available. Despite undisputable signs of recovery (+63.1% between 2021 and 2022), admissions to European cinemas have not yet reached the pre-pandemic figures, and industry experts have started to question whether they ever will. Market recovery has progressed unevenly across Europe, with some national audiences proving more eager than others to get back to the theatres. Among the top EU producers, France is the country where the gap with the pre-pandemic situation has narrowed the most, with a decrease of 28,7% in admissions between 2019 and 2022, versus a 34% decrease in Germany, 40% in Spain and as much as 54% in Italy. In fact, Italy is the only one, among the top producing countries, to have experienced a decline in admissions between 2020 and 2021 as well (-11,5%), thus joining a trend peculiar to small countries like Denmark (-5,7%), Finland (-12,8%) and The Netherlands (-14,8%). Analysts and exhibitors have attributed the hesitancy of Italian moviegoers to the prolonged requirement to wear masks in theatres (which only expired in mid-June 2022), as well as to a long-lasting fear of contagion among older consumers. Indeed, with a median age of 48, Italy is the European country with the oldest population, almost four years above the continent’s median. Italians over 65 account for 23,8% of the population, a 3% increase from a decade ago (Eurostat data of January 2022). However, until recently, this type of analysis could not be empirically supported, since in Italy no data collection was made about the demographic profile of moviegoers. For the first time in early 2022, Cinetel, the company jointly owned by the association of Italian exhibitors (ANEC) and the association of Italian audiovisual industries (ANICA) responsible for the collection of box office and quantitative admissions data, announced that it would also start gathering demographic data about domestic moviegoers. The theatrical market crisis caused by the pandemic was instrumental in pushing the Italian industry and institutions to implement Cinexpert, a qualitative data monitoring project similar to others existing in Europe since the early 2000s. So, what do this project tell us about the age profile of Italian moviegoers? According to Cinexpert, in the first semester of 2023, the biggest share of admissions to Italian theatres derived from people aged between 35 and 49 (24%), followed by 15-24 years old (21%) and 25-34 years old (19%). People over 60 generated only 10% of the overall admissions: for comparison’s sake, in the same period, 60+ moviegoers in France accounted for 27% of admissions in domestic theatres. In a country where older citizens make for a large and growing demographic, these data should concern Italian film professionals, who seem to be failing to attract a crucial market segment. Why is that? Another recent study commissioned by the Italian Minister of Culture shows that Italian over 58 decide to watch films in theatres mainly because they value the immersiveness of
the cinematic experience. When selecting which theatre to go to, convenience is a crucial drive for older moviegoers, and notably: proximity to residence, availability of parking facilities and ticket booking services. Moreover, the study shows that Italian baby boomers are reportedly very selective in their moviegoing choices, which are driven by individual interests and taste, rather than economic considerations or by the desire to keep up with the most publicised titles. Indeed, this demographic is also the one that expresses the greatest interest in attending film programmes focusing on specific directors, as well as cult films from the past. In view of these data, it appears that the closing of many theatres, which took place over the last decade especially in urban centres, is a major cause of the disaffection of elderly Italians from moviegoing. To try and counteract that, film exhibitors should pay particular attention to curating a diverse programming that does not only include the latest blockbusters, and to offering services that make the moviegoing experience of older consumers more comfortable and convenient. However, it would be beneficial to complement existing findings with additional data showing the appreciation of individual films by different demographic segments. Bringing older consumers back to the theatres is a necessary step to reinvigorate the Italian film market, which still lags far behind its pre-pandemic performances. To achieve this, a joint effort is required to all players in the Italian film value chain to review long-standing assumptions about older moviegoers’ preferences and behaviours: this can only be done by means of the systematic collection and quali-quantitative monitoring of age and gender-disaggregated data about moviegoing practices across the country.
Written by: Gloria Dagnino
Image credit: Still from Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988) director Giuseppe Tornatore, DOP Blasco Giurato.