Italian box office holds steady in 2024 as Disney takes distributor crown

The Italian box office held steady in 2024 with cinemas taking €493.9m in 2024 from admissions of 69.7 million.

The result is almost in line with 2023, representing a slight 0.4% dip in box office and a 1.3% fall in admissions, according to figures from Italian box office organisation Cinetel.

It is a decent result for Italy given the disruption to film releases caused by the US actors’ and writers’ strikes and competition from major sporting events during the summer. Notably, Italy held on to the strong box office gains of 2023, when the box office surged by 62% in the wake of the pandemic.

Top 10 Italy, 2024

Scroll down for top distributor list

However, the Italian theatrical market is still down by 16.6% in takings compared to the pre-pandemic average for the 2017-2019 period.

Italy performed on a par with the UK, which saw box office dip 0.1% in 2024, according to Cinetel figures. France is one of the few major markets to grow in 2024, with admissions up 0.5%.

The summer season – traditionally very quiet in Italy – was the best ever in terms of takings, boosted by an industry promotional campaign and discounted tickets.

The top three films at the box office were Inside Out 2 (€46.5), Moana 2 (€19.4m) and Deadpool & Wolverine (€18m) (see below for full table), which were all distributed by Disney.

Disney was the clear winner in the distributor rankings with box- office revenues of €122.9m, followed by Eagle Pictures (€74.2m), Warner Bros Discovery (€63.1m), Universal (€53.7m) and 01 Distribution (€38.7m) (see below for top 10 distributor table).

Italian productions, including co-productions, recorded revenues of €121m on 17.8 million admissions, representing a 25.6% share of total attendance. This is in line with 2023 (25.9%), but higher than the average for the three-year period 2017-2019 (21%).

The top Italian film of the year was Eagle Pictures’ sleeper hit The Boy With The Pink Trousers which took €9m and ranked 10th in the overall box office chart. Directed by Margherita Ferri, the film is based on a true story about the first teen in Italy to be killed by suicide caused by cyber-bullying and was also produced and by Eagle Pictures.

The second biggest Italian film release was Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope (€7.5m), the first release by new distributor Piper Film which debuted in Competition at Cannes 2024.

Some 1,064 films were released in cinemas in 2024, up from 871 the year before. The average price of a cinema ticket was €7.1 in 2024, not much more than the average €6.7 in 2010.

The figures also show that older audiences are continuing to visit the cinema much less since the pandemic. There has been a 56% drop in audiences aged over 60 attending, compared to the 2017-19 average and a 35% drop by 50-59 year olds. By comparison audiences aged 15-24 are going more, with figures up by 26% from the pre-pandemic years.

Simone Gialdini, president of Italian industry box-office data organisation Cinetel, told Screen: “The theatrical box office in Italy in 2024 confirms the recovery of our market, without big Italian hits but supported by good performing titles. The market had the best summertime ever. The period June-August increased again compared to the previous years, confirming the opportunities and the changes of our market in terms of movie-going. Summertime is becoming very important for our market and both distributors and exhibitors are investing for a successful season, supported by our Ministry of Culture who confirm their contribution for several initiatives.”

Top Distributors in Italy, 2024

Top 10 Italian films, 2024