Spending on Italian audiovisual production jumped 20% to €1.8bn in 2022, up from €1.5bn in 2021, according to data compiled by research association EMedia for Italy’s Association of Audiovisual Producers (APA)
The study shows the number of high-budget productions in Italy rose thanks to increased investment by US streamers as well as government tax credits aimed at incentivising international shoots in Italy.
This has “generated an inflationary effect on the sector,” said the report, which warned of increasing costs and a dearth of production crews and support staff. This is “to all effects a real emergency in the sector, particularly considering it will probably likely continue to grow,” the report added.
Overall, the average hourly cost of fiction feature film production for TV and VOD platforms grew to €1.4m in 2022, up from €1.1m in 2019.
Investment in films produced primarily for cinemas more than doubled from €263 million to €581 million over the 2017-2022 period. Spending rose 17% in 2022 from €495m compared to the previous year.
Films produced in 2022 in Italy include Emanuele Crialese’s L’Immensità, starring Penelope Cruz, Francesca Archibugi’s The Hummingbird, and Paolo Virzi’s Siccita.
International co-productions posted a slight decline, the report said without providing figures. France, Germany and the UK co-produced the most audiovisual content in Italy, according to the study.
Italy’s audiovisual market - including television, cinema, DVDs and Blueray and streaming – saw total revenues grow by 6.9% to €10.8bn in 2022, up from €10.1bn in 2021, the APA said.
Television content had the largest market share with €7.9bn in revenue in 2022, equivalent to 73% of the total market.
Exhibitors, meanwhile, posted revenues of €300m. The report said the sector is “clearly recovering but it is still far from pre-pandemic values,” though 2023 “promises to be the real year of recovery for Italy’s box office.”
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