the rooms are empty in Italy

In Rome, it is a hecatomb. In recent years, cinemas have been closing one after another with an almost 50% drop in attendance since 2019. The Italian cinema sector, which was not in great shape before the pandemic, is not recovering from the confinements . “I was at the cinema last night, we were only 15 in the room”regrets a Roman. “No one goes to the cinema anymore. It’s really not fashionable anymore, we may have top screens at home”. The few neighborhood cinemas that remain open have had to reinvent themselves. In one room, a symposium on cinema, instead of a classic session, was organised. These events take place at the beginning of the week, where the days are the least profitable.

Strong impact of the pandemic

“I would never have thought of having to rent this space for activities that have no connection with the cinema”admits Gino Zagari, owner of the Caravaggio cinema in Rome. “I now rent my cinema for neighborhood meetings, children’s parties, weddings or concerts.” Diversifying is an obligation after these long months of pandemic. According to him, it was the strict sanitary measures that discouraged the public. “In Italy, we had a very long period of closure. The cinema was the first activity to close and the last to reopen. It imprinted the image that the cinema was a dangerous place.” The time of the golden age of Italian cinema is long gone.