Italian cinema attendance decline: survey reveals causes and need for cultural policy

A recent survey by SWG for the Italian Ministry of Culture, titled 'Gli Italiani e il Cinema', reveals that 28% of Italians who did not go to the cinema in the first five months of 2023 cited loss of habit, while 20% blamed poorer programming and another 20% cited reduced spending capacity. The article argues that these reasons are interconnected and that economic factors alone cannot explain zero attendance, as a family of four spending €40 over five months is not prohibitive. The success of 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' shows a split between those who go to the cinema for the experience and those who go for a specific film, suggesting that promotion should target user categories rather than demographics. The author, Stefano Monti, calls for a cultural policy that recognizes cinema, theater, and museum visits as distinct from standardized markets, and for tools to better understand actual and potential demand for culture in Italy.