U.S. fare falls as local pix top Italo B.O.
American films snare only four of top ten spots
The number of admissions for the year totaled 64 million, representing a 5.7% increase on the 1996 tally, while B.O. revenues rose by 7.2% to total $387.5 million.
The Italian industry tends to focus less on the calendar year than the theatrical-release season that runs September through June. However, an annual chart compiled by B.O. monitoring service Cinetel, which covers the key situations and represents roughly 74% of national grosses, clearly underlines the downturn in the performance of U.S. fare here.
American films figured in only four of the year's top 10 spots, representing a steep fall compared to the 1996 market leaders, all but one of which were U.S. productions. Italian pics accounted for only one of the top 10 releases of 1996, but staged a coup last year, grabbing four out of the 10 prime spots.
And while the B.O. boom for Italian titles remains linked to a handful of powerhouse pics rather than a broad upsurge, that group has shown sufficient muscle to implement a high 29% market share for local films this season, while the U.S. hold has slipped from its usual figure of 70% or more to only 49%. (Percentage shares were calculated by Cinetel prior to Christmas.)
As predicted, the year was ruled by Leonardo Pieraccioni. The wunderkind Florentine actor-director scored a double dip for producer-distrib the Cecchi Gori Group with the comedies "The Cyclone," released during the Christmas 1996 season, and "Fireworks," which opened this fall.
The latter pic topped the annual chart, earning a massive $29.1 million, while its predecessor made an equally impressive $27.7 million in 1997.
Also from CGG, Roberto Benigni's "Life Is Beautiful" came in fourth, chalking up $12.4 million in only two weeks. The cume for the Dec. 18 release is approaching $20 million.
European productions landed the remaining two top-five spots. These were Polygram's Brit comedy phenomenon "Bean," which went out here via Warner and raked in $13.4 million, and French sci-fi high-flier "The Fifth Element," which totaled $9.8 million for distrib Filmauro.
Top-grossing U.S. releases for the year were BVI's "101 Dalmatians" ($9.7 million) and "Hercules" ($8.7 million), CGG's "The English Patient" ($8.6 million) and UIP's "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" ($8.3 million).
