by Redazione 22/10/2026
Categories: Cinema, theater and TV / Disclaimer
Italians watch an average of 91 movies a year, across movie theaters, television, and pay-per-view platforms. A study by Ergo Research for ANICA provides a snapshot of audience habits: young people are driving movie theater attendance, while Italian films are finding a particularly receptive audience on pay-per-view services.
Movies remain a constant presence in the lives of Italians, but the ways people watch films are becoming increasingly diverse: movie theaters coexist with television and digital platforms. Audiovisual consumption spans all age groups. On average, every Italian watches a movie every four days, for a total of 91 titles per year. This is one of the findings from the latest edition of *Sala e salotto*, a study conducted by Ergo Research for ANICA and presented at MIA, at Palazzo Barberini in Rome, during the session “Movie Consumption in Italy: Audiences: Between the Theater Experience and Other Screens.
Between January 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, the number of people who went to the movies returned to levels in line with those prior to the pandemic, reaching approximately 30 million individuals. The recovery in attendance, however, does not correspond to an increase in tickets purchased per capita. Young people are the main drivers of cinema attendance: the 15- to 24-year-old age group is, in fact, the only one to have purchased more tickets in 2025 than in 2019. The movie-going audience thus remains relatively young, with an average age of 36.
The research highlights, on the other hand, a smaller share of moviegoers over the age of 50. Although this age group represents about half of the Italian population, it accounts for 39% of the moviegoing audience and generates just 25% of tickets sold.
Ninety-one films a year across theaters, television, and streaming
When film consumption is considered as a whole—including all screens and various modes of access—the picture changes. A passion for films cuts across generations and types of content: on average, each person watches 91 films a year.
While watching movies in theaters remains a central experience for cinema, it accounts for less than 2% of total viewings. Its value, however, extends beyond the single ticket: the cinematic experience can also help enhance subsequent viewings of the same film on other screens. The largest share of consumption is concentratedon free content—including linear television and on-demand services—which together account for 62% of viewings. Excluding piracy, 22% of viewings occur through paid services, including both television and streaming. People over 50 make up the largest segment of these platforms’ audience.
For every movie theater ticket, eight films on paid services
One of the most significant aspects of the study concerns the relationship between movie theater attendance and the consumption of paid films. Through an experiment conducted over four consecutive weeks, Ergo Research cross-referenced theater-going experiences with those on paid services, seeking to reconstruct the habits of film lovers in accessing the various offerings available on the market. The result is significant: for every movie ticket purchased, respondents reported watching eight films on pay-per-view services during the same period. The ratio increases even further when considering Italian cinema: for every ticket purchased for an Italian film, there were 19 viewings of Italian films on pay-per-view platforms. During the period observed, over 32 million home viewings were recorded, compared to 4.2 million theater viewings. Italian films accounted for 19% of home viewings, with 6.3 million viewings, while their share in theaters stood at 8%.
The data reveals even more striking results when the analysis is narrowed to new films that have just become available on pay-per-view services. Out of a total of 9.3 million views of new releases, a full 3 million were of Italian productions—a 32% share. On the other hand, when considering all viewings of Italian films—including those from the catalog—48% are of recent releases. And it is precisely this newness that seems to make the difference: while the catalog is dominated by international films, within the most recent offerings, audiences show a particular preference for Italian productions.
Films that were released in theaters in previous months and subsequently made available on streaming platforms account for 70% of total views of new films. For Italian titles, that percentage rises to 92%. This figure underscores the importance of distribution across different release windows and the “second life” films enjoy after their theatrical run.
The rankings also confirm this trend: four Italian titles appear in the overall top ten, and all had already been released in theaters. The ranking dedicated to Italian cinema includes films from the previous season, titles capable of sustaining audience interest over the long term, and even an original production created for the streaming service. The home viewing selection is, in fact, very broad: in just four weeks, respondents cited nearly 2,000 films, compared to the 125 titles shown in theaters during the same period.
Cinemas are holding their own thanks to their most loyal audiences
The final finding concerns the relationship between paid streaming services and movie theater attendance. Thirty percent of users of paid streaming platforms say they never go to the theater, even though they continue to watch movies through these services. Home viewing, therefore, also reaches an audience that does not frequent traditional movie theaters. At the same time, 60% of the tickets sold during the period analyzed were purchased by moviegoers who see more than five films a year in theaters. It is primarily these regular enthusiasts, therefore, who sustain theater attendance.
The picture painted by *Sala e salotto* thus reveals a landscape in which the various ways of watching movies are not necessarily mutually exclusive. The theater maintains its role for a young and loyal audience, while paid streaming services greatly expand access to films and offer Italian cinema an important opportunity for visibility, especially when it comes to titles that have just left the theatrical circuit.
The event was introduced by Michele Casula, co-founder and partner at Ergo Research, who presented the data, and moderated by Anica President Alessandro Usai. The discussion then included representatives from the leading players in the audiovisual and distribution industries: Margherita Amedei, Cinema and Series Director at Sky Italia; Tinny Andreatta, Vice President of Italian Content at Netflix; Paolo Del Brocco, CEO of Rai Cinema; Livia Ferraro, Head of IT Digital Public Policy at Amazon; Federica Lucisano, CEO of Lucisano Media Group; Francesco Magini, Vice President of Disney+ DTC Italy and Turkey for The Walt Disney Company; and Paolo Orlando, Director of Distribution at Medusa Film. The initiative was organized in collaboration with the International Audiovisual Market (MIA), with support from the General Directorate of Libraries and Cultural Institutes of the Ministry of Culture.
“First and foremost,” comments ANICA President Alessandro Usai, “the research confirms what we already sensed as viewers—namely, that films are consumed well beyond their initial theatrical release. Therefore, limiting our assessment of the success of cinematic works—whether individual films or the industry as a whole, Italian or foreign—to box office figures alone is completely misleading. The second point is that this statement appears particularly true in the case of recent Italian cinema, which accounts for a very substantial portion of film viewings on pay-per-view services. However, not all films are created equal when they make their way to the small screen. The titles that performed best in theaters, along with other “light entertainment” titles, are the ones that seem to capture the public’s attention even beyond the theater. More generally, gaining a deeper understanding of viewing patterns can help filmmakers and producers better understand the audience their films will be reaching.”
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| Movies in Italy: On average, each person watches 91 movies a year |
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