From Avatar 2 to the Barbie Phenomenon: Italian Seasonal Campaigns are a big brand riot

So many sagas, so many franchises, so much certainty and a bit of Italy in the top 10 seasonal box office hits that culminated in Avatar’s Via del Aqua and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie triumphs. But a looming shadow: the Hollywood strike triggered a nervous breakdown that is (already) infecting fall/winter programming…

On August 1, along with the holidays, the final data came, which were closed movie season 2022/2023. A year of outings (maybe too much?), a year that, after the crisis of Covid restrictions, seems to have reared its head again, showing signs of renewed engagement. Also because, judging by top 10 box office in Italywhich runs from August 1, 2022 to July 31, 2023, there is very little room for surprises, and all films – except for a single Italian title – are part of sagas, franchises, big brands.

A set that emphasizes the modern character of things: today the Italian public goes to the cinema when an event that attracts attention takes place. An emphatic cinematic experience, one that defeats programming and renders any competition useless, unbalances (by a lot) the very perception a viewer can have of theater.
If the season finale solidifies the plus in terms of revenue compared to the previous two poor years, it’s almost primarily due to the first three classified films: Avatar – Path of Water James Cameron, released on Christmas Day 2022, grossed 44.7 million euros. An important figure given the changing habits of the audience, so much so that it is the sixth most watched film in Italy.

The first novelty, although tied to the brand, is in second place: Super Mario Bros. Movie was a spring title, recording a good 20.3 million euros in revenue in just a few days. The film that brought both adults and children to the cinema, as in the case of the phenomenon of the year: Barbie (editor’s opinion here). Greta Gerwig’s film made the audience blush, coming in second place with 19.18 million euros. It narrowly outpaced Super Mario in the box office of the season, but would no doubt surpass it in the box office for the year.

Fast X, Marvel and Little Italy

If the first three positions include the two original games, albeit associated with notable acclaim (both Barbie and Super Mario Bros are part of our memories, and memories are the perfect palliative for the dark times we live in), from fourth place down, except Italian production, there are only films related to sagas. As many as six films are sequels or remakes of live performances. In fourth place is Minions 2 – How Gru Gets Very Evil, which grossed $14.7 million. On the fifth here Mermaidwhich came close to 12 million euros (without a definite appearance on Disney+ there would be more? Who knows…), followed by 11.8 million euros. Quick X.

Fast X review: All roads lead to Rome

Curiosity: if a few years ago the Marvel universe was a guarantee, then this time the first MCU film is “only” the seventh: Guardians of the Galaxy, Part 3 James Gunn instead raised $10.9 million. Black Panther – Wakanda Forever, eighth, only 8.4. A drastic drop due to multiple factors: the arrival of films on Disney+, a significant change in course, the fluctuating quality of Phase 4 (with the exception of the excellent Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), or this saturation? Without a doubt, we can talk about saturation in relation to Italian production: in 2022, 251 films of Italian production or co-production were released, only one (!) managed to enter the top 10 of the season: Important day with Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo, which raised 7.2 million euros. To close the round, here Creed III: Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut grossed $6.8 million at the box office.

Shadow of the Hollywood strike

As said at the beginning, the top 10 box office of the season is an accurate thermometer that measures the temperature of our industry. Thus the situation with Italian productions is symptomatic: the audience, with the exception of exceptions (represented by the “author” factor, as in the case of Nanni Moretti, Roberto Ando, ​​or the “star” factor, such as eight mountains with Alessandro Borghi and Luca Marinelli) and with discrete results, rarely chooses his own games, which instead seem to have much more success on streaming. Cause? The postcovid room in the Italian imagination is the elite of the aforementioned experience, marked by three or four strong names. Partly a misleading vision, because the cinematic experience – and we often remember this – is not alone. Avatars 2

but every story deserves to be brought to the big screen. Another non-obvious thought concerns the fans: they could have entered the annual rankings, but unexpectedly fell out of the top 10 for 2022/2023. In particular, two headlines made noise: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destinywhich travels for about 6 million euros, ranking only thirteenth in the list of world collections, and a mediocre collection – given the expectations – Mission: Impossible – Paying for Death – Part Onewith only 4 million

Actors strike: why Hollywood is protesting

However, a heavy shadow hovers between winners and losers. If box office has barely recovered (even around the world) to a less-than-excellent but nonetheless acceptable level, the actors’ strike seriously disrupts the new-found peace, leading Hollywood to a nervous breakdown that threatens a long autumn-winter period in a chain. and even spring walks, as is the case with Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (postponed to a date to be determined). The first to pay the price Kraven – Hunterrescheduled to August 2024, Poor creatures!rescheduled from September to December, e Applicants Luca Guadagnino, who sensationally misses the opening of Venice 80s release rescheduled for April 2024. The domino effect is theoretically equal, if not worse, to that experienced by cinemas during closures/health restrictions. With one significant difference: two such explosions with a difference of several months may not be supported by Italian, as well as world exhibitors.