White paper on creativity - ebla center

Chapter 7i.e. films with the best results in termsof admissions only for the weekendwhen the film was released, we see thatin most cases (55%) these films werereleased in the March–May period.Seasonal film-going, therefore, seemsto be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Filmsgiven little credence are distributed inthe low season and receive littleinvestment for promotion. The finalupshot is that in the summer months(June-August), box office figures arevery low, around 10% of the overallyearly proceeds. We must stress,however, that this is an exclusivelyItalian phenomenon. In fact as shownin Figure 7.7, in France, Spain andGermany the share of summeradmissions is almost double the figurefor Italy.Figure 7.7 – Admissions per month (in percentages of the whole year) for 2000-200516%14%12%10%8%6%4%2%0%Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sept Oct Nov DecITA FRA GERM SPASource: our elaboration of MEDIA Salles dataItaly thus differs from other Europeanmarkets because of its more highlyconcentrated film season, sinceadmissions are much greater in a fewmonths of the year, especially thewinter months (November–January).This phenomenon of seasonal filmgoingis a specifically Italian feature,since in other European countries thedifference between low and highseason is much less marked.WHITE PAPER ON CREATIVITY 173