Maccanico, ‘An extraordinary 2023 for Cinecittà, Hollywood strike begins to be felt.’
The final stages of the Venice Film Festival yesterday offered an opportunity to understand the state of development of a critical structure of Italian film production: Cinecittà. CEO Nicola Maccanico met the press present at the Lido to talk about the Rome studios that increased its business in the past two years, attracting the attention of major international newspapers in recent months, from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian: “We have had an objectively extraordinary first half of 2023,” Maccanico stressed, “which allows us to imagine a year-end in growth compared to 2022. Therefore, we expect to exceed the 39 million euros in revenues we recorded last year. That would confirm a situation that has stabilised and become structural.”
“We cannot, however, hide,” Maccanico added, “that the ongoing strike in Hollywood could affect us. We, as everyone, are beginning to suffer: the strike has inevitably slowed down activities at Cinecittà, where we now have more Italian productions. The strike could have a greater impact if it continues in the coming weeks or months.”
The new course d Cinecittà inaugurated by Maccanico in the last two years presents “a successful, profitable, well-functioning Cinecittà, which can return money to the state and do not ask for it, thanks also to the ability to attract large Italian productions. Cinecittà cannot be globally competitive if Italy is not globally competitive. And it is no coincidence that four Italian films shot in Cinecittà compete at the Venice Film Festival.”
The CEO stressed that we see “productions of all types and sizes, Italian and international, with different relationships. In this period, the group we have been working with the most is Fremantle, with whom we have a 5-year contract for using some of the studios and which accounted for 37 per cent of the total 2022/23 turnover.”
Maccanico then recalled that Cinecittà “is also proving to be at the forefront regarding technological equipment, for example, virtual reality. And now we are working on a sustainable model for studios while knowing that the business does not have high margins.” Cinecittà is also committed to restyling and recycling sets in the double front of environmental sustainability and easing production costs, “Measures aimed at increasing Cinecittà’s accessibility to have a variety of customers on an ongoing basis. The investments planned with the Pnrr also aim to grow production capacity to make our studios more attractive to large Italian and international productions. Then we can also imagine more active support in supporting young talent for first and second works.”
In summary, Nicola Maccanico noted, “In 2021, Cinecittà announced the beginning of a new industrial and production era for film studios. Now, that announcement sees a confirmation of numbers and productions that attest to the industrial and market consolidation that has taken place for Cinecittà. Cinecittà is now fully competitive and attractive nationally and for foreign productions. It is back to being what the world knows: a place where cinema, audiovisual, creativity and big names are concentrated. Cinecittà is once again the centre of talent, the home of world creativity that welcomes stories and those with the talent to tell.”
Cinecittà approved its operating budget for 2022 with a net profit of more than 1.8 million, a positive result one year ahead of the 2022-2026 business plan forecast, with a turnover of 39 million, more than doubled compared to 2021.
As of 2022, 2023 records excellent occupancy of all theatres throughout the year, engaged in films, TV series and commercials, 70 per cent of which are international productions. A total of more than 50 productions bring thousands of workers to the studios daily.
An emblematic fruit of this positive curve is recorded in one of the main international film events, the Venice Film Festival, where four films in the official competition were shot in Cinecittà: “Comandante” by Edoardo De Angelis, “Finalmente l’alba” by Saverio Costanzo, “Adagio” by Stefano Sollima, and “Enea” by Pietro Castellitto, titles of international production and creative ambition.
Among the names in cinema that Cinecittà has hosted in recent months are Luca Guadagnino, Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Craig, Angelina Jolie, Saverio Costanzo, Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Charlize Theron, Uma Thurman, Denzel Washington, Roland Emmerich, Edoardo De Angelis, Willem Dafoe, Salma Hayek, Luca Marinelli, Joe Wright, Kasia Smutniak, Marco Bellocchio, Lily James, Joe Keery, Nanni Moretti, Paola Cortellesi, Pierfrancesco Favino, Edward Berger, Stefano Sollima, Adam Driver, Gabriele Salvatores, Valerio Mastandrea, Margherita Buy, Luca Zingaretti.
Other titles from recent or upcoming productions at Cinecittà include: Roland Emmerich’s “Those About to Die” with Anthony Hopkins; Luca Guadagnino’s two films, “Queer” with Daniel Craig and the ready-made “Challengers” with Zendaya; Gabriele Mainetti’s new works with Marco Giallini, and Gabriele Salvatores’ with Pierfrancesco Favino; Richard Donner’s “The First Omen” with Bill Nighy, “There’s Still Tomorrow” by and with Paola Cortellesi, to which are added those soon to be released: “Without Blood” by Angelina Jolie with Salma Hayek, “Domina 2” by David Evans and Sallie Aprahamian with Kasia Smutniak, Matthew McNulty and Claire Forlani, “Conclave” by Edward Berger with Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini, “M. Son of the Century” by Joe Wright with Luca Marinelli, “Ripley” by Steven Zaillian with Andrew Scott and Dakota Fanning, “The Decameron” by Michael Uppendahl with Leila Farzad, Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Tony Hale, “The Old Guard 2” by Victoria Mahoney with Charlize Theron and Uma Thurman.
On the Pnrr Cinecittà (220 million investment), Maccanico recalled, it is in line with the implementation of the timetable of interventions envisaged by the European targets: calls for tenders for the construction of new theatres and the renovation of existing ones were published by December 2022; by June 2023 all contracts were signed with the assignee companies, on schedule. These procedures and timelines are required to achieve the target for completion of the investment within June 30, 2026. Specifically, the plan will lead to the construction of 5 new theatres, the renovation of 4 existing theatres, and the rationalisation of the backlot (the area designated for the large sets outside the Studios). In 2026, Cinecittà will have 25 active theatres and an increase of more than 60% in production capacity. In addition, the renovation and streamlining of all theatres, the digital upgrading of entire facilities, and the expansion of services to support productions.
