THE budgets of Italian production companies in 2020 they owed inexorably dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. If 2020 had opened in a positive way, both for the production sector and for the exploitation of cinemas, from March the whole world was then overwhelmed by the spread of the virus which led the authorities to enact a series measures to contain the infection by limiting the performance of work and recreational activities. The economic situation was severely damaged, with Italian cinemas only open for 198 days in total. As a result, for a large number of films produced by Italian audiovisual companies, theatrical release and the resulting revenues have had to be postponed (or even canceled). And, given the situation, many companies have opted for direct streaming on digital platforms. But how did the Italian production companies fare financially?

To answer the question, we went to see the budgets of the most important Italian audiovisual production companies. The results are summarized in chart below which shows the main balance sheet items, comparing them with the previous year (2019); the prospectus is also published in the latest issue of Box office, as well as an in-depth analysis of the top 10 companies by production value where their performance in 2020 is presented based on what is reported in the individual management reports.

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All reported data has been extracted from Duesse Communication srl using the online platform of Cparmi D&B (Crif Group) as a provider of information made public by the national chambers of commerce. At the time of going to press, data for the companies Greenland, Pepito Produzioni and Tramp Limited are not available as they have not yet been made available by them and / or by the competent Chamber of Commerce.

Below are the maps of the top 5 companies, sorted by production value (the other 5 will be published tomorrow).

• ENTERTAINMENT IERVOLINO & LADY BACARDI

Iervolino Entertainment is a growing reality (in June 2021, the company later changed its name to Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment). Despite the pandemic which has resulted in the postponement of certain productions and associated deliveries, extending the time limit for generating cash, the group has in fact closed 2020 with a production value of more than 117 million euros, with a growth of 46, 24%. compared to the previous year, where the value was 80 million. 2020 also marked a profit of 18.6 million, in line with the 20.2 million of 2019. These excellent results – reads the management report – “are the result of investment choices in quality intellectual properties and production of web series and films intended primarily for international markets. and, mainly, for the use of the public in streaming ”. Among the most successful productions made in 2020: the film Waiting for the barbarians with Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson (also distributed in Italian cinemas by the same company in September 2020, cashing, in the Covid era, 538 thousand euros), and the first collections of the series Friends of the Arctic (landed on Apple TV and Amazon Prime platforms) e puffin (with Johnny Depp as voice actor, distributed on Apple TV). Film and web series productions represent 12% and 88% of total revenues, respectively.

• WILD SIDE

The pandemic inevitably affected Wildside’s activities, causing – as the company itself points out – “significant slowdowns in the production of various projects with negative impacts both in terms of business volumes and margins as a result of delays in the delivery of material to broadcasters. “. The value of production in 2020 was thus 85.5 million euros against 119.2 million in 2019; the net loss amounts to 3.5 million, against a profit for the year of 6.5 million the previous year. Nevertheless, the company managed to record a positive operating result of € 2.7 million and an improvement in its net financial position. The major productions delivered in 2020 were: the series We are who we are by Luca Guadagnino and mice 2 by Antonio Albanese; movies Son (released in theaters shortly before the outbreak of the pandemic, in January 2020, with a box office of 3.3 million) e Like a cat on the ring road 2 (theatrical release in August 2021, collecting € 3.2 million); the documentary My name is Francesco Totti (which, in its 3-day event release in theaters in October 2020, had raised nearly 600,000 euros). Launched, but not completed in the year: the web series for Amazon Bang bang baby, and the series Anne by Niccolò Ammaniti (whose filming was interrupted by the pandemic) e I was hoping to die first for Ciel. From these, it is reasonable to expect significant future revenues, stemming from the agreements stipulated with distributors and broadcasters of international importance.

• CATTLEYA

Cattleya’s 2020 budget not only had to contend with the health and economic crisis created by the pandemic, but also had to contend with the sensational data of the previous year, in which the company had recorded its best performance ever. Therefore, the comparison to 2019 was overwhelming. In detail, the 2020 turnover reached 67 million euros, against 109.3 million the previous year; The value of production also fell sharply, from 131.8 million to 72.2 million. However, the ITV Studios subsidiary closed 2020 with a net profit of 2.5 million. The significant drop in turnover is explained by the drop in the number of works (TV series and films) completed, due to the postponement or suspension of filming: in 2019, 6 TV series were finalized, for a total of total revenue of 38.9 million euros, compared to the 3 series of 2020 (Masantonio, Romulus, Suburra – Season 3), for an amount of 15.8 million. In addition, in 2020, no films produced by Cattleya have been released in theaters. Revenues from the cinema segment have indeed fallen by 65%, also because in 2020 only one film was made, among other things under a co-production regime: On vacation on Mars (for which, since the company does not provide executive production and the film has not been released in theaters, no revenue has been recorded either in respect of tax credits or public subsidies). Finally, 2020 saw the postponement of a major film project: Who supervised Santa Claus? by Alessandro Siani, originally scheduled for Christmas 2020, but postponed to the 2021 holidays.

• LOTUS PRODUCTION

The production value of the Leone Film Group subsidiary is growing, which, in 2020, reached nearly 65 million euros, while, the previous year, it was 52.8 million; growth, therefore, of 22.93%. The financial statements at December 31, 2020, however, ended with a negative sign, recording a net loss of 905,318 euros, against a 2019 profit of 853,557 euros. The total turnover for 2020 amounts to 37.6 euros, compared to 2019 when it was 34.2. In 2020, two films produced by Lotus were released in Italian theaters: The best years by Gabriele Muccino who, brought to theaters by 01 Distribution on February 13, 2020, just before the outbreak of the pandemic, reached 5.6 million euros gross (a result that would have been much higher in normal times), and The good moment by Vincenzo Marra, released on July 2, 2020 for Altre Storie, raising around 9 thousand euros. If the pandemic interrupted active production for several months (the sets were relaunched in August 2020), the shooting of the series was nevertheless completed during the year under review. All Freud’s fault (available on Prime Video from February 2021), movies My brother and my sister (Netflix) and For all the life (in theaters from the end of November 2021), as well as the making of the film in English Time is up (in theaters at the end of October 2021), with Bella Thorne and Benjamin Mascolo, and the mini-series for Sky Alfredino – An Italian History.

• TAODUE

2020 has been a golden year for Taodue. The company, which is part of the Mediaset group, has indeed recorded 50.8 million euros in production value and 44 million in turnover. Overwhelming – positively – the comparison with 2019 where the production value stopped at 19.9 million and revenues at 6.1 million. In addition, Taodue closed the financial year 2020 with a profit of nearly 8 million while the previous year the accounts were in loss of 6.3 million. The 2020 profit was calculated after depreciation, amortization and write-downs of 20.6 million euros. The trend in 2020, significantly improving compared to 2019, was determined by the revenues generated by the operation of Tolo Tolo Checco Zalone which, released in theaters on January 1, 2020 distributed by the associated company Medusa Film, brought in € 46.2 million in revenue; the film then generated a turnover of 23.8 million euros from the sale of the exploitation of television rights to the parent company RTI. In addition to the operation of Tolo Tolo, among other highlights of the company’s financial year 2020, it should be noted that in September 2020, the shooting of the film based on the story of Yara Gambiraso directed by Marco Tullio Giordana had started; the film saw a partnership deal with Netflix (where it released on November 5, 2021 after a three-day theatrical release). Finally, in 2020 the sale of the French-speaking remake right of Where am I going?

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