Articles
The International Circulation of ‘La Grande Bellezza’
La grande bellezza/The Great Beauty matches five of our corpus criteria (films that found success in each of the sample countries, present at the major international film festivals, supported with Eurimages funding and the Creative Europe Media program, frequently present in the programs of Italian cinema classes at international universities, an also winner of an international award). The film premiered (in competition) at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and was also shown at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, as well as many other International film festivals. The film won the award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards, as well as at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs.
As the previous Sorrentino’s films, La grande bellezza was majorly produced by Indigo Film, and distributed in Italy by Medusa. However, the film results as an Italian-French co-production, given the participation of several companies like Babe Film, Pathé, France 2 Cinéma, Canal+ and France Télévisions. The film was also supported by the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali (MiBAC), the Lazio Film Commission and several European fonds, as the Fonds Eurimages du Conseil de l’Europe and the MEDIA Programme of the European Union. For these reasons, in addition to being considered as a proper Italian film, La grande bellezza is a positive example of a European production.
The film was released in Italy on May 21, 2013, the same day of the international premiere in Cannes, reaching 1.212.717 spectators and grossing $9.535.868. The Italian takings represent 41% of the total, versus 47% non-national, European tickets. American spectators constitute just 12% of the total.
| Release Date | Screens | Weeks | Opening Weekend ($) | Box Office ($) | Admissions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT | 21 May 2013 | 457 | 42 | 2.471.175 | 9.535.868 | 1.212.717 |
| CH | 22 May 2013 (FR) 23 May 2013 (IT) 25 July 2013 (DE) | / | / | / | 505.587 | 35.305 |
| FR | 22 May 2013 | 81 | / | 314.467 | / | 243.800 |
| UK | 6 September 2013 | 47 | 23 | 177.457 | 1.516.117 | 155.859 |
| USA | 15 November 2013 | 77 | 19 | 255.164 | 2.852.400 | 321.770 |
Sources: Lumière, Box Office Mojo, Imdb Pro, ProCinema.ch, CNC
Switzerland
The film was distributed in Switzerland on May 22, 2013 just for the French-speaking area, and the day after (May 23) even for the Italian-speaking market. In the German Switzerland the film was released only on July, 25 2013. In all the different areas, the film was distributed by Pathé Films, the Swiss version of the famous French company, reaching 35.305 admissions and $505.587 at the box office. Regarding the VOD distribution, the film is available for renting/buying on Videobuster, Swisscom, Google Play, Holly Star and Exlibris.
France
La grande bellezza came out in France the day after the Cannes premier (and also the Italian release), released by Pathé Distribution. The film reached 243.800 admissions, grossing in the first weekend $314.467. Sorrentino’s movie was released soon in 81 theaters thanks to the great critical success it received at Cannes film festival — even if it didn’t received any award. In France, the film is available in streaming on OCS Go, and for renting/buying on RakutenTV, Filmo TV, Orange VOD, MyTF!vod, Google Play, Microsoft Store, iTunes and PlayStation.
| Box Office ($) | Admissions | OTT - SVOD | OTT - Rent/Buy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT | 9.535.868 | 1.212.717 | Infinity | Timvision, Chili, RakutenTV |
| CH | 505.587 | 35.305 | / | Videobuster, Swisscom, Google Play, Holly Star, Exlibris |
| FR | / | 243.800 | OCS Go | RakutenTV, Filmo TV, Orange VOD, MyTF!vod, Google Play, Microsoft Store, iTunes, PlayStation |
| UK | 1.516.117 | 155.859 | / | RakutenTV, Amazon, Google Play, Chili, iTunes, Sky Store, Curzon Home Cinema, BFI Player |
| USA | 2.852.400 | 321.770 | Criterion Channel, Kanopy | Google Play, Vudu, Amazon Video, iTunes, |
Data at July 2019
United Kingdom
The distributor Curzon Artificial Eye released the film in the United Kingdom in September 6, 2013. The film sold 155.859 tickets, grossing $1.516.117 ($177.457 in the opening weekend) over its very long 23-week run, reaching a maximum of 47 theaters in the second week of distribution. In all the VOD platforms available in Great Britain, you can find La grande bellezza for renting/buying on RakutenTV, Amazon, GooglePlay, Chili, iTunes, Sky Store, Curzon Home Cinema and BFI Player, one of the most important platform for the distribution of global arthouse cinema in the UK.
United States
After the premiere in Cannes and all the European releases, La grande bellezza reached the USA only in the winter (November 2013).. La grande bellezza. The film was distributed in the USA by the historical distributor of art cinema Janus Film, in collaboration with Criterion. The film sold 321.770 tickets and made $2.852.400 ($255.164 in the opening weekend) over its 19-week run, reaching a maximum of 52 screens at the height of its distribution. The average taking per copy of La grande bellezza in the United States was $54.854. The greater impact of La grande bellezza in the USA is doubtless due to a series of factors, the most important of which was certainly the film’s success at the Academy Awards, having won Best Film in a Foreign Language. Indeed, as well as guaranteeing a longer run in theatres (19 weeks), the Oscar enabled a second release of La grande bellezza during the spring of the following year. At this moment, the film is available in streaming on The Criterion Channel and Kanopy.
