The Italian cinema industry is feeling a surge of optimism as the year begins thanks to bumper ticket sales in 2007 and an increase in the share commanded by home-produced films.
With ticket sales reaching 115 million, the nation's cinemas posted a 12% rise on the previous year. This was their best result for 20 years if you exclude 1998 when James Cameron's Titanic produced a jump in statistics.
According to experts, one reason for the surge in 2007 was the appearance of blockbusters like the most recent Harry Potter film and Spiderman 3 in the traditionally quiet summer months.
But the strong presence of Italian films is also seen as a factor. There were ten of them among the top 25 money-makers last year and home-produced movies accounted for 31% of takings, compared to 25% a year earlier.
''The figures are comforting and induce optimism for the future,'' commented Paolo Protti, president of Anec, the national association of cinema operators.
As usual the figures for 2007 received a hefty boost from light Christmas comedies that a few Italian film makers are specialised in.
The biggest hits at the box office over the holiday period were Natale in Crociera, a slapstick and slight saucy romp on a pleasure cruise starring Christian De Sica, and Una Moglie Bellissima, another romantic comedy featuring a gorgeous woman from Leonardo Pieraccioni.
But Italian directors also turned out a few slightly less obvious hits during the year. They included Notte Prima degli Esami 2, a sequel to a hugely popular movie about growing up in Rome, and Ho Voglia di Te, a love story set in Rome and New York.
There was also the first full-length feature starring the hugely successful Winx fairies created by Italy's Rainbow studios.
Critics of the feel-good Christmas comedies churned out by De Sica and others say a recovery based on such lightweight fare is nothing to get excited about.
But Carlo Rossella, president of Italian movie distributor Medusa, said these films could play an important role in the national industry by helping to finance less commercial productions.
''It's important that the money accumulated with popular Christmas comedies is invested in films of greater quality,'' he said.
Meanwhile, the 2007 results are being hailed by some in Italy as a sign of a new dynamism in the national cinema industry, which has been trying for decades to reverse what appeared to be a steady decline.
''Today Italy is notching up a clear success because in European countries like France, Germany and Spain, 2007 figures are down. Even in Britain and the US growth is much less than here,'' said Il Giornale dello Spettacolo, an Italian cinema newspaper.
