This list charts the most successful films at cinemas in Italy by box office sales, in euros and admissions. It also lists the most popular Italian productions in terms of admissions.

Highest-grossing films by box office revenue

The following is a list of the highest-grossing films in Italy. The list is topped by James Cameron's Avatar (2009) which surpassed his Titanic (1997) to take the local record. The highest-grossing Italian film is Quo Vado? (2016) starring Checco Zalone and directed by Gennaro Nunziante. This surpassed their Sole a catinelle (2013) as the top Italian film as well as their What a Beautiful Day (2011), which held the record prior to that. All three are still among the top six. Zalone also directed and starred in Tolo Tolo (2020), currently in fifth place. Prior to these Italian films, the highest-grossing Italian film was Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful (1997). This remains the highest-grossing Italian film worldwide with a gross of over $230 million.[1] Of the current top 20, Titanic has the most admissions with 13.7 million, which ranks 12th all-time in Italy.

Background colour   indicates films currently in cinemas
Rank Genre Title Year Gross (€) Tickets sold
01 Science fiction Avatar 2009 68,675,442[2][3][4] 7,919,514[3][5]
02 Italy* Comedy Quo Vado? 2016 65,341,588[6] 9,354,698[6]
03 Italy* Comedy Sole a catinelle 2013 51,948,550[2][7] 8,005,352[7]
04 Romantic, Disaster Titanic 1997 50,217,865[8] 13,708,208[9]
05 Italy* Comedy Tolo Tolo 2020 46,201,300[10] 6,674,622[10]
06 Science fiction Avatar: The Way of Water 2022 44,798,350[11] 5,058,147[11]
07 Italy* Comedy What a Beautiful Day 2011 43,475,840[2] 6,831,460[8]
08 Musical The Lion King 2019 37,514,061[10] 5,694,038[10]
09 Italy* Comedy drama C'è ancora domani 2023 36,356,076[12] 5,354,584[12]
10 Fantasy, Comedy Barbie 2023 32,122,053[11] 4,390,410[11]
11 Italy* Comedy drama Life Is Beautiful 1997 31,231,984[13] 9,702,524[14]
12 Fantasy Alice in Wonderland 2010 30,397,548[2][3] 3,511,206[3]
13 Superhero Avengers: Endgame 2019 30,282,559[15] 4,098,421[15]
14 Italy* Comedy Benvenuti al Sud 2010 29,841,490[3] 4,903,480[3][16]
15 Comedy Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs 2009 29,705,584[2] 4,055,708[17]
16 Psychological thriller Joker 2019 29,566,127[10] 4,228,544[10]
17 Biographical musical Bohemian Rhapsody 2018 29,053,485[18] 4,154,275[18]
18 Thriller The Da Vinci Code 2006 28,690,407[3] 4,656,409
19 Italy* Comedy Chiedimi se sono felice 2000 28,458,894[3] 6,855,948[9]
20 Italy* Comedy Natale sul Nilo 2002 28,296,198[19] 5,742,264[9]
Films marked as Italy* are Italian productions

Most admissions

The following are the films with the most cinema admissions in Italy since 1945. Doctor Zhivago (1966) tops the list with 22.9 million admissions. War and Peace (1956), in fifth place with 15.7 million admissions, is the highest placed Italian production.

Background colour   indicates films currently in cinemas
Rank Title Year Tickets sold[9] Country
1 Doctor Zhivago 1966 22,900,000 United Kingdom
2 The Godfather 1972 21,810,000 United States
3 The Ten Commandments 1956 16,800,000 United States
4 Goldfinger 1964 15,800,000 United Kingdom
5 War and Peace 1956 15,707,723 Italy
United States
6 Last Tango in Paris 1972 15,623,773 Italy
France
7 Ben-Hur 1959 15,400,000 United States
8 A Fistful of Dollars 1964 14,797,275 Italy
Spain
West Germany
9 Trinity Is Still My Name 1971 14,554,172 Italy
10 For a Few Dollars More 1965 14,543,161 Italy
Spain
West Germany
11 Thunderball 1965 14,100,000 United Kingdom
12 Titanic 1997 13,708,208 United States
13 La Dolce Vita 1960 13,617,148 Italy
France
14 Little World of Don Camillo 1952 13,215,653 Italy
France
15 Ulysses 1954 13,170,322 Italy
16 The Leopard 1963 12,850,375 Italy
France
17 Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing 1955 12,600,000 United States
18 Beautiful but Dangerous 1955 12,592,231 Italy
France
19 Malicious 1973 11,756,327 Italy
20 Miracle of Marcelino 1955 11,559,217 Spain
Italy
21 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 11,364,221 Italy
22 The Longest Day 1962 11,300,000 United States
23 Watch Out, We're Mad! 1974 11,246,906 Italy
Spain
24 The Bible: In the Beginning... 1966 11,245,980 United States
Italy
25 Il Decameron 1971 11,167,557 Italy

Most admissions for Italian productions

The following are the Italian films (including co-productions) with the most cinema admissions in Italy since 1950. The leader, War and Peace (1956), is ranked fifth when considering productions from other countries (see above table). Of films listed in the highest-grossing list above, Life Is Beautiful, with 9.7 million admissions, ranks 31st and Quo Vado?, with 9.4 million admissions, 34th.[14]

Background colour   indicates films currently in cinemas
Rank Title Year Tickets sold[14] Country
1 War and Peace 1956 15,707,723 Italy
United States
2 Last Tango in Paris 1972 15,623,773 Italy
France
3 A Fistful of Dollars 1964 14,797,275 Italy
Spain
West Germany
4 Trinity Is Still My Name 1971 14,554,172 Italy
5 For a Few Dollars More 1965 14,543,161 Italy
Spain
West Germany
6 La Dolce Vita 1960 13,617,148 Italy
France
7 Little World of Don Camillo 1952 13,215,653 Italy
France
8 Ulysses 1954 13,170,322 Italy
9 The Leopard 1963 12,850,375 Italy
France
10 Beautiful but Dangerous 1955 12,592,231 Italy
France
11 Malicious 1973 11,756,327 Italy
12 Miracle of Marcelino 1955 11,559,217 Spain
Italy
13 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 11,364,221 Italy
14 Watch Out, We're Mad! 1974 11,246,906 Italy
Spain
15 The Bible: In the Beginning... 1966 11,245,980 United States
Italy

See also

References

  1. ^ John, Adriana (21 September 2016). "Top 10 Highest Grossing Non-English Movies of All Time". Wonderslist. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Annuario Cinetel 2014" (PDF). Cinetel. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Annuario Cinetel 2010". Cinetel. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  4. ^ Original Box Office run (65.675.547) + 2022 rerelease (2.999.895)
  5. ^ Original Box Office run (7.493.785) + 2022 rerelease (425.729)
  6. ^ a b "Box Office - Dal: 01/08/2015 Al: 29/05/2016". Cinetel. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Annuario Cinetel 2013". Cinetel. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Sole a Catinelle e Checco Zalone battono Avatar: 7 milioni e mezzo di spettatori!". Blog.screenweek.it. 29 November 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d "TOP250 tous les temps en Italie (Reprises incluses)". JP's Box-office. Archived from the original on January 10, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Anno Corrente Dal 01/01/2020 Al 16/10/2020". cinetel.it (in Italian). 16 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  11. ^ a b c d "Annuario Cinetel 2023". Cinetel. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Anno Corrente 01/01/2024 Al 29/02/2024". cinetel.it (in Italian). 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  13. ^ "La vita è bella -info". movieplayer.it. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  14. ^ a b c "La classifica dei film più visti di sempre al cinema in Italia". movieplayer.it. January 25, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  15. ^ a b "Anno Corrente Dal 01/01/2019 Al 09/12/2019". Cinetel. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  16. ^ ""Che bella giornata" vs "La vita è bella"! Dati Cinetel". Sites.google.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Annuario Cinetel 2009". Cinetel. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  18. ^ a b "Annuario Cinetel 2019". Cinetel. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  19. ^ "FILM CON MAGGIORI INCASSI IN ITALIA". Movieplayer.it (in Italian). Retrieved 18 February 2024.

External links

Box office
Cinema of Italy
Categories