List of highest-grossing films in Italy explained

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 as of 31 July 2024

RankGenreTitleYearGross (€)Tickets sold
1Science fictionAvatar200968,675,442[2] [3] 7,919,514[4]
2 *ComedyQuo Vado?201665,341,588[5] 9,354,698
3 *ComedySole a catinelle201351,948,550[6] [7] 8,005,352
4Romantic, DisasterTitanic199850,217,865[8] 13,708,208
5 *ComedyTolo Tolo202046,201,300[9] 6,674,622
6Comedy dramaInside Out 2202443,872,313[10] 6,025,697
7Science fiction202244,798,3505,058,147
8 *ComedyWhat a Beautiful Day201143,475,8406,831,460
9MusicalThe Lion King201937,514,0615,694,038
10 *Comedy dramaC'è ancora domani202336,795,665[11] 5,441,291
11Fantasy, ComedyBarbie202332,122,053[12] 4,390,410
12 *Comedy dramaLife Is Beautiful199731,231,984[13] 9,702,524
13FantasyAlice in Wonderland201030,397,5483,511,206
14Superhero201930,282,559[14] 4,098,421
15 *ComedyBenvenuti al Sud201029,841,4904,903,480[15]
16Comedy200929,705,5844,055,708[16]
17Psychological thrillerJoker201929,566,1274,228,544
18Biographical musicalBohemian Rhapsody201829,053,485[17] 4,154,275
19ThrillerThe Da Vinci Code200628,690,4074,656,409
20 *ComedyChiedimi se sono felice200028,458,8946,855,948
Films marked as * 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

RankTitleYearTickets sold[18] Country
1Doctor Zhivago196622,900,000United Kingdom
2The Godfather197221,810,000United States
3The Ten Commandments195616,800,000United States
4Goldfinger196415,800,000United Kingdom
5War and Peace195615,707,723Italy
United States
6Last Tango in Paris197215,623,773Italy
France
7Ben-Hur195915,400,000United States
8A Fistful of Dollars196414,797,275Italy
Spain
West Germany
9Trinity Is Still My Name197114,554,172Italy
10For a Few Dollars More196514,543,161Italy
Spain
West Germany
11Thunderball196514,100,000United Kingdom
12Titanic199813,708,208United States
13La Dolce Vita196013,617,148Italy
France
14Little World of Don Camillo195213,215,653Italy
France
15Ulysses195413,170,322Italy
16The Leopard196312,850,375Italy
France
17Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing195512,600,000United States
18Beautiful but Dangerous195512,592,231Italy
France
19Malicious197311,756,327Italy
20Miracle of Marcelino195511,559,217Spain
Italy
21The Good, the Bad and the Ugly196611,364,221Italy
22The Longest Day196211,300,000United States
23Watch Out, We're Mad!197411,246,906Italy
Spain
24196611,245,980United States
Italy
25Il Decameron197111,167,557Italy

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.

Background colour indicates films currently in cinemas

RankTitleYearTickets sold[19] Country
1War and Peace195615,707,723Italy
United States
2Last Tango in Paris197215,623,773Italy
France
3A Fistful of Dollars196414,797,275Italy
Spain
West Germany
4Trinity Is Still My Name197114,554,172Italy
5For a Few Dollars More196514,543,161Italy
Spain
West Germany
6La Dolce Vita196013,617,148Italy
France
7Little World of Don Camillo195213,215,653Italy
France
8Ulysses195413,170,322Italy
9The Leopard196312,850,375Italy
France
10Beautiful but Dangerous195512,592,231Italy
France
11Malicious197311,756,327Italy
12Miracle of Marcelino195511,559,217Spain
Italy
13The Good, the Bad and the Ugly196611,364,221Italy
14Watch Out, We're Mad!197411,246,906Italy
Spain
15196611,245,980United States
Italy

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Top 10 Highest Grossing Non-English Movies of All Time. John. Adriana. Wonderslist. 21 September 2016 . December 17, 2019.
  2. Web site: Annuario Cinetel 2010. Cinetel. 3 October 2019.
  3. Original Box Office run (65.675.547) + 2022 rerelease (2.999.895)
  4. Original Box Office run (7.493.785) + 2022 rerelease (425.729)
  5. Web site: Box Office - Dal: 01/08/2015 Al: 29/05/2016. Cinetel. 29 May 2016.
  6. Web site: Annuario Cinetel 2014. Cinetel. 3 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20160107233759/http://www.cinetel.it/images/documenti/Annuario_Cinetel_2014.pdf. 7 January 2016. dead.
  7. Web site: Annuario Cinetel 2013. Cinetel. 3 October 2019.
  8. Web site: Sole a Catinelle e Checco Zalone battono Avatar: 7 milioni e mezzo di spettatori!. Blog.screenweek.it. 29 November 2013 . 3 October 2016.
  9. Web site: Anno Corrente Dal 01/01/2020 Al 16/10/2020. 16 October 2020. cinetel.it. 17 October 2020. it.
  10. Web site: Anno Corrente 01/01/2024 Al 31/07/2024. 31 July 2024. cinetel.it. 1 August 2024. it.
  11. Web site: Stagionale Dal 01/08/2023 Al 31/07/2024. 31 July 2024. cinetel.it. 1 August 2024. it.
  12. Web site: 18 February 2024. Annuario Cinetel 2023. 12–13. Cinetel.
  13. Web site: La vita è bella -info. movieplayer.it. 3 October 2019.
  14. Web site: Anno Corrente Dal 01/01/2019 Al 09/12/2019. Cinetel. 10 December 2019.
  15. Web site: "Che bella giornata" vs "La vita è bella"! Dati Cinetel. Sites.google.com. 7 January 2016. 6 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160306090852/https://sites.google.com/site/inarrestabilmentebenigni/che-bella-giornata-vs-la-vita-e-bella. dead.
  16. Web site: Annuario Cinetel 2009. Cinetel. 10 December 2019.
  17. Web site: 18 February 2024. Annuario Cinetel 2019. Cinetel.
  18. Web site: TOP250 tous les temps en Italie (Reprises incluses). JP's Box-office. October 4, 2019. January 10, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200110225701/http://jpbox-office.com/top100.php?view=32. dead.
  19. Web site: La classifica dei film più visti di sempre al cinema in Italia. movieplayer.it. October 3, 2019. January 25, 2016.