14/01/2026 - The comedy starring Checco Zalone has set a new record for Italian cinema and, with takings now close to €66 million, it’s also gaining ground on the biggest ever box office earner, Avatar

Recording over €65.6 million in revenue and upwards of 8.1 million viewers, Buen Camino - the new comedy starring Checco Zalone and directed by Gennaro Nunziante - has set a new record for Italian cinema, surpassing the record previously held by Quo vado? [+see also:
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making of
film profile] and confirming its status as the highest grossing domestic movie in history.

Over the weekend of 8 to 11 January, the film once again dominated the revenue leaderboard, earning a total of €5,632,823 and hanging on tightly to pole position. But it’s the cumulative figures which really drive home the film’s success, namely a total of €65,689,125 in takings and 8,157,202 admissions. These statistics are catapulting Buen Camino into the Italian box office history books and confirm the now structural connection between Zalone and cinema audiences.

Thanks to these results, the film has now clinched second place in the rankings of Italy’s biggest ever box office earners, taking up position just behind James Cameron’s Avatar which earned €68.6 million in 2009. Given the Italian movie’s current performance, it’s a figure which doesn’t seem entirely out of reach.

These figures have also earned Buen Camino pole position in a long-standing top 10 which is markedly polarised between big international franchises and popular Italian comedies, many of which have been penned by Zalone himself. Following close on the heels of Buen Camino are earlier films starring Zalone, and Quo vado? (2016), which ended its cinema stint with €65.36 million, followed by Sole a catinelle [+see also:
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film profile] (2013) with €51.9 million. The list also features long-term Hollywood leviathans, such as Titanic (€51.89 million) and Avatar – The Way of Water (€45.05 million), alongside more recent hits along the lines of Inside Out 2 (€46.53 million) and Barbie (€32.17 million).

Zalone’s recurring presence in the rankings continues with Tolo Tolo [+see also:
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film profile] (€43.47 million), underscoring his exceptional impact on the national market, while the lower rungs of the top ten are rounded off by The Lion King (€37.5 million), There Is Still Tomorrow [+see also:
film review
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interview: Paola Cortellesi
film profile] (€36.9 million) and Roberto Benigni’s classic, Life is Beautiful (€31.23 million), reflecting over twenty five years of transformations in Italian film consumption.

Ten years on from the success of Quo vado?, Zalone is hereby confirming his status as the main catalyst for the national market, being not only capable of beating his own records but also of keeping a firm cross-sectional grip on audiences, turning each new release into a collective event with huge economic benefits.

The positive impact of Buen Camino is clear across the entire market. Over that same weekend, Italian cinemas took a total of €11,633,930 in revenue and recorded 1,473,140 admissions, largely attributable to the film’s performance.

Following on the Italian movie’s heels, Avatar: Fire and Ash held onto second place that week, with €1,422,283, bringing its overall earnings to €23,667,007, over €11 million of which came from 3D and IMAX screenings. Third place went to Nuremberg, confirming its status as the most solid counterprogramming title of the period, earning €878,893 over the weekend with total revenue of €7,055,950, which is also the best international result for the Russell Crowe-led period drama.

(Translated from Italian)