“Buen Camino,” the comedy by Checco Zalone directed by Gennaro Nunziante, continues to break records. It swept the Christmas box office , bringing many Italians back to the cinema and reviving the fortunes of a struggling industry.
After a booming Christmas debut, in its first four days of theatrical release it grossed €27 million (€26,921,300) , averaging €34,847 in 771 theaters, attracting 3,316,838 admissions, and a 71.4% market share. This is the best opening ever for a Christmas film. It was followed by "Avatar: Fire and Ashes" with €5.4 million and 571,454 admissions, and "Nuremberg" with €1.6 million and 203,334 admissions.
The film, distributed by Medusa Film in over a thousand theaters, is driving the film market, which, according to Cinetel data, grew by 257% compared to last weekend and by 87.17% compared to the same weekend in 2024.
No film has ever grossed so much on Boxing Day , so much so that the high demand for advance sales has crashed the online sales sites of several cinemas . On the other hand, the film could be destined for further success, at least judging by the results Zalone's comedies have always achieved, which have brought in a total of over 220 million euros at the box office.
The Apulian comedian has five older films, four of which were directed by Nunziante. The highest grossing films were “Quo vado” (2016), which, with over €65,365,000 in theaters, is the highest-grossing film ever at the Italian box office for a film produced in Italy ; it also took second place among the highest-grossing titles ever in Italy, including international titles, beaten only by the first Avatar. Among the comedian's highest-grossing feature films, “Sole a catinelle” (2013) follows, with over €51,930,000. Then comes “Tolo Tolo” (2020), the only film of his that Zalone also directed, which grossed over €46 million. “ Che bella giornata” (2011) grossed over €43,470,000.
Further back, finally, the debut film directed by Nunziante, with Checco Zalone in the lead role, “Cado dalle nubi (2009)”, had grossed a total of 14 million 730 thousand euros, approximately one million more than what this new film made in less than two days (13,766,122 euros).
(Unioneonline/D)
