Italy’s box office will remain essentially stable in 2025, with total box office revenue of around 496 million euros ($578 million) and admissions of 68 million, slightly higher than the country’s 2024 box office revenue of 494 million euros ($576 million).
But this year marked a big change, with Italians rushing to see more domestic films, starting with Cecco Zalone’s new blockbuster, “Buen Camino,” which became a sensation at the local box office. The film grossed more than 36 million euros ($42 million) in just one week after its Dec. 25 release, easily taking the top spot in 2025, according to statistics from national box office aggregator Cinetel.
Zalone’s latest comedy, in which he plays a rich, prodigal 50-something father who drives around in a red Ferrari on a pilgrimage to Spain’s world-famous Camino de Santiago in search of his runaway teenage daughter, has currently collected more than 53 million euros (approximately $61 million) and counting, via Italy’s Medusa.
But unlike other years when a single hit, Zalone, dominated the Italian box office, 2025 saw three Italian titles break into the country’s top 10. Besides “Buen Camino,” the other two films are “Madly,” a concept comedy by director Paolo Genovese (“Perfect Strangers”), which grossed $21 million in 01 distribution and ranked third in the 2025 box office rankings. And director Ferzan Ozpetek’s female-centered ensemble drama “Diamond” came in eighth with $19 million through Vision Distribution.
In 2025, Italian domestic titles recorded the highest box office revenue in the past 10 years, Cinetel emphasized in a statement. Italian films, including co-productions, grossed more than 160 million euros ($187 million) last year, with more than 22.5 million admissions, an increase from about 33% of admissions (25.7% in 2024).
Meanwhile, Hollywood still commands more than 50% of Italy’s market share, and Disney remains Italy’s dominant distributor, thanks in large part to its animated titles “Lilo & Stitch” and “Zootopia 2,” as well as James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
In its preliminary analysis for 2025, Cinetel noted that while movie attendance was relatively strong in the country in the summer (historically a difficult period as millions of Italians visit the beaches), movie attendance gained sufficient momentum towards the end of the year. December 2025, when both “Avatar: Fire and Ashes” and Zarone’s “Buen Camino” were released, was Italy’s busiest month at the box office since Cinetel began collecting data in 1995, “confirming the central role of holidays in supporting overall results,” the statement said.
Although movie attendance in Italy remains well below pre-pandemic levels (when attendance hovered around 100 million people), the country’s current box office stability is encouraging compared to the looming crisis in moviegoing in other European countries, particularly Spain, where attendance in 2025 is down 8% to 65 million. Italian releases in January are expected to continue this momentum, including Paolo Sorrentino’s 2025 Venice opening film La Grazia and Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme starring Timothée Chalamet.
Top 10 Italian box office movies of 2025 ($):
“Buen Camino”: $42 million – Medusa
“Lilo & Stitch”: $25.6 million – Disney
“Madly”: $21 million – 01 distribution
“Zootopia 2”: $18.6 million – Disney
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”: $20.6 million – Disney
“Minecraft Movie”: $13.5 million – Warner Bros.
“Jurassic World: Rebirth”: $12.8 million – Universal Pictures International
“Diamond”: $11.6 million – Vision Distribution
“The Conjuring: The Last Right”: $10.9 million – Warner Bros.
How to Train Your Dragon: $10.6 million – Universal Pictures International
Source: Cinetel, BoxOffice Mojo
