Box office results for 2010/11 show that Italians are going to see Italian movies.
Finally.
As I’ve said before, I’ve been watching this trend from a casual, anecdotal perspective since I started going to the movies in Italy. 10 years ago in any given Italian movie theater showing a home-grown film I could easily find myself with one or two other people – and never anyone young. But with every passing year I have seen the numbers grow.
The results for 2010/10 so far show 6 of the top 10 grossing movies coming from Italy, the number one, of course, Checco Zalone’s Che Bella Giornata, the top grossing movie in Italy’s history, out-earning even Roberto Benigni’s La Vita è Bella with € 43.474.047. In Che Bella Giornata Checco is a security guard that dreams of joining the carabinieri (police department) but is completely unable to edit himself during the interview. His uncle helps him get a security job at the duomo in Milan and Checco unwittingly saves the day and it’s funny. I’m a big Checco fan.
You’d think that the number 2 movie in Italy might have been Harry Potter, but you’d be wrong, Harry came in at number 3 ( € 22.219.254 ). In the number 2 slot, the hilarious and completely deserving Benvenuti al Sud (welcome to the south) with € 29.867.707. A remake of a successful French movie, it’s about a postal employee who dreams of a big job in Milan but messes up and gets punished with a post in southern Italy. It was so successful that they’re banking on the new one, Benvenuti al Nord (welcome to the north) being equally big.
Coming in at number 4 – Aldo Giovanni Giacomo! I really loved their Christmas movie, one that could hardly be called Cinepanettone – La Banda Dei Babbi Natale, ( € 21.437.544 ) about three guys that get mistaken for a burglary ring that uses Santa Claus disguises. Angela Finocchiaro is hilarious and I think that this one has become my new favorite Christmas classic. 
And speaking of Cinepannettone, number 5 is a good example of one that (probably, I didn’t see it ) really sucked. We here in America seem to prefer our mindless, boob filled movies in the summer, but Italy loves them for the Christmas season – go figure.
Numbers 6 – 10 include more Harry Potter, Shrek, Pirates of the Caribbean, and two more Italian movies, Qualunquemente, which I still can’t exactly say I enjoyed, but appreciate its popularity despite my discomfort with the disgusting pig, Cetto La Qualunque, representing Calabria, and the ridiculous Immaturi, about a group of 30-something friends from high school that because of a clerical error have to retake their final exams.
Will Checco, Aldo, Giovanni, Giovanni and Cetto make it to the US ? Let’s hope so.
I Love Italian Everything 