List of highest-grossing films in Italy


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 which surpassed his Titanic to take the local record. The highest-grossing Italian film is Quo Vado? starring Checco Zalone and directed by Gennaro Nunziante. This surpassed their Sole a catinelle as the top Italian film as well as their What a Beautiful Day, which held the record prior to that. All three are still among the top six. Zalone also directed and starred in Tolo Tolo, currently in fifth place. Prior to these Italian films, the highest-grossing Italian film was Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful. This remains the highest-grossing Italian film worldwide with a gross of over $230 million. Of the current top 15, Titanic has the most admissions with 13.7 million, which ranks 12th all-time in Italy.
RankTitleYearGross Tickets sold
1Avatar200965,679,2387,493,785
2Quo Vado?201665,341,5889,354,698
3Sole a catinelle201351,948,5508,005,352
4Titanic199750,217,86513,708,208
5Tolo Tolo202046,174,0756,668,885
6What a Beautiful Day201143,475,8406,831,460
7The Lion King201937,514,0615,694,038
8Life Is Beautiful199731,231,9849,702,524
9Alice in Wonderland201030,397,5483,511,206
10'201930,282,5594,098,421
11Benvenuti al Sud201029,841,4904,903,480
12'200929,705,5844,055,708
13Joker201929,566,1274,228,544
14Bohemian Rhapsody201828,966,0094,136,537
15The Da Vinci Code200628,690,4074,656,409

Most admissions

The following are the films with the most cinema admissions in Italy since 1945. Doctor Zhivago tops the list with 22.9 million admissions. War and Peace, in fifth place with 15.7 million admissions, is the highest placed Italian production.
RankTitleYearTickets soldCountry
1Doctor Zhivago196622,900,000United Kingdom
2The Godfather197121,810,000United 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
12Titanic199713,708,208United 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 with the most cinema admissions in Italy since 1950. The leader, War and Peace, is ranked fifth when considering productions from other countries. 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.
RankTitleYearTickets soldCountry
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