At Christmas, Italians like to play it safe, even at the movie theaters. Spider-Man continues to lead the box office rankings. The record-breaking film grossed over $1 billion worldwide and in Italy has taken in another €5 million ($5.6 million), totaling €17 million ($19.2 million) in the domestic market since its release (December 15). The second place in this week’s box office goes to House of Gucci. The film, starring Lady Gaga, is getting a better reception in Italy than in the USA, this week grossing another €1.3 million (approx. $1.5 million).

Speaking of Christmas “classics”, Chi ha Incastrato Babbo Natale? (Who Framed Santa Claus?), has found a place on the podium. The film stars Christian De Sica, son of the maestro Vittorio De Sica. For four decades, De Sica Jr has been the undisputed king of the so-called “Cinepanettoni” – Italian Christmas comedy movies – that have been his fortune since the first, the legendary Vacanze di Natale, a cult film from 1983 directed by the Vanzina brothers. And although Chi ha incastrato Babbo Natale? is not receiving critical acclaim, the De Sica-Christmas combination is enough to guarantee a certain success at the box office: in its second week of programming, the film has totaled another €900 thousand, reaching €1.6 million in total. In the fourth position, we find Diabolik, directed by the Manetti Brothers, based on the comic strip of the same name by the Giussani sisters, which tells the story of the adventures of the criminal genius Diabolik and his partner in life as in crime, Eva Kant.

Surprisingly, the children’s film Sing 2, despite having launched a big marketing campaign, did not attract a crowd of young viewers accompanied by their parents. The film is in fifth place in the ranking, but with a gross of just over €500 thousand, the numbers are much lower than expected.

This week’s new entries are in the lower part of the ranking: 7 donne e un mistero (7 women and a mystery), directed by Alessandro Genovesi and loosely based on the 2002 French film 8 Femmes directed by François Ozon, has grossed €333 thousand since its release on December 25 and makes it in the 6^th place. Meanwhile, Supereroi – €228 thousand – gets #7 in the ranking: directed by Paolo Genovese, starring Jasmine Trinca and Alessandro Borghi, the film tells the story of a 20-year long love affair, with all its ups and downs, based on the fanciful assumption that in today’s world, those who manage to keep love alive for a long time can call themselves superheroes. Steven Spielberg’s  West Side Story did not take off: the film, released on December 23, brought home a total of €178 thousand.

The real surprise of the week comes not at the cinema, but on the small screen. Come un gatto in tangenziale – Ritorno a Coccia di Morto scored a total of 1,425,000 viewers, with 2,219,278 unique contacts, making it the most-watched Christmas movie ever to show on Sky. The comedy has already been awarded the Golden Ticket 2021, as the most viewed Italian film of the season 2020-2021. It is directed by Riccardo Milani, written by Furio Andreotti and Giulia Calenda, and stars Paola Cortellesi, Antonio Albanese, Sarah Felberbaum, Claudio Amendola, Sonia Bergamasco and Luca Argentero (awarded the Chiave D’Oro 2021 in Sorrento).