If not for Doctor Strange 2, the Italian box office would have marked one of the worst weeks since the beginning of the year. But Marvel Studios’ latest blockbuster worked like a magnet, attracting over a million fans and bringing some oxygen to the asphyctic market. In Italian theaters since May 4, the feature film directed by Sam Raimi has positioned itself as the best domestic opening of 2022 and the second best May opening of all time, grossing almost € 9 million, (over € 2 million on the first day alone). Doctor Strange was responsible for a monumental +209% in cinema attendance figures, compared to last weekend. Everything else seems to be paralyzed in a sort of deadly slumber. The second film in the top ten chart,  Fantastic Beasts, could barely make it over half a million (€ 539,000), reaching an Italian total of 8,040,000.

In the third position, there is Downton Abbey II – A New Era, the second feature film based on the popular British TV series: it took in € 418,000, bringing the total up to € 883,000.

In fourth place there is Sonic 2: it grossed € 207,500 over the weekend, thus reaching a very respectable domestic haul of € 3,925,000. Falling from the third position is Leonardo Pieraccioni’s Il sesso degli angeli: the comedy starring Sabrina Ferilli and Marcello Fonte, about a small-town priest who inherits a brothel, has entertained for a further € 141,000 (€1,424,000 in total) and sits in the fifth position. 

Italian new entries, such as Tapirulan, the directorial debut of popular actress Claudia Gerini, who also plays the lead role, did not make it into the charts. The film tells the story of an unsatisfied woman, who lives in a routine made up of telecommuting and physical training, whose life is disrupted by the arrival of her problematic sister. Also left out is Vecchie Canaglie, a comedy by Chiara Sani with Italian comedy staple Lino Banfi and Claudio Gregori: it tells the story of six elderly guests of a rest home who discover that the owner of the structure has put their serene ‘buen retiro’ up for sale, and decide to change the course of destiny with a plan on the brink of legality.

But while the crisis is being felt in the theaters, when it comes to streaming the situation is quite different. Among Italian new releases, Netflix has churned out Campovolo 2011, the concert film by rock singer-songwriter Ligabue. The platforms over the weekend released over 30 new titles: there’s something for everyone, from Daredevil to the Elon Musk documentary Real Life Ironman. After two years of pandemia, Italians are increasingly fond of the couch and movies from the comfort of their own homes. And when you go out to go around the city… sometimes even accidents happen. Over the weekend in Rome, there was a protest by animal rights activists. The reason? Some elephants were seen parading near the Colosseum. Rehearsals for the new film by Nanni Moretti Il sol dell’avvenire. But the activists demanded the use of CGI.