The first movies screened in Venice have arrived in theaters, and finally, an Italian feature is taking back the stage and the box office.

Il signore delle formiche, the new motion picture by acclaimed Italian director Gianni Amelio, out on September 8, immediately took fourth place in the top ten chart. Grossing more than half a million euros in just a few days (precisely €541,883), the film, which centers on the plagiarism trial of philosopher Aldo Braibanti and features Luigi Lo Cascio and Elio Germano in the cast, is currently the most-watched feature at the cinema in Italy. 

If the trend remains the same, next week Il signore delle formiche could find itself at the top of the podium, snatching the lead from the unstoppable Minions. 

The yellow monsters from the spin-off sequel to the franchise inaugurated by Despicable Me have kept on dominating the charts for the Sept. 5-Sept. 11 weeks. Minions 2 – The Rise of Gru has grossed € 1,012,303 with 146,360 admissions in theaters. Compared to last week though, the descent has begun, considering that over the weekend – the time of maximum attendance and receipts in theaters – the film recorded a 53 percent drop in grosses. Nevertheless, the numbers for the animation feature are still record-breaking: the film has exceeded 12.6 million euros at the total box office in Italy. It is very close to matching Top Gun: Maverick‘s gross of 12.7 million euros and thus conquering second place at the 2022 box office. The top film in terms of total revenues in Italy in 2022 is still Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, with a total gross of 13.6 million euros. 

Sitting in second place at the Italian box office, according to data provided by Cinetel, is another animated film: it is DC League of Super-Pets, a spin-off of the DC cinematic universe dedicated to superhero super-animals, from Batman to Superman. The film, in its second week of release, has grossed € 538,891 and has surpassed one million in total revenues.

Coming close to the two million euros mark in total receipts is Bullet Train, a film by David Leitch set in Japan and starring Brad Pitt, which, this week, grossed € 475,736 and called 65,326 people into the theater.

The week’s other notable release, Chloe Okuno’s Watcher, with € 271,635 grossed in five days ranks fifth on the weekly box office chart, followed by Crimes of the Future and Top Gun Maverick.

Finally, in eighth place we find another film that arrived in theaters this week, Margini. The Italian independent film, distributed by Fandango, grossed €43,652. Directed by Niccolò Falsetti, it is set in 2008 in Grosseto and tells the story of three young friends – Edoardo, Iacopo and Michele – who have formed a punk band, The three struggle with a big concert to be organized in the provincial town, amidst paradoxes and unexpected events.

Highly anticipated are this week’s releases coming out of the Venice Film Festival: first among them L’immensità by Emanuele Crialese with Penélope Cruz.