Comedy 'Buen Camino' Shatters Italian Christmas Box Office Records

The fresh comedic feature, 'Buen Camino,' starring Kekko Zalone (Luca Medici) and directed by Gennaro Nunziante, has officially set a new benchmark for Italian box office earnings on Christmas Day. Debuting on December 25, 2025, the film pulled in a staggering 5,614,751 euros in revenue for that single day. This figure represents an all-time high for any film released on the holiday in the nation’s cinematic history. When factoring in the midnight screenings held on December 24th, the total gross for the film's initial 24 hours reached 5,671,922 euros.

This remarkable single-day collection propelled 'Buen Camino' to command an overwhelming market share, accounting for nearly 79% of the entire Italian box office revenue generated on December 25th. Such phenomenal success provided a significant uplift to the overall market, pushing the total daily earnings past the 7 million euro threshold—a feat not achieved since 2011. The triumph is widely seen as a major boost for the Italian film industry, underscoring Zalone's proven ability to draw massive audiences to theaters.

The narrative centers on a spoiled heir who is compelled to undertake the demanding Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route as a means to repair his strained relationship with his teenage daughter. This compelling premise clearly resonated with Italian moviegoers, translating directly into record-breaking ticket sales.

The dominance of 'Buen Camino' was absolute, far outpacing its closest competitor, James Cameron’s 'Avatar: Fire and Ash,' which managed to earn 868,290 euros during the same holiday period. While Zalone's previous blockbusters, such as 'Tolo Tolo' (8.88 million euros) and 'Quo Vado?' (7.36 million euros), premiered on the arguably stronger New Year’s Day slot, 'Buen Camino' still managed to surpass Zalone's personal Christmas record.

This new Christmas record eclipses the previous one set by Zalone’s own film, 'Christmas in New York,' back in 2006, which had accumulated 3,045,296 euros after already being in theaters for ten days. The sheer scale of the opening day for 'Buen Camino' demonstrates the comedian's powerful cultural footprint across Italy.

Furthermore, the success of the comedy was remarkably consistent, showing uniform audience engagement across the entire Italian peninsula, from the northern regions down to the south. Director Gennaro Nunziante, a long-time collaborator of Zalone, previously helmed the 2016 hit 'What a Beautiful Day' (Che schifo di vita), which grossed 65.3 million euros and secured its place as one of Italy's highest-grossing domestic films.

'Buen Camino' is the product of a collaboration involving Netflix, with production handled by Marco Cohen, Benedetto Habib, Fabrizio Donvito, and Daniele Campos Pavoncelli, and distribution managed by Medusa Film. Given that the market had not surpassed 7 million euros in aggregate earnings for 14 consecutive years on Christmas Day, this phenomenal launch strongly suggests that the film holds significant potential for continued high performance throughout the remainder of the holiday season.