Bruno Barreto's Bossa Nova has racked up Real2.5m ($1.4m) after four weeks at the domestic box office - a solid result for a local title which looks set to be repeated by at least two other domestic productions in the coming year.

The romantic comedy - which also started its international roll-out last week - attracted 423,095 admissions in the four weeks to April 27. In its first week (March 31-April 7), the picture scooped Real868,841 ($496,481) from 64 screens for an average of $13,576, despite tough competition from Oscar-laden American Beauty which opened the week before.

A co-production between Sony Pictures Classics (SPC) and Columbia TriStar do Brasil, Bossa Nova opened on two screens in New York on April 28 and took $22,442 in its first three days. It opens in Los Angeles and 40 other US cities today (May 5). SPC is handling US distribution and Columbia TriStar plans to release the film in Spain, Italy, Argentina and Germany in June.

Meanwhile, a second Brazilian title, Villa Lobos - A Life Of Passion, has scored a respectable screen average of Real5,547 ($3,056) in its first week of release (April 21-27). Co-distributed by UIP and local distributor Riofilme, the biopic of Brazilian composer Villa Lobos took Real277,361 ($152,828) from 50 screens.

Brazil's two Cannes titles - Estorvo, which is featuring in competition, and Eu Tu Eles, which has been selected for Un Certain Regard - also look set for domestic box office success. Riofilme plans to release Estorvo on about 10 prints in mid-June. Columbia TriStar do Brasil will open Eu Tu Eles, which has also been acquired by SPC, in August.