Italian box office figures over the festive season - the single most lucrative period for the local industry - were up an impressive 14% to Euros78.83m on last year's Xmas results.

Importantly, according to local data body Cinetel, homegrown films also beat out stiff competition from Hollwyood (including Harry Potter) to claim a huge 48.87% market share at the box office, against 47.46% for US movies.

Last year, Italian films grossed Euros68.38m over the same period, obtaining a 33.8% market share. US films claimed a 57.19% share of the local market.

The outright winner during this year's holiday season is Italian comedy Christmas On The Nile, which earned a massive Euros26.15m. The movie is the latest in the long-running series of hugely successful annual comedies starring Christian De Sica and Massimo Boldi, produced by Aurelio DeLaurentiis.

Runner-up in the highly sought-after Christmas stakes was The Legend of Al,John and Jack, the new film by comic trio Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo, which earned Euros14.61m.

Meanwhile, box office results for the latest Harry Potter movie proved that wizard frenzy has still not completely won over Italian audiences. Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets, released on Dec.6, came in third - like last year's episode - but grossed only Euros9.4m compared to last year's Euros11.45m.