During another busy weekendat the Italian box office, Medusa had a hit on its hands with La Terza Stella,which opened at number five and earned $813,985 from 204 screens. The localcomedy, from popular TV comic duo Ale & Franz, registered a strong average of$3,990 per screen.

However, the weekend's otherItalian new release, The Clan, opened disappointingly. Directed byChristian De Sica, the musical comedy opened on 180 screens but earned only$290,320 for 01 Distribution, for an average of $1,613.

Elsewhere on the Italianfront, Medusa's drama Sacred Heart (Cuore Sacro) from Ferzan Ozpetek,dropped to eighth place after three weeks, with a gross of $3,219,102.

Meanwhile, Sony's Hitchleaped into the Italian box office at number one, grossing $2,495,372 from 288screens for an excellent average of $8,651 per screen.

The Will Smith vehiclepushed UIP's Shark Tale and 01 Distribution's Million Dollar Babyinto second and third place, although both continued to perform strongly. Afterthree weeks, Shark Tale has earned $10,200,062 while Million DollarBaby has grossed $7,114,243 after four weeks.

Eagle Pictures's newrelease, Vanity Fair, met with a rather cold reception at the boxoffice. Released on 66 screens, the picture only earned $121,856 for an averageof $1,846 per screen.