In a historical first, Brazil's box office saw three local films among the top four last weekend.

Topping the charts was TV sitcom spin off The Normals (Os Normais) about a married couple and their misadventures. In the feature film, two couples hold simultaneous weddings and end up switching partners by the end of the day.

Local distributor Lumiere co produced the comedy along with media giant Globo which made use of its dominant reach to plug the movie. The film attracted 421,000 admissions in three days, making it the second biggest opening ever after Carandiru. Co producer Globo also heavily promoted Hector Babenco's prison drama.

Pushed down to the second slot by the new comedy is religious drama Maria, Mother Of The Son Of God which was number one for two weeks straight and has only seen a 5% dip in admissions on its third.

The film which narrates the episodes in the life of Jesus Christ and his mother stars Marcelo Rossi, a real-life priest in Brazil widely known as the Pop Priest (Cura Pop). Rossi has sold millions of records and is a regular fixture on local radio and television. Distributor Columbia TriStar holds the distribution rights to Latin America and may exercise its option for the rest of the world.

In the fourth slot is teen-targeted Lisbela E O Prisoneiro which was co-produced and distributed by Fox Brazil. The drama/comedy has lured nearly three million admissions after 10 weeks.

Together, all three capture nearly 70% share of the market this week.