Eagle Pictures' South Korean horror flick, Phone, opened at number two in Italy,grossing $662,918 on what proved to be a rather lukewarm weekend at the localbox office.

Ahn Byung-ki's Phone,which focuses on a twenty-year-old woman who is terrified by the incessantringing of her cell phone in a deserted metro station, opened on 235 screens,registering an unspectacular screen average of $2,821.

Meanwhile, all the films in the top six recorded heavylosses in earnings. UIP's Van Helsingremained at number one, but saw its earnings drop a sharp 53% on its secondweek. So far, the vampire film has grossed $6,430,003.

BVI's Kill Bill Volume2 also shed almost 50% off its earnings after four weeks. The QuentinTarantino picture, released on 168 screens, has earned $5,318,807 to date.

By contrast, Davide Ferrario's sleeper hit After Midnight continued its strongperformance, dropping only 7% four weeks into its release. The Medusa arthousefilm, which stars Giorgio Pasotti, recorded an average of $2,320 per screen -the box office's third highest - and has now grossed an impressive $7,900,715.