Three Italian films were released last weekend - although none of them performed outstandingly well.

Ciro Ippolito's Italian title Vaniglia E Cioccolato, which stars Il Postino actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta as a wife who leaves her unfaithful husband in a desperate bid to save their marriage, opened at number 8 at the box office, grossing $ 314,009. Distributed by Warner Bros Italia, the film, which also features TV star -of-the-moment Alessandro Prezioso, opened on 144 screens, earning a timid $2,065 average per screen.

Matteo Garrone's First Love also opened on a shy note, despite the buzz from its Berlin competition slot. The Fandango film, about a man who is obsessed with anorexic women, grossed $151,507 from 55 screens, registering an average of $2,921 per screen.

Bim's Mobbing (Mi Piace Lavorare), which also screened in the Berlin Film Festival, opened on 32 screens and earned $87,093. Directed by Francesca Comencini, the film, which stars Nicoletta Braschi and tells a tale of harassment in the work-place, posted a screen average of $2,706.

Elsewhere, Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain opened at number three at the weekend. The BVI civil war saga earned $1,519,930 from 291 screens, registering a strong screen average of $5,223.

FilmAuro's Italian comedy stayed at number 1 for the second consecutive week, earning an extra $1,664,063, which brings its total after two weeks to $6,395,224.