Silvio Soldini's latest film, Agatha And The Storm, opened in seventh place at the Italian box office, grossing $484,799 from 126 screens for a strong, if unspectacular, screen average of $3,848.

The weekend's other local opener, Sotto Falso Nome (aka A Strange Crime) opened rather more disappointingly: the Medusa thriller, which stars Daniel Auteuil and Greta Scacchi, earned $193,940 from 89 screens, posting a timid screen average of $2,179.

Elsewhere, Tim Burton's Big Fish opened strongly, grossing $688,799 from 128 screens for Columbia Tristar Italia, for a high screen average of $5,381. Meanwhile, local actor-director Carlo Verdone's latest comedy, Love Is Eternal As Long As It Lasts (L'Amore e' Eterno Finche Dura), continued to perform well at the Italian box office. On its second weekend, the comic's picture grossed a further $1,743,861 from 371 screens, bringing its total earnings to date to $5,564,143.