God Laughs with Pierfrancesco Favino, directed by Giovanni Veronesi, opens at the top of the Italian box office for the Halloween weekend, taking in 1,128,000 euros (1,234,000 including previews, source Cinetel). The story, set in the seventeenth century, follows Friar Leopoldo, an unconventional preacher who can captivate people in a way the traditional Church cannot: he will eventually come under the gaze of the papacy, investigated by inquisitor Maculani, played by Silvio Orlando. The per-screen average stands at about 2,000 euros across 557 screens.
Another debut in second place is the ensemble comedy Un tranquillo funerale di famiglia by Massimiliano Bruno, a remake of the English Funeral Party. An all-star comic cast handles grotesque misunderstandings surrounding the death of a patriarch who has hidden some secrets. With a 770,000 euro take, audiences gathered in the cinema to watch the lively Claudia Pandolfi, Pietro Sermonti, Stefano Fresi, Beatrice Arnera, Edoardo Ferrario, Alessandro Mauthe, Giulia Vecchio, Dino Abbrescia, Carlo Buccirosso, Carlo Amleto, Giovanni Iovino, joined by Diego Abatantuono and Stefania Sandrelli.
Halloween is still Halloween: a horror on the podium could not be missing, and it went to Ice Cream Man by Eli Roth, the tale of an ice-cream man who crafts treats capable of turning children into bloodthirsty killers. Splatter reigns supreme in this repellant narrative, which earned third place with 471,000 euros. Worldwide the gross stands at 7.79 million dollars (Box Office Mojo), according to Variety, given a budget of around 5.5 million. Will it manage to reach 15 million, the amount needed to justify it financially?
Slipping from second to fourth place is another horror-flavored film, this time blended with superhero cinema: Clayface by James Watkins, part of the DC Universe from DC Studios / Warner Bros, collects another 450,000 euros and reaches the Italian total of 1,440,000. But how are things performing worldwide? The verdict currently sits at around 83 million dollars: those figures may seem modest for the genre and for a major, but according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter the project’s budget did not exceed much the 40 million, so its prospects are not negative. However, it will not be safe until it hits 100 million.
Timid debut in fifth place for Shaun Vita da Pecora – Operazione Z.U.C.C.A. from Aardman Animations, a humorous stop-motion Halloween-themed film, where the clever sheep invents a growth potion with ridiculous consequences. The opening stands at 464,000 euros over five days (435,000 in the weekend). Worldwide it has recorded 19,270,000 dollars.
The full weekend box office
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