With the usual Christmas blockbuster crushing the competition at the national box office, Checco Zalone's return to the big screen with "Buen Camino" appears to have not only met, but actually exceeded the market's most optimistic forecasts. Over the last weekend of December, the title even managed to beat the box office heavyweight "Avatar: Fire and Ashes" and set the best opening for a Christmas film ever recorded at the cinema, grossing €27 million from 771 theaters and a per-theater average of €34,847.

The results reward, among other things, Zalone's decision to reunite with director Gennaro Nunziante, following 2020's "Tolo Tolo," which he directed independently. It's also impressive to note a 256.5% increase in theater attendance compared to the previous week and an 87% increase compared to the same weekend in 2024. This result, without going into the specifics of the raw numbers, is double the results achieved by Cameron's film and suggests no slowdown in the coming weeks.

Characterized by the Apulian comedian's unmistakable wit, the film tells the story of a wealthy, superficial man who witnesses the disappearance of his daughter shortly before her fiftieth birthday. Upon discovering that the young woman has set out on a solo pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the father sets out in search of her, seizing the opportunity of the journey to explore himself and the choices he's made in his life. The plot is certainly in keeping with Zalone and Nunziante's artistic style, as they explained in a previous interview: "You always have to get to the ending; that's the most important element of Italian comedies. Between the jokes, there's a regeneration, and if there's a difference, it lies entirely in the evolution of man, in his misery or madness. This is the work that cinema must do. […] Instead of complaining about political correctness, we must be intelligently incorrect."

Inevitably, given the outsized audience response, there was no shortage of controversy surrounding Zalone, accused of do-goodism and an overly complacent attitude toward the general public. Director Antonio Piazza stepped in to defend him, posting the following on Instagram: "You want to make Zalone what Zalone doesn't want to be at all costs: a master. And use him as a cudgel to deliver absurd lessons to Italian cinema. In the general collapse of educational and social infrastructures, and within an international context that is anything but favorable, the artistic and commercial vitality of Italian cinema is a small miracle. You should be thanking him, Italian cinema! Not scolding him [...]."

In response to those who sparked the controversy, presumably because they were unhappy with the film's box office success, Martina Colombari also chimed in with some comments. A former Miss Italy and Italian actress, especially known in the early 2000s, after her television appearance on "Ballando con le stelle," she found further visibility thanks to "Buen Camino," playing the character of Linda. Bluntly accusing her detractors of being jealous of Zalone's success, she stated in her latest interview with Il Messaggero: "Italians don't rejoice in other people's success. Checco Zalone has the ability to address topics considered inappropriate thanks to his comedy. If he talks about an inflamed prostate, it's funny; anyone else would be vulgar. Zalone is an intelligent comedian, and at various points in the film he says what people are thinking."

And, mentioning the physical transformation she underwent for the role, taking on an older, dowdy look unlike anything she'd ever seen before, she added: "I'm happy to give up my beauty or put it on the back burner. It denied me opportunities: a director told me I wouldn't be credible in the role of a blind woman. In Buen Camino, I had so much fun; I enjoyed transforming myself. And to think that at the audition, Checco and Nunziante were almost afraid to ask me to become ugly. They asked me if I was willing to forget the Martina I am today."

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