"Minari" tops local box offices after movie theaters reopen in Italy

▲ This photo shows a poster for "Minari" revealed by an Italian movie distributor, Academy Two. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

ROME, April 28 (Yonhap) -- After movie theaters started to reopen in Italy on Monday, the Oscar-winning title, "Minari" topped the local box office on the first day after its release.

According to Italy's Cinema Exhibitors' Association (ANEC), "Minari" attracted 1,635 viewers at 25 theaters a day on the 26th (KST), recording the largest number of viewers.  

"Minari" became the only movie that attracted more than 1,000 viewers for two consecutive days as a total of 1,670 people watched "Minari" on Tuesday. 

Besides "Minari," two Italian and one Mexican film(s) were also served on screen, however the number of viewers totaled up to 100 to 200 people, which was comparatively lower than "Minari."

Even before its release in Italy, "Minari" was nominated for six Academy Awards and attracted a lot of attention as it was frequently introduced by major local medias.

The fact that Youn Yuh-jung also won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress earlier in the day of the movie's release in Italy, which is suspected to have an effect on raising the number of viewers.

"Minari" is expected to attract more viewers by increasing the number of theaters to 70 from April 29th.

In Italy, all theaters across the country have been closed since October last year due to the widespread of the corona virus. However, recently theaters only in areas with relatively low risk of spreading the virus ('Yellow' zone) have started to reopen due to the government's easing of quarantine regulations.

Currently 14 out of 20 states nationwide in Italy are considered 'Yellow' zones, including, Rome, Milan, Turin, Venice, Florence, Genoa, and Naples.

ANEC estimated that a total of 3,700 people visited 112 movie screens on the 26th, the first opening day for movie theaters.

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