NAZA tops Italian box office ahead of Avengers as cinemas extend documentary’s run

NAZA, the Gaza documentary directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, opened at No. 1 at the Italian box office on Monday, 28 September, ahead of Avengers: Endgame Encore. The film’s strong opening has led distributor I Wonder Pictures to keep it in Italian cinemas beyond the three-day release originally scheduled to end on Wednesday, 30 September.

The result gives audiences more time to see a film that had been booked as a short cinema event. The Guardian reported on Wednesday that more than 150 Italian cinemas had extended their programmes. That count describes decisions reported so far; it does not establish how long the film will remain available across Italy.

How much did NAZA earn in Italy?

NAZA took €451,872 on its first day, with an average of €1,153 per screen, according to Corriere della Sera’s report of the Cinetel rankings. Corriere placed it first on Monday, ahead of the Avengers rerelease and a concert film featuring the Italian musician Ultimo. The Guardian separately reported the same opening-day gross and per-site average.

More than 60,000 people went to see the film in Italian cinemas on Monday, according to la Repubblica. Corriere reported that I Wonder Pictures distributed it across 515 screens. Those figures describe a substantial opening for the planned event release, although neither the admissions count nor the number of screens says how many viewers attended any individual showing.

Why is NAZA staying in cinemas longer?

I Wonder Pictures initially advertised screenings for 28, 29 and 30 September on its film page. Both Corriere and la Repubblica reported that the distributor would continue the release after those dates, following the opening result and sold-out showings. The distributor’s page documents the original event dates; the later extension is documented in the news reports.

The Guardian reported that Rome’s Tibur cinema, which showed NAZA in both its auditoriums, had extended its run by at least another week. A staff member identified as Marco told the newspaper that audiences there watched in silence. His account describes the response at that cinema, while reports of sold-out screenings elsewhere show demand without establishing a single nationwide audience reaction.

Andrea Romeo, founder of I Wonder Pictures, told la Repubblica that NAZA would continue to be screened as long as theatres wanted to show it, according to the Guardian. The reported extension therefore has no single confirmed end date. Cinema schedules may differ by venue, and the more-than-150-cinema figure is a snapshot from the Guardian’s Wednesday report.

What is the documentary about?

NAZA is an 80-minute documentary directed by Abraham and Szor and produced by the Guardian. It presents anonymous testimony from 24 former Israeli soldiers and security-service members, according to Corriere. The Guardian describes the interviewees as soldiers and intelligence officers discussing systems used to select targets in Gaza. Those descriptions concern the film’s reported contents; the box-office reports do not independently establish every allegation made in the documentary.

Corriere says the film grew out of years of reporting by +972 Magazine, Local Call and the Guardian. It also reports that NAZA won the Special Jury Prize at this month’s Venice film festival, where its premiere received a 25-minute standing ovation. That festival reception preceded the Italian cinema opening and helps explain why the release was already drawing attention before the first box-office figures arrived.

NewsJaws previously covered the film’s wider release plans. The Italian box-office result and the extension are the new developments: the planned three-day engagement has become a longer cinema run after the opening. The Guardian says releases in more than 50 territories are planned over the following month, with free availability on its website expected in mid-November. Those remain announced plans, while the precise length of the Italian extension is still unsettled.