Roberto Benigni's version of classic tale Pinocchio has broken the all-time Italian box office record for an opening weekend, beating Lord of the Rings.

The film was shown on 940 screens throughout Italy, almost a third of all Italian cinemas, and pulled in more than 7m euros (�4.4m).

The film has had a mixed reception in Italy

The film broke the record held by first Rings film, which collected just under 5.86m euros last year.

More than 1.1 million people flocked to the film despite lukewarm reviews by some critics who called the movie boring and unimaginative.

Benigni, who won three Oscars for his Holocaust tragicomedy Life Is Beautiful in 1999, directed and starred in the movie adaptation of the morality fable written by Carlo Collodi in 1880.

Benigni plays the wooden puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy, while the role of the blue-haired fairy is played by his wife, Nicoletta Braschi.

Nicoletta Braschi stars as the Blue Fairy

The movie is set to open in the United States at Christmas.

Before the film's release, Benigni said: "I want people to leave the cinema feeling as if they have been hugged, and I want them to kiss each other.

"I really want them to feel embraced by an Italian story."