For our more cerebral readers: “Cinema Paradiso,”...

For our more cerebral readers: “Cinema Paradiso,” the sentimental Italian film that celebrates moviegoing, may be quietly on its way to becoming the highest-grossing foreign-language film of the past decade.

According to a spokeswoman for the distributing Miramax Films, this year’s best foreign-language film Oscar winner--still on 95 screens in the country’s top 25 markets--has sold more than $9.5-million worth of tickets. That puts it ahead of “My Life as a Dog” (1987), which grossed $8.3 million, and on its way to surpassing “Das Boot” (1982), which topped $10 million.