The success of the latest “bonkers” instalment in the Mad Max franchise has helped Australian film pass its all-time box-office record.
Government funding body Screen Australia announced today that current box-office takings for the year stood at $64 million, ahead of the record $63.4 million achieved in 2001.
“I think we’re on track for a particularly outstanding year,” CEO Graeme Mason said.
“My prediction is that we’ll reach over $70 million by the end of 2015, setting a new benchmark.”
By far the highest-performing Australian film in the domestic box office to date this year is Mad Max Fury Road, directed by George Miller and starring Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy alongside Australians including model Megan Gale and Quentin Kenihan. Set in post-apocalyptic Australia (but filmed in Namibia), the action-packed, stunt-filled film has been variously described by critics as crazy, exhilarating, outlandish and just plain bonkers.
The other top-10 highest-performing films are a mixed bunch, with the Russell Crowe post-WWI drama The Water Diviner (above) coming in at number two ($10.18 million), followed by family films Paper Planes ($9.65 million) and Oddball ($8.12 million), and outback road movie Last Cab to Darwin ($7.15 million).
Further down the list are Blinky Bill the Movie, That Sugar Film, Holding the Man, Ruben Guthrie and Manny Lewis.
Screen Australia pointed out that several big Australian releases were still to come, including the Kate Winslet film The Dressmaker, showing at this month’s Adelaide Film Festival.
This year’s results will buoy the industry after a lacklustre box-office performance last year, distribution challenges and competition posed by the new era of digital content and online streaming.
Screen Australia has also been forced to cut staff and reduce its investment in film following federal budget cuts in the past two years.
But Mason described the Australian film industry as “resilient, patient and talented”. He said it had over-performed in 2015, with Australian films accounting for 6.8 per cent of the country’s box office takings – the best result since 2001.
“I think this year’s films say something very interesting about what Australian life is like at the moment – what we care about and what our values are.
“We’ve seen films about nostalgia and heroism, good-humoured family larks, personal struggles and social conscience. In a year that’s seen a lot of turmoil, Australians have looked for stories that reflect their darker side as well as their care for social issues, and their need to laugh.”
