By Simon de Bruyn
The shrewd distribution strategy behind Samson and Delilah has proven a hit, with the film taking 4 per cent more in its second weekend than the opener.
The film, distributed by Footprint Films in conjunction with the team at Paramount/Transmission, took a further $208,000 for a new total of $510,000, according to MPDAA figures.
Samson and Delilah took over twice as much as Italian crime drama Gomorrah, which opened on 15 screens and took just under $98,000. Samson and Delilah climbed by one screen to 13, and notched up a screen average of $16,000, again the highest for the week.
Still climbing in its sixth weekend, Mary and Max added a further $60,000 for a new total of $1.214 million. Other Australian films, Closed for Winter and Love the Beast are still in cinemas, with the latter taking an extra $2,000 on five screens.
Samson and Delilah will start expanding into more cinemas this weekend, adding the Hobart State (Tas), Palace Como (Vic), Gold Coast Arts Centre (Qld) and Cremorne Orpheum (NSW) on May 21.
Footprint’s next film, My Year Without Sex, will be in cinemas May 28. The distributors are in the process of advance screening the film to 20,000 people before its release.