Young adult drama The Fault in Our Stars beat out the projects of Hollywood heavyweights Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt and Nicole Kidman to nab the top spot in the Australian box office over the weekend.
Based on John Green’s book of the same name, the plot revolves around the romance between teenagers Hazel (Shailene Woodley) and Gus (Ansel Elgort); both of whom are battling cancer.
Distributed by Fox on 273 screens and directed by Josh Boone, the film raked in an impressive $3,776,246 in its opening weekend – averaging a sweet $13,832 per screen.
That’s over double the efforts of Edge of Tomorrow, Dou Liman’s action sci-fi starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, which took in an average of $6,339 per screen.
Edge of Tomorrow follows Cruise as an officer who gets caught in a time loop while at battle with an alien race. Blunt is the Special Forces Warrior who helps bring him up to speed. Distributed by Roadshow on 477 screens, the film raked in $3,023,910 in its opening weekend, putting it at second place.
Walt Disney’s reimagining of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, Maleficent, slipped from second to third place in its second week of release, taking in $2,681,215 over 530 screens. The film, which stars Angelina Jolie in the title role, has taken $ 8,109,958 at the Aus box office so far.
X-Men: Days of Future Past was also knocked down the ladder, sliding down 51% to fourth place in its second week. Released by Fox over 523 screens, the super hero action flick brought in $2,198,050 – an average of $4,203 per screen. So far it has amassed a box office total in Australia of $18,422,324.
Fox’s How to Train your Dragon 2 performed solidly with its preview screenings, netting a tidy $2,015,764 over 430 screens. The animation is set to officially open on June 19.
Universal’s A Million Ways to Die in the West and Bad Neighbours took out slots six and seven respectively; with Seth McFarlane’s Western comedy gross-out sliding 46% to take out $1,203,812 in its second week.
Bad Neighbours, now in its fifth week, scooped $595,346 on 197 screens, taking its Aus box office total to $17,132,296.
After its lukewarm reception at Cannes it is little wonder Entertainment One’s Grace of Monaco failed to impress on its opening weekend, securing only $542,141 over 209 screens, with an average of $2,594 per screen. Directed by Olivier Dahan, the American-French biography film stars Nicole Kidman and explores the life of actress-turned-royalty Grace Kelly.
Perhaps buoyed by positive word of mouth reviews, Madman’s The Trip to Italy slid only 13% in its second week with a respectable $456,218 over 49 screens. The road-trip comedy has so far earned $1,211,872 at the Australian box office.
Warner Bros’ behemoth Godzilla sat in tenth place in its fourth week with $431,867 in takings on 228 screens, while Umbrella’s Aussie horror offering The Babadook retained its place at number 20 with $28,373 on 10 screens in its third week.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE 5 – 8 June
|
|
Title
|
Week/Screens |
Box Office |
% +/- |
Total |
|
1 |
The Fault in Our Stars |
1/273 |
$3,776,246 |
N/A |
$4,002,892 |
|
2 |
Edge of Tomorrow |
1/477 |
$3,023,910 |
N/A |
$3,079,586 |
|
3 |
Maleficent |
2/530 |
$2,681,215 |
-34% |
$8,109,958 |
|
4 |
X-Men: Days of Future Past |
3/523 |
$2,198,050 |
-51% |
$18,422,324 |
|
5 |
How to Train Your Dragon 2 |
PR/430 |
$2,015,764 |
N/A |
$2,015,764 |
|
6 |
A Million Ways to Die in the West |
2/280 |
$1,203,812 |
-46% |
$4,139,892 |
|
7 |
Bad Neighbours |
5/197 |
$595,346 |
-48% |
$17,132,296 |
|
8 |
Grace of Monaco |
1/209 |
$542,141 |
N/A |
$608,335 |
|
9 |
The Trip to Italy |
2/49 |
$456,218 |
-13% |
$1,211,872 |
|
10 |
Godzilla |
4/228 |
$431,867 |
-64% |
$13,402,699 |
Source: MOTION PICTURE DISTRIBUTORS ASSOC. OF AUSTRALIA All Rights Reserved