Romantic vampire flick The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 remained at the top of the Australian box office over the weekend, despite a 59 per cent drop from its massive opening.
The latest instalment in the successful franchise, distributed locally by Hoyts, has now raked in more than $20 million in just under two weeks. In its second weekend, the film pulled in a further $5 million, from 611 screens, after last weekend earning $12.1 million.
British comedy The Inbetweeners, about the hilarious exploits of a group of four young adults, had an impressive opening on the weekend for distributor Roadshow. The comedy, based on the classic cult TV series of the same name, raked in $2.9 million from 231 screens, giving it a healthy screen average of $12,362. The film's had massive success at the UK Box Office, raking in more than $70 million. There are rumours about a possible sequel or even a new series.
Other films in their first week – Immortals (Universal), Arthur Christmas (Sony) and The Ideas of March (Roadshow) rounded off the top five at the box office, grossing $1.8 million, $1.4 million and $941,171 respectively.
Australian feature Toomelah, which was recently awarded the prestigious UNESCO Prize at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSAs), opened on just five screens over the weekend and grossed $5070 for Curious Films. The Indigenous film, which made almost $35,000 from preview screenings according to the MPDAA, follows 10-year-old Daniel who yearns to be a gangster, like the male role models in his life. For a full feature on Toomelah, check out the December/January issue of IF Magazine.
Jon Hewitt's new film, X, also had a small opening, grossing $1304 from just three screens. Including preview screenings, the film – the second in the 'Red Light Trilogy' which depicts the life of working girls in the heart of Sydney's King’s Cross – has grossed $7370.
Emotional flick Burning Man, from filmmaker Jonathan Teplitzky, added a further $42,954 to its box office tally. Showing on 18 screens, the film posted a screen average of $2386 in its second weekend.
Australia/China co-production 33 Postcards continues its poor performance at the local box office, adding a further $3892 from 10 screens on the weekend. In four weeks it’s now grossed $57,445.
The Eye of the Storm and Red Dog continue to add a little bit of bite towards the end of their theatrical runs, taking $21,190 (28 screens) and $40,203 (68 screens) respectively.
The Orator, the world’s first exclusively Samoan-language feature film, made $38,575 across 16 screens for Transmission. The PG-rated film is New Zealand's first ever entry in the foreign-language Oscar race.
Australian films at the box office 2011
Source: MPDAA, IF Magazine.