An “exceptional slate” and the popularity of 3D content has seen another record breaking year at the Australian box office.
MPDAA statistics released today stated $1.13 billion was generated at last year’s box office from 403 films – a 4 per cent increase on the previous year’s results ($1.09 billion, 418 films).
James Cameron’s Avatar of course led the way, grossing more than $75 million of its total $114 million, making it the highest grossing film Down Under.
Disney-Pixar animated classic Toy Story 3 and the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows took out the top three, earning $42.4 million and $39 million respectively.
Other successful films at the Aussie box office included Alice In Wonderland, Inception and Iron Man 2.
“Against the tide of another tough economic year, the film industry has produced a spectacular line-up of films that drew audiences into cinemas in record numbers,” MPDAA chairman Joel Pearlman said in a statement.
The 41 local films that screened at cinemas earnt $50.6 million – or 4.5 per cent of the total box office – which is down on last year.
Tomorrow, When The War Began, Bran Nue Dae and Animal Kingdom were the top three local movies.
This year looks set to be another good one, with sequels of Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, X-Men and Mission Impossible all expected to make a mark at the local box office.