Political thriller Balibo has posted the third biggest opening weekend at the box office this year among local films while controversial drama Beautiful Kate continues to build momentum in its second week of release.
Balibo, released last Thursday across 23 screens, posted a solid $206,290 over its first weekend for a total of $246,940 at the box office. The $4.5 million film’s tale of the murder of five journalists in East Timor in 1975 has received solid press coverage in recent weeks.
Rachel Ward’s directorial debut Beautiful Kate posted $368,059 in its second week, well above last week’s $345,844 take (which was bolstered by sneak preview weekend results). The film, shown on 29 screens, is being distributed by Roadshow, which also counts several other local films among its local slate including the upcoming $25 million Mao’s Last Dancer.
Meanwhile, indigenous art house feature Samson and Delilah has become only the third Australian film to crack the $3 million mark at the local box office in the past three years.
The Cannes award winning film added $47,811 in its fifteenth week of release and maintains its position as the highest annual grossing local film behind Australia ($26.9 million in 2008) and Happy Feet ($20.7 million in 2007) of the past three years.
| Film | Budget | Distributor | Opening w/e | Weeks | Box Office |
| Samson and Delilah | $1.6m | Para/Trans/Footprint | $ 199,163 | 15 | $ 3,001,525 |
| Mary and Max | $8m | Icon | $ 217,176 | 15 | $ 1,444,617 |
| Disgrace | $10m | Icon | $ 209,014 | 9 | $ 1,127,995 |
| My Year Without Sex | $3.8m | Para/Trans/Footprint | $ 177,461 | 12 | $ 1,077,992 |
| Love the Beast | Madman | $ 241,982 | 9 | $ 777,351 | |
| The Combination | $1.169m | AFS | $ 188,054 | 11 | $ 727,586 |
| Beautiful Kate | $6m est. | Roadshow | $ 273,582 | 2 | $ 713,903 |
| Last Ride | $4m | Madman | $ 76,459 | 8 | $ 350,327 |
| Two Fists, One Heart | $8.5m | BVI | $ 96,999 | 2 | $ 295,500 |
| Wake in Fright | Madman | $ 25,446 | 8 | $ 266,976 | |
| Balibo | $4.5m | Para/Trans/Footprint | $ 206,290 | 1 | $ 246,940 |
| Cedar Boys | $1.36m | Hoyts/Mushroom | $ 74,793 | 3 | $ 194,310 |
| Beautiful | $2m | Kojo/Jump Street | $ 22,406 | 6 | $ 55,619 |
| Closed for Winter | $2m | Omnilab Media | $ 19,449 | 6 | $ 53,370 |
| Shadows of the Past | $ 820,000 | Summer Night | $ 13,927 | 11 | $ 45,490 |
| Bastardy | $ 260,000 | Film Camp | $ 7,822 | 8 | $ 37,570 |
| Lake Mungo | Darclight films | $ 2,390 | 3 | $ 26,411 | |
| Lucky Country | $2m est. | Para/Trans/Footprint | $ 11,413 | 4 | $ 26,141 |
| The Burning Season | Gil Scrine/Freshwater | $ 4,865 | 5 | $ 19,121 | |
| The Chifleys of Busby St | Ronin | $ 3,760 | 1 | $ 13,123 | |
| Crush | $2m | Filmscope/Odin’s Eye | $ 8,304 | 1 | $ 13,051 |
| Bad Bush | VVVF | $ 1,909 | $ 3,961 | ||
| Salvation | Hopscotch | $ 2,262 | 1 | $ 3,182 | |
| Prey | $4m | Damage Releasing | $ 1,089 | 15 | $ 1,089 |
| $ 10,482,500 |