Seems audiences are still hopping to it: Australian-UK co-production Peter Rabbit 2 is now no. 1 at the box office, having knocked off Godzilla vs. Kong as both titles enter their fourth week.
Holding well, PR2 – a hybrid animation from Animal Logic Entertainment and Olive Bridge Entertainment – has a cume $17.6 million after pocketing another $2.8 million.
Australia and New Zealand are the first markets into which the Sony sequel has been released, with the UK to follow in May and the US in June. The film was among the earliest titles worldwide to be delayed due to the coronavirus, originally scheduled for March 19 last year.
The 2018 original, also shot in Sydney, finished on $26.7 million, making it locally the eighth highest grossing Australian film of all time.
Monster hit Godzilla vs. Kong fell 31 per cent with takings of $2.4 million, moving to $24.9 million.
Despite the tumble, the Warner Bros. film, shot in Queensland, is now the highest grossing since the pandemic began, beating out Wonder Woman 1984 , which ended on $24.8 million.
Globally, GVK has made $US390.2 million, and is expected to turn a profit.
The weekend’s largest new release was Sony’s horror The Unholy, which made the top 5, opening on $762,879 from 229 screens, or $810,724 with previews.
The directorial debut of Evan Spiliotopoulos, the film stars Cricket Brown is a young hearing-impaired girl who, after a supposed visitation from the Virgin Mary, is able to hear giant fish, speak, and heal the sick.
As words spreads, a journalist (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) begins to investigate, questioning if the phenomena are actually the works of something much more sinister.
Madman’s Supernova, starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci as a gay couple who embark on a road trip as dementia starts to take hold of one of them, opened on $185,880 from 101 screens, moving to $390,092 with previews.
Melbourne’s Cinema Nova was the no. 1 site for the film nationally, but CEO Kristian Connelly tells IF that it still didn’t manage to usurp the key Oscar nominees or The Courier.
The top titles at the site are currently The Father and Nomadland. While tentpole films like Godzilla vs. Kong aren’t Nova’s fare, Connelly believes such films coming back into the market ultimately raises all boats.
“Trade continues to grow and every day brings a new release date announcement, so I continue to feel optimistic about the second half of the year – particularly when the blockbusters come with greater regularity and inspire the larger market to return to the movies and be a part of the conversation.”
Overall, the box office is holding steady, with the top 20 titles collecting $11.2 million, down 13 per cent on the previous, according to Numero. Next week should give exhibitors another shot in the arm with the release of yet another Australian-made blockbuster: WB’s Mortal Kombat.
Much of the strong result is due to school holiday holdovers, with Tom and Jerry notching another $1.8 million – a drop of just 5 per cent – in its third frame, advancing to $8.4 million.
Now seven weeks in, Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon was up 7 per cent on the last, with takings of $823,362, moving to $9.2 million.
Universal action thriller Nobody is also holding decently, down 23 per cent in its third to earn $731,157. The Bob Odenkirk-starrer is now on $4.1 million.
Cold War drama The Courier is also steady for Roadshow, dropping 25 per cent as it rang up $603,243 across its third weekend, moving to $3.1 million in total.
Also in its third, The Father, nominated for six Academy Awards, fell just 16 per cent to make $263,114 for Sharmill. To date, the Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman drama is on $1.5 million.
Rounding out the box office was Universal sci-fi Voyagers, which tumbled 43 per cent in its second weekend to earn $147,769, moving to $544,935.
Aussie indie sci-fi Ascendant, distributed via Maslow Entertainment, sits just outside the top 10, notching $80,910 in its second to advance to $326,808.