By Brendan Swift
Dance epic Mao’s Last Dancer was the biggest local film at the Australian box office last year, raking in almost $15 million.
The film has now taken almost $15.1 million making it the twelfth most successful local movie of all time, behind Muriel’s Wedding, which took more than $15.7 million in 1994.
A further eight films released in 2009 broke the $1 million mark although only the box office takings of one film – Samson & Delilah – surpassed its production budget.
While the Cannes award-winning drama’s $3.18 million performance at the box office far exceeded its modest $1.6 million production budget, only a small proportion has so far flowed back to its major investor Screen Australia.
Screen Australia had recouped $116,374 of its initial $1.37 million investment, according to the national screen agency in November last year.
The INSIDEFILM survey found that the total estimated budgets of the 37 Australian feature films released in 2009 was more than $147 million (not including prints and advertising costs). Their total box office revenue was almost $35.9 million.
However, the list is not a measure of a film’s profitability and does not take into account other sources of income such as DVD and foreign territory sales.
It also does not include film’s released in 2008, which accrued box office revenue last year, such as Baz Luhrmann’s Australia.
|
Film
|
Budget
|
Distributor
|
Opening w/e |
Weeks
|
Box Office |
|
Mao’s Last Dancer
|
$25.8m
|
Roadshow/Hopscotch
|
$2,754,620 |
13
|
$14,991,859 |
|
Charlie & Boots
|
$8m est. |
Paramount/Transmission
|
$810,270 |
15
|
$3,854,074 |
|
Samson and Delilah
|
$1.6m
|
Para/Trans/Footprint
|
$199,163 |
33
|
$3,184,050 |
|
The Boys are Back
|
$16m
|
Hopscotch
|
$473,339 |
7
|
$2,062,901 |
|
Beautiful Kate
|
$6m
|
Roadshow
|
$273,582 |
20
|
$1,623,672 |
|
Mary and Max
|
$8m
|
Icon
|
$217,176 |
15
|
$1,444,617 |
|
Balibo
|
$4.5m
|
Para/Trans/Footprint
|
$206,290 |
17
|
$1,329,878 |
|
Disgrace
|
$10m
|
Icon
|
$209,014 |
15
|
$1,166,294 |
|
My Year Without Sex
|
$3.8m
|
Para/Trans/Footprint
|
$177,522 |
19
|
$1,130,292 |
|
Bright Star
|
$16.7m
|
Roadshow/Hopscotch |
$319,662 |
1
|
$859,063 |
|
Love the Beast
|
Madman
|
$241,982 |
10
|
$777,351 |
|
|
The Combination
|
$1.169m |
Australian Film Syndicate
|
$188,054 |
29
|
$742,355 |
|
Blessed
|
$4m
|
Icon
|
$67,186
|
10
|
$457,898 |
|
Last Ride
|
$4m
|
Madman
|
$76,459
|
27
|
$388,722 |
|
Wake in Fright
|
$700,000*
|
Madman
|
$25,446
|
20
|
$312,323 |
|
Two Fists, One Heart
|
$8.5m
|
BVI
|
$96,999
|
2
|
$305,300 |
|
Van Diemen’s Land
|
$800,000 |
Madman
|
$39,939
|
12
|
$289,353 |
|
Subdivision
|
$4m est. |
BVI
|
$86,649
|
1
|
$206,350 |
|
Cedar Boys
|
$1.36m
|
Hoyts/Mushroom
|
$74,793
|
5
|
$204,160 |
|
Stone Bros.
|
$3.3m
|
Australian Film Syndicate
|
$22,702
|
8
|
$98,032
|
|
The Marriage of Figaro
|
$400,000 |
Australian Film Syndicate
|
$13,693
|
9
|
$87,846
|
|
Beautiful
|
$2m
|
Kojo/Jump Street
|
$22,406
|
6
|
$56,101
|
|
Closed for Winter
|
$2m
|
Omnilab Media |
$19,449
|
6
|
$53,370
|
|
Prime Mover
|
|
Para/Trans/Jetty |
$8,192
|
5
|
$51,745
|
|
Shadows of the Past
|
$820,000 |
Summer Night |
$13,927
|
16
|
$48,205
|
|
$9.99
|
$4m
|
Icon
|
$15,847
|
4
|
$47,520
|
|
Lake Mungo
|
|
Darclight films
|
$9,730
|
5
|
$39,000
|
|
Bastardy
|
$260,000 |
Film Camp |
$7,822
|
7
|
$37,570
|
|
Coffin Rock
|
$2.1m
|
AI Entertainment |
$9,846
|
5
|
$31,312
|
|
Lucky Country
|
$2m est. |
Para/Trans/Footprint
|
$11,413
|
3
|
$27,424
|
|
The Burning Season
|
Gil Scrine/Freshwater |
$3,848
|
6
|
$21,017
|
|
|
The Chifleys of Busby St
|
Ronin
|
$3,760
|
|
$13,658
|
|
|
Crush
|
$2m
|
Filmscope/Odin’s Eye
|
$8,304
|
1
|
$13,051
|
|
Three Blind Mice
|
Odin’s Eye/Titan View |
$2,988
|
6
|
$9,590
|
|
|
My Tehran for Sale
|
Cyan Films |
$2,422
|
2
|
$13,711
|
|
|
Bad Bush
|
$180,000 |
VVVF
|
$1,909
|
2
|
$3,961
|
|
Salvation
|
|
Hopscotch
|
$2,262
|
1
|
$3,182
|
|
Prey
|
$3.5m
|
Damage Releasing |
|
$744
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$35,870,106 |
Source: MPDAA.
Notes: Wake in Fright budget from original production date in 1971. Does not include $800,000 in restoration costs. The production budgets of The Marriage of Figaro and Van Diemen’s Land includes the value of deferrals.