Controversial Australian feature Sleeping Beauty has grossed $70,204 in its opening weekend at the local box office.
The film, which stars Emily Browning as a young University student drawn into a mysterious hidden world of beauty and desire, was shown on just 12 screens giving it a screen average of $5850.
Sleeping Beauty had its world premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival earlier this year, where it was shown in competition.
Meanwhile, UK-Australian drama Oranges and Sunshine has now passed the $2 million mark after grossing another $366,281 in its third weekend at cinemas. The film was shown across 110 screens producing a screen average of $3330.
It is just the second Australian film to be shown on more than 100 screens this year – cave-diving thriller Sanctum was shown on 252 screens in January.
At the same time last year, five Australian films had already been shown on more than 100 local cinema screens: Bran Nue Dae (231), I Love You Too (228), The Kings of Mykonos: Wog Boy 2 (203), Beneath Hill 60 (164) and Daybreakers (135). However, in the first half of 2009, no local films had been shown on more than 100 screens.
A number of mainstream Australian releases are slated for the second half of the year: Red Dog (August 4), Killer Elite (September 23), The Cup (October 13) and Happy Feet 2 (December 26).
Among mainstream releases, Cars 2 opened in first spot after grossing almost $4.92 million. The sequel was shown across 502 screens producing a screen average of $9793.
Another animated feature, Kung Fu Panda 2, opened in second spot with $4.28 million across 448 screens.
The top five films at the box office was completed by Bridesmaids ($3.68 million), The Hangover Part II ($1.16 million) and Super 8 ($981,272).
Australian films at the box office 2011
Source: MPDAA, IF Magazine