With Sydney's cinemas still shuttered, a snap lockdown in effect in South East Queensland, Victorian and South Australian theatres just reopening, and the Olympics competing for eyeballs, it wasn't going to be smooth sailing for Disney's 'Jungle Cruise'.
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'Thor: Love and Thunder' has come out swinging, posting the second best opening weekend since the pandemic began.
Reading Cinemas Australia posted another record box office result in December as blockbusters such as 'Mufasa: The Lion King' and 'Sonic the Hedgehog 3' kept audiences coming back to the movies.
Tom Cruise proved himself as big a box office draw as any comic book creation on the weekend, with 'Top Gun: Maverick' starting its engine at $13.8 million.
By their "very different but equally excellent" powers combined, 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer have given Australian cinemas their best weekend since the pandemic began - and for at least one exhibitor, its best weekend ever.
Jordan Peele's third outing as writer-director, 'Nope', couldn't quite beat the horsepower of 'Bullet Train' at the box office last weekend.
Walt Disney's sci-fi thriller 'Alien: Romulus' could only attach itself to third place at the Australian box office over the weekend, as 'Deadpool & Wolverine' and 'It Ends With Us' held onto the top two spots.
'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' has smashed global records and helped deliver exhibitors not only a bumper Easter, but the best weekend of 2023 so far.