Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken has over-performed industry expectations in US cinemas and seriously under-performed in the UK, so its Australian opening was always likely to rank somewhere in between.
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It’s been a strong start to the year for Australian cinema with Robert Connolly’s Paper Planes soaring even higher than some pundits predicted last weekend and The Water Diviner continuing to earn tidy sums.
Responding to the tough outlook for most independent films, Pinnacle Films is moving away from releasing a large slate of small theatrical titles and instead plans to focus on two or three wide-release commercial films per year.
US reviewers have lauded the Spierig brothers' Predestination, which launched in cinemas and on-demand platforms last Friday.
Sony Pictures is releasing the controversial Seth Rogen/James Franco action-comedy The Interview in Australian cinemas on February 12, as counter-programming against Fifty Shades of Grey.
Jonathan Chissick is leaving Screen Australia when his contract expires at the end of March after nine years as a consultant with the agency and its predecessor Film Finance Corp.
The final chapter of The Hobbits franchise predictably won the New Year B.O. crown at Australian cinemas but a British drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch surprised some pundits by taking second spot.
Richard Moore has departed as Umbrella Entertainment's theatrical distribution manager as the distributor reassess its approach to theatrical acquisitions.