Few Australian films secure a wide cinema release in Italy so the local distributor had a lot riding on Drift which went out on 165 screens last weekend.
Alas, the Australian 1970s-set surfing drama starring Myles Pollard, Xavier Samuel and Sam Worthington was a near total wipe-out.
The film co-directed by Ben Nott and Morgan O’Neill grossed $US98,587 in three days for a scrawny per-screen average of $597, according to Box Office Mojo, which tracks 74% of the total box-office.
Admittedly the Italian summer season typically means weak business at cinemas. The Wolverine was the top title in its third weekend, earning $550,000.
The Italian edition of Vogue gave the film a warm reception, hailing it as an enthralling story that "mixes passion, love and adventure, without falling into nostalgia,” filled with water scenes that are “ charming and breathless.”
James Wan’s The Conjuring opened last weekend, drawing just $117,000 on 205 screens, a rare blemish for the supernatural horror movie which has amassed a lucrative $168 million worldwide.
In the US, Wrekin Hill Entertainment launched Drift at 11 cinemas on August 1, a month after the title debuted on Video-on-Demand platforms.
To date the distributor has not disclosed any figures, which is unusual in a territory where the results for films that debut on only one screen are routinely reported.