The romantic crime caper Focus has found its feet in its second week of release, topping the Australian weekend box office after opening in second place.
Distributed by Warner Bros, the film follows con artist pro Nicky (Will Smith) who takes learner Jess (Australia’s Margot Robbie) under his wing. A romantic relationship ensues until Nick, who doesn’t believe in mixing business with pleasure, breaks Jess’s heart. Fast forward three years and the pair once again cross each other’s paths – though this time around, Jess is no longer a beginner.
Focus climbed from second place to top of the ladder last weekend, taking $1,746,381 over 275 screens, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA). This brings its Australian box office total to $5,405,379.
Fox’s The Second Best Marigold Hotel slipped 38% to second place, collecting $1,621,772 over 391 screens in its third week of release. The sequel to 2011’s surprise hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has so far amassed $11,469,182 at the Aus box office.
Sony Pictures’ sci-fi Chappie opened over the weekend, raking in $1,359,630 over 266 screens. The film, set in the near future where robotic police patrol the streets, stars Dev Patel (who also features in The Second Best Marigold Hotel) as an engineer who wants to push boundaries and create a machine that can “think and feel.”
Not so keen on this idea is a rival engineer played by Hugh Jackman, who has his own plans for the future of artificial intelligence underway.
Kingsman: The Secret Service continues to be a surprise hit, scooping $731,684 over 208 screens in its sixth week. The comedy action thriller, distributed by Fox, has so far amassed an impressive $16,782,698 at the Aus B.O.
Universal’s Fifty Shades of Grey came in fifth in as many weeks of release, taking $509,042 over 272 screens. The controversial sexy romance has proven to be an Australian crowd-drawer, with a total so far of $23,014,766.
Seventh Son dove 45% in its second week with a weekend taking of $402,523 over 187 screens. The Universal-distributed pic has an Australian box office earning total of $1,388,168.
Aussie comedy Manny Lewis took $205,435 in its opening weekend across 140 screens. Distributed by StudioCanal/Beyond Entertainment, the film stars beloved Australian comedian Carl Barron as Lewis; who, in turn, is a beloved Australian comedian who struggles with relationships. Including previews, the pic has so far amassed $220,451.
Warner Bros’ Inherent Vice also opened over the weekend with a disappointing $183,728 over 28 screens. This takes its Aus box office total to $259,033, including previews.
The gambit of releasing one chapter of the trilogy The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby theatrically and the other two on VOD didn't start well. According to Rentrak, the chapter Them amassed only $7,462 on five screens, while the other two went out on Dendy Direct and iTunes.