Australian feel-good movie Red Dog has posted a rare feat, posting three consecutive weekends of increasing box office receipts as positive word-of-mouth continues to spread.
Most films post sharp box office declines after their opening weekend, often halving in their second weekend at cinemas. However, the Roadshow-distributed film has climbed 18 per cent in its third weekend, according to data from the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
The film grossed $2.23 million across 253 screens (five more screens than the previous weekend) to post a healthy screen average of $8832. The film grossed $1.88 million in its second weekend (across 248 screens) and $1.80 million in its first weekend (across 245 screens).
Red Dog's $7.68 million total box office has now surpassed last year's indigenous musical Bran Nue Dae ($7.68 million), which is currently ranked as the 31st best-performing Australian film of all time.
The film also now stands as the third strongest-performing Australian feature released since 2009, behind Mao's Last Dancer ($15.44 million) and Tomorrow, When the War Began ($13.48 million).
Red Dog is based on a legendary true story about a dog who united a disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in search of his long lost master.
Few films are able to build an audience after release although positive word-of-mouth is still relied by many Australian films short of marketing budgets.
Another noteable success, although on a smaller scale, was 2007 comedy Kenny. Its weekend box office grew over four consecutive weekends on its way to a total of $7.78 million. Its maximum screen count peaked at 124 in week 10 after starting on 76 screens.
Among other mainstream releases over the weekend, romantic comedy Friends With Benefits debuted in first place after grossing $2.49 million across 247 screens.
Red Dog took second place followed by Cowboys & Aliens ($2.04 million across 266 screens), Rise of the Planet of the Apes ($1.67 million across 292 screens), and Green Lantern ($1.24 million across 203 screens).
Australian films at the box office 2011
Source: MPDAA, IF Magazine