Press release from Wintercreek Consulting
A quality script and musical score and ‘’switched on’’ production and direction has pushed a locally made South Australian movie into the record books.
People took to the cinema on the weekend in unprecedented droves, all in the name of supporting the independently released film called The Marriage of Figaro…
A local cinema chain gave the movie a go offering a week on screen with the view to more should it prove itself.
With a resounding result at the box office over its opening days Wallis Cinemas announced this morning the film will move into its second week. Hopes are now high for a move interstate after such a fabulous result in what is deemed to be the toughest test market in the country
Peta Astbury, Producer says “The level of support that we have received and continue to receive from the people of South Australia is just amazing. But I don’t think the success in South Australia will be based only on its being made here, I think it will do just as well interstate (and even overseas) as well if it’s given a chance”
“To sit up the back of the cinema and hear people laughing out loud and enjoying the film was incredibly rewarding, says Director and Cinematographer, Chris Moon. We’ve put a lot of love into Figaro and to have such a firm opening is really humbling. Figaro is a comedy made for general audiences, so it’s a realisation of a dream to have it play to cinemas full of people who laugh along with the jokes.”
At the outset Bob Parr, Programming Manager from Wallis Cinemas told the team not to worry, but for a first time director and producer the opening weekend was particularly nerve wracking. As they watched the audience numbers grow day by day they realised that a bloke who’d worked in cinema since he was 12 years old probably has a pretty good idea of the sort of film that people will warm to.
“At Mitcham Cinemas Figaro is number 2 film out of 10 screenings. Mt Barker it ranks 3 out of 10 screenings – A fabulous result”. Says Bob
Stats on a national level in at 4pm yesterday – key indicators imply The Marriage of Figaro finished second in the ‘’per screen’’ average box office performance for a title for the weekend. Disney’s ‘Up’ topped it with 434 screens and an average take of $7,806 with Figaro’s average take for 2 screens sitting on $ 6846.50 (with one of these screens being regional)
To Quote Urbancinefile – ‘’New Aussie romantic comedy, The Marriage of Figaro took almost as much as Up 3D at Adelaide’s Wallis cinema and scored the week’s highest screen gross with $10,842; it took another $2,851 at Mt Barker (only playing on these two screens) and astounded cinema management”
www.figarothemovie.com