By Simon de Bruyn
Mary and Max has recorded the highest second weekend for an Australian film for 2009, while Disney has revised the total tally of Two Fists One Heart.
After taking $376,000 on 49 screens in its first week at the box office, Mary and Max added a further $194,000 on 50 screens for a new total of $570,000, according to MPDAA statistics.
This marked the highest second weekend take for an Australian film this year.
In March, Love the Beast took $141,000 on 65 screens on its second weekend in cinemas; while The Combination took $152,000 on 34 screens on its second weekend, following a week of controversy after the film was briefly pulled from some Sydney screens.
This week both of these films appeared to be winding up their theatrical runs. Love the Beast took another $3,000 for a total of $756,000 while The Combination added a further $2,000 for a total of $721,000.
Meanwhile, Disney has revised upwards the total takings for Two Fists One Heart, following enquiries from INSIDEFILM. The last recorded takings of $233,286 were recently replaced in the MPDAA database with a rounded $227,000 figure.
Disney told INSIDEFILM its new revised takings, of $292,810 (a $60,000 increase) will soon be added to the MPDAA system at the beginning of next month.
New Australian films opening this week are Closed for Winter, directed by James Bogle and based on Georgia Blain’s novel of the same name, and Crush – the directorial debut of Prey writer John Soto.
Closed for Winter is opening nationally on 18 screens, while Crush will have an exclusive one week run in Perth’s Picadilly Cinemas to test the waters for a wider Australian release around July 30.