By Simon de Bruyn
The debut feature from Sydney paramedic-turned-director Benjamin Gilmour has had a strong start at the box office, taking almost $20,000 on just six screens over the weekend.
The film, Son of a Lion, took a per screen average of $3,300. This was the fourth highest screen average among limited releases, and around $350 per screen higher than fellow new release Persepolis, which opened on 16 screens across the country – following some previews last week.
Son of a Lion opened in Melbourne and Sydney last Thursday, after playing at the film festivals in both cities. The film will open in other cities soon.
Not Quite Hollywood distributors Madman snuck the acclaimed documentary onto 42 screens for preview screenings, which resulted in a modest $11,000. The doco opens officially on 47 screens this Thursday 28 August.
Other local productions, including Unfinished Sky and The Square continued to cling onto the box office. The former has now crossed the $900,000 mark on the back of positive word, while the latter has limped to $293,648 after four weekends.
The Bank Job, which was co-produced by Omnilab with scenes shot in Victoria, hit $3.5m, while another co-pro Children of the Silk Road is nudging the $1m mark, currently on $997,069.