Josh Lawson’s sex comedy The Little Death has raked in nearly $127,000 in its first week at 34 cinemas after Tuesday takings improved on Monday’s figures.
Jamie Hilton, who produced the low-budget film with Matt Reeder and Michael Petroni, is encouraged by the trend in ticket sales and hopes momentum will build over the long weekend.
“We are alive and kicking, contrary to sensational reports in the mainstream press,” he told IF today. “Our tiny, self-financed film was one of the break-out hits of the Toronto International Film Festival and audiences around the world will see it.”
Lawson has been inundated with favourable comments from those who’ve seen the comedy, which features Bojana Novakovic, Damon Herriman, Kate Mulvany, Lisa McCune, Patrick Brammall, Lachy Hulme and Lawson.
“We’re just a little independent Aussie film, we can’t afford billboards or TV ads or anything like that,” he said on his Facebook page.
“The most we can hope for is that the people who see it, fall in love with it and say to their friends and families 'You have GOT to go and see this movie!. Which you have obviously done, because against all odds, more and more people are filling up The Little Death cinemas every day.
“I’ve been flooded with lovely messages from people telling me how much they laughed watching the film and how much fun they had and how they can’t wait to take their friends/family/partner to go see it.”
The film was one of many Oz titles to elicit praise in a Facebook page entitled When Did You Last Pay to See an Australian Film at the Cinema? which was launched this week by My Mistress producer Leanne Tonkes.
Tonkes is asking her industry peers to nominate the last Aussie film they paid to see, as opposed to freebie previews, AACTA, funding body or post house screenings.
“My guess is we're all becoming too complacent," she said. "If we're not supporting our own films, how can we possibly expect the public to? If we all went to see each other's films, the stats would be significantly improved.”
Predestination, Charlie’s Country, Felony, Fell, Tracks, The Railway Man, the MIFF-screened Cut Snake, The Infinite Man and My Mistress, and In Bob We Trust were among those to get favourable mentions.
Tonkes aims to list screening info for all current Australian films each Wednesday on the FB page to help spread the word.