In a remarkable result, four Australian films - 'The Dry', 'Penguin Bloom', 'High Ground' and 'Occupation: Rainfall' - took home almost 50 per cent of the national box office last weekend.
The records smashed by doco 'John Farnham: Finding the Voice' have proven that Australians will still come out in numbers to see local stories on the big screen, and there is significant optimism among exhibitors about the commercial potential of 'Force of Nature: The Dry 2'. However, broadly the year so far has been a very slow one for Australian films at the box office.
Marvel blockbuster 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' delivered exhibitors a box office boost last weekend, with its opening weekend the most successful in the 'Ant-Man' franchise so far.
'Avatar: The Way of Water' has proved the bumper summer hit exhibitors hoped it would be. Some four weekends in, the James Cameron sequel - with a cume of $66.7 million - is already the the sixth highest grossing film to ever be released in Australia.
Disney's 'Avatar: The Way of Water' absolutely dominated cinemas in its opening weekend, capturing an 87 per cent market share.
Jason Statham shark thriller 'Meg 2: The Trench' may have opened significantly below the 2018 original in North America, but here in Australia, receipts were almost on par. That said, the sequel was no match at all for the continued phenomenon that is 'Barbenheimer'.
By their "very different but equally excellent" powers combined, 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer have given Australian cinemas their best weekend since the pandemic began - and for at least one exhibitor, its best weekend ever.
'Black Adam' debuted to $7.5 million at the box office last weekend - the best opening result since 'Thor: Love and Thunder'.