With the Sydney market emerging from lockdown, the national box office got a 72 per cent boost last weekend, despite the absence of major new releases.
With school holidays ending and only a smattering of new releases in the market, the national box office plunged last weekend to the lowest point since mid-August 2020.
While family audiences finally have a little more variety at cinemas by way of 'Paw Patrol: The Movie' and 'Ainbo: Amazon Princess', neither new release were a match for 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' and 'Free Guy' at the box office last weekend.
"It's been a while since we had a line out the door – thanks to 'Shang-Chi' for providing."
Last weekend, the top 20 titles mustered $2.5 million, marking the lowest result this year - with no title cracking $1 million.
Disney's 'Free Guy' was pipped at the post by Warner Bros.' 'The Suicide Squad' on its opening weekend, but the Ryan Reynolds-starrer's second outing proved the film has legs, even in a disrupted market.
With audiences emerging from lockdown in South East Queensland, Cairns and regional Victoria, DC/Warner Bros.' 'The Suicide Squad' held no. 1 at the box office, narrowly defeating Disney's new sci-fi, 'Free Guy'.
With 16 million Australians in lockdown last weekend, the box office prospects for James Gunn's 'The Suicide Squad' were fairly slim.