After 'The Invisible Man' racked up more than $US125 million at cinemas worldwide - the bulk of it before the pandemic struck - Elisabeth Moss' latest thriller 'Shirley' had to face the realities of the pandemic-blighted cinema landscape.
The floodgates opened last weekend with more than a dozen new releases led by 'The Personal History of David Copperfield', plus several re-issues as more cinemas resumed trading.
As more cinemas around Australia opened their doors, ticket sales improved last weekend from a low base as several art house titles led by Kitty Green's The Assistant entered the market.
In his 63 years as a film programmer, Bob Parr had never experienced anything like the current crisis as ticket sales flatlined across the country over the past few weeks.
Ticket sales at Australian cinemas plunged to a new low last weekend as coronavirus-wary audiences ignored almost all the new releases.
Last weekend was the worst of the year for Australian cinemas as Universal's 'The Invisible Man' and Paramount's 'Sonic the Hedgehog' were the only titles to crack $1 million.
Leigh Whannell’s Sydney-shot 'The Invisible Man' easily won the box office derby in Australia last weekend, matching its top-ranked US debut.
In a lousy weekend at Australian cinemas the combination of Harrison Ford and a bionic dog in 'The Call of the Wild' proved unappealing while a long-delayed thriller which Mel Gibson had virtually disowned had a similar fate.